Position:
Professor Emeritus, Professor and Director of Nurse-MidwiferyEmail: jfehr@7672049.com
Educational History:
B.S. Virginia Commonwealth University, B.S.N. University of Virginia, M.S. Georgetown University, Ph.D. George Mason University
Fields of Expertise:
Midwifery, Interprofessional Education
Professional Highlights:
Dr. van Olphen Fehr is a Professor of Nurse-Midwifery, and the creator and Director of the first nurse-midwifery education program in Virginia at Shenandoah University. To increase access to nurse-midwifery education in the rural areas, she developed the “Midwifery Initiative,” a series of collaborative agreements with Old Dominion, Radford, Marshall, Johns Hopkins, James Madison, and George Washington Universities, and West Virginia Wesleyan College so that graduate nursing students can obtain their nurse-midwifery education through Shenandoah University while attending these universities. In 2004 she was appointed by Virginia’s Governor Warner to a Rural Obstetrical Services Committee where she co-created legislation (HB2656) to establish pilot midwifery clinics in medically underserved areas.
Dr. Fehr has authored and received numerous funding opportunities including three grants through the Advanced Nurse Education Training Act from the Human Resources and Services Administration and one grant from the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority.
Personal Quote:I feel honored to be a part of the faculty at Shenandoah University! Their creativity, integrity and professional expertise creates a phenomenal learning environment. As the Director of the first nurse-midwifery education program in Virginia, I have been given the support and encouragement to create a curriculum that I feel best meets the needs of my students. Within this curriculum, I can provide the flexible mentorship that midwifery students need. Working with my students at Shenandoah University has given me much joy as I “midwife” them on to their new careers!