Nursing In Alaska

NURSING IN ALASKA

When Kat Brooks ’05, was a nursing student at the University of Pikeville, she acquired the clinical skills that prepared her for a career in nursing. She also learned she could take her degree anywhere. As a travel nurse, she’s done just that.

Brooks, currently on assignment in Alaska, became a travel nurse in 2014.

“I chose travel nursing as a way to incorporate my personal love for travel into my professional life,” Brooks explains. “As a travel nurse, I pick where I want to go and spend at least 13 weeks at the facility. I basically choose my assignments based on where I want to go and what I want to see. Being in the travel nursing arena allows me the freedom to set my own schedule and to vacation as much and as long as I choose.”

Although she usually remains within a four- to five-hour radius of Pikeville, Brooks’ favorite location is Alaska.

“I typically travel to Alaska for an assignment, take some time off, then take an assignment closer to home, take some more time off, and return to Alaska for another assignment,” Brooks says. “My first experience with Alaska was in 2015 when I went to Fairbanks for an eight-week vacation. I fell in love with the state, and knew I had to return. I saw a posting for an ER nurse in Kotzebue and came up here in February 2016.”

Although Brooks, an Ohio native who moved to Pike County at age 10, grew up in rural Eastern Kentucky, she notes that “life is very different in the bush of Alaska.”

“Maniilaq Healthcare Center serves the village of Kotzebue, which is about 50 miles north of the Arctic Circle. It has a population of approximately 3,000 in 11 outlying villages in the northwest Arctic. There are no roads to Kotzebue or any of the other villages. You can only reach them by plane or boat, or via snow machines in the winter. There are no chain stores or restaurants.

No Walmart! There is a post office, two general stores, two sit-down restaurants, and a hotel. As you can guess, prices of groceries and supplies are very inflated. A gallon of milk is around $12 and a loaf of bread around $8!”

Brooks continues, “All medical/dental/ optometry and pharmacy services are located at the hospital. The hospital is small, with a 12-bed acute care unit and a five-bed ER. Each village has a small clinic run by a CHAP (Certified Health Aide Program), so people who live in the outlying villages are usually seen there first. If they need more extensive treatment, they are authorized to come to the ER in Kotzebue, either by Guardian, which is our medical flight crew, or by a commercial airline flight. For emergency issues that cannot be taken care of here or for specialty medical services, the patient is sent to Anchorage. Many times, weather plays a significant role in getting a patient here or to Anchorage.”

An emergency department RN in critical access hospitals, Brooks also specializes in “go live” EHR (Electronic Health Record) conversion events. She is pursuing an emergency room certification and will be traveling to Anchorage for training specifically dealing with the delivery of newborns in an emergency setting.

Brooks describes her time at UPIKE as a “blur,” but adds that the “intense” program required her complete dedication.

“Although I was a non-traditional student amongst a lot of traditional students, I felt a special camaraderie with my fellow nursing students,” Brooks says. “We basically spent those two years together with not much else on our mind except studying for our next test. During my second semester, I was chosen to represent Pikeville College at the National Student Nurse Convention in Nashville, Tenn. That was a really neat experience because this allowed us to be exposed to nursing students from all over the country and the many job opportunities out there. It was at this conference that I first learned about travel nursing and the opportunities in Alaska.”

Brooks, who says she dreamed of becoming a pediatrician and joining the Peace Corps when she was growing up, credits travel nursing with allowing her to achieve a version of that dream.

“The one thing that sets travel nursing apart from staff nursing is that you have the freedom to experience different cultures. I’ve always been very outgoing and social and I love learning about new areas, new cultures, and traditions, as well as sharing those of my own. The biggest challenge with travel nursing for me is missing my children. Although they are all grown and have lives of their own, its hard sometimes not being able to just jump in my car and go visit them.”

Brooks continues, “One of these days, when I have grandchildren, I’ll come home to Pike County and stay, but until then, I will continue to allow my gypsy spirit to take me marvelous places to visit and work.”