Leaving the 'dream job' for a true calling
For many, landing a prestigious healthcare consulting role in Washington, D.C. would be the pinnacle of a career — a "dream job." But for Bethany Jones, MS, BSN, RN, it was just a step on the way to something deeper: answering a lifelong calling to heal.
After more than a decade in nursing and system-level healthcare roles, Jones is now pioneering a new path as she pursues her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in Psychiatric-Mental Health at the UC College of Nursing and an Integrative Health Graduate Certificate at UC’s Osher Center for Integrative Health.
Jones’s story weaves through hospital rooms and boardrooms. Holding bachelor’s degrees in sociology and philosophy, and a master’s degree in organizational communication, her work in health IT and consulting at the Advisory Board allowed her to impact healthcare at a systems-level — domestically and internationally. But the more she worked behind the scenes, the more she felt drawn back to the bedside.
Her transition back to clinical work wasn’t a spontaneous leap; it came after deep reflection. That introspection solidified her decision to become a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner—a goal she had long held but delayed.
“When COVID hit, the cracks in our mental health infrastructure became undeniable,” she says. “I knew I had to be part of the solution.”
Psychiatric-Mental Health DNP student Bethany Jones, MS, BSN, RN
Currently in her second year of the three-year BSN-to-DNP program, Jones gets to blend integrative health and psychiatric nursing into her doctoral work. She is also leading the creation of a Clinical Practice Guideline focused on whole-person health as an ambitious DNP project that combines her consulting expertise with clinical innovation.
With her eyes set on becoming a faculty member one day, Jones sees herself not just as a clinician, but as a bridge between evidence and practice, between systems and individuals, between past experience and future innovation.
“I’ve had excellent opportunities,” she says. “But this—this is the culmination. This is where my gifts meet the world’s needs.”
For Bethany Jones, the dream job wasn’t in an office. It was in the heart of patient care, addressing root causes, understanding what matters most to patients and aligning care with their life purpose.
Featured image (provided): Bethany Jones in front of the Sydney Opera, Australia, at an Advisory Board work trip.
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