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Hi, I’m Dr. Heather Zimmerman with Boys Town Pediatrics. For my training, I went to
medical school at the University of Iowa. That’s actually where I did my pediatric
residency and a chief resident year as well. I moved to Omaha in 2007 and have been with
Boys Town since then.
I decided in junior high that I wanted to be a pediatrician. I think, early on, the
reasons I knew I’d like to go into medicine had to do with helping families and working
with kids, which I have always enjoyed. As I went through my education and into college
and medical school, it became clear that pediatrics was going to be the field for me.
One of my favorite things about my job is working with babies and toddlers and their
families. I love working with first-time parents and watching them go from nervous and excited
to experienced pros by the second child.
I try to practice evidence-based medicine whenever possible. I’m a fellow of the American
Academy of Pediatrics and I look to the American Academy of Pediatrics for guidance, in terms
of continuing education and following expert guidelines on what’s the most up-to-date
way to practice medicine. I tell my families, early on, I love antibiotics and I think they
work great but we are going to save them for infections that they will be useful for. We
talk a lot about other things besides antibiotics that help infections and help kids get through
viral infections in particular.
The thing I want people to know about Boys Town Pediatrics is we have amazing access
and availability to our patients. There is a nurse you can talk to 24 hours a day on
the phone, which is really important for first-time parents in the middle of the night. That’s
when questions always come up. You can see a provider almost seven days a week 8 a.m.
to 10 p.m. It’s pretty impressive.