Let me introduce myself and my family. Once again, my name is Karen L. Madsen. I am an assistant professor at the college and have been here one year now. My family resides currently in Willard, MO.

I have always been a nontraditional student, returning to school at Missouri Southern in Joplin, MO when our third child was 18 months old. I earned an ASN degree from Southern and then practiced several years before returning to school (again) to complete my BSN/MSN degrees. I periodically thing about a pHD but think my family would mutiny at even the mention of school right now!!

My nursing background is primarily in maternal-child and family nursing. Here is my nursing experience:

• Student assistant: Freeman Hospital ( Joplin, MO)/well baby nursery-18 months GN/RN: Freeman Hospital/well baby nursery: 2 years RN: Freeman Hospital/labor and delivery: 9 years (*my very favorite) RN/IBCLC (international board certified lactation consultant): Freeman Hospital/lactation consultant: 18 months Returned to nursing school; earned a BSN from Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, KS in 2004 Continued in nursing school at Pittsburg State; graduated w/a MSN in 2006. Employed as adjunct faculty at both Labette Community College (Parsons, KS) and Pitt State while a student. Successfully sat for national certification as a family nurse practitioner after graduation w/my MSN. Currently practicing as a FNP one day a week in Carthage, MO @ Manzer Family Medicine w/Jonathan Manzer, MD. (majority of our practice is age 70 and up).
• Currently employed full time per Cox College; I teach this course, Vulnerable Populations, Community, and several electives including cultural competence.

My husband, Dwight and I, have been married 29 years this year and have 4 children; Sam, Kate, Zeb and Grace. The two oldest kids are married, our third child, Zeb, attends Pitt State and is leaving to study abroad for a year in France and Scotland; we will be down to only one child at home! Very strange for us!! Grace will start 9th grade in the fall.

We live on the farm, have lots of animals, show hogs and poultry competitively across the nation and love rural life. I have several (too many) dogs and one very fat cat that lives both inside and out. Grace and I are lobbying for some alpacas (sort of like a much friendlier llama) but haven’t been able to convince Dwight as yet!!