The Origin of a NP Mentor: Rebecca's Story

When I was 8 years old I tried to make a cast for a crane fly that had lost a leg. Unsuccessful despite best efforts it lived out the rest of its life on hospice in an earring box with a toilet paper bed.

There were abandoned newborn kittens born under a BBQ that I bottle fed until they were old enough to be adopted by neighbors. 

My favorite childhood book was The Complete Works Of Sir Arthur Canon Doyle, detailing every Sherlock Holmes story ever written. At 3 inches thick I honed my powers of observation on random strangers and my family. Nancy Drew anything was a close second. 

Summers in middle school my mom taught high school ESL study abroad students from Taiwan.  I got to tag along to all the cool tourist places in Washington, but more importantly guided them through teen life in the US, complete with dance parties.

In high school I started making “boxes of love” for friends when they were sad or sick. These decorated shoeboxes are filled with mementos and joy-inducing snacks. I still make these! 

In college I was a barista at a coffee stand inside a busy downtown Seattle medical building. Of the diverse clientele in need of caffeine ranging from famous plastic surgeons to prosthetic leg designers, my favorites were the dialysis patients who came for 32oz cups of ice or their once weekly liquid indulgence that would be shortly dialyzed out. 

They were the first to teach me of the blatant inequalities in health care and guided me through their disadvantaged, minority health experiences. 

Taking criminal justice classes with the aim of becoming the female Sherlock Holmes I was stunned when a mentor described the standard, unavoidable mind-warp of the field into a world of psychopaths and danger. 

I pivoted into anthropology as studying people, cultures, and what makes them tick which brought me immense joy. The highlight was a field work in remote Canada with the Kainai nation which brought me clarity about my passion to be in a helping profession.

I went to Argentina to finish my first undergrad degree by learning Spanish, envisioning working internationally in NGOs which would combine my love of people with my goal of enabling them to improve their health. Instead I became assistant caretaker for HIV+ kids and their siblings at an orphanage a long noisy train ride from my university.

 “Oh sh*t, I picked the wrong degree” I realized, suddenly my future was clear - I was meant to be the healthcare provider, not connect others in need one. But I still needed to get back home.

Backpacking the 4 thousand miles from Argentina to Guatemala by bus, car, train, plane, and canoe I was highly reliant on strangers. These local mentors explained my hysterical Spanish mispronunciations, took me to school with them, shared their holidays, introduced me to bull fights, guided me through silver mines, and gave endless directions to bus depots and hostels. 

I was adopted off long distance buses into multiple families’ homes who guided me through their culture and daily lives - complete with fire ants, hammocks as beds, and outdoor bathrooms.

The Guatemalan clinic staff confirmed through actions that my next step was to return to college for health and medicine. I taught hygiene and emergency preparedness to elementary age indigenous kids in schools at the base of active volcanoes. The staff guided me through parasite testing, and dental extractions.

Returning to Seattle I understood my years of Sherlock Holmes obsession, fine tuning my powers of observation and deduction, when combined with a lifetime of caregiving and my love of diverse people was best directed at healthcare and medicine. I was meant to be the person to prevent health problems, and if not prevented, to work to mitigate their risk.

Fast forward numerous years, I had been a nurse for a few years and had a great new nurse residency. Then I became a new NP. But there was no one to guide me as there had been in Seattle, Canada, or Latin America. Nursing has a long legacy of hand holding that is decidedly missing for new NPs.

Regardless of years of experience, being a nurse practitioner is a leap from being a nurse. I have been taking preceptees and mentees at primary care since 2015. 

I love sharing their journey and mentoring them through the process, always meeting them where they are as they move forward with their transition. We deserve someone to hold our hand as we grow as NPs. I was inspired to create the NP Mentor Academy to bridge the chasm. 

Let me remove some obstacles for you.

It doesn’t have to be so lonely.

It doesn’t have to be so hard.

I am here to mentor and guide you.

I am with you.

Rebecca