Ashley Durant, BSN, RN

I began my nursing career in 2019 after graduating from the University of Nevada, Reno. I started as a new graduate nurse in Reno, where I practiced through the height of the COVID. During that time, I gained experience in step-down, telemetry, and float pool nursing. These experiences deeply shaped my commitment to ethical practice, patient advocacy, and team resilience in high acuity environments.

I later spent two years as a travel nurse, working across diverse healthcare systems. Travel nursing broadened my perspective on health equity, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the moral complexities nurses face in different care settings.

I currently practice as a telemetry nurse at Kaiser Zion Medical Center in San Diego. In addition to my clinical role, I serve on our unit based teams committee, where I contribute to process improvement initiatives that strengthen patient care delivery and team communication. I am also a mental health advocate for nurses on my unit and helped pilot a research study exploring the impact of unit based Schwartz Rounds on moral resilience.

In recognition of this work, I was honored with a Daisy Award in Nursing Ethics. I am passionate about fostering moral courage, psychological safety, and sustainable compassion in nursing practice. I extremely am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the national conversation on nursing ethics.