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  • Governor Andy Beshear Speaks at Frontier Nursing University Ribbon Cutting and Land Acknowledgment Ceremony

    Governor Andy Beshear Speaks at Frontier Nursing University Ribbon Cutting and Land Acknowledgment Ceremony

    Frontier Nursing University (FNU) celebrated the official opening of its new location on the beautiful, newly renovated Versailles Campus with a ribbon cutting and land acknowledgment ceremony on Friday, September 9, at 10:00 a.m. Approximately 100 people attended the ceremony, including Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, who praised the impact of FNU in preparing more nurses to address the nursing shortage in the state and country.

    “Congratulations to Frontier Nursing University on this incredible new campus that will serve their students, who in turn will serve our people throughout their careers,” Governor Beshear said. “With help from schools like Frontier Nursing University, I know we can help train the next generation of health care heroes, building a better Kentucky for all of our families.”


    FNU celebrated the official opening of its Versailles Campus with a ribbon cutting and land acknowledgment ceremony.

    Governor Andy Beshear speaks at FNU ribbon cutting and land acknowledgment ceremony.

    FNU is one of the largest not-for-profit universities offering advanced nursing and midwifery education. In October 2017, FNU finalized the purchase of the 217-acre Versailles property previously occupied by The United Methodist Children’s Home to serve its students better and to continue its longstanding commitment to its mission. Renovation and construction for FNU’s new campus and the move from Hyden began in 2018. The opening of the Versailles campus to students was delayed by the pandemic until the Fall of 2021.

    FNU’s distance education format allows students to pursue their advanced degrees while continuing to serve the communities in which they live. During their time at FNU, students travel to campus on two separate occasions for 4-5 day learning sessions. The new campus offers convenient access to Bluegrass Airport and major thoroughfares, provides more lodging for visiting students and faculty, and increases classroom and simulation instruction capacity. It also provides greater opportunities for community engagement and events, such as collaborating with the Woodford County Health Department to serve as a COVID vaccination site in 2021.

    The university’s current enrollment of 2,500 students hails from across the country. In the last decade, a total of 561 Kentucky residents have graduated from FNU, and the spring term enrollment included 82 Kentucky residents. FNU has nearly 250 employees.

    “This is the type of advancement we need across Kentucky,” Governor Beshear said. “What this university is doing is going to be a part of a transformational moment here in Kentucky, and I can’t wait to see the special ways that it helps all of us move forward and become the leaders and not the followers in this country that we’ve always known Kentucky should be.”

    “We have had a number of landmark days since we were founded in 1939, and we are so happy to be able to share this momentous occasion with all of you,” said FNU Dean of Nursing Dr. Joan Slager, CNM, DNP, FACNM, FAAN. “Beginning with our founding by Mary Breckinridge in Leslie County, Frontier has always been striving to meet the health care needs of rural and underserved communities.”

    The ceremony also included remarks from Woodford County Judge Executive James Kay and Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift. Versailles City Clerk and Treasurer Elizabeth Reynolds delivered a proclamation from Woodford County Mayor Brian Traugott, declaring September 9, 2022, as Frontier Nursing University Day.

    Immediately following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, a land acknowledgment ceremony was held, acknowledging the land as the original home of the Shawnee and Cherokee people.

    FNU Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Dr. Paula Alexander-Delpech, Ph.D., PMNHP-BC, APRN, introduced Native American elders Helen Danser and Venus Evans, who read the land acknowledgment statement: “Frontier Nursing University wants to acknowledge that Versailles, Kentucky is the traditional territory of the Shawnee and Cherokee people. Frontier Nursing University acknowledges this legacy and finds inspiration from this land. We honor the land itself and those who remain stewards of this land throughout the generations. Territory or land acknowledgment is our way of recognizing the Indigenous presence in our everyday life.”


    FNU Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Dr. Paula Alexander-Delpech, Ph.D., PMNHP-BC, APRN, with Native American elders Helen Danser and Venus Evans.

    This statement will be engraved on a sign that will be placed at the trailhead of FNU’s 5K walking path will inform visitors of the land’s history.

    Land acknowledgments recognize Indigenous Peoples who are the original stewards of the lands we now occupy. It is a time to acknowledge the past and present, and reflect on the history of the land.

  • Russian-Born Viktoriya Kashin’s Mission to Aid Ukrainians

    Russian-Born Viktoriya Kashin’s Mission to Aid Ukrainians

    When Russia began its attack on Ukraine in February, the images were shocking and terrifying. The heartbreaking scenes of devastation and destruction impacted everyone, but it was all particularly impactful to Frontier Nursing University (FNU) alumna Viktoriya Kashin, DNP, FNP, who was born in Russia. Her family immigrated to the United States in 1994 when she was 8. She traveled to Russia and Ukraine several times, staying connected to her homeland through friends and family. As the war began and casualties mounted, she knew she had to find a way to help. As a family nurse practitioner, Dr. Kashin, of course, is uniquely qualified to provide medical aid, and her knowledge and experience were needed in the war-torn country.

    “The reason I became a nurse was because of my high school teacher,” said Dr. Kashin, who attended high school in Tennessee. “I was a senior in high school and didn’t know what I was going to do. I took a health science class. It was just basic things – taking blood pressure and learning about the human body. One day my teacher said, ‘You would make a great nurse.’ Two of my friends wanted to be nurses, and my mom also encouraged me to go into the medical field. She was sick a lot off and on, and she passed away while I was in nursing school. This devastated me, but she inspired me to live for others. Seeing her care at the hospital and the difference nurses made motivated me to become a nurse, and then later a nurse practitioner.”

    Dr. Kashin, who completed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga, realized that she had the potential to do more for her patients but that she would need to expand her training and education to do so.

    “I felt I was restricted as a nurse because my knowledge base was limited,” Dr. Kashin said. “In 2014, my dad had a pulmonary embolism. Being in a room with him and unable to help him felt horrible, so I decided to go back to school, and I applied to Frontier.”

    “I loved Frontier,” said Dr. Kashin, who now works in maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) at the University of Florida Health Hospital in Gainesville, Florida. “Going back to school as an adult is a completely different experience. I wanted to learn, and I really loved it. The Frontier faculty and staff were extremely invested in my success and very supportive. I struggled in undergrad so much that I never thought I could do well in a doctorate program, but I graduated with a 4.0. Frontier had a lot of emphasis on rural medicine and helping underserved people. This lines up exactly with my life’s vision. I was always interested in working with the marginalized and poor. I think it is because I know what it is like to live on the other side of the railroad tracks and have very little. Even now, I work with a population that does not have regular access to medical care, many do not have insurance unless they are pregnant. Frontier helped frame my thinking and opened my eyes to many health care disparities, and is why I did not go into private practice.”

    “The Frontier faculty and staff were extremely invested in my success and very supportive…Frontier had a lot of emphasis on rural medicine and helping underserved people. This lines up exactly with my life’s vision…Frontier helped frame my thinking and opened my eyes to many health care disparities, and is why I did not go into private practice.”
    – Viktoriya Kashin, DNP, FNP, FNU Alumnus

    In her first three years in MFM, Dr. Kashin worked outpatient, but a year ago, she switched to inpatient care. Among the conditions that she helps treat are patients with premature rupture of membranes (PROM). These patients’ water ruptures early, and they are hospitalized to help prevent them from delivering too early. The MFM team also treats preeclampsia, which is high blood pressure during pregnancy. Those with severe cases of preeclampsia are hospitalized and treated to help them remain pregnant as long as possible while preventing seizures or other complications. Other conditions treated include diabetes, multiple gestations, fetal anomalies, and infections.

    The high-risk and labor halls are all closely connected, as is the tight-knit staff. A typical shift consists of 12 nurses and three residents, including a general attending, an MFM attending, a nurse practitioner, or a certified nurse-midwife.

    “We share a workspace and often help each other out,” Dr. Kashin said.

    That level of support came into full view when Dr. Kashin answered the call to go on a mission trip to help the people of Ukraine. Her hospital was no stranger to the nursing shortage prevalent throughout the country, yet her request was met with nothing but support.

    “I told my boss I needed 3 weeks off, and he said, ‘What can I say? It’s for humanity,’” said Dr. Kashin, who created a fundraiser to help pay for the mission trip. “Many people had to step up and cover for me at work. My co-workers even organized a bake sale, collecting thousands of dollars. They also put out a department-wide email with my fundraiser links, and many donations came from the faculty and staff at the University of Florida. They were immeasurably kind and supportive.”

    Dr. Kashin had always thought about going on a medical mission. She just didn’t think it would be such a personal trip.

    “When the war broke out, I really wanted to help but didn’t know how. A few days after the war started, my childhood friend Natasha sent me a message stating that they need Russian-speaking female medical professionals (because most of the refugees were women),” Dr. Kashin said. “All that matched up with me. It was like an answer to prayer. At that point, I knew I had to go.”

    Along with her coworkers, Dr. Kashin received tremendous support from her community, who supported her GoFundMe campaign. Her brother, Oleg, also went on the trip, and her church paid for their tickets to and from Ukraine. Overall, they raised over $20,000, which they were able to give to people in Ukraine to help with food and other supplies.

    Her mission trip, which lasted 20 days and was organized through Crisis Response International, began by flying into Krakow, Poland, and then driving to Ukraine.

    “We stayed in a small city an hour away from Poland,” Dr. Kashin said. “It was an old hospital that was only functioning on the first floor. The other levels were empty for decades, and that is where the refugees moved in. Our team, however, rented a couple of rooms in a gym and stayed on the top floor. We just had two rooms – one for the guys, one for the girls. We didn’t always have hot water. The heat wasn’t working. There wasn’t a stove or kitchen. We were definitely roughing it.”

    Dr. Viktoriya Kashin with her brother, Oleg, outside of the refugee center.

    The refugee center was organized by a husband and wife who had a long-standing connection to local orphanages. The husband himself was an orphan growing up, and the couple had also adopted two orphans.

    “They got in touch with the orphanages and brought the orphans from all over Ukraine to the refugee center,” Dr. Kashin said. “From there, the orphans were sent to Austria and Germany. Every day there would be a bus full of kids leaving and going elsewhere. That’s how they started the refugee center. They had a chef that was a refugee herself who volunteered her services. They would cook three meals every day. There was a little office that we made into a clinic. It was easier just to show up with a stethoscope around your neck than to make appointments. The refugees would just stop you in the hall and tell you whatever ailed them, often inviting us into their rooms. Every day I would go in and see patients. I had a couple of pregnant patients and a couple of newborn babies. We also went to train stations and gave out goodie bags full of supplies. One day we met a pregnant woman that didn’t have anywhere to go. She and her family were able to come to the refugee center that same night to have a place to stay.”

    Dr. Kashin explained that drivers would take vans into the ravaged areas and pick people up and get them out. Some of the money that Dr. Kashin and her brother raised helped repair the vans and protect the drivers, who were frequently under fire.

    Even in the relative safety of the refugee center, however, there was an element of constant threat and danger.

    “Every day, the bomb sirens would go off,” Dr. Kashin said. “Many people at the refugee center had PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Every time a door slammed, they would jump.”

    Despite the constant reminders of the violence all around them, the volunteers did their best to make the refugee center as comfortable and welcoming as they could. In addition to the meals, room to sleep, and access to medical care, a hairstylist gave haircuts, and other women offered massages. Often, the refugees just wanted someone to talk to.


    A new father feeds his baby in the hospital where Dr. Kashin and her mission group delivered medical supplies.

    Dr. Kashin stands in front of the refugee center’s makeshift medicine cabinet.

    “They just wanted to tell you where they came from, their pets they left behind, their husband or brother or father who is fighting,” Dr. Kashin said. “We just sat with them and listened and offered encouragement and tried to give them any help we could. I held back a lot of tears.”

    In addition to the supplies they brought with them, the refugee center regularly received shipments of humanitarian aid from the U.S. and other European countries, including diapers and formula (before the formula shortage), warm clothes, and medications.

    “The airline didn’t charge us for extra bags because it was humanitarian aid,” Dr. Kashin said. “It was really neat to see how the U.S. and the whole world responded to Ukraine.”

    After 20 days, Dr. Kashin returned to the U.S., but her brother remained in Ukraine, continuing to forge relationships and deliver supplies.

    “It was hard coming back. I had a little bit of survivor’s guilt,” Dr. Kashin said. “This is pretty much home country. If I didn’t come to the U.S. as a child, what would my life be? I could be one of those women that were raped and killed. It is horrendous to think about.”


    Activities for the refugee children included making arts and crafts.

    She intends to return to Ukraine at some point. In the meantime, she continues to raise funds for supplies and remains in contact with many of the people she met there. More difficult, however, is communicating with her Russian family. The topic of “war” is completely off-limits.

    Beyond a return trip to Ukraine, Dr. Kashin’s plans are wide open, thanks to MFM being such a large field. She can continue or perhaps select something new.

    “I really love women’s health she said. “There is so much to learn in this field. I would like to do more medical mission work in the future. For now, I am happy where I’m at.”

    One thing she does know is that the people of Ukraine will persevere.

    “They are running out of gas, and they have nothing to fight with. But they are a very resilient people,” she said. “Even though the war is still going, certain parts of Ukraine are being rebuilt already. I’m very thankful for everyone who has shown support with money, encouragement, and prayer.”

  • Frontier Nursing University Named a “Great College to Work For” for the Second Consecutive Year

    Frontier Nursing University Named a “Great College to Work For” for the Second Consecutive Year

    Frontier Nursing University (FNU) has been named one of the best colleges in the nation to work for according to the Great Colleges to Work For® program for the second consecutive year.

    The results were released today at GreatCollegesList.com. The results will also be distributed on September 16, 2022, via a special insert of The Chronicle of Higher Education. The results are based on a survey of 212 colleges and universities. In all, 68 of those institutions achieved “Great College to Work For” recognition for specific best practices and policies. Results are reported for small, medium, and large institutions, with FNU included among the small universities with 500 to 2,999 students.

    As was the case in 2021, Frontier was identified as a workplace that excels in all ten categories:

    • Job Satisfaction & Support
    • Compensation & Benefits
    • Professional Development
    • Mission & Pride
    • Supervisor/Department Chair Effectiveness
    • Confidence in Senior Leadership
    • Faculty & Staff Well-being
    • Shared Governance
    • Faculty Experience
    • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

    By excelling in all 10 categories, FNU, which has over 250 employees, was also named to the Great Colleges Honor Roll. The Honor Roll status is granted to the 42 colleges each year that are highlighted most across the recognition categories.

    “It is a tremendous honor to be named a Great College to Work For again this year,” said FNU President Dr. Susan Stone. “This matters to us not because of the award itself but because of what it says about our university. We pride ourselves on creating and maintaining a culture of caring in which all employees are valued and respected. We want our employees to be proud of the work they do and to be empowered to use their talents to serve our students and advance our mission.”

    The survey results are based on a two-part assessment process: an institution questionnaire that captured employment data and workplace policies from each institution and a survey administered to faculty, administrators, and professional support staff. The primary factor in deciding whether an institution received recognition was employee feedback.

    The Great Colleges to Work For® program is one of the largest and most respected workplace recognition programs in the country. For more information and to view all current and previously recognized institutions, visit the Great Colleges program website at GreatCollegesProgram.com and GreatCollegesList.com. ModernThink, a strategic human capital consulting firm, administered the survey and analyzed the results.

  • Elizabeth Akinyemi Came to the U.S. to Learn; Now She’s Ready to Teach

    Elizabeth Akinyemi Came to the U.S. to Learn; Now She’s Ready to Teach

    When Frontier Nursing University alumna Dr. Elizabeth Akinyemi, DNP, FNP, came to the United States from Nigeria, she had no plans to become a nurse. She dreamed of becoming a doctor, though teaching might have been an even better choice, given her tendency to quiz her patients.

    “I describe myself as a fierce patient educator. I love to teach my patients,” said Dr. Akinyemi, who worked for four years as a family nurse practitioner at Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest not-for-profit healthcare system in Texas with more than 50 hospitals and 800 additional patient care sites. “I won’t let you leave the clinic until you are sure about what you are doing. Lack of education can lead to unnecessary clinic visits and poor patient outcomes. I’ll ask my patients questions during the visit to gauge their attention and to assess their understanding of instructions. Spending that extra minute or two reinforcing knowledge goes a long way in ensuring patients are well educated about their health, that they have the tools they need, and that they know what to do if things get worse. My patients leave visits feeling like they have a working plan. It is reassuring to them. Nursing taught me that.”

    It was a lesson she almost never learned. An excellent student at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, she came to the U.S. when she was 20 years old and stayed with her aunt in Houston, and began attending college. The high costs of medical school were more than she had anticipated, but chemical engineering, not nursing, was her next choice.

    Dr. Akinyemi did not enjoy her first U.S. college in Houston, so she transferred to the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. That experience was much more to her liking. Not only did she meet her husband, Ladi Akinyemi, there, but she also found a welcoming community and life-long friends.

    “Nebraska was predominantly Caucasian in population, which was a new experience for me coming from Nigeria,” Dr. Akinyemi laughed, “but it was a great experience. Nebraskans are very welcoming, and the University in Lincoln attracts so many different people from all over the world. The beauty of it is that I got to contribute to the diversity in the university community and in Lincoln. I still have family and friends in Nebraska, and we visit at least once a year.”

    “I had never been in an environment that just brings you in, includes you, makes you feel loved and cared for. The way I think about healthcare has definitely been transformed, and this is a result of going through Frontier’s very objective DNP program. I came out of the program feeling more confident about my ability to contribute positively to any clinical quality improvement initiative.”
    – Dr. Elizabeth Akinyemi, FNU Alumna

    Dr. Akinyemi graduated with a degree in chemical engineering and found a job in that field. A year later, she and her husband had their first child. She became a full-time mom but knew she would return to work eventually. As that time approached, Dr. Akinyemi realized that chemical engineering was not for her.

    “I did not take into consideration a core piece of my personality,” Akinyemi said. “Significance is one of my top strengths – what I do has to be meaningful to me. One of my other top strengths is being a relator. I love to connect with people”

    Being isolated in a pilot lab and with little in the way of interactions, she found chemical engineering unfulfilling. Two years later, she had her second child and continued to be a full-time mother, raising her two young children, cherishing that time while also keeping an eye on her professional future. If chemical engineering was out, what was in?

    “I got interested in nursing because I had used a pediatric nurse practitioner for my children, and she was beyond amazing,” Dr. Akinyemi said. “She would educate me and give me a lot of information. I never felt rushed during our visits and always felt like my confidence was boosted in my knowledge of caring for my young kids. She inspired me and became my mentor.”

    After five years as a full-time mother, Dr. Akinyemi went through the University of Nebraska’s one-year accelerated bachelor’s in nursing degree program, graduating with highest distinction in 2012. The Akinyemi’s then moved to Austin, Texas, where she found a job as a registered nurse. She enrolled part-time at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, working toward becoming a nurse practitioner. Akinyemi’s first job as a nurse practitioner was at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in the Austin area.

    “I enjoy working with underinsured and underrepresented, vulnerable or just neglected,” Dr. Akinyemi said. “I loved it, but it’s an extremely busy environment with many hours spent at home after work catching up on charting. Anyone who works in that environment knows that you’re overworked and underpaid. With my kids being school-age, I just didn’t have a good work-family life balance. I worked there for about a year and a half and then switched to a different role at Baylor Scott & White.”

    Dr. Akinyemi came to understand that the reason a career in nursing didn’t occur to her sooner was that nurses in Nigeria play a very different role than nurses in the U.S. do.

    “I didn’t really know much about the nursing model in the U.S.,” she said. “Being raised in a different country, you don’t know what you don’t know. Nurses do so much more here in the U.S. In Nigeria, I feel like nursing is almost overlooked. This could also be because medicine, engineering, and law are valued in that society as more prestigious. Here in the U.S, there’s so much that you have to know as a nurse. It fulfilled the need that I always had. The nursing model is so patient-centric and patient-focused and all about building trust. As nurses, this is just who we are. We are skilled at building trust. It’s a great honor and privilege to be in this position.”

    At Baylor Scott & White, Akinyemi worked with Frontier Nursing alumna Tarnia Newton (DNP, Class 28). Newton suggested getting her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), but Dr. Akinyemi was skeptical about how much it would really advance her career. She questioned what she would learn that she didn’t already know.

    “Tarnia had a different way of thinking and looking at problems,” Dr. Akinyemi said. “This is what the DNP does. It helps you become more analytic and a problem solver who tries to figure out root causes and solutions. There was this difference between Tarnia and me. She sold the Frontier Nursing DNP, and I bought into it. Frontier was the only place I applied to.”

    Even though the pandemic forced her to attend Frontier Bound virtually, Dr. Akinyemi quickly connected to the university and her classmates.

    “I had never been in an environment that just brings you in, includes you, makes you feel loved and cared for,” she said.

    She also found the curriculum to be different and challenging in ways she hadn’t expected. She learned about shared decision-making and enjoyed seeing how the foundation established in the early classes built up to more and more advanced ideas and concepts. It was difficult and rewarding at the same time.

    “It’s a different kind of learning,” she said. “In my past learning, you give me the material, I study it, I’m confident, I take the exam, and I move on. In the DNP, you’re trying to discover what you need to learn.”

    At the end of the DNP program, students complete a quality improvement project, usually in their place of employment. Dr. Akinyemi’s project was focused on improving hypertension. She implemented it at her clinic, which fully embraced and participated in the project. Akinyemi hopes to publish her paper “Increasing Effective Care of High Blood Pressure Using“ and intends to present it at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) conference.

    “This is the best educational program that I’ve ever attended, and I’ve attended five universities. I’ve never felt more connected to a place, more encouraged. For this to be an online program and still have that impact, you know that Frontier is doing something very well.”
    – Dr. Elizabeth Akinyemi, FNU Alumna

    “The way I think about healthcare has definitely been transformed, and this is a result of going through Frontier’s very objective DNP program,” Dr. Akinyemi said. “I came out of the program feeling more confident about my ability to contribute positively to any clinical quality improvement initiative.”

    While at Baylor Scott & White, Akinyemi filled many roles. She worked as a family nurse practitioner in one of their family medicine clinics, which is where she did her quality improvement project. She also worked in the walk-in clinic, which provided urgent care, and began doing more and more telemedicine as the pandemic wore on.

    Dr. Akinyemi completed her DNP in March of 2022. She also continued to work while raising her family, which now includes three children, ages 15, 13, and 5. Balancing work life and home life is always challenging, but she is excited about the solution she has found.

    She plans to continue in family practice and the telemedicine space for now and hopefully explore roles in administration and academia in the future. “We will see where it all leads,” she said. “I’m trying to balance moving ahead in my career while making sure I’m carrying my family along. I really hope that someday I can come back to Frontier and teach. That is one of my hopes. It would be great to encourage the next generation of students.”

    She credits all of her FNU instructors and classmates who helped her acquire her DNP, but she especially acknowledges DNP clinical faculty Dr. Diana Jolles, Ph.D., CNM, for her tutelage and leadership.

    “Dr. Jolles is awesome,” Akinyemi said. “She’s an amazing human being, instructor, and mentor. She carried our cohort group very well. She’s very humble and easy to connect with.”

    It’s a model of instruction she hopes to emulate with her patients and future students.

    “This is the best educational program that I’ve ever attended, and I’ve attended five universities,” Dr. Akinyemi said of FNU. “I’ve never felt more connected to a place, more encouraged. For this to be an online program and still have that impact, you know that Frontier is doing something very well.”

  • All-Star Presenter Lineup Highlights Diversity Impact Conference 2022

    All-Star Presenter Lineup Highlights Diversity Impact Conference 2022

    Frontier Nursing University (FNU) held its 12th annual Diversity Impact Conference on September 27-29. The event, which was free for all attendees, was held virtually for the third consecutive year. The conference’s theme was “Engaging Diverse Voices in Sustained Dialogue to Build Community Trust.”

    The conference featured an impressive group of speakers and presenters from across the country. The opening day keynote address, “Social Justice in Nursing Education,” was given by Boston University Associate Professor of General Internal Medicine and Director of Faculty Development Angelique Harris, Ph.D., MA. The day two keynote address, “Community Historical Trauma,” was delivered by University of Texas School of Nursing Professor John Lowe, Ph.D., FAAN. Among the many other presentations were two by Clinical Professor at Duke University’s School of Nursing, Brigit Carter, Ph.D., MSN, RN, CCRN, FAAN, and Assistant Clinical Professor at Duke University’s School of Nursing Jacqui McMillian-Bohler, Ph.D., CNM. Together, they presented “Personal Triggers” and “Microaggressions.” FNU alumni Caitlin Hainley, DNP, ARNP-CNM, IBCLC, and Emily Zambrano-Andrews, DNP, ARNP-CNM, presented “Building Community: Advancing Accessibility and Affordability in the Midwifery Model,” based on their experience as co-founders of the Des Moines Midwife Collective. FNU President Susan Stone, CNM, DNSc, FAAN, FACNM, gave a presentation and led a discussion about gun violence in the United States.

    One of the conference’s many highlights was a screening of the acclaimed documentary “Apart”. The film features formerly incarcerated mothers jailed for drug-related charges who overcome alienation and a society that labels them as “felons” to readjust to life with their families. The screening was followed by a panel discussion with three of the women featured in the documentary.

    “What conference has a screening of a documentary and then has a session with the stars of the documentary?” Dr. Alexander-Delpech said. “I was floored by those women, allowing us to take what they were telling us into our classrooms and our professions.”

    “I am proud that FNU makes this a signature event,” Dr. Alexander-Delpech continued. “I am so proud that I am a member of a community that takes this so seriously that this is the type of event they would sponsor. I know I’m being prejudiced – nevertheless, we had a lineup of speakers that speaks volumes of how important diversity is to us. It tells us that we put value into diversity, equity, and inclusion. It’s not just lip service. It is what we live, it is part of our fabric. I’m so proud to be interwoven into that fabric.”

    “I always learn something at the Diversity Impact Conference,” FNU Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Rachel Risner, Ph.D., DNP, APRN, C-FNP, CNE, said. “I learned something from every one of our speakers. It was just such an important time for me to disconnect from all my other meetings and chats and work and just be in the moment and to listen to what everybody had to say and to have takeaways and to be able to be reflective. All the speakers were really great. I can’t wait to see how much it changes and grows every year.”

    Dr. Alexander-Delpech believes that the Diversity Impact Conference has the potential to become even more prominent in the years ahead.

    “I want to see this as the signature online conference,” she said. “I want to take it beyond the university. I want to go beyond our walls because we can. We just need to push the envelope further. That’s my goal for next year, to bring outside people into the conference.”

    To learn more about FNU’s DEI initiatives, visit our website.

  • Alumni Spotlight: Lisa Kiser focuses on community response to migration in the Borderlands

    Alumni Spotlight: Lisa Kiser focuses on community response to migration in the Borderlands

    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 that 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 (FNU) alumni Lisa Kiser, CNM, WHNP, DNP, holds a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree in both Nurse-Midwifery and Women’s Health Care and a Post-Master’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). All three degrees were earned at FNU.

    “I knew that Frontier had the educational philosophy to support me to be successful in all three of my degrees,” she said.

    A resident of Tucson, Arizona, Kiser currently serves as an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Arizona College of Nursing. She teaches three days a week in the DNP program, where she specializes in teaching women’s health. She also works as a women’s health nurse practitioner at United Community Health Center two days a week. She is very excited to be part of the team that is starting a nurse-midwifery program at the University of Arizona. The program is focused on increasing the diversity of midwives practicing and teaching in the state.

    “I knew that Frontier had the educational philosophy to support me to be successful in all three of my degrees…and its philosophy of education and service has continued to shape my work.”
    – Lisa Kiser, CNM, WHNP, DNP

    In addition, Kiser also uses her experience as a healthcare provider in the Borderlands in her community service work. She volunteers with Clinica Amistad, a nonprofit free clinic, and Casa Alitas, a migrant welcome center, both of which are based in Tucson.

    Casa Alitas has provided food, health care, short-term housing, clean clothing, and travel support for migrants since 2014.

    “I am part of a community response team to help welcome 100 to 300 people who are migrating a day to our community,” Kiser said. “Our work is to assess the guests arriving each day, address any immediate health needs, and connect people to services in their receiving communities.”

    Throughout her time as a healthcare professional in Tucson, Kiser has worked to develop partnerships with colleges of nursing in Mexico. As a native of Tucson, Kiser said she has a deep appreciation for and commitment to the Borderlands.

    “The work I want to focus on is our community response to migration in the Borderlands,” she said. Kiser has helped to create binational, service-learning opportunities where students can work together in interprofessional teams to address health issues specific to the border.

    Kiser has received several accolades throughout her career, including the Women’s Health Award for 2021 by the March of Dimes Arizona.

    Throughout her many endeavors, Kiser said she has worked with several FNU graduates who have shared her philosophy and approach to care and education.

    “Frontier was the perfect place for me to receive all three of my degrees, and its philosophy of education and service has continued to shape my work,” she said. “I am deeply grateful.”

    Thank you, Lisa, for your commitment to your community, your commitment to nursing education, and for your commitment to FNU over the years.

    Learn more about FNU’s Nurse-Midwifery program, Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner program and the Post-Master’s Doctor of Nursing Practice.

  • Three FNU Students Earned Honor Society Scholarships in Spring Term

    Three FNU Students Earned Honor Society Scholarships in Spring Term

    Each term, Frontier Nursing University’s (FNU) Chi Pi Chapter of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (STTI) awards several students with financial scholarships. To qualify for STTI membership, students must have completed at least a quarter of their degree program, hold a 3.5 or higher grade point average and demonstrate academic excellence.

    For the 2022 Spring Term, three nurse practitioner students received the scholarship, including Jeanne Chutuape, Mara Glantz, and Elizabeth Carr. Congratulations to FNU’s Spring 2022 Chi Pi scholarship recipients! The FNU community is proud of your dedication to hard work.

    Meet the scholarship recipients:

    Mara Glantz, DNP student, Stillwater, Minn.
    “I am thankful for this scholarship because it will allow me to step into a more full-time student role and complete the DNP program in less time and with less debt. I am dedicated to improving the health of my community, I am a seasoned nurse with 15 years in the profession and I have many more years to give. The sooner I am able to graduate with the DNP, the sooner I can begin to teach the next generation of nurses.”

    Jeanne Chutuape, PMHNP student, Fairfax, Va.
    “What an honor to receive this scholarship award. As I have been doing a lot of traveling for my clinical training, the scholarship will help defray those costs. I have learned so much from clinicals and this grant definitely takes some of the worry out of balancing the travel cost of clinical training in my stretched budget.”

    Elizabeth Carr, CNEP student, Lexington, Ky.
    “This scholarship will allow me to continue focusing on my clinical learning. Due to the increased cost of travel, it has been particularly challenging to commute to my multiple clinical sites, so this scholarship will facilitate my clinical experiences via travel.”


    Elizabeth Carr, CNEP student at Frontier Nursing University.

    Congratulations to FNU’s Spring 2022 Chi Pi scholarship recipients! The FNU community is proud of your dedication to hard work. To find out more about Chi Pi and apply for any upcoming scholarships, please visit our Honor Society Page.

  • FNU Featured Preceptor: Megan Ferguson Instills Love of Profession in Graduate Nursing Students

    FNU Featured Preceptor: Megan Ferguson Instills Love of Profession in Graduate Nursing Students

    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 healthcare to underserved and rural populations.

    Frontier Nursing University is proud to announce FNU alumni, Megan Ferguson, CNM, as the 2022 Spring Term Featured Preceptor! Ferguson was nominated by FNU nurse-midwifery student Megan Webb for always going above and beyond.

    Before becoming Webb’s preceptor in Wasilla, Alaska, Ferguson was Webb’s provider for Women’s Health at Alpenglow Women’s Health. Ferguson is the co-owner of Alpenglow Women’s Health, where she serves the women and families of her community, supporting them through their prenatal journey, women’s health issues, and deliveries at the community hospital.

    “I was hoping that I would be able to have her as my preceptor,” Webb said. “And when I asked her at my appointment, she had zero hesitation.”

    Ferguson had her own difficulties finding a preceptor in Alaska when she was going to school. She had to travel into Anchorage for clinical as there are only a few hospitals in Alaska.

    During this time, Ferguson has given Webb exactly what she needed: to be consistently challenged and encouraged to step outside her comfort zone.

    “She has instilled confidence, encouraged education, and nurtured growth in me as I transition from nurse to nurse-midwife,” Webb said.

    “Watching students grow as they start to make the transition from an RN to an APRN. It’s like watching the synapses form as they link their knowledge, differentials, and decisions,” Ferguson said.

    “We need to raise these next generations of practitioners to love and grow their practice so that we can continue to listen to women and provide the care all women deserve.”
    – Megan Ferguson, CNM, FNU Preceptor

    Ferguson, who precepts nurse-midwifery and family nurse practitioner (FNP) students, hopes to make students comfortable with the learning process and instill a deep love for this profession, which is what drives her.

    Ferguson encourages other Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) to precept students.

    “If we do not help grow our own, who will be left when our bodies give out and it’s time to move on?” Ferguson said. “We need to raise these next generations of practitioners to love and grow their practice so that we can continue to listen to women and provide the care all women deserve.”

    Thank you, Megan Ferguson, for your dedication to serving your community and helping educate the next generation of nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners.

    Are you interested in becoming an FNU Preceptor? Fill out the form on this page to learn more!

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