I’m a Registered Nurse

I come from a line of nurses. OK, well, a short line that started with my mother and now continues on with my oldest who is an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner. At 17, as a junior in High School, it was weird thinking about what career I wanted to invest in that would serve me for the rest of my life. I looked to my parents for inspiration. Although my dad was (and still is) a gifted woodworker and craftsman, I couldn’t see myself behind a lathe full time covered in sawdust. But I was able to incorporate HIS creativity in doing what he loved with my mom’s gift of helping people and impacting lives as a nurse. Being a holistic nurse, working from my home, has allowed me to combine the best of both worlds.

Although I passed over the chance to wear some killer shoes, nursing has always been the right choice. Its diversity has served me well and I have had a taste of many different types. I’ve been a Navy nurse on a Neurosurgical, Neurological, and ear, nose and throat floor; a civilian team nurse in a local NH hospital on a med-surg floor with mostly Orthopedic patients; an on-site review nurse for a large insurance company; a substitute school nurse for elementary and high schools; an executive director running a physicians’ organization (using my nursing knowledge to create and implement community wellness initiatives and negotiating insurance contracts and overseeing pay-for-performace programs for major insurance companies); a clinic nurse one day a week where I monitored patients on anti-coagulants, and as a per diem home hospice nurse.

My nursing journey has led me to holistic nursing; the practice of treating people as a whole versus just treating their symptoms. This practice is a beautiful culmination of ways to support and encourage people to integrate self-care, self-responsibility, spirituality and reflection into their lives in order to maintain a proper balance of mind, body & spirit, where every part of it resonates with me. In Shamanic healing, finding that balance is known as living in “Ayni” or complete reciprocity with all things.

I have interacted with numerous populations and have worn many hats. The best thing about each of these has been the connections I have made with the people; meeting them where they are physically, emotionally, spiritually and/or mentally to help them regain control. Although practicing medicine has to follow very linear guidelines, it has always been the emotional side that has pulled me in. I have always felt that there is more to healing than just taking a pill. I feel fortunate to have the knowledge to decipher medical conditions (admittedly, sometimes with a refresher from a website) and the ability to break down wellness and healing into palatable bites as well as small achievable steps with those who are healthy, healing, sick or dying. Introducing, educating and offering non-traditional options has an empowering effect that leads many people to entertain the importance of embracing emotional & physical self-care. Being a part of that path is a true honor.

Combining eastern and western medicine has its challenges. Energy work is a different mindset in some ways and parallel in others. Having the knowledge of how both approaches can work together is special and unique and can support a life of wellness.