Dr. Jamie Kitchens is an associate professor in the College of Health Sciences, Anna Vaughn School of Nursing. She provides instruction through various venues—hybrid, online, simulation labs, and in classrooms. Her instructional responsibilities cross the nursing curriculum from select courses in the BSN program to select courses in the DNP family nurse practitioner program.
Dr. Kitchens has been in the field of nursing since 1975, beginning as a certified nurse’s aide (CNA), followed by earning licensure as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) in 1979. She then pursued an associate degree, becoming a registered nurse (RN) in 1981. Marriage and children paused her educational journey for a short time, but when she resumed her education, Dr. Kitchens earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) at the University of Central Oklahoma, followed by a master’s degree in nursing (MSN) at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. In addition, Dr. Kitchens earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in the family nurse practitioner (FNP) track with a subspecialty in nursing education at the University of South Alabama.
Dr. Kitchens’ initial RN experience from 1979 to 1988 was in general adult critical care before moving into the pediatric arena in 1988. She then worked in pediatric intensive care (PICU) and neonatal intensive care (NICU). She finished her hospital nursing career in 2008 and turned her focus to the field of Family Nurse Practitioner. Prior to joining ORU full time in 2021, she was in active practice as a family nurse practitioner.
Dr. Kitchens has long-term experience as a nurse educator, teaching in a variety of nursing schools in Oklahoma prior to joining ORU’s AVSON nursing faculty. Her goal today is to do her utmost to help raise up the University’s BSN, MSN, and DNP nursing students to fulfill their purpose in Jesus Christ and send them out into the world to demonstrate His love through the work of their hands.