Heather Sullivan

Absolutely God. Absolutely. First and foremost, God. And then, my mom, and my husband, and kids who were there to support me going through school. I was not a very good student when I was in junior high and high school - I was maybe a C student, and I never thought I was smart enough or good enough to go to college. But after I ended up having my daughter, I'm like, you need to go to school, you need to do something with your life. So she was my driving factor. My journey wasn't easy - I had a car accident on my 19th birthday in 1995 that broke my back and ended my military career dreams. That really kills your spirit when you're young, you get depressed. But even in the bad, God pulls out good. I think being able to tell my story shows that no matter where you come from, you have a purpose. God's given you a purpose in your life, you just have to figure out what it is. And if my story can help with somebody, then I've just done my job.

To pursue a path that genuinely fulfills you, not one based on recognition or external validation. Heather emphasizes that healthcare can be demanding and often underappreciated, so it’s essential to have a true passion for helping others.

I would tell them absolutely to make sure this is what they want, because the hours can be long and grueling, and you may not get the praise that you want. So if you're one of those that is always looking for praise and thank yous, you may not get it, but you have to find your own praise that I was able to help that patient, whether it was transitioning through their death, or while they gave birth, or being able to just hold their hand. For me, when they come in into an appointment, and I'm expecting to go over medications, and they've just told me they've lost somebody, I have to step back and be able to read that room, because it's not about that appointment anymore. It's about what's going on with them. And that's what people want. They want to be heard. So we have to be able to listen.

The biggest challenge in my field right now is working through insurance barriers and delays in approving specialty medications for patients with autoimmune diseases, which can significantly impact timely care. At the same time, I see a major opportunity in treating the whole patient by integrating physical and mental health care, where my background in psychiatric nursing helps me better support the emotional and psychological needs of the people I care for.

Honesty, transparency, compassion - there's so many. Prayer, absolutely prayer is one of those things. My faith is very important to me. I really want to get to know people first before I let them know about me. I'm really truly an introvert, so I'm one that I will be very quiet, I won't say a lot until I get to know you, and then you're gonna end up knowing my life story. I really feel and believe that with psych problems, it's a spiritual warfare that's going on. My after-work stuff is ministry and bowling - that's what I do. One thing that's been in my heart, probably the last couple of years, is I'm wanting to get certified, possibly to be a biblical life coach and to do more ministry aspects. I've started writing blogs for our women's ministry at church, so I'm just kind of starting to step out in a different area of comfort zone. I love to write, so that's been a good thing for me.