Top 100 Leaders

Susie Adams

Distinguished Faculty

Recognized as one of the early educational leaders to identify the need for the advanced practice psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner role and to integrate that role within primary care settings. Adams led Vanderbilt School of Nursing in the development of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program, one of the first in the nation. She pioneered a practice model that integrated mental health nurse practitioner services for women within an obstetrics/gynecological practice. She serves as a curriculum consultant to nursing schools developing graduate PMHNP programs including the Louisiana Consortium, Eastern Kentucky University and Winston-Salem State University. Her longstanding commitment to working with disadvantaged populations, particularly women with co-morbid mental health and substance abuse problems, has gained national recognition.