154 - Jayde Sagun and Maya Zilberstein: Strength in Numbers

Join current students - Kahului, Maui, Hawai’i native Honored Guest Jayde Sagun and Thousand Oaks, California native Honored Guest Maya Zilberstein - as they describe their favorite parts of nursing school, celebrating with peers, why they chose the nursing profession, direct vs. non-direct admissions, their future plans, challenges they have faced in nursing school, turning the cranky people into bearable people, and more!

Contact us:
thanks@feedingouryoung.org to send a note of appreciation to any of our honored guests - let them know how they touched you - I'll make sure they read your praises!
info@feedingouryoung.org all other inquiries, including having host Eric Miller speak to your nursing students or nurses!
+1 (509) 666-5636 text/voicemail line

Follow us:
@feedingouryoungllc Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube

Many thanks:
Jon Holland (Jomarkho - found on SoundCloud, Spotify, and the like) Music - intro/outro/sting composition
10com Web Development Logo and website design
Jeff Burton (88 Creative) Planting and watering the seeds to start this podcast

Transcript

0:01

Hello and welcome to this episode of the Feeding Our Young® podcast. Hello and welcome to this episode of the Feeding Our Young® podcast. Yes, I said that twice. Yes, I said that twice. Why did I say that twice? Why did I say that twice? I don't know. I don't know. It might be because I have two Honored Guests in studio today. Are they sisters? Are they friends? I don't know. Let's find out. Without further ado, no more flapping my gum. I'd like to welcome to the studio today Miss Jayde and Miss Maya. Jayde, Maya, how are you guys today? Hi. I'm good. I'm great. As we work out the kinks here and figuring out who's gonna talk first and when, this is the beautiful part about having two Honored Guests in the studio, which is not the first time we've done this. I'm just so excited to talk to both of you because both of them are incredibly amazing human beings and you're gonna get to learn that about them as I got to learn that about them, oh, a few months ago. I don't know how, I guess we'll find out. So without further ado, gosh you guys, are you still in nursing school? And if so, where do you attend and when do you graduate? Yes, so we are S1s currently at Gonzaga University and we plan to graduate May 2026, what, like a semester left? Oh my gosh, and Maya, you were sharing a little tidbit with me, so, because I said, it feel like it's getting super close? And what did you tell me about that? It's kind of crazy because our last exam in nursing school is our final because next semester there's no exams and our last final like skills testing is this week also. Oh my gosh, and here you guys are making time for this little old podcast. Thank you so much. I appreciate that. Well, uh, so are you guys from Spokane? Where's home for you? Where are you guys from? uh I'm from Thousand Oaks, California. um It's in Ventura County, which is near LA County, if you don't know the area that well. And I'm from Maui, specifically Kahului, and I normally say that's where like the airport is, because that's where people tend to know exactly where that is on the island. em If you didn't know, that's in Hawaii. That's incredible. So both y'all from kind of warmer climates, which I really love because you guys already did your cute little promo clip that aired the Sunday before this episode drop. And you had snow in the background because we had our first snow. This is the first episode being recorded in 2025 since snow has fallen in the Spokane area. You know, offshoot question. Being from warmer climates, you guys, what do you think about the snow up here? That's a really good question and honestly everyone asks me that every every time someone is like why did you move here from like your paradise right and I mean, I never lived in snow before and I did like it in the beginning. Freshman year, I was all about the snow. I haven't fallen. I didn't slip, nothing like that. And then of course, I think it was like the second semester. I had my first fall and it was so embarrassing. And after that, I don't like the snow anymore. It's pretty. I like appreciate it from the inside, right? It's warm. It looks like you're in a snow globe. but I can't be out for too long because then it gets too cold. um I actually love the snow. People actually said the same thing. They were like, wait, you're from Southern California. Why on earth would you come to Spokane? And my freshman year, it kind of freaked me out. I was like, I don't know why I'm here. I actually love the snow. I think it makes winter so fun and it feels like snow globy and magical. um And it's a lot better. It's like a good break from the gloomy weather that we get. um I think it just makes winter so much more fun. I agree, I love that it just blankets. You know what mean? Like there's a uh quiet quality about it, so anyone who does not come from snowy climates, when you have snow on the ground, everything gets quieter. There's just this nice dulled sound, and I love that. So whether you guys love it, or whether you only like it from the inside, you get to enjoy it while you're here, and then you don't have to deal with it unless you end up staying in Spokane. We'll cross that bridge later with a different question though. two of my favorite opening questions before we get to the meat of the matter. uh What are three words that you guys each chose and you both chose three words separately give or take. uh What are three words you guys chose to describe nursing school. So my three words were emotional, funny, and flexible with a question mark, because I wasn't completely sold, but it's there. Love it. My words were challenging, rewarding, and testing. You just talked about testing, how ironic. ah so what are, we'll talk about why you guys got into those three slash six words at the end of your episode, but ah what are three of your favorite songs in life right now? We both had a little difficulty choosing our songs because I don't know my three favorite songs right now, but ones I've been listening to a lot are Hero by Charlie Puth, Baptized in Fear by The Weeknd, and Dear Reader by Taylor Swift. So I'm the worst when it comes to choosing songs, choosing movies, choosing TV shows. can never answer, I can never give a straight answer. So I can give you albums and artists. And uh what first came to mind was Ariana Grande, Obvi. Like you can judge me all you want, but I love her. uh And then... ah I really like this local song from Maui. He's like a local artist from Maui. It's called Get Right and then Rihanna. She's just classic and I could always listen to her in any mood I'm in. Awesome, so that's amazing. Thank you for answering those nice intro questions. Now let's get into who you guys really are. We're gonna find out dirty secrets, just kidding. We're gonna, by starting with the uh very provocative question, what is your guys' superpowers? uh For this question, I honestly wasn't really sure how to answer, but Jayde actually helped me with my answer. I said that I have been told that I'm good at communicating and have empathy. I think I am able to put myself in other people's shoes and see the situation, or at least do my best to see the situation they're in before being quick to judge or anything like that. Yeah, actually, same with me. Maya kind of like helped me answer this as well, because I was not sure. And it's really hard to think of like good things about yourself because you never really do that on a daily basis. But m I'd said I'm I don't really know how to put in a word, but I guess I feel like I'm pretty good at. feeling the vibes of other people and for example when like something's off with like my roommate I'm like hey like something going on and she's like yeah something's going on because I can I don't know I feel like the off vibes but I also feel like the good vibes and when people are happy that makes sense m that you guys help each other out with, because you don't have to answer all the questions for those that know this form that we send out. They don't have to answer all of them. But the fact that you guys helped each other, because they wanted to do this episode together, I'm like, let's go. The more of them are here, let's have fun. so other than us stumbling over each other on occasion, which you may hear, who knows, ah it's a great opportunity to see you guys side by side and to hear about you together, because there's strength in numbers, right? I feel like that lends itself well to, I'm just gonna transition into some of this nursing talk. Let's not beat around the bush anymore. But kinda leaning into each other and all that business. What are maybe some of your guys' favorite parts of nursing school? Definitely has to be some of the people I've met. um mean, Maya obviously is one of the best people I've met in nursing school. We have been through a lot together. I mean, we're studying together all the time and um we have like our highs and lows together and it's just fun to do it with other people, not by yourself. That makes sense. And also the other people that I've met that I probably wouldn't have ever talked to. if they weren't in my nursing class. um It's really interesting to see how we form connections, even if we have nothing in common but nursing. It's cool to talk about other things outside of class as well. So definitely the people I've met and also the teachers, everyone, all the professors have been great. um They've shared so much wisdom beyond textbooks, which is... Honestly, it could be even more valuable than what is in a textbook um from their personal experiences, how they've messed up, how they would do things differently. That's very valuable as a nursing student. um Maybe who isn't as confident like myself in practice yet. But I'm getting there um because of you guys, people like you guys for sure. I would fully agree with Jayde. think from like students to faculty, uh with students just something about like struggling together and pushing through, facing like the same challenges and figuring out what works best for each of you. And I think there's a bond that kind of comes with that. Jayde and I actually met like in our first, I think it was like a final project for a bio class. And then we were like, I have no idea what to do. And we kind of just figured it out. ah So. Do you know what you're doing? No. Let's bond! Yeah. honestly that still happens today like we'll travel bond we'll bond over things we don't know things that happened to like each other. Yeah try to study and then just start talking about who knows what. But so definitely the friendships that form. And then the faculty, feel like before I started college, everyone would say, like talk about the amazing professors they had in college. in my like, pre-rec classes before nursing, I was like, how are people meeting these professors that seem like they changed their life? And then when I started actual nursing classes, I was like, oh wait, this kind of makes sense. Just the connections you make with them are so much, I'll say like better and deeper. And then like Jayde said, beyond the textbook, I feel like you can learn so much with like life lessons and then practice for nursing. So I think it's been pretty cool. And honestly, just to add on to what Maya has said, So I went to a concert. It was a Marley brother concert. I think this was like the first couple of weeks we just came back to school. And I saw Molly there in the VIP section. And I go up to her and I'm like, oh my God, Molly, can't believe you're here. I was just so shocked to see a professor at a concert. um And I don't know where I was going with this, it's just, guess it just seems, it just like makes them more human. it's just easier to bond with those types of people who aren't always like stuck in an office. You know, if that makes sense. yeah, more human, more relatable. Like I remember, you know what mean? Like even, cause when I went to nursing school, right, I got my degree at 30. So I'm in nursing school at 28, which is a bit older, right? Lived a little bit of life, but still most of my instructors are way older than me. And it just like, you think of them as this, you know, instructor that you can't touch, you can't relate with. They have so much experience, whether you look up to that or whether they, you know, whatever. but they're distant, they're somebody else. And then you have those moments, like you're saying, Jayde, where you're just like, my gosh, you're human too. And now that I'm of the age of some of the instructors, when I went into nursing school, I'm like, yeah, we are people too. my gosh, like, come on, you know what I mean? But it's just funny being on both sides of that and remembering that absolutely distinctly. But you you talk about also the value of struggling together. Do you guys ever like, as a cohort or together or friends or whatever, do you guys celebrate together and is there value in that? I'd say we do. um Like after tests with friends, you can be like, let's go for a sweet treat after a test. um Or sometimes like, Jay and I will go get like, pokey or like a certain matcha that we like. So I think celebrating the small victories helps make nursing school seem more achievable. No, that's incredible. And I think that's again that strength in numbers concept. I don't know, maybe that's the title of your episode. I feel like that's the title of your episode, strength in numbers. That's where we're at. uh But I mean, on the subject of nursing school, let's back it up just a little bit because I mean, both you guys ended up at Gonzaga. So let's just talk not specifics, but kind of from a general standpoint, why nursing? That's really good question. I mean, I feel like we always get asked that in every like freshman, sophomore class. And I always just go back to maybe like these three core things. One, nursing is very hands-on and I love, I don't like computer work. I mean, I know there's charting, but I like to use my hands. I like to be in the field, if that makes sense. em Two, I really, wanted to find a way to give back to my community and I thought for me nursing would be the best way because my end goal is to go back home and like I said give back to my community and Yeah, I mean, that's what I have off the top of my head. I just like, I know it's so cheesy, but I really do like to help people. And I think nursing is such a unique way to do those things. I mean, yes, it's in the medical field. You could be a doctor, but the nurse's role is, it's different. It's more specific and you're with the patient. The doctor doesn't, the doctor's not watching the patient for 12 hours, like in the day you are in that room. So you get to build these relationships with the patient. And I think that was my second thing, actually. I really like to yap I love to talk to people and I think nursing was one of the best ways to do that and get paid for it. So, yeah. So I would actually say very similar reasons. ah Since I was little, I was like always super interested in the human body. I don't remember this firsthand, but my parents love to remind me that when I was maybe a toddler, they got me like a fake stethoscope and I'd like always carry it around and then listen to my family members with it. So I wish I remember that firsthand, but I don't. ah So I feel like medicine was just always an interest for me. And I want to do a job where I felt like I was making a difference. And I like that nursing, you're kind of always busy and have a lot going on. I kind of actually like the chaos of it. I think it keeps the job interesting and fun and like different each day. I also like that nursing has patient interaction care. We kind of like learned in our nursing classes, the difference between treating the patient versus like just treating their disease. And I think that's a pretty interesting difference that I enjoy with nursing. And I feel like I debate in medical school, but it's definitely a huge commitment financially and like time wise. I think that's a very big life commitment that I'm not sure I was built for. But I really like the versatility of nursing. Like as an RN, you can pretty much do anything you want. And then you can choose to further your degree or specialize in something, which I like the freedom that nursing gives you. I love both those answers. And I think that that is incredibly profound, especially from students who some would consider to be very young, right? Maybe you guys want to speak towards that because you know depending on where you go to college and that sort of thing You know community colleges historically a wide range of ages backgrounds experiences cultures, etc Gonzaga right? mean you guys talk about the process of how This is a two-part question. The one part is when do you guys commit to nursing? And I'm leading the witness because it's pretty darn early. So most of y'all are usually pretty young, quote unquote, biologically speaking. ah But that being said, also how did you guys end up at Gonzaga? I ended up at Gonzaga because since I was in high school, I was pretty much set on nursing and I found out about like direct admit programs versus non-direct and I thought if I know I for sure want to do nursing, why would I go to a non-direct admit program where I risk not getting into the actual nursing school? So I only looked at direct programs and I liked that Gonzaga was in Washington compared to the other states I was looking at and got accepted into. ah have family in Seattle, which I know is pretty far, but I kind of like that Washington still seemed close to home and almost familiar enough. And I liked that in Spokane, it was pretty like outdoorsy and naturey. So you got all four seasons, which I've never actually experienced, and I love it. So I'm happy for the nature aspect of it for sure. And if you don't mind just for those that don't know the difference between those two terms, what is direct versus non direct? yes, so direct, ah this is when you apply for a four-year college and if you're accepted as an undergrad student as a nursing major, you do like all the core undergrad requirements and then you go straight into nursing courses in your junior year, but a non-direct program, you're technically like a pre-nursing major where you do the core requirements and then you have to apply into nursing school and as we all know, nursing school is insanely competitive. I've heard schools take like a thousand pre-nursing students, but will take like 80 nursing students. And to me, I was like, that's not a risk I want to take. Yeah, similar but not similar to Maya, I didn't really know what I was gonna do my senior year of high school. I knew I wanted to do something like medical-ish. I mean, I was taking anatomy and physiology. Sorry, no. What was it called? I think it was just anatomy. No way there was physiology at senior year of high school. No way. I think it was just anatomy. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. And was really interested with the body, but I didn't know if I wanted to do pre-med. I mean, that was a lot of schooling and I wasn't really wanting to do that anyway, so I was like, eh, not that. And then I was thinking of sports medicine or kinesis and things like that. But then also, I'm not the biggest sports fan. Like I enjoy watching. I'll get into it if like the people around me are into it. But I don't think I would go out of my way to watch it like by myself type thing. So it's like, sports medicine doesn't really seem fun. So then I was like nursing maybe. And then I talked to my mom and she was like, yeah, nursing seems like a good fit for you too. um So like Maya was saying, it's direct admit. I applied to... Gonzaga, UW, Washington State, and then three in California. But the deciding factor for me, besides the money, was the four seasons. oh I mean, coming from Maui, we have one season. And then Washington, or sorry, Seattle, was... It's like rainy a lot and I don't really like rain. So Spokane has the perfect, like I was saying, the perfect amount of rain, snow, sun, all of the above. um And honestly, the Direct Admit was kind of a afterthought, if you will. I wasn't too worried. mean, looking back at it, like I should have been more worried about Direct Admit versus not but I wasn't and it worked out. So yeah, now I'm here. I think we call those happy accidents, right? That's awesome. So then, mean, getting a feel for your guys' personalities. I feel like I may know where you guys will go with these answers. looking to the future, like you said, hopefully graduating May 2026. You guys are going to graduate May 2026. I mean, I know things happen, so it's not, you know, it's not the end of the world if something happens. But nothing's gonna. So May 2026, you guys are gonna graduate. What's the plans? Where do you guys hope to practice? Like I guess, are you going, and you've kind of touched, one of you have already touched on this, but are you planning on going back home? Are you gonna stay in state? Are you gonna leave it wide open? And what fields are you guys looking at getting into? Yeah, actually, I just called my mom about this today, like a few hours ago. Yeah, and she was asking me like, so what do you do after college? Are you coming home? Are you staying? And I was like, I just sat there and I was like thinking because I didn't I don't want to say the wrong thing because I know exactly what she wants me to do. She wants me to come back home immediately. And. See, you know. question, but it has a correct question or a correct answer. So I was just sitting in silence for a little bit holding my answer, but I kept it broad enough because honestly, I don't know. I am open to staying in Washington. I'm open to going back home. I have heard some rumors, if you will, that it is pretty hard to get a job new grad back home. honestly on any island because well one my island only has one big hospital and then um there's like strikes going on back there and also um they just don't want new grads is what i've heard from people who have applied maybe like two years ago and didn't get because they're also from hawaii um but then i'm also hearing like You're a nurse, you'll get a job anywhere. me and my mom have come to this agreement that I will try and I will apply, but I won't get our hopes up. But yeah, I'm open. I'm open to staying here. I mean, my sister's in LA, so maybe California. We'll just see, we'll see. Any particular fields of interest for you, Oh definitely. So I think I'm a true ICU nurse. I am very detail oriented. I love technical things. I like all the machinery that goes into it and not the machinery. I like the patients. I like patient ratio. I like the environment of the ICU. It's more chill, more down time if you will. And it's funny because when I did my last ICU clinical, was with such a great nurse and I've always had such great nurses in the ICU. Never had a bad experience in the ICU, given I've only had two clinicals there, but still, it's just a different vibe than any other floor. And this ICU nurse, sorry, we were talking and he's like... Yeah, you're definitely an ICU nurse because I was looking at like the work list on Epic or whatever. And I was like, do we need to check this off? Do we need to check this off? And he's like, yep, you're an ICU nurse. So that little validation was kind of nice. But yeah, I think ICU for sure. Peds versus adults, not sure yet. We'll get back. I'll get back to you after my clinical, my practicum. So. Awesome. Maya. I'm so sorry, what was the first part of this question? just, Mya's like, Mya's like, Mya's become like a listener. She's like, go on Jayde, keep talking. You carry this episode. No. No, if it's all right with you, this is gonna stay in the episode. Oh, you guys are awesome. I love it. Well, and I, you know, I was the one asking you, Jayde, like to keep going with that. So, but my, the question of course was, is the plan to like stay here, go back home, you know, the where? and in the what fields. m listening to it. For post-grad, I would love to go back to California. It just feels like home. I mean, it's only place I've lived, so it has been my only home. But I have heard that it's also pretty hard to get a job. I've heard that from new grads and people that have been nurses for many years. So I am hoping to just apply all over. anywhere from southern, northern, and hopefully have a couple options. I was planning on going to NP school, so if I am still sticking with that, it would be nice to be able to work as an RN in California first and then start NP school still in California, because I know I want to be there in the long run. And then... um work part-time as an RN while I'm in NP school, so I feel like it just makes the most sense to start out there if I know I want to be there. um So hopefully I will be able to have a job there once I graduate. And then for specific fields, I feel like I'm open to anything. I've enjoyed different parts of almost every single clinical I've had. um start like before starting nursing school, I thought I wanted to be an ICU nurse. I was like, I feel like that just makes the most sense for me. And after my days in the ICU, I definitely really liked it, but it almost wasn't chaotic enough for me. It The patient cases were so interesting because they were so complex, which I liked, but I almost missed a little bit of the chaos from other med search floors. So I had an ER day that I really liked. I had a great nurse there too. um But then I almost wanted like a good in between because I liked that the ICU had more. like intense care, but I like the chaos of the ER. So then this past semester, I was at the PCU at Holy Family and I loved it. I thought the staff was great, the environment was great, the... like flow of the PCU was really nice. It was more intense than medsurg floors. So we had about three to four patients at most, which I think is a good ratio for me. And the care is a little bit more intense, which I liked. And I liked the cardiac monitoring of them. So I feel like it's a good in between, between like ICU and ER. That still kept me super busy. but I was able to get more detail specific with their care too. Very cool, very cool. And I don't wanna like, at the risk of, cause you know, so far it sounds all sunshine and roses and life has been great. You guys have mentioned a few challenges sort of here and there and you know, persevering and all that. But I did like how you guys answered this question. So at the risk of ending on a more challenging note, pun intended, what challenges have you guys faced? Either in nursing school or out? And how have you guys kinda... How have you faced those challenges? Well, I can tell you an experience that I had kind of recently. It was during the last um few weeks of the med-surg clinical, which is our last clinical rotation. And uh long story short, I had a really challenging nurse. Our personalities didn't really click. It was really hard to... read her if you will. Like I couldn't, she was pretty passive with me. um And the whole day I just felt like I was doing everything wrong and I don't really take those things personally just because I'm probably never gonna see her again. um I don't, I mean never say never but high chance that I'm not gonna see her again. So I never, I really try not to take those things personally and um She did say that she was having a bad night the night before, so I was kinda like, okay, maybe this won't be the best shift, but maybe it won't be the worst. Turns out it was the worst shift I've ever had. um So I ended up breaking down to my clinical instructor. This was after clinical conference. I swear it was already like 10 hours had passed. We had like two hours left in the shift, and I was just like really trying to hold it together. And I mean, I'm not good at that anyway, so whatever. But I brought it up to my clinical instructor and I was like, hey, this is not going well. uh I know we only have two hours, so I could toughen it out for the two hours. I don't mind, but I'm just telling you that I'm not having a great time. I feel like I'm not learning well. Like everything is being criticized and not really constructive. And. uh My clinical instructor, I'll just name drop her, Lexi, she's great. um She's like, we're gonna figure this out. I'm not gonna let you leave feeling like this type thing. yeah, so we worked it out together. I basically told her everything that was happening. um She moved me to a, well, she let me, she had, she gave me the choice of you can either leave clinical because I was like bawling like, my gosh, the full water works. I just could not stop. No, I couldn't. And I mean, I'm an emotional person, like I try it. I feel like I would never, no, never say never again, but it's hard for me to cry at clinical just because like I'm a student. I don't want to seem so fragile, if that makes sense. um But yeah, anyway, she gave me those that option, but she also said you could also move to a different floor. So I just moved to a different floor, got another nurse, the shift perfectly. Like this nurse, she didn't know anything that happened. I mean, my eyes are red. She probably could have told, like seen that I was crying, but like she... She asked me if I had like a paper to sign because she knew that like our daily skills or whatever and I wasn't expecting anything not like from her. um But exactly and it just surprised me that she's like, do you want me to your paper? And I'm like, what? Like we just met, you don't, didn't observe me do anything. You don't even know what's going on like type thing. So that was, it was really nice of her to do that. So. It long story short, it ended on a good note, but that nurse did end up talking to Lexi and was she was aware that she had made me cry and she apologized and she was, she felt bad about it. So. I mean, you're going to be faced with many challenging people to work with. It's just how you deal with it. And I guess in the future, I would probably deal with it better. But as a nursing student, it's just hard to confront the people who are teaching you because you never want to overstep or feel like you're overstepping. And that's kind something that I struggled with the entire, like, clinical process. It's just my role as a student versus your role as an instructor and just having those boundaries. So, yeah, it ended up well. as painful as it was in the moment, like I would say you'd probably say you benefited from having that experience moving forward, right? Yeah. I mean, I'm someone who can't really control their emotions well. And that is just kind of a reminder to me. Also, just to not take things personally, but also to control your emotions better, maybe. I mean, I didn't cry in front of her, I just, maybe I was overreacting, but yeah, it was painful and it was hard. to finish the shift. Yeah, yeah. I've never had a shift like that before. don't know, Maya, you, don't know. uh She's like, Yes, it was crazy. It was crazy. though because she fully name dropped Jayde. She mentioned that she made her cry, but I had a completely different experience. It was weird, like how different the experiences were. And at the end of my shift with her, she even mentioned she was like, oh, was I being too critical because I made your student cry last time? So that was pretty crazy. Yeah, the empath in me is like did I make her feel bad for like making me feel bad, you know, it's just Yeah, exactly So, so my, apart from that, how do you want to answer that question about any challenges you faced either in nursing school or out? Um, thankfully I haven't had many challenges with clinical. Um, I have had really great nurses in all the specialties. And so for a challenge, think for nursing school specifically, I feel like each semester I had to re-teach myself how to learn because somehow I would like brain fart and forget how to learn every time I came back to school. So I feel like that was a consistent challenge I had, but Overall, I feel like it's been pretty manageable. I think this semester I've hit senioritis where I've hit a little slump of losing a tiny bit of motivation. uh It's like I made it so far where I'm less motivated, but I will be motivated again soon. uh Yeah, I'm super. caught that lack of motivation or dip in motivation hasn't cost you anything yet, right? Yeah, so far I've been good and I'm super excited for practicum. So I'd say also like with challenges in personal life, feel like I kind of depending on the situation, but overall, I feel like I've gotten to the point where if there's like issues, I'll kind of just like either say it or kind of just like deal with it as it is. So I think maybe that has translated to my clinical experience where if I felt either challenged by a nurse or even in my like first rotation in geri, some of my students were like, oh, like, don't talk to that nurse. They're like pretty mean. And I was like, I honestly didn't really know who they were talking about. And I kind of just went up to them and it didn't seem to backfire. So I feel like I have been able to kind of translate like, just addressing issues in like personal and professional settings in ways that haven't seemed to have gone bad. So yeah. just a random thought. ah I think I wrote this somewhere down on the doc, but one of my favorite things about... Nursing, you will, for me, is turning the cranky people into bearable people. I don't know if that makes sense, but I have experiences where my nurse is like, don't go in that room. Like they're really cranky today. They woke up on the wrong set. They woke up on the wrong set of the bed. And I'd be like, OK, so I cautiously go in there because, you know, I have to do vitals or whatever. And we would just be talking like I can think of. At least three patients that this has happened to me. we just end up talking for so long and my nurse has to come in and like steal me away and like ask like if I was okay or anything I was like yeah like I was fine like we were talking it was great and not to make them feel bad because they had to already told me that like they were cranky but that's just another like high I guess of nursing and it's not necessarily a challenge. mean, I see that as a challenge. when someone's like, they're hard to work with, I'm like, are they though? Like, let me try, let me try work with them if that makes sense. So I like those types of a different spin off of your question of like challenges. And that I'm glad that both of you bring that up because you know to pull it back around kind of Maya and then Jayde what you added was like that's one of my biggest pet peeves just as a nurse receiving report and I try not to be that nurse when I give report um But the same token is it I call it coloring the picture of my patient before I have a chance to meet them and get to know them So, and what I mean by that is in a report, you how many times does a nurse come to you and say, oh gosh, Like you're gonna have to just walk on eggshells with this one. And usually it's to the negative, right? Every once in it's like, oh, you're gonna love this patient. And you go in and it's like, either it's not a connection or. They're having a worse shift this shift. I don't know. But it's it's giving you kind of giving you that negative impression. Like you said, Maya, from other students. Oh, that nurse is X, Y or Z. Jayde, you know what mean? That patient is X, Y or Z. And so to all of those that are out there, I love how you phrase that as far as turning cranky people into bearable people and meaning, you know what I mean? Just safeguard yourselves, first of all, to not go into a room with an idea that is literally based 100 % on the opinion of the person before you or another person. But the other thing I wanted to piggyback on what you said, Maya, in particular, is you talk about, you know, got a little bit of senioritis and you're losing a little bit of that motivation and my gosh, I'm looking forward to practicum, you know, motivation will kick back up. Like to me, I just got the mental image, shocking I know, of running a half marathon or a marathon. ah Because over a course of long distance running, right? It's not like when I run 13.1 miles that can take upwards of two plus hours to run. In that two hours, do you think that's a consistent, like, yeah, let's go, you know what I mean? No, you reach points where you're like, what am I doing? You reach mile nine and you're going uphill and you're like, this is the stupidest thing, it's 30 degrees out, what am I doing? And those are those moments where you lose that motivation. But then I think the takeaway is in those moments of lack of motivation, know that you got something coming or that that motivation is coming back, So going into our traditional closing questions, you guys both each picked three different words to describe nursing school. Maybe one with a question mark thrown in there, but those three words, if you guys wouldn't mind refreshing us, what were those words you guys each chose and why did you pick My first word was challenging. I feel like this is a given for me because school is hard and it's also hard to juggle like academic life with social life with family life. So like the academic part of it is hard and then just learning how to deal with it. And then also in clinical practice, I've never, well, surprised, I'm a student, so I've never felt confident in my skills. We're still learning like. every day. So getting out of my comfort zone, I still remember being an OB with you actually, and getting an opportunity to put in a catheter and being too scared to say anything. And then you just encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone. And the next time I tried, it wasn't successful, but at least I tried. ah So yeah, that would definitely be my first word is challenging. My first word is emotional. And what I mean by this is that there are so many highs and lows in nursing school, both in and out of the classroom. And if someone said that they didn't cry in nursing school, either really good at holding it in or they're lying. But all... last one of them. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But also the highs, and I was kind of talking about this earlier, but turning those cranky people into variable people, it's just like, it seems so small, but to them, you can just tell that they've wanted to talk about things and they're just like telling you everything. And that's really rewarding. And that's so funny that you say that because that is actually my second word is rewarding. ah I think just the feeling of when you actually do something right is really nice. It's like you learn everything and you stress over it and then you feel like, I can't do this. But then you realize you can. And I think a big moment for me was comparing how I felt starting this past clinical to how I am ending it. Starting it, I was like, there's no way I can do any of that. And ending it, I was like, wow, I actually did do that. And I think kind of like what I said earlier about just celebrating the little highs you get in school, it makes it just seem so much more doable and overall rewarding. My second word is funny and I mean, the word itself funny has to be in my top five most used words in my vocabulary. um But because I just feel like I'm always laughing, I'm always giggling, but obviously there's a time and place where you need to be serious. um But funny because it's just funny that nursing school can have, it just can make you feel so many different things. like Maya was saying earlier, it's competitive. I mean, that's funny. Like why? Like why do we have to make it competitive, you know? And it also just reminds me to not be as serious because like I said, I'm a pretty emotional person. I try not to think, take things personally. And... I feel like I'm pretty type A if you couldn't already tell. So just having those type B moments, if that makes sense. Yes. For my last word, I chose... I don't even know if this is like right English grammar, but I said testing, I think. ah Clearly, I'm not great at English and that's why I'm in science. But I feel like nursing school really tested me to make sure this is actually what I want to do because first you have to get through it academically. But starting this year, I had like a mini freakout and I was like, is this even what I want to do? Thankfully. It is, and my clinicals this semester show me that I really do enjoy it and I can totally picture myself doing it. I'm really appreciative of that because I was freaking out a little bit. So I would say this definitely tests you to make sure that this is something you actually want to do and not something you think you should want to do or other people would expect you to do. Sorry, I thought I had a burp. So I went on mute. I'm so sorry. Okay, okay, guess. BAAAAT. Okay, sorry. Jayde, your third word. uh I love it. That's funny! Yeah, you just accentuated your second word. oh anyway, my third word was flexible and I was kind of not fully sold on this word But I honestly couldn't think of anything else um But I chose this word not because nursing school is flexible because every school is not flexible You need to get good grades. You need to stay on like course I mean more that It's just like the people that you meet, the new environments, new situations, everything's gonna be new. So you have to be able to be flexible and adapt to, yeah, like these new situations. never know, you never really know what you're gonna walk into until you see your patient. Like people can, like you said, Eric, can tell you all, everything about your patient, but you can't fully... take that to heart unless you go in that room and lay eyes on your patient is what I learned from my nurse. Yes, and independently verify those opinions slash facts. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Love it. Well guys, I don't know what happened. For whatever reason, none of this recorded. We have got 45 minutes of dead silence, but someone hung in here and the sound just picked up and they're like, well great, at least I'll know what's the one thing they want me to know. So what is that one thing you want the listener to take away from your episode? I feel like everyone has heard this so many times before, but I really mean it, is don't be scared to try new things when opportunities present itself. I think I've heard that since like my first day of college. Everyone just says that to you, but I feel like it's so true because you're always so scared to try everything for the first time. I remember like my vitals test, I was literally testing on Jayde and I was so scared. I like couldn't feel her pulse. So yeah, I'd say. get out of your comfort zone and just do something. I feel like the more scared you are, like the better it is to try because I've also heard this so many times, like one, it's not your license on the line right now. Like you're a student, you're supposed to be learning. You're supposed to not know how to do everything and then learn the right ways to do it. So I'd say just go for it. And if you freak out, still do it while you're freaking out. Hmm, and rarely do I speak on your guys's final last word, but Maya you made me think of something and it's fascinating Don't be afraid to try something new right? It's kind of the gist of what you're saying, which when you said, you know We're new students. We're new nursing students were terrified So the reason why most students don't do it is because you're terrified of the something new and when you become a tenured nurse on this side of the train tracks you Most of us won't do something new if we're not doing something new. It's because we, it's not necessarily because we're terrified, but because we're stuck in our ways. So those are two bad reasons not to try something new everybody. So that's a nugget for you tenured nurses out there too. Wait, can I ask you a follow up question to that? So actually, I just had my last uh ethics class and we were talking about how nurses become jaded. And I guess my question to you is how, as a nursing student or even as a coworker, how do you work with those types of people who are like, well, or like, like the jaded type is what I'm trying to say. Yeah. The answer to that I think depends on how long you've been a nurse, right? Because in either scenario, whether it's let's say you as a brand new grad, you're starting a job or me who's been around for quite a while, you're still gonna respect the person. So that's number one. Always respect them. And then I kinda, to be honest, whether or not you have experience behind your belt, it's confidence. Whether you are faking it or partially faking it. It's coming to that person not with cockiness, but with confidence. And I'm thinking of one nurse that I worked with on my unit and I just loved her to pieces, but you know what I mean? And she was, I mean, again, an amazing nurse. But if you had to go with, like if you guys were on the unit, you'd have been like, this person might fit that jaded category. And my goal every time I met her or saw her or worked with her was to be like, I'm gonna get her to smile. I'm gonna, you know what mean? I'm gonna. I'm gonna figure out how to relate with this woman. I'm gonna do something. And I mean, a lot of times I got eye rolls and this, that, and the other. And then the eye rolls became, over time, the eye rolls became more like, I don't know, like you could tell there was more of a kindness behind them. You know what mean? I don't know how to best explain that. But I think with confidence and with just like, respect. And what you've already touched on already, which is not taking it personally. Because that's the other thing, that's where we go to. And when people start taking things personally, and that's even from my standpoint, you tend to respond in ways maybe that aren't the best way to respond that you know you could respond better. Does that make sense? Yeah. Okay, so Jayde, what is the one thing you want people to know having listened to this episode? So if you don't mind, I was actually going to piggyback off of Maya, because I totally agree. I mean, if I didn't do something new, like we wouldn't have never met because I don't know who it was if if it was me who asked you to be my partner, if you'd ask me. But if we didn't do that, we would not be here right now. So even though like everyone says it, whatever, it's a classic for a reason. And to be honest, like people can tell me that every day of my life and I still have a hard time with it just because like the whole terrified factor of being like a nursing student. So even though I'm saying it right now, you still might not get it. So really truly like remind yourself and take it in because it is important, although cliche like it is important. And that's how you. meet new people and learn new things, grow, uh shape your moral compass. Literally everything can be stemmed from doing new things out of your comfort zone. I think another little thing to add on to that is also very cliche, but like fake it till you make it and have like confidence that you're competent enough to do something because like I still get nervous giving people shots. Like I've done it, I don't even know how many times, like more than I can even count. And, but I still get nervous. So I'm like, I don't want to hurt them. But I don't let the patient know that obviously, cause who wants a student nurse that is scared of what they're about to do to give them a shot. So I act confident and then I've had multiple patients say that they didn't even feel it and that like helps build the confidence. So if you just pretend to at least feel like you know what you're doing so you're not freaking out the patient, eventually over time it'll build enough where you truly feel that way. Hmm, I love this. Without taking away from you guys, like I'll call back to a former classmate of yours, previous cohort Griffin Garman episode, early one of the single digit episodes, very early on in the podcast. And he had said something that was so hilarious to me. And he goes to this patient to start in an IV. And you know what I mean? And the guy asked him, says, and the way he does the voice is so funny. I can't do it justice. But the guy is like, so have you done this before? And Griffin's like, yeah, yeah, totally done this before. starts the IV and he's successful. And so the gentleman, the guy is like, oh young man, you did such a great job or something like that. And Griffin says, goes, what I said next was, so what if I told you that you were my first one? You know what I mean? Like something like that. But that fits right exactly with what you're saying. And to bring it back around to the focus of this episode, which is you guys, not Griffin. And that is that you guys did truly, you know, strength in numbers synergistically. have the one final thing you want people to know. Both of you are piggybacking off each other on the same topic. Be confident, fake it till you make it, but also try those new things. Do those things and good things come from it. So Jayde, Maya, I can't thank you enough for taking time out of your ridiculously busy schedules and sitting down to chat nursing with me. Thank you, this was so much fun. you. I feel like I still have so much more to talk about. This is crazy. Well then, it just sounds like you guys are gonna have to come back. We're have to do a follow-up, Where Are You Now? And you're gonna have to add all the extra things. Awesome. You guys have an incredible rest of your day. Thank you, you too. Thank you so much.