Amanda Rose Metz, WHNP

My strategy to make children more comfortable during an exam is making sure I get down on their eye level and talking with them about whatever interests they have. The greatest thing about taking care of kids is I often learn as much from them as they're learning from me. When you spend time with children you really realize how resilient and intelligent they are.

I chose primary care because I enjoy helping people and building long term relationships with them. I enjoy seeing them from a young age and help manage their growth over the years. Not only do you get to treat their physical symptoms - you also get to be part of their mental well-being. The most important skill is being compassionate, empathetic and a good listener to the patient. As a primary care provider, you're seeing patients at every stage of their lives, including points at which they're very vulnerable. You're treating people dealing with a wide variety of health complaints, so being able to sit there and listen to them is very important. One piece of advice I'd give patients is to establish open communication with your provider. Ask a lot of questions, even if it's a simple question, even if you're uncomfortable asking it or think it's not a good question to ask. Ask it anyway. We want to tailor the care to what's best for you and what you need.