As put by the American Nurses Association, nurses are vital to the health of the nation. To me, this thought is far from being an overstatement. Today, counting four million, nurses are the largest part of the US healthcare workforce. Even though no other country in the world has as many nurses as the US, there is an impending shortage. As per the US Bureau of Labor estimations, in the next few years, the demand for nurses will be growing at a 16% rate each year (Haddad, Annamaraju & Toney-Butler, 2020). To fill the gap, the US healthcare system might need eleven more million nurses. If the expansion of the workforce does not happen, the workload on remaining nurses is readily imaginable. However, having worked for six years in various clinical settings, I can confidently say that it is not always about quantity but rather quality. The changing demands of the healthcare system require nurses to achieve higher levels of education. It is said that nursing is a profession of both mind and heart. Therefore, it is crucial to develop the intuition for patient needs and fundamental respect for human life. Yet, nurses need to lead with the mind and backup their actions with rigorous learning and evidence-based knowledge in their decisions. Indeed, being a nurse in the US healthcare system today means continuing education and reaching new frontiers in one’s field of expertise. The main reason for pursuing this degree is the opportunity to pursue a specialty field that has been of interest to me for many years. Today, public mental health in the US is finally gaining the recognition that it deserves, and I aspire to contribute to its improvement and maintenance through training and specialized studies. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has especially exposed the human psyche’s frailty and the need for more accessible mental health services. Pursuing an MSN appears to be the best way to transition into a new role, all while enjoying peer support, academic opportunities, and continued employment. Acting on my passion will be a gratifying experience and a further step in my career. After obtaining this degree, I envision myself to be more autonomous – I will be given more credit and trusted with more serious decisions. An MSN degree would diversify my ways of caring for others, thus maximizing my impact on vulnerable populations. Higher educations levels would open the door to a variety of roles – mentoring, educating, and managing. Besides, as a holder of a Master’s degree, I will make myself eligible for Ph.D. programs, which I may as well consider later in life. Last but not least are the change of surroundings and networking with fellow professionals that I appreciate about pursuing an MSN degree. As an experienced nurse, I am well aware of the benefits of finding a professionals learning community for which an academic setting may be the best medium imaginable. I consider the professional activity of a highly qualified PMHNP as a special career goal as an NP, which this degree will allow me to achieve. I have had two years of experience working in a behavioral health care setting and over four years working in a medical-surgical environment, which allowed me to shape my needs as a specialist nurse. Moreover, due to professional practice, I acquired the knowledge necessary for the development of relevant