Shaniqua L. McGraw, MD

I chose to be a nurse practitioner in order to care for my patients on a different level than I could provide as a registered nurse. I have always had a passion for health and wellness and as a nurse practitioner, I am able to provide care to patients in the community by educating and empowering them to improve their overall health. I enjoy working collaboratively with my patients to help improve their quality of life and to prevent diseases while also being able to manage and treat acute and chronic current illnesses. I believe that the patient is the most important individual of the health care team. My main approach to patient care revolves around education and ensuring the patient understands their plan of care and treatment plan. In doing so, this requires attentive listening by the provider to be an advocate for the patient’s health. In my free time, I enjoy traveling with my husband, exercising and going on walks with our goldendoodle.

I have been in family practice in the area since 2000, initially at Rex Family Practice of Cary. I knew I was interested in medicine when I was in preschool and knew I was interested in family medicine when I applied for a combined undergraduate and medical degree at age 17. I value continuity of care, and my interests include minor office procedures, prescribing and deprescribing medication, patient experience, and looking at a patient holistically. Reading about medicine is a daily activity for me. My two grown daughters went through Wake County Schools, and my husband is a cardiologist with North Carolina Heart and Vascular. It is my privilege to be part of UNC Physicians Network, its mission, as well as the fantastic staff at my location and in my region. I like to help patients by giving a family physician opinion on any medical problem and to help them coordinate care with the great emergency and urgent care physicians, hospitalists, and specialists that are part of UNC Health.

For as long as I can remember, healthcare was always on the horizon for me. Originally, I thought I would approach healthcare from the perspective of child psychology. While completing my bachelors of science in psychology, I had the opportunity to work closely with nurse practitioners of various specialties and I saw first-hand the impact that they had on their communities. It wasn’t long before I fell in love with the job of nurse practitioners and their ability to promote positive change using a combination of therapeutic communication and knowledge of medicine. While living in Georgia, I learned about the maternal mortality crisis that our country faces, largely due to a lack of access to high quality postpartum care. Additionally, I have seen first-hand the life changing impact that providers can have when they work together with their patients to create individualized care plans. I hope to impact my community by being a provider who creates a safe space for people of all identities and walks of life, where they can feel confident with the knowledge that together we will create a plan to help them to achieve healthy and fulfilling lives. Outside of work, I enjoy going on day hikes, camping trips, exploring our local waterways on a kayak and playing guitar.