Patients are 'in the driver's seat' for USA TODAY's Women of the Year honoree from Oregon

Lauren Carlson is one of USA TODAY’s Women of the Year, a recognition of women who have made a significant impact in their communities and across the country. The program launched in 2022 as a continuation of Women of the Century, which commemorated the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote. Meet this year’s honorees at womenoftheyear.usatoday.com.

Lauren Carlson is a family nurse practitioner, not a doctor. But try convincing her patients.

“In my first few years of practice I would work tirelessly to correct people,” Carlson said. “But for the patients, they were like, ‘I don’t care. You are doing everything that a doctor does, so you’re my doctor.’

“I will correct them, but if a person continues calling me doctor, maybe as an easy way to explain to their 4-year-old child who they’re seeing in the office, then I accept that.”

A nurse practitioner, in general, has more training than a registered nurse but less than a doctor. In Oregon and 26 other states, nurse practitioners have full practice authority. They can prescribe, diagnose and treat patients without physician oversight.

Carlson provided that care for nearly nine years at the Aumsville Medical Clinic, part of Santiam Hospital.

Studies show patient health outcomes for nurse practitioners are similar to those of doctors, although nurse practitioners tend to have better satisfaction. They are inclined to spend more time with their patients, which can lead to better relationships and more trust.

Carlson was reminded just how deep the connections can be when she left her position at Aumsville Clinic in December for a job as the director of health services at Willamette University in Salem.

“I was not prepared for the emotional response," she said.

The clinic and hospital were home, and the staff like family. She was proud of how the hospital stepped up after the 2020 wildfires and collaborated with the community to make a difference that continues today.

As hard as it was to leave, she was excited about a new opportunity. Bishop Wellness Center on the Willamette campus serves students enrolled half-time or more when school is in session. She is both the administrator and the lead nurse practitioner at the center.

The administrative part of the job is not expected to change the way she practices health care.

“It’s really important for me to get to know more than someone’s chief complaint of why they’re there,” Carlson said. “I am legitimately interested in knowing, 'How’s your family doing? What’s going on in your life right now?'

“As I’m expecting my patients to open up with me, I feel like part of that is I need to be transparent and allow them to get to know me a little bit as well.”

Her patients are known to ask about her husband and their three sons. The boys, ages 11, 9 and 5, are involved in sports, and she is a self-proclaimed soccer mom. Her husband competes in ultra trail races. The whole family enjoys snowboarding, which takes Carlson to one of her happy places.

“Getting outside in snowy mountains, in crisp air, and I can smell the fir trees, even just thinking about that relaxes me,” she said.

Carlson grew up in Southern California but is feeling more like a native Oregonian these days. The Pacific Northwest has been her home since college. She earned an undergraduate degree in general science at Oregon State University, then completed an accelerated nurse practitioner program and a master's degree at Seattle University.

She also is a Certified Lifestyle Medicine Professional through the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Lifestyle medicine is an approach that uses evidence-based behavioral interventions to prevent, treat and manage chronic disease.

Carlson's approach is more than just getting to know her patients. She wants to empower them, reminding them they are in charge of their health care, not her.

“I look at myself as the navigator, but they’re in the driver’s seat,” she said.

Carlson is Oregon's honoree for USA TODAY's Women of the Year project.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Who paved the way for you?

When I look back and think about my family and the people who I came from — and I identify as a Black American woman — I’m very proud of my ancestors because they had to be so resilient and persevere through some really difficult and trying times.

And my family. Growing up, I just remember being told, 'Get your education because that’s something no one can ever take away from you,' and I really took that to heart. My paternal great-grandmother, in the very early 1900s, graduated from Fisk University and worked as a teacher all of her life. She ended up having four daughters, and all were college-educated women who had careers. Those are the shoulders that I stand on.

Professionally, there are huge shoulders that I stand on. I’m really proud of the trailblazers in the field of nursing that have proactively fought just to be able to be a nurse practitioner, and continue to advance the field and protect and promote full practice authority for nurse practitioners.

What is your proudest moment?

I think what makes me proud is when I’m able to partner with my patients. I really try to work hard to empower them so that they know that they are singly the most important factor in the trajectory of their health. When people feel that empowerment, they’re able to make significant changes. Seeing the look on their face when they’re proud of themselves — we’ve been able to discontinue all of their diabetic medications, as an example — that makes me proud.

Personally, and this is going to sound very silly, but I get excited when my kids eat a vegetable. I'm super proud about that, or if they do well in their sports. When they achieve something that they’re proud of, that makes me proud. My husband’s a runner, I call him crazy runner because he does ultra, very long trail races, and when he completed his first 100-mile race, I was super proud.

What is your definition of courage?

Courage, to me, is definitely not a lack of fear because I think fear is a very normal human response. I think courage is the ability to take action and stand strong, despite the fear that is present. I think courage is taking a leap, or a baby step in some cases, despite fear, despite doubts that sometimes creep into our minds about our own abilities to do things.

Is there a guiding principle or mantra you tell yourself?

The first one is from my paternal grandmother. I cannot tell you probably how many hundreds of times she said this, 'If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,' which, I’m sure, everyone has heard. But she said it so much it is so ingrained in me. The spirit of that, for me, means just keep trying. Don’t give up easily. And if it’s something you want to accomplish, just because it didn’t succeed the first time doesn’t mean it’s always going to be a failure because you learn from those experiences.

I also remember when I interned at Benton County Health Department, I had a supervisor, her name was Jessica, and she told me at the conclusion of the internship, 'Whatever you do, wherever you end up, you have to ask for what you want.' The background for that, as women, we don’t negotiate enough. I think she was basically saying with employment contracts and those types of things, and I’ve certainly taken that with me. But also, what I’ve turned that into is, 'It never hurts to ask.' The worst somebody can say is no, but you’re bound to get a yes sometimes.

Who did you or do you look up to?

I think my mom is someone that I really look up to, for many reasons, but I think in a different way now that I’m an adult and a mom myself. I really admire her sense of perseverance, her confidence, her genuine love for other people, her generosity, and I think her sense of optimism, and her work ethic as well. She was a single mom for most of my teenage years and just seeing how hard she worked and what she sacrificed to make sure that we had everything that we needed and beyond, it just means a lot.

My colleague and friend, Dr. Tanie Hotan, I look up to her a lot. She dreams big, she thinks big, and goes a step beyond that to make those dreams a reality. She’s amazing. She’s a family physician, but also a competitive Latin dancer and an artist, all these things that she makes room for in her life. That’s very inspiring to me and very motivating.

How do you overcome adversity?

I think that adversity is a part of life. It’s going to happen. I don’t necessarily mean to normalize adversity, but the reality is we go through it. There are hard times or seasons in life. I think the most important things that allow myself and maybe other people to overcome adversity, one is mindset. I think believing that you can overcome whatever it is, the challenge that you’re facing, is huge.

Secondly, I am incredibly fortunate in a sense that I have a lot of protective factors in my life. My mom lives with us, so we have a live-in grandma. That’s super fun but also a big support, as a mom of three. I have stable housing. I know where my food is coming from. I have health insurance. I have a stable job. I have reliable transportation. I have a supportive and safe relationship with my spouse. But I also recognize many of the people I see don’t have those protective factors, and it’s so much more difficult to be able to be in a mindset that allows you to get out of whatever challenge you’re facing.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Looking back at myself, especially in college and maybe even the first few jobs I had, I feel like I probably played it very safe. I think I would tell my younger self, 'Hey, take risks. It’s OK, this is a good time to take those risks and try new things. And recognizing that, again, I had a safety net. If something didn’t work out, it was OK. I would also recommend to my younger self to travel more, but my younger self didn’t have a travel budget.

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Capi Lynn is a senior reporter for the Statesman Journal. Contact her at clynn@StatesmanJournal.com, or follow her on Twitter @CapiLynn and Facebook @CapiLynnSJ.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon nurse practitioner Lauren Carlson honored by USA TODAY