Interview
I decided to interview nurse practitioner, Nancy Healy Sullivan, who works in both a hospital environment and a school environment on a military base and Lakenheath, England. It was interesting to get her perspective on how suicide prevention plays a role in schools, the military, and in hospitals.
1. Why did you decide to become a nurse practitioner?
All I wanted was to be a nurse. The concept of becoming a nurse practitioner phenomena was taking shape and I liked the prospect of having an independent role in the medical field. I've continued to like the role, even now. When I transfer what I do from a hospital to a school, the documentation and paperwork can be pretty different.
2. What is your work environment like?
It's the best. It's great to work with the kids, and I basically am able to handle whatever comes through the door. I've seen and dealt with everything from teen pregnancy and child abuse. More often, I deal with a lot of dermatology cases (like rashes, hives, allergic reactions) and multiple bike/skate boards/motorcycles accidents. I've even dealt with some hypertension and post-operative care for teachers. Once, a co-worker had a heart attack at school, and I dealt with that as well.
3. Do you work often with guidance counselors around the school?
Yes, a lot. We all come together when something happens in the overall community, like when a student dies in a car crash. I also send a lot of students over to the guidance counselor when I think they may need to speak to someone.
4. How well do you think school environments handle suicide prevention? What about the community outside of school (ie. Home life, churches, media, etc.)?
The military community could be better. Military people are still reluctant to receive that kind of help (i.e. counseling) because they feel it could damage their career. I think we are getting better about how we approach the situation on base. We also have school psychologists, military psychologists, and two categories of school counselors. There's also a new program called MFLAC, where counselors from a private contractor come in for 3 months. They're for both kids and adults and when anyone sees them, it's entirely confidential. Nothing is recorded or written down, and for the military guys in the community, it can’t possibly hurt their careers. We also have an annual school suicide prevention program called Signs of Suicide where all incoming 9th graders break up into small groups and we discuss how to recognize depression and suicidal feelings. At the end, we give the students follow up cards. We always try to have it either early in the week or in the middle, because it tends to shake the trees so to speak, and we like to available for any follow up care after the program.
5. How would you say suicide prevention differs between nurses in hospitals v. nurse practitioners in school?
In a hospital, suicide prevention doesn't really big role. It depends on which wards you're looking at. It's most present at the Psychology ward, considering more people there are determined to kill themselves. At the school, it can become more prominent. Yesterday there was an event with 9 grade boy and 11 grade girl that broke up. The boy took it hard and found a picture of a hanged man and sent it out on Instagram. It was like the shot heard round the world. Kids saw it all over social media and became hostile towards girl. The difference with social media and military kids is they send it to even more people around the world. It adds a whole new element... It contributes to a whole new element of shame for kids that become the center of it. This wouldn’t have happened without social media, and I think that kind of stuff can become a double edged sword, especially now.
6. How can our society reach a better understanding about suicide and be more supportive to people experiencing suicide ideation and their families?
It's all about community awareness and keeping people informed. Community health campaigns are also good, though when they use social media, it can be a double edged sword.
7. What would you say to people experiencing suicidal thoughts or feelings?
I can look at a kid and see if they’re really stressed. The first thing I try to do is ask the right questions and listen. I try illicit more info from them. If they do start giving me more information, they tend to feel a terrible sense of despair. I also ask them why they feel hopeless or helpless. I ask them if they would mind if I bring in a counselor immediately. I try to bring that up as soon as possible. I also ask them questions like, "Have you talked to your parents?", "Have you thought about hurting yourself?", and eventually, "Have you thought about killing yourself?" I try to see if they have a plan and how far along they are in actually acting on what they're feeling. If they have a detailed plan, that is a big sign that there is a definite need for intervention. I just try to be sympathetic.
8. Do you have any final thoughts you'd like to add?
From the point of view of a nurse, my job falls in community health and public health. Although I'm not trained to do therapy, this is one of the many things I have to be able to respond to, to help, and to support.
Analysis
When conducting this interview, I tried to focus on different aspects of suicide prevention. With her unique perspective and ease with speaking, Ms. Healy Sullivan was an enjoyable person to interview and speak with. I realized from this interview that the suicide prevention community is even more complex in subgroups, like the military schools abroad. I hadn’t even thought to consider the military kids and how they deal with stress and depression. In order to understand the kind of problems that Ms. Healy Sullivan discusses, we need to understand the subgroup she’s referring to. So what classifies as a military kid? A military kid is someone that grew up in the military community, going to school, working, and living there. There are similar communities overseas, such as Ms. Healy Sullivan’s home in Lakenheath, England. There, she works as a school nurse and as a community practitioner. I think it’s important to note that Ms. Healy Sullivan is an important member of the suicide prevention community in her school. Although she isn’t trained to perform therapy and counseling, she is trained to help teenagers dealing with stress and anxiety, and she can recommend them to the counselors involved at the school. Most importantly, the interview is a look at what suicide prevention is like in foreign countries. Ms. Healy Sullivan mentioned the Samaritan number, similar to the suicide hotline in the United States. Overall, I found the interview to be a neat addition to the multiple sub-communities that I mention in other sections (i.e. High schools, Facebook, YouTube, etc.). I hope that when people see this interview they can gain insight into what being a member of the suicide prevention community is like, and how they can be their own advocate in helping others in what way they can.