Kristen Harrell

Kristen Harrell serves as an Assistant Professor of Practice within the School of Nursing at Western Carolina University's College of Health and Human Sciences, teaching Medical Surgical content, Advanced Nursing and Critical Care, Nursing Leadership, Clinical, and Lab courses.

Her educational foundation includes:

• MSN from Walden University
• BSN from Western Carolina University
• AA from Blue Ridge Community College NC

Her research spans critical care nursing domains including cardiology, pulmonology, and delirium management, alongside patient safety initiatives like fall prevention protocols. She investigates nursing leadership's impact on team performance and explores psychological dimensions such as healthcare worker PTSD following events like the COVID-19 pandemic, nurse burnout, resiliency mechanisms, and emotional intelligence applications in clinical settings.

With extensive frontline experience, Harrell has worked across medical-surgical and critical care units while holding leadership positions that included opening a new adult intensive care unit and managing both the COVID unit and neurotrauma ICU. She maintains CCRN certification for specialized critical care practice with acutely ill adult patients.