Since its foundation in 1939, Frontier Nursing University (FNU) has adopted a mission of reaching rural, diverse and underserved populations. This mission is still being lived out today, where more than 80 FNU alumni are answering the call in Alaska. In the coming months, we will be highlighting several of these alumni who serve in our country’s most remote and unforgiving state.
Holly Fisk, MSN, FNP, ONC, Class 142 is a family nurse practitioner in Anchorage, Alaska where she was born and raised. On November 30, 2018, when a magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit south-central Alaska, her center’s lobby became a triage center.
“That’s the Alaskan way,” Holly said of the center’s care for the earthquake victims. “The emphasis FNU places on rural and underserved communities has been helpful for me in this role. We really take care of one another. In rural areas, you have to pull together and have teamwork.”
Holly and her team at Southcentral Foundation’s Anchorage Native Primary Care Center helped care for the earthquake victims, but additional challenges came in the form of extensive damage to Glenn Highway, one of only two roads out of Anchorage. While Anchorage itself isn’t rural, with a metro population of approximately 300,000, Holly’s clinic serves patients from extremely remote areas, some of which are only accessible by plane. Community health aides in those areas help treat basic conditions and triage those who need to be transported to larger healthcare facilities.
Southcentral Foundation is part of the Alaska Native Tribal Health System, which works in conjunction with Alaska Native Tribes and Tribal organizations to provide comprehensive health services to more than 160,000 Alaska Native people. The health care provided at Holly’s clinic is prepaid via this system.
“We call our patients ‘customer-owners’,” Holly said, noting that essentially all of the patients seen at the clinic are Alaska Native or American Indian people. The clinic serves a population of about 65,000 customer-owners in the Anchorage area.
To meet the needs of those patients, the Anchorage Native Primary Care Center is divided into seven distinct smaller clinics. Each clinic has an integrated care team. Holly serves as her clinic’s only nurse practitioner and is joined by two medical doctors, three physician’s assistants, a doctor of osteopathic medicine, an internal medicine physician, pain management, behavioral health consultants and a nurse-midwife.
Holly, whose preceptor Christopher Haupt-Chronister, MSN, FNP, Class 71, also works at the clinic, says that while the clinic offers every kind of specialty, the access is limited.
“There is not enough access to specialized care,” Holly said. “We have every specialty, but they might come in from another city once a month.”
The lack of access to specialty care often results in exorbitant costs of care, which acts as a barrier for many. Some patients go to Seattle instead, finding it more affordable even with flight and hotel costs.
According to Holly, her time studying at FNU helped prepare her for the challenges of working with a rural and remote population. FNU’s curriculum includes instruction on dealing with complex patients in rural communities where access to specialists may be sparse.
“Our graduates are well-prepared clinicians who are improving healthcare around the country and the world,” said FNU Associate Dean for Family Nursing Lisa Chappell, Ph.D., FNP-BC. “As a Frontier student, you will get to know the needs of your community.”
One of those needs for Anchorage patients is mental healthcare.
“The biggest need is behavioral health services,” Holly said. “It’s a three-month wait right now for intake. We have behavioral health consultants who bridge the gap until the patient can be seen by a psychiatrist.”
Holly notes that the clinic has seen a significant uptick in the number of patients coming in with anxiety, depression and PTSD since the earthquake. The clinic’s behavioral health consultants assist with that, and they have started offering extended appointment times.
“Alaskan Native people emphasize relationships, so we provide very relationship-based care,” Holly said. “Most appointment times are 30 minutes. I love that about this place.”
Holly’s experience with FNU played a significant role in preparing her for her current career. “FNU did a great job in preparing me for the more holistic and relationship-based kind of care that we do here,” she said.
Holly enjoys preventative care and educating her patients while she takes the time to talk to them and to understand their particular needs. Still, when the time comes for more urgent care, the clinic responds quickly to those in need.
“We have excellent same-day access,” Holly said. “We keep appointment times open for those types of urgent situations. That’s what we do. It’s the Alaskan spirit.”
Frontier Nursing University (FNU) celebrated National Nurse Practitioner (NP) Week by hosting a
Dr. Arterberry was taught the importance of reflection by her mother at a very young age, and she has certainly seen it ring true in her work in health care. In this session, Dr. Arterberry tells us that reflective practice is the foundation of professional development. It makes meaning from experience and transforms insights into practical strategies for personal growth and organizational impact. She emphasized that reflective practice is an active endeavor, not simply thinking about the past. Effective reflection allows leaders to challenge assumptions, review current practices, recognize harmful behaviors, and develop new ways of working. She gives us practical ways to implement critical reflection in our own lives, starting with structured journaling and through dialogue in a group setting.
In this informative session on post-traumatic stress disorder, Dr. Calohan outlined the new DSM 5 diagnostic criteria implemented in 2014 that categorized PTSD separately from anxiety disorders. He reviewed the physical and psychological symptoms of different forms of PTSD. He told us about emerging neurobiological theories that are influencing new treatment methods, including targeting the endocannaboid system and GABA-B receptors associated with fear extinction. Dr. Calohan reviewed potential evidence-based treatment courses, going into the different options (or lack thereof) in the categories of anti-depressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, benzodiazepines, and hypnotics. He also talked about the importance of sleep for PTSD patients and dove into evidence found in a recent study of the efficacy of Prazosin for trauma nightmares, giving advice on prescribing Prazosin. At the conclusion, Dr. Calohan provides a wealth of tools, external resources, and care models for PTSD patient care.
Sepsis is deadly with delayed treatment and constitutes the number one hospital cost in America. In this session, Dr. Bray describes a project she instituted in response to concerning results on a survey of sepsis charts in the Tippah County Hospital Emergency Department. The project focused on four main areas: team engagement, patient engagement, sepsis screening, and the sepsis checklist. Dr. Bray reviewed the one-hour bundle for sepsis best practice that was implemented in the project. She discussed the adjustments they made as the project went on to continue to improve sepsis patient care, including simplifying tools, nurse initiated orders, and more effective interventions. The project results exceeded goals in each of the four categories, and Dr. Bray is now working on expanding the project to the Tippah County EMTs.
In the final session of the week, FNU NP faculty shared with us how each are serving the rural, diverse and underserved in their own communities. Led by Associate Dean of Family Nursing Lisa Chappell, PhD, FNP-BC, the session kicked off with Nena Harris, PhD, FNP-BC, CNM, CNE who talked about integrating a comprehensive case management model of health care to homeless women and children in Charlotte, N.C. Nikita Duke, DNP, PMHNP-BC discussed the need for integrating behavioral access care into the urgent care environment in her Muscle Shoals, Ala. community. Diane John, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, CNE told us about her work in Miramar, Fla., fostering relationships with community partners and community dwellers, and providing leadership opportunities for nurse practitioners.
Frontier Nursing University (FNU) is pleased to announce the 2019 Summer Term Circle of Caring Award Winners: staff member Jamie Wheeler and faculty member Lisa Chappell.
Jamie is one of two clinical advisors at FNU who support students with their clinical site and preceptor search. She meets one-on-one with students, leads clinical search webinars, and attends Frontier Bound orientation sessions to meet with new students.
Lisa is an associate professor and the associate dean of family nursing at FNU. She works with fellow faculty and staff to problem-solve and offer support.
Frontier Nursing University (FNU) alumna Marli Parobek, MS, APRN, FNP-C, PMHNP-C, noticed a growing need for better mental healthcare in her community and rose to meet the challenge.
David Moore, FNP, Class 75, chose to work in Alaska so he could serve some of the most vulnerable people in the country’s harshest environment: the homeless.
National Nurse Practitioner Week is November 10-16, and Frontier Nursing University (FNU) is celebrating by hosting a 
Nurse Practitioners in Action Serving Their Communities
A Team-Based Approach to Improving Timely Sepsis Care
FREE CE: Evidence-Based Prescribing of Practices in Treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
FREE CE: Reflective Practice: A Leadership Enhancement Tool
Shared Decision Making (SDM) is a healthcare model in which patients and healthcare providers work together to make decisions regarding treatment options and long-term care plans. The provider is encouraged to take into consideration the patient’s preferences, history, and values when exploring treatment options. The SDM model promotes open dialogue and emphasizes empathy, which allows for a more trusting and sustainable patient-provider relationship and ultimately improves health outcomes for the patient.
We are proud to announce that Frontier Nursing University (FNU) president Dr. Susan Stone, DNSc, CNM, FACNM, FAAN, was inducted into the 
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).