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The Wellness Blueprint: With Dr. Caleb Davis
Welcome to The Wellness Blueprint with Dr. Caleb Davis, where we uncover the secrets to living a long, active, and pain-free life. Hosted by Dr. Caleb Davis, an orthopedic surgeon and fitness enthusiast, this podcast is your ultimate guide to musculoskeletal health, injury prevention, and wellness.
Dr. Davis combines his expertise as a shoulder and elbow specialist with a passion for empowering people to take charge of their health. From deep dives into cutting-edge restorative medicine to practical tips on avoiding surgery and optimizing recovery, The Wellness Blueprint offers valuable insights for anyone seeking to preserve their body and thrive at every stage of life.
Join us each week for professional guidance, fascinating medical discussions, and actionable strategies that help you move better, feel stronger, and stay functional for years to come. Whether you're an athlete, a weekend warrior, or someone looking to age gracefully, The Wellness Blueprint provides the tools to design a healthier you.
The Wellness Blueprint: With Dr. Caleb Davis
Episode 6: Voices of Nursing: Challenges and Care
Join us as we sit down with nurse Rachel Davis, who pulls back the curtain on the intricate dynamics of the essential relationship between nurses and doctors. Through Rachel's candid anecdotes, we uncover how effective communication and mutual respect are the backbone of superior patient care. She recounts compelling experiences that highlight the necessity of teamwork, revealing both the triumphs and challenges that nurses face in advocating for their patients in a system often fraught with limitations.
Laugh along as we lighten the mood with some amusing tales from the world of triage nursing. From quirky misconceptions sparked by the internet to the unpredictable nature of patient calls, we explore the humor and hurdles nurses navigate daily. Even as we chuckle, Rachel and I underscore the critical importance of respecting the expertise that nurses bring to the table. These stories illustrate how trust and humility between doctors and nurses not only enhance the working environment but also lead to better patient outcomes.
Rachel opens up about the frustration when patient safety concerns are pushed aside, leading to stress and burnout. Hear her take on managing difficult patients, the need to set boundaries, and the vital role of self-care. Rachel’s insights are invaluable for anyone considering entering the nursing profession, as she shares the rewards and demands of this challenging career, stressing the importance of community support and the necessity of pursuing nursing with a genuine passion.
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Hey everybody and welcome back to the Dr Big Guy podcast, a place to discuss injury prevention, optimizing health and living a better life. My name is Dr Caleb Davis, but you can call me Dr Big Guy. As an orthopedic surgeon, I love to fix people after an injury, but my true passion lies in helping you stay healthy, fit and out of the operating room. Today is going to be part two of the interview with nurse Rachel Davis, and we're going to wrap up some of her stories about her experiences in the hospital, interactions with doctors, some of the pet peeves and problems that nurses have to experience on the job and, unfortunately, some of the abuses that they've had to suffer at the hands of patients. Rachel will wrap up the interview by giving a few keywords of advice for new students, new nurses and anyone even thinking about going into the field. If you're enjoying the podcast, please consider sharing with a friend and remember to find us on Instagram and Facebook and leave a comment and talk about things that you would like covered on the next podcast.
Speaker 2:The information shared on this podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. The content of this podcast should not be considered medical advice, nor is it a substitute for professional consultation with a qualified physician. The views on this podcast do not necessarily represent the views of Dr Davis' medical practice group. If you have health concerns or conditions, it is recommended that you seek the advice of your own physician, who knows your medical history and can offer you personalized recommendations.
Speaker 1:Now it's time for another segment of Fractured Facts Time for some random internet orthopedic trivia. That's probably not going to help you whatsoever, but it's fun. So I think most people know that if you don't use your muscles, they atrophy. Meaning if you don't walk or if you don't lift anything with your arms, the muscles get smaller and then they get weaker and they become harder to use and not as useful and can't produce as much power. But what a lot of people might not know is that the same thing happens to bones. If you don't walk, your bones get weaker. You know, stress and impact actually can increase your bone density, which is actually a great way for people who have poor bone quality to help increase the bone density by doing weight-bearing exercises or jogging.
Speaker 1:Now our last Fractured Facts. We talked a little bit about how astronauts get taller in space because gravity is not compressing on their bones so much. But did you know that astronauts need special equipment in space to help their bones and muscles? But did you know that astronauts need special equipment in space to help their bones and muscles from atrophying because there's no gravity? They have to use specialized harnesses on treadmills to actually keep them weighted down so that they can simulate impact training, and they also have different vacuum cylinders and tension bands to be able to push their legs against. Since there's no, they can't use a weight plate or a normal weight machine, and they also use a special type of exercise bike that keeps them so that they can pedal in the air while they're floating there. So without those things, their muscles and bones would literally waste away to nothing by the time they got back to earth side and they wouldn't be able to use them anymore.
Speaker 1:So, rachel, when we left off, we were talking about some of the bad experiences that you've had with doctors. You were talking a little bit about how maybe not you specifically, but you're saying how some nurses can be find them irritating and how they can be frustrated by doctors. Let's get back into that. Since we left off on that, can you tell me some either personal anecdotes or maybe some anecdotes from people you've worked with?
Speaker 3:So the nurse-doctor relationship varies dramatically depending on the nurse and the doctor. I have worked with some wonderful doctors and some slightly more difficult ones. I've been very fortunate that I have never had a really, really bad experience with a doctor. Some nurses will tell you they've been screamed at, they've been bullied. I've never had that happen. Most of the doctors I've worked with have actually been quite pleasant and the ones that are my favorite are the ones that listen to me. Even if I'm not right, it's okay. But if they'll tell me why I'm not right, it makes me learn, it makes me a better nurse and I'll do better next time. But when they listen to me and actually implement what I say, the patient cares better and I really appreciate that. One the best experience I can. I remember it so well because it just meant a lot to me.
Speaker 3:I had a patient with a liver abscess who was extremely sick, on the borderline of sepsis, which is when the infection goes into the bloodstream and it can kill you quite quickly. This patient was supposed to get the liver abscess drained and I was trying to call interventional radiology, which is the department responsible for draining the abscess, couldn't get them to talk to me and this patient was going downhill, not doing well at all. Both his wife and I were worried about him and I called his primary doctor and asked him to please help me. And the doctor said well, we'll just wait till Monday. And I said, doctor, this patient won't live until Monday. And he came up to the room. He laid eyes on the patient, assessed him, came out of the room and said to me you're right. And he got it rolling. He got the abscess strained, he took care of everything for me that I couldn't do because no one was helping me. So that meant a lot to me, because this man would have died.
Speaker 1:And I think we touched on this earlier Sometimes you know what the right thing to do is and you just can't because of the rules that are in place. Right, so you knew what to do, but you didn't have the authority to do it, so you had to come bring somebody else in who did have the authority to make it happen.
Speaker 3:Who could? He knew people behind the scenes. I don't know the names of the doctors in the IR, I don't know who to call, but he did.
Speaker 1:Right he might have so-and-so's phone number and call him in on the weekend when that person's not normally on call and can call in that favor. I've seen that happen. It's interesting because I'm the guy people call when there's a problem with my patient. Now, orthopedics is a little bit different than a cardiac surgeon or a general surgeon, because a lot of times what I'm doing isn't life-saving surgery, although on occasion it is, so my patients don't tend to be as high acuity. But it's got to be a whole different perspective when you're the person helping that patient and in a respect you're powerless to an extent.
Speaker 1:Obviously there's a great scope of things that you can do, but you're limited and handcuffed by regulations and rules. You know, I think that that's going to be a totally different pressure. The pressure I experience is I'm the top of the ladder. You know they call me and it's like well, if I don't have the answer or I don't have the solution for them, that's it. There's not really much else to do. I can go laterally to another doctor if I need help. But on the flip side of that it's I know what to do but I can't do it. I mean, that's got to be such an overwhelming feeling.
Speaker 3:It's very difficult.
Speaker 1:But it sounds like overall you've had good experiences with doctors, which is it's nice to hear.
Speaker 1:It's refreshing because, you know, I've definitely heard nurses complaining and telling me horror stories, which to an extent that's really inspired me to try to be as kind and empathetic and understanding as possible to people who are not doctors.
Speaker 1:I hate to say it, but I think there's a natural inclination to think well, I'm the top of the food chain and therefore what I says goes goes. But I'm also not really trying to throw doctors under the bus, because there's an insane amount of pressure on us too, especially in the world of litigation and liability. It's wild the pressure that's on us from that end, but sometimes we don't think about it maybe and it's hope that this is a something that people can think about the perspectives just getting to see it from other people's point of views can always be helpful. It's never going to hurt to see that you had talked to me a little bit in private before our interview talking about the education that nurses have, and I think this is kind of a good segue into it where why don't you tell me about that? Sometimes maybe people don't understand the rigors of your training and what you know.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so something that nurses people don't understand the rigors of your training and what you know, yeah. So something the nurses really don't like to hear is if a patient has a question and we answer it and the patient says well, I want to hear from the doctor, I want to talk to the doctor. That is their right and I respect that Because maybe the doctor will say something I didn't say. I mean, the doctors have more education than I do. They do. But to assume that the nurse doesn't know is not a good idea because, yes, we take anatomy and physiology, we take extensive nursing education. Your nurse understands your body systems, the medications you're taking, which is pharmacology, the study medication, pathophysiology, which is the study of disease processes. Your nurse knows these things and they are a really, really good resource because they are used to talking with patients on their own level. Some doctors are also really good at it, but sometimes they get into Dr E's doctor talk.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's. One of the reasons I get Nicole on the show is to keep me from doing that, so I'm guilty of it.
Speaker 3:And your nurses might be a better resource because they know how to talk to you in your own language per se. So don't assume your nurse is not educated, because they are and they can really help you a lot.
Speaker 1:I wouldn't have thought that to be a big issue, but I guess it is. You know again, different perspectives, right? People think that I know everything, and or at least they expect me me to. Now there's some people who think doctors are idiots. So there's that side of the coin too. But a lot of times are that my patients say well, you know what medications I'm on. It's like I don't know all that. I mean, you're on 20 medications. I don't know all those medications I didn't you know. And maybe that sounds bad, but at the same time there are doctors aren't infallible and they're not going to know your entire medical history just by doing a quick review of your chart. As much as I'd like it to be that way, it's not always that way.
Speaker 3:I think another thing to help patients remember is the doctor has, like you said, maybe a hundred patients. The nurse might have anywhere from one to ten.
Speaker 1:Depending on what unit they're on.
Speaker 3:Depending on what unit you're on, they, he or she will spend all day with you 12, 13 hours a day. They know you and they know what's going on with you If the doctor comes in and has a question asked might not know the answer.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a really good point and I wasn't sure if I was going to talk about it because I don't want to scare the patients. But you know, let's say there's seven surgeons who cover patients, and then it's the weekend, there might be one doctor who's covering all of those seven surgeons, patients. That that might come out to about a hundred patients. You just never know. And I've never.
Speaker 1:Let's say I'm the covering surgeon. I've never met 80, 80 of those patients. I've never seen them, never met them. And if I get a call on them I'm going to look at their chart, I'm going to read some notes, I'm going to look at their labs and I'm going to make a decision. But that nurse has been, has spent the last three days with them, or at least the last 12 hour shift with them, you know at the very least. So they've gotten to know them very intimately where I'm trying to manage a hundred patients on a computer, over the phone. So the instant reaction and judgment of a nurse is often more informed than that of a covering physician. And that's not to criticize the physician, it's just the system that we're operating in.
Speaker 3:Yeah, there's no shame to a physician who doesn't know something off the top of his or her head, simply because it's sheer volume. You can't know that much about the patient that the nurse can, because the nurse is there all day.
Speaker 1:And I'm going to touch that a little bit in our segment of lessons. I learned in residency, so I'm not going to talk about it too much because it's something that's been on my mind ever since I thought about doing this episode with you, but we're going to get that into a little bit. Do you have any funny stories about doctors and nurses?
Speaker 3:Not really. I've enjoyed the doctors I can joke around with, but I don't know, I guess in cardiac there's not a lot of room for joking.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and cardiac, there's not a lot of room for joking. Yeah, I imagine there's less to laugh about when all your patients are so sick all the time. Yeah, so you're saying it's not an episode of scrubs?
Speaker 3:No, no, there's. This is not a general hospital. I never saw a bazillion affairs going on. If they did, they were more discreet about it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, at least my hospital it was. I wouldn't want to be doing anything in the hospital. It's kind of gross.
Speaker 3:You fence. We're a pretty straight-laced bunch in terms of people are sick and they're dying. We've got to stop it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, in general, I can tell you that life is not like TV in most medical settings.
Speaker 3:The only time that life is like TV. I worked in a procedural unit as an endoscopy nurse. Life is exactly like TV. In endoscopy People unit, as an endoscopy nurse, life is exactly like TV and endoscopy People are putting things that have no business being anywhere.
Speaker 1:I'm sure you have lots of stories about that.
Speaker 3:I can give you some funny stories from triage, though. Triage is my favorite specialty in nursing because you have absolutely no idea what's going to happen and people are really, really funny. I've done both telephone triage. I've sat in a cubicle and answered the phone all day long for 12 hours a day. I've also done in-person triage in a walk-in clinic in a very rural northwestern North Dakota. You never know what's going to walk through that door.
Speaker 3:Telephone triage, though, is its own animal, because you can't see the patient, you can't assess them, you can't touch them, you can't hear them breathing, even you can't listen to their heartbeat. So you have to really really have good clinical judgment. So I love it, but people will call in very drunk. People will call in with some very interesting questions. Some of the funnier ones are people who haven't thought their questions through too well. I've had some. One of my coworkers had someone call in and say my toddler ate a piece of tomato and I read on the internet, which is the nurse's favorite thing to hear. I read something on the internet. I read on the internet that causes acid in the stomach. What do I need to give my toddler to get rid of all the acid in their stomach.
Speaker 1:All the acid.
Speaker 3:Get rid of the acid in their stomachs. Please don't do that. Please don't get rid of the acid in the stomach. Or I just ate a hamburger at a restaurant and I read that meat should be cooked to what is it? 120 degrees, 150 degrees?
Speaker 1:See, I don't know that off the top of my head. I like my meat pretty rare, so I don't know what the rule is, but hopefully the chef does.
Speaker 3:Right. The patient said I didn't put a thermometer in the meat before I ate it, so I ate the hamburger. What do I need to do now?
Speaker 1:You better get your stomach up to 120 degrees.
Speaker 3:I recommend more stomach acid. I don't know. I don't know how to answer these questions.
Speaker 1:So there are some pretty great questions you get. There's some pretty great questions I can imagine.
Speaker 3:It's just important not to laugh while you're on the phone, because this is very serious to them and they're worried.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know we joke and we laugh and I think it's healthy to joke and laugh. If you're always serious and everything's always got immense amounts of gravity, that's a great way to a future path of burnout. So please understand, we're not making light there. They're like Rachel said, that there are people with real concerns and fears and they don't have our education. How can they, you know? They didn't study this. Why should they know? Sometimes patients apologize to me for not knowing something and say why should you know? It's I went to me for not knowing something. I say why should you know? I went to school for 15 years, like that's why I know. So, even though we're joking and laughing, we treat every single patient interaction as important and serious and we understand that people have their fears and concerns. But, like I said, you got to laugh sometimes too.
Speaker 1:I think that's a good time to transition into lessons I I Learned in Residency. On this segment of Lessons I Learned in Residency, since Rachel was so kind to join us, I wanted to talk about my interactions with nurses and how I've learned to interact and treat nurses. I can say I started off with an advantage because my mother and sister were both nurses, so I had a natural respect for them and understood the gravity of their situation and their job and their education. So I think I have an advantage. Again, this isn't throw doctors under the bus podcast, so that's not going to be what I do, but I think there's definitely sort of this, this divide between doctors and nurses and there's a hierarchy and no matter what you do, that's not going to go away. Doctors ultimately have the authority in most situations and they do have, at least to a degree, some higher level of education. But what I really learned pretty quickly is that my book smarts when I first got out of medical school is nothing compared to the street smarts or clinical education that nurses have.
Speaker 1:So if I meet a veteran nurse who's been there for 15 or 20 years, you better believe I'm going to take her seriously. You know Rachel told a story earlier about her calling a doctor, saying this patient's not going to live over the weekend if you don't come and see this patient. And he took her seriously and he came and evaluated that patient. He said you're right. So there were times where I was on night call as a resident and I'd be covering three hospitals and I would maybe even be in surgery in the middle of the night or late at night at least, and our nurse would say I need you to come down here as soon as possible or right now. And you know obviously you take that seriously.
Speaker 1:But there are certain nurses that I I would drop everything, you know. I said, okay, I got to go. Like this nurse is telling me something seriously wrong. I got to go and I would learn that just because I've got a degree, just because I've got the MD after my name, especially when I was a younger doctor, that doesn't, that's not a substitute for people who've been in the front lines and the trenches. And I think and Rachel, you can tell me how you feel about this I think nurses, or other medical staff at least, can sense that respect and thoughtfulness from a doctor when they feel it and that really can help build a relationship of trust and good working environment.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. Patient care is going to be so much better if there's a trusting working relationship.
Speaker 1:And even if the nurse is wrong or the doctor is wrong, I think that there needs to be grace and humility in that Because, again, it's all about the patient and them getting the best amount of care. So there's no need to be lording things over each other when you're right versus wrong. But I learned that really quickly and I would encourage any young medical doctor or professional to understand that just because you got a degree and just because you've got the accolades behind you, it does not replace life experience. I will never be more humbled than I walk in a room and I can't even silence a pump. You know I'm talking to a patient. The pump keeps beeping. I was like we got to get the nurse because I don't even know what to push here. You know everyone is suited to their time and their place and their area of expertise and I can tell you that you know.
Speaker 1:Let's say, I do a shoulder replacement on a patient because that's one of the surgeries I do the most often. I know exactly what to do in that surgery. The nurse doesn't know what I did in that surgery in particular. I can tell you back and forth, with my eyes closed, what I did in that surgery to excruciating detail. But you know what I've never done? I've never sat next to that patient for 12 hours after their surgery. I've never had to sit there all night taking care of that patient afterwards, and so I trust people who are seasoned nurses, who have taken care of post-operative patients, to know the signs and symptoms or problems that they say this needs a doctor's attention right away, and so I have a huge amount of respect for that.
Speaker 3:I would add please try to have a good sense of humor.
Speaker 1:As a doctor, as a doctor.
Speaker 3:Try to have a good sense of humor and patience, because that nurse has been absolutely frazzled for possibly up to 16 hours. I've worked 16 hour shifts before and while the doctors might be working a 36 hour shift, please remember that that nurse has possibly had feces flung at her, has been spat at and thrown up on, and if she answers the phone and doesn't know the answer to all your questions right away, she's had a really bad day.
Speaker 1:Well, I think that's never a bad reminder for us all to be more empathetic towards each other and understand that just because we're experiencing something doesn't mean that that other person's experiencing something completely different. So that's always a great reminder, but let's get that. That's going to wrap up lessons I learned in residency, so we'll get back to the podcast. So I've asked you a lot of questions about your experiences. Can you tell me just kind of generalize things that you think nurses love and hate about their job, maybe pet peeves and things that they struggle with in general that you've heard from people?
Speaker 3:A lot of nurses will tell you, the thing they love about their jobs are the patients. I mean, if you don't love the patients, you really shouldn't be in medical care at all, because if there's no patients, there's no medical care, and if you can't appreciate them and be patient with them and serve them, you have no business being there. And nurses, despite all the frustrations, infuriations and stress, they love their patients and some of them would never do anything else.
Speaker 1:Despite all the stresses, pet peeves, health insurance so many nurses are going to say that every single time we're back to health insurance. That's okay. It's a big problem.
Speaker 3:It's the way it is. Management. Nurses are very frustrated by management because it feels like they don't listen to our concerns. No one is with the patient as much as we are ever, but if we raise concerns about patient safety or these policies and procedures that are in place supposedly to protect the patients are actually making life worse, and we're not listened to, our concerns aren't taken seriously. Patients suffer for that and nurses suffer More stress, more burnout, and then they leave the profession entirely. So management is a big complaint. You'll sometimes hear them complain about doctors, but I don't really remember a lot of complaints about that so much.
Speaker 1:Well, that's encouraging to hear. You know, I always wonder. I always have to wonder when I leave the floor after I round on my patients like I wonder if those nurses hate me.
Speaker 1:They don't the floor after I ran on my patients, like I wonder if those nurses hate me. Um, to be to be honest, the probably the number one thing that I get from nurses and they'll just come and say your patient was a nightmare last night. Um, and I'm not, I'm not throwing anyone under the bus, but it's like he, he was just so he or she was so angry and demanding and they were just rude to us and they almost they're sort of blaming me for bringing that patient to the hospital to have surgery. And I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry that they were difficult. Like, just try to understand what they're going through and I'll talk to them.
Speaker 1:And you know, I think that's probably the only time I really get a lot of complaints to my face is that a patient's not being very friendly, which unfortunately happens a lot. But again, when we're talking about empathy which none of us are going to be perfect at our empathy they're suffering. They're suffering a lot. Lashing out makes sense to an extent. Obviously, there's a level of what's acceptable and what's not. On that note, do you ever have any stories of patients who have, you know, kind of gone beyond bounds of the acceptable, or stories of where you've had to. I'm not even sure what. I would ask you on that. Tell me a story where you had a really difficult interaction with a patient, if you don't mind sharing.
Speaker 3:Yes, one of my travel contracts. I was on another step-down unit. I had a patient who word gets around very quickly on a unit, who a bad patient is, and sometimes the nurses will trade shifts so we all take turns taking care of a different, one, difficult one. This one patient was known for being very inappropriate, with the nurses just verbally harassing and had to threaten to call security on him. He was so bad.
Speaker 3:When I took care of him he tried it on me and I just wouldn't stand for it you do not speak to me that way and I said it very firmly and he shut right up. He was quiet for a little while and then finally he said I'm sorry, I won't talk to you like that. And we were such great friends the rest of the shift we got along beautifully, but until someone just really set the boundaries with him, he was not a pleasant patient, he was not appropriate. I know the hospital is a hard place for patients to deal with and they're bored and they don't have good boundaries, but you have to remember your nurse is a human and you can't treat him or her like they're not.
Speaker 1:That's a great summary and really good point as well, because we talk about us having to be empathetic and perfect all the time and of course we're never perfect but we we strive for that and we should. But there's a there's a limit of what's acceptable in a way to treat us too, and that's an issue that comes up a lot, with nurses being assaulted by patients, unfortunately. I've heard lots of stories about that, and sometimes you do have to be firm. You know, and that's always. That's a difficult thing for me to know when to draw that line, because I care so much about patient autonomy and respecting their autonomy. But sometimes you have to respect your autonomy and you can't just be abused especially physically, but much less verbally and you have to say, hey, this is not, this is not going to be the way this is going to be, and we're going to set some ground rules and sometimes, just like rules are good for kids, rules can be good for patients too. Sometimes you have to lay down the law and it's good for them in the end.
Speaker 3:And I think it's a good point. You bring up about physical assault, because cases of that are rising.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 3:Badly. I had a nurse practitioner on my unit who was assaulted and she was bleeding. She had to run out, she had to get out of the room and we had to make that patient male caretakers only. You cannot have any females in that room. I had another nurse in our ER whose neck was broken by a patient. She lived but Wow, that's horrible.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's absolutely awful, you know, and we don't get to choose our patients. I've taken care of people you know being in a level one trauma center when I was a resident. I took care of people who shot a cop. I've taken care of people who are murderers and rapists.
Speaker 3:I've absolutely had a patient who shackled to the bed and cannot be unshackled.
Speaker 1:Right, you don't get to choose who your patients are sometimes, and you still have to treat them like a human being, but you, at the end of the day, you have to take care of yourself too, so that's another good thing to think about. So I'm going to recap and ask her a couple more and then we'll wrap up. So, rachel, we've talked about some of the pet peeves. We've talked about some of the struggles of nursing. We've talked about some of your greatest accomplishments and joys of nursing and some of the pitfalls of nursing. We've talked about the delicate ecosystem of every single different unit and some of the politics and quirks that might come with each and one of them, and we've talked about some tips for the way that maybe doctors and nurses can get along better and see things through each other's eyes and walk into each other's shoes. If you met someone who's going to nursing today, what advice would you give them?
Speaker 3:My number one advice to anyone who's considering nursing is to go be a patient care tech, Because patient care techs do almost everything that a nurse does, except they don't give medications and do like head-to-toe assessments, you know, listen to the heart and lungs and that kind of thing, but they do almost everything else a nurse does. So if you want to know if you're going to be a good fit for nursing can you stand vomit blood? Can you stand people screaming at you? Can you stand the emotional and stress? You need to be a patient care tech first.
Speaker 1:So a patient care tech, do they need a special kind of degree to do that?
Speaker 3:Nope, you only have to do is. I think most places require you to be 18. Some places will pay more if you have something called a CNA, which is a certified nursing assistant. It's a fairly short program, so you might get paid more for that, but you don't need any kind of education whatsoever.
Speaker 1:What is something that you wish you knew before you started nursing?
Speaker 3:I wish I knew what nursing was. I think a lot of people have a general idea that, oh, nurses help people.
Speaker 1:And they do, they do.
Speaker 3:They do a lot.
Speaker 1:But people might not understand what that means.
Speaker 3:What does helping someone mean?
Speaker 1:Sure.
Speaker 3:There's so many different ways to help someone and sometimes that help is actually something they don't want at all, is actually something they don't want at all. I wish I knew how much knowledge I was going to need and how hard it was to be better prepared, but at the same time I don't think I would have told myself quite how hard it was, because I would have been too scared to do it.
Speaker 1:Same thing for me in medical school. If I knew how hard it was, I don't know if I would have had the courage to do it. So sometimes not knowing is actually a good thing, kind of like being a parent. Right, it's such a huge responsibility. You might not do it if you actually knew how hard it was. But everyone talks about how rewarding it is and of course neither you nor I are parents, but that's probably the best example that people can relate to. But you wouldn't trade it for the world. But if you knew how hard it was, you might not do it.
Speaker 3:I wouldn't have done it. So I guess I need to change my answer. I wouldn't have told myself anything, except after I became a nurse. I would have told myself it's going to get better.
Speaker 1:I think it's great advice to do the.
Speaker 3:You call it a nurse tech or Different parts of the country call it different things. Some people call it a patient care technician, some they'll shorten that to PCT. Okay, some are called CNAs. Maybe they don't actually have a CNA.
Speaker 1:I think I've heard CNA more often in my line of work, but, like you've said, I think I've heard the tech as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you might hear it called different things, but it's just someone who does not have a college degree doesn't necessarily have any training, but they're doing the grunt work. A CNA might be a blanket term, but to technically be a CNA you have to have that certification Sure.
Speaker 1:No, that makes sense. But anytime you get more exposure and understand what you're getting yourself into is probably a good idea. I always tell people when they ask me about being a surgeon, I say, if you can imagine yourself doing anything else, go do that thing instead, because the road is so long and so difficult. Unless you just can't imagine being happy doing something else, well, you're going to be really unhappy for a while. So so if you can find something else to do it, but if you can't, then that, then that's for you. My last question is we're talking about all this physical and emotional stress and all and and all the vulnerability and emotional vulnerability and some really awful experiences. What kind of ways do you find to cope with that? How do you keep emotional and physical balance and health?
Speaker 3:I didn't do a great job of it when I was a travel nurse, because one of my biggest emotional supports is my family to spend time with them, and when you're a travel nurse you don't see them for extended periods. But things I did do was you have to have outlets that help you relax. I'm a big outdoors person so when I was traveling I would get out and I would hike, I would explore the city, the county, the area that I was in, and laughter is a big release, watch a stupid cartoon or something like that. Just find a way to relax and disengage and forget about work as much as you can, because you're going to go back and do it again for another 12 hours tomorrow.
Speaker 1:I think family is probably one of the best pieces of advice. Obviously, not everyone has Some people aren't so blessed or lucky to have a really healthy family, unfortunately but surrounding yourself with like-minded people or people who love you and support you, who you can spend time with, is, I think, is crucial for everyone, not just nurses or doctors. Any profession you're in. I think one of the pillars of health is having a good community of people around you who support you and who you know will take care of you, Because that way, if you're stressed out about your card broke down, or I'm stressed financially or I don't know if I'm gonna be able to put food on the table, no matter what situation you might be in, if you have a good support system of people you know in the back of your head, I'm going to be taken care of, and I think that obviously that's not always easy to find, but surrounding yourself with good people is is a key to good health and emotional balance, I think, Rachel, I wanted to thank you again so much for coming.
Speaker 1:I had a blast doing these two episodes with you. I think it's to me it's so amazing to see you. You know, I've known you since you were a baby and to see you become such an intelligent, hardworking, amazing nurse and have all of these life experiences that you come and generously share with us today. Thank you so much for being here. I had such a great time.
Speaker 3:Well, thank you for having me. I enjoyed it too.
Speaker 1:And remember be humble, be happy and be healthy. I'll see you next time. Bye.
