Vanessa Ngotel
January 2026
Vanessa
Ngotel
,
APRN, FNP
Temple Downtown Clinic
Baylor Scott & White Health
Temple
,
TX
United States
She utilizes her ED clinical knowledge to find pieces of the puzzle that other providers sometimes miss.
From the time she started school as an FNP, she always said she wanted to be a Nurse Practitioner for BSW.
She utilizes her ED clinical knowledge to find pieces of the puzzle that other providers sometimes miss. For example, my husband was extremely sick with a mystery illness, and rather than pass him off as just having a cold or some random upper respiratory virus, Vanessa pushed to have him see an infectious disease specialist where we learned that he had a rare form of cat scratch fever and a resurgence of mono from when he was a teenager and required specific antibiotics. Had she not referred him out, he would be at risk for serious life-long complications such as kidney failure and endocarditis, which in a diabetic could have had disastrous consequences.
This is one of many examples that are a true testament to Vanessa’s dedication to her patients.
While we were still trying to figure out what was wrong with him, Vanessa contacted us daily to check on him and ask about his symptoms, and she genuinely worried about him and was trying to figure out how best to help him.
Because of her dedication to her patients, Vanessa doesn’t take no for an answer when it comes to referring patients to specialists, even when the clinical rationale may have more of a watch-and-wait approach.
For example, I had a thyroid nodule found unexpectedly on a scan of my neck last month that was under the qualifying size for a biopsy and ENT consult. Vanessa consulted ENT and pushed IR to do the biopsy because I told her that I felt that something was not right. The result less than a month later was that I had a thyroid lobectomy last week.
One of the most impactful parts of this thyroid journey was when Vanessa sat me down and said no matter what as my friend and my provider that she would be with me through this, knowing that I may have thyroid cancer and need to be on thyroid medication for the rest of my life.
Vanessa has supported me as a friend, provider, and BSW teammate without reservation for years and has truly made a difference in my life and in the lives of her patients and coworkers.
She utilizes her ED clinical knowledge to find pieces of the puzzle that other providers sometimes miss. For example, my husband was extremely sick with a mystery illness, and rather than pass him off as just having a cold or some random upper respiratory virus, Vanessa pushed to have him see an infectious disease specialist where we learned that he had a rare form of cat scratch fever and a resurgence of mono from when he was a teenager and required specific antibiotics. Had she not referred him out, he would be at risk for serious life-long complications such as kidney failure and endocarditis, which in a diabetic could have had disastrous consequences.
This is one of many examples that are a true testament to Vanessa’s dedication to her patients.
While we were still trying to figure out what was wrong with him, Vanessa contacted us daily to check on him and ask about his symptoms, and she genuinely worried about him and was trying to figure out how best to help him.
Because of her dedication to her patients, Vanessa doesn’t take no for an answer when it comes to referring patients to specialists, even when the clinical rationale may have more of a watch-and-wait approach.
For example, I had a thyroid nodule found unexpectedly on a scan of my neck last month that was under the qualifying size for a biopsy and ENT consult. Vanessa consulted ENT and pushed IR to do the biopsy because I told her that I felt that something was not right. The result less than a month later was that I had a thyroid lobectomy last week.
One of the most impactful parts of this thyroid journey was when Vanessa sat me down and said no matter what as my friend and my provider that she would be with me through this, knowing that I may have thyroid cancer and need to be on thyroid medication for the rest of my life.
Vanessa has supported me as a friend, provider, and BSW teammate without reservation for years and has truly made a difference in my life and in the lives of her patients and coworkers.