Paula Tapper Spears, DNSc, MSN, BSN, graduated from the Methodist Hospital School of Nursing in 1972 and went on to complete her BSN at the University of Memphis (1981) and her MSN (1984) and DNSc (2002) at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s College of Nursing. Dr. Spears enjoyed a long career in clinical nursing and nurse leadership until her retirement in 2018. She continues to promote nursing excellence through her work with the American Nursing Credentialing Center as a Magnet Program Appraiser.

Dr. Spears first worked in medical-surgical nursing at Methodist Hospital South and later taught medical-surgical nursing at Methodist Hospital School of Nursing. Her clinical nursing career includes working as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in medical cardiology at Baptist Hospital; home health care at the Visiting Nursing Association; and later, in solid organ transplant services at UT Bowld Hospital. After completing her doctorate, Dr. Spears returned to Methodist Health System in an executive role focused on professional development of clinical staff and advancement of evidence-based procedures. She served as principal investigator for a $1 million Health Research Services Administration (HRSA) grant program to create a leadership development program for frontline nurse managers. She obtained a second HRSA grant while leading the Nursing Institute of the Mid-South, which funded leadership development for clinical nurses working in frontline clinical roles at all the hospital partner sites. Dr. Spears was recognized in 2010 as the outstanding alumna of the University of Memphis Loewenberg College of Nursing.

In 2012, Dr. Spears moved to Texas to serve as the Vice President of Professional Practice, Research, and Magnet at Texas Health Resources. Under her leadership, more than 200 evidence-based nursing research projects were published in journals nationwide. She was responsible for the Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) program which deployed more than 100 CNLs across the system’s 14 hospitals. She also led the development and deployment of sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) throughout the system and received the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault 2014 Rust Medical Services Award of Excellence. In addition, Dr. Spears and her team established covenants with more than 120 faith communities to establish the faith community nurse programs. Along with her nursing leadership experience, Dr. Spears completed intensive training as a Patient Safety Officer. She also served as a Baldrige quality process reviewer and nurse advocate for the Tennessee Professional Assistance Program peer assistance program.