HYDEN, Ky. – Frontier Nursing University (FNU) graduates’ recent exam scores reveal the effectiveness of a properly-structured, affordable distance education nursing program.
The American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB), the professional association that provides certifications for certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) and certified midwives (CMs) in the United States, released the scores from the 2017 examinations in February of 2018. FNU graduates passed the 2017 midwifery board exams with an average pass rate of 94.0%.
FNU graduates comprised 33.7% of all the (AMCB) nurse-midwifery certification test-takers in the nation, totaling 254 graduates out of the 754 test-takers nationwide. Of the examination candidates that tested for the first time, FNU graduates made up 34.6%. The national pass rate for all test-takers for 2017 was 90.2%, while FNU’s overall pass rate exceeded it at 94.0%. FNU surpassed the national pass rate for first-time test-takers (92.0%) as well, with a pass rate of 95.0%.
The National Certification Corporation (NCC) released the results of the 2017 Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner Exam in March 2018. FNU graduates passed at a rate of 97.9%, where the national average was 90.0%.
The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners National Certification Board also released the results for the 2017 family nurse practitioner (FNP) Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and Post-Graduate Certificate (PGC) examinations. The pass rate for FNU graduates in the MSN board exam was 97.0%. First-time FNU test-takers averaged a 95.0% pass rate, which was well above the national average of 80.0%.
In June, the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) released the certification pass rate for 2017. FNU first-time takers for family nurse practitioner MSN students averaged a perfect 100.0% for the second consecutive year. Those testing with a post-graduate certificate for the first time averaged a score of 91.67%.
The trend held for the FNP Post-Graduate Certificate examinations. FNU graduates passed at a 91.0% rate over all on both the AANP and ANCC exams, and first-time AANP test-takers nationwide passed at a rate of 82.0%.
FNU is a distance education institution that prides itself in an affordable tuition rate ($34,000-37,000 for MSN). Since 1991, FNU has implemented a curriculum for distance learning developed to target the needs of nurses from rural and underserved areas. In addition to considering the above-average outcomes in the 2017 national certification examinations, all programs are structured and evaluated by the multiple accreditation processes of the professions and regional graduate level education.
Currently, there are more than 2,000 students enrolled, with about half of those in the nurse-midwifery master’s program and all others in the nurse practitioner programs or doctoral program. FNU educates approximately one-third of all nurse-midwifery students in the U.S.
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Frontier Nursing University is passionate about educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to serve women and families in all communities, especially rural and underserved areas. FNU offers graduate Nurse-Midwifery and Nurse-Practitioner distance education programs that can be pursued full- or part-time with the student’s home community serving as the classroom. Degrees and options offered include Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) or Post-Graduate Certificates. To learn more about FNU and the programs and degrees offered, please visit Frontier.edu.
A new wave of preceptors is signing on with Frontier Nursing University (FNU) as a result of many inquiries at the 2018 American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) Conference. FNU faculty and staff traveled to the Denver Convention Center on June 27-30 for the 
For Dr. Morrison and Dr. Collins, this was the third RAM event at which they have volunteered in affiliation with The Health Wagon of Virginia. In March 2018, they plan to attend a RAM event in Buena Vista, Va., and will serve as preceptors for any FNU students who would like to volunteer. The ACP has also planned to volunteer at this event and has agreed to again work with FNU nurse practitioner students.
Madison Huff, Nurse Practitioner Student
Alesia Traeye, Nurse Practitioner Student
Kristine Twite Lehnen, Nurse-Midwife Student
Brian Webster, Graduate and Faculty Member
Stephanie Allotey, Nurse-Midwife Student
Susy Furr, FNP, was honored as FNU’s “Featured Preceptor” for the fall term. Susy was nominated by FNU nurse practitioner alumna, Beth Morrell.
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 
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).