About the Cannabis Nurse Navigator
31 Years of Clinical Experience. A Doctorate. A Framework Built to Change Healthcare.
The Cannabis Nurse Navigator was founded by Nique Pichette who holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice with over three decades at the bedside, a Master of Science: Nursing Leadership in Health Care Systems, and a research-backed mission to bring clinical rigor to cannabis navigation in hospital systems.
The Founder
A Career Built on Clinical Excellence and Research
With over 30 years as a Registered Nurse and a Doctorate in Nursing Practice earned in 2023, the founder of the Cannabis Nurse Navigator brings a depth of clinical experience that few in this emerging field can match. This is not a wellness concept built from the outside, it is a clinically grounded framework developed by a nurse who has spent decades at the intersection of patient care, evidence-based practice, and healthcare systems.
The Cannabis Nurse Navigator framework grew directly from that clinical foundation, shaped by real patient encounters, rigorous academic research, and a clear-eyed understanding of what hospital systems need to navigate cannabis safely and responsibly.
The Research
From the Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center to Hartford Healthcare
The Cannabis Nurse Navigator framework is grounded in completed clinical research conducted at the Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center at the Institute of Living, Hartford Hospital, under the direction of Dr. Godfrey Pearlson, one of the foremost neuropsychiatric researchers in the country.
A pilot study at the Institute of Living established the foundational evidence base. A subsequent full study at Hartford Healthcare confirmed the need and clinical value of a dedicated cannabis navigation role within hospital systems. That research now forms the backbone of everything the Cannabis Nurse Navigator offers and the basis for the replication studies we are actively seeking to conduct across additional health systems.
Pilot Study: Institute of Living
Conducted at the Institute of Living at Hartford Hospital under Dr. Godfrey Pearlson at the Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center. Established the foundational evidence base for the Cannabis Nurse Navigator framework.
Full Study: Hartford Healthcare
A full clinical study at Hartford Healthcare confirmed the need and value of a dedicated cannabis navigation role within a major hospital system with rigorous methodology and clinically meaningful findings.
Replication: Seeking Partner Systems
Cannabis Nurse Navigator is actively seeking healthcare systems to replicate the study, expand the evidence base, and build the case for cannabis navigation as a recognized standard of care.
Original Clinical Tool
The CARVE Tool: Cannabis Assessment Reliability and Validity Evaluation
The CARVE tool is an original clinical assessment and screening instrument developed through research to support cannabis nurse navigators in delivering accurate, appropriate patient care. Its core purpose: helping healthcare systems and providers navigate patients through cannabis use disorder criteria and critically, differentiating medical cannabis use from problematic cannabis use.
This distinction is one of the most clinically significant challenges facing healthcare providers today. The CARVE tool gives navigators a structured, evidence-informed methodology to make that determination with confidence, ensuring that patients receive the right care, the right diagnosis, and the right level of clinical support.
Cannabis
Focused specifically on cannabis. Not adapted from general substance use tools. Built for the clinical realities of cannabis use in a healthcare setting.
Assessment
A structured clinical assessment framework that guides navigators through a comprehensive, systematic evaluation of patient cannabis use.
Reliability
Developed through formal research to produce consistent, reproducible results across clinical settings and patient populations.
Validity
Validated to accurately measure what it is designed to measure. Supporting defensible clinical decisions and appropriate diagnoses.
Evaluation
Enables navigators to differentiate medical cannabis use from problematic use delivering the clinical precision that quality patient care demands.
The Mission
Every Patient Deserves a Navigator Who Knows the Science
Cannabis is already part of the lives of patients in every hospital system in the country. The question is not whether healthcare will encounter cannabis, it is whether clinicians will be equipped to navigate it with the same rigor they bring to every other aspect of patient care. The Cannabis Nurse Navigator exists to make that possible: through completed research, a trademarked framework, and the CARVE tool, an original clinical instrument that gives navigators the precision to differentiate medical cannabis use from problematic use, and to deliver the quality care every patient deserves.
Partner With Us
Ready to Bring Cannabis Navigation to Your Health System?
Whether you are interested in replicating our research, implementing a navigation program, or learning more about the CARVE tool, we would love to connect.