Raelynn Hilgenfeld, FNPPain Specialists

She describes herself as having a science-minded brain when asked how she made her way to a career in nursing and adding more school to become a nurse practitioner. She said no one in her family or mentor circle growing up worked in medicine but she was drawn to it. Raelynn Hilgenfeld said she was working as a tech for another hospital when she realized she needed to expand her career options and to do that she put herself through nursing school at Colorado Mesa University.

“Just do it,” Raelynn says about staying motivated.

Adult life can create a number of obstacles or present an unlimited amount of excuses to not start or continue furthering your education. She chose to break off three months of graduate school at a time, even accepting a few breaks, but always getting back to it and now she’s added being a nurse practitioner on top of her nursing degree.

“It can be scary to go back to school, but if you need to take a break, take a break. But, just do it,” she added.

Raelynn came to Family Health West in January 2023, working in the FHW Rehabilitative Medicine clinic. She enjoys the long-term relationships she gets to build with patients who typically suffer from chronic pain. The goal is always to improve their quality of life, she said.

She enjoys living in Fruita and working with people who send their kids to the same school as her kids. This community is small enough that people remember you, and she likes that.