Tamara Banks

I am currently a Family Nurse Practitioner studying for my doctoral degree. I have been in health care for almost twenty-three years. During that period I was a nurse for 14 years and a nurse practitioner for the last nine years of my nursing career. I currently work in primary care with UT Regional One Physicians in Memphis, TN and in retail health at The Little Clinic inside Kroger in Cordova, TN. In the first four years of my nursing career, I was a Licensed Practical Nurse at Methodist Hospital in Memphis, TN. I received my associate’s degree in nursing (registered nurse) from Southwest Tennessee Community College in 2001 and my bachelor's degree in nursing from Baptist College of Health Sciences in 2005. I went to Arkansas State University and obtained my master's in nursing in 2011. I worked varied positions throughout my nursing career which includes the Tuberculous Specialty Unit, Medical Surgical Unit, High Risk Antepartum and Obstetrics, Stem Cell, Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit, Surgical Intensive Care Unit and in Dialysis.

I grew-up in Memphis, TN and both my parents are decreased. I have two beautiful daughters age 13 and 4 years old. I am stimulated by my family, my church and my career. I am extremely diverse in my knowledge and have demonstrated my leadership ability in the past as a manager over a medical surgical unit and over six retail health clinics. My love for healthcare has been instilled in me from taking care of my grandmother in high school who was terminally ill of ovarian cancer. She passed 2 weeks from when I graduated high school. I chose to be a nurse to help patients in need, because of the great nursing care we experienced for my grandmother. I have always wanted to give back to my patients that same wonderful and holistic nursing care that my grandmother received. Secondly, I chose healthcare because helping others and making a difference in another person's life is important to me. I want to teach because I am committed to my on-going education and it will enable me to instill in others the value of treating others like you want to be treated. Obtaining a higher degree enhances my ability to teach at the university level.