Today's In the Field Spotlight features Jasmine Durant, a psychiatric RN in Providence, RI. She shares her thoughts on some of the biggest nursing challenges today, advice she wishes she'd had when she first started nursing school, and talks about a nursing mentor who influenced her career for the better when she was a student.

What is your specialty and where are you based?

I work on a geriatric psychiatric floor at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.

How did you choose this specialty? What drew you to it?

Initially when I graduated college, I wasn't really sure which direction I wanted to go in. There are so many types of nursing jobs that it can be really overwhelming picking one thing to start in! However, I had a really great psych clinical instructor who made me feel more comfortable in the hospital as a nurse than any other rotation I had. I also personally believe that every patient who comes in a hospital will have problems that we learn to deal with as a psych nurse- anxiety, sadness/depression, frustration, anger. Working on this floor has taught me a lot on how to deal with these things which I believe will make me a better nurse wherever I choose to go next.

Before working in your current role, what was your nursing career path?

This was my first job out of nursing school, so I didn't really have a path yet really! I was interested in public health/community nursing, but was told that I needed more experience to work in those roles.

Any self care or mental health tips for new nurses?

Leaving work at work is one of the best ways to deal with the stress of a nursing job I think. Creating some sort of ritual to signify that you are over that part of your day has helped me. For myself, the physical changing of clothes/showering helps turn that part off. I pet my bunny, and I often talk to a family member or friend about something completely unrelated to work. You need to remind yourself that while your job should be important to you, and doesn't need to become your whole identity.

What would you say is the single biggest challenge nurses face today?

I think the biggest challenge that we face is the increasing burden of an aging population with a shrinking workforce and a system that does not support that. This is a very complex problem to unpack, but it is becoming harder and harder for nurses to care for their patients and do a good job doing so when we lack resources, staff, and we know our patients can't afford these interventions. Nursing burnout has been labeled an epidemic and I believe it is largely because of these factors. I would encourage all nurses to get involved in trying to rework the healthcare system. Speak out for healthcare for all, encourage the next generation of nurses, and encourage creative solutions to deal with this new patient population.

Did you/do you currently have any nursing mentors guiding you?

I do not currently have a mentor, but I had a nurse educator who was the reason I went into nursing. I have been a patient at the Joslin Diabetes Center for 20+ years, and I have a diabetes nurse educator who I saw every 3 months there. We talked about diabetes, of course, but more than that, we talked about what it was like to live life as a person with diabetes. She knew my family, my interests, what I was doing in school. She always encouraged me, saying that she knew I had done the best I could at that point in time. She always sat and talked to me, rather than typing her notes at the same time. She helped me feel normal while dealing with a lifelong disease. That is the type of nurse I want to be. I strive to help my patients deal in realistic ways with their illnesses and achieve some sense of normalcy.

Given the opportunity to speak to yourself on Day 1 of nursing school, what advice would you give?

I would tell myself not to take myself so seriously. I was very concerned with always getting the right answer, and wanting everyone to think I knew what the correct answer was. At this point in my nursing career, I have found that nursing is an art and a science. While there are some areas where there is a clear right and wrong, many times what works for one patient will not work for another. Humans are delightfully individual, and I wish I had thought more about that as a young student. I would tell myself to give myself the freedom to listen more to my patients about how they cope with their illnesses and tailor my approaches to the individual. I would also tell myself to admit when I don't know an answer. Pride is such a barrier to being a good nurse because you lose out on a lot of information if you don't ask questions of other nurses, your patients, and other staff around you.