On April 15, Patricia Kinser, Ph.D., assumed the role of interim dean for the VCU School of Nursing. A longtime faculty member, active clinician and prolific researcher, she brings a depth of administrative and leadership experience to the position. We recently sat down with Kinser to hear more about her background, what she brings to this new role and her insights on the school’s biggest opportunities ahead.

Tell us about your background at the school both as an alum and faculty member. What has changed (or stayed the same!) since you first came to VCU? What motivated you to pursue a career in nursing education and research?

While at Haverford College for my first degree in neurobiology and gender studies, I served as an EMT in Philadelphia so I had first-hand experiences with the amazing skills, knowledge, and compassion of nurses. I knew that I wanted to further my education to become a nurse practitioner, but I wasn’t sure whether that should be in Richmond or in Philadelphia. After graduating, I worked in the cardiology step-down unit at VCU Health (“MCV Hospital” at the time) as a cardiac monitor technician and a patient care technician. Turns out, I fell in love with VCU and with Richmond in general. The nurses and interdisciplinary team members with whom I worked were incredibly dedicated to providing the best care possible to our patients, and there was a deep-seated passion for and commitment to supporting the learning of all team members. The majority of the nurses and nurse practitioners on the unit had obtained their degrees from VCU School of Nursing. All of this together solidified my interest in furthering my education at VCU.

My years as a student in the VCU School of Nursing, took place in the old building on Broad Street which has since been demolished. While the building might have been a bit leaky, the educational experiences were robust. I remember hearing Dean Nancy Langston talk about the responsibility of nurses to lead the charge in addressing health disparities for vulnerable populations. I remember Dr. Cindy Munro pushing us to find a deep understanding of complex conditions during pathophysiology class. I remember being in awe of the research accomplishments of Drs. Nancy McCain and Mary Jo Grap, among many others, who were asking big questions and seeking ways to make positive changes in healthcare. These and other faculty members inspired my classmates and me to show up, to dig deep, and to realize that we had the foundational critical thinking abilities to make a difference for our patients and our community at large. Truly, my love of the discipline took root right here at VCU.

Did you have a mentor or champion as a student?

I would like to highlight School of Nursing emeritus faculty member Dr. Judy Lewis and her role in inspiring me to pursue a career in nursing education and research. Early on, she spotted and supported my passion for advocacy and health equity. During a formative course in the women’s health nurse practitioner program, Dr. Lewis and I published a paper about creating space for understanding social contexts in healthcare and research. As we sat together putting final touches on the paper, she turned to me and said — “I look forward to your future contributions not only as a clinician but also as a faculty member and a researcher.” At the time, it was shocking to me. Me, a faculty member? Me, a researcher? Her words really stuck with me and encouraged me long after she spoke them. 

After several years in clinical practice as a nurse and nurse practitioner, I realized how much I loved working with students and how much I loved asking the “why” questions. With her words still lingering in my ear, I joined the faculty at Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing, which I absolutely loved. Then, after several years, I pursued a Ph.D. in nursing research with a focus on innovative ways to support women’s mental health. Dr. Lewis was in the audience when I defended my doctoral dissertation, a true cheerleader from the start. And, subsequently, she encouraged me to become a faculty member at VCU School of Nursing and has continued to be supportive over the years. 

Good educators not only provide didactic content and impart knowledge, but also provide education about life. Dr. Lewis and other professors that I’ve mentioned helped me learn several key lessons–find a mentor and take their advice to heart; be willing to try new things and ask novel questions, even if they initially feel uncomfortable; and, lastly remember the ripple effect— that acts of kindness and lifting others up can have such a positive effect on the world around us. I have found this ripple effect to be the best part of being an educator: impacting students’ lives who in turn impact their patients’ and teammates’ lives in a myriad of wonderful ways. 

Share your insights or observations of VCU nursing students? What sets them apart or is unique about them?

I am consistently impressed with the passion and dedication of our nursing students—whether they are working to obtain their undergraduate degree or they are pursuing graduate education in advanced practice roles or as nurse-scientists. Our students come from all walks of life and backgrounds. Over a third of VCU students are the first in their family to attend college while others have a long legacy of VCU connections. No matter their background and history, our students are tenacious and dedicate themselves to their own learning while also engaging in service to others. 

Our students stand out in how they show up to learn and serve within and beyond the classroom. In any given year, close to 20 undergraduate students serve as volunteer, work-study, or paid research assistants with our faculty’s research projects; up to ten students engage in the summer Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program or Honors Summer Undergraduate Research Program Opportunities Programs; and, approximately ten students apply their learning about research and leadership through the Langston Center’s Research and Leadership Fellows program. Our graduate students are similarly engaged in learning beyond the classroom, with many of our doctoral students serving as research coordinators for funded faculty research projects. This kind of engagement demonstrates the kind of supportive atmosphere we have in the school for our student researchers.

Tell us about your areas of research. What drew you to study or investigate these areas and topics? 

The ultimate goal of my program of research, in the Mindful Wellness Lab, is that mothers, parents, children, and families can thrive when they have the internal and external resources to achieve health in body, mind, and spirit. Through collaborations with the community and conducting our research studies, we hope to create evidence that well-being in body, mind, and spirit is essential and that supporting wellness should be the standard of care. 

This work is inspired by and grounded in my clinical experiences. Many years ago in my work as a women’s health nurse practitioner, I noticed a trend—many patients were struggling with mental health concerns such as depression and anxiety, yet they wanted something in addition to the “usual care” (medications, psychotherapy). This was particularly true for my pregnant and postpartum patients, who wanted something they could control, that could fit within their lifestyle, and that addressed their holistic view of themselves. We know that one in five pregnant people will experience clinically significant depression and anxiety at some point during their parenting journey. I wanted to help address this need. My question was whether mindfulness-based strategies, such as yoga and others, could be an accessible way for people to feel empowered to self-manage their mental health symptoms. The goal is to give women and parenting people tools in their tool box for self-management of mental health symptoms, so they can carry that forward into their daily life, such as the postpartum period when they have all the additional stressors of having a growing family. 

Is nursing research particularly well-situated to address these and other healthcare practices or challenges? Why?

Nursing research is very well-situated to address critical health equity issues and other current challenges in healthcare for a few reasons. Nurses have a holistic view of patients and communities, meaning that we acknowledge the critical connections between the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of human beings. Nurses are highly skilled at cultivating collaboration across disciplines, which is critically important for fostering sustainable change. Nurses have the ability to take both a broad view of healthcare challenges while also being pragmatic about the realities of daily life for patients and providers. Nurses have their fingers on the pulse of clinical care, healthcare system issues, and policy issues, all of which are necessary for addressing health disparities. 

The body of research conducted by our faculty and students is a great example of how nursing research is making major contributions in response to the needs and challenges I mention. Innovations like research using omics-approaches, novel uses of sensors, apps, and other technologies to support positive behavioral or social changes as a component of care, multi-layered behavioral interventions that take an individual’s circumstances into account, community-engaged research where we are taking new opportunities to the doorsteps of those who may not otherwise be able to access it–these are just a few examples of how nursing research at VCU is truly making an impact. 

You maintain your clinical practice as a Women's Health Nurse Practitioner and also currently serve as the Co-Director Perinatal Mental Health Research at VCU's Institute for Women's Health. How do your experiences in these roles influence you as a faculty member and leader?

Maintaining a clinical practice keeps me grounded in the realities of our patients, our communities, and our fellow clinicians. There is a symbiotic relationship between theory and practice: you cannot have one without the other. Maintaining a clinical practice keeps my research relevant, helping me to stay connected to real-world issues and needs of patients and communities. It gives me insight into nuances of current care systems, patient and community needs, and nursing practice and allows me to ensure my research is pragmatic and applicable to current settings. 

The same applies to my work with VCU’s Institute for Women’s Health (IWH). Through IWH, I am able to stay connected to other clinicians and researchers all of whom have a dedicated focus on making improvements in women’s health. Many collaborations have been sparked over the years through the various activities supported by IWH, such as Women’s Health Research Day and the Health of Women annual clinical conference.

You are currently serving a second term on the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Board of Health. What sort of activities are you focused on in your involvement with the board? What have you learned or been challenged with as a result of your service?

The mission of the Board of Health is to plan and support prevention-oriented programs to promote health for all Virginia residents. I have the honor of providing a nursing perspective about public health policies and programs being proposed and implemented in the state. Together with my colleagues on the board, we make recommendations concerning health care policy to the governor, the General Assembly, and the secretary of health and human resources. We review regulations and policies that relate to public health, covering wide-ranging topics including but not limited to health disparities in maternal-child health, infrastructure and quality of public water systems, community health education, and emergency regulations and policies relating to infectious diseases. While it can sometimes be a challenge to keep up with the myriad of topics that come across our plate, it is an honor to work together with my colleagues on the board to support public health in the commonwealth.

Nursing research is very well-situated to address critical health equity issues and other current challenges in healthcare for a few reasons. Nurses have a holistic view of patients and communities, meaning that we acknowledge the critical connections between the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of human beings. Nurses are highly skilled at cultivating collaboration across disciplines, which is critically important for fostering sustainable change. Nurses have the ability to take both a broad view of healthcare challenges while also being pragmatic about the realities of daily life for patients and providers. Nurses have their fingers on the pulse of clinical care, healthcare system issues, and policy issues, all of which are necessary for addressing health disparities. 

Patricia Kinser, Ph.D., interim dean

What are VCU School of Nursing's biggest opportunities within our institution and beyond in the year ahead?

Our most significant opportunity is to ensure that people within VCU and beyond are aware of the amazing work of our students, staff, and faculty at the school and have them join us to transform healthcare. Our faculty and staff are dynamic and diverse, leading the way in education, practice, research, and community-engagement. Enrollment in institutions of higher education across the country has decreased in the past few years, for many understandable reasons. However, the need to support and expand our nursing workforce is at a critical juncture – we not only have a nationwide nursing shortage, but also a faculty shortage related to widespread retirements. Our current students, staff, and faculty consistently embrace innovation in the face of ever-present change, building upon our long history of excellence and an ability to stay nimble. Our opportunity is to welcome more folks into our school’s community—whether students looking to start a career or to continue their education or faculty and staff seeking a wonderful work environment.

What are you looking forward to in this new role? How do you hope your leadership will contribute to the success of the school?

I am excited to serve this school that I love and with which I have a deep history. During my time as a former student in the nurse and nurse practitioner programs and over my past 12 years as a faculty member, I have been consistently impressed with how the school feels like a family. The working and learning environment is fantastic. It’s a place where I really believe we center everything around helping the individuals in our community be their best and where we truly “have each other’s back,” supporting and pitching in for each other. 

I am also looking forward to strengthening our partnership with VCU Health. We have active conversations and planning sessions with our health system partners to address two common goals: recruiting students to the SON and our graduates to VCU Health; and, optimizing clinical placements for students. I look forward to continuing this important work.

Finally, I am committed to helping our students, staff, and faculty continue to thrive not only as individuals but also as a collective whole. This year, our school will adopt a new strategic plan to guide our work through 2029. That plan represents our vision to be a destination for those seeking to transform healthcare and articulates the values and culture we commit to as a school in helping us achieve our goals.