Nursing National Nurses Month Celebration May 1-May 31

Nurse Celebrates 25 Years

Working at UR

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

This year, Julie Berkhof celebrates an important anniversary: 25 years of working for the University of Rochester.

Now serving as director of the Wilmot Cancer Institute Regional Nursing Practice and senior nurse practitioner at Wilmot Cancer Institute, Berkhof became interested in nursing as a youth because of a relative who worked as a nurse.

“She really inspired me at a young age to see what nurses could do and how many opportunities nurses had,” Berkhof said. “For me, it was about being able to see you could do nursing in so many different areas. There was so much growth and opportunities in the profession.”

She obtained her licensed practical nurse credential in 1995 at Bay College in Michigan, and two years later, her associate degree.

“Ongoing and continuing education is part of our drive as nurses,” she said. “For me, back then, it was really hard and competitive to get into nursing programs. I had to find a way to get in and not through the bachelor’s program.”

She moved to Rochester later and started as an RN at University