Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenna Hernandez
Hi Jenna, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Hello! My name is Jenna Hernandez and I am currently a Registered Nurse working full-time and also in full-time graduate school, getting my Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) to be a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) in a remote program at Johns Hopkins University. I went to the University of Michigan for my undergraduate degree to get my Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN). I absolutely loved that experience, but knew I wanted to move back home to California to be with my family and the beautiful weather! I became a telemetry cardiac nurse in a community hospital for my first year of nursing, then switched to Cedars-Sinai where I am currently an Advanced Heart Failure PCU nurse. While I absolutely love the cardiac patient population, I have somehow always known that my true passion is in psych and mental health. I spent the summer of 2020 working in the office of a well-experienced and highly passionate PMHNP and through that experience, I fell in love with the field of psych and that patient population. When I moved back to LA, I began volunteering at Safe Place for Youth (SPY), a center for the unhoused youth population in Venice, CA. As I thought more about my career, I knew I wanted to become an advanced practice nurse, and felt a calling to go into the specialty of psych and mental health. In addition to this, I decided on getting the terminal nursing degree of the DNP to be as well-prepared for my future as I can be while also mastering my skills in research and leadership.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road to personal success for me has plenty of ups and downs. For starters, I started my nursing career during the Covid pandemic. The field of nursing was burnt out, we were always short-staffed, and I found it hard to find be truly satisfied in career where so many around me were struggling (both patients and staff). As time went on and I grew more experienced, I realized that the best parts of my days were when I was talking to my patients about what was going on in their head. Their fears, struggles, upbringings, happy memories – the parts about them that made them who they are. I wanted my advanced practice nursing career to be in a specialty where I could have more of these conversations. In addition to this, being in school full-time and working full-time is extremely difficult itself. I see those around me spending their free time with their families and friend as well as spending time doing activities they love. I, on the other hand, spend my time decompressing from work in libraries, sitting at my dining room table, and whatever coffee shop I happen to drive by. It is a big adjustment being back in school when those around you are not, but I make the most of it. I align my school breaks with the PTO I request from work in order to travel and spend time with my family and friends, I plan ahead to leave time for the important events in my life, and I give myself rest to avoid burnout. The road is not incredibly smooth, but I know it will lead me to the correct destination, which is my motivation to make it there.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am currently a Registered Nurse, specializing in advanced heart failure. I am also in graduate school getting my DNP to be a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP). I got my BSN degree at the University of Michigan and am currently getting my DNP at Johns Hopkins University. The program I am enrolled in is a remote program, which allows me to live in Los Angeles. I travel to the Hopkins campus in Baltimore once per year and do my clinical rotations around me in LA. I am most proud of my intrinsic motivation and drive to be the best version of myself and to be a leader to those around me. I have always been highly motivated to be a leader in my field and to help others find their passions. In the field of psych and mental health, I hope to one day be the type of PMHNP that can support my patients, helping them discover their voices and allowing them to be their authentic selves.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Along the way, I have had so many people who supported and inspired me; they are the reason why I have made it so far. My mom and dad have always been my biggest supporters and motivators, always making sure I know how proud of me they are and doing everything in their power to help me with whatever I need, big or small. Alongside them, my brother, classmates, coworkers, and other family and friends have always been so enthusiastic to ask how my journey is going and what they can do to support me. Finally, the PMHNP I worked for in the summer of 2020 is who inspired me to take this path. She has been there for me as a mentor and an influence to show me the how to be successful in this career.
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Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenna.pmhnp?igsh=NGVhN2U2NjQ0Yg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenna.hernandez?_t=8n5zPK8r0fP&_r=1
