2024 APNA Award for Excellence in Leadership – APRN

Lt. Col. Regina Owen, DNP, PMHNP-BC

Nominated by Jouhayna Bajjani Gebara, PhD, PMHNP-BC, PMHCNS-BC

With an aptitude for problem-solving and a willingness to seize opportunities in her midst, Regina D. Owen embarked on a path to transforming military mental health care practices and inspiring the next generation of psychiatric-mental health (PMH) nurses in the armed forces.

While completing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) at Northern Arizona University, Regina frequently encountered mental health challenges on rotations – most notably during clinical rotations on a reservation. She explains, “working with individuals experiencing trauma and addiction initially felt terrifying and uncomfortable, but those early experiences fueled my ambition to help improve people’s lives.”

Regina had the good fortune to encounter faculty who pushed students to “expand the traditional view of what nursing can be,” giving her a wider view of what was possible. She shares, “One particularly impactful faculty served as a Reservist in the U.S. Air Force. I always admired her ability to lead others through her consistent presence and genuine attentiveness—truly listening to you.

I realized at that time that when an intriguing opportunity presents itself, you should take it.”

Regina decided to join the U.S. Air Force and began work as a nurse in the emergency room at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, and later at Joint Base San Antonio in the neonatal ICU. She says, “I believed I knew what nursing entailed, but my time in the Air Force introduced me to a wider array of diversity and experiences than I had ever imagined. I made a point to stay curious, knowing that opportunities were abundant—it was up to me to embrace them”

Regina was deployed to Iraq, where she worked in a tent combat hospital in Ballad, which greatly enhanced her resilience and problem-solving skills. “I suddenly had a big responsibility. So much critical medical care with minimal resources. I often carried a heavy burden in my heart knowing we couldn’t help everyone. The emotional and physical toll on the staff was immense, and I knew I had to step up, build a strong team, and lead.”

Assigned later to Germany, Regina led a Behavioral Health Warrior Operational Clinic with a team of 8 professionals. Of the highly intense traumatic and fast paced work she explains, “I had to decide quickly if I wanted to let situations overwhelm me, or if I could instead concentrate on my team and our mission – taking care of our patients.”

At Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Regina encountered high levels of alcohol use among Mortuary Affairs staff, who routinely experienced trauma in their work. Regina embedded a mental health professional in the department to ensure staff needs were being addressed. She says, “When you’re dealing with the lives of others, you can’t just do the minimum. It’s important to silently observe and look for things you can change for the better.”

After completing her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), Regina partnered with Walter Reed Army Medical Center to bring canine therapy to staff, faculty, students, and patients alike. For the past 10 years, she has handled Major General Goldie, a highly trained service dog, and advocates for the use of canine mental health therapy throughout the military.

Today, Regina serves as Associate Professor and Program Director of the PMH Nurse Practitioner Program in the Daniel K. Inouye Graduate School of Nursing at Uniformed Services University (USU) in Bethesda, Maryland. After recently completing a Master’s in Education (MEd) in the Health Professions, she has added pediatric and geriatric specific curriculum to the program.

Regina has been instrumental in a graduate nursing program partnership with the psychology department where PMHNP faculty teach a psychopharmacology course to graduate psychology students. And, through a partnership she developed with the Center for Deployment Psychology, PMHNP students now receive the same training in evidence-based psychotherapy that psychology students receive.

As a military healthcare educator, Regina consistently works to recruit professionals to the field of PMH nursing. For example, she spearheaded the creation of a USU Health Services commercial to increase awareness of the PMHNP program among hundreds of Army, Air Force, and Navy nurses throughout the world. Regina confides, “The more people we have, the more good we can do. So, it’s always been a priority of mine to increase awareness of opportunities for careers in PMH nursing and the need to further grow our field.”

Colleagues share that as a leader, Regina is strategic and visionary with a unique ability to connect and bring forward the strengths of those she leads. Regina shares a humbler view, saying, “The teams I lead are really self-run. They tell me it’s because of my leadership style, but it’s just being human and really listening. I give them my time, listen and help them grow.”