Retail Care Offers New Challenges For Philadelphia Nurse Practitioner
Cheryl Fattibene is a nurse practitioner and state practice manager for MinuteClinic in Pennsylvania. MinuteClinic has approximately 970 clinics and is one of the fastest growing and biggest retail clinic services nationwide. Pennsylvania alone has thirty-three clinics throughout the state. MinuteClinic uses nurse practitioners at its clinics and could very well be the biggest employer of nurse practitioners in the country.
Can you describe your duties as a nurse?
"As an advanced practice nurse (or nurse practitioner) in a retail setting, I manage 4 managers (also nurse practitioners) who oversee 33 MinuteClinic locations across the state of PA in select CVS/pharmacy locations. My background is family practice which is ideal for this practice setting as retail health care is one in which patients could present with a variety of different issues in one day - everything from a common cold to an uncontrolled diabetic. I am fortunate that with 25 years of experience in family health, I can be both a clinical resource for my staff as well a member of our management team at MinuteClinic. Every day is different in retail care. There are days my focus is on teaching, training, new health offerings and services or interfacing with the community as well as our CVS colleagues to provide excellence in health care."
How has education prepared you for your career as a nurse?
"My decision to go into health care was made after spending 4 years in the Peace Corps in West Africa where I had my first exposure to hands-on health care with vulnerable populations. I chose upon my return to obtain dual master's degrees: a master's in public health and a master's in nursing. I have used both aspects of my education - community health and family practice - throughout my practice career. I have a better understanding of the public health impacts of both policy and application of health care principles which have driven my practice over the years."
What continuing education is required for your role?
"As a health care professional, I must maintain my professional licenses and remain certified in my area of expertise (family practice) for which I am board certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) every 5 years. PA regulations require 30 hours of continuing education every two years in order to maintain licensure as well as child abuse training. These continuing education hours contain both didactic and pharmacologic credits to retain licensure."
What advice would you give someone just starting out?
"Follow your heart and always give back. If you enjoy working with people, hand's on nursing is the right field for you. Remember that 'there but for the grace of god go I' with every sick or unhappy patient you are privileged to care for. Always do your best and take the time to recharge when you have nothing more to give. My father always told me that nursing is the "work of angels" so be someone's angel, if just for a brief moment, and it might make a world of difference in their life."
Christina Thompson is a freelance writer living in Philadelphia. She reports on various topics such as: Social Media, Local Events, Entertainment, Food and Drink and more. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.
