2023 Health Care Champions Advanced Practice Provider: Kim Doolin

Working in a field that’s often misunderstood and under-resourced, Kim Doolin says she takes the time to listen to patients and understand their needs to best address their mental health.

“My role in the Ozarks is to help as many people as I can achieve mental wellness by either medication management, therapy or education,” says Doolin, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at Citizens Memorial Hospital. “Spending time with them, listening to them and advocating for their best interest is desperately needed.”

She splits her time among the geriatric wellness unit at the hospital, long-term care facilities and clinics. In all her roles, she says she is motivated by outcomes and by the people who entrust her with their stories, which often include challenges, diagnoses and trauma.

Doolin says the patients in CMH’s acute inpatient psychiatry unit are ages 50 and older, and many are suffering from dementia and behavioral disturbances.

“Is there a cure? No, but we can help relieve the turmoil associated with it and the unsafe behaviors that occur,” she says.

The patients on this hospital floor are in crisis, she says, and some have attempted suicide. She says she collaborates with the interdisciplinary care team, listens to patients, reaches out to family, if possible, adjusts medications and provides mindfulness exercises.

“Helping those people find their purpose, worth and passion for living brings joy to my heart,” she says. “Working through negative thinking traps, past traumas, and building their support system and coping skills toolbox are vital for their success.”

In the long-term care setting, Doolin says few providers are comfortable managing and adjusting psychiatric medications, which can lead to extremes – like using multiple medications or tapering off medications too quickly.

“By going in and assessing the patient, talking with staff and reviewing the chart, I can help speak to why they need – or don’t need – their psychotropic medications,” she says of her role, noting she takes a “less is best” approach.

To address what Doolin says is a lack of resources for people seeking mental health care after inpatient stays, CMH established a transitions clinic.

“People would go inpatient and receive treatment, stabilize and then couldn’t find a provider to continue medications for sometimes three to six months and the cycle of inpatient admissions or utilizing the ED increased,” she says, adding that now patients can seen by a provider and medications and therapy can be administered as they wait for their primary psychiatric appointment.

For Doolin, her work is all about increasing access and improving outcomes. To that end, she donates her time to serve as a preceptor – three students will shadow her this school year. She also connects with high school students at a yearly camp for those interested in a career in health care.