Amanda started her nursing career as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) while she was going to school to become a registered nurse. During her senior year of college to become an RN, Amanda decided she wanted to serve in the Air Force. “My first nursing job was at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona and I then went to Wilford Hall Medical Center in Texas where I worked in the ICU,” she explains. “I was later deployed to Iraq to work in the ICU caring for Americans, Coalition Forces and Iraqi individuals. Our hospital had the highest acuity level of anywhere in the world at that time.”

Shortly after leaving the Air Force, Amanda went back to school to become a nurse practitioner. She chose to work in Family Practice medicine because she enjoys working with people of all ages. “I also enjoy the continuity of care and the opportunity to develop long-term relationships with my patients that family medicine provides,” she explains. “I also have a great interest in teaching, and I believe patients appreciate knowing why providers recommend a certain treatment or test whether it is diet and exercise, a medication, a vitamin supplement, or a radiological test or lab.”

Amanda has always enjoyed interacting with her patients and guiding them through their healthcare needs. During her career, she had an opportunity to work with veterans for a year and a half. “It was heartbreaking to hear some of their stories, but also enabled me to connect closely with some of them through shared experiences.”

When she is not busy with her patients, Amanda enjoys spending time with family and friends, being outside, going camping, and cooking healthy meals.