Julie McClure

I think my most notable achievement was finishing my nurse practitioner degree after being in a really bad car accident where I got hit by a drunk driver and almost died. I spent about a year in recovery and in a wheelchair, and I was still using a cane while doing clinicals. To be able to finish my degree in the midst of all that trial and journey gives me pride in what I do now, knowing that there's a lot I can accomplish. I was doing three days of therapy on top of going to clinicals, on top of working a job, and it was just a big feat to overcome. That experience, along with my faith in Christ and the support system I had with my church, really got me through and shaped who I am today. It taught me resilience and showed me that I could push through even the most difficult circumstances.

I would say, one, find something that you love and that you're interested in. Being a nurse practitioner has its challenges. Sometimes we have to be able to stick up for ourselves, we have to know our value, and we have to know what we need. We've got to keep being diligent and keep learning more about our field because it's ever-changing. But being a nurse practitioner is a wonderful thing. We have the opportunity to help other people and to truly make a difference in lives. I also want to be available for young nurse practitioners coming into the field to help, to give advice, to help guide them in directions they should go, ways they should look, and help them understand the potential they have.

I think the biggest challenges are the lack of providers. There's just not enough of us. I'm having patients from Alabama, from Georgia and of course Florida because there's not an abundance of pediatric nephrologists. On the nurse practitioner side, I think we can be a great benefit in pediatric nephrology, but there's not education out there today to help nurse practitioners feel prepared to come into this field. And there's no time for the doctors to teach because they are so overwhelmed with patients that are needing care. So one of our biggest challenges is not having enough providers and not having the right education for nurse practitioners to step in and fill some of that gap. I'd really like to see nurse practitioners developing residency programs or fellowships for us to go into specialties, because we get a very broad overview in primary care, but when I went to specialize in urology and nephrology, I had to spend hours and it took me a couple years to really feel confident in myself in the field.

In my work, making sure we care for the whole person is most important to me. We need to listen to what the patients and the families are telling us and become a part of their team in caring for their children. I think we need to look at the whole child and not just try to do a quick fix, but see what's underlying. So many times we look at the behavior and not what's underlying it. I think we need more providers who will look at what could be contributing to these outward behaviors and give these kids empathy, love, and understanding. In my personal life, I carry those same values. With my own children, who are both adopted, I think about considering the whole child, their past trauma, ADHD, and other things that often get missed instead of looking at all the things that could be contributing. I think medications are helpful, but not always the first go-to. Having providers who can sit down and walk through what's going on, listen, and give advice is so important.