Kay Nelson, M.D.

A career in medicine meant that Kay Nelson could combine her love of the sciences with her passion for caring for others. She received her M.D. from Louisiana State University Medical Center and completed a Family Practice Residency Program at the University of Alabama. Dr. Nelson is a board-certified Family Medicine physician with 26 years of healthcare experience. Before joining CenterWell Senior Primary Care™, she worked at East Texas Community Health Services, and prior to that, started up a rural clinic where she successfully provided the area with much-needed efficient, quality healthcare – and where most of her patients were over 65. She also worked at Willis Knighton Hospital System, in addition to various locum tenens positions in between. Dr. Nelson says she feels confident in her role as a physician, but is not afraid to ask for help “when my expertise runs short,” she says. To ensure patient satisfaction, Nelson believes you need to listen carefully, observe patients’ body language, and make sure they don’t leave the exam room with unanswered questions. To her, the ideal doctor-patient relationship is achieved by honoring a patient’s personal validity, being respectful of any difficulties in communication, and “taking the time to reach beyond any façade,” she adds. According to Dr. Nelson, each patient deserves to be heard, and she admits that the greatest reward is “seeing people that were unwell become well again.” Dr. Nelson has three grown children and five growing grandchildren. When she is not caring for patients, she likes reading and spending time with her grandkids.