FEATURED ALUMNUS

John Campbell

John Campbell, (BSN class of 1993 and MSN, APN class of 2001), had a single-minded pursuit of emergency-room nursing, but ended up in a much different field. After completing his BSN, John worked his way up to Head Nurse of the Level II Trauma Center at East Texas Medical Center in Tyler . John had visions of a collaborative practice with an emergency-room physician, who was anxious for John to get his credentials. Wishing to further his education and nursing experiences, John began taking courses in the MSN program at UT Tyler and pursued admission to the Texas Tech collaborative MSN-Family Nurse Practitioner program.

John chose to apply his new training toward an advanced degree and set about to develop his research proposal into a thesis project with a community focus. A few revisions later, he completed his thesis, The Relationship Between IADL Impairment and Depression Among Rural Elderly Blacks . However, when John passed his advanced practice boards, the ER practice opening was not available. With resolute focus, John distributed his resume for an advanced practice position. Even though there were increasing numbers of APNs in the Tyler area, John got a positive response from a growing dermatology practice group to join them and hone his skills in dermatology.

Since John liked the dermatology group, (and had a need to support his trading practice as the king of Federalist Americana collections on E-Bay), he accepted an APN position. The group sent John to courses and trained him in clinical practice of dermatology. He developed his own case load and took call with the group.

Along the way, John's research skills were called upon. The dermatology group wanted to participate in some national drug studies; John had the skills to recruit and retain subjects as well as collect data for projects. John said, “Currently, the NP role in our practice involves both my normal clinical duties of patient exams, laser treatments (both therapeutic and cosmetic), and research coordinator.”

Have you ever wondered what types of practice problems dermatology practitioners study? John was quick to list three long-term safety studies for Raptiva and Amevive, both psoriasis biologics, and Protopic, a biologic for atopic dermatitis. Additionally, the active drug studies include Humira, a biologic for psoriasis; Lamisil, an agent for tinea capitus; as well as Differin and Trentinoin gel for acne. Last but not least is the genetic study for a researchers' repository related to psoriasis and similar conditions.

Seeing that he had time on his hands without a school course load, John joined a community group to perfect his Texas Two-Step. Not only did he accomplish his goal, he also met “Miss Right.” Maresa shares John's love for travel and tolerates his E-bay practice within limits!

Best wishes, John. Thanks for joining the Nursing Alumni ranks at UT Tyler.

PS: Say “Howdy” to John at jkcrn@hotmail.com