A Nurse Practitioner is a registered nurse with advanced education and training at a university or college where they earn a master's degree. Their goal is to help people of all ages stay as healthy as possible. They are trained to promote health and prevent disease by teaching people ways to stay healthy and by treating them for their acute illnesses [e.g. infections] and chronic diseases [e.g. diabetes].
The quality of care that Nurse Practitioners provide has been found to be very good according to numerous studies. In fact, according to the U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, "NPs provide care whose quality is equivalent to that of care provided by physicians. Moreover, NPs are more adept than physicians at providing services that depend on communication with patients and preventitive actions."

While not all NPs provide the same services, they all promote the same health concepts of health promotion and disease prevention. The services they offer are based on their training and include:

Well/Sick infant care.

Psychological counseling.

Well/Sick child care.

Physical examinations.

Well/Sick adult care.

Health risk evaluations.

Well/Sick elder care.

Case management.

Family Planning.

Health education.

A native of Thomas County, Lisa received her associate degree in nursing from Albany Junior College in 1985. She then completed the Obstetrics and Gynecology Nurse Practitioner certificate program at Emory University and was certified by NCC in 1991. Lisa and her husband, Tommy, have two children.

A native of Boston, Massachussetts, Regina received her bachelor's degree in nursing and master's degree in health education from Florida State University. She then completed the Obstetrics and Gynecology Nurse Practitioner certificate program at Emory University and was certified by NCC in 1989. Regina and her husband, Tom, have one son.