Kathryn Fiandt, PhD, traces her long-time career in nursing back to a childhood friend and a fictional character.
Dr. Fiandt, who retired after 23 years as a faculty member at the UNMC College of Nursing, said she knew little about the nursing profession when she was young. When a friend decided to pursue the career, she got curious.
“I knew nothing about nursing and no one in my family is a nurse, but I started reading Sue Barton books, circa World War II, and fell in love,” she said. “I never looked back.”
Dr. Fiandt arrived at UNMC in 1993 after a teaching stint at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan as a family nurse practitioner faculty. She became the program director at the end of her second year.
She left UNMC in July 2007 to become the associate dean for clinical affairs at the University of Texas Medical branch but returned to the UNMC College of Nursing in July 2014 to serve as the first associate dean for transformational practice and partnerships.
Returning to UNMC was an easy decision, Dr. Fiandt said. At the College of Nursing, she had found a welcoming community with many now-lifelong friends. The support from the college, she said, was evident to her many times, particularly when her husband, Rodger, was sick and eventually passed away from cancer. Colleagues helped cover work in her absence, shared materials about grieving, attended the funeral and planted a tree after his death, she said.
“They never pretended or let me pretend his death hadn’t happened, but were loving and kind,” Dr. Fiandt said. “They lived the philosophy of nursing care during that time, and I have been eternally grateful.”
Throughout her career, Dr. Fiandt led and developed three nurse-led primary care practices in underserved and uninsured communities in Michigan, Texas and in South Omaha. She’s received $2.7 million in nursing education funding and $7 million in HRSA funding. She identifies her work with the Family Health Care Center and being involved in the advent of the Morehead Center as some of her career highlights.
With the Family Health Care Center, Dr. Fiandt co-founded the SHARING Clinic and RESPECT Clinic, which continue to operate and have won numerous awards while helping thousands.
Dr. Fiandt also was involved in the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Quality Improvement work, studying with prestigious leaders in the QI movement. She led two teams that developed criteria for quality improvement specific to nurse-led primary care and wrote a widely used manual, “Quality Improvement for Advanced Practice Nurses,” published in 2007 by the Institute for Nursing Centers.
Now in retirement, Dr. Fiandt has received emeritus faculty status and will continue to be a mentor for faculty at the UNMC College of Nursing. She also will consult with the North Omaha Area Health Clinic and the Nebraska Urban Indian Health and Wellness Clinic.
Dr. Fiandt said she is thankful for the experiences nursing and education gave her throughout her career, especially the opportunity to return and retire at UNMC.
“I was fortunate to be hired and be here for a total of 23 years,” she said. “The people at the College of Nursing have been friends, family and co-workers for both myself and my husband.”