Bio
Dr. Jessica Giddens (@DrJGiddensRN drjgiddensrn.com) is a distinguished doctorate of nursing practice with a wealth of experience in the mental health field. An INTJ-Asπ (Aspie) or Neurodivergent with Autism, Dr. Giddens has excelled as a speaker, scientific director, thought leader, key opinion leader, consultant, and advisory board member in a wide array of specialties, including but not limited to psychopharmacology, DEI – (A) (diversity, equity, inclusivity, and accessibility), psychopharmacology, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, attention deficit disorder, schizophrenia, tardive dyskinesia, pseudobulbar affect, binge eating disorders, autism, neurodiversity, LGBTQIA+ health, social determinants / drivers of health (SDoH), neurodiversity, digital health, digital therapeutics, brain-computer interfaces (and sits as a member of the iBCI Collaborative Community), artificial intelligence, psychopharmacogenomics, epigenetics, sexual health, complex medical psychiatry, chronic care managment, substance use disorder, and genetic testing to name a few. She has worked with psychiatric and genomic research and development companies such as Otsuka, Sumitomo Pharma, Allergan, AbbVie, Teva, Genomind, Nivogenetics, AltheaDx now IDgenetix, and Avanir. In her role as a scientific director with CME Outfitters, she has developed grant-funded CME content and needs assessments for companies, including but not limited to Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Alkermes, Indivior, Gilead, and CVS. She was also an integral member for the development of the NP Psych Navigator website.
Dr. Giddens’ extensive clinical experience spans various roles: healthcare administration, clinical and medical directorships, community health, and multiple inpatient psychiatric settings (adult, acute adult, geriatric, and child and adolescent). Additionally, her career includes roles in outpatient health, intensive outpatient care, nursing home care, and the Department of Corrections. She has also served as the CEO of her own company focused on digital health technology and has been part of an acute care float team, with training at a top 10 U.S. hospital (BJC Healthcare a facility in partnership with Washington University School of Medicine and Goldfarb School of Nursing), gaining experience across multiple inpatient medical units. As a CEO of her own company she developed novel telehealth and substance use services and protocols, integrated digital neuropsychiatric testing, psychopharmacogenomics, laboratory assessment including substance use disorder testing, integrated complementary and nutritional health, and worked with multiple digital health platforms (CallMyDoc, Neuroflow, Cambridge Brain Science to name a few). She has also worked with multiple organizations to establish programs that meet Joint Commission Accreditation standards and developed patient-centered and individualized clinical documentation.
Dr. Giddens has contributed to industry publications and participated in peer reviewed academic articles, co-hosted a local health radio show, appeared on television, webcasts, and podcasts as a guest speaker, authored in a #1 Amazon International Best Seller: Rising with Resilience, been a board member for multiple organizations (some examples include the STLNAP-St. Louis Nurses in Advance Practice, Slaying Dragons – mental health theatre group, Distinguished School of Mental Health and Wellness), and presented at national and state conferences (some examples include: Psych Congress, American Psychiatric Nurses Association, University of Missouri Columbia Nursing Conference, and the American Nurses Association) , and presented on international webcasts (some examples include NAVU-Nurses Against Violence Unite and the Dee Dee Jackson Foundation Power of Love Podcast). Her involvement extends to managing her own health website and blog and engaging with multiple social media communities.
In addition, Dr. Giddens has served as a preceptor, working with multiple Universities nationwide, rotating over 20 students per semester, trained medical & nursing students, and taught as adjunct faculty in psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, health assessment, practicum, and psychiatric assessment. She has sat as part of the standard setting committee for the ANCC (American Nurses Credentialing Center Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Exam) for the development of board exams as well. In addition, she has worked with companies such as United Health Care to develop charter projects that addressed collaborative care models, digital health tools, nutritional health, and other integrative measures as well. Her diverse experience in neuropsychiatry drives her efforts to reduce stigma, promote education, and advance research.
Statement of Teaching Philosophy
“Let us never consider ourselves finished nurses…we must be learning all our lives” – Florence Nightingale
A major component of my professional practice includes the practice of continued education and lifelong learning – whether it is delivered through formal or informal means, in a physical classroom or online, as part of collegial discussion or in a formal lecture. In this context of teaching and learning, I attempt to encourage the following values:
Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning
Information and healthcare literacy are do not start and stop with classroom learning and library resources. The healthcare professional must be able to find, evaluate, and appraise information in all of its various formats. Then they must be able to translate that information into practice to be able to make decisions, problem solve, or acquire more knowledge. Healthcare professionals will learn principles of autonomy, veracity, and leadership through lifelong learning. My role as educator, is to enhance the understanding of information and lifelong learning in diverse groups of people whether a patient or healthcare professional.
Using Online Learning Effectively
Using web-based tools help students to be able to learn asynchronously, anytime and anywhere. For the lifelong learner, access to learning and educational tools that fit the demands of a busy schedule are exceptionally important. Learning must be more flexible than ever to accommodate the lifelong learners where they are when achieving personal goals. I am committed to always expanding my knowledge in areas of instructional design, course user ability, and adapt new technologies to enhance student learning in the virtual environment. I am also committed to neurodiversity and understanding the unique needs of each individual and their learning style. Technology can help promote equity in educational delivery.
Engage Students
I find it is exceptionally important to find unique and creative ways to engage students in their learning process. Students must be comfortable in the classroom to ask questions and expand their knowledge. As students come from all backgrounds and abilities, it is important to assess students and that class to format content that will stimulate and challenge, while recognize barriers that may present a challenge. I don’t just believe the classroom is an environment where a lecturer stands at the front and talks at the learners. The best environments allow students the opportunity to work independently and collaboratively to expand the learning experience. As a teacher it is my job to inspire the passion for continued commitment to lifelong learning in my students. Anything else would cause stunting of growth for the science and art of healthcare practice.
Continually Assess Teaching
Any educator must be willing to also commit themselves to lifelong learning. As professors and teachers, we do not just educate students, but also continually learn from them as well. As a professor and teacher, I always strive to learn from my students in addition to the role that I serve as their educational guide. It is my job to help learners’ sift through the complex information they must navigate in order to understand the content they are consuming. For healthcare professionals it may be to become capable providers, and for patients it may be to have a more robust understanding of their own health conditions and treatments they receive.
Communication
All healthcare professionals must become effective communicators. Patients must also learn to quickly adapt in a fast-paced healthcare environment so they may be able to communicate to providers the concerns they may have concerning their unique health needs. Learners should feel comfortable sharing experiences, being able to ask questions, or be able to have confidence asserting their own opinions. A healthy learning environment will foster a respectful environment and culture of learning in all areas to promote a health community.
When healthcare providers learn through a transparent and open forum, they may improve health literacy in their own practices. They can begin to address their own implicit biases and offer more non-judgemental and culturally appropriate care in the communities they serve. Healthcare professionals can encourage effective communicator to foster cultures of respect, beneficence, justice, non-maleficence, fidelity, and integrity. Furthermore, by effectively demonstrating commitment to lifelong learning and change, learners can help promote equity, decrease bias, demonstrate cultural humility, and encourage diversity.
Educational Leadership
Healthcare professionals, with lifelong education will continue to be effective leaders in the community. I believe that as an educator I must guide and facilitate students toward translating information to impact healthcare change through transformational leadership. I believe that my role for patients is to motivate and encourage learning so they may be empowered to be their own health advocate. In addition, patients can also promote transformational change in healthcare by bringing unique perspectives and teaching the provider through shared-decision making and bidirectional communication. My personal style infuses principles of Holocracy, where students become both leader and learner in every environment in which they practice.
Leadership Style
Statement of Change Philosophy
“I have an almost complete disregard of precedent, and a faith in the possibility of something better. It irritates me to be told how things have always been done. I defy the tyranny of precedent. I go for anything new that might improve the past” – Clara Barton
I would say that the Leadership styles that reflect my personality the most are Servant, Agile, and Transformational, which yield the Revolutionary Changes I seek to inspire.
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