Courtney Mitchell, FNP-C
Internal Medicine

Born and raised in Arizona, Ms. Mitchell’s career in healthcare eventually led her to Oregon. Growing up, her parents always encouraged her and her siblings to explore who they were as individuals and encouraged them to identify their passions. For Ms. Mitchell, that meant pursuing a path that enabled her to care for others.

When Ms. Mitchell was around eight years old, her late grandfather took her and her middle sister fishing. While they were fishing, her grandfather hooked himself in the arm. “I clumsily attempted to remove it while my sister wanted nothing to do with the matter.” Her grandfather always said the fishing hook accident led her to pursue a career in healthcare. However, it wasn’t until her grandfather was in a significant motorcycle accident that she remembers feeling a sense of purpose and interest in healthcare as she watched various healthcare professionals work with him. She knew then that she wanted to be a nurse.

After obtaining her RN license, Ms. Mitchell started working as a new ICU graduate. She loved critical care, working with delicate patients, communicating with physicians, and working closely with patient family members. She believed she had found her lifelong career. However, in the ICU, after seeing a specific patient, she discovered the importance of primary care and preventative health. Ms. Mitchell recalled, “He came to me intubated, and I was assigned to care for him day after day. It was early mornings and late nights. We fought for him, everyone on his healthcare team, but he passed after three weeks of fighting. I never spoke with the man that changed my life, but I knew him. I knew his family. I knew his friends. I wished that I could have intervened sooner.” That encounter changed the course of Ms. Mitchell’s healthcare career.

In the many hours spent with the man’s wife, she told Ms. Mitchell that her husband was resistant to making healthcare appointments. He had always felt talked at and not spoken to by healthcare providers. It had always been lecture-like, not conversation-based. The wife believed that if he could have connected with someone, he would have sought care sooner. There was an obvious missed opportunity for making a connection that could have made that difference.

After the patient’s passing, Ms. Mitchell enrolled in a family nurse practitioner program. “I kept that fire in me to deliver excellent preventative and primary care that can lead to a happier, healthier life,” she recalled. “I want to form a unique connection with each of my patients and be able to provide a positive healthcare experience that they desire, and that keeps them coming back.”

Ms. Mitchell enjoys working with a diverse population. However, she holds a particular interest in the LGBTQIA2S+ community. “Historically, many members of this community, including myself, have experienced discrimination of various degrees including (but not limited to) negative healthcare interactions. I want to provide a safe space to deliver patient-centered healthcare for those who feel or have felt they haven’t had quality healthcare interactions in the past.”

Regardless of demographic, Ms. Mitchell likes to integrate proactive interventions instead of reactive interventions when possible. In addition, her approach is holistic. She believes in looking at the body and mind as a whole. For example, dysfunction in the digestive system can impact mental health. If a patient is only treated for depression, the whole health issue isn’t being addressed. “It is important to me to spend quality time with my patients during an appointment, to ask questions, and (more importantly) to listen to their answers to obtain the whole picture that guides the plan of care.”

Ms. Mitchell enjoys spending time with her family and exploring her surroundings, particularly dog-friendly places. She also enjoys learning about indoor and outdoor gardening.

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Courtney Mitchell, FNP-C Video