Telehealth nurse practitioner takes thorough approach to patient care
“You really want to be in-depth with your assessment in case a patient forgets to tell you something, because that will help you to identify any issues.”
Adora Chao knows the importance of connecting with her patients. This primary care family nurse practitioner once did an assessment for a deaf patient completely in American Sign Language. She’s spoken to patients in English, Tagalog, and some limited Spanish, too. “You want to be very thorough in everything you do,” she says, “and that means you need to effectively communicate.”
Passionate about helping her patients, Adora gets her inspiration from family. Her mother passed away from cervical cancer, inspiring Adora to pursue a career in nursing to help others. She became a Family Nurse Practitioner in order to do even more for her patients. Adora has worked in a variety of settings from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and telemetry units in the hospital to urgent care clinics and pediatrics. An early adopter of telehealth, Adora was also a virtual provider during the pandemic.
She joined the Vanguard eCare telemedicine team to continue this important work. “Telehealth is different from a regular inpatient visit,” says Adora. “It’s more complex because you’re not there to physically examine a patient, listen to their lungs, and so on. You depend upon a patient’s self-assessment but you also guide them, for example in palpitating their glands or pressing on their abdomen and asking them to describe how they feel. Before I talk with my patients, I also review their charts so I’m aware of their preexisting conditions and medications they are taking.”
Adora’s patients like that she’s thorough, and that she takes the time to educate them and help them find the resources they need. They also appreciate her sense of humor. “It’s all a matter of making them feel comfortable so that they can talk to you about their health concerns,” says Adora.
A lifelong learner, Adora is near completion of her second Master’s, as a Psychology and Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. She looks forward to integrating this new skill in helping her patients.
When she’s not busy working, Adora enjoys traveling, especially out of the country. She also likes to garden during warm weather. She is a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.