In Practice: Reflections from NPs and PAs

I am a board-certified family nurse practitioner, currently practicing adult medicine at Brigham and Women’s Primary Care Associates Longwood. Prior to that, I practiced for three years in an innovative primary care setting, the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Ambulatory Practice of the Future, and for two years in a private family medicine setting. In addition, I am an advanced practice clinical preceptor for the Connell School of Nursing at Boston College, teaching community health to both undergraduate and graduate nursing students. In addition to my work in nursing practice and education, I have experience in public health research, having worked at the MGH Disparities Solutions Center and in the Communication Department at Boston College. My research interests include health disparities, the culturally competent provision of care, and nonverbal communication behaviors in conversations about health. I completed a Master of Science degree in nursing from the Connell School of Nursing at Boston College and hold memberships with several professional organizations, including the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and the Massachusetts Coalition of Nurse Practitioners. In my spare time, I enjoy volunteering as a school nurse and health educator at the Nativity Preparatory School in Jamaica Plain. I travel annually to Leogane, Haiti and surrounding villages to provide nursing relief to the local Haitian community. You can follow me on Twitter @edonahueNP.

I grew up in a small mining town in Northern England where I was known as the “doctor’s daughter.” I lived up to my moniker by giving my sisters’ dolls measles and operating on their teddy bears. After my mother hid the markers, I turned my attention to books — not only my dad’s medical tomes, but also a great number of English literature books. Tucked away in the British literature, I found a quintessentially American writer, Mark Twain, who taught me that if you must eat a frog, you should eat it early. That is, get undesirable tasks done first.

These important life lessons (and literary ways) carried over into my medical education; first as a physical therapist in the British National Health Service, where we encouraged ailing patients to be fighters, and later in Detroit, where my physician assistant training was likened to drinking from a fire hydrant and cancer was a battle (to be fought and won). I learned that the words we use to describe our lives, education, and work matter. Really matter. Thus, I have been writing for most of my 20 years in medicine, and have done so in all forms (author, editor, speaker, professor, poet) and published in all manner of journals (Pulse, The Clinical Advisor, Confluence, The Yale Journal, Cell2Soul). I volunteered for the last 6 years on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, editing everything and anything along with writing for the “Art of Medicine”, “Emergency Medicine Notes”, and the “Musings” blog.

After completing an emergency medicine fellowship in Michigan, I moved to western North Carolina where I continue to practice emergency medicine and also find space to write.

I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, I am of Alaska Native descent (my grandmother is from the Tlinget tribe in Southeast Alaska), and I come from a large family of 6 girls. I believe that all this has given me an interesting perspective on healthcare and nursing. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a nurse — a mission that I pursued through an associate degree in nursing from Everett Community College in 2002 and bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UCLA, completed in 2009.

My nursing career began in the pediatric intensive care unit at Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA. After graduating with my master’s degree, I took my first position as a pediatric nurse practitioner in the Heart Center at Seattle Children’s Hospital. After 6 years in cardiac surgery, I transitioned to the heart center’s regional program (covering the large area of Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho). With a focus on postdischarge care, I collaborate with patients, physicians, and even hospitals to provide continuity of care and bridging care back to our hospital, and I educate providers within the region. Regional medicine has become a passion of mine. In a world where medicine is as advanced as it is, I am often amazed to see how little some communities in our region have in the way of basic health needs (some have no running water).

I have two daughters — a toddler and a newborn — and am married to a high school football coach. We live by Friday night lights throughout the season. I love yoga and Barre3; both keep me sane. You can follow me on Twitter @emilyfmoore80.

I began my medical career at the age of 9, practicing amateur veterinary medicine on my pet potbellied pigs. I was born and raised in central Florida, received my undergraduate degree from the University of South Florida, and attended physician assistant school at Yale University. I have held editorial positions at the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine and PA Professional magazine and currently serve on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. I now practice critical care medicine in Baltimore, MD and write everywhere. You can follow me on Twitter @HarrisonReedPA. You can read more of my writing at my website, TheContralateral.com. 

I grew up in Maine and began my healthcare career in the field of orthotics and prosthetics in 2004. I completed a master’s degree in public health (at the Dartmouth Institute of Health Policy and Clinical Practice) in June 2010 and a master’s degree in science at Northeastern University’s physician assistant program in August 2012. While at Northeastern, I became a 2011–2012 Albert Schweitzer Fellow and completed a year-long community health project focused on the sexual education of adolescents and asthma action plans. I am currently pursuing my clinical passion of neurosurgery at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA where I work with the chief of vascular and endovascular neurosurgery, splitting my time between clinic, procedures, research, and practice-building. I hold academic positions at Harvard Medical School, Northeastern University, and the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute for Health Professions. My interests include integrating social media into the delivery of better health services, traveling, mixed martial arts, and the latest Netflix obsession. You can follow me on Twitter @B_Belcher or on LinkedIn.

I began my career in public health, working in grassroots tobacco control and leading smoking cessation programs in Massachusetts immediately after obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Sport and Fitness at Salem State University. Simultaneously, I was accepted into the Boston University School of Public Health, completing my Master of Public Health degree in social and behavioral sciences. Working with the American Cancer Society (ACS), I collaborated with diverse groups in developing programs in cancer prevention, screening, and patient support. Next, with the National Cancer Institute/ACS, I provided expertise and training for federal grantees, state coalitions, and community health centers on evidence-based program planning, intervention design, and cancer clinical trials, with an emphasis on reaching the medically underserved in rural and urban settings. In 2010, I entered physician assistant school at the University of New England, where I represented my fellow students as class president. Currently, I practice medicine with Maine Medical Partners Geriatric Division in Portland, ME, advocating for patients daily with the goal of providing equitable, high-quality care. I am an outdoor enthusiast and enjoy hiking and camping in New England, running 5Ks to marathons, and, along with my husband, introducing my 15-month-old son Quinn to outdoor adventures.

Hi. My name is Scott, and in addition to being a blogger, I am a son, a husband, a father of three, a nurse practitioner, a barefoot runner, a single-speed cyclist, a Bikram yoga practitioner, and a Humanist. I was born in Philadelphia but was raised on Oahu from the age of 5 until almost age 19, making me a Kama’aina. From there I moved to San Diego to attend San Diego State University, where I earned my bachelor’s degree in nursing, followed by a move to the San Francisco Bay Area, where I earned my master’s degree in nursing from the University of California, San Francisco and am currently raising my family. I am a family nurse practitioner but have settled into the niche of adolescent health. I see patients aged 12 to 25 in a county clinic that is run in collaboration with the surrounding high school district.