“There is such a sense of family and belonging on the UMary campus, I always felt I was ‘home.’”
classmates assess her thyroid so that they could see an abnormal thyroid exam for learning purposes,” Gerhardt said.
Alexis Schulz, left, thought she knew what to expect when enrolling in the University of Mary Doctorate of Nursing Practice [DNP] program. On its own, preparing to be a DNP is a full-time job. Add to that her everyday job at CHI St. Alexius Health as a registered nurse and helping her husband raise their two children. “I have always thrived in chaos,” said Schulz, a Bismarck native. “I think being an intensive care nurse, you tend to adapt and thrive in stressful and fast-paced environments. There are a lot of late nights and homework time during the kids’ naps, but you do what you have to do to get the work done for your dream you’ve wanted for so long.” Earning her graduate degree and becoming a DNP suddenly took an unexpected turn that not only put Schulz’s career dreams in jeopardy, but also her life. In September of 2018, during classroom hands-on assessments, Schulz and her group partner needed assistance with their thyroid evaluations because they were unsure if they were doing it properly. They asked their professor, Dr. Annie Gerhardt, to assist. “A thyroid exam tends to be a difficult assessment to learn,” said Gerhardt, who is 6
Momentum
a Family Nurse Practitioner [FNP] clinical competence coordinator and assistant professor, as well as a captain in the North Dakota National Guard State Medical Detachment Unit. “During the exam, I noted a palpable mass on Alexis’s thyroid and questioned if she or another provider had noted this previously. She had not.” Gerhardt knew Alexis had recently been pregnant with her second child, and women can develop thyroid issues during or just after pregnancy, making the finding not completely abnormal. However, it could also indicate cancer or other serious health issues. Either way, the finding absolutely required follow-up, and Gerhardt encouraged Alexis to go in and see her provider for further testing. “During our remaining class time, being the great student and learning partner that Alexis is, she shared the finding with the class and volunteered to have her fellow
Schulz soon made an appointment with her primary doctor that determined a biopsy was needed. Through her own research, Schulz learned that thyroid nodules are very common, and 90 percent are benign, so she became optimistic. However, soon after the removal, she quickly learned that her nodule was cancerous. “On January 7, 2019, I had the right side of my thyroid removed and within three days I got the phone call that would forever change my life,” Schulz said. “My pathology results were that it was a minimally invasive follicular carcinoma and that I should come in to talk about my options.” That’s when Schulz’s chaotic world quickly became even more complicated. Her head filled with worry and uncertainty: What about her schooling, her homework, her clinicals, her job, and most importantly — her family? “At the time of the call, my mom, dad, husband and two little kids were at the table eating dinner. I thought, ‘how am I going to say this? What do I say?’ This is going to rock everyone’s world. I had told them it was Dr. Chalmers before I left the room, so they knew what it was about. I had no choice but to tell them.” Together with her family and her doctor, Alexis decided to remove the rest of her thyroid for preventive treatment and longterm care. Her second surgery was January 17, 2019. Schulz is recovering well and hasn’t needed any treatment since the surgery.
