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Seeing a patient smile… is a reminder that while many things can be wrong and recovery is a lifelong journey, small things like a momentary smile symbolize ongoing hope.

—Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Tamar Rodney, PHD, MSN, RN, PMHNP-BC, CNE

Patients with psychiatric problems need special care. That’s why it’s important for nurses to know that they want to pursue this facet of the nursing field before actually doing it.

We interviewed Dr. Tamar Rodney, PHD, MSN, RN, PMHNP-BC , CNE, a board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner and assistant professor at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, to ask about what it’s like to work as a psychiatric nurse practitioner.

What follows is our interview, edited for length and clarity.

How did you get interested in being a psychiatric NP, treating trauma and mental health? What drew you to it? How long have you been doing it?

Tamar Rodney, PHD, MSN, RN, CNE.I have been a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) since 2010.

Treating trauma and mental health was an accidental merge as I worked as a trauma nurse while completing my clinical rotations for mental health. Over time, I would see my patients recovering from head trauma and would start showing signs of mental health needs that were often untreated by the time of their discharge. I felt a sense of responsibility to my patients, with a conviction that the emergence of mental health symptoms was not coincidental. I thought pursuing research was the best way to help my patients in a strategic way.

Explain to me briefly what you do in general. What types of patients do you serve? What do you provide for them?

I am a board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner who has worked in trauma and psychiatry. I work as the track coordinator for the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certificate program and maintain a clinical practice in Baltimore City serving families recovering from substance use. My research includes identifying biomarkers for PTSD in Veterans with a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI), which includes exploring the factors influencing seeking treatment for PTSD after a TBI.

See also
Working as a NNP in a Level 2 Special Care Nursery

You’re a Jonas Philanthropies Scholar. What does that mean? What do you do as one?

Jonas Philanthropies and its Jonas Scholars program support nurse scholars across the country who have transitioned into roles as faculty, clinical leaders, and researchers. The goal of the program is to improve health care by investing in doctoral nursing students, such as myself, who are pursuing PhD, EdD or DNP degrees, and whose research and clinical focus addresses the nation’s most pressing healthcare needs. As a Jonas Scholar, I’m given financial assistance, leadership development, and networking support for my work as a psychiatric nurse practitioner and my research on biomarkers for PTSD in Veterans.

What do you like most about your work? Why?

I love working with individuals and their families, and I feel really lucky that I get to explore multiple aspects related to mental health through research, my clinical practice, and teaching.

What are the biggest challenges in your work?

Waiting for science to catch up with reality. Research is often very slow and tedious to find supportive evidence to enact change. It is necessary, but so many people are in need of it, and it is often difficult to be patient with the process.

What are your greatest rewards?

Seeing a patient smile. It is a reminder that while many things can be wrong and recovery is a lifelong journey, small things like a momentary smile symbolize ongoing hope.

If you could fix/cure one thing in your line of work (could be with patients or whatever), what would it be and why?

Take away the stigma related to mental health – it hinders so much, and so many people who deserve help are often unwilling to seek it because they do not want to be labeled negatively.

See also
Covid-Related Closures, Bed Shortages are Driving In-Patient Psych Hospitals to a"Crisis Point"

Is there anything I haven’t asked you that is important for our readers to know?

Research for TBI and mental health has made incredible exposure and progress in the last few years, yet so much needs to be done to help individuals who desperately need it. It makes the difference between just existing and having an opportunity to live a fulfilling meaningful life, and that’s what we all deserve regardless of a diagnosis or injury.

For more on what it’s like to be – and to become – a psychiatric mental health NP, see “The Ins and Outs of Being a PMHNP.” 

 

Michele Wojciechowski
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