Becca Brooks

My career in medicine began in high school through the New Visions program at Alice Hyde Medical Center. My grandmother, a nurse, played a major role in my career choice through her guidance and support. I am fulfilled to be giving back to my community.I am passionate about education and became an advanced practice provider to help increase health literacy in our rural area. I want my patients to fully understand what I am relaying to them, and I don’t consider my job complete until they do. I am also passionate about disease prevention and care that is holistic, patient-centered and integrative with up-to-date practices.Early in my nursing career, I cared for a patient with an advanced disease process who was frequently admitted for medication adjustments and discussions about advanced interventions. One evening, during a med pass, they shared that they were “tired” and wanted less time in the hospital and more time at home with their grandchildren. Until then, I had been trained to …focus on disease metrics — lab values, imaging, survival curves. I was focused on maximizing lifespan rather than meaningful time.That moment made me ask a deeper question: Were we treating the disease, or were we caring for the person? We arranged a family meeting, involved palliative care, and shifted the focus toward comfort and quality of life so their care aligned with their values. Clinically, I still care deeply about getting the medicine right, but I now understand that good medicine starts with understanding the person in front of me. Listening is not a soft skill — it is a clinical one, and often the most important one.Outside of nursing, I recharge by spending time with my two children, reading, cooking, going for walks with my golden doodle and hiking in the summer and fall.