The Nurse Practitioner’s Place

I am a Family Nurse Practitioner that works in a rural setting providing care to many types of patients. I see pediatric patients all the way up to geriatric. I really like seeing entire families and learn something new every day about family dynamics.  I enjoy the different aspects of being a Nurse Practitioner. Some of them include:

Teaching- I teach my patients about their health conditions and how to better take care of themselves. I encourage all of my patients to “help me help you!” This engages the patient and lets them know that their health is ultimately their responsibility. The old saying “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink” is very true on our profession. This leads to some frustration at times! 

Clinical investigation- This is the part of being a Nurse Practitioner that I learn the most from. Every day patients present with a mystery of some kind. Sometimes, it’s a really difficult process to finally put a name to a diagnosis because of very similar symptoms to other diseases. You must remain open to all potentials and never arbitrarily rule out things right off the bat. This is also the scariest part of my job because of the fear of misdiagnosis. I would NEVER want a patient to have a bad outcome because I missed an important clue to their problem. This is one reason why I take so much time with my patients. Yes, it makes me run behind, but I think they really appreciate it when it’s their turn.

Appreciation- I enjoy receiving the thank yous for taking such good care of my patients. I look forward to a smiling face coming back to tell me that they feel better than ever. There is also nothing better than seeing smiling children’s faces when they run up to hug their favorite NP. It still inspires me and gives me goose bumps and I pray that I never lose that feeling.

I hope you enjoyed hearing about why I enjoy my practice and look forward to any comments! Please feel free to let me know if there are any subjects that you would like to see covered.

Until next time, Stay healthy and happy!