Nurse Survives Cancer, Earns Doctorate
Posted on June 22, 2023
#MyFirstJob is a series focused on recent graduates of the University of South Alabama.
Krystal Clark, who earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of South Alabama this May, has been interested in womenâs health since she was a little girl.
She watched her mother give birth to her baby brother when she was 9 years old.
âMy mom asked if I wanted to see, and I said yes,â Clark said. âI knew where babies came from. The only thing I didnât understand is why my mother was in so much pain. Once my brother was crowning, the doctor said, âThere he is.â Since then, thatâs been my whole career.â
Clark, 35, is a nurse practitioner at Women to Women OB GYN Care in her hometown of Hollywood, Florida, between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Next year, she and a physician partner plan to open their own practice.
She decided to begin graduate school while working as a clinical nursing manager at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood. She felt unappreciated, underpaid, and wanted to advance her career. She considered hybrid nursing education at universities such as Georgetown, then chose the online graduate program at the University of South Alabama.
âI wanted a program that had a womenâs health focus and specialty,â she said. âWhen I looked at the requirements and core curriculum, I found it very impressive.â
Distance learning at South suited Clark. She and her husband have a 6-year-old daughter.
Her strengths include time management, discipline and determination.
âI absolutely loved it,â she said. âMy learning style is very tactile, hands-on, so itâs best if I can study things and then put them right to use. Sitting in a classroom, thatâs not me.â
Clarkâs final test came last year when she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Her treatment included weeks of radiation treatment, and she is now cancer-free. She recalls a difficult time in her personal, professional and academic lives.
âThe hardest part,â she said, âwas staying away from our little girl.â
Dr. Terrie Platt, one of her womenâs health professors at South, said Clark worked straight through her cancer diagnosis and treatment. She never wavered from her commitment to her education and to herself.
âShe was so determined to complete the program,â Platt said. âShe never approached me for any kind of accommodation, which I would have been happy to give. She even went through a hurricane during her time as a student, and never missed a beat. I was so impressed with her.â
Quality of Life for Women
Clark grew up in Hollywood and attended Archbishop McCarthy High School. She went to college at Florida A&M University, earned a bachelorâs degree and became a registered nurse. At Memorial Regional Hospital, she rose to nursing manager.
At South, she earned a masterâs degree in 2021 and immediately began work on her DNP.
The title of her doctoral thesis: âUtilizing the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Questionnaire for Increased Provider Awareness, Early Treatment, and Quality of Life Improvement in Women with PCOS.â
Clark worked on the polycystic ovary syndrome project with Dr. Shrusan Gray, her supervisor at Women to Women, along with Platt at South.
âShe was very focused and dedicated to her project, her quality improvement project,â Platt said. âShe saw a need for better identification of symptoms and improved quality of life. That was her purpose and she did quite well.â
A family trip to her graduation ceremony in Mobile included her husband, parents and grandparents. Her daughter Shyann gave her a hand-drawn card.
âIt said, âI Love You, Mommy,ââ Clark said. âShe says she wants to be a doctor nurse just like me.â
After graduation, she went ahead and bought the velvet-and-silk regalia she wore for the ceremony at South. It felt right. The formal attire represents all of her work and sacrifice.
âI thought it was something I should keep,â she said.
Clark doesnât have much free time as a working mother and budding entrepreneur, but she enjoys reading everything from medical journals to romance novels. Her arts and crafts projects include candle making.
While planning her own healthcare practice, she continues to work at the Women to Women clinic. Sheâs used to working in womenâs health care. Sheâs not used to people calling her Dr. Clark.
âNot yet,â she said, laughing. âItâs still weird, but itâs an honor to have the title.â
