The community at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) believes it is our responsibility to serve the underserved in ways that change the lives and improve the overall health of community members. Frontier course faculty member Ruth Elsasser is at the heart of this movement, hosting impactful presentations to locals that invite them to consider how diet and lifestyle choices affect their health and wellness.

Ruth, a 2015 graduate from Frontier’s Post-Master’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (PM-DNP) program, says her goal was always to teach.

“I am constantly striving to improve my skills as a clinician and gain as much knowledge as possible to positively influence the lives of all those that I touch,” Elsasser says. “The DNP has provided me with more opportunities to do just that.”

Elsasser chose FNU because the DNP program encourages students to develop and implement solutions to close the gap in health care. Since her graduation in 2015, Elsasser has been teaching Advanced Pharmacology at Frontier.

Stemming from her experience as a student and faculty member at FNU, Elsasser has a message she is sharing with the community. Her target audience is new moms and chronic pain patients, and her theme is clear: diet and lifestyle choices directly affect personal and family health and wellness. Since beginning to share her presentation locally, Elsasser has seen positive developments.

One couple followed a few recommendations they heard from the presentation and are now weaned off of eight different medications (as a couple). They reported to Elsasser that they are much more present in the lives of their kids and grandkids because of the changes.

“They felt that their lives had become ‘theirs again’,” Elsasser says. “This has motivated me, as well, to continue learning and reaching out to as many as possible.”

Thank you, Ruth, for representing Frontier Nursing University’s mission, both on and off campus!

At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.