For Frontier Nursing University preceptor James Flint, the decision to become a preceptor stemmed from the challenges he encountered while completing his own education. While studying to become a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP), Flint said finding a preceptor was one of the greatest challenges of completing his education. Flint has worked with three FNU students and looks forward to precepting two more students later this summer.
Featured Preceptor: Lance Briggs takes light-hearted approach to precepting
Lance Briggs, PMHNP, is a dedicated preceptor who has been instrumental in helping students at Frontier Nursing University socialize their knowledge and gain confidence in their practice. As an FNU preceptor, Lance has been committed to easing students into the world of mental health and psychiatric nursing in a safe and supportive environment. Because of these attributes and more, FNU student Terra Edwards nominated Briggs to be FNU’s Winter 2023 Preceptor of the Term.
Precepting: More Impactful Than You Know and Easier Than You Think
Each of us has our own reasons for why we chose a career in healthcare, but common amongst us is a shared desire to serve others. We are heartened by the mission of Frontier Nursing University to care for underserved people and provide care to all those in need. We all chose to answer the call to serve. It is not an easy road to travel, and all of us relied on the support of others – friends, family, classmates, instructors, and preceptors – to achieve our goal of becoming nurse practitioners and nurse-midwives.
Major Announcements and a Celebration of Preceptors Make the FNU Winter Quarterly Bulletin A Must-Read
The Winter 2023 issue of the Frontier Quarterly Bulletin celebrates preceptors and the essential role they play for our students. A special message from Dean of Nursing Dr. Joan Slager, CNM, DNP, FACNM, FAAN, explains the importance of preceptors and lists the main reasons to be a preceptor. The special preceptor section includes a story about a current Frontier student who won a national precepting award. We provide answers to common questions about precepting and take a look at survey data from past preceptors that demonstrate the ease and reward of precepting.
Student Spotlight: Emily Tubbs hopes to help others improve quality of life as an FNP
Through her role as a registered nurse, FNU student Emily Tubbs works every day to help underserved patients in her community. A resident of Hooper, Utah, Tubbs works as a referral triage nurse for a local Rheumatology clinic. Tubbs said her decision to pursue a career in healthcare was inspired by her own experiences as a patient.
Alumni Spotlight: April Clyde opens Nevada’s first freestanding birth center
Since 2002, FNU graduate April Clyde, CNM has dreamed of opening a birth center in her community of Las Vegas, Nevada. After years of gaining experience, pursuing higher education and advocating for new legislation in Nevada to accommodate midwives, her dream finally came true nearly 10 years later.
Student Spotlight: Mara-Joanne Derinor aims to improve clinical education with DNP
The schedule of a healthcare professional can be challenging to navigate. Yet, Mara-Joanne Derinor manages to work as a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) while pursuing her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), authoring books and more.
Staff Spotlight: Circle of Caring recipient Sharon Tankersley
Through her role as Student Services Coordinator at Frontier Nursing University, Sharon Tankersley has demonstrated a commitment to the success of students at the university. Because of her deep commitment to students, Tankersley was a recent recipient of FNU’s Circle of Caring Award.
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Carrie Belin is an experienced board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins DNP program, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Georgetown University School of Nursing, and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She has also completed fellowships at Georgetown and the University of California Irvine.
Angie has been a full-scope midwife since 2009. She has experience in various birth settings including home, hospital, and birth centers. She is committed to integrating the midwifery model of care in the US. She completed her master’s degree in nurse-midwifery at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) and her Doctorate at Johns Hopkins University. She currently serves as the midwifery clinical faculty at FNU. Angie is motivated by the desire to improve the quality of healthcare and has led quality improvement projects on skin-to-skin implementation, labor induction, and improving transfer of care practices between hospital and community midwives. In 2017, she created a short film on skin-to-skin called 










Justin C. Daily, BSN, RN, has ten years of experience in nursing. At the start of his nursing career, Justin worked as a floor nurse on the oncology floor at St. Francis. He then spent two years as the Director of Nursing in a small rural Kansas hospital before returning to St. Francis and the oncology unit. He has been in his current position as the Chemo Nurse Educator for the past four years. He earned an Associate in Nurse from Hutchinson Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Bethel College.
Brandy Jackson serves as the Director of Undergraduate Nursing Programs and Assistant Educator at Wichita State University and Co-Director of Access in Nursing. Brandy is a seasoned educator with over 15 years of experience. Before entering academia, Brandy served in Hospital-based leadership and Critical Care Staff nurse roles. Brandy is passionate about equity in nursing education with a focus on individuals with disabilities. Her current research interests include accommodations of nursing students with disabilities in clinical learning environments and breaking down barriers for historically unrepresented individuals to enter the nursing profession. Brandy is also actively engaged in Interprofessional Education development, creating IPE opportunities for faculty and students at Wichita State. Brandy is an active member of Wichita Women for Good and Soroptimist, with the goal to empower women and girls. Brandy is a TeamSTEPPS master trainer. She received the DASIY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty in 2019 at Wichita State University.
Dr. Sabrina Ali Jamal-Eddine is an Arab-disabled queer woman of color with a PhD in Nursing and an interdisciplinary certificate in Disability Ethics from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Dr. Jamal-Eddine’s doctoral research explored spoken word poetry as a form of critical narrative pedagogy to educate nursing students about disability, ableism, and disability justice. Dr. Jamal-Eddine now serves as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in UIC’s Department of Disability and Human Development and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND). During her doctoral program, Sabrina served as a Summer Fellow at a residential National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute at Arizona State University (2023), a summer fellow at Andrew W. Mellon’s National Humanities Without Walls program at University of Michigan (2022), a Summer Research Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute (2021), and an Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) trainee (2019-2020).
Vanessa Cameron works for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nursing Education & Professional Development. She is also attending George Washington University and progressing towards a PhD in Nursing with an emphasis on ableism in nursing. After becoming disabled in April 2021, Vanessa’s worldview and perspective changed, and a recognition of the ableism present within healthcare and within the culture of nursing was apparent. She has been working since that time to provide educational foundations for nurses about disability and ableism, provide support for fellow disabled nursing colleagues, and advocate for the disabled community within healthcare settings to reduce disparities.
Dr. Lucinda Canty is a certified nurse-midwife, Associate Professor of Nursing, and Director of the Seedworks Health Equity in Nursing Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Columbia University, a master’s degree from Yale University, specializing in nurse-midwifery, and a PhD from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Canty has provided reproductive health care for over 29 years. Her research interests include the prevention of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, reducing racial and ethnic health disparities in reproductive health, promoting diversity in nursing, and eliminating racism in nursing and midwifery.
Dr. Lisa Meeks is a distinguished scholar and leader whose unwavering commitment to inclusivity and excellence has significantly influenced the landscape of health professions education and accessibility. She is the founder and executive director of the DocsWithDisabilities Initiative and holds appointments as an Associate Professor in the Departments of Learning Health Sciences and Family Medicine at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Nikia Grayson, DNP, MSN, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C, FACNM (she/her) is a trailblazing force in reproductive justice, blending her expertise as a public health activist, anthropologist, and family nurse-midwife to champion the rights and health of underserved communities. Graduating with distinction from Howard University, Nikia holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in public health. Her academic journey also led her to the University of Memphis, where she earned a master’s in medical anthropology, and the University of Tennessee, where she achieved both a master’s in nursing and a doctorate in nursing practice. Complementing her extensive education, she completed a post-master’s certificate in midwifery at Frontier Nursing University.









Dr. Tia Brown McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success. McNair directs AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and TRHT Campus Centers and serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives, including the development of a TRHT-focused campus climate toolkit. She is the lead author of From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016 and August 2022 Second edition).