Sharon Garber

A nurse practitioner since 1990, Sharon Garber of Warwick has been on the front line battling the coronavirus often putting in a 10-hour shift and then following it up with an additional three hours as a volunteer at the RI Free Clinic. But even before the pandemic, her peers recognized Garbers commitment to her profession.

Earlier this year she was selected for the Nurse Practitioner State Award for Excellence by the ANNP. With the pandemic, Sharon is adapting to a new work-life and looking for the positives in change. Being a nurse practitioner often requires long work hours and, Sharon wouldn’t want it any other way. “It’s a real honor, to do what I do. I feel blessed to have taken care of all of my patients I’ve had the pleasure of meeting through the years of my career. I love what I do, every day I go to work and feel rewarded by the end of the day. I am thankful that I truly love what I do,” she said in an interview.

Sharon was selected for the Nurse Practitioner (NP) State Award for Excellence by a committee composed of an AANP representative and 3 to 5 people chosen from inside and outside the nurse practitioner community by the state representative. Rhode Island's AANP representative is Denise Coppa, she won the AANP Advocate State Award for Excellence this year.

The Nurse Practitioner (NP) State Award for Excellence is awarded to a NP in each state who has demonstrated excellence in clinical practice. The association currently has more than 105,000 members.

Sharon was one of four nominated for the award. She was pleasantly surprised when she found out she won. A nurse practitioner can deliver medical treatments and care for a variety of patients, such as those who can’t get an appointment to see a doctor. An NP can prescribe medicine and diagnose problems, usually working under the supervision of a doctor. She would have been honored at the 2020 AANP National Conference, June 23-28in New Orleans but the event was postponed until October 2021.

Sharon works at the Veterans Hospital in Providence. She chose to work there after seeing how the staff cared for her father-in-law. To help combat COVID she was transferred from the Compensation and Pension Department, where she was performing disability exams, to the Urgent Care and COVID screening clinic.

She has seen the impact the virus has on the human body, and to family members who are watching loved ones suffer. Sharon has also experienced the emotional toll it takes to care for COVID patients. Although experiencing the brutality of the disease she continues to look for the positives.

“Perhaps the silver lining for me is the opportunity to work alongside amazing people,” she said.

Supported by her family especially her husband Ken, who is her cheerleader, she continues to do what she loves.

At the age of four, Sharon knew she wanted to be a nurse and so that’s what she became. She earned her undergraduate degree at Adelphi University in New York then went on to complete her graduate degree at Columbia University and finally found her way into Rhode Island earning her post-masters at the University of Rhode Island.

“I chose this career path because we serve the underserved communities. Not just in the city but in rural locations where there are not a lot of physicians.”

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the country could see a shortage of 120,000 physicians by 2030. Nurse practitioners can help fill these gaps but they face regulations set in certain states that reduce or restrict their practice. Rhode Island is one of 21 states and the District of Columbia, which have approved full practice status for nurse practitioners.

Sharon has worked and volunteered in an assortment of locations around the state during her career. She helped out at the Mount Pleasant High School health center where she gave vaccines and sports physicals. Sharon volunteered at an STD clinic in Providence and the Wyatt Detention Facility. Before working at the Veterans Hospital she was employed as a Nurse practitioner at Providence Community Health Centers | Chafee and as a nurse practitioner at Hypertension & Nephrology Inc.

To help her endure during these uncertain times Sharon uses this quote by Ambrose Redmoon: “Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the judgment that something is more important than fear.”