Rachel McCarrison

Rachel McCarrison grew up in Irwin, PA, with an older brother, an older sister, and a twin sister. She loves being a twin, and says that she and her sister were inseparable as kids. As adults, they share another common bond: Rachel is a pediatric NP; her sister is a PA in pediatric orthopedics.

Rachel earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Point Loma University in San Diego, California. She came home to Pittsburgh to work in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Hospital. Two years into her time at Children’s, she decided to go back to school to become a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner.

For three years, she worked full-time in the PICU while also going to grad school at the University of Pittsburgh. For her thesis work at Pitt, she evaluated a CPR educational program at the South Hills YMCA. The manuscript from her research has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Pediatric Health Care.

Rachel and her husband, Scott, have two wonderful daughters, Nora and Amelia. Both girls were born with a rare condition called Pierre Robin Sequence, which required them to spend the first month of their lives in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and to have multiple corrective surgeries. Those experiences have given Rachel a special passion for taking care of children who face medical challenges.

Both of Rachel’s girls are proud Kids + Kids (they love Jonette!). Rachel and Nora were regulars at New Mom’s Coffee and Not-So-New Mom’s Coffee, and they hung out at Toddler Time as often as their busy schedules would allow.

As a child, Rachel’s favorite toys were her dolls — baby dolls when she was younger, Barbies when she got older. Her favorite places to “play” in Pittsburgh are the Water Steps on the North Shore (for special day outings) and all over South Park (for regular walks, runs, and playground trips with her girls). She also loves taking her girls to all sorts of other cool spots around the city, including festivals, spray parks, and the Children’s Museum.

In her spare time — not that she has much these days! — Rachel loves running and yoga, spending time with friends, and going out for brunch — her favorite spot is Coca Café in Lawrenceville.

To learn more about Rachel, check out her installment of Kids Plus Q&A: