Brenda Ibarra is a registered Nurse Practitioner specializing in acute and chronic pain care. She has several years’ experience providing medical care within the fields of Internal Medicine, Medical-Surgical, and Orthopedics. Brenda completed her Master of Science in Nursing at Maryville University in St. Louis, Missouri. Her unique background and scope of practice encompass health promotion, pain assessment, and rehabilitation assistance. Brenda’s years and variety of experience combined with her compassionate nature, allow her to provide patients with the highest level of individualized care that they expect and deserve.
Brenda is trilingual and speaks Portuguese, English, and Spanish, allowing her to connect with a multitude of patients and their needs. In Brenda’s spare time, she likes spending time with her family and close friends, exercising, staying active, and enjoying Pilates reformer workouts as her healthy hobby.
A nurse practitioner (NP) is a licensed, autonomous clinician who focuses on managing people’s health conditions and preventing diseases. All NP’s have advanced clinical training beyond their initial professional registered nurse preparation and have either a master’s degree or doctorate degree. Work experience as a nurse gives them a special approach in providing care, while their advanced studies as NP provide them the capability to carry on similar tasks as physicians.
Yes, they can prescribe medications; how they can prescribe medications is regulated by the state.
There are numerous specialties for nurse practitioners; the most popular specializations are listed below:
- Pain Management
- Acute Care
- Adult-Gerontology
- Family Medicine
- Women’s Health
- Emergency Medicine
To be recognized as an expert health care provider, a nurse practitioner must undergo rigorous national certification, periodic peer reviews, and clinical outcome evaluations.
A nurse practitioner brings a unique perspective to a medical practice in that they place an importance on not just the care, but also the cure. They place a focus on the patient and provide health promotion and health education for their patients. This unique approach to healthcare guides patients in making smarter lifestyle choices, thus helping the patient to reduce their overall medical costs.