Kathleen Lehmann, Ed.S, M.Ed, BSN, BA, RN-BC, PMHN

Nurse Emeritus

NOVA Chapter 224

Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital, Bedford, MA

Kathleen Lehmann

I am a Nurse Emeritus member in semi-retirement.  I live on a peninsula between the Atlantic and Boston Harbor under the flight path to Logan Airport - which I love as I was an active private pilot before living in Europe for 20 years. I also owned a motorcycle and rode until recently retiring my bike as well. I love music, plants, and the ocean. 

I retired from the Bedford VAMC with 30 years of federal (USAF NC, VHA, and DOD) service and over 43 years of nursing service. While I miss people, being retired has allowed me to focus more on me and I have greatly improved my health and quality of life, although I fight my circadian rhythms after decades of shift work and off tours. I also do not miss the 100-mile daily commute!

I graduated from Rhode Island College with my BSN/BA in 1977. I accepted one of the highest paying jobs of my classmates at that time $12,000 – to work at the VA! Unprepared to work in the challenging post-Vietnam era environment of 1,500 patients, I decided to enter the military and left New England to be stationed in Texas, and then in Germany. I served in the USAF Nurse Corps, resigning my commission 6 years later as a Captain. I married in Germany and remained there until 1997 – returning home to ‘repatriate’ via the QE2 Luxury Liner to cruise into New York City. I returned to school and earned my M.Ed. and worked in research at UMass Boston and Boston University before returning to the same VA (now 400 beds).  I had left over 25 years previously – even to the same inpatient mental health unit!

One of the first things I did was to make new friends and work over the next decade to establish and grow an active NOVA Chapter. I chaired a national committee for NOVA and remain an active mentor. I rarely missed an Annual NOVA Meeting – and brought that information back to my facility and chapter. It was priceless to connect with members and leaders at the national level to allow me to learn and work within the VA system. We had many great adventures – most memorably the Boston City Scavenger Hunt, spending a day with NOVA members building a house with Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans post-Katrina, making our Kentucky Derby Hats and watching the race (best part was feeling the joy of folks reacting to our hats all the way back to Boston), completing the USMC Marathon in D.C., and the many Advocacy visits to Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. It was a NOVA member (thank you Kelly D. Skinner!) who taught me how to make my first poster – and I spent the following decade actively presenting poster and oral sessions at nursing conferences around the world.

My focus and interests remain in Suicide, PTSD, Psychosis, and Substance Use Disorders. I continue to work as a consultant to a national publishing house as a Subject Matter Expert on mental issues. I was a NOVA scholarship recipient and earned a Doctorate level Ed.S. degree at Liberty University. I was also honored to be named the ANCC Certified PMHN of 2017.  I retired from Edith Nourse Rogers VA Memorial Hospital before COVID-19 to allow me to complete my Doctoral Degree in Education. I am now conducting data collection with Nurse Executives on Nursing Workplace Violence to complete my Doctorate in Education. - my "retirement plan". It has certainly helped keep me focused throughout these tumultuous times. I expect to defend my dissertation and graduate in the spring of 2021, a decade after beginning the journey.

Once school is finished, I have some books to write! I am proud to be a nurse and it makes great sense to stay connected as a Nurse Emeritus. I loved being in the military and traveling throughout the world. Being a part of NOVA has expanded my professional world to encompass VA nurses throughout this great country. It has made all the difference to me both personally and professionally. Stay Safe!