Courtney Ramsey, FNP, started out college as a dietetics major, but changed to nursing when she realized that nursing treats the entire patient and not just a part of his/her life. She was a registered nurse for 10 years with mostly intensive care unit experience when she decided to go to graduate school to become a family nurse practitioner. This career change was motivated by wanting to be able to prevent patients from getting so sick that they needed ICU care. Additionally, as a hospital nurse, you don't get to see how patients are doing after they are discharged. As an FNP, she is able to follow them across the spectrum of care.