Podcast Points: Baylor Nursing’s First Endowed Chairholder Shares Expertise on Mental Health Needs for Nurses

This fall, Baylor University welcomed the inaugural Louise Herrington Endowed Chair in Mental Health Nursing, the first endowed chair position in the history of Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing (LHSON). Karen J. Foli, Ph.D., RN, ANEF, FAAN, joins this week’s Baylor Connections podcast to talk about her experience with psychological trauma endured by nurses and how that affects their well-being. 

Podcast Points with Karen Foli 

Umbrella of Mental Health 

• Foli has expertise working with adoptive, kinship and foster parents and their mental health status and depressive symptoms, especially after the child is in the home. Her expertise extends to the psychological traumas and mental health/well-being of nurses, with a particular focus on new nurses and student nurses, Foli said. 

• “You would not think at first glance that those two populations would have a whole lot in common, but I think the common underlying theme would be trauma issues,” Foli said. 

Angles in Serving Others 

• Foli touches on the angle of trauma-informed care and helps listeners understand the definition of trauma. She approaches it by recognizing three components: an event or series of events happen, an experience where there is a shift and the effects. 

• The second study Foli completed dealt with substance use in nurses and nurses’ well-being. Foli recognizes that the trauma experienced by nurses in their daily job can be associated with substance use. 

A Vehicle to Help People 

• Foli authored the book, The Influence of Psychological Trauma in Nursing, and believes that it can be used to help people, especially new nurses and new graduate nurses by providing a vocabulary. She has formulated a theory in nursing of the seven types of specific traumas that nurses experience. 

• “Insufficient Resource Trauma is defined as nurses who are in positions where they do not have enough sufficient knowledge to be competent caregivers, or they lack other nurses to help them give quality care, supplies that are sufficient to do safe care or the accessibility to other professionals,” Foli said. 

Opportunity at Baylor 

• When asked what drew her Baylor’s nursing school, Foli said she was ready for a new challenge and has knowledge and experience to share at the Louise Herrington School of Nursing. 

• Foli ends the conversation by explaining her new role as The Louise Herrington Endowed Chair in Mental Health Nursing, including the opportunity to apply for grants, help others apply for grants and ultimately give advice to people in a research- and teaching-intensive culture. 

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY 

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more about Baylor University at www.baylor.edu.  

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY LOUISE HERRINGTON SCHOOL OF NURSING   

The Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing (LHSON) located in Dallas, Texas, was established in 1909 as a diploma program within Baylor Hospital in Dallas, which is now Baylor Scott & White Health’s Baylor University Medical Center, and in 1950 became one of the six degree-granting schools of Baylor University. The first Baccalaureate degrees were granted in 1952, establishing the School among the earliest baccalaureate nursing programs in Texas. In 1999, the School was renamed the Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing after Louise Herrington Ornelas, a 1992 Baylor Alumna Honoris Causa, who made an endowment gift to the School. The LHSON offers Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees through Traditional, FastBacc® (one-year accelerated) and Distance Accelerated BSN programs. Plus, the LHSON offers an online Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program with tracks that include Family Nurse Practitioner, Nurse-Midwifery, Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Executive Nurse Leadership and U.S. Army Anesthesia Nursing (USAGPAN). U.S. News & World Report 2024 Best Undergraduate Nursing Programs ranked the LHSON No. 39. In addition, U.S. News 2024-2025 Best Graduate Schools rankings list several LHSON programs, including the DNP program at No. 66 nationally and “Best Nursing” specialty rankings for LHSON’s USAGPAN, which operates at the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, at No. 2 nationally, and Baylor’s Nurse-Midwifery program, which is No. 22 in the nation. To learn more, visit the School of Nursing website.