b'CAREERS|Breaking Into theand other life factors that could contribute to a mental health diagnosis.Mental Health Field Nothing was placed into little silos, instead they helped me to put all the pieces together, Smith explained. We were already nurse One professionals journey to a well-rounded,practitionerswe werent starting from scratchbut I can still hear (the professors) thorough education By Rob Senior voices talking about looking at the whole picture.If youve got a patient with diabetes, and T he field of mental health has made prog- Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) pro- theyre just not getting their A1C down look ress over our lifetimes, but that prog- gram, where she met professors and mentorsat the bigger picture. What else is going on? ress is best described in terms of thewho encouraged her to look at the whole pic- Theres probably another story to it.specific problems professionals encounter. ture when treating mental health. Since finishing the PMHNP program, Fifty years ago, people with mental healthIn my first job as a Nurse Practitioner, I wasSmith has spent the past nine months work-issues were seen as only those with the mostencountering a lot more mental health than Iing at Southeastern Regional, a facility in a severe cases, often depicted as wandering thewas prepared to see, so that led me to go backrural community. She says the lack of access streets talking to themselves or lashing out,for a post-masters as a Psychiatric-Mentalto care for the community is the most trou-responding to voices no one but that personHealth NP, she explained. bling issue. People might not have the funds could hear. Since Heidi had started her career, return- to pay for their medication, and medication Today, the definition of mental health hasing to MSU or Cincinnati wasnt an option.non-compliance becomes a big issue, she said. expanded to include far more conditions andInstead, she pursued Frontier NursingsWe see lots of substance abuse as well.levels of impact, but getting the general pub- online program. What she didnt expect, how- A good number of Smiths patients are licand sometimes, healthcare profession- ever, was the mentoring and personal atten- part of the Lumbee Native American tribe, a alsto take mental health seriously remainstion shed receive would be as goodif notnon-federally recognized group that neverthe-a battle. betterthan what shed seen at those largeless claims about 60,000 members throughout Its a battle that Heidi Smith, AGNP-C,universities. south-central North Carolina. Their status PMHNP-BC, has wanted to fight her entireDr. (Heather) Shlosser was the (previ- does not afford Lumbee members access to adult life. Smith works at Southeasternous) director, and she was so passionate andsome of the same benefits as federally recog-Regional Medical Center in Lumberton, NC,really stressed the importance of advocat- nized tribes receive. There are some definite a rural facility where challenges range froming for patient access to care, Smith recalled.cultural issues that apply here, she admitted. adequate funding to proper access to patients. Frontier really prepared me for a holisticBut access and non-compliance are serious Luckily, Smiths educational journey, whichapproach to mental healthlooking beyondproblems everywhere.ranged from Grand Valley State Universitythe primary cause of a patients visit. Heidi Smiths interest in helping to address and Michigan State University for undergrad- She learned to consider a patients comor- these issues is such that shes now pursuing uate work and the University of Cincinnatibidities (diabetes, diagnosed or otherwiseher doctorate through Frontier Nursing. The for her masters degree, led her to Frontieris common in the area where Smith seesschools focus on training competent nurse ISTOCKNursing University for the Psychiatric-Mentalpatients), as well as financial considerationspractitioners and commitment to serving 18 MENTAL HEALTH|2019| www.elitecme.com'