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  • Alumni Spotlight: LCDR Gary Koller, BSN, RN, MSN, FNC-P

    Alumni Spotlight: LCDR Gary Koller, BSN, RN, MSN, FNC-P

    With a Family Nurse Practitioner master’s degree from Frontier Nursing University (FNU), Gary Koller, BSN, RN, MSN, FNC-P, has used his position as a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Public Health Service to embrace and pursue opportunities to follow FNU’s mission and serve the underserved. Since graduating from FNU in 2012, doors have opened for Gary that he admits he never imagined.

    Working after graduation as a nurse practitioner for the Immigration Health Service Corps (IHSC), he was soon deployed over the next two years on international missions to the Netherlands, Senegal, Gabon, Cameron and Kenya, in order to assist patients with various medical complications. Assisting with a humanitarian crisis, he dealt with unaccompanied minors and families serving women and children from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. In 2015, Gary had the opportunity to present at the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., with two officers that delivered care to Ebola patients in Liberia.

    Within his tour of duty with IHSC, Gary was also deployed several times to various areas of the U.S. to assist with immigration health care.

    Gary continued to represent as a Frontier alumnus when he began working at Health Resources and Services Administration in 2016. In the wake of the catastrophic Louisiana flood in August 2016, he was deployed to deliver care at the Federal Medical Center on the Louisiana Campus to patients needing complex care. He was also selected to serve in Baton Rouge at the LA Convention Center to give medical support to 1,000 families dislocated by the flood.

    During the 2017 Presidential Inauguration, Gary was selected as medical support for the general community at the ceremony. Even more recently, in April, Gary was selected as an aide-de-camp for the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Tom Price, while visiting Region 4 of Health and Human Services in Atlanta, Ga.

    Gary is among many who have answered the call to serve his country using his nursing education. Thank you, Gary, for using your FNU degree to help protect, promote and advance the health and safety of our nation.

    At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.

  • Frontier Nursing University Awarded $1,998,000 Nursing Workforce Diversity Grant

    Frontier Nursing University Awarded $1,998,000 Nursing Workforce Diversity Grant

    Frontier Nursing University (FNU) has been awarded the Nursing Workforce Diversity grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The grant totals $1,998,000 in funding in support of a four-year project that will be led by FNU with assistance from several key partner organizations.

    The goal of the Nursing Workforce Diversity program is to increase access to high quality, culturally-aligned advanced practice nurses and midwives that reflect the diversity of the communities in which they serve. The grant, which provides $499,500 per year, supports a proposed project in which FNU will implement a comprehensive systems approach to implementing five evidence-based strategies to support disadvantaged advanced practice nursing students from recruitment through graduation. The social determinants of education will be used as a framework to assess student needs and guide activities throughout the course of the project.

    The overall aim of the program is to increase the recruitment, enrollment, retention, and graduation of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Through education and training in Frontier Nursing University’s advanced nursing and midwifery programs, these students will be prepared to provide advanced practice nursing and midwifery health care services across the U.S.

    Findings from an American Association of Colleges of Nursing policy brief (2016) found that racial and ethnic minority groups accounted for 37% of the country’s population, yet minority nurses represent only 19% of the total registered nurse workforce (National Council of State Boards of Nursing Survey, 2013).  As minority population growth rises, so does the likelihood of these populations experiencing greater health disparities such as increased rates of maternal morbidity and mortality related to childbirth, infant mortality, chronic diseases, and shorter life spans compared to the majority of Americans. There is growing evidence that greater racial diversity in the health care workforce is an important intervention to reduce racial health disparities.  

    “We are extremely proud and excited to receive this grant and to be a part of such an important project,” said FNU president Dr. Susan E. Stone. “We are deeply committed to the goals of the NWD program and helping to overcome barriers that hinder the success of our underrepresented students, from recruitment through graduation.”

    The project’s primary objectives are: 1) to achieve minimum of 30 percent minority student enrollment by June 2021, the end of the project period; 2) to increase the racial and ethnic minority retention rate and 3) to graduate an average of 100 new nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners representing racial and ethnic minorities underrepresented in nursing each year of the project period.

    Grant funding will support personnel, consultants, and diversity training for faculty and staff.  Retention activities, including mentor programs and writing support will also be funded.  FNU students will also benefit from substantial scholarship support and professional development opportunities.  To achieve the goals of the program, FNU will formally partner with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), the American College of Nurse-Midwives, Midwives of Color Committee (ACNM-MOCC), the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) and Mona Wicks, a multicultural sensitivity and diversity training expert consultant.

  • Ask the Couriers: Q & A

    Ask the Couriers: Q & A

    At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.

    In 1928, Mary Breckinridge, founder of Frontier Nursing University established the Courier Program, recruiting young people to work in the Kentucky Mountains and learn about service to humanity. Couriers escorted guests safely through remote terrain, delivered medical supplies to remote outpost clinics, and helped nurse-midwives during home visits and births. Frontier has benefited tremendously from the 1,600 Couriers who have served since 1928.

    We had the opportunity for you to ask the Couriers questions. Here’s what they had to say.

    Q:  What are past Couriers doing today? – Nadia Stovicek
    A:  Due to the age group of our most recent Couriers, many Couriers are still pursuing their undergraduate education or are pursuing graduate medical programs. For more information about former Couriers, please visit our Courier Stories page on our website, or check out our Courier Program playlist.

    Q:  Why did you choose to spend your summer at Frontier? – Dr. Susan Stone, FNU President

    A:  “I was immediately drawn to the service learning focus of the Courier program and the immersive nature of the experience. It wasn’t just a 9-5 job shadowing program on a hospital unit. I wanted to get out of the space that I knew and learn more about healthcare, and life in general, with the hope that I would develop an understanding of how I could approach health and well-being in my own community from a more holistic perspective.” – Claire Gasparovich

    “As a future CNM (certified nurse-midwife), I am inspired by the history and legacy of Mary Breckinridge. I also knew I’d be proud to walk among powerful female role models as a Courier, a program that largely began with women ages 19-25 riding horseback up hollers. I think that’s incredible.” – Zandy Stovicek

    “I chose to spend a summer at Frontier for a mix of personal and professional reasons. On a professional level, I’m interested in rural health. This part of the country is also very underserved and I think we need more young people who are familiar with it and willing to advocate for it. On a personal level both of my paternal grandparents are from not too far from where I’m working, but I’ve never been to the part of the country they grew up in. It has been eye-opening.” – Matt Hodges

    Q:  What are some stereotypes the students had about the area? What have they learned about those stereotypes? Are any of the stereotypes true? Going forward, what can they do to dispel those stereotypes to their own family/friends back home? – Jamie Wheeler, FNU Staff Member

    A:  “The biggest stereotype I had coming in was that many towns in Appalachia are dead/lost towns without the coal industry. I have been disappointed that this is true to a degree, but the culture here is incredibly rich and vibrant with some of the most amazing people. When I leave this internship to go home, I hope that the economy is able to prosper in these regions and that this area does not actually become a lost town. Going back, I plan on sharing with people that this is a forgotten frontier but there is hope for the future.” – Brie Belz

    “I had heard many negative stereotypes about the lack of literacy here and I found them incredibly false while being here. I will definitely not judge a population before getting to know them well as a result.” – Brigid Horan

    “I believe I carried many of the stereotypes that we all think of when we consider rural life in Appalachia– images driven by careless media and dramatic television, not intentionally but because it was all I had ever seen. The idea that the area is overrun with substance abuse. That I would have a hard time getting people to trust me much less share their lives with me. That people were less educated or possibly less civilized. Over the last month I have learned so much to convince me that these things are untrue, and while Appalachia certainly has its struggles, it is a culture and a community that is made up of so much more than what many would like to believe. Like any place in any area of the world, it can not be taken at face value.” – Claire Gasparovich

    Q:  What was your family’s impression of you coming to rural Eastern Kentucky for the summer? – Jamie Wheeler, FNU Staff Member

    A:  “My mom and sister were both very enthusiastic about it. My sister knew a former Courier and is a practicing FNP and so was very optimistic about this experience for me. My mom is always looking for information so she researched the Courier program pretty intensively when I applied and when I was accepted. My dad and my brother were a bit more skeptical just because they didn’t have as much of an understanding about what I would be doing while here. After spending last summer in rural Ecuador, however, I think my parents were mostly just relieved that I’d be in the country.” – Calla Michalak

    “My mom was worried, as all moms are, since she knew I would be going into an isolated area. Both of my parents drove down with me, and when they saw the town I would be in, they were comforted and pleased with it…. My family in general was supportive and excited for me because they knew that I love to travel and serve people; they thought this was a perfect opportunity for me.” – Brittany Imel

    “They were super excited because I am the second one in my family to do the program.” – Brigid Horan (Brigid is the sister of Teresa Horan who served in 2013).

    Q:  How is East KY different than you expected? – Joel Brashear, Community Member and producer of ‘Our Mountains’

    “I did not expect to love the area and the people as much as I do.” – Brigid Horan

    “I definitely didn’t expect everyone to be so welcoming to us. Everyone that I’ve met here has been very warm and receptive to meeting the Couriers and chatting with us about their experiences living here and our experiences while visiting. In some situations, I think people assume that outsiders coming into a community are just looking for problems and things to change and are therefore hesitant to open up. I think Frontier’s legacy in this area has definitely given us a chance to get to know people in the community more quickly than we otherwise might have.” – Calla Michalak

    Q:  What is an ” Easy Win” change you see for Leslie County? I.e. One impactful change with minimal effort. – Joel Brashear, community member and producer of ‘Our Mountains’

    A:  “Install little libraries in rural neighborhoods for children, and install summer programs for teenagers to teach them how to be innovative in helping people.” – Ronnie Sloan

    “I think Leslie County could benefit from transitioning to a tourist/outdoors town.” – Brittany Imel

    “Mentoring program.” – Brigid Horan

    Q:  Can you share an “A-Ha” moment with us? – Stephanie Boyd, FNU staff member

    A:  “I think my a-ha moment was born out of the realization that I can’t make an immediate change here. For the first three weeks or so, I expected to be able to come into Leslie County and make a real and immediate impact on the health of the community. One day, when I was feeling kindof down about my lack of impact, I had a conversation that changed my outlook. I don’t think the point of us being here is to make radical changes. I think the point of the Courier program is to get us here learning about some of the issues that the people here face and WHY it is that these specific issues exist here. In gaining that knowledge, we will be able to eventually carry that deeper understanding into our futures as healthcare practitioners either here in Leslie County or in other underserved areas around the world.” – Calla Michalak

    “I think my biggest “A-Ha” moment was when I realized the lack of communication in the county. Many people do not even realize that there is now a pediatrician, and that is due to no internet and the isolation.” – Brittany Imel

    “There was one day at the Health Wagon when I was calling patients and trying to schedule follow-up appointments with them. I remember one woman specifically talked on the phone with me for nearly 45 minutes, sharing nearly every detail of her medical history over the last 15. At first I thought, “simple enough, come into the clinic and we will get you some answers.” That’s when she told me that not only did she live nearly 4 hours away, but she didn’t have a car. I felt pretty helpless and really stupid at that point. Even a completely free, full-service health clinic can’t be the perfect solution.” – Claire Gasparovich

    Q:  If you could summarize your courier experience with one hashtag what would it be? – Stephanie Boyd, FNU Staff Member

    A:  #slowdownstepup – Zandy Stovicek

    #foreverlearner #grateful – Ronnie Sloan

    #lifechanging – Brittany Imel

    #tryingsomuchfood – Brigid Horan

    Q:  What advice do you have for future Couriers? – Joel Brashear, community member and producer of ‘Our Mountains’

    A:  “Think about your intentions going into this program. You only get out of it what you put in; to get to know the community, you will have to leave Wendover, say hi to strangers, go to community events. To do shadowing and other work at your clinical sites you will have to keep asking nurses if you can follow them, keep giving your boss ideas for projects, keep finding new programs to check out. If you can do that with a smile on your face, this is the program for you :)” – Zandy Stovicek

    “I would say be open to the possibilities. As a person who would not be in the medical field, I learned the connection of healthcare of people in the community should be taken into account when I build and transform a city. I learned that being an urban planner is more than building a pretty city. It is about joining with others to build a more effective city that people can be proud of and thrive in.” – Ronnie Sloan

  • FNU Launches New Innovation Center​

    Anne Cockerham

    by Anne Z. Cockerham, PhD, CNM, WHNP-BC, CNE
    Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of History

    Building on FNU’s long-standing commitments to teaching excellence and innovation, we launched the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) in early 2017. CITL is a collaborative effort between Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Anne Cockerham; Innovation Coach, Tia Andrighetti; our two instructional designers, Laura Orsetti and Ally Williams; and many faculty, staff, and administrators across the university.

    The Center’s two major goals are to: (1) vigorously promote innovation as an iterative process of exploration, evaluation, and sharing, to improve student learning outcomes; and (2) safeguard student-centered, evidence-based teaching and learning as a vital task of the university.

    The first major project for CITL is the development, implementation, and evaluation of a curriculum-wide program of simulations delivered at a distance. We chose this as the first CITL project because FNU faculty members are constantly seeking ways to enhance our students’ application of clinical knowledge, critical thinking, and diagnostic reasoning skills. We decided to begin incorporating distance-delivered simulations in online didactic courses in order for students to be able to engage in the content through the applications of concepts. An important goal is that the preceptors and clinical sites who host our students will benefit from students whose didactic courses prior to their clinical practica included extensive application of knowledge and skills to realistic patient situations. Ultimately, the clients served by our students and graduates will benefit from the intense preparation for clinical practice that our students will receive through simulation.

    Our distance-delivered simulations will be aligned with the objectives and needs of each course and we’re using a variety of technologies and approaches. A few examples include: web conferencing software, standardized patients, student peer-interaction activities, branching case scenario software, guided reflection, student self-evaluation, varying assessment types, and debriefing.

    Here are a few examples of distance-delivered simulations:

    1. A breastfeeding phone triage simulation. A standardized patient plays the role of a new mother and speaks with each student by phone. The experience simulates after-hours patient phone calls. Following the simulation, the standardized patient provides feedback to each student about how they made her feel as a patient and then the student writes and submits a clinical SOAP note (subjective, objective, assessment, plan).
    2. A health history, standardized patient/provider encounter. Students meet with a standardized patient in BigBlueButton (web conferencing software integrated in the learning management system/Canvas) for a face-to-face, one-on-one interview to elicit a basic health history. Session is recorded. SP provides feedback after interview then students submit a reflection and SOAP note
    3. An interactive, branching case study using Twine. Students work through patient histories by reading a case study and answering questions about what information to solicit from the patient. Then they perform a physical exam listening to recorded segments of heart and lung sounds and decide what other data is needed. Students then form an assessment and plan based on their findings. Students assess their knowledge using a pre and post test and more information is available if they need more practice with the didactic content.

    CITL is facilitating extensive support, coaching, and feedback loops to promote this initiative. Cohorts of four course coordinators per term will design and implement distance-delivered simulations in their courses by working through a formal training and simulation-development course: Innovation 101: From Imagination to Simulation. Additional faculty development support includes: in-depth debriefing training, a Simulation Resource Center, course faculty-specific simulation training, and ongoing support from the CITL staff. Members of a  special subcommittee of the Curriculum Committee, Simulations Across the Curriculum, perform valuable service to the simulation initiative by serving as a simulation advisory group, providing ongoing support of quality assurance for simulations, addressing faculty development needs related to simulation, and offering a faculty Simulation Journal Club. Faculty that work closely with students in clinical practicum are providing feedback about clinical students’ knowledge and skills that could benefit from enhanced focus and application via distance-delivered simulations during earlier didactic courses. We are exploring ways for clinical preceptors to provide feedback to inform the simulation program.

    According to CITL director and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Anne Cockerham, “Students are at the center of our teaching and learning activities and we keep that as a guiding principle of our simulation initiative, beginning with the planning stages of a simulation and continuing until after the simulation is over. We’re ensuring that students are well-prepared for their simulation experience, from technology- and content standpoints. We have an extensive evaluation process to gather feedback from students about their experiences, including how well the simulations contributed to their learning, whether they experienced any technological or logistical problems, and how the simulations affected their self-confidence in the content and skills associated with the simulations.”

    We are excited about this new initiative and, especially, about partnering with students to deepen their understanding of course content and skills. If you have ideas or feedback, please contact Anne Cockerham at anne.cockerham@frontier.edu.

  • Couriers: Midterm Recap

    Couriers: Midterm Recap

    The FNU Courier Program held Midterm from Thursday, June 29 – Saturday, July 1, 2017. Midterm is the midway point during the Courier Program where all Couriers come back to Wendover to attend sessions and present community health profiles about the community in which they are serving. This year’s Midterm was special in many ways. The Courier Program welcomed back two former Couriers from 2016, May Congdon and Anthony Douglas II. For the first time, the Couriers also hosted a Community Dinner and Tea with almost 40 attendees on June 29!

    The Community Dinner and Tea was hosted at the Big House on Thursday, June 29 with attendees from Kentucky River District Health Department, Bluegrass Care Navigators, Cumberland Valley District Health Department, and a FNU alum. Many Couriers spoke with guests about their experiences as citizens of Leslie or Perry County. After dinner, Couriers assisted in clean up and served tea and cookies to the site partners.

    On Friday morning, Couriers had a discussion with James Wooten about substance abuse in Leslie County.  Afterward, Couriers began their community health profile presentations at the Livery. Every Courier is required to present on the community they are serving by completing a public health profile and sharing other aspects of that community. In the afternoon, May Congdon and Anthony Douglas II spoke with the Couriers about their own experiences as Couriers. The group also discussed how they were feeling about their experience at this point and how the program can translate to their future career goals.

    On Saturday morning, Couriers finished presenting their community health profiles and learned about servant leadership and emotional intelligence from Angela Bailey, Associate Director of Development and Alumni Relations. Midterm concluded by the Couriers attending a lunch with Frontier supporters at the Big House.

    If you are curious to hear more from our Couriers about Midterms, you can view this short video with some Courier reflections now.

  • FNU attends the 2017 AANP Conference

    FNU attends the 2017 AANP Conference

    Frontier Nursing University (FNU) attended the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) National Conference held June 20-25 in Philadelphia. We were excited to see so many FNU students, alumni, faculty, preceptors and friends at this event.

    The FNU Exhibit Hall Booth was popular!

    At the booth we handed out superhero capes to anyone who is a current FNU preceptor or who signed up to be a preceptor, while any alumni preceptors received an additional gift of a bag or tumbler.  FNU students, graduates, preceptors, and faculty members had the opportunity to pin their location on a map in our booth to show our representation at AANP from across the U.S.  We had a Cape Fitting Station (photo booth) at the conference which stayed pretty busy as NPs had fun taking fun photos and posting to social media.  We showcased our psychiatric-mental health Post-Graduate Certificate and DNP programs and were able to talk to many people about these programs.

    Alumni and Friends Breakfast Reception

    Frontier Nursing University hosted our annual alumni reception as a breakfast event on Friday, June 23rd.  We had more than 60 in attendance.  During the event attendees enjoyed a buffet breakfast and heard updates from FNU Dean of Nursing Julie Marfell and Associate Director of Alumni Relations Angela Bailey.

    Kitty Ernst Honors Nurse Practitioner with Purple Hat

    The special guest for this event was our very own Kitty Ernst who also spoke to all nurse practitioners in attendance about the value of being a preceptor and the care that NPs provide.  As a big surprise for everyone in attendance, Kitty bestowed her honorary purple hat to FNU graduate, Kelly Thayer, CNM, FNP.  A longstanding tradition among midwives, the purple hat is a special honor as it is awarded to one midwife every year. This year marks the first year that a purple hat has also been awarded to a nurse practitioner.  We hope to continue this as an annual tradition among our FNU nurse practitioners.

    Another special guest who wewere honored to have attend our breakfast was Captain James LaVelle Dickens, DNP, RN, FNP-BC.  Captain James Dickens serves in the U.S. Department of Health and Human  Services Regional Office (HHS), Office of the Secretary, Region VI Dallas, TX as a Senior Public Health Advisor for the Office of Minority Health (OMH). He recently was the premiere speaker at the FNU 2017 Diversity Impact event.

    PRIDE Student Ambassadors at AANP

    FNU’s Diversity PRIDE Program hosted an essay contest and awarded two students with an expense covered trip to the AANP National Conference.  The two PRIDE student ambassadors were Rachel Lien and Stefanie Anderson.  They helped at the FNU booth and at the breakfast reception.  They also attended many sessions at the conference and enjoyed networking with NPs from across the country.

    FNU Honors and Presentations

    Many faculty members, alumni and students should be recognized for their accomplishments at the AANP National Conference.  Congratulations to the following members of the FNU community!  We would especially like to recognize Dr. Vicki Stone-Gale for being inducted as an AANP Fellow.

    Faculty Kudos

    • Vicki Stone-Gale – inducted as AANP Fellow

    Student Kudos

    • Rachel Lien and Stefanie Anderson – PRIDE Ambassador AANP Essay Contest Winners
    • AANP student volunteers selected from FNU included Heidi Bickford, Wesley Davenport, Margaret Galvez, Kathleen Henderson, Sarah Jenik, Rachel Lien, Erin Lyons, Apryl Moss, Nichole Nolan, Tina Olson, Brandy Robertson, Mandi Ruscher, Bethney Seifert, Angela Seigler, Rebekah Simmons, Regina Steele, Shelly Truhe, Deborah Young

    Alumni Kudos

    • FNU graduate Kathleen Schachman, Ph.D., FNP-BC, PCPNP-BC – inducted as AANP Fellow
    • FNU graduate Cydne Marckmann along with Dr. John and Dr. Krabak – Poster Presentation:  Telemedicine, A Qualitative Initiative for Concussion Management: A Washington State Pilot.
    • FNU graduate Diana Lamboy – poster presentation
    • FNU graduate Dustin Spencer – poster presentation
  • Student Spotlight: Andrew Youmans, RN

    Student Spotlight: Andrew Youmans, RN

    Frontier Nursing University (FNU) student Andrew Youmans originally had no plans to become a nurse-midwife. Early in his career, he obtained his associate’s degree in nursing from Athens Technical College. During his time in school, he got a job as an obstetric technician at his local hospital to get his foot in the door and gain some health care experience.

    Andrew’s interest in the labor and delivery field grew, but his desire to become a nurse-midwife didn’t occur until he graduated. His first job after school was an emergency department nurse position.

    “I saw how many women came to the emergency room for pregnancy and gynecology-related issues,” said Andrew. “The ER was their only option for this type of care.”

    Andrew decided to pursue his Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) in hopes of eventually adding the family nurse practitioner certificate to his educational arsenal. He chose Frontier for its affordability, flexibility of schedule and reputation. His dream is to implement nurse-midwifery care into the emergency room setting.

    Currently a Class 129 MSN student, Andrew is involved in several student organizations including American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) and FNU PRIDE. As a student representative for ACNM, he attends quarterly board meetings and serves as a liaison to the Division of Education.

    Andrew is also a member of the Congenital Heart Public Health Consortium, the Wilderness Medical Society, the American Nurses Association, Sigma Theta Tau (an international nursing honor society), and the Emergency Nurses Association.

    Andrew currently serves as a certified pediatric emergency nurse at Emory University Hospital in the cardiac catheterization lab. He has  incorporated the nurse-midwife mantra of “less is more” as his team replaces aortic valves in the heart without surgical incisions or anesthesia.

    Thank you for your dedication to quality health care, Andrew! The FNU community is excited to see how your future unfolds.

    At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.

  • Couriers and Sponsors Reflect on Diversity Impact 2017

    Couriers and Sponsors Reflect on Diversity Impact 2017

    Frontier Nursing University (FNU) hosted its 7th annual Diversity Impact Conference on June 1-4, 2017. Last summer, four Couriers attended Diversity Impact prior to beginning the Courier Program. Due to their positive experience, Diversity Impact became mandatory for all future Couriers! Ambassadors from Breckinridge Capital Advisors, who sponsored the 2017 Courier Program, also attended the conference.

    On the first evening of the weekend, Courier Coordinator Mandy Hancock and Associate Professor Dr. Diane John led an activity entitled “Patient/Provider Care: Do you see what I see?” Attendees were split up into groups of three. One person had to verbally describe a drawing to another, a second person drew and the third person observed the communication between them. Each person was able to experience all three positions and engage in a group discussion about their observations. After the arts-n-crafts portion, Dr. John discussed how to activity related to communication between patients and providers.

    Many sessions were provided over the four day conference. Among the Courier favorites was “Intro to Appalachia: Perception vs. Reality” led by Shane Barton from University of Kentucky. “I really enjoyed the session with [Shane] on Appalachian culture. When trying to prepare to be a Courier, I really struggled finding comprehensive information on the area that was free of stereotypes and bias. He was so knowledgeable and passionate which made me passionate about this specific community,” recalled Claire Gasparovich.

    Another session led by FNU Student Nurse-Midwife Speaker Essence Williams was also well received by Couriers. Calla Michalak who said the following about the session: “I really enjoyed the session about Guatemalan Midwives.  It was really interesting to learn about the women working so hard to make that aspect of their culture work with modern medicine and even more interesting to think about how that could be applied at all levels of care all over the world.”

    Nearly every 2017 Courier intends to go into some form of healthcare. Brittany Imel said Diversity Impact affected her intended career goals because “it solidified the fact that I want to get a PHD in public health after serving as a PA for a few years. I want to be a part of the movement to get health care to all people in our country. It shouldn’t matter who you are, where you come from, or what you believe; everyone deserves access to quality health care.” Ronnie Sloan, who desires to be an urban planner, said she “learned that it is more than just building a nice looking city. It is about joining forces with people in the community to discover the demands of the population and meet them with the plans to transform the city.”

    The ambassadors from Breckinridge Capital Advisors, Katie Sacharuk and Sarah Turpin, sat down with Courier staff to reflect on their Diversity Impact experience, as well. “My initial opinion going in was thinking that in healthcare they really just provide care. Here we learned that Advanced Nurse Practitioners and Midwives, they really play a role of social worker and patient advocate. They don’t just provide care. They provide support, and I didn’t know that,” said Katie. Sarah reflected on how coming to this conference exposed her to new ideas she had never experienced living in the northeastern United States her whole life. “It brought to light both the different issues that are happening within the United States and then also the wide range of people that are getting involved in the healthcare field and how they’re using their experiences to then solve it.” Both ambassadors remarked that every person they spoke with, including faculty members, took time to check back in with them throughout the weekend. Katie said, “as an outsider coming in, I think you can really tell is that everyone is so different… but the one thing you can really tell is that they all had the same goal. It is to kind of unite [and] help their own community at home. So, whatever they’re learning, they want to bring it back, and they want to implement it.”

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