What is the passion of ENSEARCH? Our passion is the ethical, quality recruitment of amazing people. The people that we work with here at ENSEARCH are stars in their own right. The Neonatal Nurse Practitioners, the recruiters, hospital HR staff, are all part of our family.
In this personal series, we will be highlighting various people to hear their stories, to learn about who they are, where they are today, and the lessons they can share with all of us. Today, we are hearing from NNP Karen from Charlotte, North Carolina.
What is your experience?
For the last 26 years, I have been a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner. 25 of those years has been at Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, NC. I have done locum (temporary positions) with ENSEARCH in Virginia and South Dakota. Lastly, I have been a contract NNP for the Navy in Portsmouth, VA.
Additionally, I am an Expert Witness and legal nurse consultant with my company ACP Legal Nurse Consulting, LLC, have my EMT training, and do missionary work in Honduras.
My grown children are here in the states, but I also have two other children that mean so much to me. Through my mission work in Honduras, I became a legal sponsor of a 7-year old little girl. Her parents did not have money for basic things like food and education. With my help, over the past 14 years, she is the first member of her family to graduate bilingual high school and now is in her 2nd year of Nursing School in Honduras.
When my daughter was born twenty-one years ago, she weighed only 2 lbs and stayed in the very NICU that I worked in at that time. Although I was familiar with the NICU environment, I felt a great lack of support. Because of this, I started a weekly Thursday night support group. Each week we had a graduate guest speaker, food catered from volunteer organizations as well as guest speakers from the community. The conversations ranged from spiritual and uplifting to lots of tears as the families shared their NICU experiences.
What was your path to becoming a NNP?
I have been a neonatal intensive care nurse since nursing school, but I wanted more experience. So I became a transport nurse for NICU babies. I worked transporting via ambulance, helicopter and fixed wing in Miami. I’ve always worked in a Level 3 or 4 NICU with the goal of wanting more autonomy, maximizing my skills and knowledge base, and personal growth.
Unlike NNPs today, I received my degree backwards. Georgetown University offered a certificate program, which I obtained. But then I returned to school on several occasions obtaining my BSN, MSN/Ed, EMT, LNC and now Expert Witness education.
Dr. Herman, Dr. Engstrom and myself… silly Panther’s Fans
Do you have a favorite medical diagnosis?
It may seem odd, but my favorite is cerebral palsy. One of the babies that I helped take care of was born at 25 weeks. He had 14 surgeries and was eventually left with just 10 cm of bowel. His mother was a single parent experiencing several episodes of him facing death. We became very close, so much so he asked me to be his Godmother a few years ago and he gave me away at my wedding recently. Unfortunately his mother is at risk for deportation, he will reside with me here in the states.
My Godson also struggles with seizures that doctors are unable to figure out the cause. The pediatrician recommended the Empatica smartwatch to monitor them. Insurance does not cover the smartwatch and was $249, plus a monthly fee. The mother reached out to me for help and I contacted Sophia’s Voice, an advocacy group for healthcare and fundamental human rights and acceptance, for help. Sophia’s Voice agreed to pay for the smartwatch and a year’s subscription! The mother and I are overjoyed for the kindness they have shown to my Godson.
Garrison (Godson) has frequent clinic appointments and visits the NICU staff regularly
Tell me about your time with ENSEARCH?
I’ve known Tim Mattis for the past 20 years. He sought me out for work with ENSEARCH. In the initial phase, he told me about a few various locations that needed help. At first, I couldn’t leave my family — since I was a single parent. When they were old enough for me to go, I traveled to South Dakota. It was supposed to be a six month contract, but I fell in love with the people there and worked off/on for three years. Then five years later, the hospital fell on some hard times, and personally requested I come back. So I did, and ended up working another year there.
Initially, I was pretty nervous with the locum assignment. It was all very new. The thing that helped was Tim personally calling me to check on me. I knew he had my back. One of the things that makes locum more difficult is the additional paperwork. There are the contracts, malpractice insurance, collaborative agreements, rights/bi-laws and technical logistics. I never had to worry about safety personally and professionally. Tim doesn’t just hire you; you become part of the ENSEARCH family.
What made Locum work so special that you extended your work times?
In traveling, you meet different people. There is more than one way to do things; every place has their way of doing things and it doesn’t make one way better than others. They’re just different. The end goal of helping the babies is the important thing.
I believe the neonatal field is the fastest growing field in medicine, and we have to be open to new things. When I go to a new location, I want to learn, gain and share knowledge. This knowledge is evidence-based practices.
Garrison, my Godson giving me the best Christmas present… asked me to be his Godmother
What lessons have you learned while on Locum?
- Be Open Minded.
- Listen.
- Be Flexible.
There are so many cultural differences. In South Dakota, I learned that they don’t drink coke. They drink “soda” (and they pronounce the “O” very forcefully)! Their cultural beliefs are also very different. I was rather surprised to see an arrowhead in the isolette with the baby. I reached out to touch it, and my coworkers quickly stopped me. “Don’t touch it!” they said. The arrowhead was aimed in a certain way per the parents.
Even though South Dakota is part of the U.S., so much is different there. The pathos are different, bacteria are different, the babies suffer with problems that we do not see in the southeast. Even the culture of the people there is so vastly different from what I was expecting.
With all the changes and differences, I was thankful for the kindness of the staff at the hospital in South Dakota. The people were grateful that I was there, friendly to me, and treated me like I was part of their family.
What words of wisdom would you share to those who are considering the field?
Don’t delay! I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I’m 57 years old and could pretty much retire. But I’m not there for the money. It’s a career. I believe that God has given me gifts with my brain and my hands to do these things. After all these years, I’m still never bored, every baby is different and challenging. I learn something new every day.
Angie Hanie NNP and myself at Atrium Health Physician/APP Annual Gala
Best NNP team! From Levine Children’s Hospital/Atrium Health
Karen, Thank you so much for talking with ENSEARCH! We wish you all the very best!
If you’d like to learn more about ENSEARCH’s offerings to NNPs, or more about our Locum Tenens service; we’d love to hear from you! Like Karen said, “don’t delay!”
