About Kristen Jefferies Smith, ARNP
Kristen Jefferies Smith, ANRP
Kristen completed her undergraduate degree in Nursing from the University of Florida in 2003. She then went on to complete her masters degree in Nursing (ARNP) from the University of Florida in 2006. Upon completing her ARNP, she relocated to the Tampa Bay area where she started her medical career.
Kristen completed her clinical training in the Tampa Bay area with a large internal medicine and endocrinology practice. In that setting, she cultivated a passion for understanding the inner workings of the different body systems and became intrigued by the roles each body system played in keeping patients healthy. She soon realized that she wanted to care for her patients as a whole, not just certain aspects of their health.
After completing her training, Kristen went on to join a large internal medicine practice in South Tampa that included women’s health. In that setting, she cared for a variety of patients allowing her to expand her knowledge base and scope of practice. She then transitioned to a large multi-specialty group in South Tampa where she continue her internal medicine practice in a setting with multiple medical specialties, exposing her to many different facets of medicine.
Although Kristen valued the experience she gained over the past 10 years , Kristen realized there were areas of traditional, “Western,” medicine that are not always the most effective approach to patient care. This has led her to transition to a practice more focused on integrative medicine.
As a Nurse Practitioner, Kristen comes from a paradigm that emphasizes wellness. She is fascinated by the way integrative medicine is rapidly evolving and advancing to bring the most cutting edge treatment to our patients. She believes this area of medicine bridges the gaps in “western,” medicine and allows for more optimal outcomes. Kristen has found that she is able to blend her extensive Internal Medicine background with integrative Medicine to better care for her patients in their totality. She continues to broadener her knowledge base, particularly in the areas of hormones and nutrition and the role they play in improving health, quality of life, and longevity. She is constantly searching for ways to mitigate risk factor which can lead to chronic multi-faceted conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.
Working closely with Dr. Michael Heim, Kristen strives to prevent chronic illnesses in order to allow her patients to attain optimal quality of life.
Osteopathic Medicine
Email : info@tampahealthcenter.com