It’s been six months since COVID-19 began to significantly impact our nation, causing people, businesses and organizations to rethink everyday operations in the interest of public safety. While the Pandemic is forcing many schools to implement online learning for the first time, Frontier Nursing University (FNU) has been operating through a distance education model for more than 30 years. However, while at-home workspaces and virtual classrooms are business as usual for FNU faculty and students, a pandemic paired with ongoing social movements were not.
As they worked to transition vital in-person programming to a digital platform, FNU leadership quickly realized that success over the next few months would take more than reworking education modules. For students, faculty, and staff to meet the same expectations of past terms, FNU needed to expand their Culture of Caring by embracing their community through compassion, respect, and understanding.
As a University with an excellent psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner program, FNU is aware of how important it is to stay connected and have a healthy support system as our country works through this crisis. To help with this process, FNU has launched a series of new virtual engagement opportunities for faculty, staff and students to further strengthen the mental health of the Frontier community.
Below are some new practices that have been incredibly helpful in navigating the past several months in helping this community to stay encouraged, focused and energized:
Building a Home Base
As the threat of the Pandemic spread, FNU leadership quickly created a COVID-19 updates page on their website as a resource for the Frontier community. On the COVID-19 page are links to the most current information on state and national statistics, stories about our alumni out on the frontlines, and videos and information concerning self-care and mental health.
In an introductory video on our COVID-19 page, FNU President Dr. Susan Stone reaches out to students, faculty, and staff, with an encouraging message, setting an example of unity that reflects the FNU mission:
“Even as we have responded to social distancing, we have not lost our sense of community, team-work, and caring for one another. In these difficult times, it is comforting and inspiring to see how we have all banded together and supported one another facing every question and challenge with ingenuity and creativity…Thank you for your support and the important roles that each of you plays in the FNU community…Stay strong during this difficult time, and please reach out to us if there is anything that we can do to support you.”
Focusing on Self-Care
FNU has offered support to its community during these isolating times through various methods, including virtual lunches, mindfulness sessions and video chat support meetings. Support meetings were especially impactful, giving students, faculty and staff a safe space to openly discuss the effects of current events on their daily lives. On their COVID-19 page, FNU features a video on self-care strategies, in which Dr. Jess Calohan, chair of the psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner program, relates that “in a time of crisis and fear of the unknown, the mental health needs of individuals and groups require special attention.” FNU has been embracing this narrative for its community throughout the pandemic.
Additionally, Dr. Calohan’s video emphasizes the importance of maintaining a daily schedule, making time for yourself and finding ways to stay in touch with family, friends and co-workers. FNU acknowledges that everyone has developed additional stressors during the past several months. However, by focusing on sharing experiences and staying connected, they have maintained a foundation of community throughout this year.
Establishing a Support System
Dr. Joanne Keefe, and Bridgett Lyall, our spring term Circle of Caring winners, are excellent examples of FNU community members who have exemplified what it means to support and strengthen morale during the past few months. Both of these women have gone above and beyond to show consideration and compassion for their teams, and they have both positively impacted the culture of FNU.
Dr. Keefe, FNU’s course coordinator for epidemiology/biostatistics, leads a diverse team of five faculty members. In recent months she created a discussion board titled, ‘Self Calming and Self Care,’ where students and faculty have a safe space to gather and post inspirational poems and songs, meditation practices and share their personal experiences. Additionally, Dr. Keefe is holding weekly meetings to examine student and faculty needs, such as difficulty focusing and fears for sick family members, and discuss rising social concerns.
Lyall, FNU’s academic records officer, is another example of a staff member going above and beyond to show support and care to her coworkers. Within hours of the Kentucky governor announcing that face masks would be mandatory in public places, Lyall made a campus-wide announcement that she made face masks for her colleagues.
The FNU community is thankful to have so many members displaying a culture of caring during these challenging times. As we all continue to work through the crisis, FNU is committed to remaining aligned with the standards of excellence that have made us a safe place and a reliable support center.
We encourage you to visit our COVID-19 page to be inspired by the stories of FNU students and alumni helping during the crisis and benefit from the resources provided. We are all in this together – even from afar!
Related Stories:
How FNU Transitioned In-Person Sessions to Online Success During COVID-19
4 Tips for Educators Transitioning to Online Learning During COVID-19
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).