Nursing is truly a family matter for Family Nurse Practitioner Becky Traquair. But it might not have been if the Boothbay resident had followed her mother’s advice.

“My mother, Virginia Roberts, was a nurse. I always wanted to be a nurse but my mother didn’t want her children to go into nursing because at the time she felt nurses weren’t treated well.”

Traquair tried teacher’s college, but the lure of the nursing profession was strong, and after she became a mom, she started the coursework toward her nursing degree.  

Completing her classwork and clinicals, she graduated as a registered nurse from the University of Maine at Augusta in 1982. She only missed two days of class, despite having a baby and three other children at home.

Nursing became even more of a family matter when Traquair started working at St. Andrews Hospital alongside Roberts, who she said “was strict.” At St. Andrews, Traquair gained experience in obstetrics, surgery and emergency medicine.  

Wanting a change to a daytime schedule, Traquair worked at Bath Memorial Hospital before the family moved to Oregon in 1987. There, she worked at the McMinnville Community Hospital for three years, then moved back to the Boothbay region.  

In addition to studies, her family and work, Traquair traveled four times to the Dominican Republic, assisting with trauma clinics in the center of the island after Hurricane Georges struck in 1998. Her husband Russell joined her there, helping roof houses and assist patients with triage and wound care. 

Traquair earned her master’s degree and became a family nurse practitioner (FNP) in 2001, the same year she joined Dr. Nancy Oliphant’s practice in Boothbay Harbor. Since then, she has become a popular member of the practice.

This year marks her 36th in nursing.

She enjoys being part of the Boothbay Region Health Center staff.  “You never know what you’re going to get.” Traquair credited her years of emergency room and other experience with her ability to tackle a range of medical situations.

Asked about the recent transition to the BRHC, Traquair answered, “It’s been good and not as much of a transition as I thought it would be. People trust us because we’ve been here for a long time."

Traquair sees patients at the center in the Meadow Mall on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  When patients ask her if she’s going to retire, she reassures them she has no plans to retire “yet.”

Asked about her mother’s wish from years ago to keep her children out of nursing, Traquair smiled.  Her own daughter, Samantha, is a local home health nurse and Traquair’s sister, Sally, is a nurse in Virginia. Three of her mother’s grandchildren are now nurses. 

Roberts’ children chose to follow her example and not her advice.