Director -Addiction Counselor Education Program
University of Massachusetts Boston
Hanover, Massachusetts
Donna McCarten White was the former Director of Addiction Services for the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital, a Public Health Hospital for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She is the former Chief Operating Officer and Nurse Executive at Worcester State Hospital. In addition, she was the Director of the DMH and Harvard University Commonwealth Research and Evaluation Unit. In the past she was the Director of Nursing and the Director of Chemical Dependency Services and the Dual Diagnosis Program at Pembroke Psychiatric Hospital. She developed the In-Patient STAT Program for professionals with a Substance Use Disorder requiring treatment.
She is a graduate of Boston City Hospital School of Nursing and earned a BSN from Curry College in 1985. In addition, she completed graduate studies at the University of Massachusetts/Boston, is a licensed drug and alcohol counselor with an additional certification in advanced Drug and Alcohol Counseling, is certified in Chemical Dependency and Addictions Nursing, and certified by the ANCC as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Public Health. She is a Board Certified Fellow in the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. In 2015, she was inducted as a Fellow in the International Nurses Society on Addictions.
Dr. White 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 where she now consults. 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.
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
Dr. White is a Clinical Instructor for Boston Area Colleges of Nursing…graduate NP programs as well as baccalaureate level for Community Health Clinical work at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions and is a Visiting Scholar for local Colleges and Professional Programs of study. She is now Part of the Addictions Certification Education Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston and teaches the Psychopharmacology Course. She provides Educational Assistance to the College of Nursing at UMASS Boston as requested. In addition, she previously 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.
She also volunteers on the Apache Reservation in Arizona working with Tribal People providing education of Substance Use Disorders. (Currently on hold due to the COVID Pandemic).
Disclosure information not submitted.
Ethical Issues in the Clinical Practice of Treating Substance Use Disorders
Thursday, September 7, 2023
1:30 PM – 5:00 PM ET