About Rachel Pippenger After many years of working in the area of gastrointestinal (GI) medicine, Rachel Pippenger, NP, transitioned to family practice for the opportunity to do help people in a variety of ways. I love family practice, because you are able to form relationships with people,” she says. Her philosophy as a provider is “safety first.” This has always held true for her whether she was working at Goshen Hospital as a medical surgery nurse, or at the Elkhart Clinic working in GI, where she did office nursing, provided conscious sedation during procedures, or assisted in pre- and post-operative work, or endoscopy procedures. Rachel earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from IU South Bend and her Master of Science in Nursing from Goshen College. An important lesson she learned in her studies was to recognize when you don’t have the answer. Collaboration is important, she says, adding, “I’m not afraid to tell people if I don’t know something, but I assure them I will always find answers.” Since 2015, she has worked in Bremen, managing her own panel of patients with chronic conditions including; diabetes, COPD/asthma, hypertension, women’s health, children’s health, and psychiatric care. Rachel was excited for the opportunity to work in her own community. No matter where she is or what she is doing, Rachel says she continues to learn empathy and patience from her patients. Her approach to practicing medicine is to make decisions based on evidence and she wants her patients to know that she will always be their advocate. In her own words… Who is or was the most influential people/role models in your life?  My parents. What was your first job growing up? What do you remember about it?  Working at GL Perry Variety Store. It was boring and retail was not for me. What is your favorite food? Movie?  Anything Thai.  My favorite movie is Simon Birch. What was your best/worst subjects in school growing up?  Best -  English; Worst – Math If you could sit down to dinner with anyone (alive or deceased) who would it be and why?  Ghandi -- his passivist-approach for conflict resolution.