Lauren Muñoz, PhD, RN, FNP-BC
Health Equity Scholar
Lauren Muñoz is the Health Equity Scholar for the Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity and a Research Scientist at the George Washington University’s Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity. She holds a bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD in Nursing from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Lauren provided clinical nursing care for 8 years, first as a hospital nurse and later as a rheumatology nurse practitioner. Since 2019, she has conducted research on a variety of topics using primarily qualitative methods. Her work is focused on issues impacting the healthcare workforce, such as difficulties in the work environment and decisions surrounding healthcare careers and education.
Through her research, Lauren seeks to inform institutional, state, and federal policies, with the goal of retaining and expanding the number of healthcare workers in shortage areas, increasing diversity among the healthcare workforce, and helping healthcare workers manage career and educational challenges. Her work has been featured in academic journals, blogs, and podcasts.
As the Health Equity Scholar for the Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity (AFHE), Lauren serves an integral part in evaluating the AFHE program.