Episode Summary
Dr. Marie Smith-East, a clinical assistant professor and the Director of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program at Duquesne University discusses her research, which focuses on geographic access to health care utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GIS), particularly for individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
Episode Notes
Settle into another episode of “Mental Health Trailblazers, Psychiatric Nurses Speak Up,” where our host Indrias Kassaye will be interviewing Dr. Marie Smith-East, a clinical assistant professor and the Director of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program at Duquesne University. Her research focuses on geographic access to health care utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GIS), particularly for individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
Dr. Smith-East always knew she wanted to be an educator, but it was through an early encounter with a patient experiencing ICU psychosis that made her realize how to unite her elementary education passion, health education and behavior studies, and nursing experience into a career as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner with two doctoral degrees.
Through her conversation with Indrias, Dr. Smith-East touches on important subject matter such as the impact as well as recognition of her work from the Schizophrenia Related Disorders Alliance of America, the ways her pre-COVID telemedicine practice has impacted her post-COVID approach, and how having a community of like-minded fellows through the Minority Fellowship Program continues to inspire her year-over-year not just professionally but personally as well.
If you aim to understand more about geographic information systems as not just a tool to be harnessed but a science to be studied, how the “digital divide” can impact both patients and practitioners alike, or just want to follow along to learn a new approach to curriculum development, then be sure to click play on this episode. To learn more about Dr. Marie Smith-East, visit https://www.duq.edu/academics/faculty/marie-smith-east (opens new window).