My nameÕs Amanda Carter. I am a nurse practitioner at UVA Neurosurgery. I work in the spine center at UVA, and I work with Dr. Justin Smith. He specializes in complex spine deformity corrective surgeries. When I got out of high school, I went into the military. I joined the army when I was 18, and I did a four-year enlistment. And then I, after that, decided to pursue nursing. IÕve always known from a young age that I wanted to take care of people in some form or another. Really, IÕve always wanted to work in healthcare. Being able to provide compassionate care has kind of molded me into the provider that I am today, and how I interact with my patients. Spinal deformity corrective surgery is not a surgery that is offered everywhere. It is a very specialized area of neurosurgery. You have the opportunity to receive care that is most up-to-date with the most recent research technology studies. You have specialized nursing units, for example, where the nurses specifically work with this type of patient, which is valuable in the post-operative period. How I interact with my patients, making them feel comfortable, making sure that they understand everything that is going on in regards to their surgery, recovery. Even if theyÕre not having surgery, just helping them understand their symptoms and how to help them is probably what IÕm most passionate about.