First, Next, Forever: Amanda Stone, Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

Read how Amanda found her "Unicorn" job through 3RNET

Behind every successful 3RNET placement, there are dedicated people hard at work helping job seekers find their first, next or forever opportunity. Trixie Lacas, 3RNET’s Oregon Network Coordinator who helped register Amanda, a behavioral health nurse practitioner on the 3RNET job site, allowing Amanda to connect seamlessly with a community on the southern coast of Oregon - the “unicorn” position she’d long been hoping to find. 

Amanda's Story

Amanda Stone, PMHNP, is a third-generation nurse. “Nursing is in my family,” she said. “I’ve always been drawn to it, drawn to helping people, helping improve the lives of others around me.”

Growing up in a suburb of Portland, Amanda was familiar with the disparities, the mental health population, and with lower socioeconomic status populations in an urbanized area. She also experienced rural populations during her time at the University of South Dakota, where she graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2013. It was after college, while working in central Oregon, that she really developed a love for rural populations. “That was really fun,” she said of her experience, “[Central Oregon] is kind of the last hub until you get to Salem or Portland or even Boise, so just being familiar with what resources you can provide is rewarding. I’ve always been fascinated with that population and getting resources and help there.”

In the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, Amanda decided she wanted to go back to graduate school. She was accepted to Montana State University and graduated in May 2024 with her doctorate in nursing practice with an emphasis in psychiatric mental health. During her time at MSU, she was an AHEC Scholar, allowing her to receive 80-100 hours of additional education, advancing her knowledge in rural population and health disparities. Area Health Education Center students participate in educational opportunities that support eight core topics, including behavioral health integration, and social determinants of health.  Not only did Amanda find valuable experience and training through participation in the AHEC program; it was at an AHEC conference that she first learned of 3RNET.

Trixie Lacas, Oregon's 3RNET Network Coordinator

Trixie Lacas is the program manager for rural recruitment and retention efforts at the Oregon Office of Rural Health. Her job is not just to find providers for the state’s 103 Rural and Remote Primary Care Service Areas, but to truly match providers to the communities in need. As the sole recruiter for critical access hospitals and rural health clinics across the state, she takes great pride in creating successful connections between job seekers and employers.

“My approach with any provider across the board - even if you’re a medical assistant - is to always try and match the community to the provider and the provider to the community. I want it to be a good match as much as I can be involved in it.”

Though she lives in a rural community in eastern Oregon, she has worked closely with Coast Community Health Center and deeply understands their struggles to recruit. “They are beautiful areas, but they are in a sense semi-remote because they are on the coastal side, and CCHC has really had some struggles with recruiting. It’s really exciting to see them be able to see some growth, which allows them to care for their community even more.”

Coast Community Health Center

Coast Community Health Center (CCHC) is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) located in Bandon, Oregon. The center supports two additional clinics and two School Based Health Center sites, all within Coos and Curry counties along the southern Oregon coast. CCHC works alongside Southern Coos Hospital - the area’s critical access hospital - to provide care for the coastal population.

The population along the southern coast of Oregon is primarily older, but the clinics serve patients from infancy to the elderly. The largest need, though, is for mental health care. It is difficult to recruit in rural, small Bandon, Nicole said. The job listing for a psychiatric nurse practitioner had been open for quite a while. There are many patients that go to CCHC because they cannot get in anywhere else, creating a deep need for someone like Amanda to step in.

Finding a"Unicorn" Job Opportunity

After Amanda registered on 3RNET at an AHEC conference, Trixie reached out to let her know what kind of services the Oregon Office of Rural Health provides. Oftentimes when a job seeker reaches out, Trixie will run a report on 3RNET’s jobsite of all the opportunities for their speciality. From that list, she will grab about 10 and include them in her introduction email as a snapshot of what is available to them across the state.

In Amanda’s case, Trixie did a direct referral of her over to Coast Community Health Center. When Nicole reached out to Amanda after Trixie’s referral, things fell into place. The process was so smooth that when Nicole shares it with other FQHC recruiters, they tell her she has found a unicorn!

Amanda feels the same. The position at Coast Community Health Center is exactly what she had in mind for herself upon graduation. “I always told people that my dream job was to work in a rural community, small clinic, with a certain number of providers. It really is my unicorn position!”

Though it was difficult for her partner to find a job in their new community, they and their fur babies enjoyed the move. Both the weather and the people have been phenomenal, Amanda shared.

For many job seekers like Amanda, their first, next, or forever opportunity is just a connection away. As Trixie said, “[Amanda’s match] really shined a positive light on the 3RNET connection, the rural health connection, and the AHEC connection. All of those bodies connected and helped her land a spot in a place that she felt she really wanted to be!”

If you’ve found your first, next or forever career opportunity because you’ve registered on 3RNET, or if you’re an in-house recruiter who posted a position on 3RNET and filled it with a candidate who registered, we’d like to help tell your story. Email us at morin@3rnet.org to let us help tell your First, Next, or Forever story.