Kristen Giesler, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, ENP-C, CFMP, ABAAHP

Family and Emergency Nurse Practitioner
Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner
Diplomat Anti-Aging, Metabolic and Functional Medicine

Kristen is a wife, mother of 5, podcaster, blogger and nurse practitioner caring for patients from birth to geriatrics in beautiful rural Alaska. She is a certified in family practice, emergency medicine, functional medicine, and received her ABAHHP from A4M in 2020. Additionally, she is currently enrolled in the fellowship program at A4M.

Kristen owns and works at Functional Medicine of Alaska utilizing an insurance-based model of care. This is very beneficial when serving the underserved. In late 2021, Kristen is opening a concierge clinic Be-Well Medicine for patients without insurance to increase access to this type of medical care.

In 2010 Kristen began working in Alaska. She began her career as a family nurse practitioner in rural Alaska as part of the National Health Service Corp. It was an incredible and formative 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, 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 the Alaska state representative for the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners. She also contributed to the first the AANPCP emergency nurse practitioner exam to certify family nurse practitioners working in emergency medicine.

There is an overwhelming sense of gratitude to have had the opportunity to work in rural Alaska with the native population and learn about their lifestyle and culture. 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 it led her to attain her certification in functional medicine in order to learn the science behind many natural treatments. It has not only become a benefit to her patients, but to her own family’s health as well.