Mental Health Nurse Personal Statement

The Direct Entry option at Vanderbilt would allow me to accomplish all my academic goals, granting me the ability to complete a BSN in a timely manner with hands-on experience that will be paramount to success toward completing a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program. My Undergraduate career was obscured by the looming presence of clinical depression, this personal experience been the driving force in my pursuit to become a Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. My greatest struggles with depression came with accepting there was a problem. Initially, I refused to acknowledge the diagnosis. The idea of taking medications for something that was an issue of will and my responsibility to control was frankly unacceptable. Here I must explain that the bulk of my resistance came from cultural prejudice. …show more content…
Mental Illness in American carries a stigma, one that becomes a taboo in Latin society. Growing up mental illness was not discussed, only mentioned in passing ridicule, its cause cited as coming from an individual's lack of will, laziness, or sin. My personal struggle made clear the critical and life-changing influence a strong mental health team can have on both patients and loved ones. The experience also highlighted the lack of fluent Spanish speakers in the field of Mental Health and a general lack of Mental Health education directed at Latinos. I believe that I have a responsibility to pursue a career in Mental Health, given my unique ability to speak and culturally understand the devastating and stigmatizing impact mental illness has for the children of minorities, in addition to the fact that Latinos are one of the fastest growing demographics in the United