SEPT. 5, 2017 -  Congratulations to Ms. Kathryn Carr, CNM, from Boston, our featured preceptor this summer term. Ms. Carr has been described as "highly committed to midwifery and our program in particular." In addition to a busy clinical practice, she is very active active with ACNM leadership. Please read the full story here.

JUNE 13, 2017  - Congratulations to Ms. Maggie Hughes, CRNP, our featured preceptor this spring term. Ms. Hughes was nominated by former student, Kathleen Harvey (FNP class 124, winter 2016 graduate). Maggie is a Family Nurse Practitioner at STATMED Family Clinic in Ozark, Alabama. Please read the full story here.

MARCH 10, 2017  - We are happy to announce that Ms. Sandy Blaser, CNM, from Pittsburgh, PA, is our featured preceptor this winter term. Please read the full story here.
 

DEC. 5, 2016  - Congratulations to Ms. Erin Crone of Washington, DC, our featured preceptor this fall term.  Ms. Crone was nominated by former student, Marzi Viverette (FNP class 109, spring 2016 graduate) and faculty member, Dr. Amy Nassar, who describes Ms. Crone as “truly outstanding.”  Dr. Nassar praises Ms. Crone’s usage of evidence based care which “helps our FNU students learn how to treat illnesses and conditions according to guidelines.”

Marzi goes on to praise her former preceptor: “Erin was an amazing preceptor. She was a patient teacher who always took the time to answer all my questions and help guide me during my pediatric clinicals.  She was very understanding through my life’s ups and downs and was always extremely approachable.  She had a way of explaining things that just made sense. She was always positive and encouraging.  She gave great advice for life after school.” 

Erin has been working in pediatric primary care with Pullman & Ariza Pediatrics since just after graduating from Georgetown University School of Nursing and Health Studies -  almost seven years ago.  Erin typically sees a mix of well visits from newborn to college age and also a variety of sick visits on a daily basis.  The clinic serves a wide range of ethnicities and different family structures. Erin started precepting NP students in January 2012 because she enjoys teaching one-on-one.  Precepting gives Erin the ability to provide a comprehensive learning experience in pediatrics. 

Ms. Crone will receive a Starbucks gift card as a small token of our appreciation for her being a great preceptor.

Recent graduate, Mandi Lew, celebrates her 40th birth with our featured preceptor, Starla Leete (left)

SEPT. 1, 2016  - We are happy to announce that Ms. Starla Leete, CNM, from Rock Springs, Wyoming is our featured preceptor this summer term. We are proud to call Ms. Leete one of our own; she is a 2003 graduate of Frontier with certificates in both Nurse-Midwifery and Women’s Health Care. Ms. Leete was nominated by former student, Mandi Lew, with whom she is now partnered with at Health Dimensions Clinic (formerly of College Hill Health Center which was the first CNM office in Wyoming). Mrs. Lew is also a certified nurse-midwife and a 2015 graduate of FNU.

Ms. Leete was the first CNM in Southwestern Wyoming and, “has created a very positive attitude toward midwifery in our community,” says Mrs. Lew who was her first CNEP preceptee. They have recently settled into a new practice, Health Dimensions Clinic, which will cater to all women’s needs, including obstetrics, gynecology, primary care, and aesthetics. Until just recently, Ms. Leete was the only female women's health care provider to offer OB-GYN services in Rock Springs. In addition to being active in both her community and the ACNM, Ms. Leete is a proud mother of 3 boys. Her hobbies include travel, reading, and exercise.
Rock Springs is a small city in southwestern Wyoming with a population just under 25,000; it has a rich history in natural gas, coal, and trona mining.

Ms. Leete will receive a Starbucks gift card as a small token of our appreciation for her being a great preceptor.

APRIL 29, 2016  - We are happy to announce that Ms. Bernie Justice, APRN, from Pikeville, KY is our featured preceptor this spring term. RCF Melanie Morrison eagerly nominated Ms. Justice for this honor, and says, “Bernie has willingly served so many students that I have now lost count. Despite the time constraints of a busy practice, Bernie has graciously given of her time and shared her expertise with FNU students from Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia. Bernie serves as a role model and consistently promotes clinical and professional competency. She actively engages students in the guided experience of applying knowledge to practice. Bernie's "gift" of precepting is priceless.”

Embodying Frontier’s mission of serving the rural and underserved populations, Ms. Justice has been a nurse for 25 years, and has been providing care as a nurse practitioner in pediatrics since 2009 in the Eastern Kentucky region of Pikeville. She is board certified by the ​American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. Pikeville, with a population just under 7,0000, is located approximately 80 miles from Hyden, on the far eastern side of Kentucky, near the Kentucky-Virginia border. 

Ms. Justice’s former preceptees have been quick to offer their preceptor praise. Kristie Senters, FNP class 121 describes Bernie as “truly a gifted provider and mentor” and calls her “patient and kind in the most demanding situations.” Amanda Farmer, FNP class 118, describes her as “a wonderful teacher.” 

Sharon Deel, FNP class 112, appreciated the rapport she was able to build with Ms. Justice: “My experience with pediatrics was limited and I was a little nervous but she talked me through the first couple of exams and I was at ease. I also admire how she remembers her patients and spends time talking with them and their parents which is a perfect example of developing a trusting relationship.”

MARCH 7, 2016  - We are happy to announce that Ms. Beth Bramlett, CNM, from Tampa, FL is our featured preceptor this winter term. Ms. Bramlett provides full scope midwifery care for the patients of the Tampa Family Health Care System. RCF Meghan Garland reports that Beth and her site is very generous in taking Frontier students, and this kind and gentle preceptor is “universally loved and respected by her students”. She excels at teaching hand skills like identifying fetal landmarks during labor. Her enthusiasm and love for midwifery is inspiring. The FQHC where she see dozens of patients daily is a bustling, busy place but she takes the time to make every woman feel special. Her students feel that way too.

One such student that feels that way is alumnus, Melanie Combs, CNEP class 101/September 2014 graduate, who nominated her former preceptor for this special honor. Melanie goes on to describe Beth as “an amazing asset to my learning, and to my life. Beth never loses her amazing energy and personality. Even when I felt like I'd never get it, Beth was right there encouraging and helping me to understand. I feel so blessed to have called her my preceptor, a colleague and most importantly, a friend. There were a few weeks that we saw each other more than our husbands, so having found such a great friend in her was such a blessing!” 

Melanie recently joined the practice of Women’s Health Care herself, and since she completed her clinicals there, she says, “it was like coming home!” 

CNEP class 119/January 2016 graduate Kristin Nobles who just recently completed clinicals with Beth, also praises her former preceptor. Kristin says, “The compassion, knowledge, and evidence based care she provides grounded my faith in this profession and reminded me that midwifery-led care does positively change the culture of healthcare.”

DECEMBER 6, 2015  - We are delighted to honor Ms. Erin Bjork, APRN, CNP, from Melrose, MN, as our featured preceptor this term. Ms. Bjork has been a preceptor with Frontier since 2011 and has taken on numerous students, with another student slated to begin winter term. She has precepted students on very short notice for Frontier, and responds immediately to calls for urgent placement from our Minnesota RCF, Nancy Pesta Walsh. Ms. Bjork provides full scope NP practice, from pediatrics to elderly, in a small, rural, central Minnesota city where she has served her community for over eight years. In addition, she provides care to a large Hispanic immigrant population. Her employer, Centracare Health System, is recognized as a National Health Service Corps site (NHSC) and a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA). CentraCare has a strong influence in central Minnesota and works hard to keep clinics and hospitals in small towns and improve health care for those rural communities. Ms. Bjork is part of this effort, as well.

Recent graduate, Heather Christenson, FNP student class 116, describes Ms. Bjork as "instrumental in my learning as a nurse practitioner." She goes on to describe Ms. Bjork as "efficient and caring, truly listening and explaining things to her patients."