Donna Beard Gilchrist is the mother of a recovering junkie.  She was a very successful Nurse Practitioner with over 45 years of patient care experience.  Donna is a RetiredBoard Certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner. She completed her BSN, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, at California State University, Long Beach.  She attended graduate school at California State University Los Angeles where she completed her MSN, Masters of Science in Nursing.   Her clinical training as a Nurse practitioner was completed in the Kaiser Permanente-CSULA training program in 1975.     

      Donna practiced at Kaiser Permanente in Southern California for 35 years, is now retired after working 12 years  as a College Health Nurse Practitioner at University of Southern California. She was in the past a visiting instructor to a California State University. 

      Donna also taught for many years in a Nurse Practitioner Educational Program. She has been a speaker at numerous continuing education programs for Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants. In addition to her current college health practice, Donna became a popular speaker on campus to student groups about how to stay healthy while attending college.  Donna was blind sided when she discovered that her teenage son was a substance abuser and feels her new mission is to tell parents her story of hope and success. 

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