- Addiction Specialist
- Fellow-American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress
- Certified Educator and Therapist in Compassion Fatigue
Donna McCarten White is the Addiction Specialist for the
Lemuel Shattuck Hospital, a Public Health Hospital for the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. Her immediate previous position was former Program Director for
the Commonwealth Research and Evaluation Unit--a conjoined program between the
Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and Harvard University. She is the
former Chief Operating Officer and Nurse Executive at Worcester State Hospital,
the oldest publicly funded psychiatric hospital in the United States. In
addition, she was Director of Nurses and the Director of Chemical Dependency
Services at Pembroke Psychiatric Hospital.
She is a graduate of Boston City Hospital School of Nursing and earned a BSN from Curry College in 1985. She holds an MSN from the University of Massachusetts/Boston, is a licensed drug and alcohol counselor with additional
certification in advanced Drug and Alcohol Counseling, is certified in Chemical Dependency and Addictions Nursing and is an advanced practice Clinical Specialist in Public Health. She is a Green Cross Foundation Certified Educator in Compassion Fatigue.
Dr. White has many awards to her credit and is the 2006 recipient of the Peer Assistance Award from
IntNSA and in 2007 was the first recipient of the Fong-Bressler Award
for Outstanding Preceptorship in the Graduate Program for the Massachusetts
General Hospital Institute of Health Professions. MNA awarded her the Addictions Nursing
Award in 2009. In October, 2010, she
was recognized by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with the award of Champion
of Public Health. In May, 2011, she
was awarded the Nancy Valentine Leadership Award from the New England
Chapter of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association and in 2013, she was
voted Mentor of the Year by the International Nurses Society of
Addiction Nurses. In 2014, she was given
the Heart of Nursing Award from the University of Massachusetts/Boston
Sigma Theta Tau Chapter. Donna is the
author of an Addictions Competency Based Program in the Department of Public
Health Hospital. She has many
publications to her credit and recently co-authored a chapter on Addictions in
a Psychiatric textbook and is currently revising another. In addition, she was part of a video
production addressing suicide in adolescents in Massachusetts. In 2017, she was the recipient of the Fred
French Award for Lifetime Excellence in the field of Addictions from
C4 Foundation. She was also given the Educator
of the Year Award by the InterNational Society of Addictions Nurses in
October, 2018, and in November 2018, she was awarded the Labor Activist
Award for advocating for people in recovery in the workplace. She received the Frances Slanger Award from
the Boston City Hospital Alumni Association on October 5th, 2018 and
the Mentor Award from the Massachusetts Nurses Association at their Convention
on October 18, 2019. The University of
Massachusetts Boston awarded her the Beacon of Courage Award in 2020 for her
work in the field of Addiction and Substance Use Disorders. In January, 2022, she was awarded Educator of
the Year by MAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals.
Most recently, in 2023, she co-authored a Chapter on Substance Use Disorders in a
Community Health Textbook.
Dr. White is the
statewide Chairperson of the MNA Addictions Council, and oversees the Peer
Assistant Program for Professionals seeking help in recovery. She is certified by the Green Cross
Foundation as an educator and therapist in Compassion Fatigue concerns and is a
specialist in Addictive Disorders, Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious
Traumatization in Healthcare Professionals.
In addition, she is a member of the International Trauma Specialists and
is a Board Certified Fellow in the American Academy of Experts in
Traumatic Stress. Dr. White was a
Clinical Instructor for Boston Area Colleges…graduate NP programs as well as
baccalaureate level for Community Health Clinical work and is a Visiting
Scholar for local Colleges.
In addition, she provided oversight for the clinical practicums of
counseling students and consulted to department chairs for all
medical/professional clinical experience rotations at the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital. She has lectured at many facilities and
agencies nationwide and is a recognized leader in the field of Addictions,
Impaired Practice and Peer Assistance, as well as Healthcare Professional
Stress.
In addition, she also
volunteers her time to the indigenous Apache people on the San Carlos
Reservation in Arizona.
Dr. White is the statewide Chairperson of the Massachusetts Nurses Association
Addictions Council and completed her doctoral studies in Human Behavior with
her dissertation in Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Traumatization in
Healthcare Professionals. She is a designated ASAP responder for traumatic
events in her facility. She has lectured at many facilities and agencies
nationwide and is a recognized leader in the field of Addictions, Impaired
Practice and Peer Assistance, as well as Healthcare Professional stress.
WORKSHOPS, PRESENTATIONS AND SEMINAR TOPICS AND DESCRIPTIONS
Compassion Fatigue-Healing the Heart-Renewing the Soul
To present a new perspective on the issue of stress in Clinical Practice.
Research presented will demonstrate how caretaking behaviors in the
professional increase the risk of specific stressors that may lead to
Compassion Fatigue. Discussion will present the profile of a Professional
working in a caring capacity that is suffering from Compassion Fatigue. The
interactive seminar will identify common stressors that impact performance of
those professionals. The learner will be given methodologies to identify
patterns of Compassion Fatigue and strategies to promote Wellness, Recovery and
a renewed sense of identity as a caring professional.
Treating the Person With an Addictive Disorder and Co-Existing Pain Issues: Why
is it so Difficult?
To present a healthcare perspective on the issue of pain management issues
co-existing with an addictive disorder
Treatment of Domestic Violence and Addictive Disorders in Cross-Cultural
Populations
To present a healthcare perspective on the issue of cultural
perspectives involved in domestic violence and the interwoven strand of
substance abuse
Treatment of Alcohol Use and Abuse Utilizing Brief Intervention Techniques
The purpose of this workshop is to present a new perspective on how alcohol use
and abuse can be treated effectively utilizing a Brief Intervention Model and
why a Brief Intervention Model can be particularly useful.
PAST ORGANIZATIONAL CONSULTATIONS, TRAINING AND INTERVIEWS
Healthcare agencies nationwide
Massachusetts Nurses Association
Boston Medical Center
Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA
Beth Israel Medical Center, Boston, MA
Rochester General Hosptial, N.Y
National Emergency Healthcare Summit
Acadia Medical Center, Maine
DATA of Rhode Island
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, N.H.
Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Nurse Practitioner Associates for Continuing Education University of Massachusetts,
Boston
Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions Northeastern
University
Curry College
Bunker Hill Community College
Psychiatric Nurses Association of Indiana
Maine Nurses Association
Rhode Island Student Nurses Association
Community Agencies Serving Alcoholics
Boston Alzheimer's Association
International Nurses Society on Addictions
New England Psychiatric Nurses Association
National Association of Drug and Alcohol Counselors
Boston Cable Channel TV station