Meet Our 2019-20 Scholarship Recipients

Meet our scholarship recipients for 2019-20!

Que Limpanyaloet

Sarote Limpanyaloet (Que) is a Doctoral of Nursing (DNP) student enrolled in the University of Washington’s Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program. His experiences while working with a diverse population struggling with substance abuse influenced his decision to become a PMHNP. His work in direct care, consultant, and supervisory roles has given him to see the complexities and challenges that patients face in today’s healthcare environment. Que’s career goal is to continue to work with underserved patients with a focus on pregnant women with substance use and co-occurring disorders.

Kayla Shull

Kayla Shull is a DNP student enrolled in Seattle University’s PMHNP program. She believes destigmatizing mental health diagnoses should be at the forefront of any behavioral health practice and that providing holistic and compassionate care is integral to the success of treatment. Her DNP project is to design and implement a wound care program for IV drug users at Evergreen Treatment Service, where she is currently employed. While wound care is not traditionally area of interest for PMHNP, wounds often derail treatment due to long hospital stays. Kayla believes a program headed by practitioners in a trusting environment could lower hospital admissions and increase treatment adherence.

Tofik Shkrea

Tofik Shkrea is a DNP student enrolled in Washington State University’s PMHNP program. He has witnessed first-hand the devastating toll mental illness can take on a family. This experience with mental illness inspired him to pursue a career in psychiatric nursing. In his home country of Ethiopia, people struggling with depression and other mental health issues are ostracized. Among his long-term career goals are to work to eliminate the stigma of mental illness and to advocate for patients by addressing failures in the healthcare system. Tofik plans to focus his practice on highly vulnerable, mentally ill individuals, such as homeless persons, drug abuse patients, and incarcerated persons in rural communities.