Practice Owner, Podcast Host, Author, and Policy Maker

When Dr. Terri DeNeui first entered nursing school more than three decades ago, becoming a nurse practitioner wasn’t part of the plan—it wasn’t even on the radar. “I honestly didn’t know nurse practitioners existed,” she recalls. “I thought you were either a nurse or a doctor.”

A young mother in her twenties, she chose the fastest path to a stable income: an ADN program. While waiting tables alongside her husband, she knew one thing for sure—she wanted more. More knowledge. More autonomy. More answers. That curiosity didn’t always fit the nursing culture at the time. “I was always asking physicians why,” she says. “Not to challenge them—I just wanted to learn. Back then, that wasn’t encouraged.”

One instructor, however, changed the trajectory of her career. After hearing her ambition to eventually become a physician, the instructor offered a pivotal insight: the nursing model of care—holistic, patient-centered, and relational—was fundamentally different from the medical model. She suggested considering the nurse practitioner path. “That conversation stuck with me,” she says. “It explained why I was drawn to root cause thinking and treating the whole patient.”

A Career That Could Evolve

Dr. DeNeui moved seamlessly from ADN to BSN, then to a master’s degree at the University of Texas and later completed her doctorate after years of clinical practice. Her early career spanned emergency medicine and labor and delivery—fast-paced environments that suited her well. “I thought I’d never want to sit in an office all day,” she laughs.

Today, she owns and operates two thriving, NP-led clinics—EVEXIAS Medical Centers in Southlake and Rockwall, Texas—proving just how flexible and expansive an NP career can be.

EVEXIAS is built on a foundation of preventive, root-cause medicine, with a strong focus on advanced endocrinology, hormone optimization, thyroid health, and integrated care. The clinics are cash-based, insurance-free, and busier than ever. “Patients are tired of being sick and tired,” she says. “They’re done with the prescription hamster wheel.”

With a team of six to seven nurse practitioners, EVEXIAS sees thousands of patients each month—largely through word of mouth. The demand, she believes, speaks directly to the value of NP-led care. “Patients love the time we spend with them. They feel heard.”

A Defining Moment—and a New Direction

Dr. DeNeui’s shift into advanced hormone and regenerative medicine began unexpectedly at an integrative health conference. “I walked into a hormone lecture thinking it had nothing to do with me,” she admits. “I was an acute care NP, and hormones were ‘primary care stuff.’”

But as the speaker described hormones as the foundation of chronic disease and shared a powerful patient story, everything clicked. “I knew, in that moment, this is what I’m supposed to do.”

She began an intense period of learning, opening her clinic while still working in the hospital for five years. What she saw repeatedly in practice, especially among women, changed her forever. “The relief from depression was profound,” she says. “So profound that it became the focus of my doctoral research.”

Dr. DeNeui’s research demonstrated remarkable outcomes using targeted hormone therapy, particularly testosterone in women, results that far exceeded traditional antidepressant response rates. “That’s when I realized how much we’re missing.”

Healing Families, Not Just Patients

One patient’s story still brings emotion to her voice.

A woman in her sixties, encouraged by her daughter, came to the clinic after decades of feeling miserable. Her husband, a retired gynecologist, was skeptical but open.

After treatment, the patient returned in tears. “She told me she hadn’t liked her husband for 25 years, and now realized it wasn’t him. It was how she felt in her own body.”

Weeks later, the husband became a patient himself. “Thank you for giving me my wife back,” he said.

Moments like that define her work. “When you restore health, you restore relationships. That’s what fuels me.”

Educating Clinicians Nationwide

In 2018, Dr. DeNeui expanded her impact by founding EVEXIAS Health Solutions, a clinician training company dedicated to regenerative and preventive medicine. Each month, hundreds of clinicians—about half of them nurse practitioners—train through EVEXIAS in hormone optimization, nutrition, peptide therapies, gut health, and longevity-focused care. “We’re trying to shift healthcare from disease management to true prevention,” she explains.

She is also the host of The Dr. Terri Show, a weekly podcast focused on education and integrative medicine, and the author of Hormone Havoc: Dispelling the Myths & Misconceptions about Hormones in Women and Men, published in both English and Spanish.

“This isn’t just a hormone book,” she says. “It’s about quality of life and chronic disease. Hormones affect every single cell in the body.”

Advocacy, Policy, and the Future of Care

Dr. DeNeui’s influence now extends beyond clinics and classrooms into national health policy. As a member of the America First Policy Institute’s Women’s Initiative, she contributes to policy development around women’s and children’s health, nutrition, and preventive care. “It’s not glamorous, and it’s slow,” she says of policy work. “But it’s necessary.”

Dr. DeNeui is also passionate about NP advocacy and membership engagement. “We have to stay informed and united,” she urges. “Organizations like TNP serve as our voice.”

Living Well—and Still Learning

Outside of work, she escapes into historical fiction and dreams of returning to scuba diving—“the only place where my brain truly shuts off.” Like many clinicians, she admits she’s still working on practicing the self-care she teaches.

Dr. DeNeui’s guiding principle remains simple and unwavering: “Get well and live well—mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually. Because when you’re just surviving, nothing else matters.”

For nurse practitioners wondering how far their career can go, her journey offers a clear answer: as far as you’re willing to imagine and advocate for.