APP Week: Getting to Know Kaitlyn Phillips, FNP-C

A Pas­sion for Car­ing for Others

For Kait­lyn Phillips, FNP‑C, a career in health­care start­ed with a child­hood fas­ci­na­tion with the fast-paced world of the TV show ER. That inter­est in the med­ical field became some­thing much more per­son­al dur­ing high school, when she became a CNA.

“I quick­ly real­ized that I gen­uine­ly enjoyed car­ing for peo­ple and build­ing rela­tion­ships with patients,” she said. ​“From there, I knew I want­ed to pur­sue a career where I could make a mean­ing­ful dif­fer­ence in people’s lives.”

Car­ing for the Whole Person

One of the things Kait­lyn enjoys most about being an advanced prac­tice provider (APP) is get­ting to know her patients beyond the imme­di­ate rea­son for their vis­it. ​“I love get­ting to know my patients, lis­ten­ing to their con­cerns, and work­ing togeth­er to devel­op a plan that fits their indi­vid­ual needs and lives,” she said.

She also appre­ci­ates the vari­ety that comes with the role. Every patient brings a dif­fer­ent sto­ry, and there is always some­thing new to learn. ​“Most impor­tant­ly, I find it incred­i­bly reward­ing when a patient feels heard, sup­port­ed, and con­fi­dent in their care.”

Life Beyond the Clinic

While health­care is an impor­tant part of her life, Kait­lyn has plen­ty to keep her busy when she’s not car­ing for patients. Her family’s ​“fun­ny farm” is home to quite a col­lec­tion of ani­mals, and she enjoys spend­ing time out­doors car­ing for them.

“We have quite the col­lec­tion of ani­mals, and they def­i­nite­ly keep us busy and enter­tained,” she shared. ​“It’s a com­plete­ly dif­fer­ent kind of work than health­care, but I find it incred­i­bly reward­ing — and there’s rarely a dull moment!”

Fam­i­ly life also includes gar­den­ing, bak­ing and keep­ing up with all of her kids’ activ­i­ties. Her faith is anoth­er impor­tant part of her life, and she enjoys being involved in her church and mak­ing time to grow in her faith.

“I’m grate­ful for the oppor­tu­ni­ty to build a life cen­tered around my fam­i­ly, faith, and the things we enjoy doing together.”

A Sim­ple Approach to Bet­ter Health

When it comes to health advice, Kati­lyn believes it’s easy to over­look the things that can make the biggest difference.

“Don’t under­es­ti­mate the basics,” she shared.

Get­ting enough sleep, stay­ing active, eat­ing nour­ish­ing foods, drink­ing enough water and find­ing healthy ways to man­age stress can all con­tribute to bet­ter over­all health. She also encour­ages peo­ple to be proac­tive rather than wait­ing until a small con­cern becomes a big­ger one.

“Pre­ven­tive care and hav­ing a health­care provider you trust can go a long way toward keep­ing you healthy,” said.

Click here to learn more about Kait­lyn.