Donna Westmoreland

The Nurses Educational Funds’ scholarship has been such a blessing. I want to first thank NEF again for your generosity.

The end of 2013 finds me roughly half way through my clinical hours working toward my FNP certification with Frontier Nursing University, in Hyden, Kentucky.

One of my clinical sites this term is for the uninsured. It was a mixed blessing. While I was able to care for very complex patients with multiple conditions, multiple primary languages and many patients also facing homelessness, the clinic began closing to new patients in anticipation of the Affordable Care Act. Instead of days with 8 or 9 hours and many patients, often the clinic would be open for only 3 hours a few times a week. As a consequence I will need another term to complete the clinical experience requirement.

Fortunately, my women's health site allowed me to expand from two to four days a week to keep busy and complete acute and wellness visits. Next term I will be returning to a very busy family practice site that will be inundated with newly insured patients.

So, it has been a time to adjust expectations and practice patience. I am still volunteering a few Saturdays a month at another clinic for the un-insured that is not tied to a hospital system. They have several innovative ideas about preventing hospitalization with community- based care that could be a good practice fit after graduation. I also have a few leads on community health visiting nurse practices where I hope to provide a significant contribution in the care and management of patients suffering from chronic disease.