Dara Bernal
May 2023
Dara
Bernal
,
MSN, APRN, PMHNP-BC
C-8
Western State Hospital
Lakewood
,
WA
United States
She taught me how to protect myself, the team, and the patients in a new environment I had no experience. She taught me how to handle conflicts among patients or staff.
I have known Ms. Dara Bernal since I worked with her in E5. She is a fantastic supervisor. At that time, I was a brand-new staff in WSH. I did not know anything about the psych environment. She taught me how to protect myself, the team, and the patients in a new environment I had no experience. She taught me how to handle conflicts among patients or staff. I worked as an LPN at this time. She taught me a lot about WSH policies and avoiding med errors. She always cares about the staff, especially me, about my work. She always asked me whether she could help me with anything. She always said she would call or talk to me anytime if I needed her help. She is very friendly and nice. She made me feel comfortable, and I felt no stress while working with her.
She always encourages me to continue my education. With her support and encouragement, I applied to a school to study as an RN. She always told me not to stop learning. She said, “Any difficulties or challenges you are experiencing now, they are stepping stones…Move forward… with efforts instead of any small and slow steps…Don’t give up… these stepping stones are barriers, but you will receive a good experience…You will learn from that, and you will be successful… Never stop…” Following her advice, I returned to school to study BSN, and now I am learning with WGU to obtain an MSN degree. She is my preceptor for my MSN degree now. She helps me a lot and guides me to go in the direction. She cares about the pressure and challenges I am doing with school, work, and family and always encourages me to overcome any obstacles I have. I appreciate her caring. I value her advice.
Dara models what she tells the people she precepts: she has been active in pursuing her own education. She received her BA in October 1992, her AND in September 2010, and her BSN in October 2017. Dara went on to earn her MSN in December 2018 from Western Governors University and an MSN as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner from Gonzaga University in August 2022 and finally her ANCC PMHNP-BC in February 2023. Dara first started working at Western State Hospital in 2009 and shared “the hospital does support all of us who want to pursue and further our education. My unsolicited advice to all of my colleagues is it’s not too late to achieve your dreams. You just have to work hard for it and have lots of prayers!”
She always encourages me to continue my education. With her support and encouragement, I applied to a school to study as an RN. She always told me not to stop learning. She said, “Any difficulties or challenges you are experiencing now, they are stepping stones…Move forward… with efforts instead of any small and slow steps…Don’t give up… these stepping stones are barriers, but you will receive a good experience…You will learn from that, and you will be successful… Never stop…” Following her advice, I returned to school to study BSN, and now I am learning with WGU to obtain an MSN degree. She is my preceptor for my MSN degree now. She helps me a lot and guides me to go in the direction. She cares about the pressure and challenges I am doing with school, work, and family and always encourages me to overcome any obstacles I have. I appreciate her caring. I value her advice.
Dara models what she tells the people she precepts: she has been active in pursuing her own education. She received her BA in October 1992, her AND in September 2010, and her BSN in October 2017. Dara went on to earn her MSN in December 2018 from Western Governors University and an MSN as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner from Gonzaga University in August 2022 and finally her ANCC PMHNP-BC in February 2023. Dara first started working at Western State Hospital in 2009 and shared “the hospital does support all of us who want to pursue and further our education. My unsolicited advice to all of my colleagues is it’s not too late to achieve your dreams. You just have to work hard for it and have lots of prayers!”