Cambridge Who's Who Names Carol J. Smith, DNP Professional of the Year in Psychiatric Nursing
Dr. Smith has worked as a professional nurse for 45 years

STOUGHTON, MA, October 26, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Carol J. Smith, DNP, Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist for Community Counseling of Bristol County, Inc., has been named a Cambridge Who's Who Executive/Professional/Entrepreneur of the Year in Psychiatric Nursing. While inclusion in the Cambridge Who's Who Registry is an honor, only a small selection of members in each discipline are chosen for this distinction. These special honorees are distinguished based on their professional accomplishments, academic achievements, leadership abilities, years of service, and the credentials they have provided in association with their Cambridge Who's Who membership.

Dr. Smith has worked as a professional nurse for 45 years. She discovered her passion for behavior modification while working as a delivery room nurse and developing a childbirth preparation and education program. Today, she is a board-certified psychiatric clinical nurse specialist with more than two decades of experience in psychiatric nursing and expertise in substance dependence and bereavement counseling. She utilizes her skills in her role with Community Counseling of Bristol County, Inc. Dr. Smith conducts initial psychiatric evaluations of patients, provides counseling services, and prescribes psychiatric medications. When necessary, she assigns patients to psychiatric hospitalization if she feels that they present a danger to themselves or others. Furthermore, she trains staff on how to maintain a calm demeanor when dealing with angry or upset patients.

A graduate of Case Western Reserve University, Dr. Smith holds a Doctorate of Nursing Practice; she wrote her dissertation on long-term parental grief and later developed a graduate program focusing on bereavement counseling. Dr. Smith also holds a Master of Science in nursing from the University of Rhode Island, a Bachelor of Science in nursing and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rhode Island College, and a diploma in nursing from Beth Israel Hospital School of Nursing. She retains affiliation with the American Psychiatric Nurses Association and Sigma Theta Tau International. Dr. Smith has also been invited to be a guest lecturer for The Compassionate Friends, a nonprofit organization that provides support services to family members who have experienced a death of a child. She was also the Providence, Rhode Island chapter leader of Compassionate Friends. When she lived in Florida, he was the regional coordinator of Compassionate Friends for the state chapter.

When reflecting on her career, Dr. Smith attributes her success to her ability to help her patients think positively, rather than be destroyed by negative thoughts. She also credits her extensive knowledge of prescription medications. A few important people have influenced her career, including her mentor when she received her doctorate, Mary Burke, DNS, RN, and the psychologist and mentor who spoke at the first Compassionate Friends meeting she attended, Therese A. Rando, Ph.D. from Warwick, RI. She also acknowledges Dr. Gregg Etter, who was the medical director at Arbour Fuller Hospital when she was working there as an attending physician. He provided the education for treatment of drug dependence, which reinforced her expertise. In the years to come, Dr. Smith plans to continue treating patients and providing exceptional care at Community Counseling of Bristol County, Inc.

To learn more about Carol Smith, visit http://www.linkedin.com/pub/carol-smith.

For more information about Community Counseling of Bristol County, Inc., visit http://www.comcounseling.org.

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Ellen Campbell
Cambridge Who's Who
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