Dr. Y’Esha Williams-Click joined the University of Memphis in January 2025 as an Associate Professor in the College of Nursing. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Mississippi in 2008. Additionally, she attained a Master of Science in Nursing in 2012 and a PhD in Nursing Research in 2016 from The University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Dr. Williams-Click has worked in academia as an Assistant Professor since 2016 and earned the title of Clinical Associate Professor in 2020. She is currently a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, obtaining her DNP degree from The University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Before beginning her work as a full-time professor, she worked as a Charge Nurse at Parkwood Behavioral Health Hospital; thus, increasing her interest in mental health nursing.
Dr. Williams-Click is currently very engaged with research and has several areas of interest, including obesity, depression, and physical activity in African American mother-child dyads. She is also developing methods to increase technology use through mobile applications for nursing students studying mental health, including communication and potential barriers. Lastly, she is working to increase health literacy in Shelby County through a partnership with the Memphis Public Library and the Community of Research Scholars (CoRS) at the University of Memphis. Ultimately, through her research, Dr. Williams-Click has a goal of transforming the way individuals, especially in underserved communities, view mental illness through education and increasing access to care.
- The University of Tennessee Health Science Center DNP-PMHNP Nursing 2023-2026
- The University of Tennessee Health Science Center Ph.D. Nursing 2012-2016
- The University of Tennessee Health Science Center MSN Nursing 2010-2012
- The University of Mississippi BA Biology 2004-2008
- Community/population health
- Health literacy
- Mental health
- Nursing education
- Obesity
- Pediatrics
- Simulation
- Underserved populations
- Women’s health
American Nurses Association Tennessee
American Psychiatric Nurses Association
Sigma Theta Tau- Beta Theta Chapter
Tennessee Nurses Association
• The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses- December 2020
• U of M First Time Principal Investigator Award- November 2019
• Southern Nursing Research Society Top Student Poster Presentation- February 2017
• 3rd Place Podium Presentation, Southern Research Society-February 2017
• Southern Regional Education Board Doctoral Scholarship, $20,000 per year
• Dissertation Award
• Robert Wood Johnson Scholarship
• Greenwood High School Teacher of the Year 2010
• Calhoun, S., & Carroll, L., Williams-Click, Y. (2026). Racial concordance and the assumption of trust: Why engagement is often mistaken for partnership in the care of black men. Patient Experience Journal.
• Lee, S., Singarella, I., Bertz, C., Hicks, K., Elswick, S., Jin, S. W., Williams-Click, Y., ... & Howard, J. (2024). Community health information needs assessment in the midsouth region of the United States indicates new roles for public libraries. Health Information & Libraries Journal.
• Terui, S., Goldsmith, J. V., Wittenberg, E., Williams-Click, Y., & Alabere, R. (2024). User experience and evaluation of the COMFORT communication app for nursing education. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 42(4), 241-248.
• Williams, Y., Cowan, P., & Graff, J. (2020). Examining the associations among depressive symptoms, body mass index (BMI) z-scores, and physical activity self-efficacy in African American (AA) children. The Journal of Child and Family Studies, 1–10. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01761-x
• Wittenberg, E., Goldsmith, J., Williams, Y. (2018). Caring for Family Caregivers: A Pilot Test of an Online COMFORT Communication Training Module for Undergraduate Nursing Students. Journal of Cancer Education, 1-6.
• Cowan, P., Williams, Y., Wicks, M. (2015). Promoting ethnic minority and male success in an accelerated, entry-level maters in nursing program: The sustain program. Journal of Nursing Education, 54(9), S112-S115.
Breaking the Burnout Cycle: A Controlled Study of Educational and Structured Interventions
for New Nurses
This study is designed as a quasi-experimental, controlled trial that includes pretest
and posttest assessments to evaluate the outcomes of both the intervention and matched
control groups. The participants will be newly graduated nurses who are part of a
Nurse Residency program at Methodist Hospitals in Memphis, TN. Approximately 150 newly
licensed registered nurses employed across various Methodist hospitals and units will
be recruited for participation.