Part Three of Nurse Practitioner Steven Barlow's Story: Serving Rural Populations Far Apart

This is the last piece in a blog series featuring Steven Barlow, a certified family nurse practitioner whose job search through 3RNET led him to two very different rural populations - both of which he loves. Read on for an inside look into his unusual career trajectory, how 3RNET facilitated his job search(es), and why rural healthcare remains a passion for him. Barlow was named the Outstanding Rural Health Provider of the Year for 2024 by the Center for Rural Health at the University of North Dakota. 

Though Steven Barlow grew up just outside of Chicago in Joliet, IL, he considers himself a small-town person. “What really solidified it for me was living in a pretty small community with only two roads going in and out of the town,” Barlow said. “It became very evident how isolated you can become very quickly.” 

When the town encountered an emergency situation in which both roads were blocked by major vehicle accidents, the community was put to the test. “In a rural community, if you don’t have resources for care, bad things happen. I realized that not only was there a definite need, but it suits my personality, and people in small communities pull together.” And pull together they did. “That’s the kind of community I want to spend my life in and raise my family in - where better to do that than in a rural community?” said Barlow.  

Through his work in various positions in North Dakota, Barlow has been able to make an impact on more than just his immediate community. In his first position, he spent much of his time rotating through many critical access hospitals across the state providing additional coverage. “When I talk about being able to have an impact,” Barlow said, “my daughter will go to some odd corner of North Dakota in her job as a paramedic, and will run into someone there who knows her dad. It’s just fun. Even though I’m not from here, wasn’t born or raised here or have generations of connection here, we’ve become a part of the fabric of the area.” 

Though his family loved the area, they did not love the harsh winter, and so Barlow went back to 3RNET looking for a warmer - yet still rural - place to settle. When a job in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands came up, he saw it as another unique opportunity. “It has been another incredible experience because, you know, here is another unique population, phenomenal opportunities there for my family, and an interesting experience of healthcare in a different part of the world, with a different culture.”

After moving his family to Saipan, though, Barlow received an even more extraordinary offer. “I wound up not taking the job after moving there because my employer in North Dakota just came back with such an incredible opportunity,” Barlow said. Using creativity and flexibility, the Dakota Regional Medical Center was able to find a solution that suited both the needs of their community and Barlow’s family. “I work here [in ND] for a month, and then go back to Saipan for a month. Where else are you going to get that besides a rural healthcare facility where they value you and see all the effort you put in?” 

With four of his nine children still at home, Barlow is deeply appreciative of the opportunities this one-of-a-kind situation has provided for his family. “We are starting to make plans to go to Seoul for Christmas - it’s only a three hour flight away from Tokyo. It’s an opportunity that you don’t come across in any other way.” 

This unique arrangement has reinforced his value to the community he serves, as well. “Maybe it’s just me,” Barlow said, “but I find myself wondering ‘Does anything I do really matter?’ Here, when I bump into someone at the grocery store, they say, ‘Hey, I’ve got to come see you next week, glad you’re back in town!’ You really see the difference you are making in people’s lives and it makes everything worth it.” 

When asked for one last thought about rural healthcare, Barlow said, “I mentor a lot of students, and I tell them: One, rural healthcare really is what you want to do for the rest of your life anyway. Two, this is how I got here; it’s worth a look. You never know the opportunities that are available until you take a look.” 

You can read part one of Steven's story here, and read part two here.