22nd ARW mighty medics ensure fit to fight team

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Trevor Rhynes
  • 22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs --  Two officers and one civilian team up here to provide 11,000 patients unparalleled medical treatment.

McConnell Air Force Base Family Nurse Practitioners care for patients ranging from infants to geriatrics and these mighty medics have state of the art training and are extremely good at their job.

"FNPs have the nursing background with a bit more of a whole person and psyche," said Lt. Col. Susan Lee, 22nd Medical Operations Squadron flight commander and Family Nurse Practitioner.

These professionals earn a bachelor's degree in nursing and a master's degree as an FNP, and have typically over 1,000 hours of hands-on training both during school and after school before practicing on their own. In most states, FNPs can practice independently, without direct physician supervision.

"Training isn't just in a classroom," Lee said. "We train in a clinic where we get hands-on experience. First we shadow a licensed practitioner, and then we do things on our own under supervision of the licensed practitioner."

These nurses received their training at a variety of institutions, including Wichita State University, the University of California, Irvine, and the University of Central Oklahoma.

"We go through a lot of training, but it's all worth it," said 1st Lt. Sharon Chang, Medical Operations Squadron Family Nurse Practitioner. "Building relationships with patients and their families is probably my favorite part of the job. I really appreciate their trust in me to help them, and I like helping them to improve their health."

Chang, a Fullerton, Calif. native, said the medical teams strive to do what's best for the patient, but they also have to consider the needs of the mission.

"We do what we need in order to get people back to work," Chang said. "We'll issue profiles or medication that may require that person to take it easy at work, or may require them to go on quarters. Our priority is getting that person fit to fight and ensure the healthiest force possible."

Meet your Family Nurse Practitioners.

Lt. Col. Susan Lee, Family Nurse Practitioner, earned her Bachelor's Degree in Science-Nursing at the University of Central Oklahoma. Then she was selected to go to the Graduate School of Nursing at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md, graduating in 2001 with a Master's Degree as an FNP.  She has served as an FNP at Tinker AFB, Okla, Charleston AFB, S.C.,  Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, and now at McConnell AFB, Kan. She also served for three years as the FNP Consultant to the AF Surgeon General as well.  She is currently the flight commander at the McConnell clinic, and sees patients half-time. She likes to travel on her Harley with her husband, play with her two dogs, and read in her spare time.

1st Lt. Sharon Chang, Family Nurse Practitioner, is originally from Fullerton, CA. She did her undergraduate at University of California, Irvine, then the family nurse practitioner program at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia.  What she likes most about being an FNP is building relationships with patients and their families. She appreciates their trust in her to help them, and likes helping them to improve their health. She has an Australian shepherd and a corgi, and she likes to play racquetball.

Ilonda Griffee, Family Nurse Practitioner, is from a small town in Kansas, and working at McConnell Air Force Base is a dream fulfilled. She is married to a Marine, and has four active duty family members. She feels it is an honor and a privilege to provide medical care for Airmen and their families. She earned her Master's Degree as a FNP from Wichita State University.