Watch some of Barbara Dehn's recent TV appearances.

Barbara Dehn has been a women's health nurse practitioner for 21 years. She is a guest lecturer in the nurse practitioner program at Stanford University, where she spent many years providing specialized cardiac services. She has started her own business and has published resource guides for women about pregnancy and fertility. And as an expert in women's health, she speaks at engagements across the country.

All of this stacks up to equal a very successful career. But a single presentation she made to a group of Universal Studios employees kicked her career into a higher gear: A TV producer asked her to speak on her show.

"She said, 'It's live, it's NBC, it's daytime, and 2 million people are going to be watching you.' And I said, 'Well it can't be any worse than working in the ICU!" Dehn says with a hearty laugh.

That first appearance in 2007 on iVillageLive led to many others. Now Dehn, alias Nurse Barb, appears on ABC's "The View From the Bay" in San Francisco and on other networks. She also appears online with her own blog, www.nursebarb.com, and with blog posts and video appearances on iVillage.com. She also writes nonpartisan blog posts on health for the political news site Huffington Post.

"I think what separated me from other health experts on these shows is that I don't speak in jargon. . What you want to say to people is, 'You know, I wish I could tell you diet pills work, but if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.' You want to bring it down to easily relatable phrases."

Dehn has sometimes been able to guide the content of her television appearances. "I was able to suggest topics that might be appealing and then work with the producers to help craft a story that would connect with viewers." She's been able to encourage her producer to talk about abuse, assault and other important health issues that don't often get air time.

"I got her to do [a segment on] miscarriage, which was huge for them to do." Dehn doesn't consider herself a media hound, however. She describes herself as a health educator who takes advantage of a new venue to educate patients.

The media exposure Dehn has garnered has helped her earn credibility with her patients, such as women struggling with postpartum depression who have seen Dehn talk candidly on air about it. She also thinks her TV appearances may make it easier for teens to relate to her. But Dehn says that the media is a paradox because it provides instant credibility despite her previous achievements.

"Once I started to be quoted in Star magazine, my life changed with my family and my friends. . They didn't care that I taught at Stanford . I was quoted talking about Britney Spears and Angelina Jolie, and instantly people were calling me saying, 'Oh my god, finally all that schooling paid off for you!'"

"There's also the cool factor," Dehn acknowledges. "Some people say, 'Wow, my NP's on TV!'" Because she knows how many people she reaches, Dehn is never cavalier about any word spoken publicly. She always insists on being introduced as a nurse practitioner, with the understanding that she's representing nurse practitioners.

"I feel a sense of responsibility to represent them with integrity, credibility, intelligence, warmth and all of the other attributes that we as NPs possess."