At Ascend, we’re always trying to pull back the curtain on how we do what we do. While we always strive to protect our clients and respect their privacy, there are still many things we can share about our operations to give you insight into residential and outpatient treatment with us.
One of our favorite ways to share with parents and prospective clients is through our staff spotlights. These overviews take you along for a day in the life of one of our team members, allowing you to learn more about what they do and how their job fits into Ascend as a whole.
This month, we’re spotlighting one of our psychiatric providers, Dami! Learn more about what he does for us and how he ensures Ascend is a great place for our clients to thrive.
What Is A Psychiatric Provider?
As a psychiatric provider, Dami is an advanced type of registered nurse who is highly trained to provide a wider range of mental health services. Dami can diagnose clients, prescribe medications, and conduct therapy sessions for anyone who struggles with substance abuse, organic brain disorders, or psychiatric disorders.
This type of provider is also licensed to give emergency physical and psychosocial assessments, create treatment plans, conduct emergency psychiatric services, manage patient care, and serve as a consultant for parents. Dami is trained to practice autonomously or in a team setting.
What Does Dami Do For Ascend?
With such a broad range of training and experience, Dami is a crucial member of our nursing team. He specializes in working with children and adolescents, using clinical expertise, assessments, and medication management to cater to the overall mental and physical wellness of our clients.
Getting A Fresh Start
Dami didn’t always know that he wanted to be a Nurse Practitioner, let alone a psychiatric provider! He initially worked in quality improvement, ensuring client satisfaction. He quickly realized that he enjoyed interacting with clients and learning about their day. With this realization came the understanding that working directly with clients and patients was his true passion.
Dami started to pursue his career in nursing, but soon after, he discovered an even more appropriate niche for his talents. While doing rotations, he found that he was very good at working with adolescents struggling with their mental health. He grew passionate about supporting children and teens on their personal journeys, eventually deciding to take a nursing position at Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital.
However, even at this hospital, Dami didn’t feel involved enough in patient care. He returned to school to complete a program that would facilitate his commitment to working more closely with adolescents and their families. After completing his additional training, he joined us at Ascend.
Dami’s Experience Before Ascend
Dami has years of experience in the healthcare field. He’s worked as a quality analyst in the Greater Los Angeles area, as well as the UCLA Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital as a PMHNP in their outpatient program. Throughout his time in healthcare, he’s witnessed a lot of growth and transformation in teens and their families.
He’s seen some families who lose hope after their children undergo extensive treatment without any results. But thanks to Dami’s tireless work, along with the rest of the nursing team, they’re often able to find the ideal medication regimen and therapy treatment plan to support client needs and enhance their growth.
Why We Love Dami
Dami has a wealth of knowledge and experience to contribute to the nursing and psychiatric operations at Ascend. He’s an amazing source of positivity for our clients, patiently explaining medications and helping them use their therapy skills. Dami also offers our staff a unique perspective on optimal levels of care for every client — especially as they relate to medication management.
Why Dami Loves Us
Working at Ascend allows Dami to make the positive impact on adolescents that he’s always wanted to make. He loves watching their progress, building relationships with families, and getting updates from the teens after they leave our care. Dami finds it incredibly rewarding to observe their improvement and hear about their successes in college and beyond!
Dami finds that Ascend is such a good fit for him because of the genuine integrity and compassion everyone on our team holds. He believes that we continually promote healing and growth for clients and staff through our therapeutic and accepting environment.
A Day In His Life
Dami starts most days with morning meditation before diving into treatment plan meetings. During these meetings, he’ll collaborate with therapists, mentors, educators, and clinical directors to discuss client needs each week.
Later, Dami meets with clients to discuss their feelings and experiences over the previous week and use his clinical knowledge to incorporate this feedback into their medication regimen. Depending on their feelings and symptoms, he may have to adjust dosages or consider new medications. If a new medication is needed, he’ll reach out to families to ensure consent before implementing and documenting any changes to the regimen.
Keep Up With Us
For Dami, life at Ascend is nurturing, supportive, and safe. We hope that all our clients and staff feel the same things every time they enter one of our facilities.
If you’re wondering how other staff members feel about Ascend, check out our other staff spotlights to learn more! And don’t forget to check back next month for another day in the life of someone else.
