MS, RN , Doctoral (Current)
Vickye Hayter is a doctoral candidate for a PhD at the George Mason University School of Nursing. Her research focuses on factors associated with nurses’ practices of trauma informed care. Currently, she is a licensed clinical marriage and family therapist providing therapy to primarily ethnically diverse individuals, couples, and families.
Working as a licensed mental health provider with a nursing background allows her an in-depth understanding of the factors contributing to their physical and mental health and substance use issues. Mrs. Hayter has extensive years of experience in health care as a business consultant, public health nurse, health educator, and maternal child health specialist.
Years working in a consulting firm, health plan, hospital, and health department provided her with a systemic perspective of healthcare delivery and health outcomes. She provided home-based case management to primarily low-income families. These experiences highlighted contributing factors to health disparities and exposed gaps in systems of care. As a public health nurse in the Black Infant Health (BIH)program she learned more about generational trauma and retraumatizing experiences clients encountered, particularly those inflicted by the healthcare system. In BIH, she served as a clinician, advocate, and change agent with other health care providers and within local and state government. She has worked on initiatives to address substance use, mental and physical health problems, access to care, and affordable housing.
Vickye was born and raised in Arkansas where she gained an early understanding of the social determinants of health for African Americans in her community. This awareness prompted by teachers, mentors, and nurses in her family fueled her desire to become a nurse and pursue her passion for helping minority communities.