National Nurses Week
May 6 – 12, 2010
Press Contact:
Scott Palmer, Communications Director
Oregon Nurses Association
503 213 0011 (ext 308)
palmer@oregonrn.org
May 3, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATIONAL NURSES WEEK: PROFILES IN NURSING
BEAVERTON NURSE REMAINS A PIONEER FOR WOMEN’S HEALTH
AND THE ROLE OF NURSE PRACTITIONERS
After 33 years of practice, Carole Cottet’s passion for advancing women’s health and the role of Nurse Practitioners still going strong
Beaverton, OR – Carole Cottet of Beaverton is one of the very first Nurse Practitioners in the
state of Oregon, and remains the longest practicing NP at one of the largest women’s health
clinics in the United States. Nurse Practitioners are nurses who have an advanced degree in
nursing and, as a result, are licensed to examine and diagnose patients, and prescribe
medications; tasks that registered nurses and licensed practical nurses are not able to perform.
“Women’s health has always been my passion,” says Cottet. When asked about her longevity,
and the success of her clinical practice, she says, “I am a listener. I want to hear my patient’s
stories, I want to listen to what they have to say. Rather than just jumping straight to diagnosis, I
spend my time listening, and listening carefully. What you hear can make a real difference.”
Cottet works at Northwest Gynecology Center, part of the Women’s Healthcare Associates
group of clinics, with more than 50 clinicians providing health care services to thousands of
women throughout the Portland metropolitan area. She has been a Nurse Practitioner at the
center since 1977. A graduate of Emanuel Hospital’s School of Nursing program in 1969, Cottet
obtained a certificate as a Womens Health Nurse Practitioner in 1974. She returned to school in
1987 for her Bachelors of Science in Nursing degree from Linfield College. In 1997, Cottet
graduated summa cum laude from OHSU’s Master of Nursing program as a Family Nurse
Practitioner although she limits her practice to gyncecology.
“When I went back for my NP degree, most people had no idea what a Nurse Practitioner was.
Most people thought of the degree as a practical nursing degree, not as an advanced, specialist
degree. As health care has changed, and the role of NPs has grown, many more people now
know just how important NPs are in our health care system.”
In many clinical settings around the country, NPs are employed by physicians in a supporting
role. At her clinic, Cottet is a partner in the clinic’s management team. “Our clinic is very
progressive and forward thinking. I am a full partner in this clinic, working side by side with
physicians, other Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Midwives. Not as an employee of the doctors,
but as a partner and colleague.”
Liberato Mukul, MD, and Susan Hobson, MD, Cottet’s colleagues at the center, agree. “Carole
is a remarkable woman, and an invaluable colleague. She has patients that she has seen for
more than 30 years. Women trust and value her care so much they come from all over the state
to see her.” said Hobson.
“Carole truly is a pioneer in the nursing profession,” said Susan King, Executive Director of the
Oregon Nurses Association, which honored Cottet with a Meritorious Service Award in 1997.
“She is the model for how Nurse Practitioners and advanced care nurses should and will be
practicing in the future. Not as subordinates to physicians, but as full partners in the delivery of
quality care for all patients.”
Cottet’s role as a Nurse Practitioner enables her to focus not just on a specific diagnosis or
immediate medical problem, but on the patient as a whole. “Nurse Practitioners are trained to
think of our patients as a whole person, not just as a single symptom or illness. NPs offer care
that fits the patient, and we see and understand our role as advocates for our patients, both in
the clinic, in the system of health care delivery, and legislatively,” Cottet said.
“At one time, Oregon was the very best state in the country for promoting and advancing the
role of Nurse Practitioners in the delivery of care. Now, other states have started to copy
Oregon, but we set the standard for the practice of Nurse Practitioners,” said Cottet, who was
directly involved in lobbying the Oregon legislature to allow NPs the ability to prescribe
medications for their patients, an ability once only reserved for physicians.
The passage of national health care reform will continue to change the role of Nurse
Practitioners, says Cottet. “Our clinic is the model we should be following in the future. We have
an approach to patient care that puts the patient first, and our patients don’t feel like they are on
an assembly line. Primary care will be delivered more and more by NPs, enabling physicians to
stay focused on specialist care and treatment.”
Mukul, one of Cottet’s physician colleagues, said, “We all work as a team, and Carole is one of
our most valuable team members.”
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Representing more than 12,000 nurses, ONA is the state’s oldest and largest nursing
organization and the largest health care union in the state. It advocates for the profession of
nursing and quality patient care through education, labor organization and advocacy. May 6 –
12, 2010 is National Nurses Week, celebrating the profession of nursing and the contributions of
America’s more than 3.1 million nurses.