Brittania Phillips, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC

My career did not take me along the path that I thought it would when I began nursing school.  I obtained my BSN from Deaconess College of Nursing in 2003.  During nursing school, I began working as a student tech on a post-operative surgical floor.  I continued on that unit upon graduation as a staff nurse, and eventually as a Care Team Coordinator (charge nurse).  I enjoyed patient care and the teaching that went along with it, and soon began assisting with unit-based education.  This eventually led to being a Clinical Educator, and then an Education Consultant that covered multiple entities within SSM.  In this role, I not only did annual and ongoing competency validation, but was a member of the team that created the graduate nurse residency program and preceptor model.  Leadership had always been a goal of mine, so I began the MSN in Nursing Leadership at Webster University and graduated in 2016.  I had the opportunity to work as a Team Leader for an orthopedic and surgical unit for several years during this time.  I enjoyed this role, however I had young children at home.  Seeking a better work life balance, I moved to a Clinical Support Nurse role on an acute inpatient adult psychiatric unit. I absolutely fell in love with this patient population!  After several years, I began teaching full time at UMSL in the undergraduate program.  I recently completed my DNP and PMHNP post-master’s certificate from UMSL in 2021.  I now teach in the DNP program at UMSL and work as a PMHNP in an outpatient office, inpatient units,  and at a behavioral health urgent care.

 

Education

• Post-Graduate Certificate, PMHNP, University of Missouri- St. Louis, 2021
• DNP, University of Missouri- St. Louis, 2021
• MSN, Webster University, 2016
• BSN, Deaconess College of Nursing, 2003

Research Interests

• I am passionate about caring for women’s mental health through their reproductive years. I am currently obtaining certification in perinatal mental health.

Selected Presentations

• Poster Presentation: Recruiting and Retaining Graduate Nurses through Innovative Nursing Academy;  15th Annual Midwest Regional Nursing Educators Conference 2010, University of Missouri- Columbia, 2010
• Poster Presentation:  Identification of Veterans Experiencing Symptoms of Mental Illness for the First Time after COVID-19 Diagnosis; MU Extension and Engagement Week 2021, University of Missouri- Columbia , 2021

Memberships

• American Psychiatric Nurses Association
•  American Association of Nurse Practitioners
• Sigma Theta Tau
• Association of Missouri Nurse Practitioners