Mentor Interview
Breeze: how did you arrive at your current position?
Lisa: I moved here about a year and a half ago in November of 2012. I took another position in town at a private pediatric office. That didn't go very well. So I was sought out by Mercy to open up more room for the pediatric portion of the practice.
B: what are your job responsibilities?
L: I provide daily patient car. I see patients from newborn to 24 years of age. I provide well checks, sick visits, school and sports physicals. I also help with coordination of care; meaning that I take care of patients who see specialists for things that are outside if my expertise. Things like Children's Hospital, orthopedics, etc. I take car of lots of follow ups with my patients, including calling parents as well as educating parents on why we do certain things (ex: how to take care of their child if their child is going through specific problems/sicknesses).
B: what challenges have you faced professionally, and how have you handled them?
L: I think that the biggest challenge was when I took the job in town that did not go very well ad making the decision to do what was right for me and my family. And I think that it was really hard, but it was a decision that I needed to make. And that was to solve the problem and that included having a professional conversation and voicing how I felt.
B: what do you love about your work, and what would you change if you could?
L: I love my families and I love their kids, I love watching them progress and grow. It is really fun to see the kids grow from a newborn age to school age kids and then finally to adolescents and have conversations with them and learn about them as a person. I also enjoy seeing different family dynamics, it is interesting to see all different kinds. I also really like the staff that I work with because they make the job fun and they do an amazing job as well.
As for what I would change about my work would be the amount if work that I take home. Charting on my patients from a single day can take somewhere between 2 and 3 hours and of course I want to spend time with my kids so I do my charting after they are in bed and so this can sometimes cut into my sleeping time.
B: what was your biggest professional accomplishment?
L: I thing that my biggest professional accomplishment was getting my doctorate because when I decided to scone a nurse practitioner that was not part of the program. It became a part of the program after I started, I decided to just continue on because I didn't want to be one day passed over for having that lack of degree. When I finished was in May of 2013.
B: what professional mistakes have you made in your career and what have you learned from it/them?
L: there are some simple mistakes and some more complex ones. There are times when you think, "I have seen this same thing before, plenty of times." And you tend not to take it as seriously as you should of not listening to a parent as well as you should. I have learned that when a parent says that their kid is not acting like they usually do, this is a problem. It should be taken seriously because parents know their kids better than most others. And even though you think that you have seen the same thing a thousand times, this may be the time when it is different.
B: if you could relive the last 5-10 years of your life what would you do differently professionally?
L: I probably would have gone back to school to get my doctorate sooner. I waited until my kids were a little bit older because I thought that this would be easier, but that isn't always the case. I think it would have been a better option to become a nurse practitioner sooner.
B: tell me about a time you knew that you were in the right place and this was the right profession for you.
L: I can't tell you an exact time when knew that I was in he right field for me. I can tell you that I have so many parents that tell me that they are so appreciative of the attention they receive when they come to see me. They usually disclose that they have seen numerous people and I am friendly, helpful and answer questions fully and on an intellectual level. I educate them in what would be best for their child and what will help the child improve faster. When parents and patients tell me that they appreciate me and what I do for them I know that I am in the right place because I enjoy it and I am good in this specific field.
B: what advice would you give to someone who is interested in your work field?
L: I think that it is a great field to be in because it leaves room for growth and improvement. You can introduced into a lot of opportunities because there are so many different paths that you can pursue when you are in the nursing field.
B: what is the most challenging thing that you may encounter in your profession?
L: I think that being a nurse practitioner is challenging because it is difficult to get the respect that you have worked hard to earn.
B: what training, education or life experience has been most valuable to you professionally?
L: I think that working at the Children's hospital in St. Louis was probably the best education, training and life experience because I worked with every kind of provider, which includes med students, fellows, attendants, specialists as well as a deferent variety if patients from different ethnic and religious backgrounds. I would say that this was the most valuable. Also being a mom myself I think adds because you can empathize with parents when they say that they aren't getting sleep because their child doesn't feel well and are up all night crying. As a parent you know what they mean because you have been there yourself.
Lisa: I moved here about a year and a half ago in November of 2012. I took another position in town at a private pediatric office. That didn't go very well. So I was sought out by Mercy to open up more room for the pediatric portion of the practice.
B: what are your job responsibilities?
L: I provide daily patient car. I see patients from newborn to 24 years of age. I provide well checks, sick visits, school and sports physicals. I also help with coordination of care; meaning that I take care of patients who see specialists for things that are outside if my expertise. Things like Children's Hospital, orthopedics, etc. I take car of lots of follow ups with my patients, including calling parents as well as educating parents on why we do certain things (ex: how to take care of their child if their child is going through specific problems/sicknesses).
B: what challenges have you faced professionally, and how have you handled them?
L: I think that the biggest challenge was when I took the job in town that did not go very well ad making the decision to do what was right for me and my family. And I think that it was really hard, but it was a decision that I needed to make. And that was to solve the problem and that included having a professional conversation and voicing how I felt.
B: what do you love about your work, and what would you change if you could?
L: I love my families and I love their kids, I love watching them progress and grow. It is really fun to see the kids grow from a newborn age to school age kids and then finally to adolescents and have conversations with them and learn about them as a person. I also enjoy seeing different family dynamics, it is interesting to see all different kinds. I also really like the staff that I work with because they make the job fun and they do an amazing job as well.
As for what I would change about my work would be the amount if work that I take home. Charting on my patients from a single day can take somewhere between 2 and 3 hours and of course I want to spend time with my kids so I do my charting after they are in bed and so this can sometimes cut into my sleeping time.
B: what was your biggest professional accomplishment?
L: I thing that my biggest professional accomplishment was getting my doctorate because when I decided to scone a nurse practitioner that was not part of the program. It became a part of the program after I started, I decided to just continue on because I didn't want to be one day passed over for having that lack of degree. When I finished was in May of 2013.
B: what professional mistakes have you made in your career and what have you learned from it/them?
L: there are some simple mistakes and some more complex ones. There are times when you think, "I have seen this same thing before, plenty of times." And you tend not to take it as seriously as you should of not listening to a parent as well as you should. I have learned that when a parent says that their kid is not acting like they usually do, this is a problem. It should be taken seriously because parents know their kids better than most others. And even though you think that you have seen the same thing a thousand times, this may be the time when it is different.
B: if you could relive the last 5-10 years of your life what would you do differently professionally?
L: I probably would have gone back to school to get my doctorate sooner. I waited until my kids were a little bit older because I thought that this would be easier, but that isn't always the case. I think it would have been a better option to become a nurse practitioner sooner.
B: tell me about a time you knew that you were in the right place and this was the right profession for you.
L: I can't tell you an exact time when knew that I was in he right field for me. I can tell you that I have so many parents that tell me that they are so appreciative of the attention they receive when they come to see me. They usually disclose that they have seen numerous people and I am friendly, helpful and answer questions fully and on an intellectual level. I educate them in what would be best for their child and what will help the child improve faster. When parents and patients tell me that they appreciate me and what I do for them I know that I am in the right place because I enjoy it and I am good in this specific field.
B: what advice would you give to someone who is interested in your work field?
L: I think that it is a great field to be in because it leaves room for growth and improvement. You can introduced into a lot of opportunities because there are so many different paths that you can pursue when you are in the nursing field.
B: what is the most challenging thing that you may encounter in your profession?
L: I think that being a nurse practitioner is challenging because it is difficult to get the respect that you have worked hard to earn.
B: what training, education or life experience has been most valuable to you professionally?
L: I think that working at the Children's hospital in St. Louis was probably the best education, training and life experience because I worked with every kind of provider, which includes med students, fellows, attendants, specialists as well as a deferent variety if patients from different ethnic and religious backgrounds. I would say that this was the most valuable. Also being a mom myself I think adds because you can empathize with parents when they say that they aren't getting sleep because their child doesn't feel well and are up all night crying. As a parent you know what they mean because you have been there yourself.