About Kelly Smiley, MSN, FNP-C

Kelly Smiley, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, is a board-certified family nurse practitioner with a specialization in psychiatry. She sees patients at Magnolia Medical Group, which has locations in Denver and Wheat Ridge, Colorado. 

Kelly graduated with her MSN from the University of Miami in 2010, having obtained her accelerated BSN in 2005 from the same university. She began her nursing career in an intensive/critical care unit. Prior to nursing, she obtained a BA in Spanish literature from the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 1999. Upon completion of her MS, Kelly returned to Colorado, where she'd grown up, to begin her family and professional NP career.

Kelly began her NP career serving nearly six years as a primary care provider and clinic manager of a non-profit federally qualified health center providing free integrated medical, behavioral health, dental, and social services to Native American and Alaska Natives of all ages. She spent one year in geriatric medicine before specializing in psychiatric, mental health, and addiction medicine in 2019.

Kelly's approach is authentic, personable, and holistic. She values getting to know her patients on a personal level, ensuring her clients gain a full understanding of their health issues, and empowering them to collaboratively manage their health conditions and outcomes with her. She prioritizes finding the root cause of one's health problems, prioritizing each client's understanding of their foundational needs to promote their health and well-being. 

Kelly's goal for clients is to thrive, not "just exist" or "get by."  The foundation of her approach is achieving stability in three vital areas of life - work, play, and love. Her goal is to aid clients in achieving success and help them balance the three elements of life that are necessary to thrive - finding purpose in life, ensuring one's self-care and interests are actively enjoyed, and ensuring that one has sufficient social support. She does not "push" medications, is quite conservative regarding prescribing controlled substances, avoids polypharmacy/overmedicating, proactively works with clients towards goals of overcoming dependence on prescribed medications; she does recommend appropriate medication management when appropriate and/or necessary to assist one in achieving stability of symptoms.

Kelly is a first-generation American and former expatriate who's experienced first-hand the unique stressors associated with emigrating to a foreign land, which has helped guide her culturally competent approach to work. She's a world traveler who's lived in Denmark, Costa Rica, and Spain and is a Miami native. Kelly moved to Denver at age 12 and considers this to be her true "hometown." She lived in Lake Tahoe before moving to Colorado, spending many days after school and on weekends training on the slopes, ultimately becoming a ski and snowboard instructor at Breckenridge/Vail Resorts. She's a former long-distance runner, an avid gardener, loves reading just about anything, and she's multilingual - she speaks conversational Danish and Spanish, and she understands basic Norwegian, Italian, and Portuguese. 

When not working, Kelly enjoys spending time with her daughter, husband, and extended family and friends. She's also got a soft spot for animals, currently with three rescues at home.