Meet Kendra

I’m Kendra, a Nurse Practitioner with extensive experience in treating and counseling patients with sexually transmitted infections/diseases (“STDs”). When I graduated from nurse practitioner school, I was primarily interested in the treatment and prevention of HIV. But after interviewing for a position at a STD clinic, I began to see a bigger picture and became excited to start this journey in public health, with an emphasis on sexual health and wellness. As a Nurse Practitioner, one of my primary goals is to make sure that the clients that come to me for help feel comfortable and safe.

When I was younger, I did not have access to STD education or information about testing. When I left my small hometown to attend NC A&T State University, I was very much naive to dating, sex and STDs. Really all my learning came from trial and error (lol) and if I can just help one person find the information and resources they need; it would be a great accomplishment. 

Starting this blog gives me the opportunity to reach more lives than I ever could working in a clinic. Getting tested can be scary and finding out you have an STD can be even scarier. I want to offer resources, suggestions and support to individuals who find themselves in these situations. Having someone you can trust to speak to and ask any question and not feel like it is a dumb question is what I do.

I have seen tears, anger and denial when it comes to giving someone results from STD testing. Being able to provide emotional support, education and treatment options helps individuals accept the reality of the situation.

I started my nursing career working on a medical-surgical unit in a large hospital and after working a year I took the opportunity to take a travel nursing position in Texas. Travel nursing taught me how to adapt to new settings quickly and speak to people from diverse backgrounds. I wanted to advance my education and decided to move back to North Carolina and start a Bachelor of Nursing program at Winston Salem State University. I worked in a variety of health care settings: psychiatry, outpatient and acute dialysis, women’s health and primary care. With this experience I applied to a Master of Nursing program with a concentration in Family nursing at Winston Salem State University. This program was challenging but I was able to successfully complete the program and became a certified Family Nurse Practitioner.

Now I have a career that I love and a job that allows me to make a difference in the lives of individuals every day. Since I began working in the STD clinic, I have had the opportunity to assist with launching a preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) clinic and post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) clinic that offers individuals HIV prevention options. I have also spoken at a conference educating others on how to start a PrEP clinic. I look forward to continuing to expand my knowledge and meeting new individuals through this blog.