New Coordinator of DNP Program
New Coordinator of DNP Program Committed to Students and Community
Roberta A. Durk-Gomez, DNP, a UTEP alumna and native El Pasoan, is the new coordinator of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at The University of Texas at El Paso.
“We are so excited that she has moved into this position,” said Leslie K. Robbins, Ph.D., dean of the College of Nursing. “She cares about people and she cares about her students. She brings a wealth of experience, and she will be inspirational to students and will grow the program.”
A nurse for over 30 years, Durk-Gomez has dedicated her life and career to positively impacting patient care in the community. She graduated from UTEP with a BSN in 1994. After working in the R.E. Thomason General Hospital (now University Medical Center) intensive care unit for several years, she completed her MSN in Nursing at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in 2007. Durk-Gomez then received a DNP in Advanced Practice Nursing from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in 2015.
“I went back to school and got my family nurse practitioner, and then got my pediatric nurse practitioner, just because my true love is all about pediatrics,” Durk-Gomez said.
She began teaching part time at UTEP in 2017, moving to full time in 2019, and overseeing the pediatric nurse practitioner program from 2019 until 2024, when she moved into the coordinator role.
UTEP’s DNP curriculum builds on the competencies of advanced practice registered nurses who want to take their careers to the highest level. The full-time, five-semester program consists of classes one weekend a month (Friday through Sunday) during the fall and spring semesters, and four weekends during the summer session.
Durk-Gomez is passionate about El Paso and UTEP, and is deeply committed to improving the quality of life in the Sun City as well as positively impacting students. She hopes to grow the program, not just in the number of participants, but in the way the curriculum addresses real-world public health challenges within the community.
“I want to look at quality ways to improve our patient care, but not just in the clinic,” she said. “I want us to look in the community. How can we impact healthy neighborhoods, healthy food choices? How can we impact policy for our patients?
“I want our nurses and our advanced practice nurses to look at health care in the long term. And [to understand] that we do have a voice. I want those nurses to develop that voice, to impact [healthcare] on as many levels as possible.
