Dr. Kathleen Carroll was awarded the 2026 Preceptor Gold Star Award by the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties at the Annual Awards Gala. The award recognizes one nurse practitioner preceptor nationally each year for exceptional leadership, mentorship, evidence-based practice and commitment to supporting students entering the profession.

“Receiving the preceptor gold star award is humbling and validating,” Carroll said. “Recognition for behind-the-scenes tireless work is gratifying. Knowing that Nevada is nearly last in the country in access to mental healthcare, being recognized for playing a part in moving the needle in the right direction is rewarding.”

Carroll, a psychiatric nurse practitioner with the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System and longtime preceptor for the Orvis School of Nursing’s Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program, was nominated by Orvis School of Nursing Associate Professor Dr. Roger Green for her years of service mentoring future psychiatric mental health providers.

“Dr. Carroll has been a tremendous asset to the psychiatric mental health program at Orvis School of Nursing,” Green remarked. “She has served as a preceptor for many years, has given guest lectures and shared her expertise with our students as a seasoned clinician. She consistently works with graduate students, providing comprehensive outpatient experience at the Reno VA Hospital.

“Her partnership is greatly appreciated, and students are very satisfied with the excellent clinical experiences gained each semester. Dr. Carroll is also the director of the MHNP Residency Program at the VA, in its second cohort. Each year, a few of our PMHNP graduates enter this year-long program to gain additional experience as a PMHNP and become employed either with the VA or in the community, with a better understanding of veteran care after completing the residency program.”

The PMHNP program prepares advanced practice nurses to provide mental health care across the lifespan through clinical and evidence-based training experiences. The program coordinates clinical placements for graduate nursing students, enabling learners to gain hands-on experience in diverse mental health settings alongside experienced preceptors such as Carroll.

Carroll has spent more than two decades mentoring nurse practitioner students and guiding future providers through the transition from bedside nursing into advanced psychiatric care. Her path to psychiatric mental health nursing was shaped by experiences early in her career, including caring for a veteran with PTSD while working as a nurse extern and witnessing the lasting impact mental health challenges can have on patients and families.

“The World Health Organization has a statement that without mental health, there is no health,” Carroll said. “With the crisis of veteran and military spouse suicide, I feel compelled and called to continue working in mental health and help decrease these preventable tragedies and decrease the burden of mental illness.”

Carroll served in the U.S. Air Force Reserves as a flight nurse and has worked with veterans and military families for decades. She has served as a psychiatric nurse practitioner with the VA for eight years.

“I have been mentoring students since achieving my nurse practitioner license 20 years ago,” Carroll said. “Mentoring students allows me to pass on the pearls that I have learned from my predecessors who shared freely without compensation, in raising me to provide mentorship for the students I interact with. I find it an ethical and professional responsibility to pour into the next generation of psychiatric mental healthcare nurse practitioners.”

Carroll said one of the most rewarding parts of precepting is watching students gain confidence as they begin to independently assess patients, develop diagnoses and create treatment plans grounded in evidence-based care.

“Shepherding nurse practitioner learners as they move from novice to competent psychiatric healthcare providers with confidence is inspiring,” Carroll said. “Seeing their confidence grow as each nurse practitioner student transitions from the role of nurse to provider is enriching.”

Over the past six years in Northern Nevada, Carroll has mentored approximately seven Orvis School of Nursing students, most of whom were doctoral students. She said the experience has also strengthened her own practice.

“I would describe my experience working with students from the Orvis School of Nursing as an honor, as well as rewarding, encouraging, rejuvenating and at times challenging my own practice, making me a better psychiatric nurse practitioner,” Carroll said.

Carroll believes strong clinical mentorship is essential to addressing the growing need for mental health providers in Nevada and across the country, particularly for veterans and military families.

“Working with students and concurrently seeing patients/veterans for evaluation and management can transform a provider’s career,” Carroll said. “Understanding the veteran-centric challenges that are faced, whether practicing within the VA or in the community setting, can enhance veteran mental health and possibly help reduce veteran and military spouse suicide rates in the future.”

She also encourages clinicians to view precepting as a professional responsibility and an investment in the future of healthcare.

“Listen to your learners. Be a conduit of information and experiences,” Carroll said. “Sacrifice as those nurse leaders who have gone before us have sacrificed, with compassion for both your patients and student learners.”

Reflecting on the honor, Carroll emphasized that the award represents not only her work but also the colleagues and mentors who have supported students alongside her over the years.