2024 Distinguished Preceptor Award Recipient: Sandi Mellor

October 30, 2024 By Frontier Nursing University

The Distinguished Preceptor Award recognizes a graduate providing long-standing support and commitment to the mission and work of Frontier Nursing Service and Frontier Nursing University through precepting students. The 2024 recipient of this award is Dr. Sandi Mellor, DNP, APRN, FNP.

Growing up in her hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Dr. Sandi Mellor, DNP (Class 30), APRN, FNP-BC, knew at a young age that she wanted to pursue a career in healthcare so she could “help people get healthy and stay healthy.” Determined to do just that, she took a medical-surgical nursing class while still in high school. After high school, she worked towards her associate degree in nursing and worked as a nurse for three years for the National Health Authority in Bedford, England, where her husband was stationed as a member of the U.S. Air Force.

“I thought I wanted to be a physician, but after taking my first nursing medical-surgical class in high school, I fell in love with being with the patients,” said Mellor, who has worked as a nurse for almost thirty years.

Upon returning to the United States, she went back to school and earned a bachelor of science in nursing in 1998. While raising two sons, she worked in the cardiac intensive care unit, pediatric intensive care unit, and neonatal intensive care unit, as well as the trauma and emergency room. She recognized that many of these patients required not only emergency or urgent care but also primary care management of their comorbidities. Inspired to serve the underserved, she went back to school to become a family nurse practitioner. She earned her FNP in 2004, the same year she and her husband had a baby daughter.

They moved back to Tulsa in 2007, where Mellor began training internal medicine residents how to be providers. She also began precepting FNP students. She left the resident clinic setting in January 2010 to open her first family practice, where she found more opportunities to precept and teach BSN and FNP students while serving the underserved. At her clinic, Mellor accepts those on Medicaid or without insurance and has Spanish-speaking translators on staff to help make sure all are welcome. At the second clinic that she opened, Neighborhood Medical Clinic, Mellor provides both family and urgent care.

“I always wanted to serve the underserved and felt called to nursing,” Mellor said. “I can see the entire family and treat them, with or without insurance. I can give free care to families. I see one child that has strep throat, and I can see the other children in the family and the parents and do not have to charge each of them because I own the practice.”

Mellor’s practice not only provides essential service to the community but also serves as a training ground for others who follow in her footsteps. She is eager to precept students, including approximately a dozen from Frontier Nursing University, with a time commitment of nearly 600 hours per student.

“I decided to earn my DNP from Frontier Nursing University as I had precepted so many students from there and found it to be a very prestigious program,” said Mellor, who earned her DNP in 2019. “Their FNP students were prepared and knowledgeable. I also researched the DNP program, and it was and still is one of the top in the nation. (FNU Director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program) Dr. Khara’ Jefferson (DNP, APRN, FNP-C, CHC) was patient and guided me to “trust the process”, and I was able to complete a project I was truly proud of that is still in use today. I was able to make a change in a vulnerable population and serve the underserved. It has helped me guide Quality Improvement projects at my clinic, teach in the FNP/DNP programs, and always encourage others to maintain the highest standards of nursing by continuing their education.”

Not only has the passion that Mellor had for nursing and helping others as a child never waned, but it has grown stronger and deeper as she has seen the impact that she can have in her community and beyond.

“I enjoy teaching and precepting because I get to see the ‘aha’ moments where the theory/didactic and practice guidelines make sense in clinical practice,” Mellor said. “I get to see the growth of a student becoming what they dreamed of earning – their RN or FNP qualifications. I get to influence and help the next generation of nurse practitioners to maintain our high standards and continue to improve the quality of healthcare for all. I get to be part of the positive change in healthcare as NPs increase their presence and roles in providing care for everyone.”

In addition to teaching through precepting, Mellor also has ventured into course development and classroom teaching. She wrote the FNP courses and taught the first three graduating classes from the University of Tulsa FNP program. She has also worked with Oral Roberts University and the University of Oklahoma.

“It is a way to give back to the nursing profession that has given me so much and fulfilled my calling,” Mellor said. “I want to write a book about nurses, and I hope I can continue to work as a nurse practitioner, precept, and teach all levels of nursing as well. I am interested in earning my PMHNP certification as well as continuing to serve my community. I will continue to advocate for full-practice authority and showcase the benefits nurse practitioners bring to bridging the gap in healthcare.”

Her advocacy efforts have included volunteering for the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) FNP content expert panel. To date, she has served on the panel for six years, including two as the elected chair of the panel.

“Nurses have to be the change we need in healthcare,” Mellor said, explaining her interest in being an advocate. “We are the largest population and the most trusted for many reasons. So we must be the ones to lead those positive changes towards improvement.”

And to help people get healthy and stay healthy.

Frontier Nursing University Announces Annual Service Awards

June 24, 2024 By Frontier Nursing University

Frontier Nursing University (FNU) announced its annual award recipients for 2024. These awards are presented to FNU alumni who have gone on to make significant contributions to their communities or to the university. The awards were presented at a ceremony during FNU’s Homecoming event on March 23.

FNU was founded in 1939 as the Frontier Graduate School of Midwifery. FNU has since grown to become one of the largest nonprofit universities in the United States for advanced nursing and midwifery education. As a pioneer in graduate nursing and nurse-midwifery education, FNU remains at the forefront of innovation and technology with top-ranked, accredited programs delivered via community-based distance education. Frontier Nursing University offers a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree, Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree, and post-graduate certificates leading to education as a certified nurse-midwife (CNM), family nurse practitioner (FNP), women’s health care nurse practitioner (WHNP) and/or psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP).

“So many of our alumni have gone on to do amazing things in communities all across the country and even the world,” said FNU President Dr. Susan Stone, CNM, DNSc, FAAN, FACNM. “I am so proud of the way they represent and support Frontier Nursing University. Their dedication, commitment, and generosity are truly inspiring.”

Distinguished Service to Society Award

The Distinguished Service to Society award recognizes an alumnus who goes above and beyond to provide exceptional service in his or her community. The 2024 recipients of this award are Dr. Francis Aho, DNP, CNM, and Christopher Davis, MSN, FNP-C, ENP-C.

Dr. Francis Aho is the director of the Africa Mission Services Community Health Clinic and Women’s Health Center serving the Maasai tribe of Kenya. Born in Switzerland, Aho moved to the United States when she was 4 years old and spent most of her childhood in western Tennessee. After obtaining her RN, she worked as an ER nurse for four years before resigning and traveling to Honduras, where she assisted in a medical capacity in clinics as a nurse.

As her interest in serving the underserved grew, she sought a more permanent opportunity and found it at Africa Mission Services. In December 2008, at the age of 24, she moved to Kenya and took what had previously been a clinic that visiting doctors could use and opened it full-time. When she and her husband Andrew, who is the founder of Africa Mission Services, had twins in 2014, Aho stepped away from the clinic for two years. Upon her return, she realized she needed more maternal health care training and enrolled at Frontier Nursing University, earning first her CNM and then her DNP. She led the renovation of an area of the clinic to establish a women’s health center, which includes four Kenyan midwives. In 2023, the current clinic delivered 612 babies. Construction on a new 11,000-square-foot building for the Women’s Health Center is nearing completion, with the grand opening scheduled for June 21, 2024. The new birth center will include an outpatient department, an inpatient maternity wing, and a labor and delivery wing.

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Christopher Davis is a United States Public Health Service (UPHS) officer assigned to the Department of Justice. He currently works in a medium-security prison in his home state of South Carolina, treating adult male patients who have been incarcerated. Hepatitis C, HIV, and opioid use disorder are among the common conditions he treats. Davis began his career in health care as a paramedic, during which time his responsibilities included 911 responses, critical care transports, and flight medicine.

During that time, he was also part of a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster team that responded to hurricanes. Davis has also served as an emergency room director, which included directing the ambulance service. Seeking to provide even better care to his patients, he enrolled at Frontier Nursing University to obtain his FNP. While at FNU, Davis worked as a commissioned UPHS officer. Upon graduation from FNU, he was assigned to the federal penitentiary in Pineville, Kentucky, before eventually being reassigned to his current position in South Carolina. Because the UPHS is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, Davis is able to continue to serve in disaster medicine. He has provided aid at multiple hurricanes, tuberculosis outbreaks, COVID outbreaks, and the U.S. Border Patrol.

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The Distinguished Service to Alma Mater honors an alumnus who has continued to provide support to Frontier through volunteer efforts and/or philanthropy. The 2024 recipient is Dr. Tia Andrighetti, CNM, APRN, CHSE-A, CNE, FACNM.

Dr. Tia Andrighetti has been a faculty member at Frontier Nursing University for 20 years. Currently, she is an Associate Professor at FNU and is also the university’s Innovation Coach and Simulation Coordinator. Andrighetti grew up in Connecticut and attended Penn State University as a pre-med student but ultimately chose to become a nurse instead. She obtained her MSN from Case Western University and her nurse-midwifery certificate from Frontier in 1997. After doing her clinicals in Florida, Andrighetti moved to Connecticut, where she worked in private practice while her husband went to law school. She left practice for a few years to have children, then became regional clinical faculty (RCF) at Frontier and went on to obtain her DNP from Frontier in 2010.

Soon after that, Andrighetti became a Clinical Bound team leader at Frontier. Since then, her role has expanded to be the university’s Innovation Coach and Simulation Coordinator. In this role, Andrighetti works with faculty to develop active teaching methods, including simulations, for their courses. Her areas of interest include the application of knowledge using a variety of teaching modalities. Much of her career has been spent writing, implementing, and evaluating the use of high-fidelity simulation in the education of students. She has researched Deliberate Practice during those simulations. Her current research involves the use of interprofessional simulation in the education of students. She is a faculty member in the Center for Teaching and Learning and works with the Academic Affairs team to enhance faculty development. Andrighetti has established numerous faculty education programs, a simulation peer evaluation program, and a robust simulation program that utilizes cutting-edge technology to impact the learning experience of students and support faculty in innovative teaching approaches. Andrighetti has been a generous and steadfast donor to FNU since 1998.

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The Unbridled Spirit Award is given annually to a former Courier who is dedicated to serving others, has ongoing, longstanding stewardship of Frontier; and has demonstrated conviction, courage, and a zest for adventure. The Courier Program Public Health Internship is an eight-week rural and public health summer service-learning program for college students with an interest in public health, healthcare, or a related field. The 2024 recipient is Dr. Elia R. Cole.

Dr. Cole is a Family Medicine physician with Northwest Permanente. In her current practice, she sees patients virtually, providing a blend of urgent and primary care to patients in Washington and Oregon. Cole is a member of her local executive board of the Washington Association of Family Physicians. She was born in the Hudson Valley in upstate New York. As a young girl, Dr. Cole’s mother was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. An all-female medical team became a decisive influence when Cole realized she wanted to be a doctor, too.

As a pre-med student, Cole was an EMT and Director of Emergency Medical Services while she attended Bard College. She also participated in summer programs to prepare for the medical field through a pediatric surgery internship in Lima, Peru, and the Frontier Nursing University Courier Program in Hyden, Kentucky, in 2008. Cole continued on to study public health at Boston University and medicine at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in Yakima, Washington As a third and fourth-year medical student, Cole was assigned clinical rotations based out of Fairbanks, Alaska. Her rural healthcare experiences included travel to remote villages, where she learned to provide healthcare with limited resources. Further clinical rotations took Cole across the country to the Midwest and the Navajo Nation. These varied experiences of life in America further fueled Cole’s desire to deliver healthcare to underserved populations, as she learned through her working experience while a Frontier Courier. From 2018-2021, Cole attended residency at Kaiser Permanente in California, where she dedicated her research studies to teaching telemedicine in an effort to support medical learners to safely care for people virtually. Cole has remained connected to the Courier program, serving on the Courier Advisory Committee and coming back to attend orientations or closing sessions when possible. She encourages the Couriers and has mentored some of them as they pursue their public health careers.

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The Lifetime Service Award recognizes an individual or organization providing long-standing support and commitment to the mission and work of Frontier Nursing Service and Frontier Nursing University. The 2024 recipient of this award is Janice L. Bovée, MSN, CNM.

In her 46 years as a Registered Nurse, Bovée “caught” 1,867 babies, assisted physicians in more than 500 cesarean sections, and mentored hundreds of nurses and student nurse-midwives. It is the career she dreamed of even as a child. Born in Mesa, Arizona, she attended high school in Phoenix and became a candy-striper through the American Red Cross program when she was 16. She married shortly after graduating from high school and had her first child while enrolled in a junior college nursing program. A year after the birth of her second child, Bovée graduated with an associate degree in nursing in 1978 and began working as an RN in a small rural hospital.

She saw it all throughout her RN career, working in labor and delivery, emergency, newborn, and pediatric ICUs, operating rooms, and office clinical sites. Looking to advance her career, at the age of 31, she went back to school and obtained a bachelor’s degree with an eye toward becoming a nurse-midwife. Twelve years later, she enrolled in Frontier’s Community-based Nurse-Midwifery Education Program. She was precepted by Frontier alumnus Susan Dennis, working in a migrant farm workers’ clinic. She went on to work in a physician-owned OB/GYN practice in Phoenix before moving on to help start a nurse-midwifery service in 2006. The practice now employs six full-time certified nurse-midwives and also serves as a host site for many students in their clinical rotations. Now retired as a practitioner, Bovée has also taken on leadership roles outside of her practice, including serving on the Board of the Arizona Nurses Association, being president of the local chapter of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, and sitting on the Arizona Board of Nursing Advanced Practice Advisory Committee.

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The Distinguished Preceptor Award recognizes an alumnus providing long-standing support and commitment to the mission and work of Frontier Nursing Service and Frontier Nursing University through precepting students. The 2024 recipient of this award is Dr. Sandi Mellor, DNP, APRN, FNP.

Dr. Mellor was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she now owns Neighborhood Medical Clinic, a combined family and urgent care practice. She knew at an early age that she wanted to pursue a medical career and took a medical-surgical nursing class while still in high school. She worked towards her associate degree in nursing and worked as a nurse for three years for the National Health Authority in Bedford, England, where her husband was stationed as a member of the U.S. Air Force. Upon returning to the United States, she completed her bachelor of science in nursing degree in 1998. While raising two sons, she worked in the cardiac intensive care unit, pediatric intensive care unit, and neonatal intensive care unit, as well as the trauma and emergency room.

She recognized that many of these patients required not only emergency or urgent care, but also primary care management of their comorbidities. Feeling the call to serve the underserved, she went back to school to become a family nurse practitioner. She earned her FNP in 2004, the same year she and her husband had a baby daughter. They moved back to Tulsa in 2007, where Mellor began training internal medicine residents how to be providers. She also began precepting FNP students. She left in January 2010 to open her first family practice, where she found more opportunities to precept and teach BSN and FNP students while serving the underserved. At her clinics, Mellor accepts those on Medicaid or without insurance and has Spanish-speaking translators on staff to help make sure all are welcome. Mellor, who earned her DNP at Frontier Nursing University in 2019, worked with the University of Tulsa and Oral Roberts University, writing their FNP program courses and teaching them prior to joining the University of Oklahoma in 2022 to teach undergraduate and graduate programs. She also continues to help educate students through precepting and has precepted approximately a dozen Frontier students (nearly 600 hours per student).

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Alumni Spotlight: Nurse and Educator Dr. Tarnia Newton Teaches Nurses to be Advocates for All Patients

May 10, 2024 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 who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality healthcare to underserved and rural populations.

Tarnia Newton, DNP (Class 28), FNP-C, has seen a shift in nursing and the understanding of the importance of culturally concordant care in healthcare outcomes.

A self-proclaimed “disruptive innovator” and an educator of students she calls “JEDI nurses,” Dr. Newton understands that change does not occur without action. It is a lesson she is instilling in her students at the University of Arizona College of Nursing, where she is an Assistant Clinical Professor and a member of the Equity, Diversion, and Inclusion (EDI) Committee.

“I think nursing as a whole had to really pause and honestly think about systemic and structural racism and the role it plays in health outcomes and what nursing institutions are doing about it,” Dr. Newton said. “I have successfully integrated Safe Zone Training into the DNP program. This introductory workshop provides an overview of LGBTQ+ terminology, health disparities, and issues facing the LGBTQ+ community. It is truly believing, as a practitioner, the importance of offering affirmative care for all.”

Originally from the Bahamas, Dr. Newton had numerous aunts who were nurses, and her great-grandmother was an informal midwife for the rural island community of Andros in the Bahamas.

“It (nursing) may be in my genes,” Dr. Newton said. “I always liked to help people.”

Dr. Newton embraced her nurturing manner and healthcare ancestry and pursued a career in nursing. She started as a Licensed Practical Nurse, working in pediatric home care. After obtaining her RN, she went into critical care. For 16 years as a critical care nurse, she worked in several specialties, including open heart, neurology, trauma, pediatric medical, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation perfusionist. She then went on to become a Family Nurse Practitioner.

When Dr. Newton decided to pursue a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), she picked Frontier Nursing University.

“I chose Frontier because it was an online program that genuinely focused on the DNP essentials and gave me the skills I would use in the clinical environment,” Dr. Newton said. “I always say it was the best money I spent on education. I would not be where I am today if it was not for Frontier. They have a great way of creating community and fantastic faculty. I have recommended many of my colleagues to attend Frontier to get their DNP, and just like me, they drank the Kool-Aid. Frontier gave me the tools to be a disruptive innovator. It inspired me to be at the steering wheel of change, therefore truly preparing me for my current role.”

Though Dr. Newton did not formally become a professor until after completing her DNP, she had always enjoyed teaching others. She taught advanced cardiac life support and basic life support and assisted in her hospital’s annual clinical skills fair. Completing the DNP at Frontier in 2018 fully opened the doors to her current career in academia. Dr. Newton began working at Galen College of Nursing in December 2018.

True to her nature, Dr. Newton jumped right into her new career, soaking up knowledge and distributing it to others with equal enthusiasm. She has quickly become a leader in higher education diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

I recently completed the AACN Diversity Leadership Institute, and my capstone project was focuses on creating a resource toolbox but also training faculty on culturally responsive pedagogy and how they can integrate it into their syllabus and classrooms,” Dr. Newton said. “As an educator, advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging through culturally responsive pedagogy is an alternative to improving cultural humility, thus improving community health.”

Data demonstrates that culturally concordant care improves healthcare outcomes. Providing culturally concordant care means increasing diversity in the healthcare workforce and educating healthcare professionals about its importance. It is a tall task, to be certain, but an essential one. It calls for the skills of a JEDI.

“My future goal is to actively participate in changing the landscape of nursing,” Dr. Newton said. “I am so passionate about nursing education to be transformative for students and creating JEDI nurses – meaning Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. It will take JEDI nurses to make a difference in healthcare to be patient-centered, creating inclusive environments for patients and healthy work environments for nurses that are nourishing and not toxic.”

Unfortunately, there is still far too much toxicity in the political climate, which ultimately spills over into other areas, including healthcare and education. Pushback and even legislation against university-driven DEI initiatives are becoming more common nationwide. Those actions demand a response, not a retreat.

“With the new anti-DEI legislation happening across the country, it has become worrisome, especially when considering the importance of health outcomes and how they genuinely relate to diversity, equity, structural racism, and biases,” Dr. Newton said. “Anti-DEI is truly not an option in educating future healthcare providers. The social determinants of health, equity, and justice have to be the focus. This is a time more than ever when we need to take a stand and recreate the nurses we need for the future. We need JEDI-nursing warriors to advocate for all patients. We need health policy, population health, JEDI attributes, and quality improvement skills to be fundamental to the vocational, associate, and bachelor’s level nursing curriculum. We often leave it to the master’s or even doctorate level, but it needs to be at a grass root level. We need to develop nurses who can transform communities by addressing inequity in healthcare practices to improve health outcomes.”

With Dr. Newton’s expertise, commitment, and passion, perhaps, in her case at least, those last two letters of “JEDI” nurse should stand for “Disruptive Innovator.”

Learn more about advanced nursing degrees and specialties at Frontier Nursing University. Subscribe to our blog for the latest news and events at FNU and to get inspired with stories featuring our alumni, students, faculty, preceptors and staff!

Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Rachel Koransky-Matson Makes a Difference for Diabetes Patients in Rural Maine

January 11, 2024 By Frontier Nursing University

Dr. Rachel Koransky-Matson

Within her community in rural Maine, Frontier Nursing University alumnus Dr. Rachel Koransky-Matson stands as a beacon of transformative healthcare, especially for those affected by diabetes. Graduating as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) in 2016 and completing her Post-Master’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in 2017, Dr. Koransky-Matson said her journey began with a resounding desire to make a difference which led her to FNU.

“Frontier’s mission statement and vision to provide care for underserved communities and create entrepreneurial leaders is what I want to do with my career,” she said.

Dr. Koransky-Matson’s current role as a Diabetes Nurse Practitioner has placed her at the forefront of healthcare in an underserved, rural landscape. She serves in the northernmost endocrinology department in the U.S., excluding Alaska, catering to patients of all ages grappling with diabetes. Working in the practice since May 2022, Dr. Koransky-Matson’s relentless efforts have resulted in an over 20% improvement in the Hemoglobin A1C <9% rate of patients at the practice within just one year, a testament to her dedication and expertise.

In her practice, Dr. Koransky-Matson cares for type one, type two and gestational diabetes patients, over 90 percent of whom are on Medicare and/or Medicaid. Despite resource constraints, she works hand-in-hand with each patient, crafting healthcare goals that accommodate the unique challenges of the community.

“My patients are complex and diverse,” she said.

Before working in her current practice, Dr. Koransky-Matson worked across the country at multiple clinics with various populations in her capacity as a locum. Beyond her clinical achievements, she has also authored textbooks and has been featured in publications such as Forbes.

Outside of her professional pursuits, Dr. Koransky-Matson leads a fulfilling life on a farm, surrounded by her family and an assortment of animals, including rabbits, goats, chickens, cats and dogs.

Reflecting on her time in the family nurse practitioner program at FNU, Dr. Koransky-Matson acknowledges the lifelong friendships she forged during her educational journey. She said the FNU network has been a cornerstone in supporting her career, fostering connections that have bolstered her mission to bring positive change to healthcare.

“My Frontier education made it possible,” she said.

Thank you, Rachel, for empowering your community, advancing healthcare and exemplifying the values of FNU.

Student Spotlight: Emily Tubbs hopes to help others improve quality of life as an FNP

March 31, 2023 By Frontier Nursing University

Through her role as a registered nurse, FNU student Emily Tubbs works every day to help underserved patients in her community. A resident of Hooper, Utah, Tubbs works as a referral triage nurse for a local Rheumatology clinic.

The specialty clinic is in the Intermountain healthcare system, where Tubbs has worked since 2009. She started as a patient service representative in Radiation Therapy and then as a CNA while attending nursing school. She also worked with Applegate HomeCare & Hospice and Heritage Park Care Center. She has served as a registered nurse with Intermountain for six years now.

Intermountain is made up of nearly 60,000 caregivers who serve the healthcare needs of people across the Intermountain West, primarily in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, and Kansas. It is a not-for-profit organization providing care to all individuals in the community regardless of their ability to pay, including low-income, uninsured, and minority populations.

Inspired by her own experience as a patient

Tubbs said her decision to pursue a career in healthcare was inspired by her own experiences as a patient. She said she experiences symptoms that affect her daily life, but has not yet been diagnosed with any condition.

“I know a lot of people in the same boat as me, where our lab work and assessment findings leave us undiagnosed,” she said. “I want to help anyone looking for the underlying cause of their symptoms and improve their overall quality of life.”

Tubbs is currently pursuing her Master of Science in Nursing at FNU to become a Family Nurse Practitioner. She said she was inspired to enroll at FNU due to the flexibility afforded by online courses and the university’s highly-reputable Nurse Practitioner program.

A member of FNU Class 205, Tubbs is set to graduate in 2025.

Outside of her work and studies, Tubbs enjoys spending time with her family, friends and pets; spending time outside on walks, runs and hikes; going to the gym and going out to eat. She is married and has three children, along with eight horses, 15 cattle, a goat, a dog and three cats.

Thank you, Emily, for choosing FNU in your healthcare journey and for providing quality care to underserved populations in your community.

Learn more about advanced nursing degrees and specialties at Frontier Nursing University, including our Family Nurse Practitioner program. Subscribe to our blog for the latest news and events at FNU and to get inspired with stories featuring our alumni, students, faculty and staff!

Meet the Program Director: Dr. Khara’ Jefferson, DNP Program Director

February 10, 2023 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 healthcare to underserved and rural populations.

Throughout her time working with FNU, Khara’ Jefferson, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, CHC has been a champion for higher education among nurses. As Director of the university’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program, she provides essential support to students in the program.

Dr. Jefferson knows first-hand the benefits that come from earning a DNP degree through FNU, as she earned her degree from the university in 2017. She is a certified Family Nurse Practitioner through the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and before earning her DNP, she practiced in urgent care centers, telehealth, and emergency departments.

Dr. Jefferson earned her DNP at the encouragement of Dr. Amber Littlefield, a colleague in emergency medicine and urgent care who now serves as a faculty member at FNU.

“I loved it because it was a good conglomeration of everything that I was already doing, because I was already doing some quality improvement work,” Dr. Jefferson said. “I just wasn’t calling it quality improvement or quality assurance, but that’s really what I was already doing at some of these sites. So it all just came together.”

After earning her degree, Dr. Jefferson began working with the course faculty in the DNP Program at FNU before becoming an assistant professor. She took on the role of DNP Program Director in 2021.

A native of Louisiana, Dr. Jefferson moved around in her early life due to her father’s career with ExxonMobil. She spent seven years living in Malaysia, attending the International School of Kuala Lumpur.

Before taking on a career in healthcare, Dr. Jefferson worked as a seventh-grade science teacher. She has a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and worked as a Registered Nurse in an emergency department for several years before obtaining her Master of Science in Nursing degree from the University of South Alabama in 2011.

Learn More About FNU’s Online Doctor of Nursing Practice Program

Through her current role at FNU, Dr. Jefferson helps prepare future advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) leaders to provide evidence-based care as they earn their DNP degrees. FNU’s DNP program is designed to improve healthcare outcomes and the delivery of primary health through enhanced nursing leadership.

Students in the program complete 30 credit hours in 18 months, lead a rapid cycle quality improvement project in collaboration with a chosen clinical site, and participate in a three-day campus immersion experience. FNU’s online DNP program,a focused practice doctorate that centers on improving patient outcomes, helps nurse practitioners take their career, leadership skills, and clinical expertise to the next level.

”FNU’s DNP program is designed to improve healthcare outcomes and the delivery of primary health through enhanced nursing leadership…I think you really become part of a family, part of a community when you come to Frontier.”
– Khara’ Jefferson, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, CHC, DNP Program Director

Dr. Jefferson said the DNP Project FNU students lead truly makes the program stand out. Projects are small in scope and need to be appropriate for implementation within three months of the student and sponsor deciding on the clinical topic. Through their project, students are guided through the process of working within a healthcare delivery system to translate evidence into practice, and are introduced to quality improvement theories, processes, and programs.

“They are seeing all the gaps that are actually around them in their site, and meeting with people on their leadership team to decide which one of those they can realistically tackle in this small amount of time,” Dr. Jefferson said.

Projects pursued by DNP students follow guidelines and standards provided by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). Students also have the opportunity to present their project at the annual IHI National Forum in Orlando, Florida.

The Culture of Caring Within the DNP Program

Dr. Jefferson said another aspect of the DNP program that makes it stand apart is FNU’s Culture of Caring, which reinforces a committed and loyal community where all members feel valued, confident, empowered and accepted by embracing Professionalism, Inclusivity, Respect, Positive Communication and Mutual Support.

“I think you really become part of a family, part of a community when you come to Frontier,” she said.

This connection, Dr. Jefferson said, is one of her favorite things about her career at FNU.

“Because we have these live sessions and because we have these one-on-one meetings, I get to know people for who they are, not just their DNP project,” she said. “A lot of times I know their family, because there’s somebody who’s cheering them on in the background that they’re telling me about. So that’s what makes it really special. It’s just being able to connect with people on a different level.”

Dr. Jefferson said when it comes to those who are considering entering the DNP program at FNU, students should expect to welcome feedback about their project and be open and curious.

”We’re looking for people who want to be the next APRN leaders who really want to change healthcare in a meaningful way and still serve their communities.”
– Khara’ Jefferson, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, CHC, DNP Program Director

“We’re looking for people who want to be the next APRN leaders who really want to change healthcare in a meaningful way and still serve their communities,” she said.

Dr. Jefferson is married and has one son. In her free time, she enjoys adrenaline-raising activities such as sky-diving and bungee jumping. She also serves as CEO of a health and wellness consultation business, KAJ Wellness.

Thank you, Khara’, for your dedication to DNP students at FNU and for your commitment to helping FNU further its mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality healthcare to underserved and rural populations.

Do you think FNU’s DNP program is for you? To learn more about FNU’s online DNP program, fill out the form below.

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National Academies of Practice Inducts Dr. Vicky Stone-Gale as a Distinguished 2022 Fellow

June 27, 2022 By frontieredu

The National Academies of Practice (NAP) recently announced the election of Dr. Vicky Stone-Gale, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, FAANP, FNAP, as a Distinguished 2022 Fellow. Class of 2022 Fellows were welcomed into the National Academies of Practice during the awards and induction ceremony in San Diego, California, on March 5, 2022.

In the fall of 2020, Dr. Stone-Gale and her daughter Jennifer Stone, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, became the first APRNs licensed as autonomous advanced practice registered nurses in the state of Florida. They received the good news after a house bill permitting select APRNs to practice in primary care was signed into law by the Florida governor earlier that year. The Autonomous Nurse Practitioner practices in primary care settings permitting the APRN to be independent of physician general supervision to provide care throughout Florida.

“To be elected by my peers as a Fellow of the National Academies of Practice is truly an honor,” Dr. Stone-Gale said. “This organization works toward the common goal of working with all professions to advocate for quality healthcare for all individuals. This will only improve the outcomes of our patients, which is what is needed for everyone.”

Founded in 1981, NAP is an interprofessional, nonprofit organization with membership representing a range of healthcare professions willing to serve as distinguished advisors to healthcare policymakers in Congress and elsewhere. The mission of the National Academies of Practice is to serve as distinguished professionals advancing interprofessional healthcare by fostering collaboration and advocating policies in the best interest of individuals and communities.

The academies within the National Academies of Practice include Allopathic and Osteopathic Medicine, Athletic Training, Audiology, Dentistry, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Optometry, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Podiatric Medicine, Psychology, Social Work, Speech-Language Pathology, and Veterinary Medicine.

Fellowship in the National Academies of Practice is an honor extended to those who have excelled in their profession and are dedicated to furthering interprofessional practice, scholarship, and policy in support of interprofessional care. The central purpose of NAP is to advise public policymakers on health care issues using NAP’s unique perspective — that of expert practitioners and scholars joined in interprofessional dialogue and advocacy.

To learn more about Dr. Stone-Gale and her work in advocacy, listen to our podcast.

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

May 12, 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) 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