About Me

"About Me and Pursuing Perfection"

 I am the oldest of the P2 staff. Though surely not the wisest, I have had a wide variety of experiences as a nurse for the last thirty plus years. I seem always to have pushed the envelope, to pioneer in my profession.

As an Army Nurse, I worked in hospitals in pediatrics and the neonatal ICU. I then became an Army Health Nurse, a community health nurse doing home visits to the new moms and babies in the multi-cultural families which are so common in the military. I was extremely fortunate to be sent for my master's degree at the University of Colorado and was in the very first master's level pediatric nurse practitioner class in the United States. The Army learned early on the value of mid-level providers and I was proud to be involved teaching new pediatric nurse practitioners while at Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center.

     After 14 years in the Army, I did a branch transfer to the US Public Health Service. I worked an additional 14 years in the Indian Health Service and in Migrant Health. Always I have had to be innovative, combining my skills as a community health nurse and as a nurse practitioner. It was necessary for me to expand into an adult nurse practitioner role and to learn Spanish to meet the needs of my patients in migrant health. I developed an outreach program for the homeless and for domestic violence victims. I helped provide a cancer awareness "fiesta" for our migrant population. In short, I have always thrived in pushing my own limits and the limits of the organizations I have worked for. I love working with patients from many different economic and cultural backgrounds.

     So I retired in 1993 and sailed in a 41' cutter-rigged ketch from the Pacific Northwest to Turkey via the South Pacific for about six years. Afterward I earned a Teaching English as a Second Language Certificate after having experienced illiteracy myself in many countries. I taught ESL here in Whatcom County to Ukranian and Mexican immigrants. I also taught at an ESL summer camp in Poland for teenagers from Central Europe. When I returned to Bellingham, since I did not maintain my nurse practitioner license, I worked part-time as a triage nurse but felt my skills were being under utilized. I missed having a more long-term relationship with my patients.

 Then I discovered the Pursuing Perfection Grant. The role of the Clinical Care Specialist is perfect for me. I have always been frustrated in the past attempting to meet my patient's needs by being thwarted by "the system," be it DSHS or insurance or referral issues or whatever. Now I can be an advocate across systems. I am able to support my patients whether it is in their home, at an office visit, or by working with their specialists or other community agencies. I can give them the time they need to understand what their medical situation is, what their medications and treatments do, and help them learn to manage their condition more effectively. My patients are happier and far less frightened about dealing with the complex medical systems that are currently in place. They are learning a new role and they know that they have someone who can help them should the need arise.

 I am honored to work with the Pursuing Perfection staff. It is a powerful experience to be with so many bright and talented people all dedicated to working toward the same goal of patient-centered care.
It is exhilarating to be here . . . and my skills are being stretched again on a daily basis!

© Copyright 2003 Connie Golas . Last update: 5/12/2003; 1:22:27 PM . This theme was created for WWPP by Jack F. Mancilla