Breckenridge honors Nurse Practitioners this week
This week, Nov. 11-17, is National Nurse Practitioner Week, and Breckenridge has several NPs serving the community.
At the Breckenridge Medical Center, Becky McIntire has been a Family Nurse Practitioner for 21 years and sees patients full-time. McIntire began her nursing career 35 years ago in hospitals focusing on labor and delivery, operating and emergency nursing. She served as Director of Quality Management at Eastland Memorial Hospital as well as Director of Nursing at Stephens Memorial Hospital. Becky was a working mom of three while commuting to UT Arlington to obtain her Master of Science Degree in Nursing. She worked for several years as a Family Nurse Practitioner in Ranger, DeLeon and Eastland.
“As a family nurse practitioner, I have been trained to treat the whole family, from infancy to the elderly. That means I can assess, diagnose and treat the majority of conditions that present to the clinic. I also know that patients with complex conditions sometimes need to see a physician or a specialist,” McIntire said in a news release from Stephens Memorial Hospital. “My passion is in women and children’s health. I am also focused on teaching patients about maintaining a balance for optimal health. I want the people of Stephens County to know that they can get special care right here in Breckenridge.”
At Breckenridge’s Resource Care Community Health Center, Cortney Berkley and Carol Copelin are Family Nurse Practitioners.
Berkley has spent the majority of her life as a resident of Breckenridge. She graduated as an RN from Tarleton State University, then as an FNP from Midwestern State University. Overall, she has worked in the medical field for over 16 years.
Copelin has been in the medical field for over 35 years. In May 2008, she graduated from Texas A&M University Corpus Christi with a Master of Science and Family Nurse Practitioner degree. She has experience in both Family Practice and Urgent Care facilities.
In the United States, there are about 248,000 Nurse Practitioners, with an additional 23,000 NP students graduating each year, according to information from SMH. NP practice focuses not only on diagnosing and managing acute and chronic illnesses, but also on integrating health promotion, disease prevention, counseling and patient education to help patients understand their complete health picture, according to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.
(Photos and information courtesy of Stephens Memorial Hospital and ResourceCare)
