Stephanie Perkins, APRN, is a pediatric nurse practitioner who specializes in treating children with epilepsy and other neurological issues.
Perkins says she always knew she wanted to work with children and originally envisioned designing her own daycare as she was interested in child development.
“But when my son was young, he had a nurse practitioner and I loved her. She was very holistic, and that got me on the path to becoming a nurse practitioner myself,” Perkins says.
She practiced pediatric primary care for many years before deciding to focus on pediatric neurology. “I always enjoyed working with patients who had neurologic concerns because of my interest in child development, which is based partly on genetics and environment, but neurology is such a major piece of it,” Perkins says.
When she meets a child and their family, Perkins says she first lets them ask her whatever questions they may have. “Often, what I need to know comes out of that, and when talking to children, I find a way to explain things that make sense to them, depending on their age,” she says. “Sometimes I say that the brain has wires in it and sometimes those wires make your body do things you don’t want it to do.”
The best part of her job, she says, is seeing kids on a follow-up visit. “The first time, they might be tense or scared and don’t know what is happening with their body, but when they come back in, they are happy and they understand things better,” she says. “There are many medications and lifestyle changes we can offer children with epilepsy, and also surgery when needed. The sooner we can manage seizures, the sooner a child can get back to swim practice or whatever other activities they enjoy.”
