[NPInfo] Response to Meg Helgert

[KARENFNP at comcast.net]

As an NP I like to simply decribe my role as having one foot in the medical world and one foot in the nursing world.  If people like me to elaborate, I explain that nurses care about how a person is responding to a life transition such as living with a chronic disease, adjusting to caring for an elderly parent or a newborn baby, etc and that we teach,  coach, advocate, provide resources and partner with people re: prevention in the health arena with anticipatory guidance and coping wiht the current challenges with health deficits.  In the medical realm I explain we have the  detective hat on to determine illnesses, risk factors anxd order the appropriate tests, therapy and/or  medication for various conditions with a curative or palliative intent.  It's an ideal blend of skills that I agree the public needs to become much more familiar with in the NP arena.  A good marketing campaign of some kind would be helpful to accentuate these and other virtues would be one step that could be
 taken by a large nursing organization.

Karen Riesinger FNP
Portland, OR