Free virtual event in honor of National Nurse Practitioner Week Nov. 12-18
National Nurse Practitioner Week is Nov. 12-18, and Frontier Nursing University (FNU) is celebrating by hosting a virtual event called Empower 2023. Those interested in participating are asked to register at Frontier.edu/NPWeek. Empower 2023 is presented by Southern Cross Insurance Solutions.
“We are excited to offer educational and engaging sessions to celebrate nurse practitioners and their contributions during National Nurse Practitioner Week,” said FNU President Dr. Susan Stone. “The more than 355,000 licensed NPs nationwide go the extra mile every day to provide quality, equitable patient care.”
FNU’s virtual event will offer five sessions presented by FNU faculty, alumni and other nurse practitioners on the latest practices and topics influencing nurse practitioner care and includes two free continuing education (CE) opportunities:
Monday, Nov. 13
CE SESSION – Best Practices in the Evidence-Based Treatment of Obesity
This continuing education session will be presented by Dr. Thomas George, DNP, CRNP, FNP-C, NASM-CPT/WLS.
The prevalence of obesity has increased to pandemic proportions, and more healthcare providers are needed to combat this complex, progressive, chronic, and relapsing disease. Obesity is associated with or increases the risk of over 230 conditions, including hypertension, diabetes, stroke, cancer, heart disease, and more. New pharmacological agents are proving to be game changers in the evidence-based treatment of obesity and even more effective molecules are in the pipeline. This course will provide the “basics” for improving the evidence-based treatment of obesity.
This activity is approved for 1.5 contact hour(s) of continuing education (which includes 1 hour(s) of pharmacology) by Frontier Nursing University. The content will be available beginning 11/13/2023 until 11/13/2024.
This live session will be presented by Dr. Danielle McCamey, DNP, CRNP, ACNP-BC, FCCP.
DNP prepared leadership can make a significant impact that creates sustainable progressive change. Participants will discuss leadership and wellness, explore how to lead change, and discuss how to create a dynamic and successful organization
Tuesday, Nov. 14
Improving the Health of Rural Americans
This is a recorded panel discussion with Dr. April Phillips, DNP, FNP-C, PMHNP-BC; Dr. Joanne Keefe DNP, MPH, FNP-C, CNE; and Susan Schafer, ARNP. The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Audra Cave, DNP, FNP-BC.
The preparation of advanced practice nurses with a focus on rural health has been part of Frontier Nursing University’s mission for many years. The delivery of rural health care can have challenges not seen in urban health care. This session presents advanced practice nurses who will discuss their experiences in rural health care and offer guidance for practice.
Wednesday, Nov. 15
Living the Dream as a Nurse Practitioner
This is a recorded panel discussion with Donna Brunson, PMHNP; Dr. Charles Davis, PhD, MSN, FNP-C, RN; Dr. Torica T. Fuller, DNP, MSN, FNP-BC, FNP-C, WHNP-BC, CDP, CGRN, CPN, NRCME; and Kaitlyn Rychlowski, MSN, APNP, PMHNP-BC, PMH-C. The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Joanne Keefe, DNP, MPH, FNP-c, CNE.
Obtaining a professional dream takes vision, resilience and tenacity. This panel of nurse practitioners pursued advanced nursing education to reach their career goals and have a greater impact on the health of their communities. From various backgrounds and specialties, these nurse practitioners will inspire as they share why they answered the call and what it takes to get there.
Thursday, Nov. 16
LIVE CE SESSION: Nursing Leadership – Building the Future
This live continuing education session is sponsored by Sigma Theta Tau and presented by Joyce M. Knestrick, PhD, CRNP, FAANP, FAAN.
As healthcare continues to change, nurse practitioners are well suited to be the “movers and shakers” to impact policy and health reforms. As nurse leaders, NPs bring experiences to improve social determinants of health and are often the voice of the diverse patients they serve. The removal of barriers to practice in federal and state legislation and local health systems are only part of the breaking down barriers. Readiness to meet the challenges comes after reflection on personal self and the profession.
This education activity is pending approval by Frontier Nursing University of up to 1.0 hours of accredited education.
National Nurse Practitioner Week is celebrated annually in recognition of nurse practitioners nationwide, building awareness of their vital role in patient care.
Frontier Nursing University has more than 80 years of experience in delivering graduate nursing and midwifery programs. This is the eighth consecutive year FNU has hosted a virtual event in support of National Nurse Practitioner Week.
Those interested in participating in Empower 2023, sponsored by Southern Cross Insurance Solutions, are asked to register at Frontier.edu/NPWeek.
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).