Following more than four months of deployment for Operation Enduring Freedom, Stephanie Somersett, RN, BSN, CNOR, RNFA, has returned to her civilian job as a medical aesthetic nurse specialist with Wilmington Plastic Surgery. A registered nurse with more than 30 years of experience, Lt. Colonel Somersett has been a flight nurse with the US Air Force Reserves for 20 years and on the medical staff at WPS since 1994.

From September 28, 2013 until February 6, 2014, Somersett served as the officer in charge of the 10th EAEF Aeromedical Evacuation Operations Team, a highly specialized group that handles the critical process of coordinating the launch and recovery of aeromedical evacuation missions, including critical, urgent, priority and routine care cases. Based out of Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany, these vital patient movement operations fly missions throughout Europe and the Middle East.

"I am extremely honored to have been afforded the opportunity to take part in the complex process of caring for our wounded warriors while they were enroute to more definitive care, and finally the journey home, in a remarkably short period of time," said Somersett. "It’s so rewarding to have been able to touch them as they touched me with their loyalty and commitment to serve our country."

At Wilmington Plastic Surgery, Somersett is a Certified Plastic Surgical Nurse (CPSN) with an abundance of very specialized training, including as an aesthetic consultant exchange (EPIC/ACE) and certified speaker/trainer for Allergan, an international company that produces many pharmaceuticals and products widely used in cosmetic treatments. Her specialties cover all types of wrinkle correcting procedures, including skin care treatments and consults, dermal filler injections, Botox®, laser treatments and ultrasound-based skin tightening.

Somersett said she sees parallels in the two very different types of nursing experiences. "Being part of the US Air Force Reserves, one of the largest teams in the world, equips me to maximize the team approach at WPS," she commented. "We care for our patients in a way that provides them the best results, coordinating their individualized treatment plan to optimize their total WPS experience, whether for surgical or non-surgical procedures, as well as options for maintaining their results. In this, and in my work in the reserves, I strive to help my patients feel their best, both physically and emotionally."

Somersett returned to seeing Wilmington Plastic Surgery patients March 19, and said she is excited about the new technologies and treatments the practice acquired during her absence. "I am returning to a larger team of aesthetic specialists with even more advanced options for our patients," she said. "I am fortunate to have been able to expand the role of nursing into two different careers, and I find both very challenging and rewarding."