Frontier Nursing University is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

graduate school Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachel ...

nursing Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

Versailles, Kentucky Versailles is a home rule-class city in Woodford County, Kentucky, United States. It lies by road west of Lexington and is part of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. Versailles has a population of 10,534 according to 2024 ce ...

. It was established by the

Frontier Nursing Service The Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) provides healthcare services to rural, underserved populations since 1925, and educates nurse-midwives since 1939. The Service maintains six rural healthcare clinics in eastern Kentucky, the Mary Breckinridge H ...

in 1939 as the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing.

History

Frontier Nursing University was founded in 1939 as the Frontier Graduate School of Midwifery. The Frontier Graduate School of Midwifery graduated its first class in 1940. In 1970, the school was renamed the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing with the opening of the nation's first family nurse practitioner education program. In 1989/1990, as a joint effort of the Frontier Nursing Service, Case Western Reserve University, the Maternity Center Association, and the National Association of Childbearing Centers, the Community-based Nurse-midwifery Education Program was born. Hence, Frontier became the first graduate school of nurse-midwifery to offer

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

. In 2005, the Community-Based Women's Health Care Nurse Practitioner option was added. In 2011, Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing became Frontier Nursing University to underscore the distinct graduate-level programs while reflecting the institution's history and vision.

Presidents

* Susan Stone, 2001–2023 * Brooke A. Flinders, 2024–present

Academics

Frontier Nursing University focuses exclusively on distance nursing education with a strong focus on training nurses to provide advanced care to rural and underserved communities. It offers a

Master of Science in Nursing A Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) is an advanced-level postgraduate degree for registered nurses and is considered an entry-level degree for nurse educators and managers. The degree may also prepare a nurse to seek a career as a nurse adminis ...

, post-Master's certificate, and

Doctor of Nursing Practice The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is a professional degree in nursing in the United States of America. In the United States, the DNP is one of three doctoral degrees in nursing, the other two being the research degree PhD and the Doctor o ...

(DNP) with speciality certification leading to education as a Family Nurse Practitioner, Certified Nurse Midwife, Women's Healthcare Nurse Practitioner, or Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

The school is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is a regional educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. As of 2022, the organization oversees ap ...

, Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education, and the

National League for Nursing The National League for Nursing (NLN) is a national organization for faculty nurses and leaders in nurse education. It offers faculty development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiative ...

Accrediting Commission. The institution is tied number 53 overall in "Best Nursing Schools: Master's" in U.S. News & World Report's 2022

rankings A ranking is a relationship between a set of items, often recorded in a list, such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than", or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak ...

. Four of the institution's programs are individually ranked: * #67 in Best Online Master's in Nursing Programs * #3 in Best Online Family Nurse Practitioner Master's Programs (tie) * #37 in Best Nursing Schools: Doctor of Nursing Practice * #27 in Nursing-Midwifery (tie)

Campus

The campus moved from its original home in Hyden, Kentucky, to a wooded setting in Versailles, Kentucky in 2020.

Notable people

Alumni

* Joan Slager, dean of nursing

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Nursing schools in Kentucky Private universities and colleges in Kentucky Universities and colleges established in 1939 Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Education in Leslie County, Kentucky 1939 establishments in Kentucky Historic districts in Kentucky School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky National Register of Historic Places in Leslie County, Kentucky Education in Woodford County, Kentucky