Dr. Nelson completed his undergraduate education at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas in 1986. He then completed medical school at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, obtaining his M..D. degree in 1990. Dr. Nelson next completed a 3-year Pediatrics residency training at Baylor College of Medicine's Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, and then completed an additional 3 years of training at Baylor in the subspecialty of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. Dr. Nelson moved to Kentucky in 1996, spending the next 16 years as a faculty member at Kentucky Children's Hospital.During his time at UK, Dr. Nelson treated children at Kentucky Children's Hospital with a variety of complex infectious disease problems, and also served as attending physician on the general inpatient pediatric wards, in addition, he performed basic science research, served 8 years as clerkship director for pediatric medical student education, and most recently served for 5 years as the UK Health Care Enterprise Medical Director for Inflection Prevention and Control. He Joined PAA to pursue his passion of being a primary care provider for children and their families. Dr. Nelson is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics. Dr. Nelson married his wife in 1992 and together they have a son, who was born in 1999. The Nelsons live on a 10 acre farm in southeast Jessamine County.
Dr. Nelson is now accepting new patients.
What are your hobbies?
Golf, sailing, orchids, winemaking, purple martins
Advice for expecting parents:
Meet with pediatricians in your area to find a group that matches up well with you, ask lots of questions, and don’t believe most of what you read on the internet
Advice for new parents:
Trust your parental instincts- you are right 99% of the time! Never be afraid to ask questions. As new parents, be sure and make time for each other away from your baby to nurture and maintain your relationship
Advice for parents of teenager:
"Re-learn" to count to 10 quietly before saying something in frustration to your teen. Remember that your teen still loves you and needs you to set limits even if they act like they do not; you were this way once upon a time! Give them space, but also continue to pull them into family activities and outings
Most important thing you’ve learned by being a parent yourself:
It is the most fulfilling, and yet the hardest thing you will ever do! Also, it is very important to learn to "Be brave, and don't cave"; in other words, you have to learn when to be your kids' best friend, and also when you have to be their least favorite person by setting limits or instilling rules and discipline- they will be better for it later if you are firm and set limits when you need to do so.