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.

According to Frontier Nursing University (FNU) student, Cydne Marckmann, FNU is the perfect fit to align with her passion for nursing. Cydne chose FNU because of the mission of Mary Breckinridge as well as the attractiveness of an online program. According to Cydne, everyone at FNU is intentionally connected and uses technology as a natural extension to bring each other together rather than as a barrier to separate one another.

“My classmates have been the glue through tough coursework,” said Cydne. “Many are the last I hear from at night and the first I hear from in the morning. We live all over the U.S. but are only one text message away. The bond between us is incredible”

Cydne is currently finishing up her Post-Master’s Doctors of Nursing Practice (PM-DNP) and is set to graduate in December of 2016.

“I want to complete my DNP because I want nursing to be involved in the evolution of healthcare,” said Cydne. “If nursing is going to be actively involved, nurses need to have the same credentials and expertise as our other health care colleagues. The DNP has expanded my expertise in research, the business of healthcare, and the need for quality population outcomes. I’m gaining the skills to be a better nurse practitioner and to lead other nurse practitioners in our changing healthcare environment.”

Although the DNP road has been an incredible journey, Cydne doesn’t consider it to have been an easy one. Cydne credits the faculty at Frontier for supporting her work and learning.

She recently completed a grant project titled Telemedicine as a quality initiative for Concussion Management: A Washington State Pilot Project, which was approved by the 2016 American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) Research Grant. Her project focuses on concussions in sports as they continue to be on the rise. With little resources to help patients and providers manage concussions, patients often have to travel and wait a long time for an appointment with a specialist. Cydne proposes using telemedicine so that the primary care provider, patient, family, and specialist can work together in the same setting.

The faculty at FNU is proud to have students like Cydne who are working hard to make our health care system stronger!