Provider Spotlight Suzanne Barron, RN, MSN, CRNP Suzanne Barron, RN, MSN, CRNP, started her nursing career 25 years ago as a medicalsurgical nurse on the urology/transplant unit at Thomas Jefferson University. Today, a nurse practitioner partner in the inpatient urology service, Barron has worked alongside Department of Urology attendings, residents, students and nurses, as she advocates for and educates patients. Suzanne also serves as a preceptor for nurses in Nurse Practitioner training programs. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in nursing from The College of New Jersey, then received a master’s of science in nursing, a nurse practitioner degree, as well as her postmaster's nurse practitioner certificate in acute care adult/gerontology, at Thomas Jefferson University. Unlike today, Barron says, there were not a lot of nursing jobs in 1997. We asked what drives her, professionally and personally. What makes you want to come to work every day? Barron: I feel the attending doctors are fantastic to work with. I enjoy working in a teaching hospital with residents and seeing their growth throughout the years. I like to be able to help with the urology service patients giving them good care and knowing that their transition to home is going to be as easy as possible in this crazy health care environment. It’s also good to know that I am supported by all the other urology attendings and especially Dr. Gomella who hired me as a NP in the department 13 years ago! Being at Jefferson is a good mix. It is like a community hospital yet is a teaching hospital connected to a pretty big university in an urban setting. The diverse population that we serve drives me to come to work every day. I feel like I’m always learning something new. How did you get through 2020 and 2021 professionally and personally? Barron: I have three kids, ages 9 to 18. My oldest is at college now, but during the pandemic, he was a high school senior and my other ones were in third and fourth grades. So, personally it was challenging because they were working virtually from school. My husband is in the financial business, and thank goodness he has been able to work from home.
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Year in Review
Here at Jefferson, ever since Hahnemann University Hospital, which was nearby, closed in 2019, we have been extra busy.
Barron: I like to visit my son in Washington, D.C., at college. And I love the beach—“the Shore,” as we call it in New Jersey.
During the pandemic, we did not have urology units, so our patients have been all over, placed on various units with newer nursing staff and different nursing staff that are not always familiar with urology patients. Our hospital has had to have a lot of patients stay overnight in the post-anesthesia care unit and short procedure area, which has also been challenging.
But I also have enjoyed camping during the pandemic. We have been camping to Lake George and the Poconos.
But the residents, attendings and nursing staff have really come together as a team and tried to do the best we can under the circumstances. The residents that I work with and my professional partner, the other inpatient urology nurse practitioner, Fatuma Doka, have kept a positive outlook on things, which has helped us to stay afloat.
It is no fun living on the floor of a tent without a mattress. We learned that the hard way.
What areas in urology do you find particularly interesting? Barron: I find it all super interesting. I love our bladder cancer patients that come in to get their bladders removed. They have an urostomy or a neo-bladder, and there is a lot of teaching with that. But, I also like the patients that come in for same-day surgery for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and our short stay robotic prostatectomy patients. They usually are pretty healthy individuals, but I still feel they need a lot of education in what their post-op course is going to entail. What do you think are your strengths as a nurse practitioner? Barron: I am a good patient advocate and teaching and communication are my strengths. I have a good bedside manner with patients. I communicate with the residents and with the attending surgeons effectively. I feel that I try to do what’s best for the patients, using all my resources to give them the best possible care. What do you like to do outside hospital walls?
Glamping or camping? Barron: Not glamping. We camp in an eightperson tent with two blow-up mattresses, but not more than two days a time.
Camping is a lot of work, but we enjoy it as a family. I’m in charge of the s’mores and keeping the kids occupied while my husband sets everything up. Contributed by Lisette Hilton
