Find something you enjoy and do it!

Navigating through the system can be tough but if you are doing something you are passionate about it feels worth it.

My niche is cardiac electrophysiology.

I enjoy explaining the cardiac electrical system to my patients in a manner that they can easily understand and visualize. Once they understand normal it is easier for them to grasp what is going wrong in theirs. Knowledge is power for your patient!

Navigating the healthcare system as an NP can be frustrating.

The APP scope of practice is dictated by each state, yet corporations can place additional limitations via their privileging processes.

This occurs for several reasons, such as political gain, power, or the lack of understanding of our scope.

5 ways to overcome these limitations:

1. Opportunity is key! Take opportunities within leadership roles to advocate for the utilization of your full scope of practice. Take the time to read your scope of practice and reach out to your state nursing board when clarification is needed. When needed feel empowered to speak up when others question your scope. You should be the one who knows your scope of practice best.

2. Professionalism! Sometimes this can be difficult when you feel disrespected as a professional, yet professionalism goes a long way. We are human so if needed step away and gather your thoughts prior to responding.

3. Perception is everything! Present yourself in a confident and competent manner in every interaction with patients and colleagues.

4. Become your own expert! Once you choose a specialty make it a priority to seek out learning opportunities, join professional organizations, and go to professional conferences.

5. Make friends not enemies! Build relationships with those around you and do not be afraid to utilize your colleagues. Yet also ensure you are available for others when they need you.

Inspiration can come from many places. We all have trials in our lives that can inspire us to do great things. For me, the trials of my life experiences have molded me into a stronger person. That’s not to say that these trials have not resulted in what many may consider “baggage”. However, I have learned that this “baggage” can drive me in either positive or negative directions. I have used these life experiences to accomplish each goal throughout my life.

One positive result from these trials is that I am no longer afraid to tackle big defeats. I am not afraid to start something that others may think is unconquerable. Over the years I have failed a lot, yet I have also succeeded on many occasions. Each little defeat I take as an opportunity to learn and grow from. Also, I am often inspired to accomplish things that I am passionate about and this passion often comes from my own trials and life experiences.

Like many mothers, my goal of raising a family, being a wife, and obtaining an education has not always been easy. I am often asked, “How did you do it?”. My typical answers have been “Because I had no other choice!” or “Because I am stubborn and decided failure was not an option!”. These statements continue to be true. My initial inspiration to obtain an education was to change the trajectory of my family tree. I do not come from an educated family and I wanted to show my children that we can accomplish whatever we put our minds to. I wanted them to see that they are the only ones who can truly define who are and what they will be. However, as with most successful people, there is the cost of the time needed to obtain the education required to be successful. Today I think back at the struggles I had during that timeframe. I had to continue working, raise five children, and keep my marriage intact. I remember breaking down and crying on plenty of occasions, but I just kept telling myself failure was not an option. If I failed a test, I studied harder. If I did not get a concept, I sought out other sources to explain it to me. I lived on little sleep, a lot of caffeine, and my stubbornness to succeed.

For me, the biggest challenge was doing my best to juggle my home life. As with any other mother I have “mom guilt”, but I also know that I accomplished my initial goal which was to teach my children that success was a possibility. Most woman at some time in their life must consider if and how they are to balance family versus career. Although difficult I think this is the best “struggle” I have had. I am thankful I had to find a way to balance my family life because the dilemma meant I had a family that I loved. There are few things better than receiving a text from your adult son that says, “Hello Dr Mom I have a question”. Although he was using his sense of humor, statements like these make me smile. It helps me to know my career not only fulfills me but also brings many benefits to my family.

Along the way, I had to accept that there is no such thing as consistently “balancing” family and career because both need and deserve our time and focus. I learned to stop feeling guilty and accepted that I will always be balancing the two yet not always successfully. This is because when I devote my time to one I have to take from another. The only way to successfully do that is to constantly try to recognize when one needs me more and try to rebalance my priorities.

I have learned that perspective is key during this wonderful thing we call life. In the end, I embrace that career and family are both things that I enjoy, value, and I am thankful to have the challenge of balancing both.

I started my professional journey 20 years ago. I was the first in my family to enroll in college but I wanted to be an example to my children and show them success is a possibility.

My initial goal was to obtain my Associate’s degree, but as a mother of 3 young children, I felt limited in what I could accomplish. So I enrolled in a program that I felt I could accomplish completely online. However, on August 24, 2003, my sister passed away. Her death changed my life in many ways. It gave me a new perspective on what is important to me. It was then that I decided to go after my dreams and I applied to nursing school.

I obtained my Associate’s degree as a Registered Nurse and enjoyed caring for patients. After a while, I decided I wanted to be more impactful to my patients so I enrolled in a Bachelor's program and eventually got accepted into a Master’s program and became a Family Nurse Practitioner. By this time my family had grown and I was a mother of 5 beautiful children who were quickly becoming adults.

I enjoyed giving care to my patients, but I figured why not go all the way? So I applied to a doctoral program. Today I am proud to say I have obtained the highest level of education in my specialty, a PhD in Nursing. As a young girl, I never imagined I would be called Dr Jones. I know my younger self would be proud of who I have become.

I continue to practice as a cardiology provider and enjoy delivering care to my patients. Yet in my free time, I also enjoy writing and doing research. My definition of “success” is constantly evolving yet opportunity is not always readily accessible in my field. However, I am stubborn and enjoy the challenge.

I created Hey Dr Mom as a platform to share my perspective and my expertise as a woman, a mother, and a professional. es here

Why is it important for of APPs to be involved in writing, research, policy, and politics?

APPs are in a unique position. Most of us have obtained our highest-level education in our professional field yet can be treated as though we are nothing more than an assistant. Many of us have a decade or more of experience, training, and education yet this can be overlooked.

Corporations often do not recognize our value, yet we allow it and often even convey it ourselves.

I find myself uncomfortable with referring to myself as “Dr Jones” and typically introduce myself to my patients as “Camelle the nurse practitioner who works with Dr X”. I do this because I do not want my patients to confuse me with a physician as I am concerned, they may feel misled.

In reality, it has taken me over 20 years to get where I am. I have 15 years of experience in the cardiology field. I have obtained four degrees. I have stroked the hair of patients in their final moments, I have reassured and comforted patients on one of the worst days of their lives, I have diagnosed diseases that others have overlooked, and I have been a great healthcare professional.

As an alternative, I am going to encourage each Nurse Practitioner to refer to themselves using the correct credentials you have earned. Starting today I plan to introduce myself by stating “Hello I am Dr. Jones, Nurse Practitioner with the Cardiac Electrophysiology team”.

Most nurses go into healthcare because they want to serve. They have the vision that they will become a nurse and be able to do good. What they find is that the goal of the healthcare system is different than theirs. It is dictated by nonclinical people with nonclinical degrees who miss the mark. They are hired to run a business in a fashion that makes money and not to serve our patients.

The goal of leadership should first be to determine what good quality healthcare looks like. Keeping the patient in mind they can then determine how to deliver good quality healthcare within their budget. Healthcare needs to be profitable to remain in business yet it should not allow profit to dictate care.

Leadership overlooks the value of the nurse. The nurse has a firsthand clinical understanding of what a patient needs, how it is delivered, and what works. Nurses further their degrees to teach, lead, and do research while still being able to deliver care.

Nursing is an overlooked resource yet should remain the backbone of healthcare. Be each other’s cheerleaders and don’t shy away from opportunities when they arise. Our patients need us to ensure they get the care they deserve.

Envision a future where our daughters are allowed to be stronger, more independent, and self-confident than we were allowed to be. Do not contribute to a woman’s subordinate position in society.

• Envision yourself as an equal to your male colleagues.

• Ignore the belief that our hormones limit us and instead embrace the unique differences in our approach they give us.

• It is okay to embrace your beauty while ignoring the suggestion that it is the reason for our success.

• Connect with other female professionals that help you be your best.

My oldest daughter purchased the book “Women in White Coats” for me. It was an eye-opening book. The historical events that took place back in the 1800s to pave the path for females to obtain medical degrees seem so far away yet even today women are fighting many of the same battles.

While today’s battles are more subtle and far less restrictive, the same complaints remain.

What I learned….

1. Females were considered small-minded, weak, and emotional creatures driven by their uterus.

2. Males dominated the decisions made that impacted female health, education, and careers.

3. Decisions were driven by fear, lack of understanding, and the desire to keep females in roles that benefited the male gender’s ability to succeed.

4. Males dominated healthcare both in delivering it, research, policy, and politics resulting in the inability to understand female needs.

5. Females paid higher prices for education and were given less opportunity to learn.

6. Females were paid less in wages than their male colleagues.

What surprised me……

Most of this remains true today!

What to do…..

1. Change the status quo anytime the opportunity presents itself.

2. Do not apologize or hide the female traits that come along with having a uterus. Embrace the unique perspective it brings us and do not play into the thought that we must behave like man to be equal to man.

3. Remain involved in policy creation, politics, and research to ensure the female perspective is included.

4. Demand equality.

Failure.

I built myself on my failure.

Each failure made me stronger. Gave me more vision. Made me aware of my strengths. My perspective changed each time I failed.

The unimaginable became imaginable.

My advice….

Don’t let fear stop you from trying.

Build on your failure.

Embraced each failure as an opportunity to grow and work harder.

Remind yourself that the only certain determinant of failure is not trying. The only possibility of success is trying.

I was thinking of the limitations we place on ourselves because of what others determine appropriate.

I typically step outside those limitations and allow them to drive me a bit harder.

This is a short and sweet post….

Do what you enjoy, what you are good at, and what your vision includes.

I believe this is what sets winners apart from losers.

For those that underestimated me…. Thank you!

-Hey Dr Mom

Most people in healthcare have had a day or two where they stop and wonder why they stay. I often think it may be easier to throw in the towel and leave healthcare. Yet our patients need us and professionals that still care about their best interests are in high demand. As things shift in healthcare, remind yourself why you became a healthcare provider.

There are a few simple things that should drive our care!

1- Patients deserve good QUALITY care.

2- Patient safety should remain a priority.

3- Work smarter, not harder. Seek out ways to improve efficiency while reducing your workload.

4- It’s ok to say “NO”. Know your limitations and advocate for yourself and your colleagues. No one else will.

5- Just keep killing it!

Division within the healthcare community is worsening our healthcare system.

I recently saw a post on social media from an MD who vowed to refuse to be referred to as a provider. She stated she spent too many years in school preparing to become a medical doctor to simply be called a provider.

What she fails to recognize is the fact that most providers have spent several years in school to obtain the degrees we hold. Nurse practitioners most often have obtained 3 or 4 degrees which typically takes a decade or more to complete.

This type of ignorance is one of the many reasons advanced practice providers are choosing to leave healthcare. We work in a professional setting that approves and even promotes discrimination between different types of providers. We are paid far less, offered less benefits, and given fewer tools to complete our job. These degrees all hold equal weight in the healthcare community although medical doctors and clinical leadership dismiss our value.

We all have our unique training which contributes to patient care in unique yet equal ways. For instance, it took me 20 years to complete all four of my nursing degrees. During that time, I was working full-time in a high acuity setting caring for critically ill patients. Currently I have over 16 years of active patient care either as a registered nurse or a nurse practitioner. Although this experience is dismissed, these years caring for patients while obtaining our graduate level degrees is equivalent to our version of a fellowship completed by medical doctors. Different of course yet this does not mean it is not equal in value.

It is not uncommon for my patients to tell me they prefer seeing me because they feel I take the time and listen to them. I'm often thanked 4 describing their medical diagnosis that they've had for several years, and I’m routinely told “Thank you- No one else has described it in that way to me.”. This does not mean I am dismissing a medical doctor’s expertise, yet I am recognizing our different training, and approach can be of greater asset in many settings. I always think of an NPs approach as caring for the patient from the outside in. In comparison medical doctors often look at the patient from the inside out. Again, there is benefit of both approaches in different settings and neither is better or worse than the other.

However, comparing different professionals offers no growth in our health care community and instead brings further division. We all have so much to offer, and all have been trained in different manners that clearly can be a benefit to our patients.

I believe in the end it is so important to recognize the value and worth of all types of providers as we are all very needed to deliver the complex care our patients needs.

~HeyDrMom