Edythe Boitnott is a graduate student in Radford University’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program and works full time as a family nurse practitioner at Danville Neurology Associates. Yet she still makes time to volunteer at the Danville Health Department, where she works with indigent patients.

“It is amazing how people can feel how much you care just by sitting down next to them,” she said of her patients, whose conditions include seizures, migraines, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, neuropathy and chronic pain.

The key to helping them, she said, is “getting at their level, not talking over them, and teaching them in words they can understand. They are so very appreciative and are not afraid to come back for a follow-up visit. “

Boitnott said her philosophy is simply to treat others as you would want your own family to be treated. In her volunteer work, she said, most of her patients are elderly and have limited incomes. Many have little or no health insurance—and that strikes a chord with Boitnott.

“I, too, have been without insurance, and I realize the frustration when you are not able to get the care you need,” she said.

She was also influenced by the emphasis on community outreach and giving back at Radford’s School of Nursing, where she received a master’s degree with a certificate in gerontology in 2006.

Anthony Ramsey, an assistant professor of nursing who has known Boitnott since then, said she is enrolled in his Nursing 804 class this semester. “I find Edythe to be an outstanding nurse practitioner who holds a strong desire to do as much as she can for all of her patients,” he said. “She is so kind-hearted, so down to earth. I know she came back to school so that she can provide her patients with the highest level of care possible.”

Boitnott said she tries not to talk down to patients about smoking, being overweight or not taking care of needs associated with sleep apnea. Because they are already struggling, she wants them to feel comfortable and secure when they see her for treatment.

“Some patients have no alternative but to use their local health departments,” she said. Treatment at a hospital may be beyond what they can pay, or it may result in bills that they will be paying off for years. Further, they may not have or be able to afford transportation.

Boitnott became a registered nurse through the diploma program at Danville Regional Medical Center and received a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Old Dominion University before earning her master’s from RU. When Radford announced its doctoral program, Boitnott felt its online options would be well suited for her. She enrolled in fall 2011.

Boitnott considers Ramsey and Assistant Professor Laura LaRue her teaching mentors. “They are always there to listen and help you. They want their students to succeed and become the best they can be,” she said. “They expect a lot from the students but are willing to give a lot of themselves in return. They are real assets to Radford University.”