Dr. Christine Ensign is a faculty member at the Oregon Health & Science University School of Nursing, where she teaches in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs and serves as D.N.P. Chair. With more than 20 years of nursing experience, she specializes in the care of older adults with chronic heart failure, palliative care and heart failure management.

Dr. Ensign began her nursing career in 2004 as a CNA and medication technician in a skilled nursing facility in rural Kansas. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2007 and was directly commissioned into the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps, where she served for five years, specializing in trauma, critical care and cardiology.

After completing her Navy service, Dr. Ensign worked as a registered nurse at UC San Diego’s Sulpizio Cardiovascular Institute while pursuing a B.S.N. to D.N.P. program at the University of San Diego. She graduated in 2015 as a family nurse practitioner. Her first nurse practitioner role was at OHSU, where she worked in the outpatient advanced heart failure program.

In 2017, Dr. Ensign joined the Portland VA Healthcare System to develop and lead a heart failure transition-of-care program. As a Navy veteran, this role aligned perfectly with her passion for serving fellow service members. She continues to work as a heart failure provider and was recognized in 2023 with the Portland VA Nursing Excellence Award for improving heart failure care. In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Ensign serves as a member of the VA Institutional Review Board (IRB) review committee and as faculty for the VA Nurse Practitioner Residency Program.

Outside of her professional roles, she enjoys hiking, running, paddleboarding and kayaking on the beautiful trails and waterways of the Pacific Northwest.