Michelle Thorsness, CNP, APRN

I am a certified nurse practitioner with professional interests in women's health, pediatrics and adolescent health.

My practice philosophy: My practice philosophy is centered around the idea that my role is to help patients make the best decisions for themselves regarding their health. 

I am passionate about: the idea that we should set goals for ourselves. If we meet them, great! Celebrate our successes! If not, we can be proud of the effort we put forth and what we learned about ourselves along the way. 

If I wasn't a nurse, I would: work with food. I love everything about food. I enjoy growing food in my garden, preserving it and preparing meals for family and friends.  I enjoy both cooking and baking.    

One challenge of this career that I enjoy is: the science of what we know continues to grow and the ways in which we address problems is continually changing so there will be no end to my learning. I get to learn something new every day!

My personal health goal is: to be better about using sunscreen on a daily basis.

The best thing I have done for my health is: everything in moderation. It’s not that you can’t ever eat ice cream or you need to run for 60min every day. Eat smaller, less frequent portions of those things that are favorites but not super healthy. Find exercise that is enjoyable so that you look forward to it and really want to fit it into your daily routine.