My name is Kristine Yearwood and I am a DNP, FNP-BC, CDE, CHRN

I currently work at Tripler Army Medical Center as a Cardiac Nurse Practitioner with a focus on general cardiology in Honolulu, Hawaii. I am certified as a Heart Failure Nurse and a Diabetes Nurse Educator. I earned my BSN from the Ohio State University in 1998, my MSN from Otterbein College in 2002, and my DNP from the University of Alabama,Tuscaloosa, AL in 2012.

I served in the Army as a Nurse Corps Officer for 23 years, with two deployments to Iraq, one in 2004 and one from 2007-2009 and retired as a Major in 2012. All of my experience as a nurse practitioner has come from the Army, with a diverse experience in Family Practice, ER, Urgent Care, Pediatrics, Solder Medicine, and field medicine.

On a personal note, I have lived in Hawaii for 7 years. My husband works for the Army and is at Schofield Barracks. We intend to be in Hawaii for another 4-6 years before moving back to the mainland. I have two step children, with one living in Dallas, Texas and the other living in Portland, Oregon. And I have two dogs here in Hawaii that keep me busy. My husband and I love to go out and seek adventure, from surfing, snorkeling, deep sea fishing, and traveling to foreign places.

I am so honored to have been a part of the Ohio State School of Nursing CNE Certification course and am confident in the knowledge I have learned from each N7530, N7536 and N7537. Having very little knowledge on the duties and responsibilities of the CNE, this course not only taught me how to develop course of instruction but also on the steps to credentialing which I never quite understood. I have been a visiting professor at Chamberlain School of Nursing in the APN Capstone for the past three years and thought I was lucky to have the school provide a syllabus, course structure along with rubrics for assignments but in reality the school hasn’t allowed me to learn in my role as a professor which I now know is important.

My accomplishments in the CNE courses so fat have been: 1- creating a professional blog; 2. identifying my teaching goals and teaching philosophy;3. how to write multiple choice questions; 4. how to create grading rubrics. I enjoyed and learned a great deal from every assignment.

The CNE certificate course has been very challenging to me and definitely more difficult than I thought it would be and I am so grateful that the professors who taught these courses were available to help me when I didn’t understand something. I have already scheduled my CNE exam for May 15, 2021 and feel ready to sit for the exam and pass.

My future goal as a CNE is to be able to instruct full time as a professor and also take on the role of Associate Dean. I am open to teaching online and also traditionally in the class room. I also plan on precepting NP students more and guiding them on how to practice safely, with the most up to date evidence based information and lastly hope to be able to write for the ANCC/AANP certification exam. No matter what I do as a nurse educator, my ultimate goal is to help create future nurses and nurse practitioners who can eventually take over the reigns of healthcare and be the best they can be.