My Mommy is a Nurse Practitioner

by Kim Harkness, Patricia Grace Claro (Illustrator)

Overview

Sometimes understanding what our parents do when they go to work can be a bit confusing. My mommy is a Nurse Practitioner... but what is that exactly? Is she a nurse? Is she a doctor? What's the difference anyway?

This story is told from the point of view of a 4-year-old boy who proudly shares his understanding of what his mommy does when she goes to work as a Nurse Practitioner. In this story, you will learn about her day-to-day activities, the interesting people she gets to work with and what it is that makes her a good Nurse Practitioner! Together, children and adults can learn about this exciting job and consider a career in healthcare - even as a Nurse Practitioner!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781038305824
Publisher:	FriesenPress
Publication date:	08/16/2024
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.10(d)
Age Range:	Up to 6 Years

About the Author

Kim Harkness is a Nurse Practitioner at a community hospital in the Greater Toronto Area. She is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto, as well as a longstanding member of the Nurse Practitioners' Association of Ontario. As a health and wellness advocate, Kim provides quality and compassionate care to her community. This is her first book which marries her professional passion with her dream of being an author of a children's book.

Kim's pride and joy are her two little boys whose endless curiosity and creativity amaze her. When she isn't taking care of patients Kim enjoys crocheting, watching true crime, walking her dog and, most importantly, spending time with her family.

Editorial Reviews

2024-10-09
Harkness explores the role of the nurse practitioner in this illustrated children’s book.

Two excited young brothers with light-colored skin and fair hair talk about what their mother does in her job as a nurse practitioner: Similar to a doctor, a nurse practitioner helps people who are ill or injured, as well as those who seek preventative care. Mommy has been trained to help patients while working with doctors or by herself; a nurse practitioner is able to write prescriptions like a doctor, which is something that regular nurses aren’t trained to do. The author assures readers that even though the job requires some long, difficult days (“Most days Mommy’s job is hard, but some days it’s really, really hard”), helping people is what the narrators’ Mommy truly loves. The boys recognize the qualities in Mommy that make her a good fit for the job, including creativity, kindness, and dedication. (She says the boys’ hugs are healing, too—and Mommy definitely knows how to heal people, so it must be true.) The story ends with the whole family spending time together outside; the kids know that Mommy always tries to make time for them no matter how busy her schedule at work turns out to be. Claro’s illustrations are cartoonish and appear digitally rendered—some of the human characters have a haunting quality to their large eyes and smiles, especially the two young blond narrators. Happily, the illustrator does depict a wide range of ages, races, and body types throughout a series of vignettes demonstrating various nurse practitioner tasks. The stylized font used on some words for emphasis may be confusing to some readers because the letters are so close together. Harkness makes sure to emphasize that anyone can be a nurse practitioner, giving young readers a positive possible aspiration for the future.

A simple story that demystifies a medical profession in an engaging way for young readers.

Kirkus Reviews