Karen L. Spencer-Patrick, DNP, ACNP-BC, Pain Management Specialist with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Get to know Pain Management Specialist Karen L. Spencer-Patrick, who serves patients in Washington, D.C.

Karen is a pain management specialist and a board-certified acute care nurse practitioner (ACNP-BC). She is currently serving patients at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is a federal Cabinet-level agency that provides near-comprehensive healthcare services to eligible military veterans at VA medical centers and outpatient clinics located throughout the country. The mission of the agency is to fulfill President Lincoln’s promise “To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan” by serving and honoring the men and women who are America’s veterans.

Karen is the first nurse practitioner in the entire state of Maryland in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to develop and run a pain management program. She provides continuous medical education to all of her patients, staff members, and psychiatry residents.

Karen’s inspiration to become a nurse came from her aunt because she, too, was a nurse. To a young Karen, her aunt looked like an angel when she would get dressed for work, all in white. She knew she wanted to be just like her aunt when she grew up.

Karen earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Hampton University in 1985, followed by her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) from Wayne State University in 1998. She then went on to receive her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Rush University in 2009.

In order to stay up to date in her field, Karen maintains professional memberships with the Lean Green Yellow Belt (Leadership Courses), the International Honor Society Sigma Theta Tau, the American Nurses Association, and the American Academy of Pain Management.

Pain medicine is a medical specialty that focuses on the evaluation, treatment, and prevention of pain. A pain management specialist, also known as a pain doctor or a pain specialist, is a medical doctor (M.D.) or doctor of osteopathy (D.O.) who specializes in pain medicine. They specialize in the management of pain as a symptom of disease (eudynia) and primary pain disorders (maldynia). Furthermore, they treat patients who experience pain related to a specific cause (e.g., cancer pain, injury, postoperative pain) and patients who suffer pain as a primary condition (e.g., frequent headaches, neuropathic pain).

In her spare time, Karen enjoys making her own soaps and body butters.

Learn More about Karen L. Spencer-Patrick:

Through her online profile, https://todaysnurse.org/network/index.php?do=/4143544/info/