 Dawn Bucher grew up on a farm northwest of Pipestone, MN and received her education at Pipestone Public Schools where she graduated. A divorced mother of two children, Dawn had a tough going of it in her early years she said, since she didn’t have much money and had to live frugally. Realizing that she had to build a life for herself, Dawn obtained employment at Bayliner Boat Factory in Pipestone where she performed a variety of duties. After doing this kind of work for a few years, Dawn decided to better her life and enrolled in the Nursing Program at South Dakota State University (SDSU) in Brookings, SD. She did general studies at SMSU in Marshall as well.
After finishing college and earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from SDSU in December of 1994, Dawn began working in acute care as a charge nurse at Divine Providenc e Health Center in Ivanhoe in 1995 for a period of time filling wherever her services were needed.
She also helped with treating, interpreting and monitoring symptoms of acute or chronic illnesses, she conducted diagnostic and lab tests along with x-rays, identified health care needs and make appropriate referrals. Dawn also helped with emergency room on-call services, prescribed medicines and managed medicine services at Tyler Hospital and Nursing Home.
With her pleasant disposition and caring nature, Dawn took special care in assisting and comforting residents and family members. She also provided education to staff members regarding medical problems and procedures. She also worked as a nurse practitioner at the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribal Health Clinic.
As part of her clinical experience, Dawn not only learned how to care and treat patients, she became familiar with daily functions of other medical departments and experienced the “feel of hospital life.”
She obtained her Master’s Degree in Nursing from SDSU in August of 2000 and through a series of state required exams, which required additional knowledge, Dawn achieved her license to practice nursing. Even later, she advanced her career by completing her doctoral degree.
Through the years, she has served as a Certified Nurse Practitioner and Public Health Nurse for Ivanhoe, Tyler, Minnesota, Marshall, and Flandreau facilities. Dawn wanted to continue her education, so she enrolled in the Columbia University Doctor of Nursing program and relocated to New York for one year. She graduated with a doctorate in nursing in 2007. She learned a great deal about diabetes at the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia University medical Center in New York, NY. “While in New York, I provided diabetes education to adults in large groups and individual settings and also assisted in case managing adults with diabetes,” she said.
Throughout her medical career, she has promoted positive health to her patients with education and counseling. She is now a certified doctoral nurse practitioner and works at the Ivanhoe Medical Center.
Her plan for the doctorate grew out of a series of informal and innovative advancements in practical nursing at the Columbia University School of Nursing. As the program went through the state approval process, a council was set for the advancement of primary care in 1999. The first agenda was to build standards for the new clinical doctoral degree and to obtain national certification for eligible graduates. Nursing was the last clinical profession to develop a doctoral degree. It was decided that nursing expertise required a doctorate for all of the health experience and education.
“With the rising number of complex or chronic illnesses and physicians leaving their primary care careers these days, patients are greatly in need of this kind of comprehensive care than ever before,: Bucher said. “With this new degree, nursing adds depth to its core competencies and authority by meeting a profound and growing medical need, and provides a new destination for those competencies and authority by meeting a profound and growing medical need, and provides a new destination for those contemplating a nursing career. We believe it is essential that the public should be able to rely on a clinicians degree title to mean the same thing wherever or whenever care is sought from an individual,” she added.
With advancement in the medical fields and growing progress in nursing nowadays, many people are wondering how a DNPH is different from other health professionals. A DNP is a nurse with extensive education resulting in practice that incorporates distinctive nursing and medical expertise and comprehensive care.
“Nurses have been on a path to this ultimate degree and certification for over 40 years and in my line of work, our mission is to provide high quality medical care and patient safety and to work with federal and state programs such as Medicare and Medicaid,” she added.
“Patients who choose a DNP for their comprehensive care provider, should be assured that the clinician has the knowledge, competency and required skills like those of a medical doctor,” she added.
Nurses who earn the DNP will be called “doctor” just like other doctors in the health care disciplines who have reached the highest levels of clinical proficiency. “Dentists, psychologists, podiatrists, social workers and nurses are some examples of such distinctive service,” Bucher added.
Bucher believes that doctoral care in nursing will provide another alternative for primary care where there are currently doctor shortages. She would like the public to know that DNPs are not only exemplary nurses, but they also have the medical competency to deliver and coordinate patient care,” Bucher pointed out.
“It’s hard to believe that someone who started out buffing boats in a boat factory, has now achieved her doctorate degree in the highest level of nursing, “ Bucher said with a smile.
Along with 16 years of experience in the nursing field, the doctoral of nursing induction was very memorable on April 16, 2010 as a Diplomate of Comprehensive Care in New York City. This was for her advanced medical training. Bucher was even featured with a photo in Wall Street Journal tending to the health care needs of an Ivanhoe patient. She said two mentors who have helped her greatly are Sarah Sheets Cook from Columbia University School of Nursing in NY and Gina Williams from the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe Reservation. Two other mentors who have influenced her career the most are Dr. Richard Mulder and Dr. Tim Nealy, she said, because “they were a building block to where I am today.”
Bucher has belonged to several health organizations over the years and has received numerous awards including the Distinguished Young Alumni Award in May 2008 from Columbia University’s School of Nursing.
Bucher keeps her focus on her patients and their health. “Good health can be challenging and hard to maintain due to various obstacles we face in our daily living,” she added. “I will miss working with Dr. Mulder and his staff at the Ivanhoe Clinic”, but she is looking forward to continued service to patients and working with the friendly staff at Ivanhoe Medical Center, she concluded. |
