PHIL SCHAFER, MSN, FNP, AG-ACNP, CFRN

I love to help and inspire men to take control of their personal health, but I also love to have fun too; I love to mountain bike, hang out with my family of five and anything that involves serving the people around me.

As a successful emergency room nurse, flight nurse, and now nurse practitioner in the hospital; Phil has taken care of the sickest of the sick, from the very young, to the very old.  He holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Northern Arizona University (NAU), a Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) at the University of South Alabama (USA) and is a published author in the Journal of Emergency Nurse Practitioners.  Phil is a dual board certified family and acute care nurse practitioner enabling him to take care of the whole lifespan in both an inpatient and outpatient setting.  He currently holds and maintains full hospital privileges at Yavapai Regional Medical Center in Prescott, AZ.

MY STORY

So here I am in my early 30s and my wife is noticing that I am absolutely tired all the time; needing naps in the middle of the day, often waking up tired, consistently feeling chronically fatigued.  My wife said to me “I am 9 months pregnant and you are more tired than me!”; knowing something was wrong, I decided to go nuclear to try and figure out what was wrong with me.

I met with multiple primary care providers and specialists.  I had all my hormones and vitamin levels checked via bloodwork.  I then met with a pulmonologist and had 2 sleep studies because I was waking up tired all the time.  I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, REM sleeping disorder, and obstructive sleep apnea at the age of thirty-four.  I was placed on CPAP, given meds to help me sleep and placed on hypothyroid medications. 

Now I feel better than I ever have, and have the energy to keep up with my crazy family of five.  Obtaining help with my medical issues in this community was a lot harder than it should have been.  I felt like there was a need for more male-focused care in our community and hence Tri-City Men’s Health was born.