Medical Bae of the week: Breonna Leon
- What is your name?
“Hi I’m Breonna Leon. I’m a Geriatric Nurse Practitioner here in Atlanta.”
- Which College/ University did you attend?
“So, I went to Clayton State University for my Undergrad, for my Bachelor’s in nursing and then I went to George Washington University in D.C. for my master’s.”
- Did you feel like that Institution was beneficial to your career path?
“Yes; so here in Georgia, Clayton state is well known for their nursing program. So just the clinical experiences, the connections I gained through there were phenomenal. George Washington, where I got my master’s, is highly ranked. So just, kind of throwing that name out there got me a lot of connections, when I was looking for a job post grad.”
- What is your current profession?
“So, right now I work as a Geriatric Nurse Practitioner, but I’m in the psychiatry specialty. So I see patients in the nursing home, for their psych needs.”
- What advice would you give to people pursuing that profession?
“So, I don’t meet a lot of people that want to go into geriatrics, surprisingly. I don’t know if people are discouraged or they feel like it’s not going to be fun or doesn’t pay well, but I would just advise people who are interested in geriatrics, go for it. It’s a very rewarding field. I feel like I learned so much from my patients as much as they gained from me and is one of the higher paid specialties out there, especially since I work in geri-psych. Geriatrics is already high and psychiatry Is high. So if you are passionate about geriatrics, I say go for it! Don’t let any thing stop you or anybody discourage you saying, oh you want to work with old people. There’s nothing wrong with it, I love it, It’s a fun job.”
- How did you enter this field and what made you choose this career path?
“My great grandmother actually raised me. I think that’s why I have such a love for the elderly. So I’ve always had that passion. When I was in nursing school, my professors told me, ‘Don’t go right into geriatrics, go into an area where you can get your skills set up for at least a year.’ So I went into the E.R. first, surprisingly. There I was able to gain a whole lot of skills and then I was able to transfer those skills into a geriatric position. So like I said, I’ve always been passionate, always loved my little old people, and just kind of went with it.”
- What is your typical day like in your current position?
“I work for multiple facilities. I work with one company with most facilities. Right now I have a total of 15 facilities. They are nursing homes, assistant livings, and any senior care, living residence. So independent living, any place that’s populated with seniors is where I go. 2 days a week, I go out in the field, and I’m seeing patients in those facilities. 3 days a week I work from home because I serve rural facilities. So I have facilities out in Swainsboro, Savannah. So those facilities I see via zoom call, like we’re doing now. So like I said very, very fun, hectic basically because I have so many patients to manage. I see those patients, write their proscriptions, and I work with a psychotherapist that kind of does talk therapy. So we go and make sure to help the patients needs and also their therapy needs. So that’s what I do at the facilities.”
- What challenges or frustrations did you encounter regarding the field you’re in?
“Like I said, the biggest one is people kind of discouraging me about going into geriatrics, saying that it wasn’t rewarding. I kind of second guess myself a lot of times. It was kind of even hard to find a role in Geriatrics. There are roles out there, but a lot of times they look for experience. Luckily, I was able as a new grad to get that role because I had some geriatric experience with my bachelors. So just people trying to come and tell me, oh no that’s not the right field for you or don’t you want to do something else. So Just those people in my ear but I made it through and I did what I wanted to do and I’m happy I did so.”
- Regarding the school you currently or used to attend, are there any special events taking place this year? (Scholarships) Things of that nature?
“Not that I know of. Clayton State is pretty good about doing a lot of scholarships once you get into the program. They don’t offer scholarships while you’re doing pre-reqs, but there are multiple scholarships there for students. George Washington University has a lot of opportunities where students can come and kind of get an idea of what the master’s program would be like, talk to students that are there, they’re pretty big on social media too. Just finding a way to link students and attract students to their programs. So I would always just use social media or look at their websites for up and coming events and opportunities.”
- If there was a website about the medical profession, what would you like it to have?
“What I’ve found to be-that’s not out there a lot- is a shadow and a preceptorship opportunities. I see a lot of students looking for more. Like wanting a more hands-on experience. They always want to, you know I learned the book, I know the test, but I want to get the hands-on experience. Of course we got to a clinical or a nursing school, but sometimes those clinical doesn’t fit those specialties we are looking for or interested in. So just those websites that kind of advertise any mentors, any shadowing opportunities. I know there are some out there but just a little bit more specific to areas so they can attract students that are looking more opportunities to shadow and or precept.”
- What social media platforms do you visit for medical information?
“For medical information I use a lot of the associations that are out there for my profession. There are a lot of nursing association and they use social media heavily to get the word out. I’m apart of a lot of those association so I make sure that a follow a lot of their social media for up and coming events. There are a lot of, like, lunch-and-learns out there, where you can go get a free meal just for sitting there learning about a new medication or a new therapy. So I try to stay up on those so I can know what’s going on. I also use a nurse link. That’s another platform that’s out there that kind of connects nurses all over. Nurses support 911 is another big one. I’m also a mentor for that company. So they have a mentorship opportunity, where nursing students and students who are just kind of looking to interact with some one that’s been there. They have that out there so those are the ones I use right now to kind of keep myself in the game and keep up to date.”
Thank you for reading our Medical Bae of the week article. We would like to thank Ms. Leon for joining us and giving information to future medical professionals. Keep up with Medicalbae.com for more updates on new medical professionals who would love to share their experience.