417 Health Care

God called me to medicine and then I was very blessed because I got a lot of wonderful job shadowing experiences, which sealed the deal in terms of knowing that this was where I wanted to be. The one thing that I can always take ownership of is how well we're doing with preventative medicine with my patients. I always tell the patients that once the specialists get involved that doesn't push me out the window. I think of it as a wheel. So I'm the center of this spoke. My job is to help all the specialists communicate and the patient communicate with the specialist. If they're ever having issues or feeling like they're not heard somewhere else, again, I'm that center of the spoke, they can come to me and talk to me and then usually I can help advocate for them too.

I started nursing in 2014. During that time, I started my family, and I had my own health experiences. It prompted me to go back to school, and while there, I realized the importance of preventive care and how important primary care is. I have a passion for primary care and I'm excited to work in it. When I first got sick, I had a lot of excellent care at Mercy. I love where I work. I feel at home at work -- it's a great environment. My favorite part of the job is connecting with patients and developing relationships with them. It's so rewarding to see them year after year, grow with them and get to know them. It's important to ask lots of questions and show you're interested in them and connect with them personally. That leads to better care. I find a lot of joy and fulfillment when I see a patient doing really well, or when we've been working on something and they reach their health goals. I love seeing them do well.