Patricia Neel “Patti” Scott, DNP, RN, PNP, NCSN-E

After her first years as an RN in acute care pediatrics at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Dr. Scott shifted to public health nursing, aiming to prevent the problems she saw in acute care settings. This included two decades in school health where she learned from families that health is less about health care and more about the places where people live, learn, work, play and pray. This was followed by a decade in state public health administration and senior/executive leadership roles in Arkansas and Tennessee where she was able to influence and strengthen preventative services in those states. She has also served on faculty at the Vanderbilt and University of Pennsylvania Schools of Nursing.

In her most recent full-time role, Dr. Scott was the Clinical Director for the Tennessee Department of Health Office of Primary Prevention where she brought clinical and public health expertise to a team that included experts in civic design, city planning, community assessment and evaluation, and wellness. This team continues to work across sectors that include State Departments of Transportation, Housing, Parks, and Education; local communities; and other entities to build a healthier, more livable Tennessee. After retirement, and during the first year of the COVID pandemic, she continued to work with the Primary Prevention team as a part-time consultant. Dr. Scott currently is employed part time at the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing where she serves as a school health consultant to the University School of Nashville.

Dr. Scott is one of 25 nurses from across the country selected to be a Public Health Nurse Leader, a one-time cohort, by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In 2017 she completed a two-year leadership development program designed to strengthen the capacity of senior public health nurses to improve population health, address social determinants of health, respond to emerging trends in health and health care, influence policy, and lead collaborations in their communities. Her work continues to influence nurses and population health today as a result of competitive funding to the Tennessee Action Coalition and the Arkansas and Missouri Centers for Nursing (the Tri-State Nurses on Boards Initiative). The focus is to develop nurse leaders to build a culture of health by integrating population health and primary prevention concepts into nursing education and Nurses on Boards training.

Dr. Scott has authored articles in peer-reviewed journals, chapters in pediatric nursing and school health texts; and has presented at many national, regional and state conferences.

While (mostly) retired and attempting to do some organic farming in rural Tennessee, Dr. Scott continues to provide expertise and mentorship through board service, community, and advocacy work. Among others, these include 2 alma maters: the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Alumni Advisory Group for the Leonard A. Lauder Community Care Nurse Practitioner Program and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing Alumni Board; and The League of Women Voters.