It is with great joy that I share a blog post submitted by Margaret Flinter via her cellphone from Baltimore.  Thank you Margaret for submitting this: 

Today Dr. Nwando Olayiwola and I came to Baltimore for the dissertation defense of Bernadette Thomas.  Bernadette is a family nurse practitioner and also our medical director at our CHC of Clinton site.  She is completing the doctor of nursing practice (DNP) at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. Her dissertation is titled “Improving Blood Pressure Control Among Adults with Chronic Kidney Disease and Diabetes.”

Of course she passed her defense with flying colors, as various members of her committee (including me) grilled her on translational research, her data, methods, etc.

Mostly, I focused on Bernadette.  She came to CHC five and a half years ago, a recent grad of Yale School of Nursing, an alum of Peace Corps.  She was obviously brilliant but struggled as all new primary care providers in health centers do with the demands of this challenging practice.

But she persevered, becoming one of our truly stellar primary care providers, an inspiring leader for her staff, and an inspiration to our nurse practitioner residents and NP students.

And to cap it off she delivered her first baby, Emma Grace, just a few months ago

She is amazing and Nwando and I were so proud to share this moment with her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34V4IQ9K8ks