The way she describes happens to be the way I play, but the soundest advice is what previous posters have suggested...do what feels right to you. If you do decide to keep your fingernails short and play with the flesh of your finger, the skin will eventually build a callous not unlike the ones on your fretboard fingers...at least mine do when I break a nail and try to compensate by plucking the string a little harder.

Regards, Neil