Introduction From a Retail Health NP

I have been a nurse practitioner for 7 years and a nurse for 15 plus years. I have a master's degree in nursing from Case Western Reserve University and a master's degree in public health from Walden University. I am a Certified Family Nurse Practitioner and I currently work as a Nurse Practitioner in a retail setting. I have experience in various medical arenas: primary care, spinal cord injury, cancer research, home health, clinical/pharmaceutical research, rheumatoid, medical surgical, long term care, institutional nursing. I also must add that I served in the Army and Army Reserves and today am a retired Captain.

Some of my accomplishments are as follows. I published an article in 2001, Phantom Shoulder Pain. Patient Care for Nurse Practitioner. I have presented at several regional conference and one national conference, AASCIN, 2007. I received two grants; VISN 10 Network Research Council (NRC), “An Innovative Pressure Alert System for Prevention of Pressure Ulcers”, Principal Investigator, 2003-2004, $10,000 and VISN 10 Clinical Care Council, “Utilization of Home Care Telehealth System to Reduce Re-admission Rate for Persons with Spinal Cord Injury”, Project Owner, 2003-2005, $93,155. I also was Chair of AASCIN Education committee in 2003 and I was a Fellow in the Center of Excellence in Population-Based Pediatric Nursing in 2000. I am a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing and Golden Key Club National Honor Society.

As you can see I have had an eventful and exciting career in the nursing field as a Nurse and Nurse Practitioner. I have learned and experienced many things as I walked this journey. I have also seen many changes during my career path and now I have an opportunity to share my present experiences with others.

This is a time when Practitioners are making history and expanding health care as it has never been expanded before. This is a positive change that will hopefully last for a long time to come. Do you think the roles and changes Practitioners are making in retail setting are here for the long haul or is this just part or the evolutional changes of health care?