155 - Jenn Moon: Taking the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly With Me

Join current student and Kent, Washington native Honored Guest Jenn Moon as she discusses her heroes in life, how a car accident drew her to nursing, what she loves most about nursing school, adjusting to being in a new city, the challenges of being a first-gen college student, having to retake classes, feeling overwhelmed to the point of crashing out, the “black cloud,” loving her incredibly challenging practicum, having a found family, and more!

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Transcript

0:01

Hello and welcome to this episode of the Feeding Our Young® podcast. So this is weird, because it's Saturday morning and I can't see the moon. I can barely see the sun, it's pretty overcast, as it is currently December as we are recording. uh So I really can't, but I can still see the moon, which is very strange to me. The reason why is because my Honored Guest today is the one, the only, the incredible Jenn Moon. Jenn Moon, how are you this fine overcast morning? I am good. Eric, how are you? I am doing awesome. I'm so glad that you wanted to do this. I get a text out of the blue and Jenn's like, hey, remember how I said I'm gonna do this? I'm ready now. So. I fulfilled my promise, what can I say? It only took, you know, a year and a half in the making, but... what, you know what, you're worth the wait. So let's just without wasting any more time, I'm gonna dive right into those normal opening questions. um And I'd like to know, so I kind of already let the cat out of the bag, but go ahead and introduce yourself, your name, and where are you from? Where's home for you? Yeah, so hi guys, my name is Jenn Moon and I am from Kent, Washington. So West Coast, West Side. and uh I remembered that about you. Why do I remember that about you? Because I am from Kent as well. uh born in Spokane, but raised in good old Kent, Washington. Go Royals, Kent-Meridian High School. Class of, class of... uh Yes ma'am. Yeah, I don't think I ever let that cat out of the bag for you. Where did you go to school? So I went to Meridian for kindergarten and then I got transferred to another school in Renton but that is so funny because my brothers went there, went off to Kentwood, you know all that all that good stuff so the Knights. Mm-mm. Yeah, so I think there's something different now. I don't know. But enough about Kent. Well, actually, okay. For some guests, I asked this question, and now I have to ask it of you. What do you love best about your hometown, Jenn? Oh my goodness, I want to say we have the hidden gems of food. Yes, that is the one thing that I will give Kent credit for. It is definitely the hidden gems dispersed throughout the entire city. Mm-hmm and legit the best teriyaki. I the one thing like I Moving to Spokane. I that is the one thing I cannot find a good teriyaki shop and I used to have teriyaki every day at lunch It was so cool. Miss Washam was our uh Calculus teacher she let us so for our lunch hour a few of us would go running literally physically running because none of the three of us had cars we'd run to the nearest target teriyaki shop spicy beef yeah, beautiful. And then we get it and we'd run back just in time to start class and she'd let us eat our lunch in class because she knew we liked to do that. So, fun fact. So amazing. Okay, so enough about me. Back to you because you're the star of the show. Where are you currently in nursing school and where do you attend? Yeah, so I am a senior at Gonzaga University. I'm in my final semester and my pinning ceremony is a week from today. One week y'all, unbelievable. How does that feel? Honestly, it hasn't even hit me yet, so I don't even have the words to process it, right? Like I'm kind of just like, what do you mean I'm not gonna be back in Spokane, Washington? What do you mean I'm not gonna continue going to classes? Like this is it. So I guess that kind of, well, we'll, no, we'll save that for later. um I'll finish up with the last two regular intro questions, which are, what are the three words that you have chosen to describe nursing school? had to think long and hard about this, but because initially my initial thought was, oh, trial by fire, duh. But the actual three words are enlightening, jigsaw, and rigorous. excited for your discussion of those at the end. And what are your three favorite songs in life right now? I like how you're smiling for those of you who can't see, Eric is giddying because he knows that this is an impossible question for me and this question actually took me the longest out of every single question. So, number one is Gloria by Kendrick Lamar and SZA, particularly the end part, but overall that sounds amazing. Second one was Family Affair by Mary J. Blige and third one is Keep Your Head Up. by Pock. That sounds like one that you may have relied on quite a bit in nursing school, yeah? uh And probably will do so as you start your fledgling nursing career. uh All right, well let's just get to know you a little bit better before we dive into the meaty nursing content of your episode. But um what are some of your hobbies that you're looking forward to getting back to now that your time won't be utterly consumed with nursing school? Yeah, so I want to say traveling. That is my number one hobby. um Now that I'm going into nursing, I'm kind of just coming to the realization of, I'm going to have to maneuver that with a full adulting job. However, I'm a firm believer that, you know, life is too short to just stay in one place for your entire life. I love nothing more than going to another country. given that's expensive as heck I understand. However, if the opportunity arises, go to another country, go experience someone else's culture and lifestyle and you won't come back to your home the same way. Yeah, it makes you a more well-rounded person. truly believe that. um Where are some of the places you've been and where some of your favorites? Oh, just to flex on everybody, listen to this podcast. My favorite place in the world is New Zealand. New Zealand is the number one country on the list as of now, just because I got to go during like a high school trip, but just that culture shock. For example, they drive on the left. craziest thing ever. I think I almost got hit by a bus like Hehehehehe. it was amazing. The indigenous culture there, the Maori culture was also just so beautiful to see and they have the best snacks in the world. highly recommend. And then second, my runner up would be Greece. So highly recommend anybody. So, you know, growing up, you see like these beach commercials. I want to say like you've probably seen like a Febreze commercial growing up of like a white sandy beach with like a drink in your hand and just like perfect clear water. That is exactly what Greece felt like and looked like. Oh my gosh, living vicariously through you, my friend. um So a little bit more about you, and I'm going to combine this one because I, not to give anything away, but there were some obvious connections there. So would you like to tell us whatever you'd like about your family and or who your heroes may be? Yeah, so I have my amazing parents. I have two older brothers with a huge age gap, so additional parents, one may say. I have two sister-in-laws, right, right? The ones I didn't really ask for, but it's okay. I have my amazing sister-in-laws. I have two nieces and one nephew. And following up on that, this question was also like, kind of tough just because I feel like every one of my immediate family in some way shape or form I view as a hero they've all gone through their hardships and all have bounced back from that but the number one person I feel like I keep falling back to is my oldest brother Gabe I think it's very hard and I really hope he doesn't listen to this honestly because he can't know this but it's very rare to watch someone go through all those hardships in life and then still turn out to be a decent person. So I don't give him enough credit. So this is my one chance to be like, yeah, like that's my big brother. And kinda I'm the youngest, right? So kind of just giving him the credit of like, oh shoot, it is really tough to be an eldest sibling and they don't get enough credit. So eldest siblings out there, hats off to you guys. You guys do a lot. here. No, that's incredible. so based on what you're saying then, I'll just release two versions and one will be like, Gabe's version. If you listen, listen to this one and we'll just bleep out that whole part and he'll never know your secret. uh All right. All right, we'll just keep the regular version then everybody. You don't get a special Gabe's version. All right, so then with that, let's talk. nursing and I love to start with this. love everybody's individual story. So Jenn, what drew you to the nursing profession? Yeah, so specifically nursing. Growing up, it was very much like, okay, well, you're the only girl. And my niece was born when I was seven years old. So immediately from the get-go, it was always like, oh, I want to take care of someone else. I don't necessarily have to, but I like taking care of someone younger than me. I think part of it was me being a youngest sibling and then... wanting a younger sibling, so I probably just took on that role. yeah, so that automatically gravitated me towards caring for other people. And initially, I always thought I wanted to be a teacher. But then in high school, I remember my parents got into a really bad car accident. And so I remember being in the ER, being panicked and frazzled. And I had a lot of questions, but the questions of like, can my mom have water? what does this machine do and why is my dad hooked up to it? But ultimately I remember it was the nurses who treated me like an adult. Because obviously if you're a young high schooler, no one's gonna pay you mind in these situations. But I just remember these nurses giving me so much grace and going above and beyond to look now I know they were looking in the chart for my parents who weren't their patients but checking like their diet status on if they can have water. And I just remember thinking like, oh, wait, the doctors didn't tell me, Jack, it was all the nurses. It was them the one, or they were the ones who were giving me peace of mind, answering all the questions. And I remember being like, I want to be like them. I want to provide that comfort to the family members, not just the patient who obviously I'm going to care for, but their extended family. That's incredible. Absolutely incredible. I love that answer. ah it's, you know, I mean, in retrospect, you know, being your age, it wasn't that long ago, right? It sounds like that that inspiration happened, yeah. Yeah, I want to say it was like sophomore year of high school, so grade 10. yeah. So, and I just love that, because some people are like, you well, I've known since I was super young, I didn't, you know what I mean? I didn't enter that, that bit of the equation for me didn't enter until my late 20s. So it was like, you know what I mean? Like all over the map, and there people that go to nursing school way later than that. And it doesn't matter. The takeaway is it doesn't matter how early or how late you know you want to do it. Once you get into it, you know that you've made the right choice. So, you know, I mean, we're a little biased, right? Yes. So then you... you know, a few years after that sophomore year, you're like, okay, I'm getting into nursing school. You end up at Gonzaga. You're welcome to share about how that happened. But what do you love most about nursing school now that you've been in it and through it? Yeah, so what drove me to Gonzaga was actually because I wanted to leave Washington. I wanted to get the heck out of here. So my compromise with my mom actually was Gonzaga University because it's far enough away where I can come or far enough away where I can have my own independence and have that, you know, college experience, ah but close enough to home where if need be and if an emergency arose. a rose, I can come back home. Awesome. That's a good, it sounds like a good compromise at least. I'm assuming she was okay with it enough, yes? Yeah, oh, 100%. She actually loved it. ah But what I love most about nursing school is my people. I found my people through nursing, whether or not I want to admit it. But genuinely, my bestest friends in the world, uh one of them is nursing and one of them is not. But I would not have met them if it wasn't for Gonzaga's nursing program. So that is my favorite thing. and I will always have a love for this place because of that. uh Now, so then if you want to expound on that, Like, go ahead and for the benefit of, you know what mean, those that maybe are just starting nursing school or those that are considering nursing school, uh or to take those of us back who've been nurses for a little while now, ah you know, take us back to that first day you're going to nursing school, right? And it's prereq, it's your undergrad, you know, those first two years here in a four-year university. Like, how nervous were you and how did you meet your people, quote unquote? So, nursing school, I remember being nervous. Like, I had my solid group growing up. I had my home. I had my family as support. But when you're in a new city, it was a culture shock, right? For example, there's not much trees here, which was a big shocker for me. uh Yeah, and I'm like, what do mean I don't have like, you know, a local teriyaki shop? five minutes away from me. That's also weird. So kind of just navigating what Spokane was, was new for me. I remember just bringing out that extroverted side of me, which I'm both, but kind of heavily reliant on being extroverted to reach out to people on my floor. I was in an all girls floor at the time in a dorm. And I remember during one of our floor meetings, I actually met my best friend Aysia, who was also a podcast episode. Yeah. uh ironically, maybe not ironically, her episode just released on Wednesday. Aysia Ramos, everybody, check it out. listened to her episode and I was like that is so funny and what a coincidence right after your episode aired is when I'm gonna have my filming podcast episode with Eric that is so funny and also I texted her being like Aysia you gave like 20 people shout outs in your episode just out of curiosity where was mine so I don't remember hearing my name. Yeah, exactly. I was like, this person got a shout out, but I didn't. So all love to Aysia, though. Yes, yes. But yeah, I remember meeting her on that floor. And the one thing that we both realized was we're the only two Asian girls on our floor. So we automatically had like a connection of like, cool, like, you get it. there's an underlying understanding there. And then on top of that, I found out she was also nursing. So I was like, my God, double whammy. And how fortunate was I that her door was two doors down from me. So instantaneous friendship, which is rare. And it took a lot of work, obviously, to get where we are right now. But she's one of my bestest friends and I'm so grateful for that. And then, yeah, my other... I actually don't even know if this is relevant to the question, but shout out to my other best friend, Vani. Miss Yvonne is my other best friend who you may know of. She is genuinely like my person. She is the best. It was also very similar where you just start talking and you realize like, wait, you get it. You see me where I'm at and like you understand the way I think. And so of course we clicked and we met at a concert actually, but Then we had class together. Healthcare ethics, everybody. And then now I'm visiting my girl in Spain. So. I love how life, I don't know. I've said it before on the podcast and I'll say it again, you know, especially for those who hadn't heard it before, because it's just that important. But this is my version of, think a quote that's existed. I can't take credit for it. But I just have always said that um for those that believe in God, God uh whispers on the daily, but shouts in the quote unquote coincidences, right? So like you again, you're like, you're two doors down from Aysia. You're meeting these people, but you just, you know what I mean? It just so happens. You know, you meet Yvonne at a concert, you know, all the things and just the lifelong friendships, the lifelong connections that get formed through what would otherwise appear like just circumstantial moments, right? Absolutely, absolutely. I know, now I'm like, dang it, now I can't send the link to Aysia or Vani now, so they won't be listening to this podcast either. However, everyone else will know how much they mean to me and how I genuinely would not have survived nursing school without them. I love it. Any other names you want to drop since you have the mic at the moment? shout out to Jazz, shout out to Kate for carrying me through nursing school as well. I'm like my goodness shout out to my favorite professor in the world, Miss Kim. I think that's enough for now. Give me like 20 minutes and then maybe we'll throw another name in there. Okay, so let's pivot for a minute. You know, we're talking about all the happiness and meeting your people and all the things. But I know that you also wanted to talk about some of the challenges you've had in life, whether those are related to nursing school specifically or in your own personal life. What do you want to talk about when it comes to that and how do you navigate those challenges in life? Yeah, so I remember the first challenge just being kind of touched on, like being completely new to Spokane. But on top of that, I was the first one in my family to go to a four-year university. And so navigating that was extremely difficult for me. All the way up to even applying for colleges on Common App was foreign to me and heavily had to rely on these. students who were taking up volunteer hours at UW who were like offering tutoring sessions for a personal statements like workshop. So little things like that definitely trickled into the college experience and I quickly realized that not everyone has to deal with that. For a lot of people it's very uncommon that they don't have like an older sibling who went through it or parent who can help them with this navigation process. But for me, it was very much like, okay, what the heck do I do now? Like I don't, it wasn't common sense for, or it wasn't common sense to know basic things in college for me. So I think that was like the main struggle. I remember um not knowing that I had to like put chains on my tires in the winter, like little stuff like that, which isn't really equivalent. m I also didn't really know how applications worked or I didn't know the significance of receiving your acceptance letter and then I didn't know that you were supposed to open it with your family or someone else. So did you have this moment where you're sitting in your car opening this letter or something and nobody's around? Like, what happened? I remember I was on my couch and I was like, oh, okay, I got a letter. It's a big package, so I hope it's an acceptance letter. And then it was my Gonzaga University acceptance letter. And then within that package, there was a smaller envelope saying that I got admitted to the nursing program. And I was like, oh, this is what you're supposed to open with your family. Like this is what you're, this is, oops, I probably shouldn't be opening this at. 1230 in the morning. Maybe I should have opened this with my family, but you know, we learned. So tell me, did you put it all back and act like you didn't? uh the next morning I was like, hey mom, I got accepted. Okay, daughter. uh Thanks. Great. uh I did realize like, oh shoot. So little stuff like that. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and I mean, those sort of challenges, it's not like, you know, some people have very big answers to that question, right? Like some have faced some very serious and it's not a matter of big or small because I challenges are challenges and they're going to cause you stress in the moment. They're to cause you, you know what I mean? uh Uncertainty in the moment. So anyone out there who's like, my gosh, you know what I mean? You've listened to an episode where, someone's loved one has died and they're trying to, you know what I mean? Yeah. An incredibly impactful and challenging challenge. But even those day-to-day challenges that you face, and it goes on through life. Obviously, hopefully they get farther and fewer between and maybe hopefully less impactful, but life is filled with challenge. And so don't poo poo whatever challenges you've had to face. Own those, take those and say, you know what, I learned something from that. And then that fuels the next challenge that comes along and you're like, okay, I've faced a challenge, I've conquered a challenge and now I can do the same here, yeah? For sure, for sure. What else is there? Oh, there was multiple times where I had to retake classes. And in the moment, that felt like the end of the world, obviously. um As a freshman, I remember being told like, okay, like if you fail this, you'll be kicked out of the nursing program. If you fail more than two classes, you're out. Like you don't get any grace with that. And so obviously that stressor. as a freshman or as a freshman is just so overwhelming and so scary. And I remember thinking it was the end of the world when I had to withdraw from, I think it was chemistry, my chem class. Exactly. So that gen chem class is hard, you guys. I don't care unless you are a chemistry major or a biochem major. It is hard, especially at Gonzaga University, respectfully. So I remember having to retake that, but obviously like being threatened of, okay, like if you fail any more classes, like you're done. So then came the following year when I ended up having to withdraw from anatomy, the good old A &P. And for everyone wondering like, yeah, I ended up having to retake it at the community college, but... But honestly, I think I learned more about anatomy at this community college than I did at Gonzaga to be honest. I was so much more prepared for nursing because of that, because it was so like, oh, here is how it is applicable to nursing. Whereas maybe at the university, it was very more for, here's for all the majors who are taking it, not just nursing. So. It worked out in the end, everybody. It is not the end of the world, I promise. I promise you. And they did not kick me out. So, it worked out. Mm-hmm. Here I am. Yes. this. also, yeah, under, feel like what kind of fits under that challenges umbrella, you kind of mentioned these two different topics and one of which is feeling overwhelmed to the point of crashing out. What would you want to say about that? that definitely links to almost failing those prereq classes and then the stresses of being alone and being a first-gen student. So that buildup ultimately caused the point of me just breaking down. And for those of you who do not know me, is I don't really cry often. I don't really, uh which I'm working on. I don't really let myself cry that often. There we go. And so getting to this point of everything, little small things building up to the point where I'm just like, I cannot go. I cannot leave my room today. And I need maybe to talk to someone about it, which then prompted, you know, building closer relationships with people. So that's where it is very, very important that you heavily rely on uh your support. system and those friends to kind of uplift you during that time. I just remember uh this is how I know that my people were my people and it was I would FaceTime them crying and I would end the phone call laughing. So little moments like that definitely helps the crashing out and the crashing out consisted of obviously crying, just like not moving. I think it almost got to the point where I was just like punching a pillow, not the wall. yeah, better on the knuckles. right exactly. So getting all those like frustrations and anger out is so important and so needed, especially in a rigorous program like nursing school. I think it's just so important. And let me piggyback off of that because for those that are listening, like, you know, I might be telling you something you already know, but like she's saying, getting those frustrations, getting those anger, that getting that out and punching a pillow. I've punched a pillow or two in my day. Um, never a person and never a wall. Um, but definitely a pillow cause it's soft or my bed. Like that's also a nice, know, um, but the reason, you know, the alternative to that is stuffing those frustrations and those anger, you know, that anger down inside. Which, I'm not gonna lie, works for a little while. um But if you don't allow it to escape, if you don't allow a way to deal with it, if you don't talk about it with either your people or your counselor or whoever, then those will come back. And it is like uh a delayed effect. You either deal with it now while it's small, or you deal with it later when it's grown. Because A, if you've done it with the first feelings of frustrations you have, you'll do it again with more. And so it's kind of like filling that jar of frustration and anger until it will explode in a way you can't control. And I feel like sometimes you see that with people in society. You'll you may be listening to this go, I know someone like that. I know when they finally like, you know, cracked or snapped or whatever, and they did something that's out of character. And that's because we didn't deal with the little things as they came and instead allowed them to become a big thing. Yeah. exactly and unfortunately I had to learn that the hard way right of like oh shoot this is why it's so important to build those healthy habits and coping mechanisms rather than just being taught to bottle all that in and just don't worry about it like it's not a big deal it's not a big deal just forget about it that eventually um over like overflowed I just think of it as like a water bucket of like filling up eventually and then eventually you just reach breaking point where it all spills over and then at that point I can't control it, right? It's just me just being like, I cannot do this. um So definitely rely on your people, rely on your professors if you are fortunate to have a connection like that. And the number one thing that I tell people what I'm gonna get after my first paycheck is a therapist. That is the number one thing I'm gonna invest in. Yes. Oh, such good advice. um So I'm not transitioning to a different subject, so to speak, yet. uh That being said, your little bucket was a perfect segue into what kind of the second topic, which I feel like fits under this challenges bucket, or challenges umbrella. uh so I'm going to just fake sing. one little line and anyone out there who listens to it, you're either gonna be like, what the heck, he has finally lost it, or you're gonna know exactly what I'm talking about. And so this leads into a little topic where, uh, I'm just a little black rain cloud hovering over the honey tree. Uh, so a little Winnie the Pooh for everybody there. One of my absolute favorite, favorite calming videos. And for those that can't see Jenn, she's dying on her end. um But I watched that as a kid growing up at my grandma's house, and so there's also that connection there and whatnot. But that video, everyone saw it, you just pop it in and you just feel good about life. And the reason why I sung that is because the other thing you also wanted to talk about, Jenn, was this black cloud concept. What the heck is that about? So apparently, which I learned this semester, a black cloud is kind of just like this unlucky cloud thing within the nursing profession, I've been told. um So just like a wave of good luck that just happens to follow someone around. And I've been told that it maybe varies week by week or even day by day or shift by shift for that matter. But just like, oh, you have the black cloud today or something like that. And you mean bad luck, yes. You said good luck, so I was like, oh, good luck following. I would like that cloud. That'd be great. Different cloud, wrong cloud. That's okay. The The black cloud though, I've learned, has followed me. Honestly, throughout my entire nursing school rotation, I've been told. And I didn't realize this until I sat down with one of my friends and being like, yeah, like everyone just has this experience during clinical. And then they're both just staring at me with wide eyes being like, no. I have, like, no, that doesn't happen to everybody. And then... All it took was for, you know, someone to turn around and be like, someone said, did you hear about Jenn's experience? What the heck? They're like, have you heard about her clinical rotations? Oh my God. And so little stuff like that has made me realize like, oh, let me talk about this. And so I would like to preface, even back during like our first clinical rotations, it was our med search rotation. I just remember having to deal with uh post-mortem care for the first time. And it wasn't, you know, new, but having to deal with that during one of our shifts was definitely like a different situation, different emotions, right? And it didn't hit me until my nurse, my clinical instructor, and even my peers were texting me being like, are you okay? Like you dealt with a lot, right? And so again, Hopping back on that trend of it's so easy to suppress those emotions. And for me, how to deal with like stressors or hardships would be to like throw myself back into work. So in that situation is like, I'm gonna continue charting. I'm gonna continue writing my CRT. But it's also so important to recognize like, no, I saw and dealt with hard things. I need to talk about it with someone. And so that was just one example of many, but. I didn't realize that that also transitioned to my practicum. And so for preface, everybody, I am really... Eric, you're smiling too much. I'm just kidding. I am... For everybody, some joy in this is I love the NICU. I don't know if you know this, Eric, but... you do. You enjoy the NICU. Fascinating. I wish I would have learned that when you were in OB. Right, I am so gravitated towards the NICU and so I was fortunate enough to get a NICU practicum and then there was this shift where I was fortunate enough to follow Miss Lucy in the NICU who was also an Honored Guest. Don't worry everybody, like as an aside, I don't like literally like, hi, my name is Eric, would you like to be on my podcast? To everyone I know, that is not a thing. um And most people at work know that I don't generally try and talk about it unless somebody brings it up because I don't want to be that guy. uh yeah, so Lucy Rash, who is a guest way back in the single digits, if I recall correctly, one of my very first ones. ah This is who she's referring to, so definitely go back and listen to her episodes as well. But continue, Jenn. So my preceptor wasn't able to make it on that first day. And so my substitute preceptor for my very first day of practicum was Miss Lucy. And she was amazing. She was very much like, okay, I showed you how to do it once, go do it. And I was like, this is new, this is new. But by the end of the shift, I felt so much more confident. And then the next day I was like, okay, I'm ready. I can get. I can do anything in the set down unit. am so prepared. No. That second day came in and I just remember it was like, hi, nice to meet you to my preceptor. She was amazing. I hope that she also does a podcast episode, but we... drop her, absolutely, like 100%. Beautiful, shout out to you, Miss Sierra, you are amazing and I miss you. But so I was with Sierra for the day and it was so interesting being like, hi, nice to meet you. And then being like, okay, we're not going down to the step down unit. We are actually on a one-to-one on a high flow oscillator vent, baby. And so going from the kind of a little more stability on a step down unit to jumping to a one-to-one was like, okay. I can handle anything thrown at me. I got this. But then dealing towards the end of the shift, fetal death. So for everyone who didn't know, it was not my patient, but I remember there was another baby who unfortunately passed. And just the magnitude of that situation weighed on me, honestly, throughout my entire practicum. Because yes. Yes. So jumping from one situation to... the complete opposite was very interesting for me. Interesting and I use that term loosely. And I think that is when I was like, oh shoot, like I'm like, what more do I have to experience at this point? I've seen everything. No, not really. But in that moment it's like, my goodness, like this 180 shift is absolutely insane. And lo and behold, those types of experiences continue to happen during practicum. We had like a situation where we had like three codes in one day and running down to L &D for a NICU code, but also having to call an overhead code in the NICU for an adult. So different experiences like that where I'm kind of like, not everybody has these types of experiences. It's really interesting, but for everybody out there, it is okay. We persevered, we did amazing and guess what? I still love the NICU. There was never a single day during practicum where I would dread going. The only complaint I ever had going into my NICU rotation was, oh, I wish I had an extra hour of sleep. That is the only complaint I ever had. It was never a, I really don't wanna deal with this today. I really don't wanna do this assessment today. It was always just, I was so excited just to be there. I was just smiling, being like. I'm just lucky to be here. Use me however you want, you know? Oh, and that like how you had spoke about the litmus test and that's the word I'm gonna use, know, kind of how to tell when something is true, you know, like you would describe the litmus test, quote unquote, ah for how to determine who your people are. It sounds to me as though this is the litmus test for determining what your passion is, yes? Yeah, awesome. But yeah, no, for everyone out there, like it was the best. I loved every single day in the NICU. And so I'm really also to end on a happier note, I also have some news. Eric, you actually don't even know this. I accepted a new grad position in the NICU. So that is where I will be post grad. No way! Oh my gosh, are you here in town or back in Kent or somewhere else? Yeah! my gosh! I'm so excited! Congratulations! Aww. I would end this black cloud story with a happier note. Well, and it lends itself to, and you've kind of already touched on this, but there was one other thing that you definitely wanted to talk about, and I think that either you've already totally covered it, or you're just gonna, you know, add a little extra, but what is this idea of found family? found family is genuinely your people. I have an amazing relationship with my family. Wasn't always like that, but we worked to get there. So I should preface. Now I have an amazing relationship with my family, but I'm still a believer that blood doesn't mean anything. So for me, it was very much like, these are the people who I choose to have in my life and who I can't imagine. learning and growing from without. And so those are the people you meet in college who you're like, wow, I want to be friends with you throughout my entire adulthood and learning um different people's like walks of life and being like, I want to be a part of that. So I think it's just so important to understand of like, it's a choice. You can choose your family and those are. Fortunately, like my best friends I met at Gonzaga, it is Miss Kim Cline, it is, you know, all these people who have made an impact on my life who I will continuously like hold close, near and dear to my heart. So. yeah, that's incredible. Like, I just love that you, you know, kind of end this on a happy note. And I'm thinking with my, you know what I mean, nursing student brain and that sort of thing. And like, so I imagine that there are students out there that go, okay, Jenn, you've got, like, you've got what you wanted, both in practicum and now in this amazing position you get to go. You've utilized the strength of your found family, but now you're going back home. and then you're going to a new facility that you didn't go to nursing school or you know what I mean practice in or have clinicals in etc. So do you have and I don't know if this is a possible thing do you have practical advice for said listener? They're like okay you're going into this new environment you're talking about this found family what advice would you have how are you going to jump in with both feet as it were? My two cents would be for any other student in this situation of like, you've dealt with nursing school, you've dealt with so many hardships, what could they possibly throw at you that you cannot handle? And so that is kind of my philosophy of going in of like, my goodness, look at everything that I have conquered, everything that I have experienced and learned and grown from, right? All the good, the bad and the ugly, taking all of that uh with me into this new experience at a new facility. And I'm like, at the end of the day, I love learning in the NICU. And so just holding onto that and being like, hey, like this is what you wanted to do. And just being like, you know what? Every single place unit specialty has, you know, the pros and cons or the good, the bad, the ugly. And so guess what? Yours will too. But seeing the negative sides of it and then still wanting to go, that's a telling, you know? That's a sign. Awesome. And then like we said before, using those past challenges to fuel future success. Awesome. So before we close in our traditional manner, was there anything else you haven't touched on that you wanted to share? Ooh, let's see. I would say, actually there is. I would like to share why I went into the NICU. Oh, I love it. Let's go. That's an obvious question. bad host, naughty host. ah But my nephew was a NICU baby, actually. And he was born the first day of freshman orientation, which I genuinely think it was a sign too, right? But kind of just seeing how... That whole process impacted my family, my brother and my sister-in-law and seeing my nephew progress from this 28-weeker all the way to a full healthy baby, you know, was just so tremendous. them, as in like my siblings, talking about how wonderful the nurses were and how good they were to my nephew and to them was very much like, I want to be a part of that. I want to go and see this teamwork and then watching that teamwork in person was through the roof. I have never seen more like well-connected group of nurses that in the NICU and obviously that's biased but watching that watching that was very much like I want to do that. I want to be part of that and another thing was like I initially thought I wanted to go into PEDs and so I was like okay I'm gonna be a pediatric nurse. I've worked with kids you know. since the age of seven years old. I have been involved with kids, taking care of kids. uh And the biggest thing that nursing school taught me was I think I would be an amazing pediatric nurse because I love kids. However, I love kids too much. And that was like kind of a hard lesson that I had to learn through nursing school too, right? Which is like, okay, I... remember every single pediatric patient I've ever had. That's not healthy in the long term, which is something that I was really sad about, like dang it, I thought I wanted to do PEDs, but for my wellbeing and my mental sanity, I cannot because I will bring that home with me. And for NICU, it was very different where it's like, oh, I love, love the unit, love the babies obviously, but I'm able to leave that at work and then not bring that home with me. Whereas like, For Pete's it was like, my gosh, I bring that home with me. So kind of like learning of, okay, this is where I'm meant to be. I feel like I would thrive in this environment, but is it gonna do me more harm than good in the long run? And for casual listener, like that's the, it may sound callous for a nurse or nursing student to say, my gosh, we can leave it at work. We need to be able to leave it at work. You know what mean? When you're in management and stuff like that, sometimes that's not a thing. You're on call for your people, you're doing all the things, whatever, you know, you go up that food chain or whatever. uh But for me, I think one of the things that contribute to the longevity of my career, is that very thing. It's like I will give my 110 % or the best version of myself, even if it's 75 % that day, at work. And then as best as I can, I need to be able to leave it there. And it doesn't always happen, but if you can protect yourself in that fashion, it is not cold, it is not calloused, it is necessary. So please keep that in mind as you move forward. So Jenn, you chose three words to describe nursing school. Remind us, what in the heck were they and why did you pick them? Yeah, so my three words were enlightening, jigsaw, and rigorous. And I'll always start with rigorous. um Nursing school is hard, regardless of what anyone says. um It's not just the academic, of course, because, of course, to that extent, it's going to be challenging to some capacity. But the intensity of what you may or may not experience in the clinical setting and the hardships of excesses studying the again, the hardships of maybe it is academics, right? Like you're learning like these new things. You are learning how to think as a nurse. You are learning a completely new language. And so that is why nursing school is rigorous. The next word is jigsaw. And I use that because again, nursing school forces you to think differently than other programs, right? And so not only are you trying to like navigate college and how to be more independent, but again, you're forced to learn a completely new language, learn new terminology, learning how to balance yourself, but how to be your most authentic self at the same time. And then The word is enlightening and that is because nursing school doesn't just teach you academic material or how to pass the NCLEX, but it forces you to be honest with yourself and to learn about yourself. So for me, it was enlightening in the sense of I learned who my people was. I learned what type of learner I was. You learn what your morals and values are as a person. And so at the end of the day, I think that is like the best word to describe nursing school. Absolutely, and a very apropos way to end your episode, except that I have to know, what is the one piece of advice you want listeners to walk away from after listening to this episode? Yes, and bear with me you guys. My one piece of advice is nothing is more important than your health and well-being. And a little backstory on this is if you've made it this far, I had a teacher in high school, Mr. Vincent. He is by far one of the best teachers I've ever had in my life. And not just because he taught you how to properly write a literary analysis, but he gave me so many life lessons that I didn't understand at the time. But now being a little bit older, I look back and I'm like, oh, this is what he meant. And he had us follow four rules. But the one that was iterated the most was nothing is more important than your health and well-being. And that just translates so well to every aspect of life, right? Where you cannot take care of a patient or someone else if you cannot take care of yourself first. And At the end of the day, there is not one disaster or mistake or good moment that is going to define you as a person or as a nursing student. It is a journey and ultimately you come first. That is perfect. Thank you, Jenn, for dropping the wisdom, for taking some time out of your Saturday morning. I am looking forward to seeing you one more time a week from today at Gonzaga's pinning ceremony. Awesome. Congrats on every front, my friend, and have a lovely rest of your day. Thank you so much.