123 - Sophie Chambers: It’s Okay to Take a Break

Join relatively recent graduate nurse and Spokane, Washington native Honored Guest Sophie Chambers as she talks about jobs she had prior to becoming a nurse (including being a Disney character handler at Disney World), watching NRP videos as a child, when she knew she wanted to be a CRNA, her 10 year plan, NCLEX advice, her unique transition into practice, residency, and more!

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Transcript

0:01

Hello and welcome to this episode of the Feeding Our Young podcast. I am, this is episode two of, well, Honored Guest two of two, uh who has to deal with me recording them. I don't know what the deal is. They both live in Spokane. This lovely Honored Guest lives in Spokane and I had to drive a hundred plus miles away to the east, 200 miles away, I don't know, to record them back in Spokane. So. For whatever reason, I'm saying that as a preface. Maybe you heard, if you are a long time listener and you're listening to every episode, you already know this fact, because the Honored Guest prior to this one, we already dealt with some severe technical challenges that I think I have worked out. So today's Honored Guest hopefully will be patient with me if for some reason we have hiccups, but I don't anticipate that being the case. Instead, I'm gonna say what I've wanted to say, which is I'm really excited to get to know this Honored Guest. ah Because I know her, but I don't know her at all. ah And we'll explain what that means here in a little bit. Sophie, good morning and welcome to studio. How the heck are you today? Good, good morning. I'm doing great today. Awesome! I am so excited to talk with you. Let's just, we'll just let the cat ride out of the bag. How do I know you but don't know you? Um, well, you taught a, well, you came and spoke at nursing school when I was in nursing school. You came and were a presenter for us one of our days. And then randomly last October, we ran into each other running a half marathon together. Um, or just like, I know you, I know you. We have a mutual friend, Lucy, um, who did one of your podcast episodes and yeah, it was crazy, crazy coincidence. uh I just, love that, I have to share the story. So it wasn't even at the race, we're at packet pickup. And I'm like, I picked up the packet and I, you normally I just, you get your your runner's bib and shirts and that sort of thing for those that aren't runners. And then you leave and that's it. But of course it's held in like fleet feet, right? So, you know, they're hoping you're picking up some merchandise or whatever. And I was like, oh, I do need some new gels. I'm trying to, all right. So I go stand by the gels and I'm, trying to figure out this new gel that I'm gonna do for like a full marathon. I have this tiny seed in my mind of like doing the only full marathon I've ever done. And so I'm like, okay, well, what kind of gels do I need? I'm doing like research on my phone. It's the stupidest thing. And then I'm like dialed into this and I hear like two people talking about Eric Miller. And I was like, what the, wait, what? Like, no, that's somebody else. And then I'm like, and I look over and it's Lucy and Sophie hanging out. And I don't remember what you guys were saying. Lucy was saying something about either I do it fast or I don't know what it is. I blah blah blah. But talking about this race, I look over and I'm like, oh my gosh, you guys. Hi. And then you guys are like, oh my gosh. Hi. It was the weirdest thing. But I just loved that moment because it was just like, I don't know. Like I say it a lot, but it's like God, you know, whispers on the daily, but shouts in the coincidences. Right. And it's just like, I don't know. It was such a nice little uplifting moment to be like. my gosh, here's Lucy, here's Sophie, two amazing people. And I just walked away from that. Like I walked out of the store going, I'm so glad I didn't leave early. And I've just had like a kick in my stout because you guys are such inspiring, like, I don't know, you're just an encouraging person, Sophie. That's all there is to it. I'm saying a thousand words to say what I could say in five. So this doesn't bode well for your episode, I'm sorry. Thank So let's get to know each other without further ado. Where did you graduate? When did you graduate from? When, when, what, what, where did you graduate? When did you graduate from? Where did you graduate from? And when did you graduate? Ah, we're gonna. Well, I actually did my prereqs for nursing school at Eastern Washington University. And then I graduated. Go Eags. ah I graduated from WSU School of Nursing in December of 2023. That's incredible that you graduated. so, I mean, relatively newer nurse, right? Like, you're not brand new. You're not tenured, but you're relatively, relatively new. And I imagine that's gonna play a part of our story together, But in the meantime, since you're relatively fresh out of nursing school, what are the three words you chose to describe nursing school? The three words that I think best describe my time in nursing school are challenging, rewarding, and transformative. Mmm, so apropos, and I'm excited to see why you specifically chose those. And in the meantime, what are three songs, three of your favorite songs in life right now? So my three favorite songs that I'm listening to right now are More Than a Woman by Billie Joel, Silver Springs by Fleet Mac, and Busy Woman by Sabrina Carpenter. You're like an old soul. I love that. Those are great songs and not ones I get often on this podcast. I'll tell you that for sure. And now, Sophie, are you ready for the Patent Not Pending unofficial feeding our young personality test? I am so excited. Alright, so here are your questions. You can give rationale. You don't have to. We can just do it rapid fire. It's up to you. Are you Team Pie or Team Cake? Team Pi. Would you rather instantly learn a new language or a musical instrument? a new language. Is Wham's song titled Last Christmas actually a Christmas song? Yes, it's the best one. Hmm. Oh! That's it. All right, well, okay. Well, now we know our personality. We don't even have to ask the last two questions. All right, no. Would you rather have the ability to fly or to breathe underwater? Breathe underwater. Okay, and you have been granted a time machine. Are you going to go back in time or would you rather see the future? Back in time, all right. Well with that, the results are in. You are amazing. Thank you. Thank you so much. That is it. Thank you for playing along. Let's get to know you a little bit better now. ah What are some of your hobbies and interests, especially now that you are finally done with the rigor of nursing school? I kind of like we were talking about I'm an amateur runner so I do that in my free time sometimes. I am an avid plant collector. I love plants. It's a problem but it's a good problem. It is good problem. You get a lot of oxygen wherever you live then. Yeah, exactly. ah I love reading. I love spending time with my friends and my family. I have two dogs and I love taking them on walks and hanging out with them. Just like, I really like quality time. Awesome. So, uh, your two dogs, what kind of dogs are they? What names do they have? Okay, I have Leonard. He is a Shih Tzu. Leonard, I love the name, okay. And then I have Remus after Remus Lupin from the Harry Potter books and he is a golden doodle. Oh, so cute. Well, if they end up showing up while we're recording, it's OK. They would not be the first ones to show up. With that, and you mentioned family, and you love quality time. Tell us more about your family, whatever you want to share. Yeah, well, I still live at home. So I see my family all the time. I live with my mom, my dad, and my sister. My mom is a nurse. She was a labor and delivery nurse for 23 years and now works on the clinic side of things in maternal fetal medicine. My dad, he is a supervisor for like mechanical uh stuff at CHAS at the clinics here in Spokane. And then my sister also lives with us and she is in school to be an OT right now. that's so cool. my goodness. Such a, like a, I love the diverse like talents that you guys represent. I, now, so let me ask you then, before we get into other questions about nursing, have you held other jobs prior to that? And if so, what, what jobs did you? Yeah, I've kind of had a wide range of jobs throughout my life. I was a lifeguard and swim instructor for a long time. I worked at a plant shop. uh I know I spent way too much money there, but it's fine. But tell me, did you at least get a discount? I did. So money will spend. Yeah. And I did that in nursing school for a little bit. I was a barista in nursing school as well. And then I was a nurse tech also while in nursing school. There was one week in nursing school where I was holding three jobs. And then I was like, I have to quit one of them. I was going to say, how is that even a thing? How did you how did you stay sane? Um, I didn't, but also a good support system and the flexibility with being a nurse tech was really helpful in managing two jobs at once. Yeah, I was a nurse tech. I was able to work on a med search for the ICU and the NICU during my time as a nurse tech. Um, and that was really nice to like see a whole variety. of jobs and then actually after I graduated nursing school I took a break from nursing and I went and worked at Disney World for six months uh where I was a character attendant so I was the person who walks around with the Disney characters and kind of like speaks for them and that was an amazing job. I, that's, so I'm kind of leading the witness. A, because I knew you did that. B, because I know it's in your list of what you sent me. But more than that, okay, so we'll just take a brief moment. Is there any behind the scenes anything you can share about that position or working at Disneyland that any of us would dying to know about what it's like to work at the quote unquote happiest place on I think just the fact that there are so many moving parts that nobody sees, I think that is super interesting between the performers, us, everything. Like, there's so much happening all the time just to make it look like it's running so smoothly. And there are so, like within my one job, there are so many people and so much thought that goes into. the performance and entertainment aspect of Disney. ah That it's really cool. I am a big time Disney fan, so it was really cool for me to see those like behind the scenes to like certain shows and. the the characters going out, seeing that side. ah I just thought it was amazing to learn about those things. And then also, like, I was able to work at all four of the Disney World parks. And so to go backstage and... see the backstage and then also Magic Kingdom is built on a tunnel system and to go under that and be able to navigate that was really cool and was uh really like transformative for how I viewed Disney. Yeah. Did it ruin any of the magic for you? When you get a peek behind the curtain. this like over and over again, I think it made it more magical for me personally to see how many people were working to keep that place as magical as it was for the individuals. Wow, well, you've heard it here first, everybody. You've heard it here first. We've been to Disneyland. I finally took our family to Disneyland, but have not been to Disney World. being a character attendant, my hat's off to you, Sophie, because we had, you we all dressed, we did the whole thing, right? Like all, there's six members of my family, myself included. Neon bright yellow shirts, right? My youngest, my oldest daughter. who I don't remember what age she was at the time, anyway, drew this like big old dragon and we, know, Millers go to Disneyland and we had it on the back of these, you know, custom printed neon yellow shirts so that if any of us got lost, we could, you know, we had young children with us at the time, young-ish, and our youngest, sure enough, in the crowd at one point, gone. And like, I mean, it freaked us out. But it wasn't long before we found her, thankfully, but that still feels like an eternity. And when we found her, it was Woody. Woody had saved her, Woody had helped her, and not uncoincidentally, I don't think, but down the road she had a crush on Woody. So we were like, hmm, little hero complex, I don't know. But no, you know what mean? The job that you guys do, not just to entertain, not just to bring the magic, but to keep people safe. And I don't know why we're just going off on this tangent. It's because I find it fascinating. And I imagine that that's gonna inform part of your careers and yours as well. keeping people safe and doing all the things. So I'm trying to messily tie that up. We're not gonna do that. I'm just gonna veer off to the left. Because I also love your answer to this question. What or who inspires you, Sophie? Um, I think my mom is a big part of who inspires me. Um, she kind of, like I mentioned, was a nurse all growing up. So I got to see like the nitty gritty of nursing my entire life. Um, and I think that was very lucky for me cause I got to see what nursing was like before I got into the career side of things. So she is a really big. And I think tying off of that, my family throughout my entire life has given me support to do whatever I want. They spit that into my ear as a very young age. They're like, you can do whatever, you can grow up and be whoever you want, do whatever you want. As long as you put in the hard work, you are capable of anything. And so I think that was really transformative in me and being like, OK. I can do these hard things to get to the places where I want to go. hard things. I don't understand. Was nursing school hard? No, ah no, that's and it but it's amazing that you have a family like that and that you don't take that family for granted too. You know what I mean? Because not everybody gets to have that story. So kudos to your parents, kudos to your family. Huge, huge shout out to them there. So let's dive into your little nursing progression here and let's just start off with why nursing? Why did you end up getting into nursing after having such an eclectic like collection of jobs? Yeah, so I guess this all, a lot of my nursing story ties back to my mom. When I was a little kid, I would sit on her lap and I have this specific memory sitting in her bed watching NRP videos. And it was... for the listening audience who's not aware, what are NRP videos? It's like neonatal resuscitation. ah And so those videos for her like had the entire birthing process within them. So there was like a lady within a bathtub, like getting ready to have birth and I'm like six years old watching this with her. And kind of like that point forward, I was like, I knew a healthcare was the right path for me. I remember being as young as middle school and being like, I'm gonna be a doctor. And everybody was like, you can do that. And I did think I was gonna be a doctor for a long time. So I was a part of a program in high school called a Biomed program. And kind of what we did, it was a four year program where you got to learn about the different human body systems, different disease processes, and different aspects within healthcare, different jobs that people can hold. And so during my junior year of high school, we actually got the opportunity to go and tour WSU Spokane and during my time there I was a part of the like perspective medical doctor people group. And uh we sat and we were able to like, had an iPad and look at medications people were on, symptoms they were having and be like, okay, like what disease would they have? Kind of the diagnosis aspect of being a doctor. And just for fun during that time, they kind of wanted to give us a holistic idea of healthcare. got to go through. the school of pharmacy and then we also got to go through the school of nursing. And so while we're walking through the school of nursing, we're walking through the sim lab and there's all of these sim mannequins and like as I'm walking through the middle of it, I'm like, my God, I don't want to be a doctor. I want to be a nurse. I want to like be at the bedside and provide like direct patient care. don't want to be like the not to say doctors are behind the scenes, but they don't provide as direct hands-on 12 hours of patient care. And I was like, that's what I want to do. And so it was like a flip switch to my brain. And from that moment on, I was like, OK, I'm going to be a nurse. We're going to make this happen. ah And so that was, I know. oh almost like an intro to a horror story. I love it. And yet it's not, not that nursing school is a horror story, everybody, but I just picture you walking down these mannequins and you're like, this is the moment. Sorry, continue. I interrupting you there. things are so, like, scary looking if you go and, like, look at them now that you're like, why would you see that and want to be a nurse? that's amazing though. one within the sim that you like can code on you and you do IVs and like do the postpartum hemorrhage sim and all those things. That's when the one where I was like, this is really cool what these people do. So that's what I wanna do. ah And so I'm a big time planner in my life. ah I like to have all the steps set out for me. And so as soon as I was like, I want to be a nurse, I'm like, okay, what kind of nurse do I want to be? was super excited about it. I was like, I don't want to be an L and D nurse. And my mom's like, come on. But yeah, maybe she is a little biased. She wanted me to be a NICU nurse for a long time too. She's like, you're going to love it. I'm like, sorry. I love the babies, but I don't want to be the baby nurse. And so I'm talking with her about different jobs within the healthcare profession and she works directly with CRNAs a lot of the time, being LND, doing spinals and upper-dolls and all that. And she's like talking to me about the job and I'm like, that is so cool. Like the anesthesia aspect, everything that they could do. I was like instantly heart eyes in love with that job. uh And like the more I looked it up, was like, this is really cool. And so yeah, since that point, I was like, I want to be a CRNA when I grow up. I want to get into the ICU, do the ICU thing. I was also super interested in the ICU aspect of things, which I think really helps you get to the CRNA path, obviously. But I don't know. That's kind of like my big goal. uh All throughout nursing school whenever I was in the OR I was behind the sheet talking to the CRNAs uh When I was in the NICU doing my nurse tech rotation I would go to deliveries and go talk to the CRNAs there hold the mom's hands while they're getting like their spinals done stuff like that because I don't know I think it is such a cool career and Something that I like now have found passion for. So, and let me ask you this then. So as you're going through nursing school, I mean, at what point, and forgive me if my blonde brain is just not recalling exactly where you're saying that, at what point does that CRNA passion light? You know what I mean? Like you're talking about having these conversations with your mom and that sort of thing. Was it, you know, during school, after school, like before, like all the things, at what point does that like crystallize in your mind as like, this is it, this is what I want to do? It was in high school that I was like, want to be a CRNA. It's kind of funny and I screenshotted this because I thought it would be fun to share. But I have a notes app from 2019 and it's my 10 year plan. And you can see there. at the time of this recording it's six years ago. Okay. Yes. Okay 5th, 2019, and it says, College at Eastern Washington University. And things went out of order, but that's okay, that's life. Who cares, right? Yeah. Apply for the Disney College program, which is what I did, and apply for WSU Spokane. Do WSU Spokane of Nursing. They wanted me to do the college program earlier. I did that later. Go to WSU Spokane, get a job in an ICU, continue my job in the ICU, and then apply for CRNA school. And that is kind of a condensed version of the tenure plan I had written out in 2019. that is incredible. And I mean, and not even from a standpoint of I don't want to go get all ageist and all the things, you know what I mean? But the fact that you're younger and you have this 10 year plan at such a young age, that's so amazing. And also I'm going to say probably very prototypical ICU nurse slash CRNA of you as well. So that's awesome. So then let's continue the progression then. So you're going to become a nurse, you're in nursing school. What do you want to share about that time of your life? I will say, and this goes back to the three things I said earlier, nursing school was one of the hardest things I have done at this point ah in my entire life. It was challenging physically, emotionally, my brain was working so hard. And so it was super, super hard. And I don't know, Pathopharm it was... It was challenging, but. I had such a great support system during nursing school that it like made it bearable. uh I think having somebody, a family member who is a nurse who could be like, I get it. I have been through it and I know how hard this is and I am here to support you was amazing. It made the experience so much better. And then also having support system through like my friends. That was a big thing. Everybody took care of each other and when things were badly or somebody was having a hard time, our friendships would lift each other up and we would really work together to support each other through it. My friends made fun of me. were like, Sophie has a million jobs. What of the 10 jobs are you going to today? But then when it got- like to the point where I was like struggling holding my jobs and going to nursing school, they're like, hey, something needs to change. Like you need to take care of yourself. uh Maybe getting rid of one of the jobs won't hurt you. And so I think having like the support system that I had really made this really challenging time in my life ah so much better. Because nursing school is hard. Yeah. Yeah. And I, you know, it's been described on this podcast even before as someone who has their, um, NP, they went back and got their nurse practitioner and, and they were like, no nursing school was the hardest. Anything, any advanced education you do after that. Yeah, it's hard, but it doesn't compare because it doesn't change you fundamentally as a person. You know what I mean? It doesn't involve all of those things. You said your emotions, your spirituality, your, your physicality, your ability to think, your ability to critically think, and the way you think. Like it just changes you from the bottom up. And so no, I mean like that's amazing. So then let me ask you this then, a small segue as we progress, but having relatively recently sat for the NCLEX, any advice for nursing students in regards to that? I think taking the time to study is important, but also taking time to take care of yourself is important during that study process. It's so easy to just be one track minded and be like go, go, go. But you gotta take care of yourself within that process. I think that's the most important thing. I found that I took the NCLEX really early. graduated in early mid-December and took it by December 27th. So I was one of the crazy people who studied for two weeks and took it. I took it the earliest test I could because I think we learn in nursing school, we know the fundamentals of everything. We know what we need to know. It's learning how to take the test. that we have to learn. And so I found it most beneficial to take practice questions, not doubt myself in my questions and change my answers, because that is what would always get me, and read the questions. Because they aren't trying to trick you, but they kind of are trying to trick you with the what's the most right of these answers. Yeah. m And so I found taking questions and practicing in that format the most beneficial to taking the test. Awesome. Thank you for those pointers. So then you pass the NCLEX, right? And obviously. uh so describe for me, you wanted to talk about transition to practice. What does that look like for you? Yeah, kind of like we talked about, I have a little bit of a different route into nursing. I took that little six month vacation to go and work at Disney World, have a lot of fun. And I think that was really important to my journey because by the time I was done with school, was, I'd taken the NCLEX, I was working 312s as a nurse tech. I was working as a nurse tech throughout nursing school and so by the time I was done I was like burnt out of nursing. was like I just needed a break. I needed some time to find myself outside of being a nurse because being a nurse and being a nursing student was kind of my entire personality for the two years. And so just taking a little bit of and for like students it doesn't have to be six months but like once you take your NCLEX take a break take at least a month to like be like okay I did it I can relax for a little bit uh before you start your job as a new grad because that's like nursing school all over again you're having to learn everything and do a job and think so much and you had just done that for two to four years so I think it's really powerful to take a break and find out what makes you happy and have those hobbies that you kind of lost during nursing school and those friendships that might have like drifted away because you were so busy finding those again so that you have like that solid support within yourself when you start that new grad job. oh That is excellent advice, Sophie. And it's funny because you are probably the 80, 85th. This isn't a brag. I'm trying to figure it out on the top of my head. But like the 85th person I've talked to somewhere around there, 85, 86 people, and you're only the second person. And both of you have been in the last two weeks. You're only the second person that is like, I took a break. I took a break. I needed to take a break. And it's huge because you're right. You're go, go, go, go, go, go. And I love what you say about you were like done. Like I've we've been through this, we've covered this ad nauseum. I'm like and then I passed the NCLEX. I'm now officially a nurse. I need a breather. And you know what I mean? Like whereas some people might be like I have to dive right in. I don't want to lose momentum. I don't want to do anything else. So with that being said, over clarify for us. You're working, you're practicing as a nurse right now. Yes, I'm doing the math in my head and the when you graduated and all the things, and where are you practicing, what are you doing? Yeah, I am in MedSurg ICU at Deaconess Hospital. I started in July of 2024. And so I've only been off of orientation for like three months now. But yeah. But two questions for that. So you started July of 2024. You took a six month break after graduating in 23. So did you feel, because here's where I feel like people are gonna wanna know, did you feel any rust like that you had to quote unquote break off having taken that break? Was that, obviously you found it to be a positive experience and you're recommending it, but how did that look for you when you first started your first job? I feel like when I started my job, there was a little bit of rest. ah But I think it wasn't as much to do with the time I took off, or the time I hadn't been in an ICU. ah Because your last semester of nursing school, you're not in the hospital, and you're not doing head to toe assessments like you were in... I know, it was our second semester of our junior year that we were with adults. ah And so that transition, I think, was a little bit weird. But I don't think it was anything outside of the normal new grad struggles, so to say. uh I will say that I did spend four months in an ICU, in the exact ICU I work at as a nurse tech. uh And so some of the transition into practice that is difficult, like getting oriented to the unit and meeting your doctors and meeting your fellow nurses, those were struggles I didn't have to overcome because people remembered me from when I was a nurse tech. Yeah. Um, and I also think that was really beneficial in getting me my job is that I knew I wanted to be an ICU nurse and was really focused on making those connections while I was a nurse tech. Um, and so kind of going back to what we're saying, the transition back into practice, it was hard, but it was hard for the fact that of like I was saying it's nursing school part two that you have to learn how to be you have to go from learning how to be a nursing student to learning how to be a nurse. Yes. And basically what you're saying is it would have been hard either way. Yeah. You see no difference between, you know what mean, that time you took off and or starting in that role, you know what I mean, as it is. I guess before we wrap up your episode, which I hate to do, but before we do, describe, you know, you're saying I've only been off of orientation, you know, residency, whatever the case may be for three months or so. So A, what was this orientation residency like? Did that help you? And B, the follow-up is, how do you feel right now, only three months outside of that? Yeah, our residency program is technically a year long. The first 24 weeks are uh on orientation. And then I think the first four months were when you were taking all of the new grad classes going back to nursing school. I am not the best learner in the sense of learning on a computer. uh And so the new grad classes weren't my favorite thing in the world. They were helpful to learn in depth some of those ideas and med-surg ideas that we hadn't talked about in nursing school that are ICU specific. uh I think my time on orientation those six months really set me up for success when I was going through them. My unit in particular, you start off. you start off taking like ICU level patients, but easier quote unquote ICU level patients. ah And so you get the chance to learn the fundamentals and how to titrate drips and those things, how to do RAS scores and other ICU things. um And then as you progress along, you start taking harder and harder patients up until the point you're taking the hardest patients on the unit. with your preceptor. uh And so you're taking those one to ones. You're taking people on three to five pressers. You're taking the hard people. And so you have to like learn how to critically think, but it's a progression. And then by the time I was on my own, when I started like not taking, you kind of do the same thing where you go back and you take like. the softer ICU patients and it gets harder and harder as you go along. And so by the time I was off on my own, was like, okay, I've taken these really hard patients. I've taken them with help. And then I've also kind of like, quote unquote, played nurse where I take them by myself and my preceptor is kind of there as a charge nurse would be when I'm on, yeah, ah as a second set of eyes. Or if I don't know if I don't know somebody, have somebody right there I can ask a question to. So by the time I was on my own, felt really like I was set up for success to be on my own. And then as the patients have gotten harder, there are times where I have to lean on my team a little bit and be like, hey, this is what I'm seeing. Can you help me? What should I do? And I don't know. I'll say it time and time again. My team is so supportive of new grads in the learning process that I think they are truly what has made this process so smooth. Is that what I'm asking questions? Even if they are dumb-er questions, they are like, okay, like, let's talk this through, let's talk through what I would do, ah and just have been really supportive. So I think like with what I am feeling now, ah I'm feeling good. There are days where I'm super stressed out when I leave work. There are days where I'm like, this is cool. I could do this every day for the rest of my life and be chilling. ah But. those hard days I know I have a supportive system to go back to between my mom, my friends, and now my unit and I think that is really cool. The culture on our unit is amazing and they they're what makes the difference. I guess being on the outside looking in, you know what mean? Not ever having worked in ICU. ah That to me is more heartwarming than almost anything, you know what mean? Because if I were a patient there, I'd like to know that, you know what I mean? The nurses have each other's backs. They're not degrading each other for asking questions. You know, we've said it before, I'll say it again. We tell new grads, we tell new hires whether they're new grads or not. The moment we start worrying about you is the moment you stop asking questions. because then you think you've got it and we don't. I've been doing this 18 plus years and I'm still like, okay, hey guys, I know that this is like, what is this? I feel stupid maybe that I even should have to ask this. I don't know. I make fun of myself at this point. And it's like, but we're always asking questions and we should always be asking questions. So that is the other key takeaway nursing student is again, even if it's not the specialty you want, If you're in a location where you don't have this kind of support that Sophie's describing, either A, if you're not in a place where you feel like you can be the change, then B, find another place to work, even if it's not your passion for a while. that, you know, as long as you find a supportive unit, a supportive facility, a supportive organization, whatever, you know, fill in the blank. So, Sophie, that is, you bring great wisdom with you, having only graduated. you years ago, quote unquote, only, you know what mean? Like, so no, I just, appreciate you. I appreciate you being able to take time to kind of, you know, shed the light behind. Cause I look at you and I see smiles. I see, you know what I mean? A happy soul. And you wouldn't think necessarily that here is a woman who works in the ICU. Like those things don't always go together. So I don't know. It is what it is. is there anything else you have recovered everything you wanted to kind of get out? I think going back on what you said, it is something super important as a new grad to really have a unit that supports you and have a good culture. ah So once you find that, cherish it. But if you're not finding that, ah there are units out there who are going to support you. ah So I think that's really powerful and something that I'm glad you brought up within this conversation. Awesome. Well, I just reinforced what you already brought up. there. All right. So what were the three words you used to describe nursing school, Sophie, and why did you pick them? The three words um that I said were challenging. I think we talked about that a lot. Nursing school is hard, but you get through it. You get through it on the other side, which brings me to rewarding. I am so thankful for the memories that I have in nursing school, the connections I had made at the time, my friends, and then it set me up. have the career I have today and I love my job uh so much and I'm so thankful for it. And transformative because I can confidently say that I am a version of myself but not the same version of myself I was before I started nursing school. It changed me but I think it changed me for the better and made me more. confident in what I was doing made me hardworking and I think made me a more empathetic person as well. I always say. I'm either empathetic or in my day I'm either being empathetic or I'm being pathetic. It's one or the other. So we try and put the in it and it doesn't always make it. But ah no, I mean, I couldn't have said it better myself, It's you know what mean? And I guess that echoes back to what we talked about at beginning. It's transformative. You're not the same person that you are when you go into it. No matter how much you think you have your stuff together and all this and all that, it doesn't matter. It's I've never been through boot camp. I can't compare it to an actual military boot camp, but I've heard similar things, right? Bootcamp, they tear you down so that they can build you in what they need you to be. Nursing school isn't quite the same. You know what mean? That's why we're big proponents of don't lose who you are. You know what I mean? Focus on that taking care of yourself, the person that you are outside of being a nurse and outside of nursing school. But in the similar respect, you're not you are. You're totally transformed from beginning to end. Thank you for doing that. So Sophie, I don't know why someone was so rude and they're in a rush. They didn't listen to a thing you said. They skipped through your whole episode. I don't know why. What is the one thing now that they're tuning in that you want them to pick up and carry with them the rest of their lives? Having heard your episode. I think it's important to know yourself and take time for yourself. Like I said, I took a break outside of nursing school and I think that was the best thing I could have done for myself. So if you're in a similar situation where you're like, I might need a break, I think that's okay. We are lucky to work in a career where there are gonna be jobs all. the time. They are always hiring. uh So one, hold out for the specialty you want. And two, if you need a break, take that break because being a new grad is hard. And you kind of, want to start as the best version of yourself, so to say. So if you're burnt out, you're not gonna give the care you want and the learning you want. So. Take that time, take care of yourself because that's how you're gonna take care of your patients. Mm, very well said, very well said. And I love that you use that phrase, I have to, I can't, I can't let it go. But you said to be that best version of yourself, I preach that to my students ad nauseum. ladies and gentlemen, Sophie has never directly been a student of mine. So she hasn't heard my normal spiels and gotten sick of them. But that is one of the things that I always espouse. Be the best version of yourself that day. But I love how you're saying, you know what I mean? come through that nursing school experience so that you can be the best version of that new nurse self that you can be. And you get it, you get out of it what you put into it, right? Yeah. patients can tell when you are fully there and care about your job. Yes, yes, or alternatively, when you're mailing it in, so to speak, when you're just not, you know what I mean? Like they can tell and they know. And that's the, those are the, mm. you start talking about a whole bunch of other stuff. I'm gonna stop, that was your final thing, and I keep talking, I can't stop. No, Sophie, I can't thank you enough. Thank you for taking your time out of this morning, out of your morning to talk nursing. When you're not nursing, I would greatly appreciate it, because I know that everybody who has listened to you has been made better by it, including myself, so thank you.