Elisabeth Bailey, M.S. ’07, RN, PMHCNS-BC, is convinced that nurse practitioners can help fill the increasing shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists in the United States. Bailey is trained in both psychiatric and pediatric nursing and her interest is in “bringing the two together,” she says. “Primary care providers treat most kids with psychiatric needs, and they’ll often tell you they don’t feel prepared to manage these patients.” Bailey, who expects to receive her D.N.P. in nursing practice from Northeastern University in 2015, is writing a doctoral dissertation on why nurse practitioners (especially in primary care) lack training to treat psychiatric conditions in young people, and ways to remedy the problem.
Bailey received her master’s in nursing from Boston College in 2007. She returns as a clinical instructor and teaches Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nursing across the Lifespan. Bailey most recently served as director of psychiatric services at the Manville School, a day school for children with emotional and behavioral problems that is part of the Judge Baker Children’s Center in Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood. For her, seeing children overcome profound psychological challenges offers singular rewards. “It’s a real privilege to be part of that process,” she says. “It’s very inspiring to see that kind of human resilience.”
—Timothy Gower, photograph by Caitlin Cunningham