In honor of National Certified Nurses Day, we’d like to cast the spotlight on Jennifer Highfield, DNP, ARNP, CPNP-AC. Jennifer became PCCSF’s first advanced registered nurse practitioner almost a year ago, and she’s been a wonderful addition ever since!
Prior to becoming an ARNP and joining PCCSF, Jennifer worked as a CVICU/PICU nurse for several years at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, but a strong desire to make more of an impact on her patients’ care motivated her to pursue a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. In her new role at PCCSF, she works alongside physicians and physician assistants to manage pediatric patients in the critical care setting.
Day in and day out, Jennifer is most inspired by the stories of her individual patients. Their strength, perseverance and ability to maintain a positive outlook despite the severity of their medical challenges, is something Jennifer truly admires.
Outside of PCCSF, Jennifer is a Pediatric Advanced Life Support instructor. For the past two years, she’s been teaching physicians and new graduate nurses the algorithms necessary to ensure critically ill pediatric patients receive the best care during an emergency.
Jennifer is also part of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. As a member of these organizations, she has access to continuing education opportunities, up-to-date research, and has the ability to collaborate with other members in her field. Being a member of AANP also gives her the ability to influence the future laws that govern the practice of ARNP’s.
Over the past year, Jennifer has enjoyed taking on her new role: being a mom. She enjoys traveling and exploring new places with her family and looks forward to having more of these experiences. Her goal for this year is to travel more and attend more pediatric conferences where she can expand her knowledge and provide better care for her patients.