>> Hi, I'm Susie Adams.
I'm the Director of the Psych Nurse Practitioner
Program at Vanderbilt School of Nursing.
>> Susie, can you tell us a little
bit about what that job entails?
>> Sure. First of all, there is more
than just teaching in Psych NP Program
as in all advanced practice curriculums.
We're looking for faculty that both practice
and teach and have an interest in research.
So, while I coordinate all the
courses and teaching in number,
I also oversee clinical placement sites
for the students both locally and distance
and I practice one-day a week where
I'm doing management in psychotherapy
for a client case load down in Brent Wood.
And I also am involved in some research
efforts looking at interventions
that may have positive outcomes for some
of the patients in health care settings.
>> That's fantastic.
Susie, could you maybe talk about
some of the different avenues
and career opportunities
within the field of nursing?
>> I'd be happy to.
You know most people in the general public,
when they think of nursing,
they think of bed side nursing.
And truly, there is a whole continuum spectrum
of opportunities in terms of where we practice,
the level of practice and also the
educational preparation needed for that.
Obviously, there's a great means in this country
for bed side nurses and they are typically RNs
that come out of associated degree
programs and baccalaureate programs.
We're seeing more of in need in
terms of advanced practice nurses
who are either nurse practitioners
or a certified nurse midwives,
clinical nurse specialist who get involved in
the diagnosis and treatment of common medical
and in my specialties, psychiatric problems.
These are acute or chronic.
They're practicing in hospitals, in the
community, in clinics, private practices,
all across the country and they're really
going into areas where underserved populations,
either uninsured or underinsured;
in urban settings,
in rural settings; there's a tremendous need.
So, you know, in terms of preparing
nurses for that, there is a variety
of educational preparation needed also.
Nurses that are being prepared
to do bedside nursing.
You might see baccalaureate or master's level
nurses in schools of nursing preparing them.
For people that are pursuing the doctorate
of nursing practice or the Ph.D. in nursing,
then those-- those nurses and educators prepare
them or prepared at the doctorate level.
The DNP is relatively new degree and it is the
terminal degree for advanced practice nurses.
The Ph.D. is the terminal degree for
research and prepares nurse scientist
to investigate areas of interest
regarding healthcare.
And I would also add health policy, informatics,
understanding how to manage populations
and improve health outcomes as growing need and
also great area of opportunity for career paths.
>> With all the different paths there,
are there different sort of skills
and maybe personality traits that
go along with that that maybe kind
of better suited for some folks and others?
>> Well, I'd like to think there's
something for everyone in nursing,
truly people that have a direct desire to with
patients to understand the human experience.
Those people may be drawn more to
direct practice either at the bedside
or as an advanced practice nurse.
Nursing as a career really embraces what I think
are the best of three different areas of study
and that includes the biological,
the psychological and the social.
You know, we really have had an
age where nursing preparation,
you really have to know a lot more
of the biological, the genetics,
the neuroscience behind why we do what we do.
And then in the psychological
field, we're looking at behaviors
and what motivates behaviors and why are-- what
are the barriers and what would help adherence
to a medication, to an exercise or a nutrition,
lifestyle that can really change how that comes.
And then the third area is in the sociological
areas because we look at the individual
within the context of their family, their
community, the international community
and international and what motivates us.
You know, what do we take?
So it blends all three of those arenas.
>> Susie, you seemed very happy
just to kind of talking to here.
Can you touch on what you like
about, you know, what you're doing
and then briefly maybe some
of the challenges of your job?
>> Okay, first and foremost, I've always been
a clinician, started out as a bedside nurse.
So, as I say to people, they are
going into advanced practice nursing.
You can't take the nurse out of
nurse practitioner or nurse midwife.
So, I'm passionate about
always still practicing.
I think it grounds my teaching.
It makes me relevant.
It makes me stay abreast of what's happening in
the field, about from medications I prescribe,
the therapist that I'm delivering.
And then, I'm also believer
in life long learning.
You're never too old to go back and
do more training, more education.
So in my 50s, I went back into the Ph.D. in
nursing and was a pre-- I was bitten by the--
bitten by the research [inaudible].
So now I am looking at my population of
interest is women coming out of incarceration,
who have both mental health
and substance abused problems.
My dissertation study focused on that
and now, I'm looking at interventions
that hold promise in terms of piloting those.
I have recently written an NIH grant,
waiting to hear about the funding decision.
But I would say I love to be
involved with patient care.
I love to teach and I think I have a
neck for doing that and now with my--
you know, later chapters of my
career, I'm involved in research.
So never too old [laughs] to learn
and I think nursing offers a wealth
of opportunities for people, for careers.
>> Fantastic.
Susie, thank you so much for talking to us.
>> I'm glad to do that.