Faculty and Staff Profile

Paula Watt

Educational Background

Ph.D. Holistic Health Science
Clayton College of Natural Health 1999

M.S. Nursing
Clemson University 1994

Certificate Family Nurse Practitioner
MAHEC 1987

Courses Taught

Nursing of Developing Families: graduate women's health

Profile

Paula J. Watt, PhD, APRN-BC, FNP-C, is a long time part-time lecturer for the School of Nursing. She holds certifications in advanced practice for Family, Women’s Health, Menopause; Lifestyle Medicine; and completed the NIH Summer Genetics Institute. She is a member of the first outside team trained in the Touchpoints Approach, supporting families and children. Recognizing the importance of relationship in brain development, team building, personal health protection, and social determinants, her research, presentations, and outreach have focused on building resiliency through lifestyle health especially in marginalized populations. As the former director of the Joseph F. Sullivan Center, one of the oldest successful academic nursing centers in the country, she provided leadership for all on and offsite programs and services while promoting the integration of teaching, research, and community outreach with multidisciplinary teams. She lead an expansion of mobile health outreach from one county to statewide collaborative, multi-agency care. She supported lifestyle health availability for employee, community, and specifically rural, underserved, and vulnerable populations. Her research and collaborative activities encouraged faculty and enhanced student service learning in Recreation Therapy, Nursing, Public Health, Architecture in Health, Industrial Engineering, Psychology and others. Her current role as lecturer she advises future health professionals in the complex role of Advanced Practice; and as consultant for individuals and groups on the effects of lifestyle on health, and for agencies on collaborative outreach to marginalized populations.

Research Interests

Publication, research, and speaking topic areas include Lifestyle as Medicine, Womens Health, Complementary and Alternative health, Cardio and Ovarian Metabolic Syndrome, Access to Care and Mobile Outreach to Vulnerable Populations, Stress, and Resiliency.

Research Publications

Moore, S., Holaday, B., Meehan, N, & Watt, P. (2015) Exploring mHealth as a New Route to Bridging the Nursing Theory-Practice Gap. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice, 29:1, p38-52, 2015.
Crowe, B.M., Van Puymbroeck, M., Linder, S.M., McGuire, F.A., & Watt, P.J. (2015). The effects of yoga participation on women's quality of life and symptom management during the menopausal transition: A pilot study. Health Care for Women International, 39:10, p1124-1142, July 9, 2015.
Haynes, D., Pruitt, R, Watt, P., Parker, V., & Price, K. (2010) Controlling metabolic syndrome in the Latino population: Support for current guidelines. HHC 8:2, p85-92, 2010.
Haynes, D., and Watt, P. The Lived Experience of Healthy Behaviors in People with Debilitating Illness. HNP 22:1, January-February, 2008.