Community Leaders
Paige Stodtmeister,
Nurse Practitioner
What was your path to mental healthcare?
Mental health has been a central focus of my life since I was a child. I was raised in a home surrounded by several with mental health challenges. From a young age, I understood the power mental health has on one's physical, emotional, occupational, and social wellbeing. I was particularly inspired by her brother, Garrett, who is on the Autism Spectrum. He continues to be a source of motivation for me as I progress along my career path.
How will this scholarship help you?
This scholarship will enable me to further my learning as a future psychiatric nurse practitioner. The knowledge I gain from this conference will guide me in my current and future practice to help me provide exceptional patient care.
What are your academic and/or career goals?
After obtaining my Doctor of Nursing Practice degree with an emphasis on mental health, my aspiration is to advocate for and provide mental health services for children and adolescents with diverse issues. More specifically, I plan to work with youth in the juvenile justice system. My goal is to break down barriers impeding access to appropriate mental health services by offering in-depth comprehensive mental health assessments and screenings. This information will enable accurate diagnosis which in turn will inform proper treatment. I also intend to incorporate family education and caretaker support for this population. It is my hope that families and communities will see our youth with increased understanding and compassion, enabling them to reach their potential.
Additionally, I plan on providing outpatient services for Spanish-speaking individuals. I have worked extensively with those of Hispanic descent and have grown to love and appreciate this population. I am fluent in Spanish, which enables me to understand the challenges unique to this amazing group of individuals. I am aware of many in this population who experience mental illness and yet, do not have access to services due to barriers of stigma and financial strain. I hope to be an advocate by providing accessible, affordable mental health services for this underserved population.
And lastly, after gaining several years of experience as a nurse practitioner, I plan to pay it forward and teach undergraduate and graduate level nurses. I hope to instill my passion for the healer's art among a future generation of nurses, holding space for them to realize how they can make a difference in their own right.
These goals propel me forward and tie me to my personal mission-to build up communities by providing opportunities that unite, empower, and strengthen vulnerable individuals.
What does “exceptional patient care” mean to you?
Exceptional patient care is centered around diagnostic precision and my relationship with the client, with both principles critical to providing appropriate, best-practice treatment strategies. Building relationships lets my clients know I truly care and it enables me to ask necessary, and sometimes hard questions in order to arrive at accurate diagnoses. Clients who feel cared for and seen are more willing to engage in treatment. In the end, it is the relationship that serves as a foundation for everything else that occurs in treatment and ultimately contributes to exceptional patient care.