Tess Judge-Ellis didn’t always know she wanted to pursue nursing. Like many, her career path started in a different direction. Initially a business major, it took one semester for her to switch gears. “I wanted to be able to help people,” she explains. “My mom was a nurse, so I think I saw that influence, and I liked science subjects.”
Inspired by her peers and her mother, Judge-Ellis earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Saint Louis University and went on to serve in the military, where she worked on a general surgery unit and the emergency department. “I went on active duty, stationed in Augusta, Georgia, for a few years, and then down in Honduras for six months,” she reflects on her time in the service.
After four years, she felt ready to pursue new challenges. Judge-Ellis earned a Master of Science in Nursing with a family nurse practitioner focus from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. “I worked as a family nurse practitioner first, and I saw a lot of people with mental illness. I knew I needed to get more education and pursue a doctorate. I saw an opportunity to add the specialty as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, and it just suited me,” she recalls. “I wanted to have a really broad lens to be able to look after people.”
Judge-Ellis continues to focus on addressing one of the most pressing issues in healthcare—mental health and the primary care of people with serious mental illness. She is particularly passionate about finding creative solutions for those with serious mental illnesses, a population often underserved in traditional healthcare systems. “We have a fragmented healthcare system,” she explains, highlighting the difficulty patients face when they must navigate separate relationships for their physical and mental health needs.
Judge-Ellis believes nurse practitioners who are dual-certified in both primary and psychiatric care can help bridge this gap. This comprehensive approach allows patients to see one provider for both medical and psychiatric care, reducing the number of healthcare relationships they must manage. “The more we can have broad-based clinicians involved in their care, the more helpful it will be for this population,” she says.
In her current role as a dual-certified nurse practitioner and an associate clinical professor, Judge-Ellis enjoys the variety of her work — from clinical practice to mentoring students. “I’m really enjoying what I’m doing right now, working in places where people have a difficult time accessing healthcare for whatever reason,” she says. “My work at the Shelter House and their permanent supportive housing programs is really rewarding. I get to work with community-based teams of housing professionals and case managers who are working hard to keep people afloat in the community. I also work with the team at Chatham Oaks, a residential care facility for people with severe mental illness who are in the process of stabilization and transitioning to community living.”
She also emphasizes the importance of exposing students to various care settings, stating, “I enjoy exposing students to different locations of care outside of the hospital or conventional clinic setting, where nurses can have an impact in the community, especially with people with mental illness or those who have experienced chronic homelessness.”
Judge-Ellis expresses gratitude for the creative opportunities at the University of Iowa College of Nursing, noting, “I’m really thankful that the college of nursing faculty practice allows us to work with underserved populations.”