Employment History:

Published Works:

Public Speaking Experience:

Why F is an Expert:
The mental health aspect is the latter part of my specialty. I would consider myself an expert on medical-surgical care, critical care, supervision and administration.

Best Advice:
Your first thought that you even wanted to become a nurse means you must have some kind of caring aspect within yourself. Nursing is the art of caring; you have to put yourself into a person’s shoes. You have to think about how you would want someone to care for you or your relatives. It has to come from within. You’re not going to deliver good nursing care if you don’t think like that.

Passionate about:
Mainly my family, the sorority I belong to, and my strong faith. You have to have some love for God, otherwise we wouldn’t be here.

Biography Excerpt:
In an environment that is usually challenging and can sometimes turn volatile, nursing supervisor Patricia L. Nowell remains poised and in control. At the Ann Klein Forensic Center in West Trenton, N.J., Mrs. Nowell oversees mental health services of the psychiatric hospital, which caters to individuals who are going through the legal system and coping with various degrees of mental illness. While maintaining client and staff safety is one of her major concerns, she also develops effective work methods, supervises nurses and other healthcare professionals in multiple units, and recommends staff for promotion, disciplinary action and termination if necessary. Her declaration that nursing was “in [her] bones for years” rings true after 32 years in the profession, which she feels is built upon genuine altruism.

     

Cambridge Who's Who: How did you first become involved in nursing?  
PATRICIA L. NOWELL RN, BSN, BC:  My story goes back to the second grade. I remember Mrs. Wilson was my teacher and I was 7 years old. I had a little doctor’s kit that my uncle had given me. We had to do an autobiography and I remember writing that I wanted to be a nurse. Then we had to stand in front of the class and give a speech. I said that I’d always loved taking care of people and hopefully, one day I would become a nurse

What are your short-term and long-term career goals?
In nursing, you come in as a registered nurse and move up the clinical ladder. The next thing for me is [to become] the assistant director of nursing since ours may be retiring by the end of the year. I’m getting ready to apply and go through the promotional aspects of that.

How do you remain current in your profession
Here in New Jersey we have the main journals, Nursing Spectrum and of course the American Journal of Nursing, which is all over. All of our promotional [information] comes through Nursing Spectrum.