Eligible applicants should be interested in learning about public health, health care, social work and related fields; share a commitment to Frontier’s mission of serving the rural and underserved; and be ready for an adventure! Formal training or an educational background in healthcare is notrequired.

Frontier Couriers Began Serving in 1928

Couriers are an integral part of Frontier’s history. Mary Breckinridge, founder of Frontier Nursing University, established the Courier Program in 1928 to recruit young people to work in the Kentucky Mountains and learn about service to humanity. Couriers escorted guests safely through remote terrain, delivered medical supplies to remote outpost clinics, and helped nurse-midwives during home visits and births. Frontier has benefited tremendously from the 1,500 Couriers who have served since 1928.

Today's Couriers Embody the Same Spirit

FNU’s Courier Program is a service learning internship focused on serving rural and underserved communities, distinguished by its legacy and the adventuresome nature of our site placements. Couriers provide critical assistance to rural health clinics and birth centers in Appalachia, as well as outpost locations across the country.

While responsibilities vary by site, all Couriers will:

• Complete a Community Health Profile, paying particular attention to health equity issues;
• Shadow clinicians in their work with patients;
• Perform volunteer duties to meet critical clinical needs; and
• Engage directly with the community through secondary project(s).

Courier Program Goals

1. To introduce Couriers to the value of public health, advanced practice nursing, and primary healthcare services to people living in rural and underserved communities;
2. To support clinical and other community sites by meeting critical needs that would otherwise go unmet;
3. To foster cultural humility through Courier engagement with diverse communities and fellow Couriers; and
4. To facilitate Couriers’ experience of FNU’s mission in action and encourage them to embody the Frontier legacy in their later vocations and personal lives.

Important Dates

• Applications and reference letters are due by February 12, 2016.
• The Courier Program will run from June 5 to July 31, 2016.

Contact Information

• QUESTIONS: For questions, please contact mandy.hancock@frontier.edu or call (859) 899-2827.
• APPLICATION FEE: Applicants should contact Robin Smith at 859-899-2503 to pay the $50 application fee by February 12.
• REFERENCE LETTERS: References should email letters to CourierApplicants@frontier.edu with the applicant's name in the subject line.
• LEARN MORE ONLINE: Do you or someone you know embody the legacy of a Courier? Visit http://www.frontier.edu/courier for details.