Making a Difference: Kelsey’s South Shore Health Journey from Nurse to Nurse Practitioner
In 2018, Kelsey Dovell, CNP, MSN was looking to take the next step in her nursing career.
While she enjoyed her role at a smaller community hospital elsewhere in Massachusetts, she wanted to challenge herself by working at a larger facility where she could care for more acutely ill patients.
She accepted a position at South Shore Hospital, beginning a journey that would take her from inpatient and Emergency Department nursing to her current position as a hospitalist nurse practitioner in our Division of Hospital Medicine.
“I really enjoy working here and have enjoyed working in these different roles,” Kelsey said. “I’ve had the opportunity to get to know so many people – it’s been nice to form relationships with people in different departments and different disciplines.”
Growing as a nurse, starting on Pratt 4
Kelsey’s South Shore Health nursing career started on Pratt 4 at South Shore Hospital.
“I learned a lot on that floor,” she said. “That was my first time working on a telemetry unit, where I was caring for sicker patients.”
While she enjoyed caring for all types of patients, Kelsey thrived in faster-paced situations, like rapid responses or code situations that required quick problem solving.
One of Kelsey’s nursing supervisors noticed Kelsey’s coolness under pressure and thought she might thrive in another setting – the Emergency Department.
A “grow your own” transition to emergency nursing
South Shore Health offers nursing colleagues a number of different career development programs, each designed to help nurses grow and learn a new nursing specialty.
One of those programs helps nurses transition to a career in emergency nursing in South Shore Hospital’s Emergency Department, one of the busiest in Massachusetts.
“My supervisor mentioned that there was going to be another ‘transition to ED nursing’ program coming up and that I should consider applying,” Kelsey explained. “I always thought I might be interested in emergency medicine or critical care, so I decided to apply.”
This program provides nursing colleagues with hands-on training, education, and mentorship to help them thrive as nurses in a busy Emergency Department setting.
“I was lucky enough to get into the program,” Kelsey said. “I completed a 16-week training program, which was great. The staff in the ED were very supportive – everyone was willing to share their knowledge so I could be successful in the role of an ED nurse.”
Similar to her time on Pratt 4, Kelsey found herself well suited to the pace of emergency nursing and embraced the more diverse and complex caseload.
“I really enjoyed my time there,” she added. “I was able to gain a lot of new skills, and by the end of my time in the ED I was often working in the team lead role.”
Continuing to grow as a caregiver – while staying home
Around the same time as she made the shift to emergency nursing, Kelsey applied to a nurse practitioner (NP) program.
“I wanted to continue to learn and grow,” she said of the decision to enter an NP program. “I felt like I had gotten into a position where I wanted to take my ability to care for patients to the next level: I wanted to be able to think more critically and have more say in a patient’s overall care plan.”
After being accepted into that program, she continued to work full-time in a nursing role while taking classes.
Kelsey felt supported, both by her colleagues and by South Shore Health as an organization, as she pursued her advanced degree.
“The staff, both in the ED and on the inpatient side, were very supportive,” she said. “My nurse manager would help me with my schedule, if I needed certain time off to complete clinical rotations. Some of the folks on the inpatient side were kind enough to take me on as a student.”
“I was also able to utilize South Shore Health’s tuition reimbursement program, which helped financially,” she added.
Along with working full-time as a nurse and taking classes towards her degree, Kelsey also completed her clinical rotations at South Shore Hospital.
“I felt like I lived here,” she joked. “It felt like a second home.”
The best of both worlds as a hospitalist nurse practitioner
After completing her nurse practitioner program, Kelsey was ready to begin practicing as an NP.
She didn’t need to look far for the perfect fit: she accepted a role with South Shore Hospital’s Division of Hospital Medicine, caring for admitted patients as a hospitalist.
Kelsey’s scope of practice may be different as an NP, but she still uses her nursing skills and experience on a daily basis.
“I feel like I get the best of both worlds in this role,” she said. “Since becoming an NP, I have a deeper understanding of medicine, so I’m able to practice at that higher level – but I also have that unique experience from working at the bedside as a nurse.”
“I’m able to combine both experiences to shape my practice, to provide compassion and spend that extra time with patients,” she added.
Kelsey finds that clear communication with patients is key to helping them understand her position on their care team, as some aren’t familiar with the role of an NP.
“A lot of times, patients who may not be familiar with the different roles in healthcare only hear the word ‘nurse,’” she said. “I always try to explain to patients when I introduce myself that I’m a nurse practitioner. I always say who my attending physician is that day as well.”
If patients have questions about what Kelsey can do as an NP, she’s always ready to offer insight into her role.
“I explain my background and training,” she said. “I’m able to diagnose, interpret diagnostic studies, and prescribe medications. I formulate a plan of care, and then review it with the attending physician to make sure we’re aligned. We’ll review that with the patient, then go from there.”
Caring for her community at her second home
Over the course of her South Shore Health career, Kelsey has cared for patients in a number of different settings – something she doesn’t take for granted.
“Caring for patients when they’re acutely ill in the hospital is a privilege,” she said. “Patients and their families are vulnerable when they’re sick. There can be so many unknowns – it can be scary.”
After spending so much time at her “second home” over the years, the Kelsey continues to find her role deeply rewarding.
“Supporting patients and their families during those critical times is really rewarding,” she said. “Being able to help and feel like you’re making a difference in these critical times for people in our own community is what keeps me coming back.”
