The need for primary health care providers is rising and nurse practitioners are well-positioned to fill that gap. However, the funding that would allow more nurses to attain the level of education needed is dropping.
Kaylee Ackel hopes that trend will soon reverse thanks to data she小蝌蚪APP檚 been able to provide policy-makers.
Ackel is enrolled in the 小蝌蚪APP小蝌蚪APP檚 online Doctor of Nursing Practice program and says she小蝌蚪APP檚 unique among her cohort. While the majority of DNP students are nurse practitioners, Ackel小蝌蚪APP檚 background is administration and teaching. She小蝌蚪APP檚 an assistant professor in the College of Nursing at Northwestern State 小蝌蚪APP in Natchitoches.
小蝌蚪APP淲hen I started teaching, I felt like earning my DNP would be beneficial to help me bridge that gap,小蝌蚪APP she says. 小蝌蚪APP淚 felt it would put me in a better position to serve my students and in healthcare overall.小蝌蚪APP
With her background, Ackel needed additional residency hours to complete the doctoral program. Dr. Jeanne Cartier, associate professor, helped Ackel find a solution. Dr. Cartier is a former board member for the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties, or NONPF, and was able to connect Ackel with organization CEO Dr. Mary Beth Bigley.
Dr. Bigley offered Ackel the opportunity to take on a project analyzing the Advanced Nursing Education Grant program under Title VIII, looking at funding that goes directly to students.
小蝌蚪APP淚 pored over hours of Excel sheets, and analyzed Title VIII policies over the last seven years,小蝌蚪APP Ackel says. 小蝌蚪APP淭he findings showed that traineeship grant money for that program has decreased.小蝌蚪APP
Since 2017, Ackel says, a policy shift has meant less money for nursing students to pursue advanced degrees while higher education costs are rising along with the need for primary care providers.
小蝌蚪APP淣urse practitioners are positioned to address that because they serve primary care populations,小蝌蚪APP Ackel says. 小蝌蚪APP淭o simultaneously be needing nurse practitioners but not funding them is not ideal.小蝌蚪APP
Dr. Bigley was able to share Ackel小蝌蚪APP檚 findings with nursing policy advocates in Washington, D.C., to try to procure more funding for students pursuing advanced nursing degrees.
小蝌蚪APP淚t小蝌蚪APP檚 a tangible product of why I decided to pursue my doctorate in nursing. I wanted to apply my leadership education to nursing, and to be able to do it at such a scale where it impacts not only the future nursing workforce but potentially nursing students really just brings everything together,小蝌蚪APP Ackel says. 小蝌蚪APP淚t小蝌蚪APP檚 surreal. I小蝌蚪APP檓 very hopeful it makes a difference.小蝌蚪APP
Ackel earned both her bachelor小蝌蚪APP檚 and master小蝌蚪APP檚 degrees at UL Lafayette. She says returning for her DNP has helped her apply what she小蝌蚪APP檚 learned in new and meaningful ways while developing a more detail-oriented perspective, especially in regards to applying evidence to practice.
小蝌蚪APP淚t小蝌蚪APP檚 shown me some of my own capabilities 小蝌蚪APP things I小蝌蚪APP檇 never done before,小蝌蚪APP says Ackel. 小蝌蚪APP淏ut it小蝌蚪APP檚 also shown me this whole new world related to nursing that I was always interested in but was unsure how I could contribute to. Now that I小蝌蚪APP檝e gotten a taste of that, I小蝌蚪APP檓 interested in how I can do more in the future.小蝌蚪APP