#MeetUsMonday - Meet FNP Student Allison Gleason
Meet FNP Student Allison Gleason.
Colorado native who grew up on a farm and now calls Lynchburg home after six years in D.C. Avid gardener of both vegetables and cut flowers, and reality TV watcher (“it’s my black hole when I need to unwind”). Wife and mom to a two-year-old daughter, balancing school, work, and family life with intention. Hands-on home renovator who’s flipped kitchens, added bathrooms, and isn’t afraid of a power tool. Once firmly against becoming a nurse, despite having a family full of them, she now finds passion and purpose in the very role she resisted, working as a cardiac nurse across stepdown, ICU, and PACU during COVID. Now a Family Nurse Practitioner student at UVA School of Nursing, building on nearly a decade of bedside experience and hoping to expand access to specialty care in rural communities.
HER PATH TO NURSING
“I was very firmly against nursing for a long time. Everyone in my family—all the women—were either teachers or nurses, and my dad always thought nursing was the most respectable job on the planet. So as a young person, I was like, ‘I’m not doing that.’ But then in college at the University of Colorado, I started to come around to it and think, ‘You know, this actually does seem like something I would like to do.’"
"That shift was also reinforced by both of my grandmothers, Eleanor and Paulann, and my cousin, Mary, who were and are nurses I deeply admire. I’ve always looked up to them, and they constantly pushed me. My grandma cheered me on and even gave me her old medical textbooks and stethoscope from when she was in school, and my cousin gave me my first stethoscope, quizzed me on vacations to help me prepare for boards, and even pinned me at graduation. They had such a deep impact on my decision to pursue this field. Once I was in college and made the decision to shift, I transferred to the Denver School of Nursing for my BSN.”
“The biggest catalyst for me was when my brother passed away when I was nine. It was a traumatic, really short hospital stay, and I remember the nurses so clearly. I had never been exposed to anything medical before, and it was such a scary time for my family, but they were just there to support us in a way that I had never seen before.”
“They weren’t fazed by how traumatic it was for us—they were steady, compassionate, and prepared. I still remember the nurse who told us my brother had passed. That level of compassion stuck with me, and I think about those nurses almost every single day at work now. It reminds me why I do what I do.”
The biggest catalyst for me was when my brother passed away when I was nine. It was a traumatic, really short hospital stay, and I remember the nurses so clearly. . .They weren’t fazed by how traumatic it was for us—they were steady, compassionate, and prepared. I still remember the nurse who told us my brother had passed. That level of compassion stuck with me, and I think about those nurses almost every single day at work now. It reminds me why I do what I do.
Allison Gleason, FNP student
EARLY CAREER
“I knew I wanted to get experience in the field before going back to school, so I worked for about eight or nine years before applying to the NP program at UVA.”
“I started in a cardiac/telemetry unit in Colorado, then moved to D.C. for my husband’s job where I worked in cardiac ICU and stepdown before transitioning into PACU during COVID. That was a big shift, but it was a really valuable experience.”
“After we moved to Lynchburg, I started working on a cardiac floor at Centra. My path has been pretty straightforward, but I’ve gotten to see a lot of different sides of nursing, which helped me figure out what I wanted next.”
WHY THE FNP PROGRAM AT UVA?
“I had been looking for the right NP program for about three years. I knew I wanted something in person, at least partially, because I’m not a good distance learner. I needed that accountability. The proximity to both Lynchburg and D.C., combined with the hybrid format, made UVA stand out. I honestly didn’t find another program anywhere that offered something similar.”
“We knew we were going to move again because of my husband’s job, so I didn’t want to start a program somewhere like D.C. and then have to leave it. When I found UVA’s hybrid program, it was exactly what I was looking for.”
“I talked to Dr. Beth Quatrara on the phone before applying, and she was incredibly helpful. She was honest with me about what made the most sense for my goals. Knowing from Beth that it was the last FNP-MSN cohort, I was like, ‘If I’m going to do this, I have to do it now.’”
WHAT THE FNP PROGRAM IS LIKE
“I think something that’s been really impactful and surprising is that the professors treat us like adults. It’s a big shift from undergrad where you’re micromanaged. Now, it’s like—you have your work, you’re responsible for it, and you have to be self-motivated. It’s preparing us to be providers. When you have patients to see, it’s on you to manage your time, do your charting, make phone calls, check your labs, and get everything done, but the professors are still there to support you when you need it.”
“Another really cool thing is that almost all of our professors are still practicing. They’re in clinics, they’re working, they’re moms, and they wear multiple hats. They are very much still using and growing their knowledge, and it makes everything feel so relevant and real.”
HER FAVORITE PART OF THE PROGRAM—WORK/LIFE BALANCE
“I think my favorite part of the program is the hybrid format. It’s so accommodating. Even when I had to stay home with my daughter one day, my professors were incredibly understanding and made it clear that being a parent comes first. That was so validating because most programs expect you to have backup childcare and always show up no matter what. Here, everyone understands that we’re parents or working professionals or commuting—it’s just built into the culture.”
“It’s such a great program for everyone, but especially for working moms. I have multiple friends in other programs outside of UVA, and it puts strain on every area of their life. But UVA has put a very strong focus on family support and just making it work however you can, even while expecting excellence. That is invaluable to me. I don’t want to miss out on my daughter’s life for two years, and UVA has made it possible to pursue this degree without sacrificing that. I would choose this program all over again for that level of support.”
“It’s such a great program for everyone, but especially for working moms. I have multiple friends in other programs outside of UVA, and it puts strain on every area of their life. But UVA has put a very strong focus on family support and just making it work however you can, even while expecting excellence. That is invaluable to me. ”
Allison Gleason, FNP Student
WHAT'S NEXT
“I’m not 100% sure what I want to do next. I’m doing an urgent care rotation this summer, and that could be a really cool option. I’ve also thought about specializing in outpatient cardiac procedures…being on the provider side of that. It’s still patient relationships and continuity, but also getting to do things like cardioversions, loop recorders, and those smaller procedures. It’s a little more autonomy, a little more variety, and you’re still doing primary care, but you also get to have a little more fun with it.”
“Part of the reason I decided so strongly to go back for my NP once we moved to Lynchburg is that there’s not a lot of upward momentum for nurses here. There are also very limited options for care here. There’s like two pediatricians and two primary care providers to choose from, so I think a big part of this for me is just wanting to be another resource for the community, because there’s not a lot here. I don’t think I’m going to necessarily change the world, but I do think I could make an impact as an FNP—whether that’s in primary care, pediatrics, or something a little more specialized.”
UVA SCHOOL OF NURSING IN A WORD
“Excellence. The School of Nursing provides excellence, but it also expects it. There’s a lot of grace, but there’s also a standard and you’re expected to be your best. It gives you confidence in the people coming out of the program. You know you’d want to work with them, refer patients to them, trust them as providers. Everyone here—students, faculty, staff—is invested in that level of excellence.”
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Curious about UVA's DNP program and specialties? Learn more and join an upcoming Zoom info session!