hallacy-lauraOKLAHOMA
Laura Hallacy ’04
Nurse practitioner, Cherokee Nation Clinic

Laura Hallacy (M.S.N. ’04) has been taking care of people since she was a child, starting with her brother.

“He was always injuring himself,” she says. “I was digging gravel out of his knees, cleaning scrapes and changing dressings. It just seemed like what I was meant to do.”

When it came time to choose a career, nursing was a natural fit for Hallacy. After six years working as a registered nurse, two of Hallacy’s mentors suggested she become a nurse practitioner.

That’s where UMKC came in.

From her home in northern Oklahoma, Hallacy took advantage of the UMKC School of Nursing’s distance learning program. Classes were broadcast live to Joplin, Mo. Hallacy and other students participated via videoconference.

For Hallacy — who was working and raising two small children at the time — it was the next best thing to being on UMKC’s campus.

“My UMKC experience increased my confidence in what I could do and accomplish,” she says. “That is, ultimately, where my life changed to a new career.”

After graduating with her M.S.N., Hallacy got a job with the Cherokee Nation in Jay, Okla. More than a decade and several jobs later, she still works with the Cherokee people, as a nurse practitioner in Vinita, Okla.

Hallacy isn’t Cherokee herself, but says she relates to that community and its culture because she is a calm and quiet person.

“I have to be patient with them and give them time to open up with me.”

Hallacy also works part-time for a hospice center, which she says she enjoys because she can take more time with each patient.

“I appreciate getting to know my patients better, which allows me to provide care that is more specialized.”

In her free time, Hallacy enjoys boating, yoga, and spending time with her kids.

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