Wakanda's Wrld
This channel is primarily informative within the weird and wonderful world of healthcare. I discuss how to improve the wide world of healthcare along with up to date information. I love to have different guest from different walks of life within healthcare. For podcast guest inquires reach me at shanklindj@yahoo.com
Wakanda's Wrld
Breaking Boundaries: A CNA's Journey to Health Insurance Entrepreneurship
Have you ever wondered what life is like for CNAs beyond the nursing home? In this eye-opening conversation, Elena Torres shares her remarkable journey from working as a CNA for 13 years across multiple healthcare settings to building her own thriving health insurance brokerage.
Elena's candid storytelling takes us through her experiences in long-term care, trauma ICUs, endocrine surgery, and the notorious "wild west" of med-surg floors. She doesn't hold back when describing the stark realities of healthcare—from reporting a negligent nursing home to state authorities after finding untreated stage four pressure ulcers, to witnessing the dramatic difference between units where nurses collaborate versus those where CNAs are left to struggle alone while nurses scroll through Instagram.
What makes this conversation particularly valuable is Elena's unique perspective on how clinical experience translates to entrepreneurial success. Now licensed in 27 states as a health insurance broker, she explains how her years at bedside give her an edge in understanding clients' medical conditions and anticipating their insurance needs. When a client mentions casually that their mitral valve prolapse "went away," her clinical background alerts her to the potential seriousness of their condition and helps her guide them toward appropriate coverage.
The transition from healthcare worker to business owner wasn't without challenges. Elena speaks honestly about the mental health struggles of commission-based work and the importance of resilience, support systems, and knowing your "why." Her advice for anyone considering a similar path is refreshingly practical: "Don't stop, just keep going, just keep swimming."
Whether you're a healthcare worker considering career options, someone interested in health insurance, or simply curious about what happens behind the scenes in our healthcare system, this conversation offers valuable insights from someone who's navigated both worlds successfully. Find Elena on Instagram at Taurus and Co Health Plans or visit her website through the link in her bio.
https://linktr.ee/WakandaRN
Welcome in, welcome in. This is your Wakanda RN, so I'm happy to have you guys today, and I have a special guest with us today, and so some of you have probably been wondering about when am I going to invite a CNA guest. I've talked about nurses, nurses, nurses, nurses, nurses, but what about our CNAs? What about our wonderful CNAs? Have you ever wondered about? You know CNA experience and the depth of that. Have you wondered about what does it mean to be a CNA small business owner? Well, this is the podcast for you, so please introduce yourself to the audience and let them know what you do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, hi everyone. So my name is Elena Torres. I was a CNA for 13 years. I was really wanting something different for my life, but something I could still use my medical background in, so I became a health insurance broker.
Speaker 1:All right. All right. So I have some of your experience here. You're a teletech, you've done long-term care med-surg, you're a scheduler for an endocrine surgeon. I mean it sounds like you've done a lot. So kind of walk us through a little bit of your journey. How'd you end up at these different specialty areas? So just kind of walk us through a little bit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so when I initially got my CNA, it was just because I was always interested in the medical field, but I wanted something better than working at the hardware store I was working at. So it's a great job just not for me long-term anyways. And I grew up in Billings, montana, and there was a nursing home that did classes and I was like, sure, it's two weeks, I'll go ahead and take it, I'll see what this thing's about. And then it became two weeks and then I was at the nursing home for a year and a half, which was actually a really cool spot. It was not traditional in by any sense of any, it was very much non-traditional, which I loved, and I decided it was time for me to move away from home.
Speaker 2:And I ended up in Denver, colorado, where I've been for the past 12 years 12 years and a couple weeks and that I've been here and I've just been on the best journeys. Like you were saying, I have done a lot of different things. Like you were saying, I have done a lot of different things. What I really wanted to focus on when I first moved here to Denver was I don't know anything about anything and I want to be a temp for a little bit to just get a feel for what's around me. What are the good places to work? Where do they treat you well? Where do you have room for growth?
Speaker 2:And I found a lot of what you would expect the really bad nursing homes, one of which I did have to report to state it was so bad and I also saw some really cool stuff. I went to an eating recovery center to work, which is very interesting and eye-opening, and then I ended up being hired on as permanent staff with the endocrine surgeon that you mentioned and that opened up a whole world that I just didn't even know existed, and it was just Before you dive deeper into that wide world that we're going to talk about here, you said you had a report in nursing home to state why did you have to do that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, there were a lot of patients just being completely neglected and it's the you know age old. Well, there's not enough people to take care of them and it's absolutely tragic. It should not be okay. I feel very strongly and passionately about that. They're still humans and why are they getting treated differently? It shouldn't be like that in any way, shape or form for anybody.
Speaker 2:So in this particular place I couldn't even tell you the name of it now, even if I wanted to, but I'm not, obviously, because I don't even remember it. But when I walked in I had to basically chase somebody down, like hey, can you tell me, like, what to do? I've never been here before. Can you show me where basic things are so I can do this shift that I was there for? That was really difficult. And then at one point we were filling up everyone's waters before bed. This was like a evening bedtime shift, and so we were going around and I'm, you know, doing my side of the hallway, the other girl's doing her side of the hallway and we're just going down. I'm like she's really fast. I was like, well, she's permanent staff, she knows she has a system down. And then it took me a little bit to realize that she was emptying the old water from their little cups onto the ground by the door, instead of walking the extra five feet into the bathroom.
Speaker 2:She was walking, and, and right by the door so she just dumped the water by the door yeah that sounds like we have to go fast and I'm like that's not how, that's not how you go faster, that's not it. That's not how you go faster. That is how, not it. That's not how you go faster.
Speaker 2:That is how somebody falls, that is how mold starts. And like my mind was going to all the things. I'm like this is absolutely unsafe, this is not okay. And that was red flag number one outside of the beginning, and I saw several patients with stage fours decubitus ulcers that weren't being addressed at all and no one cared. And I was like, yeah, that's not OK, like I can't just sit here and not say something. I have to say something because I would hate for that to be one of my family members and me not know that that's a bad thing or not even understand what those words mean and what the implications are for their health.
Speaker 2:And I was like, yeah, I have to say something. And I was like, track down the LPN who I felt bad, for she was absolutely swamped. And I'm like, hey, I know you have like a thousand and one things on your plate, but this is what I just saw. And there's like no treat, there's no dressing, like there's not, even it doesn't look like it's ever been touched. And they were like, oh, yeah, no, they struggle with that. It's okay. Like oh, no, it's not no, that's that's first of all, it's never okay.
Speaker 2:second of all, this is serious and this needs to be dealt with. And I had to basically educate the LPN on what a stage four decubitus ulcer was and how serious that is, and I'm like I should not be the one to teach you this and to remind you how important that is. I should not be the one to do that. And I was like, okay, yeah, this is a bigger issue, because I'm sure there, if I kept looking, there would have been more and more things to say so wait a minute.
Speaker 1:You said you had to teach a nurse about stage four, oh my goodness.
Speaker 2:Oh no, we don't worry about those that is insane I'm like do you know what that that you know? Do you know what I'm telling you?
Speaker 1:like you do you know the words that I'm?
Speaker 2:telling you right now, because I I would hope that you do and like I had to really like fight to keep myself professional in that moment Because I'm like this is not okay, this should not be happening. I will never come back there again. And it broke my heart because I'm like if I could, I would have saved all the patients you know like no, just come with me, I'll take care of you.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, obviously, just come with me, I'll take care of you?
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, obviously that's not realistic.
Speaker 1:But yeah, no, no, and so it sounds like you did the right thing for sure. So of course I want to dive into some of your other workplaces that you have worked and kind of ask more questions on that. But first I want to dive into your business. So what? What is your small business? Let us in on that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I am a licensed health insurance broker in 27 states. Okay, in short, I help people under the age of 65 find a health insurance policy, and I do that by doing an assessment on them before I ever bring up a plan, before I ever talk about anything. I ask them about their health. I'm asking do you have any major surgeries? Have you had any hospitalizations? What do you see your doctor for whenever you show up there? Is it because you have the flu or is it because you have an ongoing issue? Is it because you have the flu or is it because you have an ongoing issue?
Speaker 2:And I basically go through kind of like a review of systems with people to make sure that I'm putting them in the best plan that they can be on for their health and for their wallet. And sometimes we do have to kind of pick an avenue whether we want to go cost-effective or more health-effective. It's unfortunate, but that's what I'm here to do is I'm here to educate the clients on what the market looks like and making sure that they're ultimately going to not be at risk of medical bankruptcy because they've gotten onto a plan that they don't understand or is vastly underinsuring them.
Speaker 1:So as a CNA, how can someone get started with that? How can they become a health insurance broker?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's. Honestly it's no more intimidating than becoming a CNA, doing the little classes that you have to do. It's really not. It's not rocket science, but it is definitely something that getting the licensing, getting things started is the easy part. Anybody can do it. It is super easy to do. It's the consistency of this is a hundred percent commission. I don't get a participation trophy for just walking in the door. I get paid when I get a new client onboarded. That's when I'm able to make my income. So it's hustling all the time.
Speaker 2:It is constantly getting your name out there. I love doing things like this, I love networking. That is how I have created my business and it has gone predominantly referral only as of this year. So that's very exciting. It was very unexpected, but it's a very big blessing and I'm just, yeah so, becoming one super easy, finding the right company that does right by their people, both as like a contractor for them and from the client side.
Speaker 2:Do they do the right things? Do they own up to when like, hey, it was a technical error, we got it, we're fixing it. Or are they the ones like, oh well, guess you're stuck. See ya, right. And that takes a little bit more time to kind of feel out and really see, like when push comes to shove, what happens when things are really serious, if it's, if it's if it is a serious matter, or if it's, you know, easy fix. If it's just, you know again, technology's not perfect, but you know it's making sure that you do that, do it that way and just staying very consistent. Over this past two and almost two years, a year and a half it has been a wild roller coaster and it's it's the mental side of oh, nobody talked to me this week, okay.
Speaker 1:All right.
Speaker 2:Cool, so I'm not making a dime this week. Cool, cool, cool and it's getting over that. And getting over that the mental barriers is the hardest part and I definitely experienced that over this last year Especially. I definitely went down, you know, went to a different place in my mental health that I wasn't okay with being, and I was thankfully able to pull myself out of it with some help.
Speaker 1:But that's the hardest part I was going to say. So how did you get out of that? Get out of that rough spot.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was really relying on my support system, my family, my friends, my colleagues that have all played their part that, whether they knew it or not, of being like the real ones, like if you don't get it together, we're not going to save you, like we can't support you if you don't start saving yourself, right, and that helped a lot and I think I needed that. But I also needed the soft, like it's okay, everything's going to be okay, we'll take care of you. I kind of needed like both you know both ends of the spectrum just to help. Like there's going to be people that are absolutely, you know, going to have to leave because they aren't making sales. And I faced that a lot this past year and thankfully I've been on a good roll here and I'm definitely trying to keep that going. So, yeah, it's, the more mental side of it is much different. It's really hard, but in a totally different way than working in hospitals. They're both mentally challenging, but in just very, very different ways.
Speaker 1:So we're going to touch on the hospital aspect for sure. Pretend I'm somebody off the street. Let's pretend there's a listener that's listening right now. They're like okay, how can I get started as a stranger? What would you tell them? What would you tell me?
Speaker 2:I would tell them to, for one, call me and let's have a conversation. And second, it's um, what is your goal out of life? Why are you doing medical anything? Why are you doing that? Is it because it fulfills something and something is that. Does it give you something that really fulfills you? Or are you doing it because it's a really nice paycheck?
Speaker 2:If you're doing it because you want to have more, like you're going to basically stick your head in the sand for x amount of time, whether that some people will do that for four years and they'll come up for air, you know when they need to to recharge their batteries, but ultimately you are hustling all the time. Are you okay with that? Because you've got to be able to. You have to be willing to at least sacrifice that. Are you? What's your why? Why are you doing anything? Is it so you can have a vacation home? Is it so you can not be in debt? Is it so you can, you know, provide for a family? And when you know that that keeps you going because no one's woken up and, like you, know what. I'm going to be a health insurance agent because I am passionate about it. There's probably no one who's ever said that in their life they do it.
Speaker 2:I've never heard it, but hey probably no one who's ever said that in their life?
Speaker 2:I've never heard it, but hey, there's probably somebody out there. But I do it because I know it's going to provide for me the longer I stay with it. It's worth it to maybe sacrifice a couple weekends out with the friends, maybe sacrifice a couple nights sitting on the couch. It's worth it.
Speaker 2:I have seen colleagues of mine, both in my office and in other offices around the country, make their yearly bonus $80,000 or more, and they're on the top of the company. And they don't do that by going home at sharp five o'clock to go, you know, watch TV and make dinner. They do that by putting in a lot of hours and they do that by overcoming all of the mental hurdles that you have to do in order to be really successful. And if you just don't stop, don't stop, just keep going, just keep swimming, and yeah, and it's going to be worth it. And I've seen it change people's lives because you're just you're constantly getting different ways to make money with, whether that be through bonuses or annual incentives or quarterly incentives. You are getting rewarded everywhere you look, if you just work hard.
Speaker 1:So I know a lot of people. They think CNA, they automatically go to long-term care, they just think of the nursing home. So you have a plethora of experience. So, besides the nursing home, where would you recommend a CNA to go work?
Speaker 2:I would highly recommend, when you are starting off, to work in an ICU, if you are wanting to become a nurse or move up from there, maybe become, you know, an NP or something. If, wherever you want to go, you are going to see a lot. I was in the trauma ICU. There's no shortage of what you'll see. You are going to see a lot Because we're CNAs at least in my hospital, in my unit, I was floated a lot. I got floated pretty much everywhere.
Speaker 2:I was in the cardiac ICU, which I actually really like cardiac I'm just not as familiar with ICU cardiac and I was on a floor and somebody started to code and both nurses froze and they both froze and I was like all right, I'm taking over. It's like come on, guys, we've got to get together and you know you're going to because, like, just being in the ICU you're going to have more experience, not to say that you go in there and act like you know everything, because you don't but walk in there with humility. But you're also like, yeah, when the push comes to shove, you're going to take over and just run the thing. You know you just got to do it. But it's yeah, you just learn so much. You're just and especially at a teaching hospital. I worked at a teaching hospital. You're going to have opportunities when the floor is slower I won't say the keyword. When the floor is slower you might be able to step off the floor and watch a procedure happen bedside, if that's possible, or they may need you to hold position for that.
Speaker 2:I've done that for chest tubes, for different stuff. It's never anything too invasive but it's really cool to see and you just get to be that fly on the wall and observe. Cool to see. And you just get to like be that, fly on the wall and observe. And if you're not sure where you want to end up in the medical field, it is a really good place to be that fly on the wall for so much. And I think starting off as a CNA gives you a different kind of appreciation for how much cnas do in the hospital setting. They do a lot depending on the hospital. I've worked at other hospitals where it was like cool, well, you have four things that you can do. So have fun right, being in the icu you got. You got a lot more responsibility, which I really liked okay, okay, so.
Speaker 1:So ICU is a good suggestion. So if you're a CNA and you have a hospital, particularly a teaching hospital, you might want to give that a try. So I wanted to ask you about the endocrine day surgery.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Let's talk a little bit more about that. Tell us a little bit more about that and what you did there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I, like I was saying I started off as just a little temp that was working the front desk, checking people in, getting their little insurance cards, taking little copies. You know very, very easy stuff. And the surgeon prefers working with CNAs, not MAs. It's just her preference. That's what she was, you know, when she was a baby doctor. That's what she was around, so that's what she prefers. That's what she was, you know, when she was a baby doctor. That's what she was around, so that's what she prefers.
Speaker 1:So what is an MA? For those who may not know what that is, oh sorry, medical assistant. Okay, okay.
Speaker 2:They can do. They're certified to do like a little bit more than a CNA, like blood draws and things like that. But it's, you know, they're not that far apart from each other. So, yeah, I started off just doing that and then eventually it led me down to I ended up being there for four years and I did surgery scheduling. I would help with bedside procedures. I'd pull drains. I would, because there'd be JP drains in the neck after, like a thyroid cancer. If there was lymph node involvement, there would be JP drains and I would pull those. I would help during fine needle aspirations, which was pretty cool After you've seen one. They're very boring but it's pretty interesting to get to do stuff like that. And there was one unique opportunity where the doctor was doing a scar revision and I got to be in the room with that. So that was pretty cool. Yeah, so it's just yeah, saying yes to different opportunities.
Speaker 2:But that job taught me a lot. It also taught me boundaries. So was that an outpatient? And when I stepped into that role, I was calling insurance like, hey, I have these CPT codes, these procedure codes. Are they covered or not? Do I need a prior off? Things like that. So yeah, Okay, okay.
Speaker 1:So we've talked about outpatient, we've talked about hospital, we talked about health insurance. There is a common topic I do want to talk about, which is med-surg. So a lot of times I hear the perspective of med-surg from nurses. There's plenty of nurses who have plenty to say about med-surg. However, it's my first time asking from a CNA's perspective on this show. So what is your perspective of med-surg in a CNA?
Speaker 2:It is. Being a CNA in a med-surg hospital on med-surg floors is so wildly different because I was in the float pool, so I went to every med-surg unit in that hospital and I would have different groups at night I work nights only and I would have units that would not pick up a finger to help you If you were swamped. Call lights going off left, right and center. You are getting no help. Everyone is sitting on their phone scrolling Instagram while you're running from end to end trying to make sure that people don't fall. You're doing all the things to try and get them to the bathroom safely or get them their water or whatever.
Speaker 1:Wait a minute. Were these nurses that just sit there on their phone?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, and that's very common, 100% very common. That's unacceptable.
Speaker 1:Completely unacceptable. So if you're listening, you're a nurse. That's completely unacceptable.
Speaker 2:It is not okay.
Speaker 1:Help your CNAs, help your techs. You heard it first. I'm sorry, go ahead and yes, no, I appreciate that.
Speaker 2:That's still like. I've been gone a year and a half and it still makes me mad when I hear about those stories because I'm like you know, like I would love. I loved the med card, med like I, that medical cardiology. That was my favorite unit because the nurses were amazing, they. It was that like hey, I'm going to so-and-so's room, so I'll do their vitals here. Let's not wake them up anymore, so skip that room. But if you want to do my other two, that would be really helpful, cool, let's do it.
Speaker 2:It was a divide and conquer Instead of no, that's not my job, I'm not doing their vitals, that's yours. It's like you're going gonna be in there like I get it. Yes, I can do it. Yes, the world will keep turning, I will do it. However, can we think about their sleep? Because we're on nights and like, let's not interrupt them a thousand times? They're already doing that during the day. I don't know, maybe it could be work smarter, not harder, and it would always be.
Speaker 2:It was so refreshing to walk into a unit like that where you knew that if you were stuck in a room doing a cleanup, doing whatever, there wasn't a line of people waiting out the door for you to be like, can you do this? This, you know it's, it makes, it, really teaches you who in and it helps you like, read people, because I feel like I can read people very well now of like, oh, in general, you still see, you still have a very eye-opening experience. It's just in a very different way and if I were to relate it to long-term care, it's the most close to that, especially if you're working in a rehab unit. You have to get them up. There's no bedpans, there's no urinals. It is nope, you're getting up and unit you have to get them up. There's no bedpans, there's no urinals. It is nope, you're getting up and you are walking into the bathroom. There's no workarounds in those environments.
Speaker 2:So for those you know rehabs sort of, you know if it's an ortho floor, you're going to be getting every single patient out of bed, most likely depending on where they're at in their care. So those floors can be super exhausting. I remember walking in my car after those nights and I would try to badge into my car because I was so exhausted because you didn't sit down maybe 10 minutes collectively the whole night because you were just running. And then you have the nights where it was still busy but you weren't feeling like you were left out to dry by yourself, where you're like, yeah, I was busy but like I don't feel that bad because, like I know, I wasn't the only one working hard. That shift it just it really med surge is is wild, it it's the wild west, wild west yes, yes, med-surg is truly the wild wild west.
Speaker 1:I completely agree. Yeah, my experience is pretty similar. My experience is pretty similar. So I worked Med-Surg for a little bit over a year, but the time I worked was during, right at the beginning of COVID too. So, yeah, yeah, so, if you, if you are somebody that's new, uh, maybe you've heard stories, uh, maybe, if you're one of the few OGs who worked during that time period, if you know, you know and um, yeah, that was an unforgettable experience working mid-surg and COVID.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, I understand where you're coming from.
Speaker 1:It was weird.
Speaker 2:I feel like I got very lucky during COVID because I didn't see the horrors of it as much as most medical people and I say people because it's not just nurses or CNAs, it's everybody. I feel like I didn't see that because my hours were severely cut, because I was working in a surgical hospital when I was med-surg float pool. It was a predominantly surgical hospital and since all elective procedures were canceled, multiple units in the hospital were just completely shut down so they didn't have the revenue to keep paying us to just show up and not do anything. So it was I literally how I was re. I was the one using the uv light to kill the germs on masks Most disgusting thing I've ever seen in my life and I've seen stage fours. I've seen a lot. No, that's disgusting. I will have to yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So, and I, you know, of course I still saw horrible, totally tragic things, but it was, you know, in comparison to everybody else.
Speaker 1:I mean, I feel like I got out pretty unscathed, gotcha, gotcha. So it sounds like the accumulation of all these experiences that you've had. So we talk about med-surs, icu, long-term care, you know, endocrine day surgery. With all of these it sounds like it helped you in your health insurance journey. Would you agree with that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it really did it really and I didn't know at that point. You know like I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.
Speaker 1:Well, same.
Speaker 2:And I didn't realize that the path I was taking was kind of setting me up to be in this role. So when I have clients tell me I have this, you know, I have this like thing. It's not that big of a deal, and I think it's called a mitral valve prolapse. I think it went away though, so I'm okay. Now I can be like oh, that doesn't just go away, that's serious. Talk to a professional, talk to a cardiologist. I'm not going to tell you anything more than that. Go to a cardiologist.
Speaker 2:Meanwhile, in my mind because I was teletech, I really was pretty involved with the surgical cardiology floor I was like you need a taffer. Holy crap, you need a lot of things right now. You may not need it right now, but maybe later, like holy moly, you know, like just thinking, of course. That's what I have experience with. So I think that that's the course of action. I could be very wrong, but I'm like you need to tell somebody, because that doesn't just go away. I know that much. So I'm able to put people on plans that will cover a TAVR if they do need it, if they do need something super serious.
Speaker 2:I understand what that course of action looks like from a very outsider's view. Outsider's view because I, you know, because I did get so much exposure, I feel like it really helped me, of like, okay, I think I saw this one time and I think that it's, you know, a, b and C needs to happen after an accident or after, you know, a cardiac event or something. I'm like, okay, cool, they're going to need this, this and this. So let's get them on something that's going to prepare them for that. Let's get them on a plan that's going to protect them, so they aren't those people doing a gofundme because they didn't know what their plan covered. And we're going to research and make sure that everybody touching them is in network, so we're not having to go out of network, because that's when people run into trouble too.
Speaker 1:Gotcha, Gotcha. So we're going to stop here. But where can people find you? Where can people find your business? Where people can find your socials? Where can people find you if they want more information?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I am Taurus and Co Health Plans on Instagram. I have a Facebook page. You can just Google me too, alena Taurus or Taurus and Co Health Plans, and I will come up. And on my Instagram, facebook, everything I have a link tree and that gives you direct sites to my booking link, my website and my contact card. So I would love to help anybody I can direct sites to my booking link, my website and my contact card. So I would love to help anybody I can. And, yeah, my website has the states I'm licensed in, so, yeah, I would love to help anybody in those states.
Speaker 1:All right, all right. Well, I appreciate you coming on today. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:This was so fun.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, you've been very helpful. I feel like you're going to help a lot of people out in their journey, and maybe they'll be inspired to become a health insurance broker. So you never know.
Speaker 2:That'd be so exciting. Yes, come on.
Speaker 1:You never know, you never know. So thank you guys for tuning in for what you're, wakanda, are in. I love you guys and until next time, all right, later.
