Nurse Practitioner Career Interview
Diana Heffner, CRNP, is a nurse practitioner at Johns Hopkins Community Physicians in East Baltimore, Maryland, providing primary care for patients in a low income neighborhood. She has worked in the field for 26 years, and she is the past president of the Nurse Practitioner Association of Maryland (NPAM).
Nurse Practitioner Career Path
Diana found her calling to become a nurse practitioner while in nursing school.
“I noticed how little time physicians are able to spend with patients, listening to their concerns and explaining things to them,” she says. “I enjoy teaching and felt I could do a good job of filling that gap.”
Nurse Practitioner Experiences
Diana attended Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania for her Bachelor of Science in nursing and then University of Virginia for her Master of Science in nursing.
“I worked at University of Maryland Hospital on a floor and then the ICU for seven years between undergraduate and graduate school,” she explains.
“I have been working as a nurse practitioner for 26 years, about half of that time doing urgent care and half doing primary care. I have been at Johns Hopkins Community Physicians for 18 years, which is in a very low income neighborhood in East Baltimore.”
She adds, “I also teach in the nurse practitioner program at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing.”
Diana is also the past president of the Nurse Practitioner Association of Maryland(NPAM).
Nursing Degree Programs
The current requirement for a career as a nurse practitioner is a Master of Science, although this may very well change.
“The profession as a whole would like to change to a Doctorate in the next 20 years,” says Diana.
Nurse Practitioner Job Description
“In my clinical job, I provide primary care,” Diana explains. “I work three days per week seeing patients. I am their care provider. I manage their acute and chronic illnesses, order tests, prescribe medications and do a lot of teaching. I refer them to specialists if needed. I work in a practice with about 10 primary care providers, three of us being nurse practitioners.”
She continues, “I also teach. I have nursing students who are placed in the community with physicians or nurse practitioners. I visit them to evaluate their progress. They also have to write comprehensive papers on patients, which I grade and give them feedback. And sometimes I teach a class.”
Nurse Practitioner Daily Routine
As with most healthcare fields, Diana’s days are never short.
“I work three days per week seeing patients,” she says. “I see patients from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Afterward, I am usually in my office until about 10:00 p.m. reviewing test results, refilling prescriptions, returning phone calls, and filling out forms for patients. The patient population is very low income, so they have a lot of chronic illnesses and low education levels. Their social issues make treating them difficult and time consuming.”
However, as a nurse practitioner, Diana has more flexibility with her time once she has completed her direct patient care.
“I handle calls and prescriptions from my computer for a few hours for the other two days,” she explains. “I also visit my students and grade papers.”
Nurse Practitioner: Steps to Success
The key to succeeding in this field is to know your stuff, and that only comes from studying, studying, and more studying.
“You have to be fairly smart in a lot of sciences, such as pathophysiology, chemistry, and psychology,” Diana advises. “You have to learn all about the tests and treatments, including constantly changing medications for the patients.”
“You also need patience, basic computer skills, people skills, and a good memory because healthcare is constantly changing,” she adds.
Nurse Practitioner Job Opportunities
Health care is all about working hard with your education, and if you can do that, your career will be long.
“Once you become a nurse practitioner, jobs are not hard to find,” Diana explains. “There is a health care provider shortage now. The education is not easy. Students study very hard to learn all they must know.”
Nurse Practitioner Favorite Aspect
“I love the patients,” she says. “We have a very special relationship. They really appreciate the time I spend with them, which makes it very rewarding. I know that I make a big difference in their lives.”
She continues, “Health care is constantly changing and is never boring. The things I have learned as a nurse practitioner have helped me in my personal/family life.”
Nurse Practitioner’s Future Ambitions
Diana plans on continuing to work until she is incapable of actually doing the work.
“Even when I retire, I would like to do volunteer work,” she says.
Diana also has hopes for the future of her field, including primary care workers getting better hours and reimbursement comparable to health care specialists.
“I really do believe that will improve since the legislature is now aware of this problem,” she adds.
Advice for Prospective Nurse Practitioners
“This is not a profession to make a lot of money,” Diana warns. “You will work hard but the rewards are very great. You can find some flexibility in this profession. Some jobs offer weekend, evening, or part-time hours. Nurse practitioners can also go into a specialty like orthopedics, urology, cardiology, which isn’t as time intensive. I stick to primary care because it is so rewarding to be the ‘medical home’ for my patients.”
She adds, “The career is very hard work but very rewarding.”
