We continue our series of honoring our committed and dedicated nurse practitioners this month with Jessica Kelly, one of CHAP’s valued Itinerant Providers as she shares her story with us: 

After I graduated high school, I went to a university and got a BA in psychology. It was a great education, but I knew my degree was probably not going to get me a job that would pay the bills. I then went to the local community college and got an ADN in nursing. Most of the instructors were nurse practitioners and I was so impressed with their level of knowledge and confidence. When I graduated with my ADN, my goal was always to go back and pursue a graduate degree in nursing because I wanted that knowledge base to increase my autonomy and confidence.  

I was employed as an RN at the local hospital for nine years, working in the Medical/Surgical and Critical Care units, and finally as a hospital supervisor. But I was eager to learn more. I saw friends and colleagues going on to pursue their career goals by completing various nurse practitioner programs and I thought if they could do it, why can’t I? I finally decided to go for it and in 2017 started the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) bridge program at George Washington University and graduated in 2020. I went to school part-time and worked part time and completed the program in three years. 

Transitioning from an RN to an FNP is very humbling. It’s analogous to the process of going from a nursing student to a fledgling RN. You always learn the most by being on the job and doing the work. It makes me admire the many providers I have met who are cool, calm, collected, knowledgeable, and comfortable doing their jobs. At this point, I am stretching and learning every day and appreciate the opportunity to keep learning here at YKHC. It’s exciting and exhausting at the same time, but I know that one day I will be as comfortable doing my job as those Nurse Practitioners who inspired me to pursue this career.  

Working in rural Alaska in the YK Delta and traveling to clients in their local villages really is true grass roots community health/public health care. I hope our patients can see and feel that we care about their health and want to partner with them in treating and preventing illness. We work hard at providing preventive care, which is key because of the limited accessibility to health care services in this region. 

If our patients see that we care about them and their priorities, they will help us to achieve our mission of “Working Together to Achieve Excellent Health.” As Maya Angelou so eloquently stated, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” If we can make our patients feel welcomed and heard, we will be able to achieve so much.