99 - Behind Her Back

Wrapping up the last of the special episodes, Izzie Wilkes and Eric Miller talk about Jennifer Evans behind her back after she leaves to go to her hair appointment, discussing why they want to be just like her when they grow up, emphasizing the importance of answering for yourself one question: what kind of reputation do you want to have?

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Transcript

0:01

Okay, Eric, you got a story about Jen? What do you got? Yeah, I definitely do we're doing this so uh She has no idea this is happening right now And we're gonna do this real quick so that Izzie can get some sleep But I always envision this as a three episode thing anyway because there were three of us so uh we're gonna Never gonna know until it comes out. Mm-hmm So yeah, oh right here right now you and I are we have to like pinky swear blood blood whatever We're not gonna tell her we did this How long do you think it'll take her to figure this out? my gosh. Oh, this is fabulous. on there and I'll say it's a three episode thing and she'll be like, wait, what? He must have maybe done editing or different, oh, okay, all right, so there you are, everybody, you're in on the secret. Jen doesn't know and won't know until she hears this for the first time. Okay, so story about Jen. Well, I mean, for me, obviously, I don't go as way back with her as you do. You know, I. how did you meet her? What was your first encounter? Ooh, how did I meet her first encounter? It was working at Gonzaga, of course. Yeah, because I never saw her up at Holy on the one or two times or whatever that brought me up that way. when I went up for, I followed Ali Willard for my precepted for the master's degree and I didn't see her then, of course, because Ali was Knights anyway, but there was no overlap there. So, no, the first time I met her was when I got the job at Gonzaga and I didn't even, she was... Let me think, I want to make sure the timeline's straight, but I'm pretty dang sure that when I started at Gonzaga, that was her and Tera's first years as full-time instructors, full-time lecturers. And so she was newly minted kind of chair of the OB department there, just kind of the one that we all kind of point our directions to. So I mean, I'm meeting this, I mean, like you, like everybody else, like just this tour de force of like of a woman who is like, The passion. She doesn't have to say a word, but her passion for all things teaching, all things OB. Like I'm like, oh, immediately I went, first of all, you always dream about like, okay, hopefully the dream that I've had for years and years and years of teaching students, that the reality matches the expectation, right? And not only has it, but it's gone well, it's surpassed my expectations. And then on top of this, I'm starting day one in the role that I had always hoped to get. You know what mean? Since I've been an OB. And I'm like, these are the people I get to work with? Like this is a lady I get to like learn from? Yes, please, thank you. And that is more icing on the cake. So that's my first story. Izzie - to you. so actually what's funny is I, I mean, I know Jen for a little bit longer than you, but I remember Jen was put in that position at Gonzaga and she was, was talking about kind of clinicals, the groups, how's it going? She goes, yeah, you know, I got, you know, some more clinical instructors I get to work with. She goes, yeah, and I got, there's a guy, I guess there's like a guy, mother, baby nurse. And he, and I was like, oh, Eric, she's like, wait, you know him? I'm like, yeah, he's great. She's like, wait, how do you know him? And so we find in Spokane, nursing education world is it's incestuous. It's eerily small. We've met. So anyway, I was just like, my gosh, he's fantastic. You're going to love him. And she's like, my word. anyway, I knew you guys would love each other. Yeah. My first time meeting Jen, my gosh, I was my first day orienting at the hospital that she and I get to work at together. And it was kind of a crazy day. I had come to that unit as an experienced L &D nurse. So I had a pretty good premise of what I was doing. And we're at this delivery. There's a language barrier. We have a translator that's not working out so hot in our favor. Like you could tell things are getting lost in translation. Baby delivers. We put baby skin to skin with mom. I'm the labor nurse. Jen comes in as a baby nurse. I've not met Jen. I don't know Jen from Adam. She seems to know what she's doing. She's very good at her job. She comes. and baby screaming, crying, everything is going well. And the patient goes and just pitches the baby's nose completely shut. And we were all kind of stunned and Jen said, nope, don't do that. And like, I think moved the mom's hand away. And then the mom went to do it again, occluded the baby's nose again. And then Jen actually like slapped her hand and it was like, no, like finger in her face. And we all kind of froze and Jen froze too. And we're like, oh my gosh, did she just really do that? And the patient giggled, we giggled, Jen giggled, but we all kind of had this moment of like, what the heck? So I'm like, who's this nurse who knows what she's doing, but she's like slapping patients? Granted, it was playful and sweet and the patient thought it was funny. But there was a cultural difference there and that was something that they did at deliveries. And to us as like baby nurses, L &D nurses, you don't occlude no airway, you don't do that. are not mouth breathers, everybody. Just that's the reason for the importance of this, if you're missing that detail. And also is the use that, know, Jen has shared the story before. We're not, this is not a, you know, a throw Jen under the bus episode. Not yet, anyway. Awesome. Anymore to that story and I'll give my next little two cents. Anything, no, that's it. the delivery went out in hallway, we kind of debriefed for a second. I was like, what the heck were you doing swatting her hand away? And I remember Jen being like, I don't know, I just needed her to stop. And anyway, it was funny. And we all laughed about it, but yeah, it was just cute in the end. So the patient loved us, we loved the patient, got the baby to breathe, everything was good. So yeah. Yeah. So yeah, so then again, limited experience here, but another little story is that, then, you know, she's kind of spearheading this thing and she's really trying to champion, you know, so we're picking up right where I left off on my story. And, you know, she's trying to spearhead and champion OCPs at Gonzaga, Oral Care Plans, which is kind of a model different than CRTs. And so the idea is that we're, you know, stepping away. or at least adding, but at least getting away from that model where you bring students in the night before, they gotta look up their patient and all the things, and you're doing these ridiculously multi-page care plans, written care plans. And the thing that every nursing student, right, Izzie? Like we all, I go back to mine and I was like, I hated those so much. And because then again, and I understand the thought behind it, we're not trying to poo poo it, they do have their place. But. Is it something we do in practice? No. What do we do in practice? In practice, we gotta think on our feet and all the things. So anyway, that's the crux of the OCP, is that the instructor is then facilitating this and that's not, know, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But the point is she's trying to champion this. So she's like, okay, so Eric, we're gonna make a video and you're gonna be the, I think I yeah, you're gonna be the, I'll be the instructor and you'll be the student. And we're gonna give an example video of what we're gonna do on Shift. And I'm like, that's awesome. I have no idea what's going on. This is great. I'm like, me, like I'm the new guy here, can we like, she's like, no, no, you'll be fine. Like you'll totally be fine. And I'm like, well, I mean, can play a bumbling student, no problem. Like, you know what mean? Like I can, absolutely. Cause that was my role in this is like, yeah, I had to go back and like try and come up with different like wrong answers to things or whatever the case may be. And we've since been like, we really need to redo that video. But I'm like, I barely know this woman from anyone. And I'm like, okay, yeah, let's do it. That sounds great. Sounds wonderful. So. Not an entertaining story, but I know you got more. You're next. Oh my gosh. I, so that was my first encounter with Jen, the, you know, baby dough story. A few weeks go by, I'm supplemental. I don't see Jen very often at this point in my life. And I see that I've got a patient who's 10 centimeters and pushing and I'm going to go take over. And Jen was the day chef nurse that I was taking over for. I go into the room and go in, start trying to get a little bit of a handoff. And Jen just turns to me at the bedside and kind of grabs me by the shoulders affectionately. And she's like, I am gonna be in here for delivery. Do you understand? I'm like, oh, okay. She was, I will be here. I'm like, cool. So we're pushing and then it's clear that like the patient's not pushing super effectively and it's gonna take us a minute. And Jen is like, okay, I'm gonna go turn up the nurses stations but I need you to call me back for delivery, okay? Like I have to be in here for delivery. And I was like, who is like this chick? Is she like, what is the deal here? So anyway, Jen leaves, she's charged. We get to delivery Jen comes back, she's the baby nurse. It was just very loving and wonderful. And it was very clear that Jen needed to be there for the delivery. I took over on the recovery and recovering the patient. I get to a point where I need to pause and go out to the nurse's station and Jen's there finishing up her daily charting before she heads home. And I was like, all right, what's the deal here? And she, it was very evident that she and the patient had poured into each other. throughout the day and that they were so invested in one another and in the family. The patient had this wonderful, like heroic story of, I think she like had beaten cancer a couple of times and this was a miracle baby. And I think Jen may have, you know, had delivered another baby with them. And so there was this very long, beautiful history. I'm getting goosebumps as I say this between them. And it was just one of those moments where was like Jen needed to be in the room for that family. And it wasn't to, you know, dump over me because she was the more experienced. There's not one bit. was like she needed to be there and the family needed her. And I just so loved that Jen was willing to like put an extra time to be there for them to like wrap up this beautiful labor and delivery picture for them. So like she gives her patients like her all and it just it's like so fun to see that and like Jen had a glow. The patient had a glow. I think I ended up taking a picture of Jen with them because I'm like y'all need this like I'm you need to have a picture of what I'm seeing right now. Like this is just beautiful. So I've gotten to see like that side of Jen and it just like, oh, just love it. I just love it. She impacts patients in such a wonderful way. Like even with the hard patients, like she's able to give them, you know, the truth and the sunny side of things too, even when it's like a dark or sad day. So love her for that. Just love her for that. And it's interesting because we, you I feel like we have a really good OB group at Gunzeke. So not bragging over any other institution or whatever the case may be. I just love the fact that us two, we have two adjunct instructors, myself and Nicole and then Tera and what was the fourth one? Jen, that's right. No, I'm not going, yeah, Jen, the person we're talking about. But no, there's the four of us. And so we would meet, we meet for dinner after every semester. How did things go? You know, that sort of thing. And, you know, I'll never forget she and Tera had just received their feedback from students and it was brutal. It was brutal. Students love her. Students love her. And every student is like, I want to, man, and they can't, they're just like, they brag on her. Even in my clinical, like my students, like Jen's just amazing. So the fact that then she sits down and they talk about how they got these brutal feedbacks from students and not like constructive, but more character type things. Mm-hmm. shared this in her episode. I'm not sharing anything that's not being shared. Just blew my mind. But all that to say that that wasn't kind of the direction I was going with that. Why I went that direction, I don't know. I'm sure there was a purpose because what I want to circle back around, because we have one last thing to each share about her. for me, my standard for my students, and I always tell them this and I've said it before on the podcast, but my standard for my students is, look, I'm not here to convert you into an OB nurse. You may not want to do labor and deliver. You may not want to do postpartum. You may not want to even do the NICU. But that's not my job to convert you. My goal for you at the end of our six weeks together, if you come out of our clinical saying, you know what? No, I still don't want to do it. But I could if I had to. We've won. That's my bar. It's super low, but that's the bar. But what's funny is I've had students tell me, other students I've worked with and they're like, no, Eric, like she tells us, she's like, one of them told me in particular, she goes, no, she told me, she goes, I'm probably not going to be an OB nurse. And that's what she's like, no. You're gonna be an OB nurse. You're gonna make a great OB nurse. And so, as I understand it, she is so passionate, she will convert anyone to OB. And so, if I had not gotten into the OB world prior to meeting her, I see how that happens, man. I see how that happens. So, okay. can't take the educator out of her. Like, you just can't. Like, we'll be... Oh my gosh, totally. Oh, totally. So, like, we'll be standing at the nurse's station trying to analyze the tracing. you know, when you've got, everyone's got a decade plus experience in their back pocket, like, we can just look at a tracing and go like, eh, yeah, good, eh, now that, okay, let's do this, blah, blah, blah. You know, get our interventions in line and let's go. And Jen, and Jen will stand there and Jen will start talking about, the physiology behind the fetal heart rate tracing and da da da. And we have to like pause and like, Jen, Jen, we were at that class with you. We know, we know. She's like, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. just, I just, I just can't take the educator out of me and she'll do this thing with her hands. And she just, she's, she just can't stop. And like, you just love her. But like I, you know, I've gotten to hear Jen's stories about her growth in the nursing education field and at Gonzaga, which, my gosh, Gonzaga is such an incredible fit for her. And the product of nurses that you guys put out into our community is phenomenal. I, anytime we get a Gonzaga new grad, I'm like, okay, the bar, like it's just, they are there to be good nurses and it's fantastic. But something I appreciate is when Jen is telling me stories about how she reworked this lecture or this or that she is, yeah, she's doing a great job of introducing OB into the students' lives and recruiting them. and getting them interested, but also the how she does it, feel like lays a good foundation for them to take these concepts and the way that she's teaching them and they're learning it and apply it to now MedSearch, now apply that method to pedes. And I'm like, my gosh, I just wish I would have had that when I was a J1. I'm like, I, and she also, she's got a motivating tone. When you hear her get passionate about things, you're like, you're just hooked. Like you are like honed in. with what she's saying and it's hard not to get excited too. Like she's got that attitude, you've got that attitude too. Like when you guys get going, I'm like, now I'm excited. I'll go to the C-section admin now. Like I'll take a fifth couplet today, no big deal. Like I'm pumped. Let's all be pumped together. So like I just commend educators like you guys for motivating students and like, you know, be the best mother baby nurse for six weeks during your clinicals. Like you can do this. We can make you interested or like, At the end, if you're not super interested, just have healthy respect for that unit and that area of medicine. Because guess what? In our area, you may not want to work labor and delivery mother, baby, whatever, but you're going to know somebody who has a baby. You may have a baby yourself or your partner may have a baby and just things like that. yeah, just I love. you include yourself in that group too, because legitimately, that's why I'm like, this is what I've said before is every episode I come out of like, every recording session, not every episode, every recording session, I come out and I'm like, I want to drop this today. And I'm trying to do things to, you know what mean? And that streak has not ended. I've sat with over 70 people now and we're over 100 episodes recorded in the can. Dang. And that streak has not ended. I've yet to sit down with someone and be like, well, okay, that was kind of a whiff or, you know what I mean? Like, come on, I don't know, you know what I mean? But the idea is now it's like a different perspective. Now it's like, there are so many people I've sat down with and I'm like, man, I can't wait to be like you, Izzie. I can't wait to be like Jen when I grow up. If I grow up. This one is an if, not a when. Yeah, that's a tough one. But no. We were just doing this out of fun. Hopefully you all listened and enjoyed. But the whole takeaway from all of this, if you're a nursing student, a prospective nursing student or nurse, man, enthusiasm's contagious. You know, we've talked about this on multiple episodes where you will, like I think I even touched on one of these too here, Izzie, where we talked about you will have a reputation for better or for worse. You're going to have a reputation. What reputation do you want? What do you want people saying about you behind your back like we just did? You know what mean? This could have been a totally different episode if she went a different way in life, I guess. I don't know. But no. Anyway, Izzie, just thank you so much. I've had a delightful time with you and the person who's getting her hair done. Whatever. You're the one that's stuck around. Here we are. We've made it happen. No! Uh-uh. We are all natural, everyone. All natural. All right. Have a... Have a great sleep. You guys, Izzie did this after a night shift. After a night shift. It is now, it really is. Like I said, I will never make bones about that. I will say, however, from a living perspective, I just love it. All right, you night sleeper. No, you're not a night sleeper. You're a day sleep. All right, I don't know. I don't have an excuse. I got nothing. It's there. Thank you. It is 10, 10 40 a.m. and Izzie is signing off and going to bed. Thanks for your time, my friend. Peace out, bye.