Helping those who help others
T’Anya Carter showing off her doctorate With a newly-minted Ph.D. under her belt, CRNA T’Anya Carter wants to help nurses fighting substance use disorder DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writertaffet@dallasvoice.com While nurses and other medical professionals have experienced burnout at an unprecedented rate during the pandemic, T’Anya Carter forged ahead in her career, recently earning her Ph.D.
in nursing. Carter is a certified registered nurse anesthetic — one of only 11 Black CRBA out of 60,000 in the U.S. who has a doctorate.
Carter started work on her Ph.D. five-and-a-half years ago and began research for her dissertation, “Challenges for Nurse Anesthetists Re-entering Practice Following Substance Use Disorder Treatment,” before the beginning of the pandemic. “I wanted to know why they have trouble re-entering the field,” she said, explaining why she chose that topic.
The short answer? Fear and stigma. Substance use disorder, Carter said, is a chronic “disease of the brain.” A person with this disorder, she added, shouldn’t be shamed or feared but instead encouraged to get help.
