Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Kristin Gianelis Recognized with Circle of Caring Award

June 16, 2022 By Frontier Nursing University

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) is proud to recognize faculty member Kristin Gianelis, DNP, APRN, ANP, WHNP, who was one of the recipients of the Winter 2021 Circle of Caring Award.

A resident of Barrington, Rhode Island, Gianelis serves as a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) faculty member for FNU. Through this role, she mentors DNP students to become agents of change in their communities. Outside of her work with the university, she also works in a clinical setting and dedicates her time to improving healthcare access for underserved populations.

“If I can provide patient-centered care to even a few individuals who wouldn’t have been able to receive healthcare otherwise, I consider my work a success,” she said. “I walk into each clinical day not knowing what I will encounter, but with only the intention of providing each person dignity, respect and the opportunity to have their individual needs met.”

Over the last 17 years, Gianelis has worked in a variety of settings as a dual-certified Women’s Health and Adult Nurse Practitioner. She currently works for an urban Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and provides OB/GYN care for a gender-diverse and largely undocumented immigrant population.

Gianelis said her initial inspiration to pursue nursing was to help women and families navigate normal life changes, but her scope of perspective has changed throughout her career.

“As I have developed a more broad understanding of gender and sexuality, I would now say that I recognized the importance of this aspect of our beings and honor the unique path to sexual wellness for each individual,” she said. “It is my honor to give voice to all individuals and provide patient-centered sexual health care across the lifespan.”

Before receiving her bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, Gianelis applied for immediate direct entry into a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program.

“I finished my bachelor’s on a Saturday and started my master’s on the following Monday,” she said.

Gianelis earned her MSN in 2005 after taking a break to work as a Registered Nurse (RN). She worked as a Nurse Practitioner (NP) for 13 years before earning her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from FNU.

“Obtaining my doctoral degree taught me to think differently,” she said. “It opened my eyes to quality improvement, developed leadership skills and gave me the confidence to be an agent of change in my community.”

After earning her DNP from FNU, Gianelis decided to stay with the university as a faculty member.

“I chose to work at Frontier because I firmly believe in the mission of this institution. I believe that health equity starts with educating a strong healthcare workforce for the entire country, especially those areas that are underserved.”
– Kristin Gianelis, DNP, APRN, ANP, WHNP

“I chose to work at Frontier because I firmly believe in the mission of this institution,” she said. “I believe that health equity starts with educating a strong healthcare workforce for the entire country, especially those areas that are underserved.”

Gianelis said she embraces FNU’s Culture of Caring, not only when interacting with fellow faculty members, but also with students.

“Working in the DNP program, I have the opportunity to mentor students longitudinally during their clinical quality initiative,” she said. “While they are my students, they are also my colleagues – fellow APRNs working in other parts of the country. Through our interactions, I have the opportunity to understand how practice and policy differs nationwide, while also expanding on my own narrow experience of life in the northeast. Not only does this enrich my life intellectually, but I am embraced by each students’ warmth and openness to share their experiences and unique points of view.”

The Culture of Caring also is important in the context of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) work at FNU, Gianelis said.

“I am here to amplify marginalized voices, shelter those who need rest, and support diversity in all its beauty,” she said.

Gianelis is married to her husband Steve, and has two children and a dog. She enjoys traveling, boating, cooking and reading.

Thank you, Kristin, for your dedication to providing healthcare access to underserved populations and for living out our Culture of Caring!

If you know an FNU staff or faculty member that goes above and beyond, nominate them now for the Circle of Caring Award!

Boston Midwife Prepares to Open Alabama’s First Birth Center

June 14, 2022 By Frontier Nursing University

To the casual observer, opening Birth Sanctuary Gainesville might not make a lot of sense. First, Gainesville is a rural town in Alabama with a population of less than 200. Second, because of state regulations that severely restrict the scope of care nurse-midwives can provide, there are no birth centers in the entire state. That is about to change because FNU alumni Dr. Stephanie Mitchell, DNP, CNM, CPM, plans to open Birth Sanctuary Gainesville later this year. While the uncertainties are many, Mitchell insists, “It will get done.”

Mitchell is the sort of person who finds ways to get things done. Barriers represent an opportunity rather than a permanent roadblock. Even her road to becoming a nurse-midwife was a circuitous one. Where others might have given up and changed course, Mitchell never wavered from her plan.

Growing up in urban Boston, Massachusetts, in the 1980s, Mitchell’s first thoughts of pursuing a medical career began by watching The Cosby Show.

“My very first exposure to childbirth was on television,” Mitchell said of The Cosby Show. “It was very shocking to me because the family would have mirrored my family, except that they were completely different echelons of human society. We were struggling along in the hood, the ghetto, dealing with all the things that 1980s Boston brought for a low-income black family. It was the opposite on TV. The father was an obstetrician, and the mother was a lawyer. That was my first exposure to pregnancy, and the healthy dynamic of that family really appealed to me and stuck with me.”

Her second exposure to pregnancy and her first to obstetrics came a few years later when she was 16 and pregnant. She had collaborative care with an obstetrician and a midwife.

“The way my body was honored during that process of pregnancy is really cemented into my mind,” she said. “I figured out that the word wasn’t ‘obstetrician’ or ‘obstetrics’ – it was ‘midwife’. I thought, ‘How do I do that?’”

She did that by having her baby, finishing high school, attending community college, and going on to earn her BSN from Curry College. She knew she wanted to be a midwife and wanted to attend Frontier Nursing University. She also knew that she needed to gain experience, preferably in labor and delivery. She worked in pediatrics for about six years before getting into a labor and delivery unit, where she worked for six years before applying to Frontier. She continued working in labor and delivery while she earned her MSN and DNP from FNU, the latter in 2019.

“The hospital I worked at was a lovely place in the backdrop of my neighborhood in Boston. I learned so much and have deep respect for my colleagues there,” Mitchell said. “But it was shocking to me to get to the labor and delivery unit and realize that the medical staff was not reflective of the community. I had come from the Boston Children’s Hospital, and we had a very diverse staff. I got to the labor and delivery unit, and it was shocking to be one of three black nurses on a staff of 120 in that unit. That was difficult because there are so many stark cultural differences between the care providers and those that they are caring for.”

Mitchell had learned the importance of diversity at an early age when she was part of a busing program aimed at addressing segregation in the city. She attended school in a predominantly white school system.

“You learn to interact with people who are definitely not from your community,” she said. “To have experience with individuals that don’t look like you, don’t talk like you, don’t have the same cultural norms as you, provides exposure that’s valuable in life. Midwives and advanced nurse practitioners are not always going to be black or people of color or LGBTQ, but you have to have people in place who are truly antiracist and empathetic.”

Mitchell was also concerned about what she termed “the conveyor belt of care” that sometimes persists in hospitals with high volumes of patients. She wanted to practice in a different setting, where more time could be spent with the patients in a less frantic environment. She wanted to open a birth center and started looking into the prospects in Boston. She soon realized that funding would be a problem, as would the significant amount of competition. She shelved the idea temporarily until she and her husband Jamie moved to Gainesville, Alabama, where Jamie had family.

Jamie is a successful pitmaster who got into the catering business. When the catering business became overwhelming, the Mitchells realized that a restaurant would be the better option. Starting a restaurant in Boston would not only be expensive but also involve a great deal of competition.

“He wanted to get rid of the landlord and the competition, so we came down here to Gainesville and built a restaurant,” Mitchell said. The Alabama Rib Shack is open Friday through Sunday, with the capacity to cater as needed.

As they prepared to move, Mitchell began researching places where she might be able to work. She soon found that there are no birth centers in the state. Further, in Gainesville and the surrounding area, there is no access to family planning services, midwifery care, or obstetric care.

“If you’re pregnant, it’s a desert,” Mitchell said. The nearest options are approximately 45 miles away in Tuscaloosa or across the state line into Mississippi.

It didn’t take long for Mitchell to think about opening her own birth center in Alabama. Not only did she need it as a source of income, but the community needed it as well.

“I’ve always valued the low volume, slower-paced care that can be offered through midwifery,” Mitchell said. “I had a good amount of surface information to build on what it would mean to build a birth center in Alabama. It was important to me to work in the black and not be in a situation where I am over my head and sink myself before I get started. Kitty Ernst wisely once reminded me to follow the money. I followed the business model that my husband has followed for years – eliminate the competition and eliminate the landlord. There is no competition in Alabama, and people deserve to have options. To not have it as an option is unconscionable.”

While many would agree with that, few have been as determined as Mitchell to bring about the necessary changes. One of the primary barriers created by the state’s legislation and regulation of midwives is the prevention of independent practice. Mitchell sought out physicians with whom she could partner to provide collaborative care but found none.

Midwives who attended out-of-hospital births in Alabama were jailed until 2019 when the state began issuing midwifery licenses for Certified Professional Midwives (CPM) for the first time since 1976. Contrary to Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNM), who have nursing degrees, CPMs are not required to have a nursing degree. Despite being a CNM, Mitchell had to get a CPM license so she could practice in Alabama.

“I was annoyed that I had to be a CPM because it prevents me from offering those full range of comprehensive health services,” Mitchell said. “ I see the value in being a Certified Nurse-Midwife. I see the value of being able to provide that umbrella of comprehensive care. Why would anyone ever specifically go the path of CNM only to be boxed in a corner to be a CPM? Prescriptive authority, billing insurance, access medications, full-scope care – it’s all gone. Especially in a healthcare desert like Alabama, it doesn’t make any sense. I’m still fighting that battle. It will take a while. But it’s not, ‘we can’t do it,’ it’s ‘we haven’t done it yet.’”

Mitchell says that the Alabama Birth Center Coalition, Alabama Midwife’s Association, the Alabama Board of Midwifery, and the Alabama chapter of the American College of Nurse-Midwives are all lobbying for change. In the meantime, she is pressing forward with Birth Sanctuary Gainesville. For years on their visits to Alabama, Mitchell had admired an old two-story home in Gainesville. Built in 1835, it is a registered historic landmark. It sat empty for years until, shortly after they moved, Mitchell saw that it was for sale. The Mitchells bought it and began renovation and construction to convert it into a birth center.

The roof, soffits, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC all had to be replaced or updated, but the structure was good, and the price and location were right. An exam room and a bathroom have been added, and the work continues with hopes of opening later this year.

“My first goal is to get this birth center opened this year and have our first birth here this year,” Mitchell said.

Grassroots efforts have provided the majority of the funding for the construction of the birth center. One fundraiser is a legacy walkway campaign in which people can purchase bricks and inscribe their own messages. Another fundraiser included the creation of three $5,000 scholarships that will go to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) midwifery students.

“This grassroots effort is a constant return back into the systems we’re working in,” Mitchell said. “It’s been overwhelming. I’ve been filled with gratitude, and I remain so humble about this project, reminding myself that this isn’t a ‘me project.’ This is a project that will impact so many families just to be able to have that access to care.”

Mitchell hopes to continue to give back to the nurse-midwifery profession by precepting students. She knows drawing them to rural Alabama might be difficult so that the birth center will include a special space for students. Mitchell describes it as a calm room where students will be able to rest or sleep in their own private space.

Until the birth center is ready to open, Mitchell is operating as an LLC and providing home birth services as a CPM. She plans to continue to offer home births even after Birth Sanctuary Gainesville is fully operational. She is also working with the University of Alabama-Birmingham’s midwifery program, assisting with course development and serving as an adjunct professor.

“I have been delighted to take part in that program,” she said. “I believe that’s the solution. UAB is a stronghold for the state. They are highly influential, and what better investment into the future of maternal healthcare and pregnancy healthcare than having a school that is going to be educating the midwives? That will lay the groundwork for accessibility in ways that we haven’t even thought about in this state.”

Mitchell has successfully managed to fund the birth center to this point and continues to advocate for more access to nurse-midwifery care in the state. She has overcome many obstacles and knows many more loom ahead, not the least of which is the potential patient population.

“It doesn’t make any sense to build a birth center here,” she said. “The same thing about my husband having a restaurant here. It seems highly unlikely and improbable. But what he has learned is that people will travel for quality. They will do it in Alabama for barbecue in a minute. There is the same sort of model in terms of accessibility. We’re talking zero freestanding birth centers in the state. It becomes a question of, ‘Do you want to travel to get care?’”

Mitchell said that, in order to help with that, they are even considering providing space for families who make the journey with their loved ones. It’s true that travel is a potential hurdle, but true to her nature, Mitchell sees not only the barrier but also the potential solution. In the end, it all makes perfect sense.

Are you interested in learning more about Certified Nurse-Midwives? Learn about the care they provide.

Editor’s Note:
Dr. Mitchell wishes to acknowledge her husband, Jamie. “Making the journey into midwifery with a family could have been my insurmountable obstacle. He’s been my stronghold for the last 20-plus years.” She also expressed her gratitude for the support of her children, Jasmyn, Jaymie, Jayar, and Jesse, and wished to acknowledge former FNU Academic Advisor and current Clinical Advisor Carisa Lipp. “I loved so many of the faculty, but none so much as Carisa. She was the constant person of contact at FNU as I made my way through each term. I can’t say how much her guidance meant. Funny that it wasn’t a midwife who I’d describe as most impactful, but that just goes to show that one’s biggest support can come from unexpected places if you keep your eyes peeled and your heart open!”

Student Spotlight: Carrie Baker uses nursing experience to advocate for public health

May 12, 2022 By Frontier Nursing University

Frontier Nursing University (FNU) student Carrie Baker, MSN, FNP, PMHNP, is utilizing her experience as a nurse practitioner to advocate for the health of her community. Baker is pursuing a Post-Master’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) at FNU (Class 40) and is set to graduate this year.

A former U.S. Army officer, Baker lives on a Marine Corps housing installation in Hawaii with her two children and her spouse, who is an active member of the U.S. military. There, she serves as a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) for a local nurse practitioner-owned telepsychiatry practice and as a Periodic Health Assessment provider.

Baker’s patient base is wide-ranging, including urban and rural, male and female and local and military. By completing psychological evaluations and medical management via telehealth, Baker is able to reach patients through most of Hawaii’s chain of islands.

Recently, Baker has served as an advocate for the public health and safety of her community. On Nov. 20, 2021, 14,000 gallons of jet fuel spilled at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, a military storage facility in Hawaii that is operated by the U.S. Navy. As a result, the Navy’s water distribution system, which Baker’s community uses, became contaminated. Soon, residents began complaining of a visible oil sheen on the water, odor and a variety of illnesses.

Seeking accountability and solutions from local leaders, Baker co-organized a community town hall meeting.

“Due to a lack of acknowledgement, validation and communication, our community has taken a stand to be heard,” Baker said. “Somehow, I have found myself at the forefront of this.”

Several key stakeholders were invited to the meeting, including the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Hawaii, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, local housing leadership, local water board personnel and members of the media. During the meeting, community members were given the opportunity to ask questions to leadership personnel.

Baker said some key takeaways from the meeting included increased communication, further water testing, flushing of the community water system, entitlements (such as funds for hotel lodging until the issue is resolved) and continued water points on the installation for retrieval of clean water.

“We are far from having this situation resolved, but we now have the attention of those leaders who matter,” Baker said. “There is still some discord between the community and the leadership in that we still have not been acknowledged as affected.”

Baker said her experience as a nurse practitioner gave her the confidence to advocate for the health of her community. To that end, she said she has decided to earn her DNP to gain confidence in being a leader and advocate for her patients and the community. She said FNU was the right choice in her pursuit of this goal.

“I decided to become a DNP to gain confidence in being a leader and advocate for my patients and community.”
– Carrie Baker, MSN, FNP, PMHNP

“I decided to become a DNP to gain confidence in being a leader and advocate for my patients and community,” Baker said.

Thank you, Carrie, for exemplifying FNU’s Culture of Caring, both in your professional endeavors and in your community activism.

To learn more about FNU’s Doctor of Nursing Practice, click here.

FNU Students Earn Honor Society Scholarships

April 11, 2022 By Frontier Nursing University

Each fall, 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.

This year, three nurse practitioner students received the scholarship, including Jazmin Townes, Joanna Wilder, and Sarah Logan. Congratulations to FNU’s Fall 2021 Chi Pi scholarship recipients! The FNU community is proud of your dedication to hard work.

Meet Our Scholarship Recipients:

Jazmin Townes, from South Carolina

Jazmin Townes is in FNU’s Nurse-Midwifery program. In her scholarship essay, Townes detailed her goals for after graduation of opening a birth center on the island of St. Thomas, allowing women to have more choices regarding their birthing and overall health needs.

“I give all glory and honor to the Most High for allowing this blessing to fall upon myself and my family. As a new mother of a sweet baby boy, this scholarship will aid in the completion of my master’s degree as clinical rotations are on the horizon. Becoming a Certified Nurse-Midwife has been a dream of mine as I admired many women who were midwives and doctors growing up in the Caribbean. My grandmother was a midwife on the island of Anguilla. When she migrated to the United States Virgin Islands she gave up her passion to care for her 4 children by working in a jewelry store. Her story motivates me to excel in Frontier’s Midwifery program. With clinical rotations approaching I will be 192 miles away from my 5 month old baby boy. Not only is this heartbreaking but nerve-racking. I want to make my husband and son proud of this accomplishment and receiving this award is just the beginning of that. The funds from the scholarship will pay for the preparation of my Clinical Bound and travel expenses to my clinical site. I am humbled and honored to be a Chi Pi recipient. “ – Jazmin Townes

Joanna Wilder, from Tigard, Oregon

Joanna Wilder has been a nurse since 1990, working in a hospital setting and at a birth center, and is now working towards becoming a Certified Nurse-Midwife. After graduating, Wilder plans to continue her education and get her DNP, focusing on the role of pregnancy and birth in the healing of childhood trauma. She would ultimately like to teach future midwives the sacred work of holding healing spaces during pregnancy and birth.

“I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the Chi Pi scholarship, which I have been awarded twice during my master’s program. I am a Certified Professional Midwife, and had to close my practice when I started the Frontier nurse-midwifery program. I worked as a nurse educator during the didactic terms, and then made the hard choice to stop working to give my full attention to clinicals. We have been carefully budgeting my husband’s disability/social security income. The scholarship money came exactly when the need was the highest. It was incredibly humbling; and reminded me that this journey is to be made with open hands. Holding a space of curiosity, I can wonder how our needs will be provided; rather than try to figure it out by the strength of my will. Watching our needs be met has led to deep conversations with my 3 teens at home, and with my adult kids who are intimidated by grad school costs. If I can graduate with my MSN at 55, and move into the Companion DNP, then they can too! Frontier truly embodies the culture of caring. So grateful for this community.” – Joanna Wilder

Sarah Logan

Sarah Logan is an FNU Certified Nurse-Midwife graduate and is currently pursuing her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). Logan has been involved in nursing education for several years now and has taken on many leadership roles. With the help of a colleague, she is working towards opening an outpatient mobile clinic to serve the migrant population in her city with prenatal and well-visit care. With the scholarship, Logan plans to continue working on projects that make a lasting impact in her community.

To find out more about Chi Pi and apply for the 2022 scholarship, please visit our Honor Society Page. We encourage all students and prospective students to check out the various scholarships offered at FNU.

Alumni Spotlight: Cody Pittman hopes to reach more rural and underserved populations with mental telehealth practice

April 8, 2022 By Frontier Nursing University

Frontier Nursing University (FNU) alumni Cody Pittman, MSN, APRN, PMHNP-BC, has worked full-time in correctional healthcare with the Kentucky Department of Corrections in LaGrange, Ky., for the past eight years. He also recently opened his own practice named Healing Neurons Psychiatry, which provides mental health services to patients via telehealth. Cody became a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) in November 2020 after earning his MSN from FNU.

Pittman says the focus of working in corrections is to try and rehabilitate patients so they are prepared to live healthy lives when released back into the community. Many of his patients have a history of polypharmacy and substance abuse/addiction.

Pittman recognized that there are simply not enough mental health providers, so he founded Healing Neurons Psychiatry to help fill that gap. With the patient in mind, Pittman decided to offer 100% telehealth services so that patients can make their appointments from the comfort of their own homes. Furthermore, telehealth ensures the privacy of those living in rural areas who fear they may be stigmatized if others see them walking into a mental health clinic.

“I always thought I would end up being in management for most of my nursing career as it is something I do well and hold dear to my heart. Not only do I enjoy helping patients, but I have also been an advocate for my staff for many years,” Pittman said. “Helping others has always been a passion of mine and this started at a very young age.”

Pittman’s career in healthcare began when he was 16 years old providing dietary services at a nursing home. He knew becoming a nurse practitioner would allow him to continue helping others and give him the autonomy to pursue his vision and open his own practice. Pittman is currently completing FNU’s DNP program. In his first term, he says it is going well.

“Frontier places the student first. I cannot begin to tell you how many practitioners I have worked with who are not confident in their decision making or are always second guessing themselves,” Pittman said. “I truly believe that Frontier gave me a well-rounded knowledge base that continues to allow me to advance my NP knowledge.”
– Cody Pittman, MSN, APRN, PMHNP-BC

FNU makes it easy for students to continue on with their education by offering FNU MSN and PGC graduates, like Pittman, the opportunity to continue into the DNP program via the Companion DNP Program.

Chasing my dreams to become Dr. Pittman, DNP has always been a goal of mine. Moving directly into the DNP program from the MSN was a no-brainer for me,” Pittman said. “It was an easy transition and just made the most sense. Completing the MSN at Frontier ensured that some of the DNP courses were completed during that program, making my DNP journey shorter in length. The family-like atmosphere that is felt while attending Frontier has been the biggest breath of fresh air. I have classmates and faculty that I consider family, hundreds of miles away all because of Frontier.

Pittman got married in 2017 and has a three-year-old daughter. He played the saxophone in middle and high school and can still play today! In his free time, he enjoys relaxing at home with his family, spending time in their new pool and cruising backroads in his Jeep Wrangler.

Thank you Cody for your dedication to mental health and fulfilling FNU’s mission to provide care to rural and underserved populations.

To read more alumni stories, visit the FNU Alumni stories page.

FNU All-Access Podcast Episode 5: Why the DNP Degree?

January 24, 2022 By Frontier Nursing University

Episode 5: Why the DNP Degree?

Episode 5 of the Frontier Nursing University (FNU) All-Access Podcast takes a close look at Frontier’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program. Dr. Khara’ Jefferson, FNU’s DNP program director, and DNP clinical faculty Dr. Diana Jolles join the podcast to explain what makes FNU’s DNP program so unique and successful. The DNP is the highest degree for clinical nursing practice. Frontier Nursing University’s DNP program, which began in 2008, focuses on preparing students to make a change that better serves the people in their community.

Drs. Jefferson and Jolles also discuss the DNP projects which students complete as part of their curriculum. These projects teach students to implement change in clinical settings. The students partner with clinical sites and customize their projects based on the needs of their own communities and clinical settings.

As it has in virtually all aspects of daily life, the pandemic has impacted the DNP program and the DNP projects. Drs. Jefferson and Jolles explain how FNU faculty and staff managed to adjust quickly and ensure that students could stay on course and complete their DNP projects.

Drs. Jefferson and Jolles also discuss the unique affordability of the DNP program and the many ways earning a DNP can positively impact students’ careers and lives by building them into leaders in their communities and professions. They describe, too, how students are able to build life-long friendships through FNU’s Frontier and Clinical Bounds during which students come to campus and are able to meet their classmates in person.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

The structure and purpose of the DNP Program
How the students’ DNP projects are guided by the needs of the clinical site and customized for their communities
How the DNP program builds leadership skills and advances careers
How the pandemic has impacted the DNP program
The many ways in which FNU’s DNP program is unique and different from all others
How Drs. Jefferson and Jolles came to Frontier and the leadership roles they have assumed

Listen to the Full Episode:

Full Episode Transcript

Enjoy the show?
Be sure to follow the Frontier Nursing University All-Access Podcast on Google Play, Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. Visit the FNU All-Access Podcast page here.

FNU All-Access Podcast Transcripts: Why the DNP Degree? (Ep #5)

January 22, 2022 By Frontier Nursing University

Frontier Nursing University All-Access Podcast, Episode 5 Transcript
Why the DNP Degree?

Please enjoy this transcript of the Frontier Nursing University All-Access Podcast! This podcast provides a closer look at Frontier Nursing University through lively and entertaining discussions with a wide variety of guests and topics.

[music]

Angela Bailey: Hello and welcome to the Frontier Nursing University All-Access podcast. I’m Angela Bailey, Chief Advancement Officer and your host for this adventure. I’d like to welcome you all to the on-call lounge here on the Frontier Nursing University Campus in beautiful Versailles, Kentucky. Within this inaugural season, we give you an all-access pass to dive deeper into Frontier Nursing University and all the individuals who are making a daily difference in advanced practice nursing, midwifery, education, and healthcare across the country. Today, it is my pleasure to welcome Dr. Khara’ Jefferson and Dr. Diana Jolles to the on-call lounge. Thank you both so much for joining us today.

Dr. Khara’ Jefferson: Thank you for having us.

Angela Bailey: My pleasure. Now, you guys are both new to the on-call lounge, so I wonder if I could get you to please introduce yourselves and tell our listeners what role you play at Frontier.

Dr. Khara’ Jefferson: My name is Dr. Khara’ Jefferson and I am the current DNP program director. I have been at Frontier Nursing University for four years. I started off in the DNP clinical as one of the faculty. Prior to this current role of DNP director, I was course coordinator of the dissemination course of the clinical series.

Dr. Diana Jolles: Hi, I’m Diana Jolles. I’m a nurse-midwife in Tucson, Arizona. I’m one of the DNP clinical faculty. I also teach for our master’s students who are becoming nurse-midwives.

Angela Bailey: Fantastic. Now, Khara’, where are you located?

Dr. Khara’ Jefferson: I’m from Louisiana. I have a house in Louisiana, but I also have a house in Georgia. That is where my husband and I reside, so I go back and forth.

Angela Bailey: Oh, nice. We have been educating our listeners on how our faculty and our students are all over the country. It’s always nice to say where folks are calling into the lounge or visiting the lounge from. It’s great to have you guys here. I appreciate you taking the time. In my role, sometimes I like to go visit our clinical bounds and pretend I’m a student, or visit our orientations. One of my favorite things that I have watched the faculty do at orientation is put the students around in a circle and have each student talk about their road to Frontier. I just thought it would be really interesting if you ladies wouldn’t mind sharing, what was your road to Frontier? How did you end up here?

Dr. Khara’ Jefferson: I can start.

Angela Bailey: Sure.

Dr. Khara’ Jefferson: I had a friend who I worked with who actually attended Frontier for her DNP. We worked together in Lafayette, Louisiana at an urgent care clinic. She was telling me, “I’m going back to get my DNP. You should really come. This is a great school. Everybody’s nice.” We were both teachers, both of us used to teach science in middle school prior to becoming a nurse. I was like, “Oh, well, if Amber says this is good for me,” because she’s like my sister kind of, “then this’ll be good for me.” I took the plunge and I did FNU’s post master’s DNP. I was DNP Class 21 and I enjoyed my entire experience so much so that I’ve never left since then.

Dr. Diana Jolles: I like to tell the story of how I came to Frontier because it’s very circular. It’s a funny story because it started with great resistance and rejection. Now I am here and won’t leave. About 25 years ago, I was-

[laughter]

-in my hometown, amazing midwife, Judy Parsley, who was the first midwife to ever get privileges in a hospital in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. She opened the first birth center in the county and she was an avid Frontier supporter and advocate. She always had midwifery students. She offered to send me to Frontier if I stayed there and worked, but it was the hometown I grew up in and I was only 18, 19 years old at the time.

I just had to spread my wings. I thought I needed to go to a brick-and-mortar school. Now 25 years ago, online programs weren’t as common. I’ve since throughout my education, through nursing, through my masters, and through my doctorate come to greatly appreciate the value and the importance of online education and really to trust its results. I came back after already having my doctorate to become faculty to really fall in love with Frontier and deeply appreciate its value in our country.

Angela Bailey: Wow. I love it. Do you guys know how I ended up at Frontier?

Dr. Diana Jolles: How did you wind up at Frontier?

Angela Bailey: I’m glad you asked. [laughs] My family is originally from Leslie County. My grandmother grew up on Cutshin, which is not far from where our campus used to be when we were in Eastern Kentucky. The majority of my older family members were delivered by Frontier nurse-midwives. I always knew about Frontier, but it wasn’t until my children both went to college and I decided that it was time for mom to take the plunge as well that I went back to school at 40, which is a whole other thing. Right after I graduated, there was a position open at Frontier.

For me, it was like coming home and getting to take all of those wonderful memories from my childhood of visiting that community and hearing about the nurses, and hopefully, spreading that message to the world and helping provide more primary care providers across the country. Listeners, if you hear the Eastern Kentucky in my voice, that’s what it is from the home of Frontier Nursing. [laughs]

It’s really inspirational and I thank you both for sharing. It’s one of my favorite things to hear how people from so many different cultures, backgrounds, and lifestyles end up at this, I like to call it, the little university that could and is no longer little.

I think 10 years ago, we had 200 students and now we’re over 2,500. It’s amazing the growth and the wonderful people who have made that happen, like the two of you. Anyway, I guess I should just quit carrying on. Let’s always talk about some stuff so that our listeners can figure out whether or not the DNP is for them and what the program is. Can you guys tell me a little bit about what the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree is and why nurses should consider pursuing this degree?

Dr. Diana Jolles: The Doctor of Nursing Practice started in 2006 in our country. It’s a relatively new degree. But I’m really proud. I think the DNP program at Frontier is an example of why Frontier is unique. We are so micro-focused on producing nurse educators and a high-quality primary care workforce. The essentials of the degree relate to making sure that the population that you’re serving is receiving evidence-based practice and is receiving the highest level of care. We know it takes over 17 years to implement research into practice. In many examples, it takes longer.

This degree specializes in preparing people to make change in their community and to serve the needs of the people, which is very, very complicated. Our program is designed to help mentor, support, nurture, and really build resilience and grit so that people have the skills and the tools to make the changes that need to happen in this healthcare environment that we know is so broken.

Dr. Khara’ Jefferson: I think you said something that was really critical there. It’s that people can have the clinical tools to do what is necessary. When people come to Frontier to get their Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, the expectation is not to fix the world. Our expectation is to just teach you the process so that you can take that process and put it to any other problem you see in your environment. I think that’s what makes us really special.

Angela Bailey: When you talk about teaching the process, that makes me think about the community projects or– what’s the technical term ladies? Help me out here.

Dr. Diana Jolles: The DNP clinical projects.

Angela Bailey: The DNP clinical projects. I’ve been fortunate enough to sit in on some of those. What I was so impressed by is that they are specific to their own communities and meeting a need in their communities. Is that something that is typical in a DNP program or is it something that’s unique to Frontier?

Dr. Diana Jolles: It is a requirement for a DNP program that it’s teaching students to implement change in clinical settings. I happen to believe that Frontier has been able to operationalize it and do it better than a lot of universities, which unfortunately experience inertia or a lot of barriers to being able to effectively do it. We specialize in the primary care workforce and have a lot of students who are in rural settings. One of the nice things, when you come to Frontier as a student, is you’re exposed to people from all over the country and really, in the DNP, we even have international students.

You really are ready. The pool of students is going to be a pool of people who are change agents because they’ve had to start rural practices or maintain rural practices. They’re people who are used to doing more with less. We are starting with a unique population and then our curriculum is uniquely designed to affect change and to support people to be most effective.

Dr. Khara’ Jefferson: I also think that when we speak about community, it’s also important to define what community actually means. They’re doing it for the larger community that they live in, but the unique thing for our students is that probably 98% of them are actually doing their project at the place where they work. They know the inherent problems that they see every day, they know what’s not standardized and what actually should be, they know that these national organizations put out these guidelines and they should be following them to treat these primary care conditions but they’re not often seen.

We have the other set of the population where they’re unable to necessarily do their project in their site but they are able to still go and volunteer and it may still be where they work, but in a different capacity. Maybe it’s a different unit of the hospital. By them getting in touch with the quality department and the key stakeholders, they are able to really narrow in on what is needed, not just something that they’re passionate about, but something that can truly drive change in impact care.

Angela Bailey: Wow. Yes. The presentations that I have watched, I watched one on diabetes education and monitoring diabetes within the practice. That just blew me away, especially with family members who are diabetic. Understanding that there are more things that we can do and that our providers can help us with, it was very educational. I was so impressed at the level and breadth of knowledge of these DNP students. It’s very impressive. Now, has the pandemic changed how the DNP presentations are done? Their projects? Has that changed at all?

Dr. Khara’ Jefferson: It changed briefly for one term, maybe two, but everything has pretty much been the same. What we used to do in the dissemination course was we had the students present to the stakeholders to the site, because after all, they didn’t do this project for Frontier Nursing University. No, they did it for their patients, their providers, their community. The only difference is, instead of having those presentations on-site, they actually moved, for most people, to Zoom.

It has been fabulous having people there and unmute and really our facilitated discussions, in my opinion, aren’t the actual best part of the project, because they’re going through all of the steps and the results they achieved, but actually hearing them discuss what they did with other people who may be interested or people who were involved and now want to take it a step further, that whole sustainability piece is really the part that I love.

Angela Bailey: Fantastic. I think that we have all struggled a little bit to maintain during the pandemic and it was a beautiful thing to watch all of our faculty pivot to make sure that our students didn’t miss a beat and that they were able to continue with their educational programs. Kudos to you guys. I know that there’s many DNP programs out there. What sets Frontier’s DNP program apart from others?

Dr. Diana Jolles: I think the first thing that sets the program apart is that we’re a university that focuses only on educating the primary care workforce of advanced practice providers, nurse-midwives, and psych NPs. Whereas other universities compete with other departments of engineering, mathematics, other departments in large nursing schools, we’re able to invest all of our resources into a very clear and defined focus. The faculty are here to focus on teaching students, we’re not split with diverse pressures. I don’t have to write grants, there’s no pressure for me to do other activities. That is very unique.

We’re also very committed, we have been an anti-racist organization before the word even existed. Our mission since our inception was always diversifying the workforce. We’re the first online university before the internet existed, we did distance learning, so we do distance learning right. I think I’m exceptionally proud of that across all of our programs. Then the DNP is no exception. Our commitment to students and diversity includes our determination to ensure that this is an affordable program. That’s been crucial. As far as I know, it is the most affordable program in the United States. I don’t Google that all the time, but it is. I know that we’re very competitive and determined to ensure that we’re supporting our students in that way.

Dr. Khara’ Jefferson: I would also add that I think that one of the other things that makes Frontier unique are our Bounds. I think, Angie, you mentioned the Bound sessions earlier, but our Bound sessions, whether they’re in person or had to be moved virtually due to COVID, they are a real opportunity to find your support. You come in not knowing, for most people, anyone in your group, but at the end of our program, because we have so many live sessions built-in, you really do form a real good social network. That level of support, I think, is unique and you don’t get that at many other programs.

I have students who tell me, “I am still in touch with people that I went to Bound with 10 years ago, 15 years ago.” My DNP class, we still are friends on Facebook. There’s a whole bunch of things, like we still ask about each other’s lives. That’s an experience that I don’t think that you’re going to get at too many places, even though half the time, by the time these people have met, they have graduated, they’ve only met one time and that was during Bound actually in-person if they had it on campus.

Angela Bailey: If this is the first podcast that you’re tuning into, when we talk about Bounds, what we’re talking about is an orientation at the beginning of the student’s educational career that we call Frontier Bound because you’re on your way to the Frontier experience. During that Bound, students get to meet each other, they meet their instructors. They figure out what the culture is and how this whole program works and most importantly, they build those lifelong connections. I also work very closely with our alumni and I can tell you that we have alumni from different programs, NP, midwife, that met during their Frontier Bound and they are still lifelong friends and all over the country.

Then the second Bound that we have is called Clinical Bound and it’s really a clinical skills intensive in which students come to campus and they learn those necessary skills before going into their clinical practicum or preceptorship. For instance, our students will learn to do suturing on sponges, and then later on cow tongues, which is way fun to watch, by the way. They do practice exams and physical assessments. The midwifery students catch babies from a very realistic model. It’s a wonderful experience and it is that community building. Diana, weren’t you involved in the quality improvement project at Frontier that was around the community of inquiry that really did even more extensive work on that sense of community within the institution?

Dr. Diana Jolles: I was. We were talking about what makes Frontier unique. I was thinking about this earlier today. We so believe in what we teach that when it comes to any type of question or issue we have with regard to our curriculum or the way we’re teaching things, we run rapid cycle quality improvement processes. We do root cause analyses. We’re really walking the walk and doing what we believe in and what we know how to do. That’s a good example.

Angela Bailey: I loved what you girls were saying about keeping the tuition low and being a single-purpose institution. Some people might not be aware that Frontier actually created the Family Nurse Practitioner profession, the very first FNP program was at Frontier. Yes, we did start doing distance education prior to the advent of the internet. One of my favorite things about Frontier is that we are not a brick-and-mortar school, who decided to get into the online education game. We pioneered it, we created it. Our staff and our faculty are experts at online education and how to make it work for all of our students and make sure that they feel connected to the community. It’s pretty beautiful to watch. You guys are amazing.

Dr. Diana Jolles: We’re lucky to be here, that’s for sure.

Angela Bailey: What else? Is there–

Dr. Diana Jolles: We talk about affordability. We have a variety of programs of study in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program for the companion students. They’re students that have gone through our master’s program. They could finish if focused full time in a nine-month time period after their master’s degree because they’ve already taken a number of our doctorate-level courses. For our post-master’s students, the program of study is 15 months to 18 months. That said, there is variety, our commitment to meeting the individualized needs of students.

We very much believe in structure because it’s important for progress. It’s important to follow accreditation standards, and we have expert educators who’ve put together the curriculum in such a way that it’s– The different classes are paired together properly so your learning objectives are happening the way they need to. I think it’s that timeline too, is part of what makes us effective and efficient and very committed to meeting the students where they’re at. If they have life demands – COVID has thrown a wrench in many people’s families, in their work lives, in homeschooling – we’ve been able to modify programs of study to meet the needs while continuing to graduate the workforce.

Dr. Khara’ Jefferson: It’s also important to note that the companion DNP program, they must complete 21 credits and the post-masters DNP must complete 30 credits. You have two and a half years. Even though we’re saying your plan of study is for 12 months or 15 or 18 months, we do provide some grace because, like you said, life happens and it happens to each and every one of us. There’s no sense in setting unrealistic expectations. Whether someone is working full-time or working part-time, the DNP is a great option here.

Angela Bailey: If you decide that life has happened and you need to take a semester off, I know at some institutions you might have to wait two or three semesters before you can pick up a course because they’re not offered every term. Is that the case for our DNP program?

Dr. Khara’ Jefferson: Absolutely not. I think that might be another unique thing. We’re probably up to five or six things right now, but Frontier offers every class, every single term. If someone does have to take an academic hiatus, which is a break from one of our 11-week terms, then it’s fine. You can have up to two academic hiatus in your plan.

Dr. Diana Jolles: I thought of another, really three very unique important pieces to Frontier that I really think make Frontier stand out. There are three departments that we have, the clinical credentialing department, the academic advising department, and our IT department. I believe that this cannot possibly exist anywhere else in the United States. I have had exposure to other universities. Our clinical credentialing department is actively credentialing thousands of sites across the United States and internationally. Our IT department is available not just to faculty but to students every day across different time zones.

I just can’t say with enough passion how kind they are. They could teach me to do the same thing on a computer five times a year, do it with a smile, never make fun of me. I would leave feeling like it’s okay. [laughs] We’re really lucky.

Angela Bailey: I agree. [laughs] I do have one more question, particularly for students who may be a midwife, why would a midwife want to do a DNP instead of a doctor of midwifery.

Dr. Diana Jolles: For our nurse-midwives who are looking at different doctoral programs, one of the advantages to a DNP is that it specifically sets you up to be a change agent and a leader. The core competencies are focused on implementing evidence and leadership in practice. We know that obstetrics is one of the least evidence-based practice disciplines in the United States. It’s a very hard workforce for midwives. We know that the midwifery workforce can suffer from higher than average degree of burnout because of the occupational stress that happens within the practice environment related to interprofessional stress, stress between nurses and doctors.

We know where we’re headed. The next 10 years are going to be very important for the field of nurse-midwifery and midwifery in the United States. The DNP is specifically focused at giving nurse-midwives skills to lead change, which is very hard. That’s different than some of the other skills related to research or practice in teaching environments. It’s micro-focused on going into clinical settings and being the leader.

Dr. Khara’ Jefferson: In other words, it’s more versatile. Because they have a wider range of skill sets, I believe, than if they were to just get a doctor of midwifery.

Angela Bailey: It’s interesting because so many of our graduates are doing just exactly what you guys are describing. I get notifications of graduates opening their own practices, breaking down barriers, and having practices in hospitals that had never allowed nurse-midwives there before. That change agent is just so evident to me every day.

Dr. Diana Jolles: I just had a conversation yesterday with a student who just got a new job in a huge city. She had come from a more rural environment and she said, “You know why they hired me, because there were many applicants that were qualified? They told me they hired me because of my DNP project and the change that I was able to make.” I think it’s so true over and over and over again you see people who are attracted to the idea of getting a doctorate most often because it diversifies your employment opportunities, it allows you to teach at the master’s level. It’s essential to have if you’re going to want to be a nurse educator.

What you hear are all of the examples of how I had no idea this would change my life in this way, the opportunities it afforded me, the job security. It might not lead immediately to a raise in your current clinical job. What it leads to is a variety of different professional opportunities to get onto different health policy committees, which ultimately, one after another, leads you to a different job or a new job and greater economic potential.

Dr. Khara’ Jefferson: I would also add that I have seen something similar but in a different way in thinking of one of my students. She went in for her DNP clinical project, the quality improvement department approved it, but the physicians were dead set against it. They were like, “You’re just a nurse. You’re just a nurse practitioner, how could you possibly change the way this is done?” She wanted to quit. She wanted to quit many, many times but she kept saying, “No, this is a real need for our patients. We need to change the way that we do things. We need to change the way that we document things. Even more than that, we need to make sure that patients are truly engaged in their care. We’re not just going to keep educating them because we’ve done that. We’ve been educating them. What we really need is something that the patients can understand and we figure out what they want so we can impact change.”

By the time she actually held her final DNP presentation, they were so impressed at the amount of work that she had done to improve those outcomes that her project, actually the people who were like, “No we don’t want it,” they changed their mind and they’re like, “This was so great. We now need you to present it to the whole hospital.” The entire hospital adopted everything and the hospital had sister hospitals, so it was spread throughout the entire system.

She started off as someone who was passionate about something, there was so much doubt, but she persevered and she became a leader. She never thought that that was her role, but through this process, that’s what she gained. The growth was amazing.

Angela Bailey: Wow. If I were to sum it up, you need your DNP because it is going to give you more opportunity for your career and more flexibility in your life and career, but it will also help you to be a change agent and make an even greater difference in your own communities. That is the other thing that we love about Frontier, is that we know that students who are educated in their home communities are more likely to stay there. It just gives me cold chills to hear you guys talk about these projects and know that this is changing the lives of countless families across the country. Go, ladies. You’re my role models. You are my heroes. [laughs]

Dr. Diana Jolles: Thank you.

[laughter]

Dr. Diana Jolles: We are blessed to be doing this. It is a thrill to work with each and every student and each and every local community. It’s the best job.

Angela Bailey: I would have to agree. I absolutely love it. Is there anything else that you guys would like to share about the DNP, or about Frontier?

Dr. Diana Jolles: One of the things about quality improvement that I like, specifically related to the DNP projects is, this happens every term, but the term I’m thinking of, we had a student at Yale implementing in a hospital, that was one of the Yale hospitals, and that was a midwife. We had a student on a cardiac unit at Stanford, another student in rural Alaska and someone in suburban Nebraska. The funny thing is that as much as the people struggle, you can imagine that a hospital like Yale has a lot of resources and a huge quality improvement department, and then our students in rural settings have fewer resources, but in the end, they come together, they support each other, they learn from each other, and the challenges they have are the same. It’s always human resources, staff not wanting to do or engage. It’s kind of fun and very predictable. I would say, you can’t go wrong with the Frontier DNP. I can’t say enough good about it.

Angela Bailey: Awesome. Khara’, would you like to share anything else?

Dr. Khara’ Jefferson: I think it’s just about being open and being curious. It doesn’t matter if you come here and you’re like, “There have probably been 100 people who have done diabetes projects.” There have been over 100 people who have done diabetes projects, but the one thing that I can guarantee you is no two diabetic projects are exactly the same because even though people share some of the same problems, their sites are very unique. It’s just amazing to watch people sit back and say, “You know what, I’m not actually working in a diabetic setting, I’m actually a midwife or a women’s health nurse practitioner, and I don’t really deal in my role now, I don’t deal with diabetes, but I’ve worked on X, Y, Z problem, and I think that my knowledge of X, Y, Z can help you with this.” It’s the collaboration I think that really ties everything together.

You don’t just leave Frontier Nursing University with a DNP degree, you leave it with your DNP degree, quality improvement skills, new friends, and a whole community of support. If we had to sum it up, that is what it is. You leave with so much more than what you came with, or even that you anticipated that you would leave with.

Angela Bailey: That support I think is so incredibly important. It’s not, again, just from our amazing faculty, but it’s that support of over 8,000 alumni across this country and their fellow students. A lot of times, I will hear from admissions that somebody who’s interested in attending Frontier would like to talk to a grad. All I have to do is reach out to our alumni and within minutes, somebody is saying, “Hey, send me their phone number, I’d be happy to call and talk to them.” That’s never failed to be the case. No matter where I go in this country, I can find a Frontier grad, and they are always, “Oh, did you meet this person?” They’re still connected to everybody else. We’re a big community.

Ladies, I am so proud that you are a part of our community, and of the work that you guys are doing, and that you’re doing with our students and graduates, so thank you. I’m going to have you back again because I think that you guys are involved in some other things outside the university and inside the university that are really interesting that we will need to talk about again, but I certainly appreciate you being here today and welcome back anytime.

Dr. Khara’ Jefferson: Thank you.

Angela Bailey: You’re very welcome. To our listeners, we want to thank all of you for joining Frontier Nursing University All Access. We hope that you have enjoyed our conversation. If you would like to learn more about Frontier and how you can make a difference for mothers, babies, and families across the country, please visit our website at frontier.edu or reach out to me your All Access host at angela.bailey@frontier.edu. As always, if you have enjoyed this podcast, and we hope that you have, please remember to rate, review, and subscribe. Until next time, thanks for listening.

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Be a leader for change with the DNP

December 2, 2021 By Frontier Nursing University

Many who enter the healthcare field do so not only wanting to serve others but also to be a leader in improving quality of care as a provider and clinician. The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), which is the highest degree for clinical nursing practice, helps prepare for this level of expertise. Simply put, the DNP is designed for registered nurses who want to take their nursing career, leadership skills, and clinical expertise to the next level.

“I decided to pursue a doctorate in nursing practice at Frontier due to its strong reputation, online format, and faculty expertise,” Dr. Kimberly Jones-Beatty, FNU DNP alumni, said. “FNU’s DNP curriculum provides instruction on leading quality improvement in the clinical setting, as well as exposure to evidence-based practice, health policy and advocacy, and system/ organizational leadership.”

FNU’s DNP program helps students advance their skills as well as develop as leaders, researchers, and innovators. The DNP Program draws on the clinical expertise of the faculty and students to prepare nurses at the highest clinical level to use their knowledge and clinical expertise to impact the health care of not only the individual but also the health care of the community, the region, and the nation.

“The DNP program is pushing me to become a better leader,” Dr. Kamil El, FNU DNP alumni, said. “I’m used to staying in the background and putting my head down, but I’m being challenged to engage more on a political stage and with stakeholders in my community to make sure my patients get the kind of care they deserve.”

FNU’s DNP curriculum provides education in evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and systems leadership; building on knowledge already acquired. As part of the curriculum, DNP students complete a Quality Improvement Project, generally in the hospital or clinic where they are currently working. This allows the student to tailor their project to their practice and the patient population which it serves.

To learn more about the DNP, please visit the DNP page on our website. On this page, you will be able to view the curriculum, request information and apply to our DNP program.

Below, listen to FNU DNP alumni explain why they chose FNU and the importance of the DNP.

Questions?

If you have any questions about our online DNP program, please fill out the form on our website. In the meantime, you can watch our FNU DNP Q&A sessions on our Youtube channel.