Happy Nurses & Mental Health Awareness Month!

One of my proudest moments as a psychiatric-mental health nurse happened years after a patient’s hospitalization was over. I was approached by an individual who let me know that I had been his nurse when he was hospitalized as an adolescent. Now an adult, he told me he wanted me to know that I had helped save his life. He thanked me for showing up for him when he was at one of his lowest, most challenging points in life. I remembered a seemingly dismissive teen I sat with completing homework, making a safety plan, and introducing coping skills. I wasn’t sure any of my actions were going to stick. 

That moment stayed with me because so much of our work happens in brief, intense windows of time. We often care for patients who leave the unit and disappear back into their lives, and we rarely get to witness what happens after a short hospitalization. We don’t see whether the coping skills stick, whether support systems strengthen, or whether hope returns. Hearing about his longitudinal growth after only a small chapter in his story reminded me that the therapeutic relationship matters, even when it feels like we are only offering a few days of safety, structure, and belief in someone else’s future.  

— Millie Otte, BSN, RN, PMH-BC 

My proudest moments as a psychiatric-mental health RN and NP aren’t the big, obvious wins, but quieter ones. It’s when a patient who didn’t trust anyone starts to open up, even just a little. When someone feels seen, not judged. I’m proud of the presence and safety I bring to each interaction with a patient and their loved ones. I’ll never forget when a patient’s son told me, “Thanks for helping get my mom back!” This work is hard, and there’s no perfect way to do it, but I show up fully every time. And sometimes, that’s what makes the difference! 

— Stephanie Verdeflor, MSN, RN, PMH-BC, PMHNP-BC 

Working in addiction psychiatry, I base every day on three points I ask myself on the way to work: I look for my purpose, did I learn something, and did I have fun? And on my way home, I answer these questions. 

I view success like Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Five People You Meet in Heaven.” If you do not know the story, it shows a person arriving in heaven, and people he doesn’t recognize greet him because he made a difference in their lives! 

Moral of the story: I might never know the impact I made or didn’t make. I just keep trying to do my best.  

— Rosemary Smentkowski, DNP, MSN Ed., PMHNP-BC, CARN 

Over the past decade, I have had the privilege of training nearly 200 psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner students and witnessing their evolution into confident, skilled clinicians. My proudest moments are from seeing this journey come full circle when former students flourish in practice and then return to serve as preceptors or faculty. By fostering this cycle of mentorship, we are directly addressing the behavioral health workforce gap and ensuring a strong, sustainable future for the psychiatric-mental health nursing profession.  

— Kelly Kearney, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC

As a psychiatric-mental health nurse, one of my proudest moments happened when I was floated to the adolescent unit. After spending most of my career primarily working with adults, this was a challenge.  

I allowed one of the teens to take an item to her room that she wasn’t allowed to have, and the charge nurse called me out on it. Not sure of what to do, I went to the patient, owned my mistake, and explained why I needed the item back. We talked it through, and eventually I had to tell her “no” when she asked to keep the item. I was waiting for her to get upset, but that didn’t happen. Instead, the rest of the shift went very smoothly, so I offered to float to the adolescent unit again.  

A few days later, the patient was ready for discharge. Before she left, she asked to see me to say goodbye. Imagine my surprise when she handed me a bracelet she made that said “best nurse ever,” with a note thanking me for being an adult who cared enough to tell her no. 

I still have that bracelet tucked away in my jewelry box as a reminder of the moment everything clicked.  I went from being unsure about working with adolescents to knowing it was exactly where I was meant to be. 

— Jaime Lovelace, MSN, PMH-BC