160 - Eliana Lefkowitz: Big Heart, Big Smile

Join nursing student and Portland, Oregon native Honored Guest Eliana Lefkowitz as she describes jobs she had in high school, who inspires her most in life, challenges she has faced in nursing school including challenging classes that made her question her decision to go into nursing, receiving a life-changing diagnosis, working hard to get accommodations, tips to deal with anxiety, balancing extracurricular activities with nursing school, why she chose nursing, and more!

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Jeff Burton (88 Creative) Planting and watering the seeds to start this podcast

Transcript

0:01

Hello and welcome to this illness-filled episode of the Feeding Our Young® Podcast. Just kidding, we're not really sick, but both of us are kinda coming off the end of whatever's going around this season. And so if you hear a little congestion or maybe some sniffles here and there, don't worry, we've got everything we need. We've got our Kleenex, we're ready to go, and we're gonna have fun regardless, right? But ah I'm gonna stop talking. I cannot wait to introduce this wonderful, wonderful woman in studio. ah She is, we'll just let the cat out of the bag, she's a former student of mine. And on that note, she is currently in nursing school. And on that note, I have to share a little something that, you know, it's the holiday season just wrapped up. in Christmas week right here. And as I do with most people, I'm like, Merry Christmas to you and your family and so on and so forth. And she wrote back and she says, well, Merry Christmas to you too, but we just finished celebrating Hanukkah. And I was like, my gosh, the very thing I preach against where you just are like so my, I literally was like, I'm so sorry for being so myopic, but it was like this narrow perspective and I went, my gosh, what in the world? So anyway, it still happens to the best of us and without further ado, the one, only Miss Eliana. Eliana, how are you this fine morning? I am good, Eric. How are you? I am doing awesome, especially because I get to sit here and chat with you about nursing and that you're willing to take time to do that. Thank you so very much. Yes, thank you for having me. Absolutely. Well enough people have heard my voice enough so it's your turn in your congested manner. Introduce yourself, give us your name and where's home for you? I am Eliana Lefkowitz and home for me is in Portland, Oregon. Nice, and are you home currently? I am currently home, enjoying my time here. Is it just beautifully snowy over there? What's going on? ah It is downpouring, there are flood watches everywhere. I haven't had a dry day since I have been home. Oh, I can attest to this fact because my wife and I, we were able to get away. We flew, we like to go to seaside. We went to seaside for the first time in two years and flew into Portland, drove in and out of Portland with our rental car. And it was just wet, wet, wet and wind. And we loved it. Awesome. Well, I've kind of let the cat out of the bag, but uh where are you attending? When do you plan on getting your degree? I go to the wonderful, awesome Gonzaga University. I will graduate next December, December 2026. So about a year from now and I am ready and excited. So one year out of four years of education, what does that feel like to be able to say that right now? Honestly, it's kind of crazy. I feel like it's gone by really fast. I was just thinking the other day, like, I'm kind of sad to be leaving, but I'm also excited to see where my future takes me and ready to be done with all the studying that there is in nursing school. Studying? What is that? don't... Tests? I don't understand. All right, well before we go down that road, because we have a lot to talk about as far as that goes, what are the three words you chose to describe nursing school? The words I chose was dedication, unpredictable, and opportunity. one in particular. And then what are three of your favorite songs in life right now? Okay, I have a lot of favorite songs, so I tried to narrow it down to the ones that I've been listening on repeat. So I have The Girls by Megan Moroney, Everywhere, Everything by Noah Kahn. I love Noah Kahn. He's one of my favorites. And then I've Seen It by Olivia Dean. Ooh, I can't wait to hear those. I've heard Noah Kahan only because Noah Kahan's name comes up repeatedly on this podcast and I love it. Like I feel like he's got some anthem type songs. Yeah. that's amazing. Well, let's get to know more about you, Eliana. First of all, tell us whatever you want to share with us about your lovely family that's there in Portland and or maybe elsewhere. Yes, so I have my mom, Shira, my dad, Marty. I have a little brother, he is about to turn 18. His name is Koby. He will be attending Oregon State next year, so that's very exciting. And go Beavers! And I have a half-sister, Park. She lives in Missouri and basically all the rest of my family, grandma, aunts, uncles, cousins, they all live in Missouri because both my parents are actually from there. So I was just over the break and that was super excited, super great to see all of them. That is so cool and not really that close to Oregon or Portland for that matter. No, uh, mention that I have a lovely little six-year-old dog. Her name is Lola. She is a rescue from Mexico. She's a COVID pandemic doggy, and I love her so, so much. And I always get so excited to come home and see her. Oh, wait, what kind of breed is she? We have no idea. She is probably multiple types. She has really big ears, but she's like furless on her belly and maybe she's really fast too. So maybe some type of like shepherd mix, but we haven't done one of those DNA tests. So we're really not sure. Oh, Lola, Lola the mystery dog, that's awesome. So before getting to nursing school, I imagine you've done some work for yourself. What have you done in your past, my friend? Uh I have done a few different jobs throughout high school. I worked at, if you know, Kona Ice, the ice crea- or shaved ice place. I worked there for a summer. That was fun. I have- I've done babysitting all my life. Not all my life, since I was 12-ish. But uh for the past few summers and like throughout the school year when I had been home, that's my main thing that I do is nannying and I love my little kids. Oh. I've babysat several different families and I also was a camp counselor at a gymnastics place that I used to do gymnastics at that place. So it's kind of cool to go back and be a counselor there. But really all these things that I do, they involve kids because I just I love kids and I love hanging out with them. Oh, that is so cool. And I don't, we'll, we'll talk about whether or not that informs your future as a nurse or not, but we'll cross that bridge in a bit. You talk about gymnastics though, which tells me you like to move. And I have a hunch that that played into one of your other, I don't even want to, I feel like it's a disservice to call it a hobby, but what else are you passionate about outside of nursing school, Eliana? I am a dancer. I have been dancing since maybe I was eight. I did a little when I was younger and then switched to gymnastics and then I played soccer. I was horrible at soccer. uh I would, I'd get out on the field. had these bright yellow shorts and blue sparkly shoes and my pink shin guards and I was just horrible. Horrible. So then I found my love for dance. uh I danced at a studio until I was in eighth grade and then I tried out for my high school dance team and I made the team and that was that was a big dream of mine because I grew up watching this dance team. My dad worked for work was is a teacher and he works for the school that I went to high school at and so it was just really cool to be on that team and I was on the team for four years and I was a captain my senior year. And we I I don't mean to brag, but I think we were pretty good. We won a state championship my senior year, so that That was pretty awesome. And then coming into college I did not want to give up dancing and One of I would say there's a few reasons I chose Gonzaga But one of the reasons was for their awesome hip-hop team The Bomb Squad don't know where that name came from But we are the bomb squad and I have been on the team for the past four years and this is my last year and I am very sad to be leaving the thing that I love um but it has been awesome and we danced for the Zags, we danced for men's women's basketball, we traveled to Vegas for the WCC tournament and it's just been a blast and my teammates are so awesome and yeah it's been the best four years. Oh man, well thank you for sharing that and I will attest they are absolutely fantastic. The Mrs. and I caught a game here recently and I was like, I'm texting Eliana, I'm like, you guys are so good. Like it's so crazy. It almost sparks a little bit of envy in me because I do not have a single dancing bone in my body. So kudos to you for being able to move like that. Well with that then, uh let's kind of dabble into some nursing discussion here. And I've been at this kind of segue is into it, but I loved your answers to these questions. So a two part question. The first one is who inspires you most in your regular non-nursing life? My parents are one of the biggest inspirations to me. They're both teachers and they are both undeniably so supportive of me and everything I do. Dance school, grades, pretty much anything. And they really teach me to advocate for myself and always try my best and even if I don't do something perfectly as long as I tried my best, that's really all they care about. They teach me to stand up for what is right and just help me enjoy the little things in life and they've really been there for me, I mean all throughout my life, especially uh in college I feel like it's hard when you you live far away from your family but I still feel that support and I talk to them all the time and they always have little encouraging things to say to me and they always text me before a test or ask me how I'm doing and I really feel the support. from miles away. That is incredible. And I'm sure there are a lot of people out there that can identify with that. And a lot of people who are like, man, I wish I had your family. So that's incredible. And it sounds like it's something you definitely don't take for granted, correct? Yes, for sure. that's awesome. So, I mean, obviously they're going to be a source of inspiration for you along your nursing school journey, but there was someone else you wanted to give a shout out to who inspires you most in the nursing field. Yes, I'm going to give a shout out to one of my really good friends, Claire Davidson. She's a 2025 GU grad. And I actually met her through Bomb Squad freshman year. She was a sophomore. And I just like knew instantly when I met her and found out that she was a nursing major that she was definitely going to be an inspiration to me. And she is one of the biggest support systems to me in college. Her and my awesome roommates who three of them are also nursing majors as well and we kind of just go through this experience together. But Claire is, she always cheers me on. She lives in Colorado so she's very far away right now and it's hard to, you know, not go through college this year with her. But I still feel her support and you know when I didn't do good on a test or even when she didn't do good. She was the first person to call me. We went and got ice cream one night because I couldn't stop crying after an exam grade. She's awesome. She's there to support me through the good and the bad. uh She is always one of the first people I call after a test, be like, got this score, or I finished, I passed my skills exam, or my gosh, guess what happened in clinical today? She really encourages me never to give up and I'm just so grateful to have somebody like that and just yeah to feel that love and I feel that love for my roommates too. We're all there for each other and they are 8 semester nursing majors so they will be graduating a semester before me and it's going to be really, I know it's going to be really hard not to have them as that but I know that they'll still be in my support system even when they're not at school with me. And it's really you're emphasizing that key aspect of having someone whether it's family friend roommate whatever That you can experience the highs and lows with and they understand you, right? Yes, for sure. That is awesome. That is awesome. So then, mean, golly, Eliana, until you said something about crying after a test grade, which obviously all of us have been there, but until you said that, it sounded like everything was just nice and smooth and hunky-dory. So I'm kind of surprised. Did you face any challenges in nursing school so far? I have faced many challenges. Many. Talk to us about him, shall you? So I would say, so I, in high school, I was a perfectionist and I got straight A's all throughout high school. I ended up being one of the valedictorians for high school. I, thank you, and I knew that coming into college, I knew it was gonna be different. uh I did not expect it to go a little bit downhill so quickly. I think it was my second semester. freshman year I took chemistry which was one of the required classes. and I really struggled and it was just a concept that you know it was really hard to me and it was hard to me in high school but I ended up getting an A in high school and you know I was in office hours I was in tutoring and I just could not get good exam grades and I was really feeling defeated because I was coming from high school being straight-A student and then I got my first C or even a D on my test and my grade plummeted in the class and I was like, what is happening? This is not who I am. And so it was a big learning curve and I ended up having to I think I maybe didn't pass chemistry by a few points, which really angered me. But you know, I retook it the next semester and I ended doing much better in the class and so I was like okay I'm on my way and then I got to the big kicker anatomy. I Before you keep going with that like you mentioned chemistry and I promise you half the audience butt-puckered because they're like, oh Chemistry and then now you're going right into like the like from out of the frying pan into the fire, right? like so I just I I do appreciate you opening up that way though because Chemistry like legit even for me, you know, it sounds very similar as far as like straight a student that sort of thing I had no problem with that business got a bit of senioritis in high school and so like a couple of those grades reflected that. And then I went into what I was thinking was going to be pre-med and jumping in and chemistry was one of the classes at my local community college. And I never forget, like I ended up pulling like I think a C or no, I think the very first time I tried to take it, I had to withdraw because I was focusing on other things outside of school, know, potential love interests, et cetera, that it was like, I just was not dialed in. And so you talking about this. is literally transporting me back in time. thanks for being transparent about that. Now, in the fire of A &P. Yeah, so I knew that anatomy was gonna be hard. Everybody said, oh this is the class, this is the weed out class, you know, and I was determined and I ended up doing, I got a C the first semester and I knew that I was like, okay, I passed, barely, but that was, mean, besides chemistry, I'm like what is happening to my grades? I was doing well in all my other classes, but it's just these few hard classes that I was like I have never gotten these grades in my life. Like I thought this was I thought I was gonna get you know maybe like a B. I would be fine with that. Not a C, not a C minus. uh So that was you know really made me like question nursing a little bit and like am I cut out for this? But I um went to the second semester and this is the semester that I ended up not passing. I got a C-. So let me ask you this, Eliana. Then you talk about getting these grades, these Cs, these deep potential Ds that you're not used to seeing. And like you said, you have straight As. Do you feel like that was like, did you have kind of almost a crisis of identity in that moment? I would say yes. I definitely questioned if I should continue nursing that year, but I have wanted to do nursing for forever and I knew that I just needed to push through. That was hard, but I was really, at the time, what do I do? I was really struggling trying to figure out what to do in that year. And I mean, would be nice if it was just a simple matter of I just got to try harder. uh rumor had it, you kind of discovered something along the way that maybe gave shed some more light as to why you were having these difficulties, correct? Yes, so I... I think that I've always had a little bit of anxiety, but I was officially diagnosed with anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder sophomore year. I also had severe testing anxiety and I think that it was, you know, honestly making me like a tiny bit depressed because I was getting all these bad grades and I, what was happening was I felt like I didn't have enough time to really think through my answers on these tests because I would understand a lot of the content and then I get to the test and I feel like I'd run out of time or I was like I am having trouble deciphering these select all that apply or multiple choice answers and so I also was diagnosed with severe testing anxiety and what they don't what they don't tell you is how hard it actually is to get an accommodation at school and how long it takes so Yeah, it took me, I didn't, I think I found out, uh... closer to the end of first semester or sophomore year that I had this anxiety like so badly and I was able to get on some medication and I was seeing a therapist at the time and I was trying to work with him to see if I could get an accommodation and he really just didn't think that I needed an accommodation so I had to go through multiple different people to try and help me and it took honestly a few months to get an which I don't know some people don't know that but it really took a while and so I that I partially give my not passing anatomy to all this that was going on uh because when I retook it I did much better Yeah, and fairly so, it sounds like. I, I, and, and, I mean, let me ask you this, and it sounds like a very obvious question, but was that effort of getting those accommodations worth it? Completely. They have been so helpful to me. I've had them since sophomore year and I think that it's really helped me in nursing. So listeners, if you're like, man, I just need to push harder, I just need to try harder, I just need to, there might be something that needs to be addressed that is greater than just a simple matter of putting in more effort. And so Eliana, I'm sure I'd thank you for being transparent in that regards. And also, you've got, in a year, you're talking NCLEX, right? So I imagine that you are going to be pushing for those similar accommodations for when you sit for that exam, is that correct? Yes, and I actually listened to somebody else that was on your podcast and they were saying uh how hard it was to get an accommodation for the uh NCLEX and that she really pushed for what she needed and so now I have that in mind and I know how I can get those for the NCLEX. Yes, and you do it, you do it, and it definitely can make the difference as, and I don't know, are you referring to Aysia? Yes, Aysia Ramos, everybody go back and listen to her episode as well, because she was very transparent about coming on and saying, I did not pass the NCLEX the first time. And then she said, but I also didn't think because of how hard it was to get the accommodations for school. She thought it would be similarly difficult. for the NCLEX and she says it actually turned out to be much easier but totally worth whatever effort it took because it was literally the difference between her failing and passing the NCLEX. She passed on the second time. Hate to give away the end of the story but I mean it's but it's a real thing right Eliana? Yes, for sure. And I think it's something that, you know, a lot of people maybe don't know and if I can be that help to somebody who is fighting for those accommodations or trying to get that, then I'm glad that I can do that for everybody. Yeah, and I guarantee you someone's gonna listen to you going, my gosh, that sounds like me. Like my grades have changed and I don't know why and they shouldn't because I'm an adult and da da da. Guess what? Things happen. The brain chemistry changes and all the things. And sometimes there are some later diagnoses in life that can change how you have to approach life. And so thank you so much for sharing that. I also would love, I don't wanna skip out of this challenges section here without discussing. uh what you brought to the table as far as how else have you navigated those challenges that you faced in life? I have tried many different things to try and calm my nerves. I eventually realized that I needed to get on some type of medication to help with that anxiety. But beyond that, I do have some things that kind of regulate me. I love working out. I I do dance a lot. So that is one of my de-stressors. But also just working out in general. I love going for walks. My roommates and I will take walks every so often and it's really nice to just get outside and you know take a break from everything. ah I'm also gotten into journaling which has I think really helped. Just writing everything down. That's something that my therapist taught me and honestly like I've sometimes I won't even journal about like school or nursing. I just write things down and it's it's really helpful to just see it like on paper and get all my thoughts out so I'll often do that before I go to bed just so I have like a clean slate before I go to sleep for the night and I found that to be really helpful and yeah and listening to music too is always good for the soul and I listen to lots of music so that has been a big help too. Now let me ask you, when you say writing things down, are you referring to taking notes on an iPhone or literally pen to paper, pencil to paper? I literally have, I think I have three journals at school and they all have like different things in it. One of my roommates got me this like gratitude journal and so I sometimes if I'm like, okay, I need to write down what I'm thankful for. Like I'm just feeling that way. I'll write in that one. Or I have another journal. I think my roommate freshman year, her mom gifted it to me and I didn't pick it up until last year and I was like, I forgot about this. And so now I just, you know, write. about my life down, literally pen to paper, this, talking about this also just made me think that I have a ritual that I do before every test. It kind of goes along with journaling. I've been doing this since I got into upper division nursing, Before every single test, will write, I will sit down, I take my test in the library, so I'll sit down, I write out everything I'm feeling on my phone, and it's really just helped me, I write down that I've studied, that I'm smart, you know, that... The powers beyond will help me get through this and I will can like I have succeeded I've gotten this far so I really I just write down everything that I'm feeling and I also shout out to my pink sweatshirt I wear the same sweatshirt for every single test since uh sophomore year I think and oh I love that sweatshirt. It has been put to great use. It's pink. It's awesome. I think that other people in our class have honestly started wearing pink because of me. My friends have told me that. but... But yeah, mean just, you know, writing things down and seeing it on something that's not in your brain, I think has just really helped me throughout my whole journey. Wow. I okay, so on a shallow note, and then a deeper note, let's flip that deeper note than the shallow note. So like, I just love that even whether it's pen to paper, or you're talking like on your phone before a test, like, I'm so glad you said what you said, because what I was gonna say, it was like you were reading my mind is like when you journal, and or do that exercise prior to a test. I feel it serves two purposes. One, writing stuff down helps organize, right? Obviously a lot of people have lists and things of that nature is what I got to do today. Check marks, crossing off, whatever, but also like writing down your thoughts, like you said, seeing them on paper. So it's not only organizing, but it's also a, for lack of a better term, emptying, right? You get this internal like whatever, and you're able to kind of maybe, there's just this transference that occurs out of your hands and into the... phone app or into onto paper that kind of allows you to free some part of yourself so you can focus on whatever it is you're trying to focus on. Would that sound accurate? Yes, and I am a very detail-oriented type A to the max person. I think having that organization and just emptying it out from my brain, it just really helps to have all my thoughts in one place that isn't in my brain. That is so, cool. And that is the deeper end of it. The shallow response to that also was like, I don't like, you've already sent me your episode tile photo and I'm like, now we need a new one with you and your pink sweatshirt. Like that should be your episode tile. So I'll leave that up to you. You guys, if you see her episode tile and it looks like it's got a pink sweatshirt in it, then she did it. And if not, that's fine too, because her pictures are amazing. uh With that then, I mean, it's, you we kind of touched on the challenges there. I can think of one other challenge that sounds less intimidating for that, for lack of better term, but how did you, I think that's something you wanted to talk about and how you balance your extracurricular activities with the demands and rigor of nursing school. Yeah, so I mean the biggest extracurricular I have is Bomb Squad, the dance team. That is basically the only other thing that I have going on outside of nursing. It is, I would say it's a big time commitment. yes, we practice two times a week. The practices are 8.30 to 11 p.m. So they are very late at night. Yeah, and like, I mean, you're talking a chunk of what could be study time, right? Yes, so I have kind of... Developed a routine that really helps me, you know to balance these two and there are times that it gets hard definitely for sure I would say my freshman and sophomore year it was a little bit easier because I didn't have you know clinicals and Lab that I needed to go to and skills testing and all this other things that come with upper division but I think that last year was really like, I was like, okay, I really need to have a plan. I really need to balance my time, which I think that I've always been pretty good at time management. uh But you know, college is a different scenario. It's different than high school. And I did dance even in high school and that took up a lot of my time, but I didn't have as much other things going on. And so, uh I had a few nursing majors on the team before me, my friend Claire and then a few other nursing majors and I really kind of... took them as inspiration and like asked them like how are you doing this? Like how are you balancing? And they're like you just really got to manage your time well and you got to like have everything in place and I was like okay and so now I pride myself on like I will not study the morning of a test and there are times that I have practice before a test and it's really it's hard Sometimes because I'll be there like thinking about well I could be using this time to study But I don't study great late at night, and so I'm like okay 8:30 that is my cutoff That's when I'm going to practice this I'm not thinking as much as I want to be thinking about school and my test that I have tomorrow morning I'm focusing on dance. I'm focusing on my teammates. I'm in this space and I even I've had times this past year. I think that clinical is as it's gotten a little bit harder, I've had times where I'm still kind of thinking about what happened at clinical if I had a rough day. It's really hard sometimes to leave it at the door when I have teammates that don't know what, they do not know what I went through that day. If I even give a little bit of information, like they still don't really know the extent to what happened. And it's hard to not have people like, on the team that really like get that, but also I'm like, I am in this other space. This is not school nursing space. I need to put it to the side. And that's been something that I think I've had to learn this past year. And there has been days that I like came into practice crying because of something that happened or I'm so tired from my, you know, 12, 13 hour shift. And then I go straight to practice. It's rough sometimes, but I I just really like, I manage my time well and I use active studying during, to study for my tests and so I'm not cramming at the last minute and I really, I just leave like, I'm like okay. What's done is done, I've done when I can and you know, I have this time I'm gonna focus on dance. there's, we also have games throughout the week and I will use those as my break and sometimes I do even end up bringing my iPad or my computer to study and it is what it is. Sometimes I have to ignore my teammates for a little bit uh but when I am dancing, that is my break. That's my de-stressor. It's what I love to do. I don't think my college experience would be the same if I didn't have Bomb Squad. I've met so many awesome people through that and it's just it's been really awesome to continue to dance and hip-hop is my favorite style and so I'm doing the thing that I love most and you really need to have something that you love and away from nursing like it cannot consume your whole life and I've really I've learned I've it the hard way. I tried to have it consume my life. I like, need to get this grade. I need to study 24-7. And I do study a lot for sure, don't get me wrong. But that's my time, that's me time away from everything else. And I am so glad that you emphasize that because I can't tell you how many students I meet, whether it's via the podcast or through teaching or whatever the case may be that are, you know, we've had nursing students on cheer. We've had, you know, now bomb squad nursing student. We've had nurses, students who are working nursing students whose roommates are like, we need to get, you need to get out. You need to get out and watch a movie. We need to go do something and get your mind off of nursing school. And time and time again, every single student that does that says it helps them. In your mind, you get caught up in, I've got to study, I've got to do this, I've got to do that. And I got it. And you're right. If you do that 24/7 you're going to crash and burn. Maybe you'll pass. Maybe you'll pass. I can't say you won't, but you will not have as enjoyable of an experience, let alone having those releases where you can go, okay, I love that you just say, I set it at the door. I'm leaving nursing school over here and I'm gonna do what makes me happy for a minute. And obviously within reason, right? You're not gonna go so far the other way that you're ignoring your responsibilities, but you are doing the thing that is that stress release for you, yeah. Yes, for sure. awesome. So Eliana, before we close in our traditional manner, I'm doing things in backwards order. ah And I really kind of I love like, why nursing? Why did you end up in the nursing profession? So I would say that I have wanted to do something in the medical field from a very young age. uh I would say something that really pushed me to do nursing was I had this class in high school and it was called the Health Sciences class and it was at a professional technical center that was like part of our school district. It was a really awesome experience. But from freshman year in high school, I started with Intro to Health Science and then I moved on to Health Science 1 and then Health Science 2. And keep in mind my junior year was half of sophomore year and all of junior year was COVID year. And then senior year we were back to school, but things looked a little bit different. uh I applied to be part of the internship program my senior year through this professional technical center. And it was just an awesome experience. I got in. We didn't get to do a ton of rotations because we working with the hospitals during COVID and all that. But, and I didn't get placed in the rotation that I wanted. I was placed in radiology, but I was also placed in a pediatric facility. And just doing like patient care just really made me want to do nursing, I think. That's like the biggest reason why I love nursing is that patient care aspect and really like developing a relationship with your patients. I never really wanted to be a doctor because I didn't like that they don't really spend that much time with their patients. ah And so that's a big reason why I chose nursing. And I also, I think my why is that I just really, I want to be with people on their most vulnerable days. I want to be by their side for whatever they need and helping to like be part of a healing process. It really brings me joy and gratitude and just being there for somebody. I mean, I was there for seeing a life be born and OB and that was just amazing. And also going to MedSurg and then being with people who are older and you know, are unco- care. It's really just, it's hard either way, but being there with people, um it's just, it really makes me happy and I've been told that I have a really big heart and sometimes I get asked like, you're so smiley, like why do you smile all the time? And I really, like if I can be a smile to somebody who maybe isn't having their best day or is, you know, having one of their worst days, just knowing that I can bring a little bit of joy to them is like really something special to me and that is basically my why of nursing. That is the most awesome answer ever. Like I love, I'll attest to the big heart, big smile, because every time she'd come to clinical, you were there smiling, ready to go. I'm like, I know you have a real life and I know things happen in that real life, but from a perspective of a clinical instructor, we never would have known. You know what I mean? Like you were there ready to give your all to your patients and that is just gonna make you one of the most incredible nurses ever. Thank you so much. That's really, really special to me. You're... No, it's very welcome. It's very evident. And so with that big heart and big smile, where are you going to take that in the future? you... It sounds like you've touched on Peds, a little bit OB, you've talked Med Search. Do you have an idea where you're headed? So you're gonna love me for this. I have a very strong interest in postpartum. really, you know, going into my OB clinical, I was like labor and delivery. Like that is what I wanna do. I fell in love with postpartum. I just, really loved it. And I think that is what I wanna do in the future. Yes, I mean, know, biously speaking, it's one of the best fields out there, just saying. All right, all right, all right. Enough talking up our own field here that we love, but Eliana, you chose three words to describe nursing school. What were they and why did you choose them? I picked dedication, unpredictable, and opportunity. I think we'll start with dedication. I picked that because... Nursing school is challenging. It is probably one of the hardest things I've done in my life so far, but you have to be dedicated. You have to be dedicated to your work, your own success in order to make it through. if you, you can't slack off if you don't, I mean, you can, you can have a life at nursing school. It is possible, but if you fall behind, you, you need to have that priority, that nursing school, like you are here to get your degree. And also it's expensive. Like I, I'm dedicated because it's something I want to do and it's also you know I am paying for my education and I want to get I want to be dedicated to that and put in all my effort that to succeed So that's why I chose dedication I also chose unpredictable nursing is the whole field is very unpredictable. You never know what's gonna happen Especially I would say in clinical I've had extremely hard days where my patients are not doing well But I've also had extremely rewarding days, just like, you know, I saw the reverse in OB clinical and that was just such a rewarding experience to see. ah And you know, sometimes events don't go as planned. We'll be like in clinical conference and we'll hear code blue over the speaker and it ended up, you know, there was a time that it ended up being one of my classmates' patients and they ended up passing away. you know, there's very events. Tests are very unpredictable. You can study extremely hard and the test can just kick your butt. That's happened to me so many times. But on the flip side, you can also put in all that work and do extremely well. And that has also happened to me. So nursing school, it's very unpredictable. And the last word I chose was opportunity. There's so many opportunities in nursing. There's so many connections you like this. I never would have done this if I, you you weren't my clinical instructor, so there's an opportunity. me, I'm pausing you right there, because what did you tell me before we started recording? just love it. It was specifically about what your mom and dad said to you. Yeah, I'm typically a very shy person. uh I think college in general has brought me out of my shell, but I decided to do this podcast because you were talking it up and I listened to some episodes and I came back home and I told my parents like, hey, my clinical instructor, he has podcasts and I'm gonna, I think I'm gonna be on the podcast. And they were so surprised because this is like, this is very out of my comfort zone. actually never in a million years thought I'd be doing this because I hate public speaking, but I just, I really felt like I had a good story to share and I wanted to inspire other nursing students and so that's why I decided to do it. then I guarantee you that courage is going to pay dividends to someone else who's listening. anyway, enough with the interruption. You continue uh on this topic of opportunities. Sorry. Yeah, so uh there's lots of new experiences, clinical, uh know, outside of clinical. There's opportunities to get to meet people uh for jobs. uh I have a roommate who does nurse tech. She got that opportunity through nursing school. ah I have met so many new friends. I actually have met a few people that are from the Portland area that I didn't even know lived here before coming to college. I have friend, he also was in your clinical group, Santi. He lives in Salem and we carpool home all the time and I didn't know him before then but there have been several times that we carpooled home so that's just fun to get to meet new people. I have a friend from high school that's in nursing with me so that's cool. I met all my wonderful roommates and there's so many different opportunities. that nursing school brings. I just love that and yes shout out to Santi Santi's a good guy if you have him as your nurse y'all you're gonna be in good hands but I say that pretty much of all my students anyway cuz golly like you guys are all just you're cream of the crop man and whether or not you start out that way you end up that way and I just love it every cohort is just incredible ah but with that You have one last thing. somebody walks away, you want one thing for them to carry with them for the rest of their lives after listening to your episode, what would that be? I would say my biggest piece of advice would be that it's okay to have a different journey than your classmates. My journey, I'm sure, is way different than a lot of people in my class, and that's okay. I have hit many bumps and detours along the way, but that doesn't make me any less of a nurse. These setbacks are probably gonna help me in my future, and I mean, they're... People have so many different struggles that they go through and I shared mine. But a quote that my friend told me, I think this was sophomore year she told me, it was that I might have learned something the second time around that could save my patient's life one day. And I always take that into mind. It's always stuck with me ah because I think that it's just so important to know that like, Even if you had to do something multiple times, you're still gonna be a good nurse. Nursing is not all about, I mean, you need to know your knowledge, but it's also about empathy and kindness and being there for your patients and it's okay to have bumps along the way in your journey. You're gonna end up in the same spot as the rest of your peers. So very well said. Eliana, you are such an inspiration, even just to me sitting here listening to you. I am honored to have been able to spend an hour or so of our time together this morning. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you so much for having me on the podcast. This is so fun and I'm glad I went out of my comfort zone and did this. oh still glad after you hear it, know, after I make it say different thing. I'm just kidding. ah No, I thank you so much and I hope you enjoy the rest of your wonderfully well-earned break. Thank you.