Profiles in Telehealth: A Nurse Practitioner Share His Views on Virtual Care during COVID-19
We interviewed Family Nurse Practitioner, Craig W., to learn how telemedicine has improved his personal life, his ability to help patients in new ways, and his impact on healthcare during this COVID-19 crisis.
What’s your background? What did you do before practicing telemedicine?
I am a Family Nurse Practitioner, with multiple state licenses, specializing in all matters of Urgent Care and Telemedicine. My past experiences are in family practice, emergency medicine, and coronary care. Telemedicine is part-time at this point, conducting consults whenever possible, with the plan to pursue full time opportunities in the very near future.
What’s your life like outside of work?
My wife, Paige, and I live in Boise, Idaho. We have one child-- a 24 year old son-- who is thriving in his own world, which most of the time includes us. We love to travel. We spend quite a bit of time travelling in our "van," spending time in the mountains and near the water, mostly in areas such as the Pacific Northwest and Baja. I spend any free time I have kitesurfing, snowkiting, mountain biking, and reading. Our dog, Scooter, accompanies us on all of our travels.
What brought you to telemedicine?
I chose to pursue telemedicine in August of 2019. I wanted to pursue telehealth for the flexibility it offers, but also due to the advancing technology and ease of availability that it offers patients.
What’s your recent Wheel Moment of Freedom?
After getting my first few consults with Wheel while I was on a mountain biking trip in the southern Utah desert, I was hooked! I realized that being away from my office or clinic did not stop me from doing what I love. In fact, telemedicine with Wheel has allowed me to combine two of the things that I love: having a flexible schedule and helping patients achieve better health.
What do you think the future of healthcare holds?
Being a part of the Wheel team has allowed me to become more involved in the exciting new options that are available to patients seeking care. During these current tough times, telemedicine has grown immensely and is quickly becoming multifaceted. This includes responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in ways that traditional in-person evaluations are unable to accommodate. We offer a very valuable option for our clients that is an integral piece of their overall healthcare. The majority of my virtual care consults are with people that have never utilized telehealth and all are so grateful to have it available. Whether it involves men's health, women's health, urgent care, family practice, and now public health, telemedicine will continue to have a positive impact on our community at large.
During these current tough times, telemedicine has grown immensely and is quickly becoming multifaceted. This includes responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in ways that traditional in-person evaluations are unable to accommodate.
Thanks, Craig, for being an essential member of the #WheelCareTeam!
Interested in joining us? Sign up to learn more about working in telehealth with Wheel. We need clinicians more than ever during the COVID-19 national crisis.
Learn more about provider experiences in our previous spotlight interviews with a nurse practitioner making more time for her grandchildren, an emergency medicine turned telemedicine MD, and an urgent care telemedicine nurse practitioner balancing career and family.
