Staff Spotlight:
Katie Hanson APRN, CPNP, NP
Nurse Practitioner at Cook Children's Arlington
1. Prior to transitioning into the role of nurse practitioner, you worked as a bedside nurse on the transitional care unit / rehab care unit. Was there a specific experience or patient encounter that influenced your decision to advance your career?
This answer is two-fold. First, I had the opportunity relatively early in my time on TCU/RCU to help teach our family’s trach CPR. To this day, this is probably one of the things I am most proud of in my “career” because it was an integral piece to sending our families home and obviously saved lives. Teaching and having that dedicated time with our families inspired me to want to go back to school. Second, I chose the path of NP because I wanted to maintain long-term relationships in a patient-facing setting, much like we did on TCU/RCU.
2. You are currently working in the primary care setting. How does this environment compare to working within the hospital setting? How did your bedside nursing experience prepare you for primary care practice?
This was actually a bit of a tough transition! If I forget to say or do something, I can’t just...go back in the room. Fortunately though, having worked at the bedside for almost 9 years, I am able to trust my nursing gut when something just doesn’t seem right or add up.
3. What do you enjoy most about working in primary care? What do you miss most about working in the hospital setting?
I’ve been in my current role for almost 2 years, so I have now been able to see families grow! It has been so fun because I am in a similar stage of life. I also have to brag and say I have the best supervising physicians who are so supportive and are always teaching me. Of course, I miss my former co-workers the most!
4. You were recently awarded the APP Primary Care Achiever of the Year Award. For anyone who is not familiar with this award, can you please give a brief description and speak about what it means to receive this honor?
This is a CCPN honor that essentially functions as an annual “Peak Performer” recognition. I actually laughed when I received this because I am still learning so much! It has taken me some time to recognize that this is actually kind of the whole point – healthcare is constantly changing and each patient/family deserves individualized care. I am grateful for a team that supports me in doing what is best for our patients.
5. In your provider bio, you mention that your parents influenced your decision to work with children and families. Can you talk about their influence on your career?
I realize now more than ever (with my own child and working with parents every single day) that I truly have the best parents ever! They quietly challenged my siblings and I but are our #1 supporters and advocates. My mom mostly stayed home with us growing up, but worked part-time as a preschool teacher when I started school; her degree is in early childhood development. My dad is a pediatric eye doctor; he brought in cow eyeballs to dissect for my 4th(?) grade class. In a way, I guess they influenced my career because I never really thought about doing anything else. The same is probably true for my siblings who are teachers now! I think it is really special to have a career that has an inherent “purpose” built in.
6. What advice would you give to nurses who are considering advanced practice education?
I truly think having a good foundation as a bedside nurse did more for me than any of the didactic work I did in school. One of my regrets is not working in another area before transitioning since I only worked on TCU/RCU (though I did do the nurse residency). I’d also explore all the options – there are LOTS of opportunities for nurses, even though in my experience, we often think of NP or educator first.
7. Finally, and most importantly, would you rather sneeze glitter or sweat maple syrup? Why?
Sweating maple syrup! Partially because I do not sweat very much so this wouldn’t be a huge inconvenience for me (on the flip side, I sneeze whenever I see the sun) and because at least when I sweat it wouldn’t be smelly!