63 - Jamie Felchlin: I Could Not See Myself Anywhere Else

Join recent grad and Spokane, Washington native Honored Guest Jamie Felchin as she talks about her family, being a "nurse" twin, the skeleton in the classroom, the uniqueness of nursing education, remembering your why, NCLEX advice, her tragic personal story that helped propel her into nursing and healthcare, the role faith plays in her life, prioritizing relationship, and more!

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Transcript

0:01

Welcome to this episode of the Feeding Our Young podcast. Today I'm gonna mail it in. I am going to kick back. I'm gonna fall asleep. I'm gonna let this honored guest just run the show because this is my third interview of the day, which happens on occasion, but it hasn't happened in quite a while because we kind of went through a little drought there for a little bit between busy lives and all the things. So I'm really excited. And nevermind the fact that I ran my 147th half marathon this morning because I'm a moron. And so I make no bones about any of that, but none of this is about me. All of this is about this next honored guest, which this is kind of fun because one of our honored guests, which you may or may not have heard by the time you hear this episode, I think you will have, maybe you won't have, because these might err out of order. But one of our honored guests is a former nurse manager near where I used to work. her name is Megan. And she says to me, she goes, Eric, she goes, you've got to get Jamie on there. She has had. to overcome a lot to get where she's at. And so I asked Jamie this right before we started. I'm like, Jamie, like, I think it was Megan. I think that if I remember correctly, that's what I told you. she's like, I don't know what it, like tell people what you told me. We're just gonna introduce you this way. I was like super shocked when you said that I was like what did I even say on that interview like for some reason that interview went really well and I don't really even remember what I said on it but I was like I'm glad it went so well and I'm glad it was reciprocated so well because I I don't know what I was doing I love it. I said basically the takeaway is you made enough of an impact that she mentioned you by name. And now here we are on this hot August day in 2024 and spending our afternoon that we could have been doing much more fun things than sitting here talking in microphones. And I can't thank you enough for being here. Thank you, Jamie. How the heck are you? I'm doing pretty well. mean, I feel bad because it's been a minute since you invited me to be on the podcast and it's been so busy with orientation and residency, but I'm keeping my head above water and I'm really happy to be here. Thank you for having me. It's my honor and yeah, I almost canceled you. I almost caught you because it just was really frustrating. I'm just kidding. She had to sit here and wait 30 minutes for me because we had a technical issue after the last episode that we recorded. It took a while to get that recording uploaded. So anyway, we're overcoming all the odds together today to bring this episode to you, the listener. Okay, so Jamie, totally untraditional opening. Let's get more traditional. What's your name? Where did you attend? And have you graduated? It kind of sounds like you gave that part away. And if so, when? yeah, I'm Jamie Felchlin. I graduated, I'm a May graduate from this year, spring from Washington State University. So go Cougs of Spokane campus, which was great. So yeah, I'm a recent graduate. I'm just starting my residency. It's been great. I love it. And May, that is at the time of this recording, three months ago. And as we've already kind of covered, so let's just jump in there. Where are you working currently? Yeah, I'm a labor and delivery nurse now at Sacred Heart, I... Been there, I started in July, very beginning of July, and I've been just doing my orientation stuff, my residency stuff, and had the really awesome opportunity to be there as a nurse tech for a year and a half. So before during nursing school and now I'm a nurse there, which is just the craziest thing. And it's great. We have a great team over there. I love it so far. I'm definitely feeling like the residency is kind of a lot, but I'm really excited for where it goes and just to keep doing the things. I love it. that being said, you know, mean, there's a lot of people that is like, you're known, like everybody's like, Jamie's amazing. And part of that, think comes from your time in the nurse tech position, right? You had a year and a half to make an impression on people and it sounds like you did. So grateful that you're working at the old birthplace and grateful that you're here with me today. So with that being said, on a scale from zero to 10, let's terrify people. You out of nursing school into a specialty like labor and delivery at a high -risk delivery center. On a scale from 0 to 10, how easy has it been for you in this first three months? I would say, man, maybe like a seven on a like zero being nothing and 10 being super hard. I feel like I just think about how someone would be a new grad jumping right into this and how insane that would be. I am, I just, I'm so amazed at the people who do what they do there. And I'm really glad I was there as a nurse tech. mean, it was such a blessing to be able to You know, be in delivery, see like the flow, just getting to know the people and getting so much experience. And but yeah, I mean, I was time Eric before the podcast about this, but just like the residency, just like how many things they throw on you afterwards, like the classes, the assignments and like all the competency stuff. And then I'm like trying to get that done. But then we're also on the floor and I'm trying to learn how to do this stuff on the floor and be a nurse. And I'm like trying to balance both of those. So it's been hard, it's scary at times, but then I feel like I got a handle. It's just, yeah, you kind of go back and forth, but overall it's been really awesome. And that's just to say, is it worth it? Is it worth all of that? It's absolutely worth it 100%. I could not see myself anywhere else. It would've been hilarious if you said something different and I'm like, Jamie, we can't air this episode. Your peers are gonna hear that. like, Jamie, we need to talk to you. No, and that's the beautiful thing. You've got people to rely on, right? Like you're not feeling like an island unto yourself, yeah? No, and I'm so lucky to know the people. I know everybody there. I mean, for the most part, the night people, I'm obviously not super familiar with the people who are on nights, but it's just been so nice to know these people and have earned their respect a little bit being there as a tech and just having a little bit of a base knowledge of stuff. it's been, that's been really helpful to feel like you're supported and, you know, they get to do a trial run of you and you get to do a trial run of them when you're a nurse tech and it works out great. And I mean, to be fair, let's be honest, those nightshifters are a bunch of weirdos. No, I can say that having been, you know, on nights for 17 of my 17 and a half year career. And I love our nightshifters to death. I loved being a nightshifter and I love our dayshifters to death. I don't know, I just, I don't know. I just love everybody and that's how this works. had my practicum on nights with them and honestly, everybody was great. I loved all the people I was around and they treated me very nicely. I'm excited to be there too. 100%. It's the one bummer to move into days. I miss all my night shift peeps. So shout out to the night shift peeps. I will always have night shift peeps back. Okay, so where are you from, my friend? I'm just from Spokane, not just, but I'm from Spokane, a local here. I've been in the area all my life. When I was younger, we were in the Valley and then moved to Spokane, Cheney area, and then I moved to Cheney, or I mean, Deer Park first, and then Cheney, and now I'm in Indian Trail, so yeah, just kind of everywhere, but just Spokane, yeah. love it. And what do you love most about Spokane and why did you stay here? Why wouldn't you go somewhere else? I don't know. I mean, I really like, I think I just like the inland northwest in particular. I just like that there's so much outdoor stuff to do. I'm just a big outdoors person. I just love that we can do backpacking. Me and my husband are really into backpacking. Went on our honeymoon backpacking. was fun. Hiking, wakeboarding. know, we love going to the lake. I love Coeur d 'Alene too. But I think I just like how much there is to do outside in particular. And I love that we get all four seasons. I love winter. I love fall. But you know, I also like the other seasons. I also like that Spokane has some really unique stuff like Bloomsday and who Fest and Spike and Dig for volleyball peeps. I think it's fun. I like the diversity of it, I guess. I almost asked that question with disdain and I did not mean to come across that way because I man I'm a I'm a biased like Spokane boy through and through I love it. Love it. it. So Jamie you picked three words to describe nursing school and having just recently escaped that amazing experience I mean I mean victoriously powered through that amazing experience. What are the three words you would use to describe nursing school? Yeah, I would say humbling, challenging, and empowering. Those would be my three. good ones and we'll find out why at the end. That being said, I'm actually trialing a new question on people and I should have warned you about this first because this will be kind of fun in real time. Take as long as you need. But can you give us three of your favorite songs? I feel like I'm kind of a weirdo when it comes to songs. I'm just kind of like love a little bit of everything but my my recent obsession of songs has been Follow Me by Uncle Cracker. I recently went to a Kenny Chesney concert in Seattle so he was there opening for him and that song's been on my mind a lot and then I'm a Christian so two songs that I really like that I've been listening to lately are Lead On Good Shepherd that one's by Patrick Mayberry I think is how you say it and then Yes, or was it? Yes, He Can, that one by Kane. Those ones are my current favorites that I'm listening to, but yeah. Current favorites, it changes. people, yeah, I mean, it's like, it's a very fluid thing, but I think we get to know a lot about people by the music they choose, but also selfishly, I get to hear new music. So, and hopefully that does the same for the listening audience. I love it. Okay. So now that the hard questions have been conquered, we go to the easy stuff. so Jamie, would you like to share with us any information about your family? Yeah, my family's me and my husband Trevor. We've been married. We just celebrated our second wedding anniversary a few weeks ago or so. I think so, yeah, the sixth. it's, yeah. recorded, it's their 31st anniversary today. So yeah, you guys are like, now we're got, it's like, it's serendipity. We got both ends of the spectrum. I love it. a common month, but yeah, it's our second anniversary and we've been together about five years. So, I when we were like 16 and 17 and first day running start. So yeah, I guess the rest is history, but me and him and then we have two dogs together. I was also telling Eric that they might pop in for a surprise guest if they decide to start playing together. We have Scout. Yeah, yeah, we have Scout. He's a Pomeranian. Trawah mix and then we have Luna who's a Shih Tzu mini poodle mix. They're best friends, best friends you could have. But they love to play all day and Scout in particular is super super vocal and loud and like when they're playing you'll hear him the whole time. He'll just be like growling the whole time and he sounds really aggressive but he's really... Total teddy bear is just very like vocal. So if you hear anybody growing in the background, it's probably it's definitely scout. So It's just us and then I have a twin sister So if any of you guys a Sacred Heart see someone who looks like me and I don't say hi, it's it's Jasmine my twin. So Yeah, yeah She's also gonna be a nurse she graduates in spring she is Yeah, nurse tech as well. She's in the ICU right now and then she'll be at Holy Family in the ED next semester. But yeah, it's happened a few times when people are like, why were you on the elevator by the cardiac floor? And you didn't say anything. I'm like, well, it's probably because it wasn't me. yeah. Gosh. So ICU and ED, so she's the crazy twin. She's definitely the crazy one. I could never do what she wants to do. I stepped in the ED on my clinical day and I said I will never be here again. Yeah. My gosh, and so I and maybe this maybe this is a sensitive question. I don't know but is you are you guys like so she came in behind you Did you inspire her like what happened there? No, it just took her a little longer to get in. So she took her, I got in fortunately on the first try and then she took her. She got waitlisted the second time, which was such a frustrating time for her, and then she finally got in on the third time. So she's just right around the corner, but she's loving nursing school and she's really excited to, she's kind of tipping towards the critical care side for sure. And she's not interested in OB and I'm the total opposite, which is crazy, but yeah. But that's awesome that like, is that, again, maybe another sensitive question. I just hit the hard hitting questions here. was that more of relief for both of you to not necessarily be in the same class or was that more of a disappointment? Cohort. feel like it was totally a blessing and surprise and I'm sure she would say the same thing. Just being twins all your life and then, you know, everything is shared, you know, literally almost everything. So it's definitely been nice as we've gotten older to have our own things, our own lives, our own friends, our own things that we do. It's definitely been a blessing and disguise to, you know, I was able to make my own friends and do my own thing and have my own interests and like, you know, have your own story and I'm sure she would say the same thing even though was real hard for her to go through that. know it kind of took a hard hit on her, you know, but she's definitely glad now, I'm sure, to have her own people and go on her own journey and yeah, I think it's great. and kicking nursing school's rear, I'm sure. Yeah. I love it. So at the risk of sounding insensitive and maybe even borderline stereotypical. Are the twin rumors true? Like, you guys like, do you feel each other's emotions sometimes? Like, is there anything that like, like an extra connectedness between you two? mean, I think it's... No, I don't think all that stuff is true of like you feel each other's pain. You know, when we were kids we probably thought that, but I think we do. It is like a unique relationship though because we are very close and like, you know, what we'll talk about later too is we went through all the same... We're like kind of trauma bonded because we went through a lot of the same things together and like we're very similar in a lot of ways and it's just a really unique thing to have like kind of like a built -in best friend. I always hated that saying, but it's honestly really true. Like having someone at your same age you can always like talk to you and do things with it's it's really a unique thing so I think it's and I think it happened for a reason you know with everything we went through I think it was definitely how it was supposed to be but it's it's cool we can understand each other you know so That's awesome. And it's also awesome to me personally to know that we have now two twins on Labor and Delivery. Because as you may or may not know, Lindsey Gibson, yes, her twin sister's in the NICU. So double twin power. You know, and if Jasmine's out there and is listening at all and wants to show up and maybe refute some of the things Jamie's saying, you come on over. Okay. love to. I think I mentioned it to her and she's like, I would love to be on the podcast. So, you'll have to have her on. I'm sure she'd love to. That's what I'm talking about. So now no pressure to you Jasmine and Jamie you pass this on you can you're welcome to share my phone number with her and let her contact me But no pressure to you Lindsey Gibson is going to also be on the podcast within the next week. I have not spoken with her sister So now it's gonna be I'm gonna say I'm gonna make the same offer to Lindsey and Lindsey's sister and We'll see which twin comes out first. No pressure. Just saying it's a competition. Just kidding No, no competition stress or anything, but... Okay, enough about that. Enough of me being a jerk. Let's move on to the good stuff. Okay, speaking of your family, any other healthcare workers in your family, and we'll piggyback that with what made you want to become a nurse? no, it's just me and my sister. We're both gonna be in nursing and, which is odd because nobody else in my family is remotely close to being in nursing. I don't really know where that even came from, but yeah, just us. And then I have an aunt who's a counselor, so sorta in the healthcare realm, but not quite the extreme, but yeah, it's just us. I don't know where quite it came from, I guess. I've just always been interested in like pathophysiology stuff. I've always been interested in the science stuff. And like I remember in... middle school having my teacher had like a skeleton in his room, my biology teacher, I thought that was the coolest thing ever. Like I liked that type of stuff from a younger age and I think also a lot of my past has to do with the reason I wanted to be a nurse too. Just seeing like my parents relationship with the healthcare system and then you know I guess trying, this sounds really cheesy but trying to like take care of myself from a little bit of a younger age kind of grew to like Wanted to take care of other people so now I'm here. Yeah. And thankfully you are. And that's not cheesy at all. Not in any way, shape, or form. So thank you for that. I have a feeling we're going to be unpacking a little bit of that more here in a little bit. So awesome. So let's talk about your nursing school experience. What do you love most about nursing and or nursing school? Yeah, I think the thing I love the most about it is it's such a unique type of education. You know, I think you always see those memes of like, this would throw someone, you know, totally crazy if they saw that in their different profession than nursing. But I think it's just such a unique thing to go through like simulations and just all the chaos of school with these people. And you're with the same people for two years and you just build lots of good bonds with each other. And I just think I like how unique and different it is and how hands -on it is. I just feel like nursing in particular is such a meaningful profession to be in. So to kind of suffer with it, like suffer through it with everybody. And we all come from so many different backgrounds and have so many different goals and interests. I just think it's such a unique thing to go through with these people. Awesome. Anything as far as your nursing school experience that you want to unpack as far as like, because it's still fresh, right? Any, any like words of advice is of course saving the one big piece of advice at the end. But what, what, what would you like to share about your four slash two years specifically in nursing school? Yeah, I feel like... nursing school is definitely challenging. I feel like it teaches you a lot about teamwork. It challenges you a lot about like what your why is for nursing. I'm sure a lot of people have went through that where people in their undergrad or just people in general have said like, sure, you want to be a nurse. Like everybody wants to be a nurse. Like, and then you get into nursing and like, you have to really think about why do I want to be a nurse? You have to remember that why when you're in, when you're doing it, because it is really challenging. And I know I definitely had some times and honestly, everybody I know had times where they're like questioning like, do I really want to do this? You know, so remembering your why is really important. You'll learn so much about yourself and about your boundaries and your needs. And just, you learn a lot about yourself and what you want to bring to the table in nursing. And it's definitely one of the most challenging things I did, but it's definitely one most rewarding things and I love so much that there's a place for everybody. There's a type of nursing for every type of person and I think it's so cool now to be on the other end of it and be able to see where everybody else went to and what they're doing now and where they're going. I just think it's a really cool thing. It's hard but you can absolutely do it. Just power through. It's tough but you can do it 100%. and I love that you bring up that remember your why. Because I mean, that's what you need to do when you're in it and you're in those in the thick of it. You know, you got to remember, OK, well, wait a second. This is like when you want to give up. Why do I not give up? that's right. This is the reason why I started this whole thing to begin with. So no, think that's fantastic. Also, just going to shoot off the hip here. But being a recent grad. Talk to us about the five letter, four letter word that is the NCLEX. How did you, how did that feel? How did you, you know what mean? Any advice for students who are dreading this five letter word? Yeah, it was, I was definitely really scared for it and I honestly prolonged it little bit because I was a little nervous about it. I mean, it wasn't that long. I took it on June 10th. I graduated on May 5th. So, I mean, I waited about a month. And I hated when people said this to me. They said, whatever you know is what you know and you're not going learn anything else. And I was like, that's wrong. I'll show them. I'll learn other stuff. But really, truthfully, you won't. You really won't. So if you feel dumb, just like, it's OK. I just remember. feeling so much like, my gosh, because for me at WSU, I feel like my last semester was kind of like more loose on the material type of thing. It wasn't so strong. I wasn't quite in the mindset. And you have a lot going on with trying to graduate and do all the things and apply for jobs. And I just remember being like, gosh, I need to really review stuff. But the best thing you can do for yourself, in my opinion, is just do lots and lots of practice questions. Just it's literally just getting in the mindset. How are they going to ask the questions? What you know, and there's it's totally OK to you know general topics but I think practice questions is the best thing you could do for yourself just like lots and lots of repetition I did Archer for I just did like their 30-day package situation I only really studied pretty intently for like two to three weeks so I didn't sit down and do like months of prep and I my job is also starting in the beginning of July so I didn't want to wait too long. But yeah, just getting in the mindset and just getting repetition. I loved Archer because it gave you lots of different explanations. It gave you visuals. It had a really good reason for every question, why it was right or wrong. And I thought that was really helpful. But I remember going into the NCLEX and like the first question they asked was like about sleep herbs. And I was like, I don't know anything about that. So, but anyways, I definitely was like left that test. everybody leaves that test feeling bad about it like you leave feeling like you didn't pass but but like don't let it get ahead of you like you just do your best you know and and i think i also did i also did mark a a little bit of mark case lecture stuff and that was helpful too you know not answering if you're not 100 sure of the multiple choice answers just just You know, the select all, apply once, only select the ones you know. You know, it's just, it's so much about how to just take the test. How do you give them the answer they want pretty much? And how do you, you know, take the test and know how it works type of thing. But you can do it. Don't be overwhelmed by it. You're smart. You've worked hard. You can do it. Yes, and a reminder, like you're saying that it is a test that is not a test of, it is a test of knowledge, but more than a test of knowledge, it's a test of application. It's a test of how do you think through these things because that's what we need in nursing. You need your knowledge and trust the university, trust the college, trust the program for providing that education that you needed. And then just hit that hard as far as like how how to best get ready to understand the questions that they are going to ask you. So thank you for illuminating nursing students on that who may have that in the back of their mind. Like, my goodness. I always ask that. Everybody's going to be like, my gosh, he asks every recent grad that question. Darn right I am. Because everybody's a little bit different. Yeah, it's like you're talking to someone literally who just went through it today, which is vastly more important than talking to me. who went through it 17 years ago, or talking to someone else who went through it longer than me, or even five years ago, because it's the new, quote unquote, new and improved, yeah, just within the last year. Okay, so enough about that dreaded five -letter word. Let's get into some heavier topics that you have kind of, sounds like you're willing to open up here. And part of calling back to what Megan said, as far as you overcoming quite a bit to get to where you are. Yeah. is, and I'll do it the generic fashion that I do with everybody, and that is, do you care to share about any challenges you've had in your life? Yeah. Yeah, and the reason I share too is because I think it has so much to do with my why, why I got into nursing. I'll try and keep it short and sweet, but long story short, my dad died when I was 12. Really, really suddenly. He was an alcoholic, unfortunately, and was pretty scared of the hospital system. didn't get help and so ended up passing away really suddenly and it was a pretty traumatic way for my mom and us. And she, my mother pretty much spiraled after that and wasn't able to take care of me and my sister so we moved out when we were 16 and lived with my aunt and uncle for a year and a half, two years. Got a job when I was 17, worked full time. paid him some rent, got myself situated. And then when I was 18, I moved out. I did Running Start for those two years when I was six, yeah, my junior and senior year of high school. So I moved out when I was 18. I lived on my own in Cheney. And then pretty much I've been on my own since. Sadly, she's not able to be any support for me now either. So, but pretty much I've worked full time since I was 17 and been doing the school thing and did a gap year between, or not a gap year, I did one year to finish my biology and chemistry between high school and when I started nursing school. But during COVID, I was working full time and then I was doing school online and... The running start was a big help to be able to do that and, you know, be a little bit ahead of the game. But I think it definitely changed so much of the trajectory of my life, too. Just seeing how things can change in just an instant and how that changes everything in your life, you know, so just seeing how my mom, she didn't get any mental help afterwards and definitely spiraled and. you know, me and my sister kind of had to learn to grow up pretty quickly. I feel like everybody says that type of thing sometimes, but you know, definitely had to kind of like. pick myself up and not be in a pity party about it and just move on and make something of the situation. So I think that was a big turning point in my life. I honestly, changed everything going forward, but just seeing the impact of healthcare and how my dad didn't want to get help because he didn't trust the system and my mom just didn't feel the need to get help, guess. And I guess I just wanted to be that person. Can I change that experience for just one person? Can I at least change the outlook on healthcare just a little bit? And I think that in my mix of just being interested in healthcare and crazy thing that is a human and yeah, so here I am. Wow, that's a very, very powerful story. Thank you for being vulnerable as far as that goes. There's cheesy questions, you know any regrets, that, and the other, but I mean, you had to grow up young. You had to take steps that a lot of us didn't have to. You know, I talk about growing up in a s single parent household and that presents its own challenges of course but it's nothing like what you know mean i've always had a roof over my head i always had food provided my mom was a loving mom she loved us to a fault and you know and to the expense of her own personal you know this that and the other and so we are for a lack of a better term we are kind of an extension of our parents and the parents before them and the parents before them and so I guess the follow -up question to that for me would be then, how do you take something so traumatic and obviously so life -changing, but how do you take something so traumatic? Because obviously you could go a number of different ways from that point in history and even from the continuation of whatever was going on with your mom. How do you take that challenge and turn it into something positive for you? Yeah, I think it was definitely hard. It's still as hard not having like lot of support. And that's why I want to put that tidbit in there. If there's anybody who's in nursing school and doesn't have the best family support, you can do it. If nobody else believes in you, I believe in you because you can do it. I think it's just, I think it's a lot of different things. I mean, luckily I had a great counselor who really helped me. I'm a Christian, so my faith was huge. Being able to put time and energy into the church was really helpful. serve in the kids ministry now and that's been super beneficial for my health and just my wellbeing in general. Obviously my husband is a great support for me. Having people to talk to is great. So shout out to my husband for listening to all my great rants that he probably doesn't understand. But just, yeah, I think it's just really important, all those things, just finding... what fills your cup. And you know, just if you're determined to make something happen, you will. But yeah, there's just a lot of things that go into it, you know, but just asking for help when you need it is so important. Asking for what you need from people, setting good expectations for yourself and for other people, setting good boundaries with yourself and other people. It's obviously a challenge in everybody's things that help them through challenges is different, but Finding those and sticking to those and prioritizing your own health and sanity is really important. think people totally overlook it and say, yeah, sure, self -care are great. But really thinking about what's going to fill your cup? What's going to make you be able to show up as your best self for you and for other people? But yeah, it's hard. It's honestly really hard. I still struggle with it. But yeah, it's hard. Everybody's just got to figure it out for themselves, I think. Well, and it's not something you can just go, hey, look, I overcame this. have, you know what mean? I have achieved, if you'd like to know the Jamie's Five Point presentation and plan for success, this is what it is. You can't do that. You're talking about real life. You're talking about. real life momentous occasions, for better and for worse, that send you in a direction or has the potential to send you in multiple different directions. And so I do appreciate you opening that up, because like you said, there are a lot of those out there without parental, you know what mean, as much parental support as others. For those that do have parental support, don't take it for granted. You know what I mean? Go, go and tell them today. If you hear this today, don't text them. call them. I'm telling you from a parental standpoint, like don't text them, just call them and be like, thank you for everything. Yeah, it's one of those, the first guest of today. We talked about our spouses and I was like in between like the break, was like, I went out, I hugged my wife, I said, thanks for marrying me and thanks for staying married to me because that's just, you need those reminders. Yeah. And it's those things that we don't say very often, right? Yeah, exactly. It's so important. Relationships are like one of the most important things. I was actually listening to a podcast recently about that, like the number one, it was like this 75 year study or something like that about what is fulfilling to people at the end of their life and the number one thing is relationships, you know? It's important, you got to prioritize it. Even if you don't have the idealistic family, know, whatever, know, value what you have and value the lessons you learn along the way. You know, I think I had a lot of determination from a younger age too. My dad was kind of hard on us, which is, know, I kind of am grateful for now because I really cared about school from when I was very young because it was a big priority for us. then school was a stable thing for me going forward. And it's just you learn to propel yourself from that. And like you have a vision of like do I want to end up like that or do I want to like do what I can with myself and you know you just learn lessons along the way and do your best you know Well, kudos to you for navigating that, continuing to navigate that. Dad hugs from this side of the microphone anyway, you know what I mean? Like, you're my peer, but at the same token, like, I'm like, my dad heart just goes out to you. thank you for being open with that. So. Is there anything before we, this is kind of the catch -all, before we wrap up with our usual ending questions, is there anything else that we haven't covered that you definitely want people to take away from your episode and things you want to share either with nurses, nursing students, or nursing educators? I would say even in the midst of being in nursing school or being a nurse too, I would definitely say don't let it consume you. People say it's impossible, it's not impossible, it's so far from impossible. But also remember the things that fill your cup and things that you enjoy doing, like get outside, read a book, bake some sourdough if you're on the whole sourdough trend right now, I definitely am. Find the things that are gonna... still keep you human, keep you sane, you know. It can be tough, it's hard, it's easy to like lose sight of the rest of the world sometimes because it's just so much to do but you know, still do the things, still remember the things that keep you going and the things that wake you up every day, you know, but you can do it. Think about the other side. It'll all be better. Yeah, I love that. I love that. And it's huge because it gets lost. You know, there's so many demands and all the things and, well, I've got this, I've got to do that. And then you become a nurse and then you've got to do what you're doing, learning all the new things. Exactly. And so it has the tendency to consume you, and especially if your identity is wrapped up in that. And I think that's key, right? Is you do nursing as a profession. You are a nurse. But a nurse is not you. You're more than a nurse. And don't lose that because there are things that can happen in the nursing realm if you lose that profession, you lose that job because you see something that you're like, my gosh, I can't do this anymore. And you're just done. Then you lose that identity. And so make sure, like you're saying, find those other things. yeah, I feel like they almost ingrained that in nursing, so I was a little caught off guard by that. Like, they kind of were like, you are a nurse, you now have all these moral responsibilities, which is true to some point, but like, also don't forget who you are, you know, don't forget your other things in life that have meaning to you, and yeah, it's, it's hard, but you know, you'll figure it out. It's, it's just all part of the process. I love it. I love it. love it. All right. So wrapping it back around with our traditional end of the episode questions. What three words did you use to describe nursing school and why did you choose them? My first word was challenging. I say it's definitely not for the faint of heart. It's not impossible, but it definitely challenges you. I feel like it teaches you so much about yourself and how you react to stress, how do you manage and organize your life. And I think it teaches you a lot. And it's just such a unique profession where it's so hard to heart with people. So it's challenging in a lot of ways, obviously academically, but also mentally. It could be really hard physically, but... you can do it. It definitely feels like the main event at the time, you know. So I definitely say it's challenging, but not impossible. like you saying, and you've said this multiple times, it's not impossible. And the thought occurred to me, if it were impossible, guess what everybody? We'd have no nurses. Yeah, it's possible. It may be painful, but it's possible. Okay, sorry, continue. but possible, totally. The second one I would say is humbling. I feel like it was humbling in so many ways, obviously academically. We all come into nursing school, we're all very smart, and we've worked really hard to get there, and it's all about... kind of be in the top of the class in competition and then you get to nursing school and you, mean, at least me, I feel like I could speak for a lot of people, but me, I was just like, I felt so dumb at times. I was like, how am I, what? I don't even know how I'm doing this right now. And it just is like, it's so much. There's so much to learn. There's so much to being a nurse and it's okay to not know it all. You're not gonna always get 100%. Honestly, I don't know anybody who ever got 100%. So I'll just put that out there for all you guys to be looking forward to. It's also humbling in just a sense of you are so one -to -one vulnerable with your patients and you see some really hard stuff You see some really exciting stuff like I love my job because I get to see the coolest thing ever babies born I think that is just the funnest thing but you also can see some really tough stuff So I feel like it's just very humbling it gives you a it's kind of like a moral wake -up call in a way and then I would say empowering because it is challenging like I said, it's humbling but then you overcome those things and It just makes you feel like, I can do hard things. I can do this. There is hope. There's a place for me. I'm going to get through it. There's light at the end of the tunnel. It's so rewarding to be in nursing, as hard as it is and as difficult as it is, and nursing school too. But I feel like it's definitely empowering to get to the end and be like, wow, I'm a nurse now. I did that. People trust you. People look up to you. So it's worth it. Yeah, awesome. Excellent, excellent words and excellent reasons why you chose those words. So, Jamie, you have one piece of advice you want people to walk away from, students to walk away with from your episode. What is that piece of advice? Yeah, hopefully I was trying to think of a way to describe it. Hopefully it makes sense. But I would just say do what works for you. I feel like at least I was that person to do all the research before nursing school and how does everybody study? How do you get good grades? But like honestly, I feel like every single semester it was a new process of what works for me and what makes sense with material. like I feel like was really, especially at the beginning, so easy to compare your way of doing something to someone else's. Like I was like a person who my friends literally make fun of me because my planner was highlighted, color -coded, all over the place. I mean, it was total chaos, and it didn't freak me out because I'm kind of used to chaos, but everybody else was like, whoa, I don't know about that. And then there was people who had like, you know, a stack of 500 note cards. Like, it's whatever works for you, and that's totally okay. And it could be hard to not be like, that person's doing really well in class. I should do what they're doing. But that's just like not the reality of it. So it's okay for you to have your own way that works for you. It's okay for that way to change. I would just say do what works for you. Make it fun for yourself. I was a library person. Bring me the good snacks. Bring me the coffee. Give me the YouTube videos with the jazz cafe coffee thing. Make it whatever works for you. It's okay to be an individual person or group person or some of both. was some of both. Just find what works for you and stick to it and be okay with it changing too. Hopefully that helps someone out there. It's definitely helping people. Those are words of wisdom. So thank you so much. Jamie, I can't thank you enough for taking time out of your afternoon again. I hope I hope you and Scout and Luna all have a lovely rest of your evening. And thank you so much for taking time for the listening audience. yeah, absolutely. Good luck with this podcast. It's great what you're doing. thank you. Let's do it. Let's change the culture, right? Yeah, I love it.