Episode 029 - From House Calls to Children's books, Dr. Scharmaine Lawson is Transforming Healthcare

Dr. Scharmaine Lawson

Dr. Scharmaine Lawson has a nursing career that spans thirty years, with eighteen of those years being an advanced practice nurse. Her innovative way of educating the youth about the role of the nurse practitioner has elevated the Advanced Practice Nurse. Through a series of educational tools such as dancing mascots, and interactive play, she orchestrates an entire learning production when she visits elementary schools across the country. Her recent show drew greater than 1000 students from Shreveport, La. Nola The Nurse® and Dr. Lawson have also been featured on several national TV outlets and other media. Many of the titles are translated in Spanish and French. 

Dr. Lawson started the first nurse practitioner owned Housecall practice in the State of Louisiana. With greater than 100,000 home visits, it has transformed to meet the widespread needs of the underserved communities of Louisiana. To further extend the reach of her work, she has written a best-selling book, Housecalls 101: The only book you will ever need to start your practice, that outlines how to start a successful house call practice. She details in the book strategies to maintain a house call practice, systems to establish healthy outcomes in underserved communities, and offers inspiration to other nurse practitioners.

To replicate this successful model of care across America, she developed the first house call course in the nation to teach other clinicians how to increase access to healthcare in their communities. To date, more than 600 clinicians and administrators have been trained on how to literally start their practice from beginning to the successful maintenance of their practice once it’s open for business.