A Journey into Mental Health Nursing

Tyler Lange '23 has desired to work in mental health all his life. Attending Mount Marty University for nursing allowed him to continue working and learning at the Human Services Center (HSC) while learning to make critical decisions as a nurse. "I have found through my years working at HSC and through the other clinical experiences that you will encounter mental health across all the nursing fields," said Lange. "I wanted to find a place that could make the biggest difference in a person's mental health." Lange found where he could make the most impact in the mental health field with HSC.

In 2019, just out of high school, Lange became an employee of HSC to work with a patient population about which he is passionate. He has always wanted to work in mental health because of the enormous impact he gets to make and because his family works in the field. "My grandmother used to work at HSC, and my mother currently works at HSC," explained Lange. "My grandmother and my mother have talked to me ever since I was a little kid about how it would be fun to work at HSC."

Entering the nursing program at Mount Marty made it possible for Lange to stay in his hometown surrounded by friends and family and continue his growth at HSC during his four years through work and clinical rotations. He is now a nurse in the center's Intensive Treatment Unit (ITU). "With working at HSC, and my current unit especially, I see a lot of patients that are severely mentally ill. What I love most about working on the ITU is that I get to see those patients stabilize on medications and become their true selves."

Lange feels he has grown immensely since graduating from Mount Marty and continuing at HSC. During most of his shifts, Lange is the only nurse on his unit, and he is responsible for guiding his team members to give patients the best care possible. "I have had to make a lot of decisions that impact staff and patients. I felt that Mount Marty prepared me to understand priorities when making decisions." Mount Marty's core values have also shaped his patient interactions by helping him to think of the whole patient and not just their diagnosis. 

Lange's advice to nursing students is to "understand that it is okay to not know everything when you start your first job as a nurse. There will be plenty of opportunities to learn more once you begin your first job."

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ABOUT MOUNT MARTY UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1936 by the Benedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery, Mount Marty University is South Dakota's only Catholic institution of higher education. Located along the bluffs of the Missouri River in Yankton, with additional locations in Watertown and Sioux Falls, Mount Marty offers undergraduate and graduate degrees focusing on student and alumni success in high-demand fields such as health sciences, education, criminal justice, business, accounting, and more. A community of learners in the Benedictine tradition, Mount Marty emphasizes academic excellence and develops well-rounded students with intellectual competence, professional and personal skills and moral, spiritual and social values. To learn more, visit mountmarty.edu.