WVWC Nursing Grad Makes a Difference

Gwendolyn Carlson never wanted to be “just a nurse.” In fact, the 1999 West Virginia Wesleyan College graduate has always aspired to “make a difference in the world.” Carlson has clearly met this goal, especially with the Alaska native population. As a result of her many contributions, she has been named Alaska’s 2007 March of Dimes RN Case Manager of the Year.

The Alaskan Indian from the Village of Larsen Bay on Kodiak Island began her career as a community health aide. However, she wanted to do more than help her village of 120 people. She moved to Kodiak Island and begin working as a contract health director and clinic administrator. Carlson was not fulfilling her dream of making a difference. She wanted a health care position where she could interact with patients.

She also wanted to see more of the United States and Alaska.

“I was 14 before I saw a sidewalk or cow,” Carlson said. She began researching colleges in various states and decided to attend WVWC after reviewing a brochure she picked up at the University of Alaska-Anchorage.

“The college had an excellent passage rate record on the nursing licensing examinations and the campus appeared to be absolutely beautiful.”

She and her two children drove 4,200 from Alaska to West Virginia with all her belongings in the back of a pick-up truck. They camped on the side of the road. The family’s new cultural and environmental surroundings led to several humorous experiences.

“During our first week in West Virginia, the children and I were playing near dusk in an area river when we saw our first fireflies,” Carlson said. “When we asked another family about the insects, we were told they were lightning bugs. When I heard that, I screamed at my children to get out of the river for fear of electrocution. Needless to say, my classmates and new West Virginia friends laughed long and loudly. Of course, they told me the only thing I needed to worry about was the snakes that would crawl up the door of my truck.”

After graduating from WVWC, Carlson returned to Alaska to work as a staff nurse at the Alaska Native Medical center in their Level II Labor/Delivery/Postpartum/

New Born Nursery department in 2000. She began as a postpartum and newborn nurse and was promoted to a high risk labor and delivery nurse within a year. In 2005, she became the RN case manager for the Alaska Native Organization of Southcentral Foundation, Women’s Health Clinic. In the words of area health care providers, “she has single-handedly been responsible for a number of initiatives that have directly benefited patients and families.”

The “call-back-and-verify” procedure for critical laboratory values that was developed for outpatients use is among Carlson’s initiatives. The program has been so successful that it has been adopted for use in inpatient settings as well. She also spearheaded the campaign to promote HPV vaccination that prevents cervical cancer and other female diseases and has become the go-to person for all Women’s Health Clinic updates regarding vaccine availability and eligibility. After identifying a knowledge gap in patients who had undergone various surgical procedures, she wrote a number of patient education handouts regarding postoperative care. More recently, Carlson has published a booklet for prenatal patients and she is currently working on another book specific to the Alaska Native population, “Preconception Counseling and Preparedness.” Perhaps, her greatest accomplishment has been to develop a plan that has improved patient appointment attendance from 50 to 90 percent. The award recipient is also well known for her “hands-on” work with patients.

“Obviously. I am deeply honored to win the March of Dimes Nurse of the Year award,” Carlson said. “I am grateful to those who nominated me and their decision to do so was a wonderful surprise.”

Carlson is grateful for her experience at Wesleyan. “Attending Wesleyan for an education was an extreme leap of faith for me,” Carlson added. “Wesleyan gave me the courage, strength and the education I needed to meet my dreams of making a difference in the world.”