Dr. Melanie Altamirano-Cariaga, UCLA DNP class of 2020 graduate, created DNP Direct - Nurse Consulting Collective, a consulting business to help others by offering 1:1 consulting on:

• how to become a nurse

• how to obtain 2nd degree/entry level nursing, NP, DNP, or obtain other advanced practice degrees or certifications 

• tips to advance one's nursing career

• online CE education courses

• nursing resources and downloadable handouts, 

• in-person live courses based on staff needs,

• upcoming online SCRN Review Courses and 

• hospital-level consulting for stroke programs.

Dr. Altamirano-Cariaga is a Stroke Nurse Practitioner with almost 10 years of experience specializing in neuro/stroke and neurocritical care at a Comprehensive stroke center in CA in honor of her father, who had a stroke when she was in high school. Because of her father's experience, Dr. Altamirano-Cariaga received her Bachelor's degree in Health Care Administration at California State University Long Beach, a Bachelors degree in Nursing, and Master's degree in Nursing from California State University Los Angeles. Dr. Altamirano-Cariaga then went on to obtain her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from UCLA as a part of the inaugural cohort class of 2020, just one month prior to her father's passing.

The UCLA School of Nursing's Doctor of Nursing Practice program congratulates Dr. Melanie Altamirano-Cariaga on pursuing this entrepreneurial business endeavor that will help many people become nurses and advance their nursing career and practice.