Personal Note from David Julien
Upon obtaining my certification as a Family Nurse Practitioner, I worked for New York University’s Preston Robert Tisch Men’s Health Center for one year. During which time I planned and implemented a Vitality Program for men under the Directorship of Dr. Steven Lamb. This program was a collaborative effort between family medicine and cardiology, orthopedics, gastroenterology and urology and arose from the observation of the number of men who were obese, had elevated cholesterol levels and were also seeking treatment for cardiac disease and sexual dysfunction. Patients were initially treated for weight loss and it was observed that successful weight loss was associated in health outcomes related to cardiac disease, gastrointestinal problems, degenerative diseases and their sexual functioning.
When I embarked on the course of studies toward a Doctor of Nursing Practice at The University of Buffalo, I was excited to use my experience of the observed struggle of many African American men when seeking health care for erectile dysfunction. I believed that my graduate studies would be a most appropriate opportunity to evaluate the dynamics of health care for this group of men with this form of sexual dysfunction. To achieve more in-depth knowledge and experience in this field, I am being mentored by an experienced and respected urologist, Dr. John DeBerry. With over 30 years of experience a leading urologist, Dr. DeBerry has availed his practice and his time for me to gain experience and knowledge in this area of medicine and to conduct this study. I work alongside him in evaluating and treating a broad gamut of urological issues in the community practice as well as in the surgical environment for the past 15 months. I evaluate and treat all the male patients with primary diagnosis of erectile dysfunction. As such, I am well qualified to conduct research on the impact of a teaching intervention that empowers men to discuss their sexual function and evaluate the implications for long term management and adherence.
Although my research experience is limited, Ii had the priveledge to raise six beautiful children instead. I plan to use this opportunity as a novice researcher to launch this phase of my career and plan to continue using my training in research and translation of research into clinical practice with my acquired expertise.
Contributions to Science
Graduate Research: I completed a course of studies at the University at Buffalo as a Doctor of Nursing Practice with a specialty in urology. My research focused on the effect of treatment modalities for erectile dysfunction in African American men when initially diagnosed with erectile dysfunction and low testosterone with multiple comorbidities. There is a gap in knowledge in the approach to men for the assessment of sexual function as part of a holistic physical examination. While erectile dysfunction is multifactorial, assessments can discover underlying pathology, the most critical of which may include cardiac disease and cancer. Research in this area may change the landscape of interactions between patients and providers since providers themselves often shy away from these conversations. My research was published in a respectable urologic journal, Urologic Nursing, in 2020. I continue to review articles for this journal as part of my academic contribution to the science of health and nursing.
