LaTesha Reed is a board-certified nurse practitioner (family and psychiatric-mental health) and completed her Doctor in Nursing Practice. This is an accomplishment she takes great pride in, knowing her patients will reap the rewards of this higher learning. Additionally, she holds two master’s degrees and a post-master’s certification.
Professor Reed’s clinical philosophy focuses on patient education and collaboration. She wants her patients to know she is truly their advocate, and she will work tirelessly to ensure that her patients have a clear understanding of what they should expect, making them a part of the treatment team. She holds many of the same values when it comes to her students. Professor Reed values spending one-on-one time with her students as well as offering group learning around difficult assignments. She has a passion for serving underserved populations of students and patients, alike.
She believes that nursing faculty members should be amongst those held to the highest teaching standards. Nurses are responsible for the care of patients as well as families. Nurses are among the most trusted members in our society as whole. We are expected to offer compassion, kindness, empathy and respect. As faculty members in this esteemed profession we are morally obligated to enter the academic environment with only the highest of expectations for each and every one of our students. Thus, the nursing faculty member encourages the best outcomes from each student by modeling this behavior in the classroom on a day to day basis.
Professor Reed aims to bring an open mind, an optimistic perspective and best effort to the classroom each day. She finds that it is her responsibility as a faculty member, to both the student and community, that she creates a consistent and warm environment where students feel comfortable seeking support and are also able to receive productive feedback. In her experiences working in graduate level nursing, she has used much of her energy to motivate, energize and sharpen the skills of her students. While she offers critical feedback, she also creates a warm environment where feedback offers opportunities for growth and reject feelings of failure or lack of capability.
While the student should be the immediate focus of the nursing faculty, it is also important that the faculty member understands their role in the department and on the academic team. This team-based approach offers the students in the program the most cohesive and comprehensive program.
Professor Reed looks forward to growing her teaching philosophy and abilities as she pursues a full time teaching position at her alma mater, the University of Southern California.