Biography

Dr. Nikel serves as Associate Program Director of the Family Medicine Residency. Additionally, Dr. Nikel serves as the Section Chief of Behavioral Health for the department. Over her years on faculty, Dr. Nikel has been a member of numerous committees such as the UMKC School of Medicine GME Wellness Committee, the UH Medical/Dental Staff Wellness Committee, and UMKC FM Residency Clinical Competency and Program Evaluation Committees. Nationally, Dr. Nikel has served as the chair of the STFM Professional Wellbeing Collaborative and a member of the STFM Workgroup on Destigmatizing Mental Health.

Dr. Nikel provides integrated behavioral health services to University Health Lakewood Medical Center patients. Additionally, she facilitates the integrated behavioral health training program at UH in which she teaches and supervises doctoral psychology students, pre-doctoral psychology interns, and postdoctoral psychology fellows in the practice of health psychology. Dr. Nikel enjoys working with patients during the perinatal and postpartum period, help to manage chronic diseases, and make positive lifestyle changes in addition to educating residents and students on behavioral medicine.

Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter, traveling and hiking, and hand sewn embroidery. Embroidery has been a means of self-expression, wellness, and has become a traditional gift. Each year, Dr. Nikel creates a personalized embroidery for each graduating resident.