When calls went out for NP Hero nominations for National Nurse Practitioner Week, Regis nursing associate professor Angela Kulesza knew exactly who she was going to nominate: Shari Harding, a friend and former faculty colleague.
It just so happens that Harding had the same idea and nominated Kulesza, lead Family Nurse Practitioner faculty and an ’04, ’05, and ’09 graduate of Regis.
“It’s really funny,” said Kulesza. “We didn’t know we had nominated each other. I don’t see myself as a hero but I am very thankful and very honored.” The pair was included among 13 NP Heroes the Massachusetts Coalition of Nurse Practitioners recognized for National Nurse Practitioner week from November 7 to November 13.
“Angela is such an asset to Regis College and our nurse practitioner program,” said Diane Welsh, dean of the Young School of Nursing. “We are very proud of her.”
Kulesza joined the Regis faculty in 2010. She is also a clinician at Global Care Medical Group in Tewksbury where she precepts Regis NP students.
“I always tell NP students, and this was even before the pandemic, that they have to be quick thinking because you never know what is going to come around the next corner,” said Kulesza. “They have to be flexible.”
Nursing was not Kulesza’s first career choice. She graduated with a biology degree and worked for a time in a lab setting and quickly realized it was not for her.
“I was usually by myself or maybe with one other person, but I am very much a people person,” Kulesza explained. “If I could change one thing about the NP field it would probably be the amount of time I get to spend with patients because I want more.”
In her nomination, Harding wrote, “Dr. Kulesza is an NP hero on many levels. She is a full-time nursing faculty member as well as a practicing NP. She has maintained a busy primary care practice during the entire pandemic. She also continues to teach and impact dozens of NP students each year as a professor and preceptor. I first met her years ago as one of her students, but I'm proud to call her a colleague today.”
