Zyra D. Gordon-Smith, DNP, APN, FNP-BC, AACRN, AAHIVS
Assistant Medical Director and Family Nurse Practitioner at Howard Brown Health
Why did you decide to pursue a career in HIV care and research?
My introduction into HIV care was serendipitous. I was a new nursing graduate in 1981 and started my first job at Michael Reese Hospital on a med-surg unit that was designed with multiple rooms for respiratory isolation. We had several young men hospitalized with a weird pneumonia and other now known HIV-associated diseases like Kaposi sarcoma. When I left the hospital setting to go to home care at Rush Medical Center, I was performing pentamidine inhalation treatments, blood transfusions and drawing labs for home-bound patients that were having their HIV managed by infectious disease medical providers. This was a very dark time, but I'm grateful that I was able to witness directly the miraculous effect of protease inhibitors when they became a treatment option. I did part of my clinical rotations for my FNP program at an HIV clinic, and became part of the team upon graduation in 1999. I didn’t plan this, but I’m very proud of my journey in becoming an HIV nurse.
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
I'm proud of my work at Federally Qualified Health Care clinics. I feel so blessed to work in these clinic settings that allow patients to have access to care for the management of HIV in their own communities. I also feel proud of the work my clinic site has done in promoting PrEP in women of color. We recently received a research grant from CFAR in which Howard Brown, Northwestern and University of Chicago presented the findings regarding barriers and solutions in a virtual community forum. Now, with the presence of PrEP, I want to work very hard in preventing new HIV infections. With the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines, I am combating myths and misconceptions whenever I can. I’m also immunizing patients at mass vaccination events to help protect the community that I serve. We were able to render 408 vaccines at a church on the south side and people were so grateful.
What do you enjoy most about being an ANAC member?
I truly enjoy the camaraderie with members who share the same passion in providing excellent care to those living with HIV. I love coming to the
conferences to witness the brilliance of nurse scientists and educators, but I really like connecting and catching up with colleagues from other states. I am a member of the
Chicago chapter, affectionately known as CNAC, and currently serve as the president. We recently celebrated our 30th anniversary in December 2019 before the world changed.
Anything else you would like your fellow ANAC members to know about you?
I love House music (it’s a Chicago thing) and love to dance to it. I really need this pandemic to end so that I can get a chance to burn off a bunch of these accumulated calories!
