Dr. Jacqueline Gulstone: Changing health behaviors in our communities

Dr. Jacqueline Gulstone: Changing health behaviors in our communities

Jacqueline Gulstone was born in Georgetown, Guyana. Her nursing career took off in 1979 when she graduated as an RN from the Public Hospital Georgetown School of Nursing and two years later as a registered midwife.

After emigrating to Brooklyn, she worked at area medical facilities including Brookdale Hospital Medical Center where she currently practices as a board certified family nurse practitioner. She has also continued her education and holds a PhD, MSN, CNS and FNP-BC.

Dr. Gulstone chose this field because it offers an “opportunity to serve others and influence their health outcomes in a very personal way.” She believes deeply in the transformative power of working with patients individually and has enjoyed 39 years in this field.

Not only does Dr. Gulstone tirelessly provide healthcare services and education in Brooklyn and her local community but also throughout the Caribbean as a volunteer. Her medical trips have taken her to Jamaica, Haiti and Guyana, during the floods.

Through her efforts, medicines and medical supplies are donated to these countries including the procurement of more than 500 hospital beds and medical equipment to Guyana.

Additionally, she has partnered with the UN in a documentary, focusing on migration of nurses from the Caribbean and its affect on healthcare there and in the United States.

Dr. Gulstone serves as a preceptor, mentor, and proctor to nursing students at all levels and is a regular presenter at career day programs for middle and high school students.

She says, “My plans are to continue to work in underserved communities, providing primary care to families; teaching and conducting research, and utilizing these findings to change health behaviors in our communities.”