Celebrating National Nurse Practitioner Week Posted on November 11, 2018 Each November, we and other healthcare organizations across the country celebrate National Nurse Practitioner Week, which raises awareness for the nurse practitioner role and recognizes the exceptional care they provide. Meet two of our nurse practitioners below, and if you know or have an appointment with a nurse practitioner this week, please thank them for their efforts! Jennifer Pelletier, APRN, Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, MSN What 3 words would you use to describe your role? Problem-solver, innovator and liaison What do you love most about your job? I love collaborating with clinical and non-clinical departments. Before transitioning to a non-clinical role, I worked in the clinical setting as an inpatient oncology pediatric nurse at an outside organization and an inpatient pediatric practitioner for the Inpatient Management Team here at Connecticut Children’s. Although I am no longer directly involved in patient care, my past experiences in clinical roles have fostered by abilities to relate to the clinicians I work with and translate their needs into a high quality IT system. Likewise, my experiences in the non-clinical role have helped me be able to understand the technical aspects and capabilities of IT systems in healthcare. Why did you choose to enter the field of pediatrics? In high school I knew I wanted to be either a nurse or a teacher. One of my aunts was a nurse and another was an elementary teacher. I looked up to them both and decided I wanted to be a pediatric nurse to be able to do a little both of what they did. Please share a fun fact about yourself! I love home design. Outside of work, my brother and I help our family and friends redecorate and reorganize their homes. Meredith R. Davide, MSN, CPNP-AC, CPHON What 3 words would you use to describe your role? Liaison, advocate, steward OR Fulfilling, challenging, evolving What do you love most about your job? Without a doubt, the people — my colleagues, the families, the patients – and the fact that I truly learn something from each of them, everyday. Why did you choose to enter the field of pediatrics? I always knew I wanted to work in pediatrics because I believe we have so much to learn from children, about life. Children are exceptionally resilient; they seem to have an innate ability to define their illnesses, instead of letting their illnesses define them – it truly puts things in perspective on a daily basis. Plus – we have a lot of fun in pediatrics, because we take our cues from our patients! We spend a lot of time celebrating wins (big and small), looking on the bright side, telling jokes, making silly faces, appreciating normalcy and keeping hope alive. So while not every day is good, there truly is good in every day in the world of peds! Please share a fun fact about yourself! Before going to nursing school, I earned a degree in Politics and was able to intern for a member of parliament while studying abroad in Australia.
