Nurse gets a call from the wild

Small-town Alaska is not your typical destination for Penn students. But then again, Regina Oliver is not your usual Penn student. Regina Oliver, a 1999 graduate of the School of Nursing's combined Bachelor's and Masters program, has just arrived at her new job -- caring for people on a tiny Alaskan Island. In the remote fishing village where she will be for the next two years, Oliver will work in the one health clinic on the island. Though there are no physicians at the clinic, there are three community health aides and two nurse practitioners. The clinic is open for any injury or ailment, though it mostly sees fishing accidents. Broken bones, sore throats and fevers, Oliver will see them all. "We have to do everything, since there is no specialized staff," Oliver said. "Any patient that requires care beyond what we are able to provide needs to be flown to Anchorage." Sand Point is a commercial fishing village comprised mostly of native Aleut people and is part of an island group south of the Alaska Peninsula called the Shumagin Islands. The eight-square-mile island, accessible only by plane and boat, has a permanent population of around 900 people, but swells to 1,200 during the summer, the height of the salmon fishing season. Oliver, 44, has always been interested in public health. She holds a Masters in Public Health and had worked in many parts of the world, including Africa, prior to enrolling at Penn in 1996. But public health in Alaska is definitely something new. Oliver said that after five months of job hunting in Philly, she decided to broaden her search. "I looked for jobs around the Philadelphia area, but could not find any," Oliver said. "Then all of a sudden, Alaska came up and I took it." Though some of her friends and family were shocked when they first heard about her new job -- her mother described it as "being kicked in the gut" -- they eventually were very supportive. "I'm thrilled for her that she has a great adventure while at the same time providing care for underserved people," said Nursing Professor Melinda Jenkins, the director of the Family Nursing Practitioner Program, in which Oliver was involved. "I think it will be a good opportunity because there is a good support system here and I will receive good educational opportunities," Oliver said. "But as much as it is an adventure, it is also a trial of stamina and endurance because of the solidarity and being a stranger in a well-established community." Although she has been in Alaska for only a week, Oliver said it has already started to feel like home. "The proximity of my home to the clinic and the raw landscape everywhere around is very appealing," Oliver said. "I also like the fact that, because of the small population, I know everyone on the island. "However, I miss the many great friends I left and I miss the familiarity of home," she said. "I also have to learn to be satisfied with less here." When Oliver is not at work, she runs, hikes, paints and watches television. Thanks to satellite technology, she has 150 channels to choose from. Her dog, Crissy, is also with her. Her former professors remember her vividly. "She was so wonderful because she was so smart," Nursing Professor Karen Buhler-Wilkerson said. "She just doesn't stop with the questions."