When people move to the Northeast Kingdom from other states they are good-naturedly called flatlanders, as Vermont does have its share of mountains. North Country Hospital's newest healthcare provider certainly is no flatlander, and no stranger to mountains far taller than the Vermont Green Mountains.
Nicole Engler, FNP, a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, an extremely mountainous state, recently joined Family Practice of Newport. She joins Drs. Rachel DiSanto, James Holcomb, John Lippmann, and nurse practitioner, Linda Chasse. Nicole specializes in general reproductive health, pediatrics, mental health, and family medicine. She chose to go into nursing after working as a CNA in a nursing home in college. “I loved doing the bedside care. There is such a vulnerability to people when they are ill that nurses get to experience. I have people constantly ask me why I didn't become a doctor. I would not have given up the years I spent as a nurse, especially a pediatric nurse, for anything. You really bond with your patients when you get to spend 12 hours caring for every aspect of their health, and you get to see firsthand how amazing the human spirit is.”
When asked how she is settling into the Northeast Kingdom, Nicole states “I love Vermont. There is nice fresh air instead of the smog and noise of Salt Lake. My parents visited and they thought it was beautiful and quiet.”
The tallest mountain in Utah, “Kings Peak,” stands at an elevation of 13,500 feet (compared to Vermont's highest peak, Mt. Mansfield, at about 4,395 feet), and there are over eight ski resorts with a variety of lifts and runs to choose from. Utah is also home to a number of natural parks, including Bryce Canyon, Zions National Park and Arches National Park in Moab.
She said she has been welcomed to the practice, North Country Hospital, and by her patients with kindness and open arms.
Pam Jefferson, the practice manager, has kind words for Nicole.
“We are so excited about having Nicole join our practice. She is very pleasant and is jumping right into seeing our acute patients. Nicole loves Vermont with the season changes. Being from Utah, winters here in Vermont won't come as a shock to her. She is fitting right into our 'family' here at Family Practice.”
Nicole brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience. After earning her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Westminster College in Salt Lake City she worked eight years as a Registered Nurse at Primary Children's Medical Center, a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma and Medical facility in Salt Lake City. She then returned to Westminster College and earned a Master's in Nursing with a focus as a Family Nurse Practitioner. Upon graduation, she worked at Planned Parenthoods all over the valley before settling into a busy family practice in Bountiful, a suburb outside of Salt Lake where she spent the next three years prior to coming to Vermont.
After several years as a nurse practitioner in Utah, she and her husband, Peter, decided it was time to pull up their roots and settle in rural Vermont. They learned about North Country through a recruiter. When they visited the region she was impressed by the practice and the hospital, and they were both impressed by the entire region. Things seemed to oddly keep falling into place and signs pointed out that the Northeast Kingdom was where they should head.
In her life outside the medical world, she and her husband, Peter enjoy the outdoors, especially fishing, camping, snowshoeing and wakeboarding. Both are interested to see how Jay Peak compares to the infamous ski mountains of Utah.
Although the couple does not have any two-legged children, they have far from an empty home. Their family includes three huskies, seven cats, nine different types of snakes, countless Geckos, parrots, a hedgehog, rabbits and a large tortoise. Many of these animals were rescued. Nicole is anxiously waiting for her husband to settle in the area with their menagerie of animals as soon as their home in Salt Lake City sells and they can decide where to set down their circus.
As for now, she is exploring the community and getting to know the people of the area. “I learned Spanish so I could communicate with the patients in Salt Lake City, which has a large population of Latino immigrants. French really is like Greek to me…especially the “Quebecois” dialect spoken around here. We are excited to learn the culture of Vermonters and Canadians, especially visiting Montreal and Quebec. Hopefully the people of the NEK will give us laid-back Westerners a warm welcome and put up with our out-there sense of humor.”