
Visionaries
Fernando Rodriguez Vega,
Nurse Practitioner
What was your path to mental healthcare?
My path to mental health started as emergency medical technician (EMT). I wanted to get my feet wet in the health field. EMT seemed like feasible way to ease my way into the field and gain experience. I transported acutely ill mental health patients between facilities including emergency rooms, inpatient units, and state institutions. I did this for about 3 years. From there I gained employment in a hospital as a Nursing assistant/sitter with mental health patients. My role included monitoring suicidal and/or danger to others/gravely disabled patients. At the same time, I was working on finishing up nursing school. Once done with nursing school I transitioned to become a registered nurse. As a registered nurse I worked in the inpatient/medical floors with patient who had both medical and psychiatric problems. Seeking to expand my experience I sought out the emergency room. In this setting I worked closely with acutely ill psychiatric patients. The emergency room gave me insight into the dire needs of mental health. Many patients lacked psychiatric provider in the outpatient setting or appointments were hard to come by. This pushed me to pursue becoming a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. I finished my certification 5 months ago and will be start my new grad position in the coming months. I cannot put into words how excited I am to have come this far along.
How will this scholarship help you?
This scholarship will help lay the foundation for continuing education as I seek to sharpen my skills and knowledge. I believe my schooling gave me a solid foundation, but the provider role requires that we further our education for the sake of our patients. It will help me build connections as well as I begin my career as a provider in mental health.
What are your academic and/or career goals?
My academic goals include expanding my education and keeping up to date with latest evidenced based practices. As far as career goals are concerned, I would like to expand mental health services to those of underserved backgrounds. Coming from Latino heritage I find that mental health is often ignored or not addressed. I would like to change that by using my cultural competence to increase outreach and have patients feel comfortable seeking care.
What does “exceptional patient care” mean to you?
Exceptional patient care to me means care that follows best practices AND also includes the patient's needs and values. Taking an equal partnership with the patient in their own care creates a dynamic where the patient is active participant. This as opposed to a more paternalistic view of care where the patient simply is receiving care. This allows the patient to feel involved, more likely to follow the treatment plan, and bring up any issues or concerns they might have. This is incredibly true in all fields of healthcare but especially mental health where treatment adherence can be difficult.