Denise Tran

Nurse Practitioner at Better Health Anchorage

I’m a Nurse Practitioner here at Better Health. One of my primary tasks is to do assessments and develop treatment plans to best treat the client’s needs. To that end, I do things like ordering diagnostic tests, performing trigger point injections, and doing intra-articular injections. 

My Goal as a Nurse Practitioner

I am always trying to put the clients first and I strive to excel in the following areas:

Attentiveness/being a good listener: A physical assessment can give you the gist of what a patient’s problems are, but if you listen to them and get a good history that will deepen your understanding and help you treat the patient in a more holistic fashion.

Integrity: In order to build trust, you need to be upfront and honest. That’s why I’m always a straight-shooter with my patients, co-workers, and the people I know.

Competence: I’m also always trying to hone and fine-tune my skills. As a result, I’m always working on continuing my education, constantly training, and mentoring. Medicine is a constantly evolving field.  New techniques and technologies are constantly being developed. You can’t succeed unless you keep abreast of all these changes. So, you are constantly having to learn – which I like.

Empathy: Of course, medicine isn’t just limited to technical skill with tools and medications. There’s a human-side, as well. Treating clients as people and focusing on a person-centered care approach is another top priority of mine. I don’t want to reduce my practice to strictly routine guidelines. There’s more to it than that.

Overall, I particularly like that Better Health shares my belief in a person-centered care approach and that patients here can receive all the different modalities in one location. It’s also great that each part of the practice (chiro, Therapeutic exercises, myo) compliments the other parts. This helps the patients progress through their therapy quickly, efficiently, and effectively.

And our patients are great, too! I respect and admire the tenacity and commitment of those patients who have to come in 3-4 days a week for treatment. It’s rewarding and fulfilling to watch them progress through their therapy and regain their health.

My Background

I grew up in Iowa and received my BA in Psychology from Saint Louis University in St. Louis, MO, After that, I earned both my BSN and my MS/Nurse Practitioner degrees from Regis, University in Denver, Colorado. 

As far as what drives me, I’d say the positive outcomes, the smiles,  and the happiness I see on our patients’ faces are the things that get me out of bed every morning. I find my job very rewarding.

As pastimes, I enjoy snowboarding, traveling, sewing, knitting, cooking, hiking, scrapbooking, and spending time with my dogs: Lucky and Lincoln. I’m passionate about my service to the community:  I believe in giving back and have volunteered my services to a number of organizations. 

I’m also passionate about conservation, decreasing waste, and protecting the environment. I’m a strong believer in health and fitness, too. Staying active, eating healthy, and maintaining a healthy weight are not only good for your physical health but they are good for your emotional health as well.