Kristen Coletti-Giesler, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, ABAAHP, FAAMFM

Kristen is a nurse practitioner caring for patients from birth to geriatrics as both a certified family and emergency nurse practitioner. She is also a certified functional medicine practitioner and is working on her longevity medicine certification through the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. Kristen is the owner of Functional Medicine of Alaska and sees patients across the lifespan using a functional primary care model. Kristen has been practicing in Alaska since 2010. She began her career as a family nurse practitioner in rural Alaska in the National Health Service Corp. It was a great experience, but it also had its challenges. It is a sink or swim environment where she had to adapt and overcome obstacles. Kristen delivered babies on the fly and picked up patients on the side of a dirt road after a fire by herself and functioned in situations she never learned about in the academic world. She utilized equipment that was old or simply not available. It’s amazing how much you can do with an x-ray machine and a moderate level lab. Kristen had to utilize assessment skills to stay ahead of the patient’s trajectory calling for flight teams before they deteriorated. Getting creative with sleep schedules when you are the only provider for days, weeks, and sometimes months, she learned to rely heavily on the resources that were available. Kristen is also grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the Alaska Native population and learn about their lifestyle. The use of natural therapies such as nutrition, and herbal medicine, has proven itself to be a necessary way of life for this population’s survival. Kristen found the natural therapies fascinating, and led her to pursue additional training in functional medicine. Learning the science behind many natural treatments has not only become a benefit to her patients, but to her own family’s health as well. Kristen is a self-proclaimed gene nerd that enjoys working on complex medical patients’ genome. Nutrigenetics helps her to tailor her patients care to help improve methylation and prevent diseases from becoming active. Nutrigentics is also very helpful for weight reduction. There is nothing like eating for your genes. Kristen is the Alaska state representative for the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners. She helped write the AANPCP emergency nurse practitioner exam to certify family nurse practitioners working in emergency medicine. She is also a wife, mother of 5 homeschooled children, and the reining 2018 Mrs. Alaska-America Pageant Diplomat. For more information, please visit our website at functionalmedicineofalaska.com