What inspires Virginia every day? Making a difference in her patients’ lives. As an acute care nurse practitioner, Virginia provides care for critically ill adult patients and their families, from the time they arrive at the Emergency Department through discharge from the hospital.

Virginia is the first in her family to choose a career in medicine. “I always wanted to be a nurse,” she explains. “After working with some excellent providers in the trauma ICU at Vanderbilt, it was a natural progression to go back to school to pursue my master’s degree.” From there, she was excited to follow her path to Beacon when a trauma nurse practitioner role became available. “I started working at Beacon as a travel nurse when I first moved here, and I really enjoyed the culture.”

Virginia believes in a multidisciplinary approach to healthcare. “Every person in the team is crucial to the care of our patients.” And, when it comes to the people in her care, she says they never fail to surprise her. “I want them to know that people in medicine genuinely care about them and want what’s best for them.”

In her own words…

What was your first job growing up? What do you remember about it? I was a lifeguard when I was 15. I remember thinking it was extremely boring to sit in the lifeguard stand all day!

What is your favorite food? What is your favorite movie? My favorite food is ice cream. My favorite movie is Harry Potter.

What were your best/worst subjects in school growing up? My favorite subjects were the sciences. My worst was English/literature.

In addition to medicine, what are you passionate about? What are your hobbies, interests? I love traveling and reading.