Cougs Care...Stevens County
By Doug Nadvornick
When she walked across the stage during WSU Spokane's spring 2012 commencement ceremony, Danica Parkin knew it was soon time to put school behind her and start her career.
Parkin was collecting her third college degree (though she still has a few months' work to finish her thesis this summer). Her first bachelor's degree came from Evergreen State College. She earned a second bachelor's degree from the WSU College of Nursing, then passed her test to become a registered nurse and launched immediately into a master's degree program.
"I knew as I was becoming an RN that I wanted to be a family nurse practitioner," said Parkin. "So my thought was, 'Why wait?'"
Now with master's degree almost in hand, Parkin is ready to take the test to get her nurse practitioner certification and move on with her career.
"I'm really interested in community health and I like the role of the nurse practitioner as an educator and also as the person providing most of the care within the clinic," she said.
The Colville tribal member looks forward to a career serving Native people, perhaps in a clinic in Inchelium or her hometown of Chewelah, both in northeastern Washington. She served some of her student nursing rotations at the Native Health clinic in Spokane.
"It's been so much fun," Parkin said. "You can have an elderly woman, her three children and her 10 grandchildren all be your patients at the clinic. So you really have a greater sense of the family story, what's happening, stressors, strengths."
Parkin earned scholarships from the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board to help her pay her way through school. In return, she agreed to work for four years in an underserved community, "which is what I wanted to do anyway, so it's a 'win-win' situation for me and the state."
Role model for younger students
In addition to her studies, Parkin has worked with College of Nursing faculty in programs that expose students from low-income families to health care careers.
Last year, she helped Janet Katz and Sandra Benavides-Vaello with their Saturday outreach programs for high school students in Spokane, Yakima and the Tri-Cities. She has also worked at Robbie Paul's Na-ha-shnee Health Sciences Summer Institute for Native students. She says those opportunities allow her to serve as a role model.
"Some of these students have no family members who have pursued a four-year degree," Parkin said. "So I talk with them about how to prepare for college and what steps they need to take now in high school in order to get where they want to be."
By Doug Nadvornick
When she walked across the stage during WSU Spokane's spring 2012 commencement ceremony, Danica Parkin knew it was soon time to put school behind her and start her career.
Parkin was collecting her third college degree (though she still has a few months' work to finish her thesis this summer). Her first bachelor's degree came from Evergreen State College. She earned a second bachelor's degree from the WSU College of Nursing, then passed her test to become a registered nurse and launched immediately into a master's degree program.
"I knew as I was becoming an RN that I wanted to be a family nurse practitioner," said Parkin. "So my thought was, 'Why wait?'"
Now with master's degree almost in hand, Parkin is ready to take the test to get her nurse practitioner certification and move on with her career.
"I'm really interested in community health and I like the role of the nurse practitioner as an educator and also as the person providing most of the care within the clinic," she said.
The Colville tribal member looks forward to a career serving Native people, perhaps in a clinic in Inchelium or her hometown of Chewelah, both in northeastern Washington. She served some of her student nursing rotations at the Native Health clinic in Spokane.
"It's been so much fun," Parkin said. "You can have an elderly woman, her three children and her 10 grandchildren all be your patients at the clinic. So you really have a greater sense of the family story, what's happening, stressors, strengths."
Parkin earned scholarships from the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board to help her pay her way through school. In return, she agreed to work for four years in an underserved community, "which is what I wanted to do anyway, so it's a 'win-win' situation for me and the state."
Role model for younger students
In addition to her studies, Parkin has worked with College of Nursing faculty in programs that expose students from low-income families to health care careers.
Last year, she helped Janet Katz and Sandra Benavides-Vaello with their Saturday outreach programs for high school students in Spokane, Yakima and the Tri-Cities. She has also worked at Robbie Paul's Na-ha-shnee Health Sciences Summer Institute for Native students. She says those opportunities allow her to serve as a role model.
"Some of these students have no family members who have pursued a four-year degree," Parkin said. "So I talk with them about how to prepare for college and what steps they need to take now in high school in order to get where they want to be."