Nurse Practitioner Sarah Cunningham has joined Gifford Medical Center’s Hospitalist team. For the last 13 years she has worked as a nurse practitioner at the VA Hospital in White River Junction in the Primary Care; Oncology; and Ear, Nose, and Throat departments.
Cunningham came to nursing with a master’s in Landscape Architecture and experience in wetland restoration design for the Nature Conservancy and at an engineering firm. In her 30’s she returned to school to train as a nurse practitioner.
“No one was more surprised than my family when I went back to school, but going to nursing school felt like coming home. I love working one-on-one with people, and my experience in systems ecology helps me to better understand patients’ histories,” she said. “Project management experience makes me aware of moving a project forward or, translated to nursing and medicine, using every opportunity to help advance a patient’s overall health.”
A board certified Adult Nurse Practitioner, Cunningham received a BS in Nursing and a Master’s in Adult Gerontological Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. She trained clinically at the VA hospital in Philadelphia.
Recently she took a year off from work to white-water kayak in Bhutan and Ecuador, and she spent 18 days kayaking in the Grand Canyon last Christmas. Now back in Vermont, she continues to kayak, cross-country ski, and play hockey (a team sport she learned at age 40!).
