176 - Paige Gladstone: Do Everything on Purpose for a Purpose

Join current student and Gig Harbor, Washington native Honored Guest Paige Gladstone as she discusses the importance of balance and self-care, having the encouragement of her older sister having gone before her, her incredibly supportive parents, what values she instills into the students she mentors, why she chose nursing, the value volunteering brought, meaningful patient connections, her future plans post graduation, her practicum experience, her advice for succeeding in practicum, her practical pointers for navigating night shift, how it feels being on the precipice of graduating, and more!

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Transcript

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Hello and welcome to this episode of the Feeding Our Young® podcast. I'm gonna talk about me just for the whole episode. I'm just kidding. But I am gonna talk about me ever so briefly because I'm sure some people, I've had some people like, um Eric, when are you running again? You used to run all these half marathons and now you're a lazy slob. And I say to them, yes, I am. I just sit on my couch, I cross stitch and I eat ice cream. And my body's shown it, my health has shown it. But it's been a much well-deserved and needed break. I literally ran yesterday for the first time in five and a half weeks. Or five and a half months. Five and a half weeks. my gosh. Five and a half weeks would be like, woo! ah No, five and a half months. And that was the first break I took in over three years. So there you are, everybody. On the slow path to getting back to running my half marathons. I'm going to try not to be as obsessive about them this year as I have been in years past. as our Honored Guest currently could attest to, ah because she may or may not have been a former student of mine and may or may not have had to deal with listening to me talking about running half marathons, because I love them. But enough about me. That was it. One minute. I allowed one minute about myself. The rest of this, I promise you, is about the most amazing human you're going to meet today, which is one Paige Gladstone. You are welcome, Paige. Good morning and welcome to studio. How are you? great. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited. Oh, I'm just so glad to have you. And I reached out to Paige. like, you know, I'd love to just chat with you about nursing on the podcast. She's like, I would be honored. So we're trying to work on that. I'm not that direct when it comes to that. And so maybe I should just start being more direct, huh, Paige? Yes, I think so. Very happy you asked me. And I'm very happy that you are very happy that I asked you. So I told her I'm going to start asking students one by one, just in life. And I'll just be like, Paige said you would. And they'll be like, who's Paige? Anyway, uh so Paige, let's get to know you. uh Who are you and where is home for you? So I'm from Gig Harbor, Washington. It's about like 45 minutes south of Seattle. Beautiful little city by the water, which I love. I go to Gonzaga University. I'll be graduating this May, which I'm really excited for. So I'm almost done with nursing school, which is a big achievement and I'm ready to be done. We often joke, especially, you know, being an OB background, we joke about uh nursing school being like being pregnant. And when you get to near the end, everybody just wants to be done. Like, let's get it over with. Let's get this out. my gosh, that's amazing. Well, congratulations to you. We're going to unpack what that feels like here in a little bit. But before we do, what are the three words you chose to describe nursing school? I would say challenging, exhausting, but at the same time, very rewarding. Oh, I love it. And then your three favorite songs in life right now. Well, Harry Styles, who's like my favorite artist ever, other than, well, him and Taylor Swift are like my favorites, but he came out with a new album. So my favorite songs right now are Taste Back, Carla's Song, and American Girls. Love Harry Styles. Well done. And I'm going to sadly admit that ah not that I'm not a Harry Styles fan, but that I'm not familiar with his music. And the only thing that I'm truly familiar with with him was his cameo appearance in a Marvel movie at the end of a Marvel movie. I was like, what? They brought him in as some comic character that I'm not f- I don't know. And it was like, Harry Styles coming out of nowhere to be in this, like, he's gonna be in a future Marvel movie? I don't know. So crazy. That was a random side quest of his. He also runs marathons. That's what he was doing on his break between albums. He was running marathons all over the world. So he's a crazy guy like me! Alright, okay, I gotta start listening. I gotta listen to some Harry Styles music then. So speaking of running and hobbies and the things that keep us sane in the midst of this crazy thing we call life, what are some of the hobbies that keep you sane? Ooh, I love crafting. I feel like I kind of took a break from it. It's hard like during nursing school to find the time to do it. But something I've been doing this year, which has been fun, is scrapbooking, like my senior year, which has been really fun. I also love like sewing, embroidery, over breaks. I like to do that, make my friends like gifts, which has been really fun. And then working out keeps me sane for sure during the school year, just getting all the stress out. I love going to like bar classes, thing classes with my friends, all that. But yeah, self-care and balance is so important during nursing school because otherwise it's just, it's a lot. Yeah, you have the potential to literally lose your mind. So then if someone's like, my gosh, it does sound like you still do quite a few things whilst in nursing school. How would you uh advise them? How do you balance that out? Well, I probably could do a better job of balancing things out. I don't really Yeah, spend as much time like Crafting as I'd love to working out. I do a better job with that just because I've just built it into my routine um but just kind of like finding I don't know boundaries of like Like I'll be like, okay I'm gonna study until this time and whatever I get done is what's gonna get done and then I'm gonna go to the gym and then that's gonna be my night so just trying to like know that you can't get everything done all at once and it's okay to take breaks and care for yourself because at the end of the day, even though you're maybe not doing schoolwork, it's gonna end up helping you do better in the long run when you're taking care of yourself, which I've found is a very helpful tool. Yes, and I mean, I'd want you to say it again. It's okay to take breaks, right? my gosh. oh it's so important because you're right. Let me ask you this then. When you're doing those things that are not nursing school related, your hobbies, working out even, for example, are you pretty much able to shelve all your nursing school stuff? Like compartmentalize it and put it away and then like focus on your task at hand. I think so, And like, it's, I don't know, I feel like when you're like, in this thick of it and you're like stressed out, I'm like, yes, like I want to take this break or like workout so I don't have to think about nursing school or the stress of it. So yeah, I try to like separate those parts of my life so I can get a break, but at the same time, it is hard to take breaks. And I feel like I've, I've tried to work on that because there's just so much to do and you're just so busy. But, um, No, I appreciate you saying that because I ask it more from a personal standpoint because, you know, I go on a run and I'm part of the running is to keep me sane in life, right? There's all these uh issues that I got to deal with or, you know what I mean, our responsibilities that are, you know, life just keeps life and I start runs oftentimes like, especially if there's something deep or going on in our life or whatever this last summer, I'm like, I can't stop thinking about it. And that lasts when I run 13.1 miles. It only lasts for about two or three miles, which is about a half hour. And at that point, I just am suffering too much. And it's like, OK, I'm focused on my body, and we're just dialed in now. So I'm glad to hear, that you, because it is. It's important to compartmentalize those things sometimes and to be like, OK, I am giving this time to my friends. I'm giving this time to my family, to my workout, to my hobby, whatever the case may be. And gosh, you guys, like you have permission to say, Like if someone is like, oh, you know, we need to study, da-da-da-das. Oh, I can't, I have an appointment at that time. You don't have to say that the appointment is for you. But it's an appointment. It's an appointment. Well, speaking of the people in your life, family, friends, et cetera, what do you want to share about your family? Well, I have an amazing family. My mom, dad, my sister and I. My sister, she's two years older. She also went to Gonzaga and is a pediatric nurse. So she's been a big role model and mentor, which is just so nice to have because I don't know, I'm a mentor for em a couple like lower division nursing students. And I just like, I hope to give them the advice that my sister gave me because It's just nursing school so different from just any other like college experience that I feel like unless you've gone through it, you don't quite understand it or like, I don't know. It's just nice to have someone validate like your feelings. Like I remember, I think uh a lot of people can relate to the first vital signs exam when I was like, I can't take a manual blood pressure. Like this is the end of the world. And I remember talking to my sister and I'm like, I don't know if I can do this. Why is this so hard? I don't know. And she's like, no, you got this. Everybody feels overwhelmed. Everybody is unsure. It's all new. It's all different. But you can do it. And I feel like having that advice and seeing that my sister could do it and she did it successfully throughout nursing school and she's successful as a pediatric nurse, I don't know. It gives me motivation hope that I can do it too. So it's been really nice having her be there. And then my parents and the rest of my family, my aunt, she's a nurse as well. So it's nice talking to her about things and her reflecting back on her clinical experiences. But it's just really grateful, or I'm very grateful to have such a supportive family. because yeah, nursing school is hard. And so having people who want the best for you and who believe in you even when you're like, I don't know if I can do this, uh is really great. And I don't think I would be able to be where I am today without them. I mean, you need people to believe in you when you don't believe in yourself, right? That's why we can't do this thing called nursing school as an island unto ourselves. You just can't. And just briefly, that whole vital sign exam thing. Yeah, I feel like that's a very ubiquitous experience for every single person, because I distinctly remember being terrified. Yep. that whole thing like my gosh I can't get and it's the blood pressure right you can get everything else typically yes! But now I've done it like so many times that like anytime someone's like, I need a manual blood pressure, I'm like, I got it. Like, I got it now. It just took a while. nanny for uh one of my roommates, her sister-in-law, and she also went to Gonzaga and is a nurse. And so we'll talk about nursing stuff. And it was funny because we were talking about, know, like, practicum, all this stuff, and she was like, I'll never forget that vitals exam. And she's, you I'm not sure exactly, probably 10 years older than I am. But I was like, the fact that it's still a common theme is just so funny. 100%. And I mean, I still even remember like just the first like skills check off for us was washing our hands. I, know, washing our hands and I'm like, okay, but you know, am I doing it right? Am I doing the right method? Is it gonna let you know, cause you're so focused on all the minutia and now it's like, okay, it's you just wash your hands and you do it, you know, for 30 seconds and you, know, whatever. It's just so funny to me. um That is incredible. ah You've mentioned nannying. So what jobs have you, is that the only job you've had and how does that help you as you have started your venture here into nursing? Yeah, I've nannied for a long time. I probably started nannying when I was about 12, just kids in my neighborhood. My sister and I would nanny together too, especially when there was more kids, which has been really fun. Yeah, there's a lot of kids. It could be a lot. um But yeah, but it's been really fun. And I feel like it also really kind of led me towards um wanting to become a NICU nurse or L &D, peds... Just, really enjoy. um being around kids, helping them. It's a really fun job to have. And it's crazy that I've been doing it for so long, but I really enjoy it. It's so fun, especially in the summer. Like last summer, the kids I was nannying, we had like a lemonade stand, which was really fun. They made a lot of money, much more than I made when I had one when I was younger. this myself? Thank you very much. I was like, wow, you guys are making a lot of money, but um it's really fun. And um I don't really do it as much when I'm, you know, in school, but over breaks. I'm gonna in summer, I'll nanny for them again, which is really fun. man. And it speaks towards your caring spirit, right? Like, you're doing this from an early age. And like you said, like, you just want to care for others. You want to help others. I mean, you want to make a buck while you're doing it. But that's not why we do You know what I mean? Like, it's not why we do it. It's not the ultimate why, anyway. Maybe it's one of the smaller whys. Awesome. So then we've kind of touched on this without touching on it. But you did answer the prompt, who or what inspires you most in life? Yes, definitely my family kind of mentioned this before. They're just very supportive. My mom really just gives me the strength to believe in myself, which, as I mentioned, is really needed during nursing school when you're like, how am I supposed to get this care plan done? And I have clinical tomorrow and I have an exam and I have to just keep up my personal life. It's just a lot. So. Just having someone to support you, always be there for you is great. My dad always told me, do your best or don't do it at all, which is, I always put everything into everything I do, which um I think is great, but can also be a lot. um But I like to do my best. like to put my heart into everything I do and I wouldn't change it for the world. And then again, like I mentioned, my sister, You know, she's the coolest nurse I know. it's just, yeah, it's so nice having her just give me advice and support. I'm excited because she's gonna, her and my aunt are gonna pin me at my pinning ceremony. Yes. So, yes, I'm very excited for that. But yeah, they just give me the strength to keep going and... I really want to become a nurse and I'm excited that I've had the opportunity to do so, but I definitely could not do it without them. You can name drop if you want. Who are- your sister and your aunt. Who are we- who are we praising today? Grace Gladstone and then Karen Joyce is my aunt. Awesome, very cool. And I just love that they are, you know what I mean? You you talk briefly about pinning ceremonies and I don't ever want to miss one. I try my best not to because it's just so amazing to see. I love how Gonzaga does it. Not everybody does it the same way. I think SCC did it similarly back when I graduated originally. But it's that handing down. They have someone who is a nurse, active or former nurse, who then pins the graduate, thereby kind of continuing the tradition, essentially. And my gosh, I just can't keep a dry eye during any of those ceremonies for that very reason. And so, um yeah. And I wanted to touch on something else you said. You talked about your dad saying, give it your all or don't do it, or don't do it at all. And I don't want to dive into your grades personally, but I would have. I would imagine, tell me if I'm going off on the wrong tangent here, but I would say, like with our family, we've always ever only preached doing your best work. We don't care what the end result is grade wise. Obviously we tell our kids like, you're too smart to get Fs. Like that's not a thing. But if you're giving it your best and it produces a C, a B or you're passing and it's not quite the grades you wanted, that's okay. So does that translate to you and your family? Like when you say I'm giving it my all, I'm just trying to prevent people from going, does that mean I need to, I want that 98, 99, 100 percent, I want to be valedictorian, I want to, so I really have to give it my all. Is that what you're saying or is there a balance to that? think it's a balance that my parents, like you were saying, they've never been like, oh, you need to get like a 4.0 or, know, specific or like, you know, you have to get this grade. They've always just said, if you try your best, that's enough. And I think that's really important. I think it's more myself that I want to like do really well, like academically, of course. But I've never felt, I'm very fortunate that I've never felt like the pressure from my family to... you know, get a certain grade or the fear that I would disappoint them. It's never been like that. It's just been, try your best, put your all into everything and whatever happens is enough. And I'm very fortunate to have had that outlook through nursing school because otherwise it would be a lot. Yeah, a lot more than the a lot that it already is, yes. uh So, that quality, you know what I mean, of balance, right, but while also giving it your all, is that something that you kind of uh infuse into your mentees, these? under these students that are coming under you, talked about being a mentor. Is that something you pass on to them? And what is it like, like adding yet another thing on top of everything you do and mentoring these other students coming up? As a mentee, I want to support them academically, so I'll help tutor them. One of my mentees is a sophomore, so she's going through anatomy, which you all probably remember how challenging that was. um But also just checking in with them, making sure they're taking care of themselves, taking breaks, which again is something that I want to be better at still. yeah, trying to think about not just the academic part because if that's all you're gonna do, you're just gonna burn out really quickly. And nursing school demands a lot of you. So I think that even just sometimes we'll just get coffee, just chat. And I think that's really helpful. Just talking about what worries them, what stresses them out, what they're excited for, and then also just kind of validating their feelings like, yeah, during clinical, I also felt exactly like that. Yeah. I hope is helpful so that they don't feel so alone. yeah, definitely trying to find um ways that they can de-stress or what their hobbies are, I think is really important. That's incredible. And it's sort of acting like a release valve, right? Like you are a sounding board for them to just bounce that off of. And like you said earlier, maybe being that resource that they don't have, maybe they don't have that older sister. You know what mean? They graduated a few years before and they can turn to readily. So you become the older sister in that regards, right? Yes. that's awesome. then I guess, Paige, let's circle it back around. And like you're in nursing school, you're almost done with nursing school. So exciting. ah But before we get into the excitement of that, what brought you to nursing school? Why did you choose nursing as your chosen profession? I've always loved science, like elementary school, always my favorite subject, very fascinating to me. And then I always, I wanted to do something that was fulfilling. And in high school, I volunteered a lot. I volunteered at Mary Bridge Children's Urgent Care and I loved it. I loved the environment, talking with patients, um even though I wasn't doing anything necessarily like clinically as a nurse, just Being able to talk with patients or, you know, try to, you know, distract a kid who's crying by coloring with them or doing little things like that, I found is really fulfilling and that I wanted to do something that wasn't just a job that I felt like I was contributing to the world. And I felt like nursing really just like combined science and helping others in service in a really meaningful way. And of course, have family members in the healthcare field who have also really inspired me to pursue nursing. And so all of that just really kind of are the reasons why I want to become a nurse. And I'm so, so happy that I am in nursing school and that I chose that because it's great to even though like it's an interesting feeling when you're in the midst of the most stressful time ever, but to be so grateful that I have the opportunity to even be learning all this or to go to the hospital and help people. It's kind of cool and just being able to kind of reflect on like, but I want to be here. Like, yes, this is hard, but like, I have no doubt that this is what I want to do. And I think I feel very lucky that I chose a career that I feel like that because I don't want it to just be a job. Yeah. And does that help you get through nursing school, like through those trying times? definitely. Yeah, during those hard times, either like a hard clinical shift or just like a busy week with exams, sometimes I'll just be like, what am I doing? Like, why am I doing this to myself? This is a lot. But then I'll be like, I'll remember those moments. you know, I'll think back on like, you know, certain patients or I will never forget my first day in L &D when the mom delivers like 30 minutes into my shift and I was like, this is the best thing ever, I want to spend the rest of my life doing this. Those are the moments where I'm like, okay, I'm in the right spot. Yeah, and I love what you're saying because obviously this is a feeling that everybody feels going through nursing school, but legit, it's what everybody feels even in the field, right? In other professions, I'm sure. But in nursing, like there are days that we nurses, even tenured nurses are like, why am I doing this? Or why am I still doing this? And even though you think you have a longer background of those moments, Paige, that really light your fire and get you going, sometimes it's hard to pull those out in the moment that you need them. Yeah. It's important to build that bank, you guys, you are progressing through nursing school and all things. Like you just said, that was 30 minutes into your first shift in OB, which by the way, for her cohort, is literally the first time in a hospital, right? So 30 minutes, first time in a hospital, and her mom delivers. And she's like, yep, this is what I wanna do. So it's just, you never know what to expect, and yet you're gonna take every one of those things and you are gonna just. Create that little file in your brain and more importantly in your heart that goes, okay, now this is, I'm doing the right thing and this is what I want to do. This is what I want to do. And so, ah I love that. What do you love most then about nursing school? I mean, I guess you've kind of touched on it, but what do you love most about it? Just like the patient connections, I feel like have been really meaningful. My practicum was in the NICU and so just it's cute being able to build relationships with the families because a lot of them, their babies have been in the NICU for months or weeks and being able to see them throughout my practicum has been really meaningful. even the babies just, like I miss them so much. I think about them and how they're doing and. I hope they're going home soon, but it's just, it's a very like meaningful experience to be able to help someone and to use my knowledge to help someone I think is really great. And to have the opportunity to, you know, go to nursing school and have this educational experience and then use it for good, I think is really important. ah So yeah, patient connections. And then of course, I've made some great friends through nursing school, which has been so fun. We had the last couple of days, we've had this uh like six hour NCLEX prep course, which has been a lot. But my friends and I, like, even though it's a lot, I'm like, I can't believe like, we're gonna be graduating soon because I wouldn't want to be going through this with anybody else. You know, you go through it and... feel very fortunate of how supportive everybody is and how everybody wants the best for each other. And it's great. Even though nursing school is hard, it is fun. Yeah, it's that pain and joy in equal measure that really is life. I mean, that's the definition of life, right? You can't keep bad things from happening to you. can't keep the sorrows of life from creeping in. And yet, you can still find joy amidst all the troubles, right? Yeah. So you've already touched on this, but let's clearly establish, everybody, what is it that you want to do once you graduate? I hope to become a NICU nurse. That was where my practicum was. But NICU L &D postpartum PEDs is kind of what I'm hoping for. So I'm really excited. And the reason why I want to clearly establish that is because then I want to ask you about practicum. So you have this idea of like, I'm going to, you hopefully you're going to get into one of the fields that you like and then you did, you got NICU. So now take us back to the, before you step foot on your first day of practicum, are you worried? Are you nervous? Are you excited? Is it a mixture of all the above? Yes, well, during my OB rotation, I had one day in the NICU. So I was like, okay, I'm gonna, you know, make this decision on what my, you know, five weeks of practicum are based on one shift. But I will say, I had like the best shift. I had a great nurse, I got to watch a surgery on this little four pound baby, which was so cool. I was like, this is like where I wanna be. And so I was like, even though I haven't spent much time in the NICU, I just have a feeling I'm really going to love it. So was kind of nervous and I was like, you know, I hope that what, not my expectation, cause I didn't know enough, hoping that the NICU would be something that I'd really enjoy. And yeah, of course I was nervous, excited because I haven't really, you know, done a lot of newborn assessments or know a lot of, you know, things that are going on in the NICU because during that one shift, I wasn't doing a lot of hands-on. It was a lot of observing, um small things like diaper changes, stuff like that. So the first shift I was like, okay, like what am I getting myself into? But it was amazing and I learned so much. And I realized that that one little snapshot of the NICU is like, there's just so much to it. And um I loved the whole thing. Mmm. It was really cool seeing babies, just feeder-grower babies to babies with more complex cardiac anomalies and learning how to feed the babies. All the tips for bottle feeding and gavage feedings and there's just so much to learn. And it was kind of overwhelming because a newborn assessment is very different from an adult assessment. And there's so many subtle cues that you have to really pick up on that I was like, you know, not sure what exactly I was looking for, but I had a great preceptor, my preceptor Chris. uh He was great. He really took time to explain things, talk things over, which was so helpful. I will say though, my clinical or my practicum was night shift, which was... Kind of interesting, but it wasn't as bad as I thought, which is good because I'm probably gonna have to start off on Night Shift. But ah it was a great experience and I'm so happy that I chose the Nike for my practicum. Yeah, incredible. Are there any practical pointers for someone who's listening to this before going into practicum? What would be your advice to those students that are like, okay, what's the best way to kind of progress through these five, six weeks or whatever and come out successful? I would say the beginning kind of just at least like the first shift or two. And this is more, guess, kind of depends on the unit you're in. Cause if you're on like a med-surg unit, you're probably going to be able to do more hands-on stuff immediately. But with the NICU, because the babies are so fragile, everything's so complex, really kind of observing, taking everything in. And then um we had these like learning contracts that we kind of we made their goals that we wanted to achieve by the end of our practicum, which really helped kind of guide. And like, I was like, you know, by this week, I hope to do this. And so kind of helping that to pace myself with, you know, taking on two patients, giving report by certain week, giving reports to the provider, things like that, kind of pacing myself and uh my preceptor and I at the end of each shift would talk about like, what I think I did well on, what I think I want to work on, and then how I was gonna... work towards those things that I want to improve on. m by the end of it, it's crazy how much you can grow in five weeks if you really have goals and then you work towards them and focus on what you can improve. And also really asking for feedback, because sometimes I was doing a lot of labs, like the HeelStick, and the positioning was like, it's just, I haven't really done that before. So the first few were like, this just doesn't feel quite right. And then by the end, was like, okay, like my last one was really good. It went super quick. so it just, yeah, asking for feedback and, you know, being okay that you don't know everything and that's okay because you shouldn't, you're still, you're still learning. Yes, and those I'm going to pick up on those words right there because that is, you know, I've reached out to previous honored guests of the podcast. I've got a speaking engagement coming up uh to kind of senior, you know what mean, about to the workforce nurses. And so then I reached out. Same thing. And I was just like, hey, each of you, anyone who wants to respond to this, like what would be your your advice to someone? like that transition period, right? Transition into nursing, the transition into practice. And I can't tell you how many times and various incredible advice, but almost every single one of them added that piece right there, Paige. And that was don't be afraid to ask questions and don't be afraid to be wrong. Like don't like that is the and these are people who are doing this now. You know, they've they've just finished about a year or a year and a half in and they're all saying the same thing. And it's just like, well. where there's commonality and repetition, means that it's probably something pretty important. So thank you for bringing that to light. Any practical pointers on, you just talked about every so briefly about having to do night shift for the first time in your life. Any practical pointers there? oh Well, I guess don't do what I did like some nights where I would have like three shifts in a row and then I would you know go to bed and I'd wake up at like 6 p.m. Which was not a good idea because I would try to like flip my schedule, but I just made it worse so What my preceptor of my sister said is you know on those? When you're trying to flip don't sleep in too late. Try to wake up, you know, maybe around like two or three stay up and then try to go to bed at around a more normal time. definitely blackout curtains, possibly an eye mask. um I was very lucky my roommates were quiet and very thoughtful because I was like, I need to sleep. um But it's just different. Also, it was just funny when I would be up at 3 AM just snacking, trying to keep myself awake. when I had a shift coming up and I'm like, what am I doing? Like no one else is awake. Like this is so funny. But um yeah, it's definitely different. And it was also really fun because my sister, she works night shift and a lot of our shifts lined up. So I'd be texting her at like 2 a.m. like you would not believe what just happened or like, oh, I can't believe I'm like up right now. Like how am I eating lunch at like 2 a.m.? Like just stuff like that is fun. you know, have that support, but it's just different. And I think it's still going to take me a while to get used to. Yeah, and I'll tell you guys, nobody, like I have, I tell people I have the most supportive wife in all the world, most supportive spouse. And even she, like nobody knows what it's like unless you go through it. And you can be as compassionate as you get, but please give your night-shifting loved ones some extra grace. yes. Uh-huh. No. No, no. So, uh unless there's something I'm missing, I have but one last question for you before we close in our traditional manner. And that last question is this. As you said at the start of your episode, you are less than two months away from being done with that, at least the whole school portion of this journey that you're on. How does that feel? Kind of, it's a lot. It's crazy to think that I'm gonna be a nurse because even thinking back to my first semester of upper division nursing, like, you know, I was afraid to like, I gotta like do a head to toe or gotta go do a blood glucose check. Like those were like the biggest things. And it was funny. I ran into one of my professors who taught our like fundamentals, like first, like, you know. like lecture upper division nursing class. And we were talking about how like at the time, like that was our whole world. And that seemed so daunting. And but the growth you make in two years is like, it's a lot. And it's crazy to think about how much, you know, I've grown as a nursing student and just like as a person. um It's nursing school is a challenge, but it's so worth it. And I'm really excited. It's It feels surreal to think that I'm going to be a nurse and I'm so, so excited though. I am excited for you to join the sisterhood and small brotherhood of nursing. And I'll tell you, I love that growth that you talk about there because what just popped into my brain is like what you talked about earlier, right? That very first time you had to do vital sign, you know, like a skill check off and you're terrified. You're like, I can't do a blood pressure worth of anything. I can't do it. And then you said, But now I can do it, I mean, essentially with your eyes closed, you know what mean? You feel like you could do it. Anyone who needs it, you're like, yeah, I got this. And that was growth in like the tinier things, quote unquote, that you talked about. But then you guys extrapolate that out further and you go, okay, now I'm gonna enter a specialty. Hopefully you get a start in the NICU and you got all these things you get to learn. And you're like, oh my gosh, I cannot thread this umbilical vein catheter. Worth anything and yet then down the road you're be like someone's gonna need that you like yeah This is easy. Let me let me give you some pointers and so anything you guys are afraid of anything you become afraid of Just know that that won't always be a thing and it comes with experience and repetition, right? and facing those fears ah fantastic, so Paige I hate to end our time together and I say that with everyone but it's always true And so, but we still have to, I guess, stop this at some point. Someone's gonna be like, my gosh, can you just, enough, enough, just kidding. They wouldn't say that about you. They hear my voice enough. So, you chose three words to describe nursing school that you're almost done with. What were the three words and why did you pick them? The three words I chose were challenging, exhausting, and rewarding. Challenging, kind of as I mentioned, you're going to be doing things that, or be tested in ways that you haven't before. I think also what was kind of hard is like the psychomotor part of nursing is, especially with like, you know, skills exams, it's different to, you know, take an exam on a piece of paper versus like, can you perform this skill? And so that was challenging. Also just the schedule, the rigor of nursing school, having to balance everything. It's a lot and that kind of goes into why it's exhausting. It takes a lot out of you. And you do have to make sacrifices. I think that that is one thing. I can't always hang out with my friends or... you know, do all the things that I want to do because nursing school takes up a big part of my life. But at the same time, my last word is rewarding. It's all worth it. Even though, you know, there's a lot that I have to sacrifice or, you know, push through, it's exactly what I want to do and I wouldn't change it for the world. And there's nothing better than, I feel like, coming home from a clinical shift and just feeling like this is what I'm meant to do. And just that feeling, and I felt that pretty much every day in the NICU or well, I'd come home in the morning. Every morning I come home, I would be like, yeah, I'd be like, wow, like I am so lucky that this is what I get to do and that I can make a difference and at the opportunity to go to nursing school and do something that I'm passionate about and to be able to help others because a lot of people are in that situation or, you know, have the opportunity to. become a nurse. um So it's all worth it. Even though there are times you're like, what am I doing? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And tenured nurses out there that are listening, myself included. Etch that on your heart. Here we're listening to one wonderful Paige Gladstone saying, I am lucky to be doing this job. And we lose that over time if we don't culture it, myself included. I've had shifts that I'm like, I just don't wanna go in today. I don't wanna, you know what I mean? I don't wanna deal with somebody else's issues. I don't wanna. And those are the shifts that are always the best. I always come out of those going, yeah, that's right. This is why I do this. uh Because I think part of the balance is over time, like protecting your heart from those callousing things, those cynical things that you don't mean that maybe you haven't had to deal with just yet. And I'm not making a distinction between new coming nurses and us tenure nurses. The point of the matter is we really are every single shift, every single time we walk into our job. We are lucky to be able to call ourselves nurses. I just, I need to hear it just as much as everybody else, Paige. That's why I love, oh thank you, thank you, thank you. So then, this is it, the last question I get to ask you, and that is if you wanted one thing to stick in the hearts and minds of the persons who are listening to you, wax eloquently about nursing, what is that one thing you want them to carry with them for the rest of their lives? I would say remember why you started. My high school English teacher always said, do everything on purpose for a purpose. And that really stuck with me. It's really easy to become wrapped up in the stress of clinicals and exams and all of that stuff, but really trying to remember why you're doing what you're doing, I think is so important. And it's kind of important to ground yourself, especially when there's those chaotic or stressful times. Because despite All the stress and, you know, possible sacrifices that you have to give up. Just remembering why you started, why you want to do this, I think has really helped me progress through nursing school. And I've something that I've carried through and something that I want to continue to carry through because I know as a new grad nurse, it will also be challenging. ah And so just kind of having that, you know, initial thought of why am I doing this? And I am doing this for a reason and I want to do this, I think it's really important. Like a well you can draw from when you're going through the drought, yeah? Yeah. Ugh, Paige, I can't thank you enough. Thank you so much for taking time on a weekend, whilst doing all the nursing school things, to then sit here and talk about nursing. But your heart is evident to anyone who has listened to five minutes of this thing, and I am so honored to soon be able to call you peer, my friend. Oh, thank you so much for having me on the podcast. been such an honor. absolutely. You have a wonderful, wonderful rest of your day. Thank you, you too.