100 - Shea Mollahan Pt 1: It's Year One and I'm Still Here!

Join relatively recent graduate and Northern California and Spokane, Washington native Honored Guest Shea Mollahan as she describes transitioning to a new grad nurse, the importance of asking questions, using SBAR with a doctor for the first time, finding people you can trust, dealing with agism, starting as a brand new NICU nurse, and more!

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Transcript

0:01

Hello and welcome to today's episode of Feeding Our Young. We have to be kind of quiet. It's going to be a very quiet episode because my current honored guest is a roommate of a former honored guest. You may remember her. Her name is Lucy. We're not going to talk much about her because this isn't her episode. She's old news. Shea Mollahan is new news and we're going to talk to her, but we have to be quiet. Because Lucy's sleeping, because she's a nightshifter just like Shea. So Shea, how are you doing? I'm doing good. I can't keep it up. That's fantastic. Good morning, Lucy. We're going to wake you up. We don't care. All right. everything, she's asleep. She's fine, she's covered everybody, but gives us a chance to have fun with the opening. Mix it up a little bit if it were, but I've kind of let the cat out of the bag a little bit, so, hi Shea, would you like to introduce yourself to everybody? Hi, my name is Shea. That's really all the introduction I got. That's it. Okay, let's dive in. I am from originally California, Northern California to be specific, and I currently am residing in Spokane, Washington. And I have been here for probably three years now, four years I think I just hit. Yeah. How do you, I do, I mean, obviously you like it enough to sort of put roots down and to work here and all the things, but how does it compare to Northern California? Do you see yourself going back or? Um, I like Spokane a lot. It's definitely a lot different than California. I can say that with confidence. I don't think I have any plans on going back to California. I did originally when I first graduated nursing school, but it didn't work out that way and I have ended up in Spokane and I am loving it. I enjoy all of the people here and the adventurous sides of Spokane and I, the Californian me is still struggling with the weather, so I am enjoying the 50 degree weather that we've been having for the last couple of days. But other than that, I love Spokane. Amazing. mean, even though was born in Spokane, I grew up on the west side of the state. you know, it's kind of a similar thing. We moved here to, you know, get educated and get out. And I don't know. I don't know what it is about Spokane. I don't think it just, I don't know. For some, it's just very appealing. And for others, maybe it just has these dark tendrils that extend out of the ground and suck you here. And I don't know. Something like that. Yes. It's probably the latter. Okay, so anyone stay away from Spokane unless you plan on staying here for a very long time. Awesome. Well Shea, I guess we've kind of let the cat out of the bag. So I'm gonna guess you already graduated, but what degrees do you hold and when did get them? have a bachelor's in science and nursing. I graduated in December 2023. So I officially hit my one year actually as of February 12, a whole year as a new grad. Well, I guess I'm not a new grad anymore. I hit my one year but yeah. That's amazing. Congratulations to you, first of all. How does that feel, being able to say that? There's no other word to describe it. Looking back at the beginning of nursing school to now, it is crazy to say that I have officially finished my first year as a nurse. Would you say you've grown maybe even more by leaps and bounds? immensely. immensely. It's a crazy, it's a crazy thing to look back on at the beginning of nursing school to now and the amount of knowledge both in nursing and outside of nursing that I've gained, truly. But you're saying there's hope, right? Like for those that are listening currently in the midst of it, man, like here is a poster child for what it looks like to be one year out. Totally. I definitely remember that feeling of being in nursing school and the tedious like, no, what's gonna happen? But being one year and making it through nursing school, making it through my first year, it is worth it more than I could have imagined even in nursing school. Oh, I love it. There it is. If you guys needed any other reason to get into nursing or to stay in a nursing, there it is right there. So that's end of the episode. Thanks so much, Shea. Four and a half minutes, she said what she needed to say. We have sold the career of nursing, done. All right, well, for the sake of entertainment, let's just keep going a little bit then. Did you happen to pick three words to describe nursing school from so long ago and what were they? Yes, I did pick three words. My three words were demanding, eye-opening, and pivotal. last one although it does make me think of friends so PIVOT PIVOT PIVOT alright so actually what the word means. Let's go. Alright, so, little teaser for later. In the meantime, do you have three favorite songs in life right now? That is a difficult question to ask me currently. I don't think I have three favorite songs, but I do have a couple favorite artists that I have been really interested in lately. All kind of a smorgasbord of different genres. But we'll start with the top, which is ironic because his name is Zach Top. He is a country artist, and he's definitely like a newer upcoming country artist, but I've really enjoyed his music lately. And then Teddy Swims is another good artist. He's just got a lovely voice. then Georgia Smith is my other favorite artist. Those are my top three right now. I can't think of songs that's too, too difficult, too many options. Two pigeonholing for a lack of a better term. Is that even a term? I don't know. We just made it up if it's not. All right, so speaking of made up terms, it's time now to... I... Wow, I'm gonna isolate that audio, I think, and we're gonna use that moving forward. Shea's gonna be the unofficial feeding area. Okay, okay. Let's do this right here on the spot right now. This is gonna be so fun. Okay, so. Maybe this'll be a thing, maybe it won't. All right, so Shea, I don't wanna make you perform for us, but now if you can say something to the effect of, you know. Now presenting the unofficial Feeding Our Young Personality Quiz! And I don't know, do the drumroll. There it is. Okay, ready? Now presenting our Feeding the Young personality quiz. Drum roll please. And let's go right in. Five questions, would you rather? Kind of a yes or no situation. She has not heard these five questions. They are the same of the last few honored guests, so anyone who's a consistent listener, they aren't gonna change. But it does tell us exactly who we're dealing with here. Are you ready? I'm ready. Would you rather instantly learn a new language or instrument? language. you have a time machine. Are you going to go back in time or are going to go see the future? Future. Is Wham's song Last Christmas? Actually a Christmas song. You're making me think on this one. I'm gonna say yes. We got a yes. Okay. Ability to fly or breathe underwater? breathe underwater for sure. Okay, and are you Team Pie or Team Cake? cake all the way. I don't like pie. Well, there it is. Now we know exactly who we're dealing with, for better or for worse. The results are in and you are amazing. Congratulations. Thank you. Even though I don't like pie. You know, I have never given my own answers to these five questions, and those shall maybe go with me to the grave. I don't know. Eric likes pie or not? Stay tuned for a future episode of Feeding Our Young. Does Eric like pie? All right. So enough of that. Let's get to the nursing talk, shall we? The stuff that people actually come for, I'm guessing. I don't know. I'm to do things a little different. As I said before, I usually like to do, know, shade the person, then shade the nursing student, then shade the nurse. But, you know, seeing as you are a full-fledged graduate of now a year, Let's just jump straight into the topics you wanna talk about and then we'll double back to some of the other stuff. I love it. So being, even though it was a full long 12 plus months ago when you transitioned from being a student nurse to a new grad nurse, what do you wanna share as far as how that transition looked, how it felt? What did that look like for you? I think, I don't know if other people have mentioned this on podcasts, but I think one of the biggest things about nursing school is how some people feel like it doesn't prepare them for the real world of nursing. And I think honestly, a lot of careers feel that way with just their majors and going into the real world. But I think there were definitely pros and cons of nursing school that have influenced me into my career as a nurse, but The beginning transition as a new grad nurse in a field, a specialty specifically, was a whirlwind. I don't, I wouldn't say as much as a whirlwind as nursing school was by any means. Hahahaha! I think it was definitely difficult. I think, especially on my unit, there was definitely a culture shift. I know in the beginning of the podcast, we had mentioned the eating our young. I've kind of been a staple of, think, some of the nursing field, but that had completely shifted by the time that I was in my field, which I am so incredibly thankful for. My staff that I had worked with and grown to love immensely. were incredible. They were super supportive. Let me ask a million bajillion questions because, and I still do, I'm at my one year and I probably ask at least three questions a shift to my nurses. But I think there's just so much growth and knowledge to have in the field of nursing, especially in your first year, that being okay with not knowing everything and just being excited and open. to learning really helped shift my perspective of being a new grad nurse. And I'm just very thankful for the support that I had. And honestly, the staff that I had during nursing school who were still supportive of me afterwards. Yeah, I think it's definitely, it can be difficult, but having a good support system and just being confident in yourself that it's okay not to know everything and you're still not gonna know anything. And that's the exciting thing about nursing is you're constantly gonna learn something every shift that you have. I think that's probably has been like the theme of my first year so far of the trend. I almost now like I want to like have an annual episode with Shea. We'll just do this every February. like, all right, Shea, so year two, how did things change from year one to year two? But no, I love that you brought out, and I want to emphasize that fact that you're a year out and you're still asking questions. my gosh, you mean you haven't mastered it? I can't believe this. No way have I mastered it. My goodness. It's, it was kind of the same thing when they're in school. Looking back at the first year, I mean, I, so I work in the NICU and I remember my first couple of days, I was scared to do like diaper changes or feeding a baby. Like I was like, I don't know how to feed a baby. I don't have children. How the heck am I supposed to do this? Yeah. And I remember nurses kept saying, you'll just, you'll just learn. Like you'll figure it out. Like I can teach you tips, but eventually you'll just learn those little things and be able to pick it up on your own. And I, for the life of me, I was like, I don't think I can do that. I don't know. I don't think I'll ever be able to feed a baby. Now I'm like, Oh, I can feed a baby. Give me all of the bottle feeders. I'll take them. But it's just like stuff like that. Like I looked back at the beginning and I'm like, Oh my gosh, that was such a nerve wracking moment in my life. And then. Now I go into work and I don't even think about it. It's not even like I thought of how scared I am to feed a baby anymore. And so just the growth that comes with that is incredible. I, each, each patient is different in each circumstance and situation you find yourself in and nursing is different. And that's honestly why I love it so much, but there will always be nurses that have more experience than you or even experienced nurses. I still work with nurses that have had 30 plus years as nurses and will be asked, like will learn stuff from me, like, or ask questions of their fellow nurses. And it's just constantly a growing field and science is always changing and the medical field is always changing. And I think it's such a cool career that we can change with it and learn from each other. And so yeah, I ask questions all the time. My last, I worked last week and I probably asked over a hundred questions my last shift of the night because I was like, I don't know what to do. Someone please. No. legit. That's the thing. And we've always said, you know, I always, we tell our new hires, our new grads in particular, but new hires and all the things, we worry about you when you stop asking questions. Because like you said, I mean, yes, granted, I've mastered everything now that I've been a nurse for 18 years. Ugh, like not even close, you know what I mean? And you're right, we're always learning and that's. as long as we stay open to the idea of learning from one another, which is kind of what we're trying to espouse on this whole thing, right? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I love it. I love it. So let me ask you this then. Being, you you kind of said, I was terrified of, you know, feeding a baby, changing a diaper. It's not like in school, you had a whole, you know what I mean? Diaper changing 201, you know what I mean? When the baby actually kicks and doesn't hold still like a mannequin, you know, whatever. So you see the fear there. What are the things you're afraid of now a year later? That's a good question. I think even a year in, I'm still trying to find my footing as a nurse. I think a lot of the issues, especially my last shift, my patient wasn't doing too great and I think advocating is something that is still a learning process for me and finding the line between... like, I'm gonna try to word this, finding the line between not, like my relationship with the doctors, I think, or like interprofessional teams of how far is too far pushing my, my, like what I think is going on, concerns, I guess. I think, sorry, go ahead. was just gonna say, and how to do that respectfully too, right? Like, but also firmly. Yeah, and I mean, they don't, that's not something that nursing school really goes over. I mean, you learn SBAR nursing school and you learn how to do that. And honestly, I use SBAR even in my field now. But it's different in nursing school when you're on the phone with like your clinical instructor through the window and you can't see them and they're talking back to you during simulation or something. versus having a doctor at bedside or on the phone and you're waking them up at three in the morning because you're concerned and they're like half asleep and you have to explain all this. It's just a different situation. So finding the path for that and navigating that has been definitely difficult, especially stepping into more of a critical setting. But so I think that's probably something that I'm still nervous about, but I honestly feel so supported by my staff. Like even if I have questions or concerns about how to approach a doctor or My baby's doing something funky and I'm not sure what it is. Having such a great staff to lean on and not feel like ridiculed for asking questions and they're just like, yeah, let me take a peek or this is how I do it has been so helpful in reducing my level of stress or nerves going into my shifts now. Because I mean, in the beginning, you don't really know everyone. I was thankful enough to have been a nurse tech on my unit on day shift, but I didn't know anyone on night shift. So navigating friendships and relationships and finding the people who I can trust and lean on was definitely a difficult thing to navigate in the beginning. But now that I've found my people, oh my gosh, I love going into work. It's like my social hour. I get to catch up with people. Okay, not a social hour. what I mean. like, I still have a job. I still take care of my nation. But it's like nice to have people that support you and have similar interests and yeah, are able to chat with at work. So I'm thankful. I love that you bring that up because a lot of times on the negative side of that, and there are some units, some facilities, some organizations where maybe there's a lot of cliques, right? So you go straight back to middle school, straight back to high school, and well, we don't talk to them because they're this, that, the other, I don't know. But it happens, grown adults in healthcare, it happens. But as long as it's not the cliquey, like that whole business, The truth of the matter is we do gravitate towards people, you know what mean? Everybody has kind of their own people that work for them and vice versa, you know what I mean? As far as like they get along better, they understand each other better. They just seem to, they're just more simpatico than say, you know, someone else. And you know, that is a natural thing. That's not something to necessarily poo poo or be afraid of, especially on a unit like a NICU such as yours. I mean, you're talking like 60 nurses, you know what I mean? That's a lot of people. And there's no way that 60 people are gonna just be one tight, nice little family. But like you said, so as long as there's not the backbiting and the eating are young and the, you know what mean, degrading you for asking questions and stuff like that, then it's great. It's fantastic. I think there's something to be said as far as that goes there. Yeah, yeah. So I... Before we go down kind of the second thing you want to talk about, the other thing that popped in my mind, like you said, I'll go right back to, you know, I was afraid of, you know, changing a diaper, feeding a baby and so on and so forth. Due to inexperience, due to not having kids yourself, all the things. Did you ever feel, and maybe less so because you worked nights, but did you ever feel judged by families that, you know what mean, you're here, you are an expert, a growing expert taking care of their... beautiful, beautiful baby, and yet you're young. You don't know how to, you know what mean? Did that ever come across as something? Is that something you ever had to deal with? And if so, how'd you deal with it? Yeah, definitely. And honestly, I think there's some parts of me that are still still dealing with that. And I don't necessarily think it was the like parents looking at me funny, because I think this is such a big part of their life. Like this is huge thing that their kid is in the NICU and it's not something that's easy. So I think majority of the parents that I've worked with really looked to me for advice and comfort and solitude in helping them through this journey and giving them advice because a lot of our parents are first time parents or a lot of parents are, this is their first time having a kid in NICU and it's hard, it's difficult and I can't imagine a lot of the stuff that they go through. So I think I'm more hard on myself. then they are hard on me. And that's something that I really have to think about when I'm in those situations that I can't be hard on myself because I don't have kids at the end of the day and I am new and that's okay because we all start somewhere. These parents are starting somewhere too and that's okay. And I don't, I think it's good because I go and ask questions like nurses who have had babies or have been here long amounts of time. They have the answers that I'm looking for. Like something so tedious. We have, the pumps for women to breastfeed or to breast pump at work. And one of the moms was asking me how to get the milk out of the tubing in the pump. And I'm like, my gosh, I have no idea. That's I've never had to do this. I don't know. And I went and grabbed experienced nurse and she was like, honestly, I don't know either. Just get her a new set. But I mean, it's just there's like little things that not everyone will ever know. And just being able to ask people questions and be there and joke about it that Honestly, I don't know. That's a great question. Never had to experience that before. It's just always a learning experience and not being too hard on myself and taking light of the situation and just being there for the parents and asking questions if I don't know is kind how I approached that setting of, those situations. I love that. That's exactly like, cause I, you know, same thing. I always say, you know, I'll tell my families or my, you know, patients, know, going all the way back to year one. And even today there'll be, like you said, you can't account for everything. You just can't. Something comes up and it's like, Oh, well guess what? I don't know. We've never dealt with this before. Let's, let's learn the answer to this together. And so, you know, I'll go find somebody who knows. And you know, I'm only five years in postpartum. And so, There are times where I'm like, you know what, I have no clue. Yeah, I'm a dad. Yeah, I'm all the things. But I know what we're doing with this one. So let me go find someone who, you know what mean, who knows better than I and let's learn together so that then I have that answer. Again, that's the other thing. You're not just pawning it off on somebody and saying, hey, can you go deal with that problem? You're going with them and saying, let's learn together. So then I have that answer. The next time someone, know, the next time this once in a whatever, you know, situation comes up. So. Kudos to you for that, Shea. Love it. Absolutely love it. So, I mean, obviously clearly established, you went from nursing school into the NICU. And this is another topic you wanted to talk about. So what is that like going to something so intense straight out of nursing school? I actually had known that I wanted to do NICU for as long as I can remember. But it's something so different, like putting that in your head and knowing that you want to do something and then actually being in it. It's a completely different beast in of itself. I mean, I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to go straight into the NICU. It is definitely a newer opportunity for new grads to go directly into a specialty, especially critical care. And a lot of the staff was super supportive, but there was also staff that wasn't. And that is kind of some of the issues of, I guess my unit in some ways or older nurses is they didn't have the opportunity to go directly into a specialty. And some people do believe that, I mean, I remember when I was in nursing school being told that you shouldn't go directly into a specialty and that you should start MedSurg or on the floor and... By instructors. By professors. Yeah, yeah, right? Like... Yeah. We took our pumps, so therefore you're gonna take your lumps too. Exactly. And I knew that's not what I wanted to do. And so I went directly into the NICU. And I mean, I can't really say otherwise because I didn't go into MedSurg. So I'd be like, if I did do MedSurg first, but going directly into the specialty, I mean, yes, there's difficult challenges. And sometimes I do have to remind myself that I am in an ICU setting and these patients are critical. But for the most part, I think having Having the mindset that you're in a critical setting and just continuing to advance your knowledge and grow with the medicine and healthcare is super important. It definitely is hard. mean, don't get me wrong. I think nursing is hard in general. I props to every MedSurg nurse out there that five patients, I mean, I have two or three patients or one and I cannot imagine having five. So nursing is its own beast in every specialty that you go into. I just remember dealing with a lot of backlash from a lot of nurses for going directly into a specialty. And I want to say that I'm one year in and I love it unconditionally as much as I think a nurse that started in MedSurg did. So it is possible. And I just wanted to say that, that you can do anything that you put your mind to. I think that that's a good motto to have if you're going into a specialty or any nursing specialty. Yeah. Mm, very well said. And what's amazing about that is you're going to have that perspective. You are going to be that 20 year, you know, let's say you stay in NICU. mean, who knows? Nursing, can move and do all the things. But let's say you're that 20 year, 10 year NICU nurse and you've got people coming in for the first time. You know what mean? New nurses, new grads. I don't know what's going down in 20 years. Like, who knows? Maybe we're all doing it virtual by then. But the point, mean, there's no way, like that's the other thing. You can't. Yeah, you can't like, I know that you have like robotic surgery. Like, how are we ever gonna get to a place where you can do robotic nursing? I just don't think that's a thing. But. I... Please no one invent that. I don't think it would go well. 100 % agree. We are not pro-robotic nursing here on Feeding Our Young. If we have to make a stance on any political subject, that is definitely one I will hang my head on. But that being said, you're gonna have that perspective. And so, you're gonna be able to like, I mean, you're gonna experience a lot of life between then or now and then, but in the same token, you'll be able to remember, man, I remember how I was treated. I remember how I felt, and we're not gonna do that. And that's how we change a culture, right? Like it's not gonna happen overnight. but hopefully as generations go by. that's not, again, that's not a knock on any older nurse, that's not a knock on any older generation that definitely believes you need to take your lumps. You know what I mean? You believe it, you believe it. And through so I mean that's that's all they know too So the same way that I don't know what it's like to go into MedSurg straight away Well, that's all they know is going into MedSurg straight away and then a specialty so it's it's change and change is hard. So is hard. And that's the irony. We work in a field where the change is happening all the time, and yet sometimes we are some of the most resistant people to change. So, remember that, Shea. I don't think you'll ever forget it, but remember it. No, this is how we do it. This is how we've done it for like five, 10 years. This is how we've done it for one year. And people are like, no, like no, don't, anyway. Okay, we're going off the rabbit trail here. I almost was going to put that in the intro because we talked about it before we started recording and she's like, no, it's okay. Like I might just like go off on this whole tangent and da da da. And if I do just leave it in there. And I'm like, well, this is a problem because there's two of us that can do that. So ladies and gentlemen, your first two hour continuous episode of Feeding Our Young. Anything else you want to talk about going straight into the specialty before we change the subject? I think I hit all my spot, my, all my points on that one. And it helps to have, like you said, support of people you know, you trust, et cetera, those friendships that develop, whether it's via trauma bonding. We joke about trauma bonding. In this day and age, it's tough to joke about such a thing, because there's genuine trauma bonding in all the things. But nursing school, there's a level of trauma bonding. And then you get out of nursing school, and now you're, I I imagine this sort of quote unquote trauma bonding for any new grads that started at the same time. likely, yeah, right? Like, is that like just next level? Well, me and Lucy are just like attached at hip at this point. mean, we went through nursing school together. We started our jobs together. It's been three years of trauma bonding. I don't think we'll ever separate. And then and then kind of that third triplet Katelyn who unfortunately got you know, it's something happened She hit her head in nursing school and then decided to go to the West Side. So whatever Katelyn didn't get sucked into the Spokane. Was not trapped. She relinquished herself. We'll have to ask her how she did that. How did she cut the tendrils that just formed so quickly and so deep? Well, all right. So with that, you had a third topic you definitely wanted to talk about. And that was just quote unquote, mental health during nursing school. What do you want to share about that? Yeah, honestly, mental health during nursing school and just during nursing in general, I think at least the nursing school that I attended, there were definitely... I don't even know if I mentioned this. I went to WSU, I to Washington State University College of Nursing. But the nursing school that I had gone to, they had touched on mental health ebbs and flows throughout nursing school, but I don't think it was truly... a topic that was as prevalent as I think mental health is in today's day and age. And nursing school is hard. I mean, it is a whirlwind, and I know I said that earlier, but truly it's a whirlwind of emotions and schooling and friendships and all the above. So I think taking that time for self care and also really focusing on yourself and making sure that A, this is something you want to do and B, you're you're okay because at the end of the day we're nurses and we take care of other people and it's really hard to take care of other people when you can't take care of yourself. It's pouring into an empty glass or pouring out of an empty glass is a little hard. I think that's goes and I might have... No, I think you're right. I guess pouring out of the empty glass. Yes. got it eventually. But really, and I mean, we had talked about it in nursing school and I really had to go above and beyond to find stuff that helped me mentally through nursing school. And it really had prepared me for nursing in general. A lot of the stuff that I had discovered in nursing school that helped with my mental health, I still use in nursing today to continue to help even on my rough days. So I think it's a great place to, I mean, if you can establish it before a nursing school, I highly recommend, but nursing school was the place where I found it. And I am so thankful I did because it is some of my favorite things that I do and it's helped me mentally. And I guess I'll elaborate on some of the things that I do. I actually started therapy in nursing school, which I am very thankful for. I still go. It's definitely an outlet for me to talk about my feelings. And I'm chatty person and I will talk to anyone and everyone about my feelings. But having someone who is, has gone to school to help you through situations is super beneficial. And I know therapy is expensive, but I know there are a lot of avenues that you can take with the expense. I know my nursing school offered some counseling. For free and I know my hospital also does so there are other things that you can look into if financially that's a concern But I highly recommend that I think exercising is also a really big one for me I do yoga Which is my kind of outlet that helps with my mental health. I journal I make sure to plan Self-care days where I'm like, I am NOT doing anything with anyone on this day. I am simply gonna clean my room or do like a skincare routine or journal or something like that. Just finding those moments to really pour into yourself and give you the best opportunity to take care of others I think is really important. And I really wanted to talk about that today because I think mental health is extremely important and it's very prevalent in our society and especially in our field. So I think being able to identify those in yourself and work on those helps you be a better nurse and be a better person. So, yeah. Mm. Absolutely love it. It just an incredible synopsis. Like, you know what I mean? Like, and it's a subject that comes up often on this podcast for obvious reasons. And again, things that get repeated usually are pretty darn important. And so you're hearing it here again with Shea, like do not neglect yourself for the sake of others. I there's the old adage, right? Like you make time for the things that are important. And so, you just take, you take a moment and you look at your life and you go, okay, how much time am I spending at work? How much am I spending with my family? How much am I spending with my significant other, with my best friends? But don't forget, how much time am I making for me, for myself? And legitimately, if you're, if you live a life or you will live a life, you know, if you live a life now or in the future, that's ruled by a calendar. I never used to. I used to have the luxury of going, you know what? I work six days in a row and I got eight days off in a row. And you know what I mean? That was a nice little cycle. And it was cush. It was nights. So, you know, there's things that go with that. But I didn't live by a calendar. I didn't have to. I didn't have students. I didn't have a podcast. didn't have... Heck, you go back far enough. I wasn't running. I wasn't doing anything for myself. It just was this thing that just, you know, of flit in and flit out. Yeah, let's do this on Tuesday. I'm off. We can do that. That sounds good. But now, man, if there's a really honestly, a two hour block, a period where I'm not looking at the stupid calendar on my phone, or plugging someone into it, or plugging something into it, then you know what I mean? That's the kind of life I'm talking about. And if you're living that kind of life, make sure you plug yourself into it. Make sure you block that time out. And it's great, because then someone's like, know, my gosh, can we do this on Tuesday and blah, blah, blah. ROOP! it's appointment. Like they say what? There used to be like appointment television back before you could stream. You're like, nope, I'm moving everything other way because this show is on at nine o'clock and I'm not going to miss it. And so, you know what I mean? It's appointment television for your life. Anyway, Shea, I am so grateful that you are willing to open up about these things. Of course. We are right if we jump into a second episode that's just all about how you got into nursing and all the things? I love it. Join Chatty Shea and Chatty Eric for part two of the Shea Experience. Catch you on the flip side, Shea. Sounds good.