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
Navigating Nursing: Military Discipline to Civilian Chaos
What happens when military discipline meets civilian healthcare chaos? Kevin Gibson, known as "The Boot Nurse," brings unique insight to this collision of worlds from his 16.5 years of naval service and subsequent career as a registered nurse and NCLEX coach.
Kevin's journey through nursing wasn't smooth – he candidly shares his experience failing the NCLEX exam three times before succeeding on his fourth attempt. This vulnerability forms the cornerstone of his coaching philosophy today. "What person do you know actively tells you they were unsuccessful?" he asks, pointing out that while nursing exam pass rates hover around 91%, someone needs to help the other 9% who struggle. His coaching program boasts remarkable success, with only seven unsuccessful students out of 125 coached over five years.
The stark contrast between military healthcare structure and civilian nursing culture emerges as Kevin details his difficult three-year transition after leaving active duty. In military settings, leadership typically comes from individuals with medical backgrounds who understand frontline challenges. Civilian healthcare often suffers from administrators with no clinical experience making decisions affecting patient care. This disconnect, combined with toxic workplace behaviors like "nurses eating their young," contributes to the burnout crisis plaguing the profession. Kevin's military background gave him the confidence to address this toxicity directly: "I said from day one that it will not happen around me."
Kevin's published book "Conquer It: The Journey to Passing the NCLEX," 7-day course, and personalized coaching program offer struggling nursing students a relatable mentor who understands their challenges. His approach combines technical knowledge with genuine compassion, demonstrating how vulnerability creates the connection many students need to overcome obstacles. Connect with Kevin at thebootnurse.com or on social media platforms as "The Boot Nurse" to discover how military discipline and nursing expertise can transform your healthcare journey.
https://linktr.ee/WakandaRN
Welcome in. Welcome in with your Wakanda RN. Glad you guys are here today. So we got a special guest with us today. We have Kevin Gibson, the boot nurse. What's up, kevin? What's going on, man?
Speaker 2:What's going on, man? You know I appreciate you reaching out and, you know, wanted me to do this podcast with you, bro, I always enjoy these. They're fun, you know. You know, really kind of stir up some conversation and hopefully, you know, we'll be able to give the people what they want.
Speaker 1:Oh conversation and hopefully, you know, we'll be able to give the people what they want. Oh yeah, man. So I'm pretty excited, man.
Speaker 2:So, kevin, just real quick just tell us what you do, man. What do you do for a living? Well, right now I am a registered nurse. I've been a registered nurse for almost five years. I've worked in the ICU, I've worked in the PACU the recovery room for those that don't know what that is and I also worked in the operating room as a circulating nurse. I was also in the Navy. I'm a military veteran of 16 and a half years. I've done a bunch of other things within my military career, so I'm a veteran now enjoying that freedom that I got. But as of right now, I use my nursing license to help nursing students and graduates prepare for their NCLEX exam. And the NCLEX exam is the licensure exam to allow registered nurses and practical nurses to practice nursing, you know, in hospitals and places of care.
Speaker 1:All right, all right. So what made you start doing that type of content? What was it?
Speaker 2:What made me start? I'm assuming you're asking what made me want to coach students.
Speaker 1:Yes, what made you want to coach students?
Speaker 2:Well, I actually was on the lower end of those individuals who was very unsuccessful at taking the NCLEX exam. I actually am a NCLEX test failure or a licensure failure, because I was unsuccessful at passing the exam, not done my first time or second time or third time. I actually passed my exam on my fourth attempt to finally call myself a registered nurse. So I always said to myself I never wanted people to feel how I felt, like they were a disappointment, they were a failure, that they'll never be able to conquer this goal. And I decided to take my testimony and to show everyone that you can do this If you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, go back to the drawing board, audit yourself and do better next time as you go forth. So that's, that's the reason why I decided to pursue this aspect of nursing.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay, so four times four times so what? What made you persevere four times? Cause a lot of people. They stop after the second, especially the third time, like what made you persevere to the fourth time?
Speaker 2:You know I kind of tailor it back to my, my military service. You know I was a hospital corpsman in the Navy and you know we, we work with the Marines and we've worked with, you know, other branches of service. You know doing the medical side of the house and you know one of the things that we always say is, you know, never leave anybody behind. But then we also are those individuals to really just push one another, because if you have a weak link in the chain, the whole chain can break. So you know, I had those really great mentors that told me hey, you know how much is this, how much does this cost for you?
Speaker 2:Think about all the time which you can't get back, all the time that you spent on trying to achieve this goal.
Speaker 2:Do you want to waste this marathon or do you want to finish this marathon strong? Do you want to be able to audit yourself to see what you did wrong so you can do it better and then eventually conquer that goal? So the perseverance, you know, the steadfast in doing something, even though you know delaying of the achieving that goal, that's the whole point. So I really just had to think to myself what do I really want to do? Do I want to stay where I am or do I want to progress? I like to call that getting off the beach, so I can either stay on the beach where I'm not going to progress, or I can look the world in the face while, you know, hellfire and brimstone is just being thrown at me, but I'm still making progress as I'm moving forward. So you know, it's really like my, the military aspect man. It's like we don't quit around here. I don't quit around here and you're not going to quit around me.
Speaker 1:So what? What made you join the military? What made you pick the Navy branch, specifically?
Speaker 2:Because the Air Force wouldn't take me. Okay, no, but seriously, like, I walked into the Air Force, uh, recruiters, and it was some pregnant lady that was in there who I don't know what was going on with her. She said some really rude things to me and then I left. You know, a couple of weeks later I got a phone call from the Navy. I went up there, talked to them. I had just got finished watching Top Gun. So I said I want to go on an aircraft carrier just like everybody else, right? And but I realized I didn't have any direction.
Speaker 2:You know, I was 19. I didn't have any direction on what I wanted to do. I may be dating myself, but MTV and VH1 and spring break and summertime I know what that is. That was that time that I really realized that I wasn't prepared for the world as I thought I was. And that was my very first experience to realize that college depending on what you're going to school for but the majority of it, college is a scam. And so I went to the recruiter. They lay out everything. I was there for a long time.
Speaker 1:I sat on that, I talked to my dad, my dad's friend, and you know he said, just try it. And I was like, ok, and so I did. I end up joining the Navy, end up getting the job as a hospital corpsman, which is the medical side of the house for both the Navy and the Marine Corps and one of the best decisions I ever made. So I want to touch back on something you said. I mean, of course, I want to dig a little bit deeper into your naval background, but you said college is a scam. What, why or what makes you say that?
Speaker 2:So hindsight's 20-20. You know, that's me saying almost 20 years ago that you know college is a scam. But depending on what you're going to college for, you don't need college for it. I had no idea what I was doing while I was in school. I was just there because I was told I had to be there. I was told you got to take out loans in order for you to go to this school. They didn't really, you know like really jump in and say, hey, why don't you just do a trade? You know something like plumbing or landscaping, or you know carpentry or roofing. You know those things that really do make our world go round. And you know, I wanted to do psychology nothing wrong with that but I didn't know that even like even now to this day, it's like you can't do anything with psychology until you have a master's degree. And then I. And then how many people change their majors while they're in college?
Speaker 2:at least three times, at least three times. And so, you know, I went from you know psychology, to wanting to do be an anesthesiologist, to wanting to be a nutritionist, wanting to be a dentist. I wanted to be an astronaut at one point, you know. And then everything, man, I wanted to. The kid in me, the kid in me was just living it up, bro, but you know, I finally settled.
Speaker 2:I finally settled on nursing because I realized, as I was working in the Navy as a corpsman, I realized that at least the doctors that I was around, they forgot that people were people and nursing is patient driven. And I'm a very people person and I realized I wanted to make a difference in somebody's life, especially to my fellow brothers and sisters in arms and veterans, you know, working in military hospitals. And so that was my direction on wanting to go nursing. So you got to go to college. You got to go to nursing school, which is college, which is university degree, in order for you to, in order for you to work as a nurse. But as you know what, let me backtrack you don't have to go to college per se, but you do have to be into an accredited program as an LPN and an ADN and BSN Cause I know that if I didn't say that people were going to come for me and I don't, and I don't need y'all coming for me because y'all know that I got to stay off cab man.
Speaker 1:Y'all be giving me a hard time as it is.
Speaker 2:I got to stay off, cab man, you already know I ain't the one, cause I will come for you. I got you. Nah, I ain't the one because I will come.
Speaker 1:I got you. I got you. I was going to piggyback real quick. You know, I was one of those people that changed their major. Listen, initially I wanted to be a physical therapist. That was my first major, until my grandpa, who retired from the Army and chose nursing as his second career and he talked me into changing my major. And so you know, there's sometimes I'm like dang it, why did he, why did he talk me out of it? But it's the security it is, it is, and that's what he preached to me as well. He did preach to me, preach that to me as well.
Speaker 2:It's definitely the security my dad kind of. My dad kind of said the same thing. You know they come from a different era. You know they come from the industrial side of you know of life to where, you know, get a good job, get in with a good company. You know, work there for 20, 30, 40 years, get a pension. You know, get a retirement, go on about your merry way and nursing, from the beginning now and until the very end. You will always be needed, always. No AI, no robot will ever replace a human. It won't. Sorry, sorry for whatever y'all are thinking, the fear for whatever y'all are thinking the fear.
Speaker 2:Sorry, but sorry y'all. But yeah, like you know, a lot of the older generation, our generation before us, you know, generation X and you know, and the baby boomers, they'll say they all say the same thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I also wanted to kind of ask too, so you know your Naval experience you spent how many years? How many years did you say 16 and a half, 16 and a half, 16 and a half years? How far did you?
Speaker 2:go in rank. I made it all the way up to East in the Navy. That's what we call a petty officer first class. So I was right, you know, right below even was working my way towards that. But then I had a lot happen in life, a lot of life altering experiences that hit me literally all at once and I realized to myself that I I didn't like the direction that the military was going. It wasn't the military that I grew up on, because I joined during a time of war and we weren't at war. Okay, and when you know that, you're done you're done Okay.
Speaker 1:So it's kind of like um, I hear about this like athletes in retirement. They said sometimes you don't know until, like, literally, you wake up one day You're like hey, I can't do this, no more. Was it kind of? Was it kind of similar to that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yes, exactly Like that. Like I did 14 and a half year I'm sorry, I did 14 years on active duty and then I did two and a half on the reserve side. When I woke up, work and I was just like I. I have an aversion to this place. I have an aversion to this uniform, or uniform that I spent my almost my entire adult life in. I was just like you know what.
Speaker 1:I think I'm done and it sounds bad, go ahead.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, you're good, this is like I think I'm done and I'm done. And I told my supervisor about it and she looked me in my face and she was just like, okay, because she knew, cause she knew she could see it in my she was ready to retire. So I think that's why she knew she knew the face I was giving her, because it's the same face that she had been essentially been giving me and everybody else in leadership for quite some time, saying that she's ready to retire, she's ready to go. And so when I said that, I was just like, all right, cool, you know, what do I need to do, what are my papers on, and so forth, and I made that happen. So that was, uh, that was all she wrote, you know, and it's a mental thing, it really is a mental thing Never, ever, ever, ever, stay anywhere.
Speaker 1:That is going to destroy your mental health and that's what was doing to me, and so I made the adult decision for me to say you know what I'm done, I'm good and I'm okay with that, yeah, so if you're listening, you heard what he said. If you are in a place, your mental health is rapidly declining, get out, yes, like like the movie. You need to get out, yep, do not pass, yes, yes. So if you hear that, get a, get up out of there. So what you're saying kind of sounds a little bit like burnout. Definitely it sounds like burnout, and there's a term that we typically hear, you know, not just within healthcare, but especially within healthcare you hear the term burnout. So why do you think burnout is as prevalent in healthcare as it is today? Man, that's a good question.
Speaker 2:That's a good question. There are. Burnout is prevalent because of the lack of nursing nurses in the profession. So when you have a lack of and an abundance of those who need help but not enough to take care of them, the individuals that are not enough, meaning the scarcity of nursing they get doubled and tripled and quadrupled up when it comes to, you know, patient load or just work in general. And then you know you have people in leadership that are just like, hey, you know, it's okay, this is only temporary, make it happen. Or you know, this is just the way that it is, sorry, that's not the way that it is.
Speaker 2:And then when you have people that are brand new, that come into a profession that used to be, on average, three to five years before they transferred, then went to, you know, nine to 18 months, now three to six months, that's a problem, that's a problem. That's 18 months, now three to six months, that's a problem, that's a problem. That's a problem. So burnout can contribute. It's contributed to, you know, underpaid, very much overworked, lack of training, the, the, the shortness of these residency programs, the pipelining from the beginning of schools because not all schools are created equally all the way up to the administrators that care about the bottom line and care about the last you know. Care about the, the you know the the bottom line and care about the last you know. Care about the you know the bottom line, rather than the people that work in the hospital.
Speaker 1:So that's good tips right there. Let me ask you so how would you compare and contrast when your roles and duties within the military compared to your roles and duties that you face working on the floor? And just a few examples just kind of need help in terms of you know leadership styles like a paragraph, need help in terms of you know leadership styles like a paragraph, contrast like leadership styles, and then you know being properly manned, so to speak, compared to being undermanned. Can you talk about like a comparative contrast for a couple of those things compared to healthcare and in the military life?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So let me just make this disclaimer right now is that both military and civilian hospitals, they're both corporations and they both, but they both are ran similarly but differently. So one thing I noticed about military is that when it comes to training, is that you have a lot more time. Things go a little bit, a little bit slower because of how the systems and processes are in the military, or at least on the government side of the house. Now, when it comes to the civilian side, like your HCA's oh sorry, I said it out loud and your other hospitals, like was it Advent or Baylor, scott and White or Shands or Baptist or whomever it's all about, hey, how fast can we churn you out to get you onto the floor? You know everybody's like oh, we want to, we're going to train you properly, we're going to give you the resources, aka, you're going to do, we're going to get you through the bare minimum. And then you know, when you get put in situations that you may not be able to handle, you may have resources to help you, you may not.
Speaker 2:So when it comes to the leadership aspect is in most hospitals, military treatment facilities. They're ran by you know military, you know leadership. They're ran by officers or senior enlisted. So it's the lifestyle of how military is. You know, where there's a hierarchy, there's a respect for the people that are in those positions, because the majority of the people that get in those positions have earned them, not all of them. Just because you have the rank doesn't mean that you're a leader. I'm telling you that right now. But, um, you know the majority of them. Like you know, it's not. It's the hierarchy of how the ranks work.
Speaker 2:Um, you know there's people that are in the, the hospitals. You know the civilian hospitals that are that. I've seen one that was our. She was our director, never knew anything about critical care, but they don't care about you knowing anything about critical care. They're just like well, you have a manager who does critical care, so make sure that they do what they're supposed to do. And I'm just like how does that work? You know, how does that work. So at least on the military side of the house there's a. There's a lot more structure. There's a lot more structure on the military side of the house, whether you want to believe it or not, than there is on the civilian side. I've never seen so much turnover happen ever until I became a civilian.
Speaker 1:So, you know, in terms of the proper structure, is what? So what can somebody, let's say? Well, let me say this first, before I ask that question I think you would probably agree with this we have people that are in leadership positions and management positions, and the civilian side, in terms of, you know, administrators, ceos, etc people have no idea, no medical background whatsoever, and yet they are in these leadership positions, you know. So I would say that would probably be one of the biggest differences, probably for sure, because, compared to the military life, I would definitely say you know what I'm saying, because we see that very often and I would think if you have more people that were in health care, you know that had were ran by somebody medically.
Speaker 2:So, for example, of course you know we have our, our, our, our commanding officer, aka the CEO of a hospital, was a doctor. A doctor of some sort was a surgeon of some sort. They may not have been practicing for quite some time, but they at least have the aspects of working as a physician or as a nurse. Who is the commanding officer of this? You know this billion dollar structure that we have going on inside the hospital. That's the biggest thing versus you go to see, you know, the CEOs of these hospitals that are here. They're just like, yeah, I've never done anything healthcare. You know, I have a doctorate and master's. Oh, I'm sorry, I have a doctorate in business administration and in health care administration, but I've never done anything medical and I'm just like then, how then? How can you even understand what somebody at my level you know goes through on a day-to-day basis, unless you were like, yeah, I was a tech, you know, 20 years ago, I'll I was a tech, you know 20 years ago. I'll be like oh, okay, 20.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know what I'm saying. Just, you know. Just throw a number out there, but you know. So in your opinion, is it harder to take? You know discipline and correction from. You know working for civilian hospitals compared to that, that structure in a military life.
Speaker 2:You laugh a little bit, I laugh. I laugh because you know when I was working as a nurse. So when I was working as a nurse, you know I was still in a leadership position in the reserves, you know where I was in charge of a whole unit of people and so for me to go to military, to go to a hospital and I and and you know, some older nurse talking to me like they lost their mind, didn't really really didn't really go well for them. And I'm not saying, I'm not saying this to be a jerk, but you know, tone is everything and especially tone is everything. And I have an educational background. I've been, I've been an instructor since 2015. So I've been teaching since 2015.
Speaker 2:And so when I go into a place where I see I'm like why is the training like this, or why is this preceptor just like, yeah, just do this, just do that. And I'm like I call people out on it. And then when I started asking questions, then that's when they get defensive. And then, you know, when they get defensive, they take it as something personal. I'm just like, no, I'm just asking you.
Speaker 2:But then when people start talking to me like, well, you're supposed to do this where you're supposed to do that. Hey, are you listening to me? Hey, pay attention. And I'm just like, first of all, I'm not your son and I'm not your husband, so I'm gonna need you to check your tongue. That's number one, all right. Number two I'm asking you and I'm trying to get clarification and you have done nothing but belittle me. You know that's where that nurses eat their young nonsense comes from, and I said from day one that it will not happen around me and you will not do it to me. And then, when people tried it, then I'm you know, I'm the angry one.
Speaker 1:So it sounds like and I'm sure you agree with this that nursing has a culture problem. One hundred percent it is a culture problem. Where do you think this originated?
Speaker 2:from and why is it as bad as it is? Culture wise, you know, man, it could stem, it really could stem from anything, but what I'm really thinking of is the autonomy that nurses didn't have. And it's the doctor, the doctor, nurse like interaction because I'm a doctor, I have have a degree, I'm a medical doctor, you're a, you're just a nurse. You don't know what I know, and so there's that. There's that you know that ego issue between you know. That's where it started. That's where I think it started.
Speaker 2:Do I know somebody can fact check me? You guys can check that out? Drop it in the comments, y'all let us know, but it's, it's, it's an ego thing. I know more than you do. Then, rather than trying to help somebody, you want to belittle them all because of your ego. But so, to answer your question, do I know where it started? No, but my thought process makes me think it's the ego aspect that started between doctors and nurses and then, as nurses, start to get more autonomy as we start to go along that ego thought process that nurses now the nurses have it towards the other nurses, Towards the younger nurses, and social media can play a part of that too. It was like girl, all you're here for is just a bag and to look cute and skirts and or cute and scrubs and you're trying to find baby, daddy, neurologist, and I'm just like boy. It's different for us men that are in nursing, because we're just like it's the truth.
Speaker 1:That's not what I'm here for. No, no, not at all. And it seems strange because a lot of places, a lot of hospitals, long-term care facilities, they just let this happen. This type of culture is prevalent. It just runs rampant. There's no true discipline system, or they don't even try to discipline the people that do this type of behavior. And a lot of it and you can chime in too, I believe is due to maybe a shortage in the workplace or maybe they have this longevity. They don't want to get rid of this particular nurse because maybe they're older but they're dependable. They'll show up no matter what, they'll come in no matter what. A lot of that generation, that's what they, that's what that's embedded within them. It seems like they'll just come in, yeah, but you know, what do you? What do you think about that? You know, in terms of like management, don't want to do anything with these particular nurses.
Speaker 2:You're right, management doesn't, they don't want to do anything with them is because they they would rather have you know a, you know a sour apple in the bunch than not have that apple at all because of the the need for helping that unit and I don't care if he's sour, I don't care if she's sour, they're like we, we need them there, no matter how detrimental that they could be.
Speaker 2:I've seen some people do some. I'm just like, how are you even here, yeah. And then I'm just I'll go say something. I'm just like hey. So here's the note I'm going to tell you notes that I took, and in the military, if I see it, I start at the lowest level. I confront that person. When I did that when I became a civilian, oh, you know, not invasion of privacy, but it was more of like, oh, you don't tell people about that, you go tell leadership about it. And I'm like what, like, if he could fix it at this level, I don't got to tell them, right, and so that's. And that's another thing. That was just opposite. It's just no one ever comes to you to say anything to you about it. They always go to leadership. And here come leadership telling you about it, and then it's just, it's new and you're just or it's right out of left field and you're just like.
Speaker 2:No one ever told me that before nope you know, like if somebody would have the people that are with me, aka my preceptor or the charge nurse, that's there, if they tell me, then I can correct it, then there's, you don't even need to know. Yes, you know, but that's not how they do things. They go straight to the top because it it's all. It's a um. What's the word I'm looking for? It is a. You know, it's a um, it's a word I'm looking for. It is a. You know, it's funny, like a gang thing, like. I don't want them there.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So they'll do whatever that they have to do. I felt that it's happened to me twice you know.
Speaker 1:So I've noticed, uh, especially when I used to work for a veteran center, they're really big on the chain of command. You got to follow the chain of command and so I would take that practice and try to apply to other facilities. They're like they don't, they don't do that at all, they just go to whoever they can. Because a lot of people, because a lot of places you know people will skip that chain of command, especially if they're buddy buddy with somebody on top. They can. They will just go to them for any issue whatsoever. That issue could minor, maybe it's something worth reporting, maybe it's not but if you're causing that person any type of inconvenience, then they'll just like run to whoever that top person is and try to get you in trouble.
Speaker 2:I've heard people say you know, I know the CEO, so I'll just go straight to them, and they literally would text him or go to his office. Yeah, and the next you know here he comes into the operating room like what is he doing in here? To me, in my thought process that's like you know somebody who was like this little e1 in the military, going straight to the commanding officer's office. You would never do that, and if it got found out that, okay so, but it's just like it was such a culture shock for me which, honestly, like didn't, it didn't help my transition when I became a civilian either.
Speaker 2:And so you know it, just. It's just, you know, one of those things that I had to realize that the this is how the civilian world is. I was out of my protective not say protective, but I was out of my time capsule. I was out of that bubble of you know military service, to where it's just like hey, here's the rest of the world.
Speaker 1:This is how they operate. I mean, I can imagine I'm sitting here thinking to myself would it be harder if I came from a place?
Speaker 1:of structure, and then I go to a place that doesn't have structure, versus you know, you're not, you're not, you're kind of blind to healthcare, you don't know what you don't know. And then so you just get into the culture. You know, you don't, you're not really aware that it's toxic environment, you just deal with it on a daily basis. I mean, in my mind, I think it'd be harder if I came from a place of structure, just like military life, and then I come into civilian life and I got to deal with all this other toxic mess that goes on within it was it.
Speaker 2:It was a very hard transition from 2021, when I initially got off active duty, from 2021, all the way, honestly, till the summer of 2024. It was a it was, it was, it was, was quite a challenge, quite a challenge.
Speaker 1:So you said 2021 yeah 2021 to 2024.
Speaker 2:It was quite a mental challenge for me, um, and a lot of people go through it. That's why they tell you to don't suffer in silence.
Speaker 2:You know, if you have, if there's a mental things that are going on, you know, open your mouth and say something. And, luckily for me, you know I was one of those people that I was very open about. You know, telling you know my brothers and sisters in arms. I tell them that I love them, if they need anything, let me know, or hey, there's always help out here. Don't be one of those individuals to try to create a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Like I said, when I became a civilian I was just like you know. I like here.
Speaker 1:We go Right, right, right. So let's, let's shift gears just a little bit. Um, let's talk about your, your NCLEX coach content, so so kind of give an overview of how that works. Do you have, like you know, tutoring sessions? Do you have live sessions, like? Give us like a brief overview of what do you do in terms of being the NCLEX coach do you do in terms of being the NCLEX coach?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so, you know the NCLEX coaching. You know it stemmed from, you know, my lack of that. I started to understand and really kind of create a curriculum for it and the steps on essentially, you know how to get you from point A to point B, and they are honestly the steps that I went through and the steps that a lot of people you know go through as well to, you know, do something that they feel that they can't do. So it starts by, you know most people will find me on social media or they'll find me via email or YouTube or something along the lines of that. But what they'll do is they'll go to my website. They'll fill out a questionnaire so I can know a little bit about them, you know, such as how many time you take in the exam. You know, what state do you live in you, what issues do you have? Is it NCLEX style questions? Is it content? Did your school provide you a review? You know things such as that. And then once you schedule I'm sorry, once you finish your questionnaire, you know you'll be able to, you know, get access to my website and get emails to where you can schedule a call with me and then we can actually, you know, get on the phone and talk and you know see, like what your issue specifically is.
Speaker 2:I've been coaching for five years specifically for NCLEX and I've been, you know, learning NCLEX for the last seven or eight years. So I've heard it all and I was a part of that because it was my own personal struggle. So, yeah, that's essentially like how it goes. And then, once they get on a call with me, you know we determine whether or not, if coaching is, you know, the right fit for them, because this is a relationship, you know, like you have to be. You have to be able to be coachable. But I also have the responsibility and the accountability to you to get you from point A to point B without all the noise and all the fluff that's out there.
Speaker 2:And once we decide that, then we can jump into the coaching. If not, then hey, you don't have to jump into it. But the coaching is 30 days. Okay, it's 30 days, 45 days at the max. Within the first two weeks of working with me, you will see an improvement in whatever scores that you have. It doesn't matter what review that you're using, you know if it's you know, the big ones like Archer, simple nursing you world and such. If you listen to the strategies and the structures of how you can really improve your scores, you will see an improvement on your scores. And if there's not an improvement on your scores, then that's a you problem and we need to figure out what you aren't doing.
Speaker 1:I like that. I like that. So, Kevin, tell me what separates you as an NCLEX coach, as an NCLEX nurse, for your NCLEX content compared to other creators? Why should people come to you specifically? Can you give us some answer to that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm relatable. Okay, what person do you know that's out here that actively tells you that they were unsuccessful? Who tells you that?
Speaker 1:Not many.
Speaker 2:Not many, and let's just let's hone it down some more. When people fail their NCLEX, who openly talks about that? Nobody. What do they do? Well, how many videos do you see out here? Yeah girl, I passed my NCLEX 85 questions. I'm going to show y'all how.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:But what about for the people that didn't pass the NCLEX? Then what? What about them? You know what the passing rate was for 2024? And that's incredible, that's great, that's exactly what we want. But you notice how I said it wasn't 100%, it's not.
Speaker 2:Where are the other nine at? They need help. Those are the ones I want, those are the ones I want. Just like you know and I may be messing this up a little bit and I know somebody's going to come for me in the comments, and that's okay, I'm for it but just like you know how Jesus leaves his 99, the shepherd leaves his 99 to go find his one that is not on the mountain. You want to know why? Because those other 99 are okay and they ain't going nowhere.
Speaker 2:But where that one? Where the other one that that's being led astray? Hey, come on, now let's go, and that's and that, and that's what I feel like, at least at this season in this, in this time in my life, that my purpose is to help as many people pass that exam on their first or the next step period. There's no if ands, no buts in between there, but no. To circle back to answer your question is that I actively tell people that I was unsuccessful and what I did to become successful. So I'm relatable. I've taken it once, I've taken it twice, I've taken it three times, I've taken it four times. So anywhere in between there it's, you know it's relatable and letting you know that you can be here.
Speaker 1:I love that. I love the answer, and I don't care what the comments say. I do love that. I do love the fact that you are unashamed to proclaim your faith. I love that.
Speaker 2:No, I will say, I will say, I will say it right here. I will say that Jesus Christ is my Lord and he is my savior, he is the way, he is the truth and he is the life and no one can get to the father except through him. And believe me, I have salvation and he has touched me and I will see the father Believe me. And I'm saying, I'm saying that with, with all, of, with all of my being in Jesus name, amen, I love that Absolutely, love that.
Speaker 1:So I love the relatability aspect because I mean people can post content. People can post content, they can brag about how great they are, but I feel like the vulnerability creates that relatability Absolutely. I feel that I feel like the vulnerability creates that relatability Absolutely. I feel that I feel like it helps to be relatable. And, yeah, people may care about the 91 percent, but that 9 percent matters. Yeah that 9 percent absolutely matters and I feel like you help, I hope you, I feel like you help meet that need.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you know, I've gotten so much, you know so much hate in the comments before. They were just like they don't deserve to be nurses. I was just like, or there was like in my opinion, in my opinion, they shouldn't be a nurse, and I was like well, it's a good thing I didn't ask you about your opinion. You know what I'm saying. Like you wouldn't know that they were unsuccessful unless they used their vulnerabilities to tell you that they were unsuccessful. Now guess, what.
Speaker 2:You run in your mouth about whatever. They're out there still living their life and there is a test and a testimony right. So I failed four or five times. I just helped a young lady who failed her NCLEX. I believed on her. She passed her NCLEX on her fifth attempt, thinking that she couldn't do it, and she was just like you're so relatable. It is unreal. I didn't think that anybody like you ever existed, because no one wants to be vulnerable. No one wants to seem weak in front of people that they don't know. No, but not at all. You can really test yourself and see what people are really about you when you are vulnerable with them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I completely agree with that. I do appreciate you taking the time to answer that. So, do you have like like a workbook, or do you have anything like any written material like that, or online material Like? What material do you have?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I got. I actually have a few things. The very first thing that I do have is um, I actually wrote a book. I wrote. I am a, I am a published author. I wrote a book. It's called Conquer it the Journey to Passing the NCLEX. It talks about my struggles that I had while I was studying and preparing for the NCLEX and then strategies on how you, as the test taker, can pass your NCLEX on your first or on your next attempt. So that's the very first thing that I have. It's my published book. They can find it on Amazon or they can go to my website, thebootnercom conqueritbooks, and you can go over there and you can get it. I also got some bonuses over there for those that wanna check those out, for those that support the book. So nextly, I do have.
Speaker 2:I have a course. It's called the 7-Day NCLEX Course and the premise behind the 7 days is that within 7 days, you'll be able to understand the concepts of knowing how to break down NCLEX-style questions. Inside of the 7-Day NCLEX Course is a 12-hour NCLEX review along with content. There are 90 videos well over hundreds of hours of content review, as well as the NCLEX review itself. And then, lastly, of course, I have my NCLEX coaching and mentoring program, which is where we do one-on-one call sessions, kind of like how this podcast is going.
Speaker 2:But you know it's just me and another student and you know we break down. You know where your issues are. We come up with a strategy for you. We talk about your time management. We do micro adjustments where they're needed. We come up with a strategy for you. We talk about your time management. We do micro adjustments where they're needed.
Speaker 2:You would get access to me via phone number or via, you know, whatever uh communication apps that are out there for you know talk to me throughout the week. You get micro adjustments throughout the week. Uh, we have a tracker that tracks you know what you get on every quiz, so that way we can see it on one page. You know what you get on every quiz, so that way we can see it on one page. Okay, and then you know we have check-ins all the time. We quiz, we break down and collect style questions together and you know I have a very, very good, very, very good outcome with those me coaching. Over the last five years I, over the last five years, I've coached 125 students 120, 125 students inside of my coaching and mentoring because it is a one-on-one, it's not a group thing and out of the 125, I believe, seven were unsuccessful.
Speaker 1:Wow, yeah, wow. So can you tell me, like, any success stories or any personal testimonies from one of your, your clients, and anything that they told you, anything of praise, anything like that?
Speaker 2:The one student that does come to mind is Stacey. She actually found me on Instagram and we were talking back and forth and Stacey's story is a little bit unique. Stacey became an LPN, but Stacey took the NCLEX PN exam four times and she passed it on her fourth time. Stacey took the NCLEX PN exam four times and she passed it on her fourth time. So she had a lot of test anxiety. And then she went to go get her RN degree, but Stacey took that exam 11 times. She took the RN exam 11 times and I know Stacey's not going to mind me telling her story because she's already told her story. But then Stacey sought me out and was just like hey, I would really love some help. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm already working as a, as an LPN, can you please help me? And I was like sure, and so we broke some stuff down. I told her that she needs to unlearn everything that she's learned as a, as an LPN, and start thinking like an RN. And she was just like you're right, I can't believe. I didn't see that. So on and so forth. So we worked together for a little over 30 days it was about 34 days and it was.
Speaker 2:December of 2023 is when she took her exam and she passed it on her 12th attempt. You know she had a lot of family things going on. You know a lot of doubting in herself during her journey to try to try to get there and get that RN license. And then all it took was just one person to just continuously say that they believe in what they're doing and that it's okay for you to be unsuccessful, but it's not okay for you to stay there if it's worth something that you want to have. And I was very lucky and blessed that Stacey allowed for me to be on that journey with her. And now she's a full-fledged RN out there. I think not even now she's in her soft nurse era. She's not even working bedside, no more. I think she's doing like post office, nursing or occupational. Okay, she's doing something nice out there so shout out.
Speaker 2:Shout out to Stacy, shout out to her.
Speaker 1:All right, all right. Well, we're going to go ahead and close here. Kevin, where can people find?
Speaker 2:you, yeah. So you guys can find me at my website, thebootnursecom. You can find my book, you can find all my courses over there on that website, but you can also find me on instagram, on tiktok, on facebook and as well on youtube. That name is the boot nurse. I upload videos over there almost daily. So, uh, yeah, make sure you guys go over there, subscribe, give me a follow and come along with me on this journey.
Speaker 1:Awesome. Hey, kevin, man, I appreciate your time. Man Appreciate your time today.
Speaker 2:I appreciate you inviting me. We got to do this again.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, Absolutely All right. Family. Once again, thanks for tuning in with your Wakanda RN and family. I'll check with you next time, Love you.
