Frontier Nursing University’s (FNU) unique distance education model allows its students to complete required experiences in clinical sites in their own communities. Clinical preceptors make this model possible by serving as teachers, role models and mentors to our students across the country.
To celebrate our many wonderful preceptors, FNU hosted an Instagram competition in February called “Precepting: A Gift from the Heart.” Students uploaded pictures of their preceptors with captions that explained how their preceptors give gifts of the heart: their time, expertise and unwavering care.
FNU is happy to announce that a recent graduate of the Nurse-Midwifery program, Holly Howell, RN, BSN, and her preceptor Charlene Hanna-Manfull are the winners!
Holly, who has been a nurse for six years, began the Nurse-Midwifery program in 2017 after learning about Frontier from a few of her colleagues. She has served in a pediatric unit, a postpartum unit, and in labor and delivery. After some research she knew Frontier was the right choice for her to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse-midwife.
Holly said, “I really liked the structure of Frontier, and that it was community-based. I knew Frontier was for me, and I was so excited when I found out I was accepted!”
When Holly started working with Charlene during her preceptorship, she couldn’t wait to work alongside a practicing nurse-midwife. In Nevada, where Holly and Charlene work, there were only 33 practicing midwives as of 2016. Although it is not very common in the Las Vegas area, Charlene is blazing a trail for physiologic birth and nurse-midwifery.
“Charlene is a big advocate for physiologic birth and nurse-midwifery. She wants to give women the types of births that they want but are not always getting in Las Vegas,” Holly said.
Holly Howell and her Preceptor, Charlene Hanna-Manfull
Holly saw the many benefits Charlene brings to her patients through nurse-midwife led care. She explained how Charlene would go above and beyond to bring her patients the best possible delivery experience.
“Most people don’t see their provider while they are in labor until they are ready to give birth. Charlene goes in multiple times during their labor and does pushing with them.”
Charlene also showed great care for her patients during their visits before the delivery. She would always spend at least 20 minutes with each patient on all of their visits. One thing that Holly noticed was how Charlene always asks her patients, “what else?” when it seems as if they were wrapping up the appointment. By asking this question she showed that she truly cared for them and any questions or concerns they had about their delivery.
Not only does Charlene go above and beyond for her patients, but she also finds ways to celebrate and appreciate her colleagues.
“She makes cakes for every staff member on their birthday. She is so talented and it is another way of showing how much she cares!” Holly said.
After working with Charlene, Holly feels inspired and is looking forward to starting her own nurse-midwifery career.
“We are all so blessed to be able to support women through birth. I think it is such a great opportunity to watch a woman become a mother and a couple become a family. I think it is the greatest privilege in the world and I can’t wait to start my profession.”
Frontier is thankful for preceptors like Charlene Hanna-Manfull who give our students gifts of the heart everyday. Holly and her preceptor will both receive a $50 gift card as a small thank you gift for the amazing work they do each day.
Do you want to make a difference in the lives of FNU students by being a preceptor? If you are interested, please click here for more information.
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).
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