Visionaries
Sarah McKnight,
Nurse Practitioner
What was your path to mental healthcare?
As a junior in high school I enrolled in an elective psychology course. The course covered contemporary and historical psychology, from neurocognitive psychology, to positive psychology, and even a dive into abnormal psychology. I felt immediately called to the specialty. I continued to pursue the interest with my first bachelor's degree in psychology. During my undergraduate training I took on part time work caring for older adults with memory care needs. This exposure to direct patient care clarified for me that my professional journey would not be complete without pivoting towards a medical approach to mental health care. My second bachelor's in nursing brought me a new appreciation for the variety of fields that comprise healthcare, while allowing me to move into practice and my professional career. Nursing will always be my passion and calling - and my decision to receive advanced training in Psychiatric Mental-Health through a doctorate in nursing practice allows me to unify all of my foundational experiences into my new specialty. The PMHNP role provides me with the skills to provide mental-health focused care to patients across a variety of care environments while building on my passion for patient care.
How will this scholarship help you?
As a PMHNP student, I am building my foundation in practice. My program provides the academic learning I need with a focus on competency in providing psychiatric care and psychotherapy, but there are components of professional development that must be gained outside of academia. Receiving this scholarship would help me to develop myself as a professional in mental health through additional learning opportunities. Psych Congress Elevate will provide me with the exposure to cutting edge research and its integration into practice. Another unique benefit is the congress' interdisciplinary attendance. As a student, this is a unique opportunity to gain insight and appreciation for the unique contributions of the different specialties to our shared field. This congress will also afford me unique networking opportunities to prepare to enter the field as a new graduate.
What are your academic and/or career goals?
My most contemporary academic goal is completing my DNP in Psychiatric Mental-Health and transitioning into professional practice. I look forward to finding a supportive learning environment to transition from a competent graduate to proficient provider of care. My current area of interest for professional practice includes geriatrics and addiction treatment. My more advanced career aspirations are to give back to the profession as an educator. Outside of my DNP studies, I work as a nurse educator and have been able to teach and precept new nurses. Teaching and sharing my experience are both personally rewarding, but also promotes lifelong development to be able to teach at the cutting edge of evidence-based practice. Becoming an educator will also allow me to give back by expanding the critically needed availability of mental-health care providers.
What does “exceptional patient care” mean to you?
Prior to my pursuit of advanced training as a nurse practitioner, I worked as a bedside nurse in critical care. Especially during my time caring directly for COVID ICU patients, I became personally aware of just how important our role is in a patients most vulnerable moment. I can remember vividly caring for a patient facing intubation. He was physically isolated from all social support and as his nurse, I needed to step up to be both his advocate in his medical care but also a harbor of emotional support in an uncertain experience. This helped me to define the first component of what I see as "exceptional patient care" and that is a personal and meaningful connection with the people I care for. Rapport between a care provider and patient creates the open communication that is necessary to support change.
The second way I define "exceptional patient care" is that the patient is the driver of their own care. While the medical infrastructure has moved away from a paternalistic relationship with patients, I still see the themes within care structures that remove the patient from the center of their own care. As a provider, I will work to empower patients to guide and define their own path to wellness. This does not preclude an awareness of the environment within which we practice. The last component of my definition of "exceptional patient care" is providing high quality outcomes with a sensitivity to responsible use of resources. Integrating evidence-based practices can support us to provide the efficient interventions that produce meaningful change for a patient.