"Done is Better Than Perfect"
Hello and welcome to my first blog post! As the title suggests, my goal here is to get this first post done and out of the way so I can start blogging regularly on various topics relevant to psychiatry, medicine and mental health.
This post will likely be different than most as I will be doing some self disclosure. I want you to get to know me on a more personal level.
1. I tend to be perfectionist.
I am not proud of this and work hard to not get caught up in every detail of every project being perfect. Case in point, this blog.
2. I have procrastinated starting a blog for almost 2 years!
Every therapist or medical practice training website has a section devoted to why I should be blogging and how important it is for building my practice. But guess what?!? Blogging is scary! Putting my thoughts and opinions down for all the world to see and criticize is scary!
3. One of the most confusing aspects of my job is explaining my title and qualifications.
Are you a Psychiatrist?
Nope! I always want to be very clear about this. I am not a Psychiatrist (an M.D. who specializes in psychiatry).
Are you a Psychologist?
No again! I am also not a Psychologist (a person who has a Doctorate in Psychology).
Okay, then who are you?
My name is Brittany Sherwood and I am a Psychiatric/Mental-Health Nurse Practitioner or PMHNP.
What do the letters after your name mean?
The full alphabet soup after my name is Brittany Sherwood, MS, RN, ARNP, PMHNP-BC
MS denotes my highest level of education which is a Master of Science
RN shows that I am a Registered Nurse
ARNP stands for Advance Practice Nurse Practitioner
PMHNP-BC shows I have specialized as a Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and am Board Certified in this specialty
But can you prescribe medications?
Yes, I can! I will talk about this more in a future post.
What about talk therapy?
Yes again! I will also talk about this topic in more depth in the future.
4. Most of my patient's just call me Brittany.
5. I look young (and am in comparison to most other Psychiatric providers)
This is the main picture you will find of me online. My younger sister, Chelsea, took this picture for me on her phone in Cooper City, FL in the backyard of our childhood home around December, 2014.
6. I don't look exactly the same now as it has been almost 2 years since that picture was taken and my hair is different now.
Watch my welcome video below for an introduction to myself and my practice.
