Dr. Joan Slager has lived the full Frontier Nursing University experience. As a student, she was part of Frontier’s first Community-based Nurse-Midwifery Education Program (CNEP) graduating class in 1991, led by fellow Alumni Hall of Fame inductee Kitty Ernst. As a practitioner, she precepted over 100 FNU students. As an instructor and administrator, she returned to Frontier, serving first as a faculty member and Director of the Doctor of Nursing Program, and then as the Dean of Nursing before retiring in February 2025.
“I am so thankful for the support and friendship I have received from the FNU community,” Dr. Slager said in announcing her retirement. “My journey as a nurse-midwife began with Frontier and it has been so rewarding to have had the opportunity to come full circle back to FNU at the end of a satisfying and fulfilling career.”
Strangely enough, that career started in a barn. Growing up on a farm in Lake Odessa, Michigan, Dr. Slager was drawn to the wonders of the birthing process. She would frequently help care for the cows during the calving season and grew to love the experience.
“It was fascinating to me, and I just loved being there and watching. I think that’s what drew me to midwifery,” she said.
She earned her Bachelor of Nursing Science (BSN) in 1980 from Nazareth College in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She enjoyed the maternal/child rotations and worked in the neonatal intensive care unit after graduation. She subsequently worked three years (1981-83) with the Kalamazoo County Health Department clinics and later took a position as a staff nurse at the Borgess Medical Center Family Birthing Center (1984-91).
While at the birth center, she worked with Kalamazoo’s first midwife and was inspired to become a midwife herself. Having heard about Frontier’s new Community-based Nurse-Midwifery Education Program (CNEP) from fellow Alumni Hall of Fame inductee Kerri Schuiling, she applied and became part of Class 1.
“I was intrigued that I didn’t have to travel 150-plus miles to go to school, and I could complete my education in my home community. It sounded too good to be true,” she said.
Dr. Slager was part of Frontier’s first CNEP graduating class in 1991. She began working as a nurse-midwife in Battle Creek, Michigan, eventually becoming the Director of Nurse-Midwifery at the Family Health Center of Battle Creek. She assisted Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo in developing a midwifery-led service in 1993, where she served as the Director of Nurse-Midwifery at the Bronson Women’s Service for 27 years, helping build it into one of the largest midwifery practices in the country.
Bronson also became a frequent location for Frontier students to find a preceptor, a role which Dr. Slager was happy to play.
“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,” she said of precepting. “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. How can we thank all the people who helped us achieve our goals? We can thank them by being devoted and skilled professionals, yes, but also by paying it forward to those who come after us.”
For Dr. Slager, paying it forward also meant helping other midwifery practices. She learned how to run a business, including the complicated world of knowing how to use billing codes accurately, and shared her knowledge via the Slager Consulting Business, which she established in 2000 while maintaining her everyday role as a nurse-midwife.
After 28 years as a practicing nurse-midwife, Dr. Slager contacted CNEP Class 1 classmate and fellow Alumni Hall of Fame inducted Dr. Susan Stone about a faculty position at Frontier. She was hired as the Director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program, then became the Interim Dean of Nursing and finally the Dean of Nursing in August 2018.
“Dr. Slager’s expertise and leadership were essential in helping guide Frontier during a difficult time in our history,” said. Dr. Stone. “We were in the process of moving to the Versailles campus and dealing with the COVID pandemic. Dr. Slager’s calm professionalism and extensive experience were invaluable to the university.”
“It was very emotional for me to have that first group come to the new campus,” Dr. Slager said. “After all the planning and the waiting through the pandemic, we finally had students on campus. That was probably one of the most notable accomplishments at Frontier that I was able to be a part of.”
Dr. Slager’s long list of accomplishments include being honored as the Dorothea Lang Pioneer Award recipient from the American College of Nurse-Midwives Foundation in 2008 and the Distinguished Service to Alma Mater award recipient from Frontier Nursing University in 2015.
She served two terms as Chair of the Business Section of the Division of Standards and Practice for the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) and four years as the Division Chair. She was a member of the ACNM’s Finance and Audit committee for 12 years including six years as Treasurer on the Board of Directors. She is a Fellow of the ACNM as well as the American Academy of Nursing. In 2007, she was presented with the Best Book of the Year Award for her Administrative Manual for Midwifery Practices by ACNM.
Now, she is a proud and deserving member of Frontier Nursing University’s Alumni Hall of Fame.
“First, it’s an honor to be included in such an auspicious group,” Dr. Slager said. “Second, I think we all share a nearly lifelong commitment to and love for midwifery and Frontier — and for Sue (Stone), Kerri (Schuiling), and me the inability to say ‘no’ to Kitty (Ernst)! Third, attaining ‘fame’ or becoming ‘famous’ was never a goal for any of us. The career pathways we chose don’t typically lead to notoriety, except for whenever or wherever we could make a difference for the families or students that we touched along the way.”
