Registered Nurse Health Care, Education and Program Administration

To whom it may concern,

Thank you for taking the time to review my application and qualifications. I am an individual with a diverse and varied set of skills who enjoys learning and am hard working. I joined the staff at Palmer College of Chiropractic in early 1998. Here I held the position as the Coordinator of the Clinic Abroad Program and was a Liaison and Coordinator for opening a new Chiropractic school in Southern Brazil (concurrently). This position was recently eliminated as well as the program suspended due to the high risk of travel outside of the US.

For the past several years, I have also taught Human Sexuality in the Undergraduate Department. This has allowed me to keep current in the areas of health care and nursing practice. It has also allowed me to participate in meetings and trainings with local STD/HIV advocacy groups and human trafficking.

During my time at Palmer College I have served on the IRB committee, the wellness committee and several others.

I approach all things in a positive manner. I know that there are times to be analytical and detail oriented however, I realize that you don’t have to approach it in a foreboding manner! It is important that my patients, students, customers, friends and family feel that they are always valuable and important. I try to step back and listen to each person and their wants, needs or concerns. After hearing them, I work on finding the best solution not only for them but with them.

In my current role as the Clinic Abroad Coordinator, I conceptualize, plan and implement multiple student trips to developing countries to provide chiropractic care. At times, I also provide nursing care of clinical mentorship. Students and faculty come from 3 campuses across the country as well as other locations. This includes dealing with multiple concurrent tasks and deadlines, working with international health laws and practice guidelines, walking through every step of an itinerary and analyzing it from the perspective of a group travel and feasibility. I create and manage each trip budget carefully negotiating for the best value. I also serve as a teacher, support person, nurse, mother and mentor to students and faculty when needed. I organize groups of faculty leaders for each trip and feel that I have a strength in putting teams together based on varied but compatible skill sets as well as delegating tasks to students, work studies and faculty members. As I have been doing this since very early on in the program, I have also established procedures and protocols for the program. One of my strongest skills is communicating across cultures, campuses and persons with varying levels of authority and bringing them together for a common goal. I have even learned to speak a moderate level of Portuguese to facilitate better communication with some of her clients. Many students state that I have enriched their education and experience due to careful and thorough planning and communication skills along with showing them respect and empathy. I take great measures to make every experience with others positive, even if it starts from a place of different perspectives.

I love helping and teaching others. I prefer to do this in a non-formal conversational style but can be formal as necessary. I comfortable talking to students or professionals in varied settings whether individually or in large groups. I am proficient in presentation software or confident presenting without them. Through years of nursing and working at a college, I find that working with a “student” or learner and watching them learn is a great joy.

I am proficient in Microsoft office programs including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and others and am definitely not afraid to learn! I have had some experience with electronic medical records very early on in their existence but it has been several years. I am comfortable with individual and group travel domestically and internationally.

Prior to coming to Palmer College I worked as a registered nurse in a hospital setting mainly in cardiac critical care and emergency care areas. This allowed me to develop skills of making quick high impact decisions based on the information at hand. It also taught me to be very discerning and aware of that input. I spent a couple of years as an RN underwriter with a small group health insurance company evaluating the cost verses risk of insuring small groups based on their health indicators. This also included some coding. I also served as the nurse manager of 2 multi-physician offices in this same company, I managed employees, supplies, regulatory issues and compliance as well as employee training and development in a health care practice.

I have received training as a Reflexologist as well as an Equine Integrated Body Worker. This has proved to be an invaluable asset as I have to explain to others the value of my services and maintain client relationships. Working with animals has taught me to approach them, as well as life, with a softness and calm demeanor but also with a quiet confidence and leadership. These lessons, that animals have taught me, have proved to be a great area of personal growth and success and I find by applying this in other areas of my life, I have been able to accomplish my goals in a much more successful manner.

I am recently training to volunteer for the New Kingdom Trail Riders which provides equine experiences for handicapped individuals.

Although my experiences have been diverse, the common threads driving my success is my ability to work professionally yet compassionately with people (and animals), communication skills making stake holders feel valued and informed, and my ability to work with multiple deadlines, projects and input, quickly and effectively analyze them, and formulate a solution or plan to accomplish goals.

I hold a Diploma from Lutheran Hospital School of Nursing, and am licensed as a Registered Nurse in the state of Iowa. I have earned both a Bachelors and Masters of Science degree in Health Care Administration from University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois.

I can be reached at my home phone, 309-***-****, cell phone 309-***-**** or email address, *****.********@*****.***. I look forward to discussing opportunities with you.

Sincerely,

Lori Curry Whitcomb RN, MS

Skills and Accomplishments:

Developed curriculum and class structure for pre-departure orientation meetings for Clinic Abroad students.

Designed a web based application and informational site for Clinic Abroad students.

Designed a Palmer site for “Studio Abroad” program to replace the web based system we used prior.

Developed web based learning modules for Clinic Abroad students and faculty for pre-departure orientation information.

Facilitate programing and communication across cultures, campuses as well as students, faculty and alumni.

Develop budget for up to 4 trips each trimester and am accountable for expense reporting. This is in excess of 1 million dollars per year.

Nominated for the “Employee of the Year” distinction 5 times.

Ordered and maintained medical supplies for 2 multi-physician

family practice clinics.

Negotiated with vendors securing supplies and pricing.

Served as OSHA Coordinator: Taught employees and maintained records according to OSHA Guidelines.

Excellent communication, computer, and analysis skills.

Initiated a team to analyze company’s medical claims data and assign risk based on both Milliman and Robertson Manual and our own claims cost for Episode Groupings of Diagnosis.

Analyzed patient loads in the nursing function and allergy area of these practices and established a nurse managed area to better accommodate these patients and staffing needs.

Facilitated educational programs for both the public and medical staff in various health care areas.

Nurse Manager for a staff of 19 full and part-time nurses, including human resource and management functions as well as credentialing and providing required yearly learning sessions.

Served as Regional President of the American Lung Association. In this role, I worked with education, volunteerism, fund-raising, and program development.

Professional Experience:

Palmer College of Chiropractic Davenport, IA. 1998-Current

Clinic Abroad Coordinator

Assisted in development and implemented student Clinic Abroad Program. Send groups of 10-30 students to developing countries to set up free chiropractic clinics. This process included all aspects of travel, student education, clinic locations, public health education, governmental permissions and legislative issues as well as financial issues. It also includes some areas of nursing care.

Is an instructor for “Human Sexuality” in the Undergraduate Department.

Coordinated opening of first chiropractic school in South America (Brazil). This included curriculum, faculty, and legislative issues.

Served as a liaison for international chiropractic health care legislation.

Worked with National Indian Health Services to develop domestic chiropractic clinic programs.

Worked with marketing and National news stations abroad to educate the public on health care issues.

Past participant on Palmer Employee Benefits Committee and Staff of the Year Committee.

Past participant of Palmer Employee Wellness Committee.

Trinity Medical Center Rock Island, IL. 1997-1998

Registered Nurse

Staff nurse in Radiology Special Procedures and Cardiac Cath Lab.

John Deere Health Care Moline, IL. 1994-1996

Medical Underwriter and Lead Nurse of Group Model Practice

Medically underwrote small groups for both network and group model HMO plans in Illinois, Iowa, Tennessee, and Virginia. This included both new and renewal groups.

Lead Nurse for two group family practices with a total of fourteen providers and nineteen nursing staff members. I was responsible for nursing staff management, ordering supplies, vendor relations, all OSHA regulations, nursing budget and staff development. Also provided nursing care.

Genesis Medical Center Davenport, IA. 1987-1994

Registered Nurse

Staff nurse in the following areas: ICU/ER, Dialysis, and Endoscopy/Ambulatory Surgery/OR Holding Room. During this time, I also taught community CPR classes and ACLS to providers.

Care at Home - Nurses House Call Rock Island, IL. 1989-1990

Nursing Administrator

Nursing Administrator for the private-pay section of this company. Dealt with all aspects of patient care management, staffing and personnel issues, patient and staff education, physician communication, budgeting and marketing. This included several pediatric cases. Worked full-time for 6 months and remained on-call at Genesis. Returned to Genesis full time and remained on staff for 6 months performing PRN Medicare visits.

Bro-Menn Health Care Normal, IL. 1984-1987

Registered Nurse

Staff Nurse in the following areas: Surgical/Orthopedics and Cardiac Care.

Education: Diploma - Registered Nurse - Lutheran Hospital, 1984

Bachelor’s of Science - Health Arts - College of St. Francis, 1996

Master’s of Science for Health Services Administration-University of St. Francis 1999

Certification in Reflexology – 2015

Certification in progress for Masterson Method Integrated Equine Bodywork

Research: Curry L, Smith M, Phongphua C, Krakos G: “Enhancing the chiropractic clinical training experience: Description of patients in a teaching clinic in Fiji.” World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) Biennial Congress (May 1999) poster. Accepted for platform presentation at American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting (Nov 1999).

Curry L, Phongphua C, Smith M, Krakos G: “Evaluative survey of chiropractic students’ perceptions and experiences in an international cross-cultural clinical training program.” World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) Biennial Congress (May 1999) poster.

Wiese G, Smith M, Phongphua C, Meeker B, Krakos G, Curry L, Peterson D: “Empowering chiropractic to impact international health policies and health care systems: The case for supporting a Centralized Electronic Data Repository for International Chiropractic Studies (C.E.D.R.I.C.S World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) Biennial Congress (May 1999) poster.

Boulanger K, Krakos G, Curry L: Characteristics of Haitian Chiropractic Patients. American Public Health Association 127th Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL. November 9, 1999.

Professional: RN Licensure in Iowa, Inactive license in Illinois.

References Furnished Upon Request

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