Carrie Deer

Recipient of the Nurses Educational Funds, Inc. scholarship, Carrie Deer serves as an adult psychiatric nurse practitioner for the Anderson Cherokee Community Enrichment Services (ACCESS) community mental health clinic(s) near Tyler, Texas. Utilizing over eleven years of nursing experience in medical-surgical, pediatric, critical, and mental health care, Ms. Deer employs a systems perspective in providing care to diverse patient populations. Her recognition of the impact of distorted mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing on physical health was a primary motivation leading her into mental health care. This recognition continues to drive her practice.

With the rural medically underserved as her primary population of interest, Carrie’s clinical practice focuses on restoring and recovering client health and wellness. Her principal desire is to provide holistic mental health care by addressing the spiritual aspects of mental disorders that complicate and imped wellness. Her psychiatric area of interest is the treatment-resistant, often co-occurring disorders of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and addiction, with a focus on trauma recovery.

This NEF scholarship will support Ms. Deer in her final year of doctoral education. With an emphasis on translational research, her doctoral project will introduce measurement-based screening into practice. The early identification of co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders will improve their identification, diagnosis, and care coordination. As a member of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association and International Nurses Society on Addictions, Carrie is working towards obtaining her CARN-AP certification to advance the timely identification of the co-occurring disorder population.

Ms. Deer received her BS degree in Urban Studies from the University of Cincinnati; her BSN degree from the University of Louisville; her MSW degree from the University of Central Florida; her MSN degree from the University of Cincinnati; and is currently pursuing her DNP degree at the University of Texas at Arlington. Using transformational and servant leadership, Carrie desires to use the knowledge and experience gained through obtaining her DNP to specialize in service to persons impacted by sex trafficking and exploitation. She also has a future desire to teach in an academic setting.