NICU Nurse and Military Wife, Kari Replogle

It was a thrill to reconnect with my colleague and friend, Kari Replogle. Kari has a gentle personality that perfectly suits her role as a NICU nurse. But don't let that delightful personality fool you. Kari is also a highly skilled practitioner and self-proclaimed lover of the adrenaline rush. In our conversation, Kari reflected on seeing her mom help people as a nurse, whether in a hospital or a camp setting and became inspired to follow in her footsteps. It's no mystery how she adopted a service philosophy. Her parents, Lynne, a nurse, and Paul, a teacher, both had long careers in service. They are now retired but continue to help impoverished communities in Mexico. And while we're on the subject of service, Kari's husband, Craig, a Navy veteran, served our country for over 20 years, and Kari spoke candidly about the challenges of being a military wife and family. Nevertheless, her faith and kind nature drive her to be the best she can be. Her three prayers as a nurse? That her care is helpful to her patients in body, mind, and soul, that she is a positive contributing teammate, and that she never stops learning or striving for excellence. It's safe to say that she is well on her way to achieving those goals.  In the five-minute snippet, cows over dogs any day.

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Transcript

[00:00] Michelle: It was a thrill to reconnect with my colleague and friend, Kari Replogle. Kari has a gentle personality that perfectly suits her role as a NICU nurse. But don't let that delightful personality fool you. Kari is also a highly skilled practitioner and self-proclaimed lover of the adrenaline rush. In our conversation, Kari reflected on seeing her mom help people as a nurse, whether in a hospital or a camp setting and became inspired to follow in her footsteps. It's no mystery how she adopted a service philosophy. Her parents, Lynne, a nurse, and Paul, a teacher, both had long careers in service. They are now retired but continue to help impoverished communities in Mexico. And while we're on the subject of service, Kari's husband, Craig, a Navy veteran, served our country for over 20 years, and Kari spoke candidly about the challenges of being a military wife and family. Nevertheless, her faith and kind nature drive her to be the best she can be. Her three prayers as a nurse? That her care is helpful to her patients in body, mind, and soul, that she is a positive contributing teammate, and that she never stops learning or striving for excellence. It's safe to say that she is well on her way to achieving those goals.  In the five minute snippet, cows over dogs any day. Well, good morning, Kari. Welcome to the podcast.
[01:56] Kari: Thank you, Michelle. Good morning. So happy to be here.
[02:00] Michelle: I'm so happy to talk to you after a long time. Of course, we've known each other for a long time, and then you moved away. And so we see each other on social media, and then, of course, I know your mom and your dad, and we'll talk about them in a little bit. I want our listeners to know kind of your backstory, like, how did you get into nursing? Talk about that.
[02:25] Kari: Yeah, I had the privilege of growing up with two awesome parents, and my mom is a nurse, so I got to see it my whole life. And she is definitely a stellar example of what nursing is. She would tote me along to classes at the brand-new family birth center. When it opened, I remember the grand opening. There was cake and everything was so shiny and fresh. The purple and teal colors were very in the nineties.  Going along to classes. She volunteered as the nurse at Hume Lake, the Christian camp up there. So I would go along for the weeks or weekends that she would serve and get to just literally be her little, I thought, sidekick helper, probably. I don't know how much I was helping, but she would let me watch, and I just got to watch her help people. And that is what I remember standing out. She got to help people feel better or get better. And in my mind, as a kid, we were fixing them, and so they got to go back and do life. So whether that was a camper, got to go back to camp or hear her stories of helping the babies being born and helping those families, and then she went into Home Health, so I got to hear about patients and just the ways that she was helping them get better. And, boy, did I want to be a part of that. That really resonated with me. And she did it with such joy and dedication and just this fervor for wanting to help people. So that is why I was like, yes, I could do that. I like that.
[04:21] Michelle: I love that story. She was a true inspiration to you.
[04:25] Kari: Absolutely.
[04:26] Michelle: Yeah. And your mom was working labor and delivery, and at that time, I really didn't have a lot of contact with her. I knew she was down there because I was working in PEDS, but I hadn't yet gone to NICU. I would float there from time to time, and every time I saw her, she had a smile on her face, and you could tell she was really loving what she did.
[04:51] Kari: Yes.
[04:52] Michelle: And I would imagine as a kid, that came through a lot, and, of course, hearing the stories and just seeing her in action. Yeah. Wow. That's a great inspiration.
[05:06] Kari: Yeah.
[05:07] Michelle: So, when you became a nurse, what field did you go into first? Was it the NICU?
[05:14] Kari: No, I've always done maternal-child health. So, in nursing school, when my first time meeting you and a lot of colleagues that I ended up getting to work with at Kaweah I was working as a unit secretary while I was in nursing school and was mainly in PEDs. But my favorite nights are when I got to go help in the NICU, and I would mostly be in the step-down nursery. And so many of you were so kind to let me, you know, learn to feed babies, and really get involved with hands-on care because you knew I was in nursing school. So then I did my, we called it a preceptorship senior year. I think some call it, like, a capstone in the NICU, and I loved it. I was in a pretty big NICU, and my little six-week preceptorship, we saw a lot of pretty heavy cases, and I'm not sure it was quite mature enough for that. So it did kind of, I'll say, maybe scare me a little bit. I liked it, but it was like, oh, man, this is really intense. I don't know if I can do this, but I still always wanted to go and just work with babies and families. So when I graduated, I married my husband and he was in the Navy. So I moved to a new state and just desperately found a job and landed myself as a volunteer Red Cross RN on the labor and delivery unit. And they ended up offering me a position there. So I started in L&D and did that for about a year until our first daughter was born and Craig was deployed. And I made the decision to take a break and stay home with her. And then I ended up staying home while our second kiddo was born, and then we moved when Craig transitioned out of the Navy and went to the Reserves and went back to school. And that's when I landed at Kaweah. And I just tried to meet everyone I had known and said, hey, do you know of any jobs? Di was, I'm sure, very eager to help me get a job. And I think the NICU had gone through quite a transition, so there ended up being numerous day positions open. So, boy, a first-time NICU nurse getting a full-time day position is pretty unheard of. And I landed one and was still forever grateful for that. So got to do that for a few years, and then we had our third and had another career change. So moved up here. We're in Portland, Oregon, now, just outside the city, and stayed home for a bit because he had three under five and a new job and a new state and a new home. So stayed home for a little while, got our feet under us a bit, and then got my Oregon license and ended up finding a really cush per diem job on an LDRP unit. So I was doing the role of delivery support as an R nurse, kind of doing the two-hour transition for babies after delivery. And then I learned postpartum because that was part of the role. And I did that for a little while, up until COVID, and then COVID threw a kink in everyone's lives, and ours was no exception. So just with some career changes, I needed to go back full time. And I thought, if I'm going full time, I'm going to try and get back to the NICU. So I applied all over the city and landed back in the NICU that I'm in now. Yeah, always maternal, child health, and done full time, part-time, per diem, stay at home. I've done nights, I've done days, I've done variables, done it all, wow. Done. Whatever works for our family. And thankfully, nursing is a career that is versatile in that aspect, and there are a lot of different options. So it's worked really beautifully for our family.
[09:23] Michelle: Yeah. It's so flexible, and I think that's a lot of the draw for a lot of people. And so when you were, I remember when you were a unit secretary and just fell in love with you because your attitude was always just so sunny and bright and always wanting to learn and just asking a lot of questions. And I really love that type of person that is so inquisitive, because I love teaching.
[09:56] Kari: Yes, you're an awesome teacher.
[09:58] Michelle: Oh, thank you. And so I remember when Di said, you guys, Kari is coming back. And we were just, like, ecstatic. We were like, yes, we have to get her. I know I was on a lot of interview panels.
[10:18] Kari: Oh, you were on mine.
[10:20] Michelle: And I was like, it's like some people, we've already decided before they even go through the interview that they're going to get it. And you were one of those people because there was just so much buzz about you coming back, and I was so happy to have you back just because of your attitude and your sunny personality. And then to know that you had already had this experience in a Level III nursery with much sicker babies. And we were really growing a lot at that time, and we were getting smaller babies and sicker babies, and I think our NEOs came on board during that time. And so it was a big transition for us as a little unit going from a level two to a community level, which is kind of like a two plus, I guess. And I just remember just being awestruck at you. And even though you were young as a nurse and young as a person, it was like you were just so adept at doing your job and taking those more critical babies. And I was charge nurse during that time, and I always felt just so reassured when you were on because I thought, I don't know what the heck I'm doing, but I know Kari knows what she's doing.
[11:48] Kari: Oh, man. I don't know about that.
[11:50] Michelle: Oh, yeah. You are very adept at taking care of those little ones. So, gosh, you've worked NICU and L&D and postpartum, and I love that you talked about the TransRec nurse. I know your mom will remember the TransRec nurse on 2East, and that nurse had the responsibility of transitioning the baby for the few hours before they went to postpartum. And a lot of times those were NICU nurses that did that. If we were kind of overstaffed. We would float over there and do that. We loved that. And when they got rid of that position, we were so sad because I think that that's such an important role, to have one nurse dedicated, because they can see a lot of things early on, like where the baby might be struggling or the mom.
[12:46] Kari: Yes, absolutely. My first L&D role, we did not have that support. And so we had a bit of support because it was a military hospital with our medics. It was the Army Hospital. So our medics would kind of support the mom with the provider, and we could dedicate a little bit more time to the baby. And then the next hospital, the Corpsman basically did all of the baby, which is awesome. And they basically did the two-hour transition, and they were just fantastic so that we could stay dedicated to mom and boy. Yeah, you've got two people going through significant changes postpartum and then learning to live outside the womb. So their bodies, mom and baby are just going through these massive changes. So I think that is best, certainly to have a dedicated nurse or advanced like our Corpsmen which is somewhere the equivalent of an LVN, but anyway, being able to watch and find those signs early, just like you said.
[13:54] Michelle: Well, how was it when you came back to the NICU at Kaweah? Because we know a level down from where you had been. And how was that transition for you? Did you welcome it or did you get bored at times? Talk about that.
[14:09] Kari: Well, I had not worked in the NICU. I'd only done a preceptorship. I was new when I came to Kawaeh. I know my resume was accurate, but no, I had worked at Kaweah just as an aide, and then I had done my senior preceptorship. I don't know if you see Irvine's a Level IV, maybe not then but now it's at a very high level. No, I was learning NICU. I had just done L&D at that point, but, boy, was I excited to be there. And I remember my interview day walking in and you were there and Linda Ellison and I think someone else. I can't remember who. And I was like, oh, thank you, Lord. It's like someone I know. Fresh, like, cheerful. You were. You were a gift on that day,  but no boredom whatsoever. Eagerness to learn. I had fantastic preceptors. I felt the environment was definitely one of, it was growing. It was definitely going through some changes. You could sense that, but everybody was on board for it, so there was no reservations on taking those more critical patients and big pushes in education on processes that were not happening very often, diagnoses that were maybe going to be coming a little more frequently, that the unit wasn't as well versed in. So it was an exciting opportunity, for sure. Yeah.
[15:47] Michelle: And I think part of the reason why I thought that you had more experience was because of exactly what you said, your eagerness to learn, your excitement. And I know you had seen things that we hadn't seen, and I think that's important. Even if maybe you hadn't taken care of those babies to see some of the things, because a lot of us had not worked in another NICU. We had been there like our whole careers and we just hadn't seen these things that now we were seeing. And we always kind of had the comfort of, if we have a critical baby, we can just ship them out to the next tertiary center, right? And so it was like, oh, we didn't really have this motivation to learn about things until our Neo group came. And then I was like, oh, no, we're going to be keeping this baby and we're going to be putting in Central lines. And we were like, oh, no, we have to really up our game. What do you think it is that attracted you to maternal child health and NICU in particular?
[17:10] Kari: Well, it kind of sounds really simple, but, man, babies are just so cute. They're just so sweet and innocent and all that fresh newborn phase. They're just sleepy and cuddly and they're just so cute. They're tiny little fingers and toes and facial expressions and noises and squirms. I just have always, since I was little, been fascinated with babies. So it sounds simple, but they're just so cute. And then I like to tease now with families, like, how can you do this when they're like, how can you do this? How can you take care of these sick babies? It's like, well, their smells are a lot less, and talk back and the messes aren't as big. There's maybe that piece of it, too. Yeah, I've just always loved that. Again, just babies from the time I was little. But beyond that, just this. It's critical care. So you're using that academic part of your brain and the critical thinking in often intense situations, but then it's just with this hope of life versus critical care at end of life. Like, who? I couldn't do that. But boy, these little ones, they just have their whole lives ahead of them. And that's just so exciting to get to work with families for best outcomes, to set them up for success, to go home where they should be. So it's a real clear and easy goal. Everything we're doing, day in, day out, 24/7 is to set these little ones up to get to go home where they should be with their families.
[19:00] Michelle: Exactly. Well, babies, they come with their parents, and we do a lot of teaching, and I think we have a special relationship with our babies, with the parents. So talk about that relationship with the parents and how important that is.
[19:22] Kari: Yeah, I mean, it can make or break a stay for that family, that's for sure. So they are just as important in our patient care as the patients themselves. So we often at our hospital say they are our patient, these little babies are our patients. But you guys are so involved. I mean, you come together, you are a couplet, you are a unit. And so anything we can do to support the parents so that they can not only recover from whatever event they just went through that landed them in the NICU and then just postpartum in general, but also, most of them are learning how to take care of a baby, or at least a baby in the NICU. It's integral to that baby's success. If we can support the parents to be independent and competent and feel at ease, then that baby is going to do better. 100%.
[20:27] Michelle: Yeah, absolutely. What do you think they need the most from us as nurses?
[20:33] Kari: I wrote, patience. Goodness, you're reiterating a lot. You're teaching again and again, and you are having to take complex medical diagnoses or just processes like fluid maintenance and trying to put it into normal terms. So just the language that they can use to then be able to speak to it, to their family or whoever is their support. So a lot of patience to just continue to work with them. They are grinding away themselves, and for us, it's things that we see every day. It's happened more than once where you're just nonchalant about something because you see it every day or it's just kind of expected when A kiddo is on bubble CPAP that this will happen. But, boy, is that really alarming to the parent. And so you have to. Oh, yeah, got to be mindful of how I convey something that's very normal for me, could be really concerning for them. So taking the time to explain it and make sure they're at ease with whatever they're working through at that time.
[21:52] Michelle: That is so important that you distinguish that. As nurses, as providers, we do these things hundreds of times, right?  And this is their first time. And to exactly like you said slow down your care, talk everything through, explain everything. And you can't just do that one time. It's multiple times over, multiple days and weeks and months that some of these babies are there. And that's so important for us as nurses to remember.
[22:31] Kari: Yeah.
[22:32] Michelle: And the NICU and care of these patients is constantly changing. So how do you keep up to date with your NICU care?
[22:43] Kari: Yeah. I am so grateful to be in a unit that values education so highly. We have one nurse in particular, but a whole Ed council that really pushes for education for our unit, so I mainly rely on that. They just do such a great job with putting together. We call them Lunch and Learns, and it's when providers take on either a case review or  unique diagnoses comes through and let's talk through that and educate to that. There are different providers who. It's their jam. I don't know what your unit might call it anymore, or the NICU and Kaweah, but our now's kiddos, or we call it our Eat Sleep Console kiddos as infants suffering from withdrawal, and that's their jam. So they do an hour session that anyone can jump in on and be up to date, informed on best practice. So I'm super grateful for that. And listen in on those. They record them and we're able to listen there. One of my favorite things, it's kind of nothing formal, but I love chatting with our travel nurses who come through. What do you guys do there? How do you do that? What products do you use? Just hearing like, oh, I've never seen this before. It's like, really, this is the only way we do it. And kind of that compare and contrast and learning from nurses who've just come from other places, other parts of the country. So I really like that. And then Vermont Oxford Network, have you heard of VON?  Oh, yeah. So I'm on our VON committee and just getting to hear about initiatives through that, and I'm new to it, so I'm still kind of learning all that it entails. But yeah, getting to be part of initiatives based on research and best practice.
[24:49] Michelle: Those organizations are just a wealth of information. I was a member of NANN, so the National Association of Neonatal Nurses and so much information and studies. Our medical librarian was awesome. Like, you could call her and get any research article within an hour. So it was great. When I retired about a year and a half ago, we were just starting to implement the Eat Sleep Console protocol, which is a wonderful thing, and it's going to become the best practice now I'm pretty sure in our area we have a lot of drug-addicted babies, a lot of babies on methadone that stay for a very long period of time. And so I was really happy to see that. So, yeah, those are great things to stay up to date. And, yeah, we've been a member of the VON Network for, gosh, probably eight to ten years now in our NICU. And, of course, Linda, and I don't know if you know this, but Linda Ellison is our clinical nurse specialist.
[26:05] Kari: Oh, cool.
[26:06] Michelle: And she is amazing.
[26:07] Kari: Yeah, she's fantastic.
[26:10] Michelle: She has her eye on every bit of new research that comes out, and she has just really elevated our care with all of her knowledge. And, yes, man, travel nurses are just a wealth of knowledge. We've replaced some of our supplies that we use because we'll have a travel nurse that comes through and she's like, you know, when I was in Florida, they were using this and it was awesome. And we've written new protocols because some of them, they bring their knowledge and they share it, and it's just wonderful.
[26:49] Kari: Yeah, they can be pretty great resources, for sure.
[26:54] Michelle: Yeah. Is there an area of NICU care that you feel you need more education in or more experience in?
[27:04] Kari: Oh, goodness. I mean, I'd say all of it. No, it's true. You can always be learning as we just were talking about, like, things change and best practices and research and products and all of that. So hope to always be learning, not just in the NICU, in life in general, but one of my favorite things, and I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to jump into the role sooner rather than later. My current job is just resuscitation NRP, part of our delivery team as a charge nurse. And I just love that it's the high-intensity adrenaline rush. I don't know why I love that, but I do. And it comes with, it's a big hat to wear and a heavy weight to be at least on the nursing side, leaving that team for the I. So that is an area that I am just like, how can I do that better? What went well? What didn't go well? How could I have smoothed out this process by coordinating with L&D? How could I have smoothed out this process by working with our nurse practitioner? How did I communicate to our team? Did me the literal physical transfer of the patient from the delivery room to the NICU? Did that go well? I have found in the last couple of years definitely high interest area for me and just, I want to learn about that. Every time you go to a delivery, you can learn something from it. And you've got to be on your toes, ready for anything, anytime. So I want to keep diving into doing that. Well, so that's where I would have to say I want to keep learning just so we can have the best outcomes and the smoothest processes for everyone involved.
[29:06] Michelle: I love that you're striving to just be the best, and give the best care. And man, every delivery that was one of my favorite jobs was being an Admit nurse and going to deliveries. Yeah, each one is different. I mean, they're just so different. And the adrenaline thing, that's not my thing. I'm just like, let's not have any drama here.
[29:37] Kari: I don't want it, but I just know it can happen in a split second.
[29:42] Michelle: Exactly. Yeah, I was always trying to avoid the adrenaline spike. Wow, that's funny. So you've had mentors along the way but talk about the importance of mentoring new nurses.
[30:05] Kari: Yeah, super grateful for anyone who took the time to teach and train. Shout out back to my mom. She's been a listening ear throughout my whole career. I can just hear her words career-wise as a nurse and a wife and a mother. So, yeah, so many people and still nurses that I have the privilege of working with that I am learning from in a new role as one of our core charges. So super grateful. And actually just in our last charge meeting we had a team come and just speak to mentoring and precepting and how we can support those who are learning. And I just said, man, I just have to keep at the forefront that so many people took the time to get me where I am today that I want to do that for these nurses who are learning. I think almost all NICU nurses struggle with wanting to kind of be in full control of their patients. And so it is hard to relinquish experiences to nurses who need to try,  be it as simple as putting an NG and it's like, I can pop that thing in real quick. But you need to learn and go through this whole process and there's a time and a place for providing opportunities to learn. There's a time and a place for, hey, I want you to watch this one the first time and the next time you're up. But yeah, it takes a certain amount of letting go of that control. That's super important because some experiences only come around once a month, once every six months. And so if you don't allow those opportunities for the newer to specialty, then they might not get them again for a while. And then behind that, too, taking the time to debrief with them. How did that go? How did you feel? How did I do as a leader? That's what I'm learning right now, being a leader. So was there anything more I could have done to support you? What are your takeaways? And taking the time to circle back with them to make sure that they can get everything out of it that you can squeeze.
[32:27] Michelle: Yeah. I love your spirit of wanting to give back, learning from mentors, and then wanting to return that to the profession. And, man, you're so right about the control issue. It's just so pervasive in our specialty, and I think probably through a lot of nursing, I can't say that it's unique to the NICU, but, yeah, certainly I think we're very protective and possessive of our babies. Yeah, that's hard to let go of, and that's definitely a skill to work on.
[33:06] Kari: Yeah. And I think, too, I mean, it's only to the advantage for the new nurses or new to specialty, to hold a high bar. Like, hey, this is what we are working towards, be it initiatives or best practice or places that we recognize that we are not doing the very best, and this is what we expect. And holding that high bar, holding them to it. So giving that feedback, it's like, this is for your benefit. It's for the patient's benefit, but this is for your benefit as a nurse, and it's going to follow you throughout your whole career. And then modeling that to them. Like, hey, as leaders and more experienced nurses, you can't slack off and model the learning and getting feedback, even from the nurses who've been doing it for a little while.
[33:59] Michelle: I absolutely love the modeling part of that. It's so important and just really, especially in nursing and with new nurses, new to specialty, like you said, but just in life in general.
[34:13] Kari: Right.
[34:15] Michelle: We need to model the behavior that we want to see in our children and our spouse and our friends. And I think, man, the world would be such a better place if we all took that philosophy of modeling the behavior that we want to see.
[34:33] Kari: Totally. Our daughter just got a phone for her birthday, and you must believe it's made me more aware of how much I'm on my phone.
[34:43] Michelle: Cool.
[34:43] Kari: Yeah, maybe we're not going to do it that way anymore.
[34:46] Michelle: I love it. Wow. Well, finish the sentence. If I wasn't a NICU nurse, I would be.
[34:55] Kari: I don't know, specifically. I didn't ever have a backup plan. I always wanted to be a nurse, but now I just love athletics. I love sports. And maybe not so much like specific fitness, but I just think sport is so fun. Our kids enjoy sports. I like watching that on TV. Not as of late, because life is just crazy busy and I would love to get back into it. But part of adult sports leagues, so something in sport, probably athletics down on the field, helping coach, or I got to help be assistant coach for our youngest soccer team this season. And it was a hoot. Third-grade boys and rec soccer. It was just so much fun. So probably something, I don't know, maybe a PE teacher. My dad was a teacher for 40 years, and teaching, I just hold them in such high regard as well. They go through so much. So who knows? Maybe like a PE teacher or something. That could be fun.
[36:01] Michelle: I could totally see you doing that. And I have to put in a note about your dad. So, of course, I've known your mom for many years, and your dad had just recently met because he did some work around my house for me. And one of the things he did was put in a new lock in my bedroom door, which leads out to the backyard. So he put a new deadbolt in there. And the next day, I was playing around with it, and it was really tight and it wouldn't open. And so I just texted him. And first of all, I love how your parents text. It's just so fun to actually text with someone in my age group. It's like, oh, this is cool. So I texted him, and I was like, hey, Paul, this lock is really tight and it's not working. And I seriously, like, on my timeline, I was like, you don't have to rush over here. I didn't say that. But I was, like, thinking, like, okay, maybe three or four days, he'll come over and fix this because I knew he was busy. And he was like, I'll be there in ten minutes. And my jaw dropped, and I felt bad. I was like, Paul, you didn't have to rush over here. And he's like, no, this is a security issue. This is a safety issue. This needs to be fixed right now. And he was already, like, high on a pedestal. But, man, he just went way up there. Just such respect. And I'm like, that's just how he is. That's how he runs his life, and that's how he takes care of people. I knew he was a teacher, too. My late husband taught for 30 years, and so I know that personality and wanting to get things right and very protective, and so just a lot of admiration for your dad.
[38:00] Kari: Yeah. A great man, for sure. Yeah.
[38:03] Michelle: We're going to switch directions for a minute because I want to know more about you being a military wife and family, but I want you to talk about what that means.
[38:14] Kari: A pretty open question, and I imagine if you interviewed 100 military spouses and families, you'd get probably some common themes. But everyone's experience is so different for us. I married into it and I'm so grateful. Craig was very clear and upfront about his job and all that it entailed, and he really encouraged me to think through that when we were dating, almost to the point. I remember one drive where I'm like, are you trying to get rid of me? Do you want me to leave? Is this your way around? Like, I'm kind of over this girl. I'm just like, I'm here. I'm here for it. I am in love with you and I'm on board for whatever adventure lies ahead. And there's a lot of naive thought in that because you can never fully plan what your life is going to be like. But I'm so grateful that he really was upfront about that because, boy, our life has taken so many turns, and the military was a piece of that. We definitely had the, like, well, got orders today. We're moving in a month, and it was just like, wait, what? So, thankfully, it didn't happen often, but it did. Or I thought I was going to get to do this and I don't. I'm here, and now it means another deployment in the next year, and it's just like, wait, what? The plans change. So a lot of flexibility is required in that. I still am like, never say never, you just never know. And you can get really down about that, or you can look at it as an adventure. And we've chosen to look on the bright side and see so many of the opportunities that we've been given in a positive light. There were 100% really hard, low times throughout it, but it still has brought us here today to where we're at. So I see it as having provided our family with a lot of opportunities. And for Craig specifically, it just is who he is. It fits his personality really well. He came off active duty and went to the reserves because of time away from our family. So that was an active choice. But it just can't be said. There have been times since then it's like, oh, what if he had stayed in? What would that have looked like? Because he loved it. He loved it. And it was so neat to see and get to have this tiny little part of supporting him in a job that he just loved.
[41:07] Michelle: That's fantastic. What's been the biggest challenge for you being a military wife?
[41:15] Kari: Probably, that adventurous outlook definitely comes with challenges, because we've moved a lot or we've spent a lot of time apart. There was a time when we moved up here to Portland, and he was still traveling for his kind of week in a month because he was still attached to a unit down in San Diego for the reserves. So one week in a month. He was flying out Friday after work and coming home Sunday night and going back to work Monday morning. So there was one, at one point when he had stopped being attached to that unit, and he joined a unit up here where it was like, hey, we've actually been around each other consistently, probably for the most time since we've known each other. And that was. I mean, you just kind of didn't realize it until it was like, oh, hey. Hasn't had to say in a while. And that's challenging. That's solo parenting for the spouse with kids, if you have them. It's not entirely. We'll never say it's single parenting because you still have that emotional support and financial support, but you're calling the shots and coordinating the throw-up at 02:00 a.m. Or whatever. So just stuff like that. But that happens with a lot of families. I don't think that's unique to the military, but, yeah, time apart is certainly a challenge. He was gone for our oldest first seven months of life. He got to come home for her birth and then went back. But some families do it a lot longer than that. I always admired, I have a cousin who's in the army and his wife, they did 15, 18-month deployments with a couple of weeks getting to see each other. People do that often. So kind of chose to count our blessings that it could have been a lot worse. And we thankfully had some advice really early on from some really dear friends of ours who had dated and gotten married after being a long-distance relationship. And he told Craig, and Craig shared with me, he's like, eagerly anticipate your next reunion. And that is what we've always clung to. And for us, it's true. Absence makes the heart go fonder. We just can't wait to be together again. And it's serving us now. He's a firefighter, so we do chunks of time where we're either high five in or it's like, okay, I'll see you Friday. You know, because of, you know, 24 hours turns into 48, turns into 72. Okay, well, I'll see you Friday. So try to take the challenges and flip them to a positive, like, okay, well, I'm going to see you, and we're going to do this.
[44:11] Michelle: That's amazing. I would think you both have to have that attitude if you're going to embark on a journey such as yours. What does it mean to you that Craig serves our country?
[44:25] Kari: I mean, so proud. I tell him often, I'm just so proud of you. And he's retired now. He retired at 20 years last summer, 2022. Yeah. Just so proud. I mean, you just celebrated Veterans Day, and it lands on our youngest son's birthday, so it kind of gets overshadowed. Birthday parties are a big deal, but I'm just grateful it is a sacrifice. There are easier jobs in the military and there are harder jobs, but people are choosing to do that, and it does come with a significant impact on loved ones, and they do it. And I can speak to Craig. He does it wholeheartedly and very willingly, serves with all his heart, and has this uncanny ability to just charge right into these stressful situations. And whether he's nervous or not, you'd never know it. And he takes whatever challenge head on, and he's going to do it really well, efficiently, and he's going to get the job done, and he's going to be a teammate in it. And that's just so admirable. And he got to work with. I mean, I've gotten to meet so many people who have done that, too, and have served our country, so, yeah, just super proud of him.
[45:50] Michelle: Well, I see a lot of similarities in his personality and in yours. I think you guys complement each other really well.
[46:00] Kari: He's a great guy. I love him. He gives me a lot of grief, but we've been through a lot. We just had our 15th anniversary, and I wouldn't change a thing. Your vows that you make, for better or worse, richer or poor, until death, I tease them. Now I'm like, you're stuck with me. I'm not going anywhere. So, super grateful that that's mutual.
[46:35] Michelle: Yeah.
[46:36] Kari: Wow.
[46:36] Michelle: That's special. Well, as we get ready to close, I'm going to ask you this question. So what are we doing well in nursing, and what do you think we need to work on
[46:49] Kari: I think this has always been around since I've been a nurse, but I do love that it's a push. Is this evidence-based practice? So what does research say? You can't really deny the numbers. And so how do we cater? Not cater. Maybe that's not the right word. How do we do nursing better so that we can help this problem? So you're seeing a trend going in this direction. All right, we got to switch something up. I just love that. I think it's the right way to do it. So evidence-based practice. And then again, I am super grateful to have not worked in units where this is a problem, but I am so grateful for collaborative efforts of care. So you've got your physicians working with your nurse practitioners, working with your nurses, working with your RTS, working with social work, working with physical therapy. I so appreciate that collaborative approach because everyone brings their expertise to the table for the best care for our patients, and that is the best way to do it. The top-down, authoritative, follow my orders, no questions asked, I hope is becoming more and more old news because it's just not good.
[48:16] Michelle: Me too.
[48:18] Kari: Like I said, I can't speak to nursing as a whole. I'm super grateful to have worked on units where that is the push that we can all work together and make it fun and exciting and have these really great outcomes. What do we need to work on? I think just maintaining an attitude that we're not just there to perform our tasks on our given shift. So there are checkboxes. There are. Did you do this, this and this? But taking a step back and really making sure that those tasks you're checking off are part of this big picture of taking care of this patient and then taking care of this patient is body, mind, and soul and family. So it's not just their physical needs. Like, they are a whole person. So I don't know specifically to say we need to work on that. Again, I have worked in just a few units, but just to fight that, just get the job done. It's a really good job. It makes a lot of money. It's really flexible, kind of in it for me mentality, maybe a little bit versus. No. I'm here for the patients. I'm here to serve them and help them, and maybe I do need to do this task, but how is that affecting them as a whole person? How is that affecting their family? How can we make this experience beneficial to them even though it's not where they want to be? No one really wants to be in the hospital. And so I think about that, especially with our little ones, like, how is my care of this baby affecting the parents? How is doing this task? Is this the right time to do the task? Because maybe I need to wait on it because it'll be in that patient's best interest.
[50:16] Michelle: Those are great things. Even in a more heavy sense. It's like, how am I taking care of this baby today is going to impact this child's life?
[50:31] Kari: Totally.
[50:32] Michelle: Yeah. And we have a lot of control over that, and there's a lot of press on developmental care and all that. And I think I love your approach. That's the thing I miss the most, is the collaborative effort and the teamwork. I miss the team, man. The first six months that I retired, I missed wearing scrubs and going on rounds and just my people and my tribe, and that's definitely something that we do well. And I like that you pointed out moving away from task-based care to a more holistic approach and seeing the big picture.
[51:22] Kari: Yeah.
[51:23] Michelle: Yeah. Those are some really great points, Kari. I thank you for talking about those, and this has been such a joy for me to reconnect with you this way. It's just been an honor for me to talk to you today.
[51:39] Kari: Oh, goodness. I told you when you asked, I was like, the only reason I would say yes, this is not my jam was because it was you who asked. Like, you just still stand way up at the top among all the nurses I ever had the privilege of working with. And then just a chance to shout out to my mom, hi, Mom. And my dad, who have just been so influential in my life, and continues. I mean, talk about, know, being a military wife. Goodness. The support. Like our families, Craig's parents and our siblings, like, everybody has been so supportive along the way. That's been huge. But to get a shout-out to them and Craig. Thank you.
[52:25] Michelle: It takes a village, yeah, you have a great one.
[52:29] Kari: Thank you for having me.
[52:31] Michelle: Well, we're ready to do the five-minute snippet.
[52:34] Kari: Okay, I'm ready.
[52:35] Michelle: So, these questions are easy. You know all the answers, and it's just five minutes. It's just fun. When you have to study for a test, do you have a proven, successful method?
[52:56] Kari: No, I don't. Somewhere in college, someone said, eggs. And so every now and again, if I have something that it's like, okay, eat eggs.
[53:08] Michelle: Okay.
[53:09] Kari: Protein. I did take my RNC recently, and I did work through workbooks and watch videos. I'm a visual learner, and so if I can see a picture of a process, then I'll remember it better. So I think it's more like learning style versus a process or test taking, and I'm definitely a see one, do one, teach one learner.
[53:33] Michelle: Okay, here's a would you rather, would you rather give 100 dogs a bath or milk 100 cows?
[53:41] Kari: Oh, my word. This might be funny. I would totally milk the cows.
[53:49] Michelle: I was thinking that you would say that.
[53:51] Kari: The dogs in the bath, it's just like, I don't know, maybe if I had a really great setup and they were cute little puppies or something, but
[54:01] Michelle: Sounds messy.
[54:02] Kari: Yeah, but, yeah, I can milk the cows. That'd be fun.
[54:06] Michelle: Okay. Would you rather potty train ten puppies or five toddlers?
[54:11] Kari: Oh, five toddlers. Easy, right? I mean, I think so. All at once?
[54:17] Michelle: No.
[54:18] Kari: Okay. All at once. I would do the puppies because I just put them in, like, one pen, but I guess because I've done it.
[54:26] Michelle: You have experience. Are you related to anyone famous or historical?
[54:33] Kari: Not that I know of.
[54:37] Michelle: Ask your parents.
[54:37] Kari: Yeah.
[54:39] Michelle: Okay, here's another. Would you rather always be early or always be late?
[54:45] Kari: Oh, early for sure.
[54:48] Michelle: I knew that. Mark of a leader.
[54:51] Kari: Always be early. I can't say I always am, but I would rather.
[54:57] Michelle: What is the nicest thing a stranger has done for you?
[55:03] Kari: Goodness.
[55:05] Michelle: Some of these are very thought-provoking.
[55:07] Kari: I know. Well, if I had an hour, I could probably come up with a great answer. Well, I mean, just yesterday I had to drop something off an Amazon return and it had accidentally been clipped that I was going to package the item. But usually, the store will package the item and the UPS store because, like, no problem, I've got an extra box and just grabbed a box and put it in there for me. I'm like, thank you. Because I was going to have to buy know envelope or something. I'm like, thank you so much. I'm going to pay this forward. And he's like, no, you don't need to.
[55:40] Michelle: Would you rather spend the night alone on a former battlefield or in Arlington National Cemetery?
[55:49] Kari: Oh, Arlington National Cemetery, for sure. I would hang out with the changing of the guard so I'd be safe and, yeah, what an honor. Have you been there?
[56:01] Michelle: No, I haven't. It's on my list.
[56:03] Kari: Yeah, it's weighty. And what an honor to be standing in greatness. For sure.
[56:11] Michelle: Yes. Okay, our last one. Would you rather sail across the Atlantic Ocean or walk the entire length of California?
[56:22] Kari: I would walk California. I have driven a lot of it at this point in my life. And we still Portland-Visalia numerous times a year, so I've seen a lot. But, yeah, to walk it, that'd be cool. Yeah. My best friend's husband did the PCT and got to California and man, that just would be. I would choose to probably walk California. But, yeah, definitely. Definitely walk California and just see it at that slower pace. That'd be cool.
[57:02] Michelle: Yeah. You probably know it like the back of your hand now, right?
[57:06] Kari: We've got a pretty good routine on that 15-hour drive by now, but.
[57:11] Michelle: As to your parents, I'm sure.
[57:14] Kari: They're troopers to come visit.
[57:18] Michelle: Well, what a treat. I love it. I'm sad that it's over, but. Gosh, thank you so much again, Kari, for being here.
[57:26] Kari: Same. I've had a smile. My cheeks hurt and just had a smile.
[57:28] Michelle: Same.
[57:29] Kari: And just talking back about the NICU, please tell everyone there. Well, I can maybe say here, hello, everyone. What a treat. Those few years were just still such a highlight for me, and it was such a great crew. So, tell everyone hi if you see them.
[57:46] Michelle: Absolutely will. Well, you have a great rest of your day, whatever you're doing.
[57:52] Kari: Thank you. We will be in touch.
[57:55] Michelle: Okay, Kari, thank you so much.
[57:57] Kari: Bye, Michelle.