When families come to Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center, they're stressed with worry over a sick child. Yet for those whose children have neurological issues, parents know they'll always see one familiar face — that of family nurse practitioner Lai Brooks.

 

Brooks acts as a liaison between the hospital's medical team and families with sick kids. On this day, she is making rounds on the epileptic unit, examining a 7-year-old whose repeated seizures have brought him back to the hospital.

 

Brooks greets the grandmother and asks her when the boy's last seizure took place. The child lays motionless in the bed, his head swathed in white bandages. Brooks greets him brightly.

 

"Are you ready for pancakes this morning, young man?" The boy opens heavy lids to meet her gaze. "Can you squeeze my finger? Squeeze it hard."

 

The child barely responds. His lethargy is apparent to Brooks, as well as the nurse on duty, Jennifer Glover. Once she has answered the grandmother's questions, Brooks confers with Glover about changing the child's medication to better address his recent surge of seizures.

 

It is the first of several stops she'll make this morning before meeting with other team members to discuss current treatment protocol.

 

Brooks was first introduced to neurology during her job as a nurse practitioner with Semmes-Murphey Neurologic and Spine Institute, where she worked for two years after earning her master's as a family nurse practitioner. But adding pediatrics to the equation meant a steeper learning curve. "You hear about seizures in pediatrics and see them on TV, but it's not like what you see. When I first saw one, I had to get a grasp of myself and say, 'Hey, this is real.' But Brooks proved to be an eager and able student. Two years later, her knowledge of epilepsy and other neurological disorders enables her to provide consultations for residents, ER physicians, and referring physicians regionally who call in with questions about their patients.

 

"I'm a go-getter," noted the 34-year-old with a smile. "I believe when you do something, you must be the best that you can be, which means providing the best practice for my patients."

 

Brooks graduated with a Bachelor of Science in nursing from the University of Tennessee-Martin and accepted her first position with Le Bonheur in 2001. As a nurse, she focused on patient care. But the more competent she became, the more she realized she wanted to expand her expertise. So she returned to school at University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) to earn her master's degree.

 

Nurse practitioners are considered physician extenders, since they work directly with patients, reviewing the plan of care and following up to determine the progress being made and what, if any, changes must be made. Brooks speaks frequently of the continuity of care she is able to provide to families. When new doctors join a case, it is usually Brooks who gives them details so they can be up-to-speed.

 

The role of caregiver was one that was emulated for Brooks growing up. Her grandmother worked as a nurse in urban Chicago and when busy parents had to fill their jobs at factories, their sick children often came to Brooks' home, where her grandmother nursed them.

 

But in addition to being a nurse, Brooks sees herself as a teacher. To that end, she returns again to UTHSC this month to begin coursework toward her doctorate. She hopes it will lead to teaching opportunities further down the road.

 

Brooks dedication to patient care was recently honored with the Rising Star of Clinical Practice award, conferred by the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses (AANN), a leading nursing authority committed to the advancement of neuroscience nursing, support of nurses, and excellence in patient care. The annual award is given to a nurse with one to three years of experience in the neuroscience field who demonstrates commitment and excellence in clinical practice.

 

A neurologist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital nominated Brooks for the award. As part of the nominating process, the neurologist described a case the two had worked on together. It involved a newborn who desperately needed surgery but whose mother was too scared to give consent. Doctors couldn't figure out why she was reluctant to accept their recommendations. So Brooks agreed to meet with the mother.

 

"She just needed someone to sit down with her and understand how she was feeling," explained Brooks. Once they discovered they shared a friend in common, Brooks was able to enlist the friend's assistance and together, the three discussed the child's diagnosis as well as the potential benefit the procedure would bring. After their meeting, the mother agreed to have the surgery. Today, her baby is 12-months-old and meeting normal developmental milestones.

 

Brooks said her ability to communicate well with patients is one of her strengths as a nurse practitioner. "Even after a physician has spoken with a family about their diagnosis, I like to go back and talk to them to make sure they fully understand the diagnosis. Often, they're in shock after they receive the news and then they have a ton of questions. I like to go and make sure all of those questions are answered." It is a small part of her job, but one that families often remember and appreciate.