Nurses of Note 2024: The Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

PerfectServe’s Nurses of Note awards program honors those who help us define what it means to be a nurse. They’re selected from a large group of nominees and stand out for their diligence, passion, leadership, and devotion to caring for others.

For the fourth year of the program, PerfectServe is highlighting nurses who have gone a step beyond the rest in their careers. Though we believe all nurses make extraordinary contributions, these honorees stood out to us for their steadfast dedication to the field of nursing, helping to paint a picture of the difference they make for their patients and communities every single day.

In-depth profiles of select winners will be published each month for the rest of the year, so make sure to bookmark our blog to learn more about their stories!

The Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (Fresno, CA) | Minal Patel

Over the four years the Nurses of Note awards program has existed, we’ve had a few repeat nominations and winners. One name has stood out to us since 2022—a nurse who’s been nominated three years in a row by three different people. When we saw her name again this year, we realized this nurse must be something special!

So, we’d like to introduce Minal Patel, CPNP-PC, DNP, a pediatric nurse practitioner at Clovis Pediatric Group in Fresno, CA. Minal has been a nurse practitioner with Clovis for six years but has been in the field for nearly two decades. She’s worked in various units, including medical-surgical, home care, and an oncology clinic. Before this position, she worked as a nurse at Valley Children’s Medical Hospital and still sees some of her patients there per diem.

“With my diverse background and all my nursing experience, I’ve become who I am today,” Minal shared. “I appreciate every single person who has helped me grow into who I am.”

These days, she primarily works as an outpatient primary care pediatric nurse practitioner. From general wellness appointments to more medically complex care, she loves caring for her patients from the time they’re newborns until they’re young adults. This is essential in the Central Valley area, which is a suburban, underserved community. Many of these patients struggle with consistent access to care, and Minal helps to educate their families to the best of her ability.

“In my primary care role as an NP, I see many families struggle to keep their children’s well-being appointments and mostly choose urgent and emergent acute visits,” she said. “I value the little time they take to come to see me and try to instill in them what an integral part of their child’s life they’re helping shape by bringing their child, regardless of where and when the child is seen, as long as they’re taking their children.”

Patient education isn’t the only educational aspect of her role. Minal is on the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) board and has been the education chair and co-treasurer for the past six years. Here, she supports her peers and nursing leadership by bringing educational opportunities to nurses around the country.

For Minal, the passion for education is innate—it’s one of the reasons she has a master’s degree in nursing leadership and management. She has taught various nursing education classes at Valley Children’s Hospital and within Clovis Pediatric Group. She recently brought many new patient education materials and nurse education resources to Clovis, even though they aren’t exactly in her job description. She also precepts nurse practitioner students and teaches at UCSF through Doctor’s Academy, an international consortium of providers. If it’s not obviously already, she simply loves educating others!

We asked Minal what she might say to decision-makers in hospital settings about easing the load nurses carry. She encouraged leaders to recognize nurses and to value each and every nurse as an individual with their own life. She doesn’t want these to be materialistic items or cards but genuine, sincere recognition that advertises the success of each nurse on a regular basis. She suggests recognition titles such as nurse of the month or year and to think about what a nurse experiences in their day-to-day role that they then take home with them. 

For Minal, nursing and education go hand in hand, and her passion for the two only continues to grow. We’re honored to call her a Nurse of Note for the third year in a row, and we can see how passionate she is about educating new and seasoned nurses in all areas of nursing and leadership. It’s no wonder she’s been nominated and chosen as a winner for our program so many times!

Thank You

Minal, your dedication to education and caring for patients throughout their young lives is something that doesn’t go unrecognized. We’re proud to highlight the work you’ve done throughout your career and thank you for what you do for your patients and fellow nurses. Congratulations on being a 2024 (and 2023 and 2022) Nurse of Note!

Q&A 

To learn more about Minal’s life as a nurse, we asked her a few additional questions:

What’s one way technology has improved the way you deliver care and/or communicate with your team? 

Electronic charts and nationally networking electronic patient care records have made access to charts so much easier. Being able to communicate with patients, provide virtual visits, and upload secure images for patients/providers and referrals is so helpful. I can’t wait to see where our industry falls in the next few decades, including technology and how we grow with it. 

Why did you choose to become a nurse? 

I chose to become a nurse because I really enjoy helping people. I love the caring and compassionate aspect of fulfillment that nursing has brought me.

What is the biggest lesson you learned while serving as a nurse throughout the pandemic?

Truly, that unity is our biggest strength.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to your younger self about working in the healthcare industry?

I would say, you’ll eventually become what you’ve always wished for, with perseverance. Never give up! Dreams can be made real!

What do you do to relax after a stressful day? 

I love relaxing with my husband and watching some TV. I also enjoy crafting and spending time with my three amazing children!

What changes would you like to see in the nursing field of the future?

I would love to see the nursing community grow and expand into more leadership roles so everyone’s voice matters. Hierarchy positions in many organizations take credit for the hard and cumbersome tasks that nurses take care of. Nurses are the shoulder that patients and families pour out their hearts to. It’s these same nurses who make a difference, but it’s so hard for them to get recognized.

Some large organizations do a good job with awards and recognition. Small workplaces often won’t showcase the same compassion, and many nurses end up leaving smaller facilities for the recognition of bigger organizations.

If you had to pick one song that describes you as a nurse, what would it be?

I’d choose “Can’t Stop the Feeling” by Justin Timberlake!

Make sure to follow our blog as we publish profiles about more of our amazing Nurses of Note honorees throughout the year!