My story to becoming a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner began when I was 16 years old. When I was in high school I experienced a friend and classmate complete suicide. While I did not know it then, this experience would influence decisions I made throughout my nursing career. 

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In nursing school, I worked for DHS as a mental health aide in the community, going into the homes of women with severe mental illness and making sure they had clean clothes, assisting with grocery trips, basic cleaning, etc. I was yelled at, “fired” numerous times, and witnessed these women experiencing society essentially closing them off. It taught me a lot about the systems in place needed to keep people healthy and the incredible amount of work that goes into it behind the scenes. 

 

After graduating nursing school, I was enamored with critical care. I worked in intensive care for several years in several states and when COVID hit, I became a travel nurse. What I kept finding time and again was that addiction, depression, anxiety, PTSD, delusions, hallucinations, etc were a daily struggle for my patients in acute care. I met with my role model, Nancy, a PMHNP in Boise. During a coffee visit, she told me what it would take to really change people’s lives and how mental health permeates every area of healthcare and is a drastically unmet need. This is when I decided and started my graduate program for my PMHNP.

 

In late 2020 while completing my graduate program, my husband’s job took us to Colorado. I worked as a Forensic Nurse Examiner for UC Health. This experience taught me more about the world and human behavior than I could have ever imagined. I still have that program to thank for teaching me what it truly means to be trauma informed. It was one of the hardest jobs to leave, but was also the heaviest on my heart. I take those patients with me into every interaction I have as a mental health clinician. I have seen enough hurt in others for a lifetime and I hope to be the light my patients need. 

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My role as a PMHNP is more than just a job I clock in and out of, it's a role I hold with pride and careful hands. I feel grateful to have patients who trust me with their deepest emotions, heaviest hearts, and joyous moments. It is an honor to get to be the one who helps lift them and remind them of their resilience. 

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My hope is for my patients is that after every interaction with me, they feel heard, held, and hopeful. I want them to have something to look forward to with their treatment, a plan that they feel involved in making. I want my patients to feel comfortable enough to offer honest feedback about how their treatment is going.