Biography

Kristine Twite Lehnen is a Frontier Nursing University CNEP class 133 graduate. After earning her MSN with a focus on Nurse-Midwifery in 2017, she completed her WHNP post graduate certificate in 2018. In 2019, while working a full-scope midwifery position in California's Napa Valley, she earned her DNP following a quality improvement project focused on providing patient-centered care by implementing the ACOG breastfeeding toolkit for the outpatient clinic setting. Along with being a certified nurse-midwife and women's health nurse practitioner, Kristine is also an IBCLC and has a strong commitment to helping ensure women reach their breastfeeding goals. She is passionate about ensuring all pregnant people have a safe and satisfying birth experience. As an DNP prepared APRN, she is driven to make contributions to reduce maternal & child healthcare disparities and to facilitate patient empowerment through clear education and shared decision-making. As an educator, she is committed to supporting all students as they deepen and apply their didactic knowledge, embrace of the role of a clinician, work through the clinical decision making process, and gain the skills needed of a professional APRN who is ready to practice evidence-based patient-centered care in a safe and compassionate manner. Kristine’s prior teaching experience includes serving as an adjunct assistant professor of nursing from 2014 - 2020 at Dominican University of California prior to joining FNU in 2020 where she has taught in NM700 Role of the Nurse Midwife and PC701 Principles of Health Promotion, and the midwifery and women's health clinical courses. Currently, Kristine works full time as clinical faculty and serves on multiple committees, including Curriculum Committee and the Critical Thinking, Clinical Reasoning and Diagnostic Decision-making sub-committee. She is committed to ensuring students and preceptors are thriving during the clinical practicum experience. Kristine supports the clinical faculty team as the Course Coordinator for WH751, WH752 and WH753, a Regional Team Lead, and as Regional Clinical Faculty for CNEP and CWHNP students Minnesota, Wisconsin, & Michigan. She also provides PRN nurse-midwifery care in the San Francisco Bay Area and in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Kristine is the Vice President of the Minnesota Affiliate of ACNM and has been active as their social media chair for the past several years. Kristine was a social medial volunteer for the California Nurse-Midwives Association from 2019-2022, as they worked to remove physician supervision for CNMs through the legislative process.