Since she was a child growing up as the eldest of four siblings in Philadelphia, Penn., Patricia Cunningham knew she wanted to be a nurse.

Since she was a child growing up as the eldest of four siblings in Philadelphia, Penn., Patricia Cunningham knew she wanted to be a nurse.

After receiving her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Temple University, she pursued her MSN in psychiatric/mental health nursing from Indiana University and a post-master’s preparation as a family nurse practitioner from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. She graduated in the inaugural class of the UTHSC College of Nursing’s Doctor of Nursing Science program in 2001.

Her nursing journey began in Pennsylvania and Indiana hospitals before working in the medical community in Memphis. She worked as a staff nurse in psychiatric hospitals in the early 1980s, and by the mid-‘80s she was the staff development coordinator for the psychiatric units of a large general hospital. In the early 1990s, she served as a mental health/clinical nurse specialist in a large critical care division of a general hospital. She also worked as a part-time private therapist for a number of years, and spent eight years as a primary care provider in urban primary care clinics.

Since 1992, she has been a UTHSC College of Nursing faculty member. She is certified through the American Nurses Credentialing Center as an adult psychiatric/mental health clinical nurse specialist, a psychiatric family nurse practitioner, and a family nurse practitioner. In her current role as an associate professor and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) psychiatric/mental health option coordinator, Cunningham says the Tillie Olsen quote: “Who’s to care about them if we don’t, who?” inspires her work and life daily.

“This level of care is both challenging and interesting,” says Cunningham. “I assist in making positive changes in the lives of psychiatric patients. My service to the evolution, education, and role of performing as an advanced practice psychiatric nurse is extremely gratifying.”

In 2011, she received the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) Award for Excellence in Practice. In her years as an instructor at the College of Nursing, Cunningham has been humbled by many accolades, including the Excellence in Teaching Award, Outstanding Teacher Award, The Golden Apple Award, the Psychiatric Nursing Award from the Tennessee Nurses Association, and the Faculty Alumni Award from the UTHSC College of Nursing.

In addition to her roles at UTHSC, she volunteers with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office for Critical Incident Stress Debriefing.

A mother of two adult sons, Cunningham, is married to Tom Cunningham, who also works at UTHSC. She loves theater, and one day dreams of traveling for months in an ancient city in Europe.