{"id":72045,"date":"2025-11-11T08:24:39","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T13:24:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/?p=72045"},"modified":"2025-11-18T11:11:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T16:11:18","slug":"from-the-classroom-to-the-clinic-kate-mckinney-embodies-the-nurse-practitioner-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2025\/11\/from-the-classroom-to-the-clinic-kate-mckinney-embodies-the-nurse-practitioner-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"From the classroom to the clinic, Kate McKinney embodies the nurse practitioner mission"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Kate

Dr. Kate McKinney spends three days each week teaching UTC graduate students and two days a week as a family nurse practitioner at CHI Memorial Community Clinic in Hixson. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

As the Kay K. Chitty assistant professor in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga School of Nursing, Dr. Kate McKinney divides her week between educating future nurse practitioners and caring for patients who otherwise might not receive care.<\/p>\n

On Tuesdays through Thursdays, McKinney is on the UTC campus teaching graduate students, while on Mondays and Fridays, she provides patient care as a family nurse practitioner at CHI Memorial Community Clinic in Hixson.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unique,\u201d she said. \u201cI get to pull stories and my clinical experience into what I\u2019m doing on the campus side of things.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Kay K. Chitty Professorship is part of a long-standing partnership between UTC and CHI Memorial\u2014formerly known as Memorial Hospital\u2014established in the mid-1990s to honor Dr. Kay Kittrell Chitty, a former director of the UTC School of Nursing. Memorial endowed the professorship to recognize Chitty\u2019s leadership and to strengthen nurse practitioner education at UTC.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was the School of Nursing\u2019s very first shared position,\u201d explained Dr. Chris Smith, director of the UTC School of Nursing and the University\u2019s chief health affairs officer. \u201cMemorial gives the UC Foundation half the salary and the University pays the other half. It\u2019s a nice blend because it keeps our faculty current in practice while they\u2019re teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith, who held the professorship early in her UTC career, said the role was designed to be \u201cboots on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKate works with students in the clinic,\u201d Smith said. \u201cShe serves as a preceptor. The students receive clinical hours, but they\u2019re also exposed to a clinic that serves people from all socioeconomic backgrounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an excellent learning opportunity, and Kate is part of a team that helps the patient be cared for holistically.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CHI Memorial Community Clinic operates entirely under nurse practitioner leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have, of course, a doctor who oversees us,\u201d McKinney said, \u201cbut the four providers here are all nurse practitioners\u2014which is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

She follows in the footsteps of several UTC colleagues she now works alongside who have held the Chitty Professorship, including Smith, Dr. Amber Roach\u00e9 and Dr. Priscilla Simms-Roberson.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really neat that this professorship was created in Dr. Chitty\u2019s name and has continued on,\u201d McKinney said. \u201cSo many of us are here because of her legacy and the work she did with community and nursing education.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Graduate

Dr. Kate McKinney works with DNP student Brooke Williams in Davenport Hall.<\/p><\/div>\n

That legacy takes on added meaning this month as National Nurse Practitioners Week\u2014taking place from Nov. 9-15\u2014celebrates more than 385,000 licensed NPs nationwide and highlights the vital role they play in expanding access to care.<\/p>\n

The 2025 theme, \u201cNPs: Trusted Voices, Proven Care,\u201d recognizes the increasing influence of nurse practitioners across health care settings.<\/p>\n

At the CHI Memorial Community Clinic, McKinney sees firsthand how that impact extends far beyond routine checkups, providing care for the underserved population.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s medical care and human care built into this clinic,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She shared the story of a patient who couldn\u2019t afford a shower chair.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a special area at the community clinic where we collect items like that and are able to provide them at no cost,\u201d she said. \u201cWe collect food and clothing and things like that which we can provide to patients.\u201d<\/p>\n

A native of Rome, Georgia, McKinney earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of South Alabama, her Master of Science in Nursing from Vanderbilt University, and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the Medical College of Georgia. Before coming to UTC, she taught undergraduate students at Belmont University and practiced as a nurse practitioner in Nashville and Chattanooga.<\/p>\n

McKinney said her decision to become a nurse practitioner was inspired by colleagues early in her career.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had nurse practitioners on our floor in the hospital who I really admired,\u201d she said. \u201cThey kind of mentored me through the process of going to NP school and what that would look like.\u201d<\/p>\n

That mentoring experience helped shape her approach to teaching.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I started practicing as a nurse practitioner,\u201d she said, \u201cI thought if I could give back and contribute to students the way I was mentored, it would be really special.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dr.

Dr. Amber Roach\u00e9, left, Dr. Kate McKinney and Dr. Chris Smith have all been honored as Kay K. Chitty Professors.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Kay K. Chitty Professorship requires a faculty member to maintain active clinical practice while teaching.<\/p>\n

For McKinney, that balance is both challenging and rewarding.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first it can be a little overwhelming,\u201d said McKinney, who came to UTC in fall 2024. \u201cYou\u2019re almost in two full-time positions. You have a boss on the campus and at the clinic\u2014and you\u2019re here and there.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that I\u2019m in my second year at UTC, I\u2019m really grateful for this position and what I\u2019ve been able to combine clinically and at an educational level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith said that mix of responsibilities is precisely what makes the professorship valuable.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt keeps us current in practice, but we can also relate to students,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen Kate\u2019s seeing patients, if she sees somebody who\u2019s pretty complex, she can pull the student in with her. It\u2019s real-world learning in action.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the upcoming spring semester, McKinney plans to bring graduate students into the clinic for hands-on training.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope it evolves for me and allows me to do more and more of that,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s such an important piece of becoming a nurse practitioner\u2014having a clinical experience and having one like this in the community setting.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKinney said the role of a family nurse practitioner is increasingly vital to community health care.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe data out there shows that nurse practitioners continue to be well-educated providers who provide safe and effective care,\u201d she said. \u201cWe can be really well utilized in rural areas and community care clinics like this\u2014especially in family medicine, where we don\u2019t have enough physicians anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

For McKinney, the next step is straightforward: continue building on what she has started.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope to continue and grow here in my role at UTC,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s fun to look back and see the things I\u2019ve accomplished in a little over a year in this position. I hope to kind of evolve this as I continue at UTC.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/h4>\n

Visit UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

UTC School of Nursing<\/a><\/p>\n

How to apply<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the Kay K. Chitty assistant professor in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga School of Nursing, Dr. Kate McKinney divides her week between educating future nurse practitioners and caring for patients who otherwise might not receive care.<\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1493,"featured_media":72054,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_slider":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_featurette":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,70,123864,15,56,4936,3,7712,52,83654,8244],"tags":[119585,125770,126295,48202,123827,126294,126293,126299,123828,124776,126297,126300,123829,126298],"class_list":{"0":"post-72045","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-academics","8":"category-advancement-and-alumni","9":"category-campus","10":"category-college-of-health-education-and-professional-studies","11":"category-college-of-nursing","12":"category-community","13":"category-faculty-and-staff","14":"category-graduate-school","15":"category-health-and-wellness","16":"category-honors-and-awards","17":"category-news","18":"tag-amber-roache","19":"tag-chi-memorial","20":"tag-chi-memorial-community-clinic","21":"tag-chris-smith","22":"tag-creating-the-mocs-experience","23":"tag-kate-mckinney","24":"tag-kay-chitty","25":"tag-kay-k-chitty-professorship","26":"tag-leveraging-our-special-place-as-chattanoogas-university","27":"tag-mocs-learn-mocs-do-mocs-lead","28":"tag-national-nurse-practitioners-week","29":"tag-nurse-practitioner-program","30":"tag-operating-with-excellence","31":"tag-priscilla-simms-roberson-2","32":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nFrom the classroom to the clinic, Kate McKinney embodies the nurse practitioner mission | UTC News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As the Kay K. 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