Renee Lima is a registered Nurse Practitioner in Christiansburg, Virginia at Carilion Family Medicine. She began her professional career working in a medical-surgical unit after getting her Applied Science Associates in Nursing from Wytheville Community College in 1992. Renee made the decision to return to school at Radford University to earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing to which she received in 2011 Summa Cum Laude. After graduation, Renee accepted a position in gastroenterology. Renee worked in gastroenterology until she decided she wanted to pursue a degree in Nurse Practitioner. She chose to do so at Radford University. During her time there she was able to complete a Doctorate in Nursing Practice and Master’s of Science for Family Nurse Practitioner by the year 2015. Renee has now worked as a nurse practitioner at Carilion Family Medicine since earning her degree. Renee spent a lot of time in school to get to where she is today, but according to her every moment spent in the classroom was valuable to her ability to practice so effectively today. Her favorite thing to do in school was to go through all of her different clinical rotations because it allowed her to explore where her passions were and what her strengths were. Some of the rotations she did in school included women’s health, pediatrics, family medicine, and acute illness. Renee decided she wanted to work in the field of family medicine after having her daughter. She said that it allowed her to provide care to patients of all ages which she felt passionately about after building a family of her own. In the field of family medicine, Renee said no day is like the other which keeps her excited to come to work every day. She typically works 9-5 Monday through Friday and one Saturday out of the month. Her office is closed on weekends, but that is not true for all family medicine offices. Renee will see around 20 of her own patients on a typical day and she will diagnose them along with formulating a treatment plan. She has appointments both in person and via zoom. One thing Renee said that people do not realize is that documenting all of her work is just as important as actually seeing the patient. When asked Renee said that the most rewarding part of her job is seeing a long-term patient of hers grow up when they stay at the same practice from childhood. The most surprising part of her job is how much she still has to learn even after being in the field for so long. This plays into what she said is the most challenging which is how often the healthcare field is changing as it develops. Since the beginning of her professional career, Renee has managed to get multiple different certifications as well to advance her skills. Some of Renee’s certifications include basic life support, advanced cardiac life support, competency for moderate sedation, and she is a certified gastroenterology registered nurse. The advice that Renee wishes to provide to someone who wants to pursue a career in Nursing Practice is to enter each chapter of your journey with an open mind. Renee learned that she could never predict what the future held, which was a good thing because the outcomes always outweighed her imagination.

One thing I took away from this interview is that not everyone will have the same path to their final career goal. Renee took many breaks in her education and also worked in many different areas until she found her true passion. This can be valuable to know because every person is different and may not thrive by doing what their peers do. Renee was a great example of doing what will work best for you even if it may not be what some consider normal.