Amy M. Manley, FNP-BC
Engaging patients to lead healthier lives.
Whether she is treating a farmer in rural Virginia, a soldier in war-torn Afghanistan or a teenager with a cold in New Orleans, Amy Manley, nurse practitioner specialist at EJ Primary Care Lakeview, continues to focus on how to help her patients lead healthier lives. “Nurse practitioners have a long history of engaging patients in their care, helping them to understand their illness and practical measures they can take for improvements,” Manley says. “By taking the time to listen and to educate our patients, we can improve compliance with treatment plans and reduce unnecessary hospitalization.”
A board-certified nurse practitioner in family medicine, Manley’s advanced training allows her to provide many of the same services performed by physicians. Nurse practitioners in the family practice specialty diagnose and treat patients from childhood to adulthood. They help patients manage their acute and chronic illnesses; conduct physical exams; perform diagnostic tests and procedures; provide prenatal, well-child and adult care checkups; diagnose and manage minor trauma; prescribe medications; and teach health promotion and disease prevention to patients.
As a nurse practitioner, Manley considers the unique health care needs of her patients and seeks to empower them to achieve their wellness goals. “It all starts with teaching them the basics of healthy living, eating right and exercising,” she says. “Just by paying attention to these three things, you may be able to avoid chronic diseases and conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. My patients know that I want them to actively participate in their wellness plan as I will even write out a prescription for daily exercise. They know when they come in for their next appointment, I am not only going to ask them if they did the exercises, I will also ask what foods they ate in the past 24 hours. Some patients just need a gentle nudge to start living a healthier life.”
Family Centered Care
As a family nurse practitioner, Manley also approaches patient care with an understanding of the value of collaborative, family centered care. At EJ Primary Care Lakeview, she works with Dr. Lindsay Ford, an internal medicine physician and Dr. Abhishek Kumar, an orthopedic surgeon. “It is our goal to provide comprehensive services by working with people, their families, care providers and communities to deliver the highest quality of care,” she says. In addition to providing the quality and clinical expertise that patients have come to expect from EJGH, the Lakeview location offers same and next-day appointments and its own imaging center with state-of-the-art digital X-rays, ultrasound (abdominal, pelvic, OB, vascular, thyroid and testicular), mammography, bone density DEXA scans and EKGs.
A Diverse Background
A native of Virginia, Manley grew up in a military family. After attending East Carolina University under the Navy Nurse Candidate Program, she was commissioned in the U.S. Navy. Her career in nursing began in 2008 at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth (in Hampshire, England). Deployed to Afghanistan in 2010, Manley served as an ICU and Critical Care Flight Nurse in the Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit for two years before being sent to Guam. There, she continued her role as a Critical Care Flight Nurse and assisted by transporting critical care patients from Guam to Hawaii. After completing her active duty in 2013, Manley remained in the reserves while she attended the University of Virginia School of Nursing to earn her Family Nurse Practitioner designation and a Master’s Degree in Nursing. She earned her board certification as a family nurse practitioner in 2015.
On making a difference: “While working in intensive care, I was accustomed to seeing very sick patients daily,” Manley says. “I went from critical care to primary care so that I could offer patients education and preventative care. Family practice gives me the opportunity to reach out to my community and take care of patients from all spectrums of life. It is unique because I often take care of the whole family (mom, dad, baby, grandparents). It is a wonderful thing to know you were a part in helping an entire family lead healthier lives.”
On living in New Orleans: “I met my husband, Edwin, while we were both in the Navy and we moved to Louisiana so that he could complete his residency at LSU,” she says. “We love New Orleans and most enjoy walking or riding our bikes around City Park or the Lakefront with our 10 month-old daughter, Julia.”
Lakeview Extended Hours Clinic
7030 Canal Blvd., 2nd Floor
New Orleans, LA 10124
(504) 503-6760