Spring Break
The Daily OrangeHome remedy: Nurse practitioner Kathleen MacLachlan takes care of SU students and family
By Mary Georger
Posted: 12/4/08, 11:01 PM EST Section: Feature
"I know she's so emotionally committed to do what's right for college health," Gary said. "She has a tireless dedication to what she loves. In my mind she is above the standard of quality as a nurse practitioner and as a human being."
MacLachlan's children have also experienced firsthand her dedication to her work.
"I remember when I was about 10 years old having wheelchair races at the health center when nobody was there," said Gavin, one of MacLachlan's three children. MacLachlan would take each of her children (two boys and one girl) to work once a month during her night shifts at the health center (the center changed three years ago from being a 24/7 operation).
"I really began to understand how much she loved her job," Gavin said.
MacLachlan's role as a nurse practitioner focuses on reproductive health, with 10 percent of an appointment involving the exam and 90 percent spent educating and talking with the student. Sex and contraception are common discussions.
MacLachlan has seen a trend in fewer unplanned pregnancies since the emergency contraceptive Plan B became valuable. During the '90s, she would encounter a couple of unplanned pregnancies a week, she said.
But one memory that sticks was a case of meningitis back in the early 1990s. A student visited the health center with what seemed to be a stomach bug, MacLachlan said, but died that night from the virus.
"That shook everyone up for quite awhile," MacLachlan said. "It was like losing one of your own."
Students at the health center view MacLachlan as more than just a nurse.
"Students request Kathy," said Deb Frank, also a nurse practitioner at the health center. "She's caring, she's kind, and she really knows her stuff."
In between seeing patients at the health center, she does work for the national and state American College Health Association, professional development at SU, an Irish host program called Project Children and more.
MacLachlan's children have also experienced firsthand her dedication to her work.
"I remember when I was about 10 years old having wheelchair races at the health center when nobody was there," said Gavin, one of MacLachlan's three children. MacLachlan would take each of her children (two boys and one girl) to work once a month during her night shifts at the health center (the center changed three years ago from being a 24/7 operation).
"I really began to understand how much she loved her job," Gavin said.
MacLachlan's role as a nurse practitioner focuses on reproductive health, with 10 percent of an appointment involving the exam and 90 percent spent educating and talking with the student. Sex and contraception are common discussions.
MacLachlan has seen a trend in fewer unplanned pregnancies since the emergency contraceptive Plan B became valuable. During the '90s, she would encounter a couple of unplanned pregnancies a week, she said.
But one memory that sticks was a case of meningitis back in the early 1990s. A student visited the health center with what seemed to be a stomach bug, MacLachlan said, but died that night from the virus.
"That shook everyone up for quite awhile," MacLachlan said. "It was like losing one of your own."
Students at the health center view MacLachlan as more than just a nurse.
"Students request Kathy," said Deb Frank, also a nurse practitioner at the health center. "She's caring, she's kind, and she really knows her stuff."
In between seeing patients at the health center, she does work for the national and state American College Health Association, professional development at SU, an Irish host program called Project Children and more.
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