Emily Hopkins is a wife, a mother, and a nurse. Both her role at home as a wife and mother and her role as a nurse at Associated Pediatricians’ Portage office are integral to her life.
Prior to the birth of her son, Archer, Hopkins worked full-time as a nurse at Associated Pediatricians. Now she splits her time between work and staying home with Archer.
“I worked full time up until literally the day I had him,” Hopkins said. “Right now, I'm just working one to two days a week, but I love it.”
While her first priority is her family, Hopkins is very passionate about her work.
“I'd rather be home with Archer, but I still miss my job and love going to work,” she said.
For Hopkins, becoming a mother has allowed her to grow in her role as a nurse.
“I definitely understand the parents when they call and are frantic,” Hopkins said.
In Hopkins’ immediate family, there are not many in the medical field. In fact, Hopkins was one of the first to pursue nursing or anything medical-related at all. Her cousins soon began pursuing similar paths shortly after she started nursing school.
“A few of my cousins are nurses, but we all went to nursing school roughly at the same time,” Hopkins said.
Hopkins earned her nursing degree prerequisites at Indiana University Northwest in Gary, Indiana and her associate degree in nursing at the University of St. Francis in Crown Point, Indiana.
One of Hopkins’ draws to nursing was her love for children. Today, she is able to work with children at Associated Pediatricians.
Hopkins partly attributes her passion for working with children to her experience as an only child. She did not grow up with siblings and missed having other children around to interact with on a regular basis.
“I was the only child growing up, so I don't know if wanting to be around kids now has anything to do with it,” she said.
At one point, Hopkins intended to be an emergency room nurse. Then, she discovered her passion for pediatrics.
“I just really like my specialty,” she said. “While I was going through nursing school, I wanted to be an emergency room nurse, but then I did my clinicals for pediatrics, labor and delivery, and everything else. I was like, ‘No, I definitely think I want to be with kids.’”
Hopkins has been employed as a nurse at Associated Pediatricians in Portage for five years. Prior to her current role, she worked in the intermediate care unit at Northwest Health - Porter as both a nurse and certified nursing assistant
In her free time, Hopkins enjoys crafting, such as making t-shirts and tumblers. She also enjoys spending time with her family, including her husband Jerath and their two dogs, Gunner and Axle.