Kaua‘i Community College nursing graduate Kelly Thompson recently accepted a position at Seattle University teaching nursing students during their psychiatric/mental health rotation. The 1992 class valediction of Kaua‘i High School went on to graduate with a BA in Social/Cultural history
Kaua‘i Community College nursing graduate Kelly Thompson recently accepted a position at Seattle University teaching nursing students during their psychiatric/mental health rotation. The 1992 class valediction of Kaua‘i High School went on to graduate with a BA in Social/Cultural history from Colorado State University, and later to earn her Master’s Degree in Psychiatric Nursing from Mount Saint Mary’s College in California.
“Like so many kids that graduate from college, I had no idea what I wanted to do,” Thompson said. “But one day, while caring for a family member, something clicked and I realized that I wanted to be a registered nurse. This meant that I needed to go back to school and start on a new path.”
So she moved back home to Hawai‘i and was accepted into KCC’s nursing program in 1998.
“The professors at KCC taught me the importance of providing holistic and compassionate care to all patients and their families. They taught me how to provide quality care to those in physical and emotional pain, to be present with patients while they experienced life-changing events, and most importantly, to empower people to take control of their health,” she said.
After graduating from KCC in 2000, she moved to O‘ahu to work in the psychiatric emergency room at the Queens Medical Center.
After spending a year working in psychiatry at Queens, she moved to the Mainland to work for the Veterans Administration, specializing in treating vets with mental health needs.
While living in Los Angeles, Kelly was able to complete her Master’s of Science in Nursing degree and spent a year teaching nursing students at Mount Saint Mary’s College.
Last year she moved to Seattle for a position with Seattle University.
“Teaching psych nursing is such a joy,” she said. “The poor students show up on the first day completely terrified. Most of them expect that every pysch unit is like that portrayed in the film, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” But they quickly realize that psychiatric nursing is probably one of the most rewarding fields of nursing. Nothing makes me happier than to see one of my students sitting with and listening to a patient. This is where the real learning takes place, not through my lectures, but through the words of a patient with mental illness.”
