Nurse Practitioner of the Year

CSUB’s Dr. He honored by local NP association

By California State University, Bakersfield

April 27^th, 2021

As a nurse practitioner and professor in California State University Bakersfield’s graduate nursing program, Dr. Heidi He has long been appreciated by her patients and students alike. Recently, she was also recognized by her peers with the Nurse Practitioner of the Year award.

Given by the Kern/Tulare chapter of the California Association for Nurse Practitioners (CANP) earlier this month, the award honors Dr. He’s work both in her clinical practice and in education training future nurse practitioners.

“I’m extremely honored and humbled,” Dr. He said of being chosen for the award.

A nurse practitioner for 22 years, Dr. He joined the CSUB nursing program in 2006 as a part-time faculty member. Since then, she’s become a full-time faculty member and leads the department’s Master of Science in Nursing and Family Nurse Practitioner program. She is also in the process of developing a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree program at CSUB.

“In the NP program, we just have an amazing team, and we’re doing great things,” Dr. He said. “Whatever the accomplishments that I’ve done, I couldn’t have done them without the team.”

Though teaching has taken up more of her time, Dr. He still sees patients at Comprehensive Pulmonary and Critical Care Associates, where she first started as a nurse practitioner. She has a close relationship with her patients, with many of them recommending Dr. He to their own family and friends. Not only has she seen them through different stages of their lives, but they’ve seen her through her own too, remembering when she was pregnant and now asking about her two teenaged children.

“Being an NP for 20-some years in the same setting, I know the patients well,” she said. “That kind of relationship is special. I know them well and they know me well also. More importantly, I love the people I work with at Comprehensive Pulmonary and Critical Care Associates.”

Earning an award for Nurse Practitioner of the Year would be an honor in any year, but there’s no denying 2021 has been a more distinctly challenging year when it comes to the world of healthcare. Both Dr. He’s classes at CSUB and her practice have had to adapt in some ways for COVID, primarily by switching to telehealth from conventional in-office visits.

In her announcement of Dr. He’s award, nursing department chair Dr. Debbie Boschini highlighted Dr. He’s work in the master’s program, her partnerships with community healthcare providers and her dedication to her students.

“Under the leadership of Dr. He, our FNP Program has enjoyed tremendous success, graduating 50 Family Nurse Practitioners since reopening in 2014, hosting positive accreditation visits, and securing millions of dollars in grants and donor gifts to improve access to quality healthcare in our region,” Dr. Boschini said. “She is deeply committed to her students’ success and well-being and is well-respected by her colleagues in the community and across campus.”