Leslie Kaniuk, NP - Beacon Medical Group Neurology South Bend

About Leslie Kaniuk An introduction to the healthcare field for Leslie Kaniuk, NP, began with her caring for people as a Certified Nursing Assistant in a long-term care facility. “This is where my passion for healthcare developed. I became vested in the patients’ lives and had a genuine desire for their wellbeing,” she says. Leslie earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Purdue University Northwest, Westville, IN, and her Master of Nursing from Purdue Global University, Lafayette, IN. She has experience as an RN in Immediate Care Units, and also emergency and neurology departments. Leslie’s positions have been in outpatient, inpatient, long-term care, and homeless shelters. Through her experiences, she has learned that patients want to make their own decisions. She uses the knowledge and experience gained about disease process and treatment options to help patients make educated decisions on what to do with their health. “To me an important part of delivering patient care involves the patient’s perception of health,” she says. Her decision to focus on patients with neurological needs came from an awareness gained in her work. “Nursing has taught me that to practice I have to draw from multiple disciplines including psychology, sociology, ethics, science, and medicine,” she says. “This field has patients with complex chronic diseases requiring a practitioner to place the patient at the center and work to achieve their health goals. These patients have needs beyond the pathophysiology of the neurological condition and require their healthcare professional to be part of a collaborative team to meet their needs,” she says. In her own words… Who is or was the most influential people/role models in your life? My mentor and collaborating physician. What was your first job growing up? What do you remember about it? My first job was picking blueberries. I remember it was hot. What is your favorite food? Movie? My favorite food group is pasta and my all-time favorite movie is My Girl. What was your best/worst subjects in school growing up? My best subject in school was reading comprehension; my worst subject was math. If you could sit down to dinner with anyone (alive or deceased) who would it be and why? If I could sit down with anyone for dinner it would be Jean Watson. She developed the theory of nursing. This was the first thing I had heard that made sense of what I think and feel and about what I wanted to do as a career. In addition to medicine, what are you passionate about? Besides medicine I am passionate about connections with people in my life, meaning I like to spend time with people. I have been responsible for hosting multiple events where past and present friend groups get together. What are your hobbies, interests? I love to read or listen to audio books. Other than that, I feel like I have done a poor job of developing interests outside of family and work, so I have been on a mission to learn how to golf. I haven’t started yet but I am determined. Do you have pets? I have one dog, named Daisy. She is an Airedale/Collie mix and she is the “goodest” girl. What is something most people don’t know about you? I am seriously an open book. I do not know that there is anything, except I have one reality TV show that I am obsessed with.