New Mexican–Style Care With a New York Accent

Abstract

Editor’s note: In the “Practice Profiles” department of Clinical Diabetes , we spotlight clinicians who have chosen to dedicate a significant portion of their time to the care of patients with diabetes. Suggestions for clinicians to interview in the future are welcome and can be e-mailed to levetan@juno.com. I am a native New Yorker, born and bred in New York. I grew up on Long Island and moved to Little Neck Queens in the early ’70s. I picked up and moved myself to Albuquerque, N.M., 7 years ago. Actually, most people ask me why I made that move. To quote a Lovelace Regional Diabetes Program brochure, “No one can beat us for our climate, our culture, our cuisine . . . and our shocking rate of diabetes!” I went into nursing in my late 20s, later than most nurses I know. I had worked in a variety of places, owned a business, and then worked for an orthopedic surgeon as an office manager. His wife was a physician also, and for community service they would do physical exams for new people who were staying at the Salvation Army. As I assisted them with this, I became interested in learning more about medicine and decided to try nursing. I went back to college for an associate’s degree and then continued on eventually for a master’s degree in adult health from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where I also got my nurse practitioner (NP) training. It took about 10 years because I was working full time and going to school. I owned a luggage and leather repair shop in Great Neck, N.Y. I was sort of a “Ms. Fix It” for luggage and handbags. I learned all about fixing things and how luggage and handbags were made. …