Devin Ray Willis, MD

Primary care to me is a very important specialty. It is sort of the backbone to our health care system. It also acts as that primary defense when it comes to managing your health care. So as a primary care nurse practitioner, not only am I able to provide you preventative services, but I can also manage your acute illnesses, chronic conditions throughout your lifespan.

I had a number of role models who were physicians. My mother is a family medicine physician here at Mercy, and my grandfather and uncle are physicians. As a child, I didn't want to follow in their footsteps. It didn't appeal to me. But as I grew up and I watched them, I saw what a difference that they made and how valuable what they did for the community was. And I grew to admire that more and more. I began to see similarities between myself and them, and I wanted to join them. I chose family medicine because I enjoy building relationships with people, understanding their values and working with them to achieve their health goals. A primary care provider's most important skill is listening and understanding the situation. That's hard to do in a short amount of time. People are complicated, diseases are complicated, but we have to understand the full scope of what's going on and how it's impacting that person, so we can move them toward a better quality of life.