Sarah M. I. Cartwright, DNP, RN, NI-BC, CAPA, FASPAN

Dr. Sarah M. I. Cartwright is the Executive Director, School of Nursing, encompassing the Master of Science in Nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and Post-graduate Nursing Certificate programs.

Dr. Cartwright joined the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS) in 2018 as a contributing faculty member. In 2021, she became core faculty and DNP program coordinator. She was promoted to Assistant Program Director–Nursing Operations in April 2022 and then to her current role in 2024. Prior academic affiliations include the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University and the College of Nursing at Augusta University.

Dr. Cartwright’s clinical expertise is in PeriAnesthesia nursing, informatics nursing and quality and patient safety. Her career highlights include progressive leadership roles within both the nursing and administration divisions culminating in an executive position of Integrated Clinical Practice Strategist. She is certified in Lean for Healthcare and Lean Six Sigma with Black Belt. Since 2012 her emphasis on quality and patient safety with the Perioperative Nursing Department and the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine provided comprehensive advancements, including improved outcomes, recognition by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) with quality star indicators, improved policy and procedures, successful The Joint Commission reviews and consistent positive reimbursement growth for CMS’s Quality Payment Program for Merit-Based Incentive Payment System.

Dr. Cartwright translates her experience with interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) into a passion for interprofessional education (IPE). This can be seen threaded throughout the nursing curriculum, and for DNP students, is the cornerstone of their DNP scholarly work. She has numerous presentations at the local, state, regional and national level and has published book chapters on several topics and multiple peer-reviewed articles. She has served as a qualified nursing preceptor for graduate students at the MSN and DNP level for several universities, and she chairs multiple DNP scholarly project/manuscript teams and continues to mentor students academically and professionally.

Dr. Cartwright is an active member of numerous professional organizations including the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, American Nurses Association, American Nurses Informatics Association, American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses, Georgia Association of PeriAnesthesia Nurses, Georgia Nurses Association, National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties and SIGMA, holding leadership roles at the local, state and national level.

She previously served on the National Board of Directors for the American Society of Perianesthesia Nurses, and she is currently president for the Georgia Association of Perianesthesia Nurses through 2024. Dr. Cartwright has chaired multiple specialty practice groups and strategic work teams. She has served as membership chair for state and local chapters, currently serving as the counselor for the University’s Alpha Alpha Alpha Chapter of Sigma. Dr. Cartwright earned the distinction of Fellow of the American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses in 2020.