We’re glad to welcome Mariel Salais, MSN, FNP-C, to Arthritis Relief & Vascular Centers. Mariel is a board-certified family nurse practitioner, and she has joined our care team in San Antonio.
If you come in with knee or joint pain, back pain, fibroids, hemorrhoids or a follow-up visit, there’s a good chance Mariel will be one of the first people you sit down with. Here’s who she is, and what she brings to your care.
The short version
- Board certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-C) by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board
- Ten years caring for San Antonio patients — in the hospital, in hospice, in a busy internal medicine practice and, most recently, in pain management
- Fluent in Spanish — she sees patients in English or Español
- Where you’ll see her: consultations, exams, and care before and after your procedure
Four years in a busy internal medicine practice
Before she joined us, Mariel spent four years as a nurse practitioner in a busy internal medicine practice here in San Antonio. She cared for adults and older patients, managing both long-term health conditions and new illnesses as they came up.
She ordered the tests, read the results, managed the medications and built the plan, day after day. That’s useful when you come to us. Many of our patients are managing more than one health problem. Mariel looks at your knee or your fibroids with your whole health in mind — your other conditions, your medications and what your body can handle.
Then, pain management
Most recently, Mariel worked as a nurse practitioner at a pain management practice in San Antonio. She evaluated and treated people with acute and chronic pain, reviewed their imaging, and managed their pain medicines — watching closely for what worked, what didn’t and what side effects showed up.
Her plans had one goal: help people move better and stay active and independent. The aim wasn’t just a lower pain score. It was getting back to the things the pain took away — the stairs, the walk with the dog, a full night of sleep.
The aim isn’t just a lower pain score. It’s getting back the things the pain took away.
That background fits the work we do here. Many of our patients have lived with pain for years and tried a long list of things before they found us. Mariel knows that story well.
Where she started: the hospital bedside
Mariel began her nursing career in 2016 at a San Antonio transplant hospital, caring for liver and kidney surgery patients from the first hours after surgery until they went home. She then spent four years as a hospice nurse case manager, caring for patients at the end of life and helping their families understand what was happening and what came next.
Both jobs taught the same thing: explain it plainly, and make sure the patient and the family understand before anyone decides anything. She brings that to every visit here.
Even before nursing school, Mariel earned a pharmacy technician certificate. Medicines have been part of her work from the start.
Consultas en español
Mariel is fluent in Spanish. If you, or the family member you’re bringing in, are more comfortable talking about your health in Spanish, ask for a visit with Mariel when you call.
Mariel habla español con fluidez. Si prefiere hablar de su salud en español, pida una cita con Mariel cuando llame al (210) 405-1335.
A San Antonio nurse, trained here
Mariel spent most of her childhood in Monterey, California, and graduated from high school in El Paso. She moved to San Antonio for college and nursing school, and she’s called the city home ever since.
She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from UT Health Science Center San Antonio. Then, while working as a registered nurse, she went on to earn her Master of Science in Nursing as a Family Nurse Practitioner from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Training & credentials
- Board certification: Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-C), American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board
- Graduate degree: Master of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner, University of Texas at Arlington
- Nursing degree: Bachelor of Science in Nursing, UT Health Science Center San Antonio
- Clinical background: internal medicine, pain management, hospice and transplant nursing
- Also certified in: Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS)
- Membership: American Association of Nurse Practitioners
- Languages: English and Spanish
Where you’ll see Mariel
Mariel sees patients across the practice:
- Joint and back pain — knee arthritis, other joint pain and low back pain. She also works alongside Dr. Lisa Persyn on gel injections and PRP therapy.
- Women’s health — uterine fibroids and adenomyosis
- Vascular and other conditions — hemorrhoids and rectal bleeding, and May-Thurner syndrome
At your first visit, she’ll take your history, examine you and go over your imaging to see whether you’re a candidate for one of our minimally invasive procedures. She’ll explain what the procedure involves and what recovery looks like. And after your procedure, she’s often the one who sees you at follow-up, to check how you’re doing and adjust the plan if needed.
At a consultation, she’ll ask what hurts, what you’ve already tried and what you want to be able to do again. Then she’ll go over your options with you before you decide anything.
Away from the clinic
Outside the clinic, Mariel spends much of her free time at skateparks cheering on her son, a sponsored vert skateboarder who competes on half-pipes. She also enjoys archery, a sport that rewards the same focus and steady hand she brings to patient care.
Please join us in welcoming Mariel. You can read her full bio here, or book a consultation on our calendar below.
Written by the team at Arthritis Relief & Vascular Centers. This article is general information about our practice, not medical advice, and reading it does not create a provider–patient relationship. If you are having a medical emergency, call 911.