OKMULGEE – April Rinner recently earned her doctoral degree from Oklahoma City University and said the Muscogee (Creek) Nation supported her throughout her academic journey. An Aristocrat Scholar, Rinner has also volunteered in Native communities to assist with opioid overdose prevention and education efforts. She shared that she is a descendant of four tribes (Creek, Cherokee, Osage, and Sioux lineage) and that her ancestry is connected to Native leaders and Chiefs.
Rinner had to juggle being a student, a wife, a mother of four boys, and working multiple jobs. However, she has had significant help from her family and tribe to reach this milestone.
Rinner has been a nurse for nearly 20 years, and when she first started, she worked in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). While she enjoyed that work, she always wanted to become a teacher.
“I just kind of pushed it aside because I worked hard to earn my nursing degree, but I quietly held onto a dream of being a professor and teaching students. I even wrestled in college with deciding between an education and a nursing degree,” Rinner said.
One day, a nursing professor who became her mentor came into the NICU where Rinner worked, and she shared with the professor that she had always wanted to teach. The professor encouraged her to pursue that dream.
“She told me about her career path and how she was able to manage it, but I also had two very young children at the time, and I was somewhat intimidated about trying to balance being a mom and also going back to school, but I earned my master’s in 2017 in Nursing Education,” Rinner said.
Afterward, Rinner was motivated to pursue her doctorate; however, she and her family decided it would be best to wait. Rinner later had two more children and supported her mother as she passed away from cancer.
“During that time, I was able to be there with her, and I also had two more children, which was very important to me. Later, I was able to go back for my Doctorate of Nursing Practice degree in Nursing Education,” Rinner said.
Throughout her journey, Rinner faced challenges with juggling her life priorities with student responsibilities. She had children to take care of and spent many late nights working and writing while trying to keep her family a priority. However, she acknowledged that her husband was very supportive of her throughout the way.
“There have been weeks where I would think ‘Okay, we have to get through this week, and then the next,’ while trying to juggle late night practices and games, and then carving out time for school when I got home while everyone’s asleep,” Rinner said.
Rinner explained that earning this degree was a surreal moment. Especially getting the Aristocrat Scholarship from the Muscogee Nation Scholarship Foundation, “which was a tremendous honor. It was a very competitive scholarship. I was shocked that I got this,” Rinner said.
“They awarded me with an academic excellence award because I had the highest GPA in the MSN-DNP program, and I was a little bit shocked by this because even though I worked really hard, I didn’t expect this, especially while juggling my boys. They’re at the age where they’re in multiple sports, and I work in four different nursing roles,” Rinner said.
In her nursing career, she works at the School of Nursing at Saint Francis Hospital, where she teaches on the clinical side. She has students who attend the University of Oklahoma and the University of Tulsa. Rinner also has a background in teaching at Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology, her first role in education many years ago.
Currently an employee at Saint Francis, she teaches virtual courses for the University of Tulsa, something she did while also earning her doctoral degree. Additionally, Rinner works as a school nurse at her children’s school.
Presently, Dr. Rinner holds two board certifications: Clinical Nurse Educator (CNE) and Certified Academic Clinical Nurse Educator (CNEcl). Rinner explained that while each certification has a distinct focus, both are grounded in evidence-based practice and nursing education. One certification emphasizes clinical education and professional development within healthcare settings, while the other focuses on teaching and learning in academic environments.
“I’ve worked very hard to get to this point, and getting to the finish line is very surreal. I wasn’t expecting the honors that the school awarded me, and my project also has been a tremendous blessing because I was able to implement it at the hospital,” Rinner said.
“I remember what it felt like starting as a new graduate nurse, and I couldn’t have tried to set a pathway to get to this point. I could not have orchestrated the divine appointments throughout my journey. The unexpected encounters with nurses and hospital leaders, the paths that crossed at just the right moments, and the doors that opened along the way. Everything fell into place with my project aligning perfectly with my vision for mentorship and mentoring the next generation of nurses.”
She felt that it was her calling to teach the next generation of nurses. Rinner gets sad when the semester ends.
“I would grow to love them, and I would see both their strengths and weaknesses. It’s a meaningful bond whenever you can come alongside someone who’s anxious, scared, and new to the profession. Being someone they trust who can support and guide them through a challenging time is deeply rewarding for me,” Rinner said.
While in the beginning, when she had her boys, she cut back hours when they were first born and when they were little, but at that time, Rinner would start to miss her students. She gradually picked up more hours and tried to get more time with her students, too.
“I just fell in love with that, and that’s one of the main reasons why I wanted to pursue a Doctorate. It was also a lifelong dream that I had growing up, I always either wanted to be a teacher, a nurse, or a doctor, and now I’ve become all three essentially,” Rinner said.
For anyone who wants to do what Rinner is currently doing or get a Doctorate degree, she wants them to go for it, and she will never regret getting this degree because, to her, it’s a passion.
Rinner stated that many nurse educators are very passionate about their work. She had the privilege of working with some of the best. She knows that sometimes nurses can get burned out by what they do; however, for Rinner, this was her lifelong dream and it just keeps getting better. She says she always knew she eventually wanted to mentor students as much as possible.
Growing up as a citizen of MCN, she is a proud Oklahoman with Indigenous roots on her dad’s side, which she carries great pride in. She grew up visiting her Papa’s house on Cheasquah and Red Bird Road in Muskogee.
“Where my family would jokingly say we were ‘just a bunch of Okies from Muskogee.’ As a little girl, I did not yet understand that those words reflected generations of tribal leaders, chiefs, and a rich lineage rooted in four tribal nations,” stated Rinner.
As an Indigenous person, she wanted to give back and honor her heritage and roots.
Rinner has also volunteered in Native communities to support opioid overdose prevention and education efforts. “I’ve had the honor of volunteering at medication take-back events with tribal communities. There is a significant need for opioid education and initiatives that promote awareness because of the challenges associated with opioid misuse in some Native communities. I value the opportunity to volunteer, spend my time, and give back to my people in that way,” Rinner said.
Rinner is deeply appreciative of the MCN and the many scholarship opportunities available. When starting back to school, Rinner had no idea how they were going to do it financially, but with the support from MCN, it was a blessing for her.
She believes that her faith has been her driving force in getting to where she is now.
Rinner shared, “I think that it’s definitely shaped me and made me stronger because I’ve learned how to trust and really rely on my faith in God through this.”
