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  • It’s a Wrap: FNU’s Celebration of National Nurse Practitioner Week

    It’s a Wrap: FNU’s Celebration of National Nurse Practitioner Week

    Thank you for celebrating National Nurse Frontier Nursing University family nurse practitionerPractitioner Week with Frontier Nursing University! For those of you who participated in FNU’s  “Mission Focused: Nurse Practitioners Answering the Call” virtual event, we hope you were encouraged by the experiences shared throughout the week.

    If you participated in the Virtual Event and haven’t shared your feedback yet, we have a short survey available here. We’d love to hear from you.

    The nurse practitioners who presented during the event, all on their own unique journeys, are having a positive impact on the health of families across the country. If you didn’t have an opportunity to tune into the event or you missed any sessions, you still have a chance to participate! Visit the Virtual Event website and catch the replay anytime.

    Thank you again to our virtual event sponsors:

    To learn more about FNU’s distance education programs and degrees, visit us online at Frontier.edu.

  • Alumni Spotlight: Laura Willis, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, CMSRN

    Alumni Spotlight: Laura Willis, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, CMSRN

    Blog spotlight - Laura WillisA student who “fell in love” with the Frontier Nursing University (FNU) mission statement years ago is now living it out as a Family Nurse Practitioner in rural Ohio. Laura Willis, a 2014 graduate of the MSN program and 2015 graduate of the DNP program at Frontier, treats underserved, underinsured patients out of Urbana Family Medicine and Pediatrics through Mercy Health Physicians Group in Urbana, Ohio.

    Laura chose Frontier for her FNP because she believed strongly in FNU’s mission statement: to educate nurses to become competent, entrepreneurial, ethical and compassionate nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners who are leaders in the primary care of women and families with an emphasis on underserved and rural populations while embracing a culture of diversity and inclusion​.

    “I couldn’t imagine attending any other program,” said Laura.

    She began practicing at Urbana Family Medicine one day a week, treating patients of all age groups as well as many multi-generational families. Realizing her love for the work and the people, she returned to FNU for a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree.

    “I chose to get my DNP so that I could enhance my ability to improve the health of my patients, increase the understanding and ability of NPs to provide great care, and to affect positive changes in healthcare,” said Laura.

    Because so many have costly and low-coverage insurance, Laura works to maintain the health of her patients by using low-cost medicines available at local pharmacies, home remedies, and an extra dose of compassion.

    In 2013, her third year of the MSN program, Laura was the recipient of FNU’s NP Leadership Scholarship bestowed to a student who shows leadership, academic excellence and excellent clinical judgement. On Sept. 21, 2017, at the provider’s group annual dinner, she also received the Service Excellence Advanced Practitioner Award, a peer-chosen honor recognizing leadership, clinical skill, service, and dedication to the mission of Mercy Health.

    Laura remains supported by the Frontier community as she transitions from student to alumnus. She relies on the connections of faculty, staff, students and alumni that have become colleagues to help push her and offer her a listening ear.

    She also recently accepted a position at Mercy College of Ohio in Toledo as an adjunct professor in the Master’s of Science in Nursing program. Additionally she works with a publishing company as a freelance clinical editor for nursing books.

    “Both of these things keep me busy but also keep me plugged in to academia and will hopefully help me reach my goal of one day teaching at FNU,” said Laura. “I credit what I learned at FNU with the ability I have to work so closely with my patients and help them find cost-affordable ways to treat their health concerns. I just hope that I would make Mrs. Breckinridge proud!”

    Laura, you make the Frontier community proud every day! Thank you for continuing to put FNU’s mission into practice.

    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.

     

  • Courier Spotlight: Paul Florsheim

    Courier Spotlight: Paul Florsheim

    Courier Spotlight Paul Florsheim Paul Florsheim had always been impressed with the story of Mary Breckinridge. In 1983, inspired by her fearless service, he traveled to Leslie County, Ky., to become a Courier.

    As a Courier, Paul traveled from clinic to clinic to assist doctors and nurses with routine medical procedures. Some of his more eye-opening experiences included holding down a young boy who was just six or seven years old so he could have an infected boil lanced and administrating a pregnancy test to a woman who reacted vehemently to the outcoming result. The experiences introduced Paul to the great need for compassion and kindness in medical care.

    On occasion, Paul also had the opportunity to attend births at the Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) hospital in Hyden, Ky. The public service physicians took him and the other Couriers under their wings and taught them about medicine and nursing in the FNS tradition.

    “I was so impressed with their sense of purposefulness and goodwill,” said Paul.
    During his time as a Courier, Paul got to know the people in the Hyden community. He even built a chair from scratch with one family, and to this day has the chair as a reminder of his memories serving as a Courier.

    Paul is now a professor of public health and a clinical psychologist who works primarily with underserved and disadvantaged populations, a mission aligned with that of the Courier Program. His work focuses on developing programs to support the mental and relationship health of young expectant mothers and fathers during their transition to parenthood. Paul considers his most significant career accomplishment launching a new school of public health in a highly underserved area of Milwaukee, Wis.

    “I have been working with midwives in prenatal clinics for many years, and when I mention I spent a summer at FNS, my credibility increases tenfold,” said Paul. “My commitment to helping expectant mothers and fathers with their transitions to parenthood certainly began at FNS!”

    Paul fondly remembers his eye-opening summer at FNS and encourages other young people to take the opportunity to learn in this unique setting.

    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.

  • FNU’s Nurse Practitioner Virtual Event Starts Sunday!

    FNU’s Nurse Practitioner Virtual Event Starts Sunday!

    National Nurse Practitioner Week is just a few days away and one of the ways Frontier Nursing University (FNU) is celebrating is by hosting an exciting virtual event dedicated to nursing. We hope you’ll join us!

    From November 12-18, the Mission Focused: Nurse Practitioners Answering the Call virtual event will explore the experiences and stories of nurse practitioners who are passionate leaders committed to better care for women and families. All sessions are free and easy to join at Frontier.edu/NPWeek. You can participate from anywhere as long as you have Internet access.

    The FNU virtual event will include one to two sessions per day and cover topics such as:

    ‌•  Using Social Justice to Teach Policy, Advocacy and Scholarship in a DNP Program
    November 13 @ 12:00 pm EST

    ‌•  Free LIVE CE Session: FDA Upscheduling of Hydrocodone and the Effect on Nurse Practitioner’s Pain Management Practices
    November 13 @ 6:00 – 9:00 pm EST

    ‌•  Encouraging Culturally Competent Care to LGBT Patients
    November 14 @ 12:00 pm EST

    ‌•  The Integration of Mental Health Services into Primary Care
    November 15 @ 12:00 pm EST

    ‌•  Breaking the Cycle of ACEs
    November 16 @ 6:00 pm EST

    ‌•  Family-centered Care in a Rural, School-based Health Center
    November 17 @ 6:00 pm EST

    Click here to view the full schedule.

    We look forward to celebrating with you next week!

    To learn more about FNU’s distance education programs and degrees for nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners, visit us here.

     

     

  • Faculty Spotlight: Alyn McGee, MSN, ARNP, CNM

    Faculty Spotlight: Alyn McGee, MSN, ARNP, CNM

    For the last 4 1/2 years, Frontier Nursing University (FNU) faculty member Alyn McGee, MSN, ARNP, and CNM, has been fulfilling the mission of Frontier all the way from St. Lucie, Fla. McGee, a 2005 alumna of FNU’s MSN program, develops the next generation of nurse-midwives and women’s health care nurse practitioners as a regional clinical faculty member while serving as a CNM at the Maternal Fetal Medicine Group.

    Based in St. Lucie, with offices around Southeast Florida, the Maternal Fetal Medicine Group is pioneering new ways to provide care to women with very high risk pregnancies who need midwives’ perspective and wisdom. McGee’s role at Maternal Fetal Medicine is crucial to the underserved community seeking care from the four offices she rotates among.

    Working side by side with doctors, she reviews scans with patients, diagnoses and explains concerns and problems, and listens to each mother’s fears, dreams and questions. She spends time teaching patients, visiting subjects anywhere from diabetes, diet, hypertension and morbid obesity, to advanced maternal age, HIV/AIDS, cancer in pregnancy and drug use.

    McGee also sees a wide variety of patients dealing with unique issues from In Vitro Fertilization and gender selection questions to an impoverished mix of drug addicts, legal and illegal immigrants, and women with Zika virus.

    McGee’s journey with FNU began after working with three certified nurse-midwives to build a freestanding birth center in 1993. She was so inspired by the three women that she requested a catalog from FNU and 10 years later, enrolled in the CNEP program.

    “It was always and only, FNU,” McGee says. “The first time I drove up that mountain and saw the old buildings, read the history, smelled the air and listened to Kitty and the other faculty, I knew it was all I ever wanted: to be a Frontier Nurse-Midwife.”

    Aside from her accolades as a nurse-midwife and instructor, McGee has also received certification as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) and Certified Diabetic Educator (CDE). Currently, McGee is working on a Survival Medicine Training Certificate, and in December she plans to pursue a Doctor of Nursing Practice at FNU.

    Thank you, Alyn, for representing FNU as a student, alumna and faculty member!

    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.

     

  • FNU Participates in 2017 Right Care Action Week

    FNU Participates in 2017 Right Care Action Week

    Right Care Action Week – The High Cost of HealthCare

    What is Right Care Action Week?
    Right Care Action Week, held annually for one week in October, brings together people from around the country who join together and take action to show what they believe our health care system should look like. This year, October 15-21, nurses, family members, public health students, physicians, patients and community members rallied together to make a statement around the crisis in health care affordability through a variety of events and activities.

    FNU Right Care Action Week Activities

    FNU Faculty member, Dr. Diana Jolles asked Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students to participate in Right Care Action Week. Students had the option to do one or more activities to create action and show what our health care system should look like by conducting Listening Booths, hosting Right Care Cafes, filling out “What Worries You” about the cost of healthcare cards, or participating in FNU’s live Virtual Right Care Cafe.

    The response from FNU students and faculty was amazing! Over 52 students and faculty participated and there were 18 Listening Booths or Right Care Cafes held during the week in communities such as Haiti and Lawrenceville, Georgia. FNU’s Virtual Right Care Cafe had over 30 people tune in live to hear leaders in healthcare, including Kitty Ernst, Susan Stapleton, and Judith Rooks talk about solutions to current maternal health care issues.

    Right Care Action Week Awards
    Right Care Alliance wrapped up the week with a live Facebook event where FNU students and faculty were given awards! Dr. Katherine Meine (DNP graduate of Class 23) was awarded the first ever “Right Care Action Week 2017 Award” for Spookiest Event.

    FNU Faculty Member Dr. Diana Jolles was awarded “Biggest Recruiter” by engaging the largest number of faculty and students to host events in their communities.

    Learn more
    You can view photos from the week here. Multiple Virtual Right Care Cafe recordings completed by FNU students and faculty are also available on our YouTube channel here. We hope you can join in RCAW efforts as they work to kick off a national campaign to lower drug prices. We are currently recruiting “Right Care Leaders,” Alumni, preceptors, faculty, students, staff and all others are welcome. To learn more- click HERE.

  • FNU Celebrates National Nurse Practitioner Week with Virtual Event

    FNU Celebrates National Nurse Practitioner Week with Virtual Event

    National Nurse Practitioner Week is coming up in November, and Frontier Nursing University (FNU) is celebrating by hosting a free virtual event dedicated to nurse practitioners. From November 12-18, the “Mission Focused: Nurse Practitioners Answering the Call” virtual event will explore the experiences of NPs who are passionate leaders committed to better care for families, women, and rural and underserved populations. All sessions are free and easy to join at Frontier.edu/NPWeek.

    National Nurse Practitioner Week is held annually to celebrate exceptional health care providers and to remind lawmakers of the importance of allowing NPs to practice to the full extent of their experience and education. There are approximately 222,000 NPs currently licensed in the U.S. (Source: aanp.org)

    NPs, prospective students and others can participate in the virtual event from anywhere and view the full schedule here. The FNU virtual event will cover topics such as:

    • Growing as Leaders Through Education and Practice
    • Caring for Rural, Diverse and Underserved Populations
    • Improving Care Through Innovation and Entrepreneurship
    • Creating a Culture of Caring in Service to Families
    • Collaborating for Family-Centered Care

    This is the second year FNU will host a virtual event in support of National Nurse Practitioner Week. Virtual event sponsors include Southern Cross Insurance Solutions, ​Impressions Incorporated, and ​Model-Med.

    Frontier Nursing University is the birthplace of nurse-midwifery and family nursing in the United States and has more than 75 years of experience in delivering graduate nursing and midwifery programs.

     

  • FNU Awards Degrees to More than 600 Graduates

    Barbara and Donald Jonas, founders of the Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence, awarded honorary doctorate

    Frontier Nursing University (FNU) hosted its 2017 commencement ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 21, in Hyden, Ky. Over the past year, more than 600 nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners from almost every state across the nation have completed an FNU distance-education program. The commencement ceremony was attended by more than 160 graduates and 1,200 of their family members and friends. The ceremony also included a special video presentation of the awarding of an honorary doctorate degree to philanthropists Barbara and Donald Jonas who founded the Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence.

    FNU President Dr. Susan Stone presided over the commencement ceremony and degrees were conferred on graduates of Frontier’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) programs. MSN graduates completed the Nurse-Midwifery, Family Nurse Practitioner or Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner specialty tracks. FNU also bestowed awards on several faculty members and students including leadership and student choice awards.*  

    Dr. Jennifer Hatcher, director of diversity and inclusivity and associate professor for the University of Kentucky College of Nursing, delivered the keynote address. Dr. Hatcher holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, a Master of Science in Nursing as a family nurse practitioner, a Master’s in Public Health and a PhD in Nursing. She is the founder and director of the DREAM Center, a multidisciplinary research center focused on promoting positive health outcomes for underrepresented minorities by promoting workforce diversity, health equities research and training the next generation of health equities scholars. Dr. Hatcher has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for more than a decade to conduct health disparities research focused on improving health outcomes for underrepresented minorities.

    In honor of their extensive support and contributions to the advancement of nursing, FNU awarded Barbara and Donald Jonas with the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. Mr. and Mrs. Jonas established the Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence, a first-of-its-kind philanthropic program dedicated to advancing nursing. The focus is on establishing grants based on partnerships between schools of nursing and clinical practice settings as well as convening opinion leaders to develop solutions to long-standing problems challenging the nursing profession.

    The Jonas Center has supported more than 1,000 Jonas Scholars and is the nation’s leading philanthropic funder of graduate nursing education. The Jonas Scholars program has had a significant impact on Frontier Nursing University students. Two members of the 2012-2014 cohort received $30,000 in scholarship support, four members of the 2014-16 cohort of students received $50,000 in scholarship support, and four more students in the 2016-18 cohort are receiving $70,000 in scholarship awards. That’s a total of $150,000 impacting ten FNU students.

    Go here to view the Commencement Live Stream.

    *This Year’s Award Winners:

    • The Kitty Ernst Leadership Award – Lana Bernat, DNP, CNM, CPHQ
    • The Nurse Practitioner Leadership Award – Nicole Serrano, MSN, FNP
    • Student Choice Award for Excellence in Teaching: Academic – Dr. Jana Esden
    • Student Choice Award for Excellence in Teaching: RCF –  Dr. Mary Jones and Dr. April Dobroth  

     

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