88 - Lynzee Hewett: Brains and Beauty(cian)

Join nurse and Lewiston, Idaho native Honored Guest Lynzee Hewett as she chats about quickly getting off a pre-med path, writing things down, her advice on establishing friendships in nursing school, HESIs, more “appropriate” competition, her NCLEX adventure, her career progression, advice for those interested in travel nursing, her experience as an aesthetic nurse, advancing her education, and more! 

Contact us:
mystory@feedingouryoung.org to be featured on a future episode
q@feedingouryoung.org to send a question for possible inclusion in a future episode
thanks@feedingouryoung.org to send a note of appreciation to any of our honored guests - let them know how they touched you - I'll make sure they read your praises!
info@feedingouryoung.org to send any other inquiries
+1 509 ALL THEM (509-255-8436) text/voicemail line

Follow us:
@feedingouryoungllc Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube
@foyllc Twitter/X

Many thanks:
Jon Holland (Jomarkho - found on SoundCloud, Spotify, and the like) Music - intro/outro/sting composition
10com Web Development Logo and website design

Transcript

0:00

Good morning everybody, and more specifically, good Saturday morning everyone. Welcome to this episode of the Feeding Our Young podcast. I bring up the Saturday morning thing because it's kind of important. I might be an adult, but the child that lives within me still enjoys a good Saturday morning cartoon. Looney Tunes being my favorite. And so would I rather be watching cartoons? No, not right now. Right now, I'd rather be with the most amazing, honored guest that we have in studio this morning. And I'm just gonna go ahead and get right to her, Lynzee Hewett. Lynzee, how the heck are you this fine Saturday morning? Hi, I'm so good. I'm so happy to be here. I am so happy to reconnect with you. Lynzee and I were able to work together a while back and really not long enough for my liking, that's for sure. But we'll get into that more in a little bit. But first, Lynzee, if you don't mind, as we often do, I'll have you introduce yourself to the vast feeding our young audience. If you could tell us where you're from, where you graduated from, and all the things, that would be awesome. Yes, so I am born and raised in Lewiston, Idaho, and that's actually where I went to nursing school at Lewis Clark State College, where I graduated in 2019. So I'm still a baby nurse. Yes, I love it. That's how I like to I'm like, I'm almost an adult nurse. I can't I can't wait. I don't know what that's gonna feel like. I probably not much different than any other thing. But so that's awesome. So you're from Lewiston, Idaho. Is that like a big city? Where's that at? For those that aren't familiar with Idaho? it's about two hours south of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, which is like a pretty big city, but we have about 30,000 people and some smaller surrounding towns. So it's, it's midsize. And then there's a town that's kind of a sister town, like, you, there's kind of a sister town in Washington across the border, because it's right near the southern Washington, Idaho border. And what is that town, and what is their connection? That is Clarkston, Washington. Yeah, and they're just separated by the Snake River. So just across the bridge and you're in Washington. But yeah, that has about, I think, like 20 something thousand people. between both of them, it's a pretty we call it the LC Valley. So it's pretty big, but. Elsie Valley. That's a term I've not heard, not being from that area, but I love the fact that they're named after Lewis and Clark, very famous explorers that traveled west and if I recall correctly, I'm a nurse, not a history major, but if I recall correctly, they made it all the way to the coast, right? Aren't they known for making it to, I almost want to say it's their statue that's in Seaside, Oregon. I could be wrong on that one. Now I gotta look it up. That's it. Let's see, let's see if we're right. This is a little history. Either that or people are gonna be like, my gosh, this guy does not know what he's talking about. But in the meantime, what do you love, well no, okay, no, no, no, yeah. What do you love most about your hometown? Well, let's go there. I love that all of my family's here and my husband's family, like we're pretty home bodies, but we don't miss birthdays. We don't miss holidays. So we're pretty close with our families and it's nice. And it's, there's a lot of stuff to do outdoors, whether that's boating or, you know, camping, stuff like that. And we get all the seasons here, just like Spokane. And so, you know, we use snowmobile, we hanging out in the summer and stuff. there's lots to do outside. Sounds like lot of outdoor activities then, yes? Yes. Like maybe running, perchance? Like running, yes. I know you'd be so proud of me, Eric. I ran my first half marathon. You know, I'm like only a, I'm only like a hundred and what, something behind you. That's okay. Okay, so now we have to unpack this a little bit too then. So your first half marathon was where? Yep. It was in Leavenworth, Washington, which is like a Bavarian village. It's like in central Washington. Gorgeous. absolutely gorgeous. it's held in October. So, right early October, I think. Yep. So it's, in, in Leavenworth, they have a huge October fest. So it's like where they eat, drink and celebrate and stuff. So was super fun. So the Leavenworth half is on my bucket list of haves to complete. And all the haves I've completed, there are a few that just, you know, I don't travel, I don't have a lot of money, I don't have a lot of time, so I don't travel a whole lot. And Leavenworth is, you know, a few hours outside of Spokane. So it takes, like, you can't just drive there, do it, and go back. You've gotta, you know, make the experience of it. My wife and I would love to, spend some time out there that is on our bucket list of, you so it's like, well, do we do it around the half? Do we do it, you know what I mean? Like, or do we just go twice in one year and call it a day? So I'm a little bit envious. That being said, did you enjoy your first half marathon? Would that lead to future running events regardless of distance or are you like one and done? No, thank you. I don't know. I was so proud of myself when it was done, but during it, I was like, this sucks. I'm not having the best time, but just the pride I felt in being like, okay, I finished something I said I was gonna do, that felt really good. And so I don't wanna write it off, but not anytime soon. This might be an analogy for nursing school the way you just phrased that. You're going through it and you're like, I'm not really enjoying this, but when you're done, so proud and like, yeah, I did this. Except in nursing, you complete nursing school, there's a lot more better things that come your way than just completing a half marathon. So that's for sure. Awesome, well, before we venture off and... not keeping those out of the loop, but yes, I double checked, because I thought for sure, I love Seaside. Seaside is one of our, like it's, we kind of considered our home away from home, Seaside, Oregon. And there's a monument right there on the beach, on the promenade, on the prom as they call it, and it's a monument of Lewis and Clark. And I was like, I'm pretty sure that's them, but I had to double check, because you know, Saturday morning, brains are turning on, we're fine. So with that, one last opening question before we dive into the rest of the stuff there, Linz, and that is the relatively newer opening question, which is, what are three of your favorite songs in life right now? Number one is Stick Season by Noah Khan, America's Sweetheart by L King, and Like a Girl by Lizzo. I'm going to have to give those a try. Definitely. And the not newer question, what are three words you would use to describe nursing school? Besides half marathon, of course. Yeah, literally. I would say hands on challenging and rewarding. it. All right, well let's discuss that at the end there. So continuing forward, before we talk about all things nursing, I mean you've kind of talked about what you do outside. What other hobbies do you enjoy and were you able to enjoy any of them whilst in nursing school? I really like to read kind of all sorts of books, but I didn't get to do that during nursing school. Like my face was in a textbook or my notes and stuff. And so that's kind of a hobby I took up after like school because I was like, wow, I have all this free time. Like, what am I supposed to do with myself now? And so started reading and yeah, it's I'm hooked, but it's nice. of fiction, non-fiction, a mixture of the two. don't read a lot of nonfiction. It's mainly fiction, romance, thrillers, mysteries. Any books you'd recommend to anyone out there. Right off the top of your head. about nursing. It's my favorite author, Kristin Hannah, and it's called, my gosh, it's about the Vietnam War. It's called The Women, The Women. And it is, my gosh, well, I cried, but it is such a good book. Like, it talks about women's roles as nurses in Vietnam War and how they weren't really recognized, but it... was such a good book. I'm in a book club and we read it and even people that weren't nurses like loved it so much, but it's a really good book. So there's another takeaway for everybody out there. Lynzee has time for a book club now. And that book club is not nursing school. So I suppose nursing school is also a book club. Two book clubs, not one, but two. my goodness. I love it. I love it. So if I recall correctly, you enjoy traveling. Going back on the I don't travel a whole lot, if I remember correctly, you were kind of polar opposite. Have you traveled? Where have you traveled? And where did you like to travel the most? I have, I always liked to have something planned, like I mean, something to look forward to. And so I actually did travel a little bit during nursing school, whether that was a weekend away or like, I've been to Leavenworth many times. But my bigger trips, I've been to like Mexico, Costa Rica, London, France, Italy and Spain. I've been to this little tiny country called Andorra, which is in between France and Spain. It doesn't even have a border. There's no army. There's no taxes. It's quite little, little country, but yeah, had to check it off my list. I mean, like that's fascinating to me. what do you, I wonder how big it is. Do you know how big it is at all or how populous it is? Let's look it up. It is small. The population of the whole entire country as of 2023 was 80, like almost 81,000. Wow, so like double the size of just Lewiston and Clarkston put together by our estimate anyway. my goodness, that is... about 180.7 miles squared. So very, very small. No army, no taxes. How does it exist? know that's, man, you've just. I actually did learn this, it like a long time ago, and I could be wrong, but it was a long time ago, France and Spain, like basically made a treaty to just like, take care of this little country. And so like they, if something were to happen, like these two countries would help it. Yeah. goodness. Here you are everybody. Today we're getting history, we're getting geography, we're getting everything but nursing. So just kidding. Let's dive into the nursing stuff. That's amazing. So Lynzee, let's start with where it all started. Why did you want to become a nurse? I have a lot of nurses in my family between like my grandma, my cousin, my aunt. and I always just heard them talking about it. And I always knew I wanted to like go into the medical fields, but I actually used to want to be a pediatrician. And so I started my college career out on that path and then, was just like that this isn't what I want to do. Like I want to be more like hands on with patients and, know, by their side. And so I, you know, had a lot of conversations with them and. They were like, yeah, it's nursing. Like you need to do nursing. And I was like, my gosh, yeah. Like it was like a light bulb moment. And I mean, obviously loving it to this day, you know. well, we'll get into what... No, and that's, how many times somebody says that on here, myself and honored guests included, like you just, however you ended up here, and some people end up here and like, you know, well, it was what was available, so I gave it a try. And then they say, now I can't imagine doing anything else. And so that's just, I love it. You guys, you're gonna love nursing. You're gonna love nursing. Stick through that nursing school. Get through that half marathon or full marathon as it may actually be. And then you're gonna have amazing times after you get out of that. So with that then, you know, talking about where you went to school, that kind of leads us into maybe some challenges that you faced. Would you like to discuss some challenges you faced and then how do you personally overcome or kind of work through challenges? Yeah. So one of my challenges was going to school to be a pediatrician. I actually went in your neck of the woods to Whitworth University for about a semester to play basketball and try to do pre-med. And it just did not work out. It was a pretty dark time. I'm not going to lie. And it made me just realize like what I value most, which is like my family and, you know, just I'm a comfort person and I like to step out of my comfort zone and travel a little bit, but I'm a homebody. And I'm just so fortunate that I have a nursing school in my town, because I was like, yeah, like no kind of a no brainer, but yeah. So at semester I switched back to Lewis Clark State College. And I, one of the best decisions I made personally, like it was. I don't regret it, but looking back, I'm like, that was really hard. And being 18, 19, I was like, my gosh, like, what am I doing with my life? And I just never think it's a bad thing to like take a step back, you know, like be like, what do I value? What means most to me right now? Because, you know, in 20 years, it's not going to matter. Like you just have to do what's best for you at the moment. And transferring back was financially really, really smart for me. But also just, you know, emotionally and physically really good for me. what they call the win-win-win, right? Yeah, yeah. My bank account's thanking me. Yeah. we get, you know, a lot of nursing students, I love the different perspectives because you have some people that are like, well, I wanted to stay close to home. You have others that are like, I wanted to get away from home because this was my one time to, you know what I mean? And you're kind of a mixture of both. How did that work? Was that, was there any ever thought of like, the challenge of transferring to another university or back home to another university. Was any of that even like a potential non-negotiable for you or just your desire to get back home was strong enough? like, I don't care what I got to overcome. I think it was kind of both. think like, but that kind of like goes into like how I overcome challenges. I am like, have to write things down because sometimes I feel like my brain can just get like, it's just jam packed with stuff and you know, I overthink things. And so I always wrote things down. I front, like basically like halfway through the semester, I wrote down how my day was like, you know, what my positives were, what my negatives were. And then like, when it got down to crunch time and being like, are you going to transfer or not? I looked back and I was like, am I having more good days than bad? And then I wasn't. I was like, okay, what am I doing? I really tried to make this work. So I was like, it's just best for me. But getting my thoughts onto paper was really helpful. good. And I love hearing that because I'm an over-thinker, fellow over-thinker. I identify strongly with you. My wife will tell you right now, if I'm buying something like a new TV or something like that, I have to do all the research. I gotta look, this one's good because of this and this one's not. Well, but if we got that, this would save us money. And you can get caught in the spiral over something as simple as that. And so that's awesome. that you are able to just, hey, get the thoughts on paper, here's the pros, here's the cons. It helps you feel more organized, right? Yeah, you can make a more informed decision as we'd like to say about our patients. Yeah. based on like emotions or you know spur of the moment. So Yeah, yeah, awesome, very awesome. with that, you make this decision to get back home and you're going to Lewis and Clark. so talk to us about nursing school. What do you remember from nursing school, you know, since it was so long ago? But no, I mean, what did you enjoy about it? What do you remember most about the whole experience? Well, for one, I loved nursing school. I really loved it. I have made some of my best friends to this day. You know, like we were in the trenches together. We were stressed out, crammed studying all night long. And so it just brought some lifelong friendships. But I loved LCSC because it was like a small cohort. Like we didn't have a ton of students. So I got to know all these people and, you know, we succeeded together. cried together, it felt like a little family. But yeah, I loved nursing school. If I could go back, I would do it again. Yeah. I know. I know. I loved it. I mean, and that is great. That is, you know what I mean? That you're able to have that sort of community. That's a theme that comes up on the podcast often. Are you naturally outgoing? Is this something that came easy to you? And if not, how did you reach out to create these lasting bonds? well, I went in knowing I had one friend. so we, I are, it already helped having somebody, but I feel like I am pretty outgoing. and I, if I see somebody kind of alone, I'm like, Hey, like, let's go talk to him or, you know, inviting new people into our group. But it's, I just always remember, like, we're all in the same boat. Like it was, we all had something in common. So it was like, like make friends with them. You're going to spend the next year or two with them. so it's like. trying to make connections and relationships and stuff because you might be their partner in a project or have a simulation or scenario with them. And so it was nice to get to know people. Did you find that navigating the waters of nursing school, like at first, like you said, you already knew you had one person that you knew. What would be, let me back up, what would be your advice to those that say, okay, that's great. I just got in nursing school or I've been in it and I'm having a hard time establishing those relationships. I'm not the one that reaches out. What would be your advice to that person who's listening? I think to go to the events. I feel like nursing school, we always had fun things going on or reviews or where the professors would hold things like that. And it's like, go to them. You don't have to talk to people quite yet, but you could be like, yeah, that person I see quite a bit. And maybe they'll be the ones to reach out to you. But I think just putting yourself out there physically and maybe not talking quite yet could really help. but. really like that. That being said, then you get through nursing school. I mean, I feel like that's, we've spent all of three minutes talking about getting through nursing school. That was it. I mean, did you have any challenges? It sounds like, I mean, you enjoyed it so much. What did you find challenging about it? Like, how did you work through that? That whole, like, or maybe you didn't. Maybe you were one of the few that got through and you're like, yay, this was easy. No. no, no, that was not me. It was still really hard. I'm really competitive, so when things are challenging and I get through it, I'm like, I don't even care. I'm so happy it's done and I won kind of thing. looking back, I was still working basically full time. And I thankfully had a job where like, if it was slow, I could work on my homework or things like that. But like, it took all of me. Like I didn't have much of a social life. know, thankfully my boyfriend at the time, who's my now husband didn't live here. So like, I almost didn't have him like taking up my time. I know that's bad to say. I love him so much. He's sitting in the other room, but, I could focus. Like I could focus and like, I lived with my mom, thankfully. And, So I had like a really good support system, but like it took all of me. And there was times where like, I don't know if you guys had, if everyone takes the HESI tests, like practice tests. for me it was long enough ago that I did not, but yes, many, many students take the HESI test now. those were like the bane of my existence. Like, I don't know if I passed one of my whole entire nursing career. Like, I, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I remember like talking to my professor and I'm like, am I even going to pass this class? Because I'm not passing these HESIs. And she was like, well, why aren't you passing them? And I'm like, I don't know. Like, they're It was just such a hard time. So something that like I struggled with, but I had to reach out to my professors and be like, okay, like what am I like? They had to like keep me in check because I was not that I was like gonna fail, but like I personally felt like I was cause I wasn't passing them, but it was hard. but yeah, I loved it because I had good professors, good friends that a good support system to get me through it, but it's, it's draining, you know, and that's kind of all your focus can be on. Yeah, yeah, for sure. And it demands that attention because nursing demands your attention for sure. For you then, it really, really is. So Lynzee, you mentioned that you were, you you're a competitive person by nature. You were glad when you got the half marathon done. were glad when you got, you know what mean? Like you said, you're like, you got through nursing school and you're like, yes, I beat it. You know what I mean? that's, but I, knowing what I know about you and your character, I don't ever get the feeling that you're like, yes, I beat them or I beat that person. You're saying I beat the institution, the program that was nursing school. Is that correct? that ever, what would be your thoughts on competition within nursing school? Because that has come up often on this podcast where some people are like, you know, it's so competitive getting in and then there's a lot of students that have a hard time letting go of that I need to be better than the person next to me. Totally. LCSC is very competitive to get into. there was students in our class that were competitive with others. not that they would bring you down, but you could tell that they were always, they were the ones taking the professor's time, or they were the ones kind of not letting you speak or during simulation or things like that. They would take them over. But I'm not competitive with other people, you know, unless it's like a sport. like, for me, like we were all in this together. We were a team of students, like, especially my little group. Like we were in it together. Like if one of us didn't pass, like do really good on a test, it was like, well, how did we not help prepare her? Or like, how did we fail her of like not helping her study or things like that? so yeah, for me, was like, I'm competitive against classes and you know, basically the whole program itself. And I think that comes from like, I don't like to fail. Like I'm scared of failure and I bet other students can relate to that. But it's like, you have to, feel like almost have like a little bit of competitiveness and like grit and strength to get through nursing school. it's, yeah, it's hard when you see other students like that, cause it's like, hey, enjoy the ride. Like, you know, it's two years of our life, we're not gonna get back. Like, I'm not competing with you, like, you don't have to compete with me. Like, we're all in this together. Little high school musical thing. Busting out in song, Lynzee, take it away. But I love that idea, the idea that once you're in nursing school, stop competing against others and compete against the standard, right? That's, think, essentially what we're saying. There's a standard set that you need to reach this bar in order to pass. Compete against that. If you're barely above it, great. If you're leaps and bounds above it, great. But guess what? you're all gonna graduate, and you're all gonna sit for the same NCLEX. On that note, just talk to us briefly. What did you feel about that wonderful, wonderful exam, that four-letter word we call the NCLEX? I remember being so anxious. Like I'm just like, cause I don't test well. Like I, you know, I overthink things and I, you know, sometimes move too fast. but I have my sister-in-law drive me up to Spokane cause I had to drive two hours up there. And I was like, Hey, Ronnie, you know, all my NCLEX prep classes that I took the computer adaptive tests, you know, they shut off when they mimic the NCLEX. I got 265 questions. on every single one of them, Eric. So I went in, yeah, I went into the NCLEX thinking like, hey, Ronnie, know, my sister-in-law, I'm like, this is gonna take me probably like, you know, three hours, I don't know. So I'll just call you when I'm done and it'll be great. So to my shock and horror, it shut off at 75 questions. And I said, I was like, perfect, I failed it. And I left and I said, well, now I know what to expect. You know, I went in super anxious, you know, and so I went to a little margarita place and indulged and got, know, Ronnie, Ronnie drove me home and I kind of forgot about it. I was like, you know, and I didn't tell anyone I took it. She was like the only one that knew I took it. Cause I was so scared and anxious and I don't like to fail. And so I was like, I don't want to have to tell people that I went and failed and have to retake it. and then you have to wait so long now or something to get your results or. And I got an email saying your results are ready. And I was like at a family function and I was like, do I open this now? Like I'm going to cry or, know, and I opened it and it said I passed. And I could not, I literally like could not believe it. Cause I was like, for sure I failed it. So, my gosh. And I, so my takeaway from this, take your NCLEX prep courses. I did Kaplan. but take them, but like take them with a grain of salt. Like you're smart. went, you passed nursing school, you know what to do. yeah. And like, try not to make it so anxious, you know, like every nursing student has to take the NCLEX. We're all, we're all doing it. but you can retake it if you fail and it's okay to fail. cause I don't know that I know that they recently just changed the NCLEX. so I'm I can't speak to like, you know, how it all is, but, there, mean, it's a standardized test. want to make sure that we're safe practicing providers, you know, of care. And so it has to be hard, you know, they have to make sure that we're ready to take on real patients. So it's not meant to be easy. And very grateful for that. You can imagine a world where nurses can just, you know, get there. I know there was a scandal a couple years back where it was, there's some factory mill down in, you know, Florida or somewhere. I'm like, I just imagine being taken care of by somebody who has somehow gamed the system. Like, no thank you. No thank you. Well, speaking of taking care of others, let's talk about what you have done and are currently doing. So I had the honor of meeting you as a travel nurse. So would you like to tell us about that and why did you get into it? Was that what you did straight out of, know, right after graduating? Like, tell us about your kind of career progression. Yeah. So I actually started working as a nursery slash postpartum nurse in Lewiston at our hospital. and I did that for like two and a half years. And, then I was actually getting married in like six, seven months. And you know, I've always wanted to travel nurse, but again, I'm a homebody and like my husband's all his whole family lives here. Like we weren't moving. but I always wanted to try it. And so. I had kind of been scoping out places and there was some that were like five or six hours away and I was like, okay, I could do that. And then one fell open in Spokane, Washington and I was like, my gosh, like, I feel like this is meant to be, you know? So I told my, I told my work, I was like, hey, I think I'm gonna travel nurse and they're like, what, what? And I'm like, I don't know, you know? But I, cause I was like, what am I, you know? I would be going up there by myself. Like, I don't know anybody. which is scary for me. Like I, again, I don't like that. And so I just applied and I said, if it's meant to be, it'll be. And I met with, you know, people up there and I was like, my gosh, like this seems perfect. Like I got such good vibes from everyone there. And so I kind of just took the leap and it was one of the best decisions I made because one, I made a ton of money. Save for my wedding. I went on an awesome honeymoon. But I also met really awesome people that I'm still friends with and just like you, like I'm so thankful that our paths crossed because they wouldn't have if I didn't do that. Yeah, and we were very thankful for Lynzee, just so everyone knows, because it was, you know, I mean, and most of the travel nurses we've gotten have been amazing. Like there's, you know, all the things, but all that to say when we have a good one, it's like, I don't, I mean, how many times, Lynzee, if you had a dollar every time somebody asked you to stay or to, you know, apply here, be here, come here, you probably would be able to retire early, right? Yeah, I loved it and I so I said to my contract once I think for a little bit longer and then I remember I was like on my honeymoon or something or like just about to get married and Tiffany messaged me and she was like hey like you want to take another contract and I was like can it start this day when I get back and she was like shoot like we need it to like next week and I was like my gosh because I would have went back there and I've like also Even after that, I looked at like staff positions there because I loved it. The community was great. Like, and I didn't, liked floating because like my background was nursery. so I floated to the NICU. I think I calculated it out and it was like 97 % of the time I was in NICU. Well yeah, because you were first to float, right? As travelers, that's one of the downsides to traveling, but yeah. See, for me, I loved it. I mainly did nursery in NICU. where I worked before, it was a lower level NICU. But I loved it. So for me, I'm like, yeah, I'll flow. It doesn't bother me. But the days that I got to stay down on Mom Baby were super special then. Because I was like, this is my home floor, but I'm never here. So on that note, any advice for students who are like, travel-interesting, like I'm thinking about doing that, what pros, cons, any advice you'd have for them specifically related to that? Yeah, I think you have to go in with a super open mind. Because especially if you don't know anybody and you're like, OK, well, I might have to be a little outgoing to, I'm going to be talking to new providers, new other staff, learning a lot of new things, you kind of have to be a sponge. But you also have to be OK asking for There was times where I'm like, my gosh, I haven't been on MomBaby. I forgot their hypoglycemia protocol. And I'm like, you just have to be OK being like, Don't try to wing it by yourself. That's not going to get anyone anywhere. But you have to ask for help. And that's why I was so glad with that unit. Everyone was super helpful. And I think that having that mutual relationship of being like, hey, I'm here to help you, but I need your help too, it goes a long way. And be a helper. All these nurses know that you're there doing the same job, but you're making more than them. So that got brought up a couple of times. Mm-hmm. It was a little uncomfy at times. mainly when I floated to other, other units, like the ER and, but you just be overzealous and helping people like go out of your way, take the, and you need to take the, you know, crappier assignment. Like I did all the one to ones. Like I was, it was boring, you know, like be okay being like, okay, this isn't like the funnest time of my life, but it'll be, it's worth it. but I think you should have to go into the super open minds and be willing to help out and communicate, but also do it. It was the best, it was the best time. So take, if you have, if you have that in your heart to do it, I think you should at least try it, say you did it. you can always go back to, you know, a staff job like I did, but yeah. All those options that are open, you know, I just, I love that and I love that, especially again, like you're saying, like you weren't quite married yet, no children. You know what mean? Like that's the prime opportunity to try something like that, where you're not moving your family around or leaving your family for extended periods of time. And that's just outstanding. So I'm assuming by the way you're talking that you're not traveling now. What is it that you, what did you do after you, why, okay, let me back up. Why did you stop travel nursing and what has been the progression since then? Yeah. Well, I stopped travel nursing because after I got married and went on my honeymoon, there wasn't a travel position open at Sacred Heart. I said, got too lucky with my first assignment. I don't think it's going to get better from here. But no, there wasn't assignments within a shorter distance for me. And I didn't want to go super far away. So I actually came back to Lewiston and started working at an aesthetics clinic. here in town. One of my cousins knew this girl and she was looking for a nurse to do IV therapy part time. And I was like, you know, that would be fun. I don't know anything about aesthetics, but I didn't really want to work nights anymore. I was just in a time where I like, I just want to chillax for a little bit. Aesthetics is not all chillax. I will like preface that. There's still stress and But yeah, I met with this girl who is now my boss and one of my favorite people Ashley and we just hit it off and I don't think we both realized like how it would like work out but we were just like, we really like each other, know, like We we want to work together, but we don't know what it's gonna look like so I started doing that and then I became I did that for a little bit, but I then took on like different roles in the clinic. So then I started doing like laser hair removal and, like facial lasers. started doing, Like chair side assisting with her. So I never like injected Botox and filler and that kind of stuff. left that to those girls because that is a lot of training. And, for that, like it's people's faces. You want to be, you want to take good training. You don't want to just go to somebody that. learned it on their own or is charging super cheap. Like you want somebody that knows what they're doing. And so I just assisted them in the clinic. And now I, so I've been working there almost like two and a half, three years now. And it's just working with some amazing women who are just your cheerleaders. And we have a lot, the clinic has grown so much, but yeah, it's super fun. I love it. So then let me ask this for those that are out there going, okay, I kind of have an idea of what it is. If you had to sum up what is being an aesthetic nurse, what does that look like on the day to day? What are your responsibilities? What are the possibilities within that realm? Expand that for us. So being an aesthetic nurse, it's mainly about beauty and wellness and anti-aging. really, honestly, too, it's about being a friend of people. People come in, and you have such a close relationship to these people. And they almost treat it as a therapy session. You get to know people and have these close relationships. But it's night. We work nine to five. nine to five, but it's pretty flexible. Like if I have a doctor's appointment, I can leave or like things like that. But yeah, it's, it's just a very welcoming environment. think it, people think it's kind of scary, but at least at my clinic it's, you know, we're all cheering each other on. It's not like a competition kind of thing. like if we do, you do well, the clinic does well and you know, but a lot of it is like education, like, researching things on your own, taking classes on your own. yeah, acidic nursing is, I think everyone thinks it looks so glamorous and just fun and things like that. But there's still things that can go wrong and side effects from, or if like injecting something wrong or reactions from lasers. And so it's a lot of just following protocols. mean, we have them just like we did in the hospital. what to do and we have medical directors that are involved, kind of helping us out, but yeah. That's awesome. I mean, it sounds like you're saying, you some people focus on the word aesthetic and they forget that extra word nursing. It's still nursing. It's still nursing. Yeah. Awesome. So is that what you're going to do for the rest of your life, Linz? I don't see that being the case. What are your future plans? No, so I guess I'm a glutton for punishment, but I am back in school. I am. know. I know. So I am back to get my Masters of Nursing through Frontier Nursing University. It's out of Kentucky, but it's like a distance learning. And I'm specializing in women's health. So I'm currently. I just hit about 230 hours of my clinical rotation that I'm doing in Lewiston with a midwife. Her name's Andrea Hedrick and she's like the best person ever. So I'll be done hopefully like February, March and I'll be a women's health nurse practitioner. Okay, then what is that? I mean, first of all, kudos to you. That's amazing. Like you're gonna be one of the best for sure. That being said, what is it like getting through clinical? Like now these are different kinds of clinicals, right? Like how does, what is the typical master's prepared clinical day look like for you? Yeah. So when it first started out, was just a lot of observing, but I go into the patient's rooms if they're OK with a student. But it's you. You have an MA or an RN that's gathering data, like history and why they're here today, making sure their meds and stuff are up to date. But you have to mentally shift your thinking and to be like, no, I'm the provider now. I am going to be the one diagnosing. I'm going to be the one prescribing something. So it's a lot like pharmacology is like creeping its way back up. And I'm like, perfect. But you have to, and then like follow up care and it's on you. I mean, you're the one charge. And so it's a big responsibility and I'm thankful I'm learning. I feel like I'm learning like a really good foundation of being like, okay, like what are the things that I'm commonly gonna see? And how can I just be really good at the like? these things too. So that's kind of why I went into like women's health nurse practitioner and not just like a family nurse practitioner because those are amazing and we need those. But I wanted to be something that you could go to for literally anything for women's health. So I eventually want to focus on like menopause and hormones and like lot of infertility. We don't have anything like that in our town and so I want to be just a resource and a wealth of knowledge, even if it's just like a first step to on the path. But yeah, it's I so far I really like it. It's just another challenging thing. And it's it I mean, it does remind me of nursing school because I'm well, I'm in clinical is about 3035 hours a week. So I'm only working about 10. So but it's I love it. And I know it'll be worth it when I'm done. So I'm trying to just enjoy the ride and not stress too much about little things. And just I'm just a sponge and trying to learn everything I can. Man, you almost make me wanna go back. I, just your, you know what I mean? Your warmth, your enthusiasm for learning is palpable even with this distance away online. And that was always the case with you back when we knew you. You know what I mean? Like when you were, that brief time you were with us. So thank you so much for sharing that. Anything else you wanna share about your journey, your life before we close this traditionally as we usually do? Hmm. think just everything goes by so fast. Like, time flies whether you're in nursing school or not, right? Like, if you're listening to this and you're not a student and you're like, should I do it? This time goes by so fast. in my master's program, I had a test every single Friday. So the g- The terms were short. They were only 12 weeks, but I tests every Friday. So things were moving quickly. I cannot believe I'm almost done with my program. I feel like I literally just started. So it's like, take the leap. It'll pay off, because it's just like, you're investing in yourself and your education and your future. I think it's just a very power. It's an empowering thing to be like, no, that was hard and it sucked, but I did it. If I can get through nursing school, I can get through anything. Like, like, it, and I, and I look back and I loved that time in my life. And so I, I remember hearing this one thing that says like, you've made it through a hundred percent of the things that were hard in your life. Like, I remember all of the challenging things that I'm like, how am going to get through this? And it's like, I, I did it even though it sucks, you know? So it's just, you can do it. I think it's just have faith in yourself and it'll all work out. amazing advice. It's taking essentially that, using those past accomplishments as fuel for future accomplishments. Yeah, yeah, like, no, I've done this. I've proven this to myself. Now let's go. Let's just run with this and have fun. Awesome. before we wrap up with our traditional questions Is there anything else you want to talk about? Yes, there is a couple of things. So the first one is imposter syndrome. I'm not sure if anyone else struggles with it, but yeah, it's something I struggle with and it's just like thinking that you're not good enough or, you know, like thinking you're like, how am I a nurse or how am I doing this? Well, one, you pass nursing school, you you're getting through it. You pass your NCLEX, your patients are safe. But it's hard not to get down on yourself and to just doubt and. doubt yourself. And so I just I want people to know that you're not alone in that feeling of feeling not good enough, but you are good enough and you're going to get through it. And there's days like that you'll have that you don't feel good enough. But Lindsay, you've been a nurse for five years. Doesn't that go away at that point? No, no, really wish. I'm like still kind of recovering from a recent imposter syndrome debacle. But so in about half a year into my master's program, I had a class and I failed it. I by zero point one, two percent, if I may say. But it's yeah, I failed it. And that was the first time in my life I've ever failed anything. I feel very grateful for that. Don't get me wrong. But yeah, I had never failed a class or a test and I, and I failed it. And it, you know, when I was looking back, it was pretty small mistakes that I made, but at the end of the day, didn't matter. And it's funny. I took, well, not funny. I took, I took my final. I took my final, didn't pass. The next day I was leaving for a two week vacation in Spain. in Italy. And yeah, and so I put a little damper on it, but so I had to retake the class the next semester with two other classes because I didn't want to be put behind another semester because I have a friend in the program, Kaylee, who's like my godsend in there, and I didn't want to like get off track with her. And so, yeah, I took three classes the next semester and I passed, thankfully, but I had to do like a remediation with my professor. who she, at the time I was like pretty salty with, but at the end she was super helpful. And at the end of the day, she just wanted me to succeed and, you know, be safe. But that was hard. That was really hard, but it all worked out in the end. But yeah, I definitely was doubting myself and being like, why am I doing this? Is this worth it? Like, my gosh, like, but yes, I did it. I figured it out. And you talk about earlier about having like this fear of failure. So when failure actually happened, like I mean, like you said, you're planning on finishing this class and going on vacation and just having a great old time and you're like, what, how do you get through that? Like, what, did you do anything special as far as like trying to get through that failure or do you just take a moment and you own it and then you move forward? Like how did, what did that process look like for you? I really wish that it was as graceful as that sounds. It was not pretty. You know, there was some crying in the fetal position for sure. No, there was, yeah, there was a lot of tears and just being like, my gosh, like I didn't want to tell anyone. I was just like, my gosh, I was embarrassed and I, you know, cause I, that's, I didn't want to identify that. And I didn't want people to feel bad for me. Cause at the end of the day it was. It was my fault and I have to own it. But, yeah, I tried to like talk to people to be like, okay, like what can I do? Or, you know, like trying to navigate it. But at the end of the day, like, it's a, like a level playing field out there. They're like, yeah, no, you're going to retake the class and pay for it again. looking back, I'm actually really glad it happened. Cause I think it humbled me a little bit being like, Hey, you're not perfect. Like, you know, everyone fails something, but. Yeah, it was really hard. just, I didn't want to leave that out of here because, you know, even people that love nursing school and feel like they have all their stuff together, we do not. Like we fail, everyone fails at something. Like it's just kind of almost how you react and like how you bounce back. I think that is the most important because if you fail and you just give up, you know, you can't do that. You got to get back up. And you mentioned, like, I'm assuming by this point, at the very least, your husband, maybe your family, maybe, you know what mean, people knew that you failed this class. When they finally found out, did they disown you and shun you and shame you? No, they actually felt bad that I went through it alone. They were like, my gosh, why don't you tell me? And my sister, who's my bestest friend in the whole wide world, she was like, my gosh, we could have celebrated when you passed the second timer. We could have done this. We could have done this. yeah, I never want, I shouldn't have kept it to myself. I wish I would have been more open with my support system so they could help me, because that's. You know, they love me and they want me to succeed, but they are also there for me, you know, if I fail. Yeah, don't have that regret everybody. If you fail at something or you're ashamed of something, bring it out in the open. The sooner you have support, the better that is, right? Awesome. So, Linz, what were the three words that you used to describe nursing school and why did you pick them? OK, so the first one was hands-on because at LCSC we had simulation, we had scenario, we had a lot of tools where I feel like I learned best from making mistakes and I learned from them. So that was a very safe space for me to make mistakes. And so I was so thankful that it was hands-on. So I think that's something, especially for perspective nursing students, to look into. Does a nursing program have a lab where you can go practice IVs on an arm? Or do they value doing simulation and practicing things? Because that was personally how I learned the best. I think it, know, others learn from your mistakes too. So that was one of my favorite parts. But the other one was challenging. And that was because it was demanding. As far as your time spent studying, it was hard to manage school, work, and a social life. You know, and then it was worth it. And that's kind of what leads to my last word, which is rewarding because, know, when you're in the thick of it, you don't really see that light at the end of the tunnel. But, every, you know, every class that you take to get to the end, it's so rewarding. And I think having, we had really good professors at our school and they were always cheering us on. so like getting their feedback. mean, like Lynzee, that's awesome. Like keep going. It was like, it was really rewarding. It made me feel really good, but. In the end, after being a nurse for five years, I'm like, I love being a nurse. I think there's days where you're like, why did I do this? But in the end, I don't remember those days. I just remember, know all the people that I got to help and people I got to meet and stuff like that. So it's so worth it. Well, and you bring up a good point too, because a lot of people are like, well, you still have those days in nursing, like you said, where you're going, dear Lord, what do I, my motto was always, you can do anything for 12 hours, referring to a 12 hour shift. And there are certain shifts that have pushed that to its limit. But that being said, it doesn't matter if you're like, okay, no, nursing, it's just gonna be too hard and you bag out of it. Whatever you do, you're gonna have shifts that are like, you know what mean? I don't care if you're flipping burgers, I don't care if you're in the service industry or if you're an accountant dealing with numbers, you're gonna have those days. So do what you love, do what you love. I love it, I love it. Okay, so then as we traditionally ask, if you had one piece of advice to give nursing students to walk away with from your episode, what would that be? For me, it would be to write down your whys. So even if you're almost done with school, write down why you wanted to become a nurse in the first place, why you want to help others. Really dig deep, because during those hard shifts where you're like, this sucks, pull that out and be like, Two years ago, I dreamed of being a nurse. I dreamed of this moment. So even though it sucks, tomorrow can be a better day. Cause like, again, I love to write things down and get my thoughts on paper, but there was times where I literally was like, don't, why, why did I do this? And I have my whys. I have them still even before, since before nursing school. And I pulled them out and I'm like, that's why, you know, like it grounds me to be like, yes, nothing has changed. I still want to be there for people in their time of need. I still love the personal connection I get with helping patients. So I think just writing down your whys help it, let it motivate you. Well said. Well said. That's the perfect way to end this episode. Lynzee, you are a ray of sunshine. Thank you so much for brightening our days and our Saturday morning. Much better than a Saturday morning cartoon. No, thank you greatly. So good reconnecting and thank you. I hope you have an amazing day. You as well.