The Life of a Rural Health Provider

Providing care from women's reproductive health to rural health

Welcome to Nurse Ascent, a twice-weekly newsletter created by nurses for nurses. This week one nurse shares about her recent retirement from working in rural health and transitioning to life abroad as a health writer.

But first, shout out to those nurse besties who always have our back...

Featured Jobs

🩺

Registered Nurse, Stony Brook University

Stony Brook, NY

Apply Now →

☤

RN - Registered Nurse, National Health Care Associates

Marlborough, MA

Apply Now →

♡

Registered Nurse - Cardiology, Saint Luke's Hospital

Kansas City, MO

Apply Now →

💉

Registered Nurse-Women's Health, ERP International

Luke AFB, AZ

Apply Now →

🩹

Registered Nurse / NICU, Children's Hospital

Los Angeles, CA

Apply Now →

🩸

Registered Nurse, Department of Veterans Affairs’ Eastern Colorado Healthcare System

Glendale, CO

Apply Now →

Looking for a new nursing job?

Hit reply and tell us what you’re looking for, and we’ll send you personalized opportunities just for you.

You can also browse additional jobs on CollabWORK.

Nurse Spotlight: Leanna Coy, FNP-BC

What I do for work

I’m a recently retired FNP with my most recent experience working in the rural healthcare setting. During that time, I became a medical director at a nearby high school where we opened up a satellite location. I worked there throughout the pandemic before retiring this month! In 2021 I began my own business as a freelance health writer in preparation for my future retirement job. I’ve been writing articles about navigating health care coverage out of the US as well as long-term care options in Mexico. With that, I am newly beginning a business for expat health navigation as we prepare to spend more time out of the US during retirement.

How I got here

I started out as a CNA to dip my toes into the waters of health care where I first started my hospital work. I’m a “late in life nurse” and got into nursing at 28 before working my first year as an RN on a medical-surgical floor. Later I worked for 10 years at Planned Parenthood working in reproductive care and women’s health, which was some of the best experiences I had as a nurse. I primarily worked with women who were really supportive of other women in an environment where we held each other up. This was the push I needed to become a NP. During clinical for school I had such great support from coworkers at Planned Parenthood where they would help me fill the gaps on things that weren’t covered so thoroughly in school. When I graduated, I worked one with them as NP before I switched to family medicine as an FNP role. I then worked in a couple rural areas where I learned the very different world of rural healthcare which is not as supported.

Nurse Perks

Save on everyday essentials and little luxuries—curated just for nurses like you.

🌿Enjoy wellness products for less

📅 Offer valid through December 31, 2025

💸Use code: SAVE35 at checkout

👟 Shop the latest Crocs collections

💸 15% off your first order and free shipping when you spend $49.99+

🦷 Save on dentistry

💸 Book your appointment and save 25% off your treatment plan

More on Leanna

A day in my life

The FQHC I last worked at was very small and had 3 providers - a MD, naturopath and me as the FNP. In Oregon, naturopaths can work as healthcare providers but cannot bill Medicaid/Medicare like MDs and FNPs. I was drawn to working rurally because we wanted to live outside the city and ended up becoming very immersed in the community as a primary care provider in this setting. I would run into patients in the grocery store or coffee cart and this had its good and bad sides. I got to know patients' families very well and felt very integrated into the community, but also have to balance protecting my private time when I’m off the clock.

My self-care routine (or what I do for fun, or to relax)

During the years I worked in the in primary care, balancing my self care was a challenge. We had to see so many patients so quickly back-to-back and also be able to get charting done in a timely fashion. As an FNP, I had the routine of going to work out at 5am before getting to the clinic at 8am. I knew that during the day it was a struggle to take breaks at the clinic so I tried to preserve this slow morning time to exercise, eat a little bit healthier and squeeze in my yoga practice when I can. I started doing yoga in nursing school and have continued up until now to help keep me centered. Now, I’m learning my new routine as we balance life between Oregon and Mexico as we slowly move to our new home.

Share your story & be entered to win

As part of our effort to spotlight nurses, we’d love to feature you in an upcoming issue of Nurse Ascent! Share your story by filling out our quick interview form, and you’ll be entered into a raffle to win a $50 gift card.

Headlines in Healthcare

Nursing excluded from federal list tied to higher loan limits

The U.S. Department of Education has excluded nursing from its list of “professional” graduate programs— a designation that determines access to higher federal loan limits, USA Today reports. Under the proposed rules taking effect in 2026, graduate nursing students would face sharply reduced borrowing caps, while fields like medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, and law remain eligible for larger loans. Nurse.org adds that the change also removes nursing from certain loan-forgiveness pathways, raising alarms among major nursing organizations who warn the decision could worsen the national nursing shortage and make advanced practice careers financially out of reach for many students.

UC nurses secure new contract

More than 25,000 University of California nurses have ratified a four-year contract that boosts patient safety measures and strengthens nurse retention, Newsweek reports. The deal, reached with the California Nurses Association, averts a planned sympathy strike and includes protections on floating, disaster preparedness and AI use in care, as well as an 18.5% minimum wage increase over the life of the contract and caps on healthcare cost hikes.

Rural Washington nurses highlight strain of shortages

A new Forbes profile follows two rural Washington nurses who are holding together understaffed emergency and ICU units while serving a community facing high poverty rates, chronic illness, and shrinking healthcare access. Their stories underscore how federal cuts, hospital downgrades, and a worsening national nurse shortage are reshaping care in rural America — and why many nurses say they are now the first and last safety net for entire families, not just individual patients, according to Forbes.

An image of author Katie Scoggins is pictured.

Meet the author:
Katie Scoggins
(RN, BSN, Nurse & Health Writer)

CollabWORK is a community-powered hiring platform

CollabWORK connects job-seekers to roles shared in trusted spaces—like nurse-led Facebook groups, Slack channels, and industry newsletters. Create your account or log in to discover other roles in nursing, healthcare, and beyond.