As a Doctor of Nursing Science, Family Nurse Practitioner, and Certified Nurse-Midwife, Dr. Pat Caudle was educated and prepared for most anything during her career as a nurse practitioner, full scope nurse-midwife, and instructor. But she wasn’t prepared for the call she received informing her that she was selected to be inducted into the Frontier Nursing University Alumni Hall of Fame.
“My first reaction was, ‘Golly, why pick me?’” Dr. Caudle said “Of all the graduates of Frontier… I mean, my gosh, look at the stars you have. Fabulous people. Why me?”
The answer to that question is woven through the fabric of Dr. Caudles’ journey in nursing and as a faculty member at Frontier.
Dr. Caudle grew up in Ballinger, Texas. During her senior year of high school, she took a career test that suggested she should become a teacher or a nurse. She chose nursing and took a job as a nurse’s aide right after graduating and soon began training as a nurse at a diploma school.
“It’s not like going to college,” she said. “It’s an apprentice-like program, on-the-job training.”
She graduated second in her class from Shannon West Texas Memorial Hospital of Nursing in San Angelo, Texas, in 1968. She went on to attend Texas Christian University where she earned her BSN.
She served as a nurse in the U.S. Air Force from 1969-71, beginning as a second lieutenant and finishing as first lieutenant. Shortly after she was honorably discharged from the Air Force, the first of her two sons was born in an Air Force hospital. After her second son was born, she earned her master’s degree at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and went on to teach at the University of Louisiana in Alexandria while her husband worked for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. She also taught at Northwestern in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Her interest in women’s healthcare led her to become a family nurse practitioner focused on women’s health, and she became certified in 1981.
But her time at Frontier had only just begun. Upon an invitation from former FNU Dean and President Dr. Susan Stone, Dr. Caudle joined the Frontier faculty in May 2000. She taught at Frontier for 18 years before retiring at the age of 71.
Dr. Caudle was beloved and respected as an instructor. She was a six-time recipient of a Student Choice Award (2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2013, and 2015) recognizing the students’ favorite instructors. One of her many former students is current FNU President Dr. Brooke A. Flinders.
“Pat was an incredible educator who supported and inspired us as students as we were beginning our journeys at Frontier,” Dr. Flinders said. “I’ll never forget Pat’s ability to translate pathophysiology content so that I felt capable and confident in learning it. I remember calling her before taking my proctored exams — not to review detailed course material, but to hear her voice and her encouragement that I could do it. Pat washed my hands at Wendover as a symbolic welcome into the midwifery community. Pat encouraged me at an American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) conference to come back to Frontier to complete my DNP. Pat welcomed me to Frontier when I came back to FNU to serve as President. She has been such an influence on me throughout my growth as a practitioner, educator, and nurse leader.”
“I enjoyed every minute of it,” Dr. Caudle said of her time as an FNU instructor. “The first two years I was in Hyden and caught babies there in the hospital. When the hospital decided not to have midwifery anymore, we went to Manchester and caught babies there. The last birth I attended was in June 2002. I moved back to Arkansas in November 2002 because my husband had developed heart problems. From then on, I went back and forth to Hyden for the Bounds. Each time it was like coming home.”
Frontier Bound is an immersive on-campus experience for new FNU students. Students later return to campus for Clinical Bound, which is a hands-on learning experience that prepares them for their clinical practicum.
In 2024, Dr. Caudle came “home” again, visiting Frontier’s former campus in Hyden.
“I went to Hyden because it marked the 30th year since I rode that little yellow school bus up the hill to go to school,” Dr. Caudle said. She also visited the new home of FNU at the Versailles campus in May of 2025, marking the 25th anniversary of her hire date as an FNU faculty member.
Dr. Caudle’s contributions to the professions of nursing, midwifery, and education are enduring. She has shared her extensive knowledge and passion for the nursing profession with countless students across the country and the globe, authoring chapters in medical-surgical, prenatal-postnatal, and pharmacology books. She also served on the American Midwifery Certification Board for seven years, including two years as secretary.
She continues to give back to the profession in general and to Frontier in particular as a donor and supporter.
“Frontier was very good to me,” she said. “I support Frontier because of their mission and what they are trying to do, in regards particularly to helping women of color and women of other languages and cultures to achieve midwifery. I think that’s a very important goal and I’m pleased to be able to help. And I support Frontier because I want to see more midwives and family nurse practitioners in this country.”
