Nurse practitioner enjoying switch to outpatient care at Rockford Gastro

As the newest addition to RGA’s team of advanced nurse practitioners, Marjorie Hotopp is immersing herself in a variety resources to learn more about the GI the field.

She joined Rockford Gastroenterology Associates in December 2016. Hotopp earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) from Northern Illinois University in 2003 and her nursing master’s degree (MSN) and Adult Gerontology Acute Care Certification in 2016 from the University of Illinois at Chicago in Rockford.

Her career began as a nurse in the intensive care unit at Rockford Memorial Hospital, where she would often care for patients with acute or severe GI illnesses. The switch from a hospital inpatient setting to delivering outpatient care at RGA has been a welcome challenge.

”I’m definitely enjoying it," she said. "This group has just been wonderful, giving me the time I need to learn as part of my orientation and enough time to see patients and adjust to everything.”

Hotopp grew up in the Philippines, moving to Rockford with her family when she was 18 after her mother found a nursing job in the Forest City. Most of her family is still in the Rockford area, and they remain close. Hotopp, now 37, lives in Rockford with her husband, Matt, and two children.

She first learned a bit about RGA after shadowing another of our Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Janelle DeFilippis, while she was in school.

”It really sounded like a great place to work," Hotopp recalled. "To be able to have the support of the physicians has been amazing. I can’t ask for more."

Even though she had always "lived" in an inpatient world before coming to RGA, Hotopp was open to the experience particularly after learning how the practice promotes and values their nurse practitioners. Rockford Gastroenterology Associates currently has eight advanced nurse practitioners on staff who utilize their extensive clinical experience to help care for patients at the office and in hospital settings.

”I feel like we’re really part of the group, partners with the physicians," she noted.

A typical day for Hotopp starts at 7:30 a.m. seeing patients for a variety of GI issues. Other activities include reviewing labs and reports and responding to patient inquiries via the patient portal.

One of the most common patient responses she encounters is trepidation about colonoscopies, either about the preparation process or the procedure itself. Most patients after undergoing the procedure comment that the experience was better than they expected, she said.

Hotopp recently attended a conference in Chicago for nurse practitioners and physician assistants sponsored by the American Gastroenterology Association. Continuing education is an integral part of RGA’s practice to improve patient care.

Outside of work, Hotopp is involved with St. Rita Catholic Church – where she sings in the contemporary choir – and the Greater Rockford Filipino-American Catholic Community. She enjoys reading, loves to cook Filipino food and is still getting used to Northern Illinois winters (she’s a self-professed "island girl" who prefers sundresses and flip-flops to snow).

Hotopp said she looks forward to traveling back to the Philippines one day with her family, once the children are a bit older. The Hotopp household is a multilingual one – in addition to English, they speak Tagalog, the national language in the Philippines, and Spanish, as her husband is a Spanish teacher in Rockford.