Bedpan Banter

Staying Grounded Between Bedside & Brand Deals with Natalie Rae

• SimpleNursing • Season 1 • Episode 10

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A brick wall, a Jeep duck, and an engagement ring sets the episode scene—but the real story is how a new grad who started on a Covid unit turned humor into healing and built a platform without letting go of the bedside. We sit down with Natalie Ray to unpack modern nursing: the trauma and the laughter, the brand deals and the hourly pay, the praise and the pile‑on that comes with being visible online.

Natalie shares how TikTok became a lifeline during lockdowns and the exact guardrails she uses to protect her license and her livelihood. She explains the backlash that came from something as simple as a recognizable brick wall and offers clear, repeatable steps any healthcare worker can use to keep personal content separate from their employer. We also dig into the myths around money—why the luxury lifestyles you see aren’t funded by bedside pay alone—and why staying part‑time at the hospital keeps her grounded, empathetic, and honest with her audience.

The conversation widens to clinical education and culture. Natalie walked away from a toxic teaching environment, arguing that recent bedside experience and student advocacy matter as much as degrees. We compare ratios and raises, talk about unsafe assignments, and call out the “pizza party” approach to staffing. Through it all runs a practical blueprint for resilience: curate your unit culture, learn from feedback, debrief at home without blaming your partner, and choose the kind of nurse—and teammate—you want to be.

Hit follow, share with a friend, and leave a review with your take: if you had to pick one today, would you choose better ratios or better pay?


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SPEAKER_02:

Woo!

SPEAKER_01:

We got a code round. Welcome to Bedpan Banter. With me, Nurse Mike. The dog nursing. Can I get a Bedpan over here? Welcome back to Bedpan Banter, the official podcast of Simple Nursing, where we chat about all things healthcare and the human side of nursing. I'm your host, Nurse Mike, and with me today is a very special guest, Natalie Ray. Welcome back.

SPEAKER_03:

Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. I'm very excited to be here.

SPEAKER_01:

The last time we were uh meeting in person, we did some skills videos that you guys may have seen. Those are really fun.

SPEAKER_03:

Those were awesome to film. It was so cool to film with you in person because I'm so used to watching you in nursing school and your voice hearing it in person, it's a little traumatizing. But it's very exciting to be next to you. And now here next to you on the couch and all the talking that we're gonna be doing.

SPEAKER_01:

Now, before we get into your nursing career and your entire story and your journey, we have a very special gift for you here.

SPEAKER_03:

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01:

When you open it, you'll know what it is.

SPEAKER_03:

This is so nice of you. And it matches your scrubs. Oh my god, for my car. This looks like me. Oh, this is beautiful. No, I'm just kidding.

SPEAKER_01:

This looks like uh when Nurse Blake does nurse Becky. That's really funny.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes. Wow, thank you. That's very nice of you.

SPEAKER_01:

If you have a Jeep, uh what is it, Jeep Wrangler?

SPEAKER_03:

It's a Jeep Wrangler.

SPEAKER_01:

The what is it like a Jeep?

SPEAKER_03:

It's a thing called ducking. So if you have a Jeep Wrangler, you live by the shore, like I live by Jersey Shore, or I live at the Jersey Shore. If you like somebody else's Jeep, you put a duck on it. So over time you start to collect ducks. Yes. And I've only ever gotten ducked once. What? Which was very exciting. When I saw it, I had a terrible day at work after 12 hours. I walked out into the parking garage and there was a duck there. I put it on my story, on my Instagram story, and I was like, wow, this made my entire day. And some girl ended up messaging me. She's like, Oh, it was from me. I'm like, you know what? Being ducked, it solves everything.

SPEAKER_01:

Go duck yourself. All right, here we go. Speaking of gifts, what is this blinding me right here?

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, look how beautiful from Vinny. We got engaged from the last time that we saw each other. Snap. Yes. But when he asked me, I had no idea what he said. I went, I blacked out. I had no idea what he said, but all I knew is that the answer was yes. It was beautiful.

SPEAKER_01:

We have Vinny behind the stairs behind the cameras right now in studio. You want to make a cameo? The man, the myth, the legend, Vinny. Big shout out to the car specialist and customizer himself.

SPEAKER_00:

It's called Onyx. Uh, we're in Freehold, New Jersey. And uh basically we do a little bit of everything from custom wheels, change the color of your car, yes, tinting and body kits.

SPEAKER_03:

Everything. He customized my whole Jeep that I got. Anything, any color that I wanted. If you want it, if I wanted it cheetah print, he could make a cheetah print. So it's everything. So it's it's an awesome business that he has.

SPEAKER_01:

I need a cheetah print, yeah. You need mine. Okay. Heck yeah, that would be so sick, right? You guys are so engaged. Yeah. Just got a home.

SPEAKER_03:

We just got a house.

SPEAKER_01:

Life is exciting right now.

SPEAKER_03:

Life is so exciting. It's all good things. It's very stressful because there's a lot going on, but it's all good things. So it's a good problem to have. It's not that it's a problem, but you know, with everything going on, it brings more stress, brings more real life conversations that a lot of couples probably haven't had before. Um, but I think that it's more of just reality and you know, staying in touch with reality, staying in touch with each other. So it's all good things.

SPEAKER_01:

So speaking of stress and reality, what is it like dating a nurse?

SPEAKER_00:

Dude. Let me tell you it. There's a lot of good times and bad times. You know, I could see when she comes home and she had a hard day. And I know, you know, certain ways to make her feel better. I think the biggest thing is the importance of a supportive partner. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Definitely. You know, not every day is 50-50. Some days she's 20 and I'm 80, or vice versa. Yeah. Just about balancing each other out. That's the biggest thing.

SPEAKER_01:

All right, so let's get back to the topic at hand. You are a social media influencer. Do you classify yourself as that?

SPEAKER_03:

No. I actually hate the word influencer and hate is a very strong word.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_03:

I usually just say that I'm on social media. Okay. Um, or content creator is more, you know, a better term. I don't like influencer. Although I would only hope that I'm influencing somebody to do something good. I don't like the word influencer because unfortunately there's a lot of, you know, there's a lot of influencers out there that are influencing the wrong thing. You know, and I think that's like anything. You know, there's good nurses, there's bad nurses, you're both still nurses. Uh, but I don't like the word influencer. So content creator.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and so like content creator, did you ever get, well, first off, when'd you start? Was it in nursing school? Was it when you were in your nurse?

SPEAKER_03:

So it actually was during COVID.

SPEAKER_01:

It was during COVID, okay.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes. And I graduated as a nurse during COVID as well. So it was kind of around the same time when I was graduating from nursing school. Um and then as soon as I became a nurse, I ended up working on the COVID unit. So I, you know, it was a very rough year working on the COVID unit, especially as a new grad.

SPEAKER_01:

You were around the COVID unit, you didn't know what to expect.

SPEAKER_03:

You didn't know anything. And it's this vision that you had of nursing was not that. So I think my outlet was recording myself silly videos and talking with people online who were going through the same thing. Um, so I started it during COVID a couple years ago, which I'm very happy that I did.

SPEAKER_02:

Seriously.

SPEAKER_03:

Because of the way that social media has taken a turn and a way that it's more saturated now than it ever has been. Um, not saying that it's more difficult to become big on social media or to have a following. I just think that the time to get a base of a following and be your most authentic self was a couple years ago.

SPEAKER_01:

Now, speaking of being having a presence online, did you get any backlash from your coworkers? Or I do.

SPEAKER_03:

So I still currently do. I think originally when I first launched my social media, it was when I was working at a smaller hospital at a time, at the time. And a little bit. Long story short, at that hospital, smaller hospital, smaller community hospital, somebody had recognized me from my social media. They recognized that I work there, they put two and two together, they reported me, and the hospital tried to fire me over it.

SPEAKER_02:

For what?

SPEAKER_03:

It was very silly, if you ask me. It was silly, but I did learn a lot from it, and I hope that somebody else can learn something from it too. You should never connect where you work with your social media. Keep them separate. Yes. We've heard this a lot. Yes, and you should always keep it separate, separate. Don't record while you're at work.

SPEAKER_00:

Correct.

SPEAKER_03:

Don't post where you work, don't post with anything. And the thing is that no logos, be careful what's behind you. So when I was posting at that time, there was a bright brick wall that somebody had recognized, and they said, you know what, I know where that wall is, I know what floor she works on, I know what hospital she works here. So they reported me, and that's where the original backlash of my social media had started.

SPEAKER_01:

No way.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, and I still, you know, and still to this day I do get backlash. The more that my social media grows, I see that the more hate that comes with it.

SPEAKER_01:

Isn't that crazy?

SPEAKER_03:

You know what? It's crazy, but it is part of it.

SPEAKER_01:

It's part of it, yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

It's part of putting yourself online to the public and making yourself, you know, as accessible as, you know, you're only as much as what you post. Yeah. So if you post this, people know it. They only know what you post. So I think that that's a big lesson to be learned.

SPEAKER_01:

You are known a brick wall.

SPEAKER_03:

Even people that you think are your supporters, you always have somebody that's hating on you. You know, they're your supporter to your face. But when you walk away, when you're not in their presence, there's always somebody that's hating on you. And I see that more now than always. So be careful what you post, be careful what you say online, be careful what you what you say when you're around people, especially at work, because there's somebody out there, whether it's to your face or online across the world, in a different state, that wants to see you fail.

SPEAKER_01:

That's insane. I mean, I I guess if you're planning to be or want to be a presence online, an influencer or what have you, um just know that you know good good comes with bad. And you you I get haters all the time. Even Mother Teresa had haters.

SPEAKER_03:

Even Florence Nightingale had haters with her little lamp walking around.

SPEAKER_01:

All right, so you mentioned that you started your social media channel, I guess. Uh was it Instagram or TikTok?

SPEAKER_03:

At first it was TikTok, now it's everywhere. It's TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, but a lot of the content is the same across all the platforms. Um, just for more of a convenience of posting the same video so that it reaches an entire audience more than just one platform.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that's what we do as well. It's all it's amazing. So you started when you were a new grad nurse?

SPEAKER_03:

When I was a new grad, so it was just when I had graduated from nursing school. I started posting more as a new grad.

SPEAKER_01:

In 2020 or 21?

SPEAKER_03:

It was on the cusp, probably 2021 at that time. So a couple of years ago, because we're 2025 now, so about four years. Um, so I started posting at that time during COVID. I started posting just silly nursing videos, just silly nursing comedy videos, stuff that everyone could relate to. Because I think in such a dark time of COVID, everyone was turning to laughter. And I think that that was the best thing that you could do. You know, it was such a tough time, and the amount that I saw as a COVID nurse, the amount of people that I saw dying, simply put, was traumatizing. I was 21 or 21, 22 at the time, and it was traumatizing. So I turned into comedy online and I turned to making other people laugh, and that's what really launched my social media.

SPEAKER_01:

And that's the most wild part about nursing, is like no one prepares you to go to war. Or basically like nobody see death right in front of you.

SPEAKER_03:

Not at all.

SPEAKER_01:

You're literally out the gate.

SPEAKER_03:

Nobody tells you, and I think something with social media and the mix of healthcare with it. I view it very differently in a more realistic way because I'm still a currently practicing nurse. I think that there's a lot of positive things about healthcare online, not just nursing, healthcare in general. I think there's a lot of a lot of positivity about healthcare, but there's also a lot of negativity about healthcare as well. I think that healthcare online has been slandered to a sense that people are only going into it for the wrong reason a lot of the time, which we see. And, you know, on social media as a content creator, a nursing content creator, I'll say, I am also at fault for that. And I always do take fault for that, that you are portraying this life that people in nursing school are watching and they're like, you know what, I want to live the same life as Natalie Ray. I want to become a nurse. But I am so honest on my social media that the life that I am living now is not just because of nursing. It's with everything else I have going on with my life, my social media, everything else that comes with it. So I think on social media, a lot of healthcare workers, and I'm sure that a couple of them come to mind when you think about it, they're posting this luxurious lifestyle of exotic cars and this and that and this crazy lifestyle. But you know damn well, because I know as well myself, that is not coming from just your healthcare job. And you probably, you know, you make a good living off of being a healthcare worker, no matter what you're doing. But the life that you're portraying online is just sending the wrong message to nursing students. So you have to go into nursing or healthcare, anything in healthcare for the right reason.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, or else you become like a nurse Becky. You get them for the wrong reasons. You have a heart.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, and you get them for the wrong reason. And you really just have to be genuine. You have to be a genuine nurse and care for patients as you would your own family.

SPEAKER_01:

I love that. Okay, so you're all in in nursing. Speaking of being all in, you're a clinical instructor now? Is that correct?

SPEAKER_03:

So I was. Oh, you were? Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

I mean, once one, always one.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, once a nurse, always a nurse. That's right. Always. But I was doing that last semester at the one college that I was working at. Yes. And you know, I ended up leaving. I wasn't fired and I didn't quit. I just kind of stepped away from it for a little bit. I think a lot of the reason was more of my genuine self. I couldn't, the way that those professors were talking bad about the students and the way that they were putting these students down and really just not supporting them, I couldn't support that.

SPEAKER_01:

That sounds like the nursing school I went to. I could they kicked me out my third semester.

SPEAKER_03:

No, but there's nursing instructions.

SPEAKER_01:

They want to fail you. They want to fail you.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, and they want to fail you and they want to see you fail. And you know what? Respectfully, a lot of them have not been at the bedside in probably 20, 30 years. And the way that nursing has evolved since they've been at the bedside is something that I respect their time of nursing, but a lot of them working next to them, they do not sp they do not respect our side of nursing, you know, and the technology that we have nowadays and everything that goes into it, they don't respect it. So, long story short, I ended up stepping away from that for now until I can find a different school or university in the area that I could, you know, really relate to and actually support the students.

SPEAKER_01:

That's amazing. I think the the big theme here is toxicity in the workplace.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Because you become like the people you're around. Uh they say the top five people around you, and usually it's your coworkers or your family or your partner that influence you the most. So, real quick, what are the qualifications of becoming a clinical educator? Do you need a bachelor's, master's?

SPEAKER_03:

So, where I worked that school in specific, you needed your MSN. Oh, you did? Yes, which I do have. Um, mine is actually in nursing administration and leadership, but you can use it for education. I love it. Yes, so you can use it for both. But I have been hearing that some of these schools you only need your BSN, which I have a little bit of a hot take on it. I don't think that it's the worst thing to just have your bachelor's. I think it's a very big deal. Um, it's something that's very important in nursing. I don't think that you need your MSN to teach. Um, I think a lot of these schools just really prefer you to have it, just to say that, you know, we have all masters of nursing professors here. Um, but I think that a lot of BSN qualified nurses um are also very qualified to teach. They probably have a lot of experience, a lot of education. So I think just anyone who can bring something to the table and guide the future of nurses in the right direction, put them in the spot. Let them teach. You know, you can have your MS, you can have your MSN and be an idiot. Yeah, you know, and you could be a doctor and and not know everything. You don't have to know everything. But I don't think a degree really, you know, differentiates one person from the next.

SPEAKER_01:

It's so funny you say that because like I've had or seen so many professors, and as well as nurses over the course of my career, and you see you see the good and the bad. And what makes a good professor is the time, like the quality of like, I want to be here, I want to invest in the student, I want to see everyone succeed. Yes. Same thing as nurses, right? Like, you want to be there, you want to care for people, you want to have a big heart, you want to be compassionate. I even wrote a song about this uh to Piano Man. Who was it, Billy Joel? Like that old song.

SPEAKER_03:

I just learned that on the harmonica. I should have brought it with me. Oh my god. I just won't learn that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, you really encompassed the values that we talked about with being a clinical educator. That's why when we did our clinical skill shoot with Simple Nursing, we invited you on the show, and it was great collaborating with you and just having you there.

SPEAKER_03:

That was awesome. I think being behind the scenes and seeing what really goes into filming something like that was really cool for me to see. But I think the other thing was that when those videos were shared online, there's always an opinion online, like what we were just talking about. I think seeing a lot of the opinions, there's always truth in an opinion. I know that that's a hard pill to swallow, but there's always a little bit of truth. Some people, especially in nursing and healthcare, there's 101 different ways to do something. I don't think that it's wrong if something's done a different way. But it was really cool for me to see. I I had to look at the positive of it. Cool for me to read through those comments of all the videos and say, you know what, I like her way, but I like to do it this way. Because then when I went back to work, I saw, you know what, maybe I should try that way. And ultimately it ends you back at that same ending point. Whatever you're trying to do, put in a foley, put in an IV, put in an NG, whatever technique that you use, as long as you got back to that main success point for the patient, that's all that matters. So that was cool for me to see the filming portion of it and then posting it online, seeing everyone else's input, and then using that input, using that input and incorporating it into my nursing career.

SPEAKER_01:

That's amazing because that you basically encompass like the lifelong learner. Oh, yeah. Some people just resist learning something new.

SPEAKER_03:

Always. I mean, even now it works. Somebody will give me a little bit of advice. You know what? Hey, you did you did that great, but let's do it this way instead. You might not want to hear it. Maybe you're like enough. You know, like sh we don't need to hear that right now. But I think listening to other opinions, you don't always have to, you know, take them for granted, but just listen and take what you want from it and go from there.

SPEAKER_01:

So you're working part-time as a nurse, is that correct?

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, correct. I ended up stepping, I don't like to say stepping down. I ended up transitioning to part-time nursing. I was full-time nursing for the longest time. And then at the same time when I was full-time nursing, I went back to school and got my MSN.

SPEAKER_01:

At the same time?

SPEAKER_03:

At the same time, yes. And I ended up doing the 300 hours of clinical while I was working full-time. So I put in the work. I did. I launched my social media at the same time, tried to grow it. It was a lot going on at the same time. Um, but I tried to do everything at once, which I did, which I'm proud of myself that I did, but it ended up being almost too much. So I made the decision myself to go to part-time nursing. Okay. So I now work the full two days a week. But as of right this moment, I've been working the three days again because Vinny and I just got a house at the same time. So you got engaged. Yes, and we got engaged. So, you know, there's a lot to pay for. It's very expensive living at the Jersey Shore. So I ended up working three days, but on paper I am part-time, and then I do social media full-time.

SPEAKER_01:

But why haven't you fully taken a step back from nursing? That's it.

SPEAKER_03:

What I like about still working as a nurse and being on social media, I think working as a nurse and working with the public keeps me very in touch with reality. I like to see what's going on in the real world and I like to be able to talk with my patients and really just stay in touch with the real world. I think it's so easy coming from me and working social media full time, these brand deals that are coming in, sometimes they're, I'm very blessed, they're a crazy number. And it's like, wow, it would take me five, six months as a nurse to make that amount. And it's they the brand deals come in and it's very easy to fall out of touch with reality. So I think working as a nurse, seeing how much I'm getting paid hourly, which of course we can all agree we nurses should be getting paid more. But I think working as a nurse, taking care of the general public, it just keeps me so in touch with what really goes on in healthcare and how corrupt healthcare has become as a business. And that's something that a lot of people don't want to talk about. But healthcare, as much as it is, you know, a contribution to society, it's also a business. And that's the way that it's run. And since I've looked at healthcare as a business, I look at it very different than as I did in the beginning when you think that the higher-ups are always there for you. They want their pockets deeper, as everyone else, but only the rich get richer. The CEO gets more money. It's true. And all of us nurses are like the little ants at the bottom.

SPEAKER_01:

And they put a little band-aid uh for your staffing issues. Yes. They'll send you a pizza.

SPEAKER_03:

They'll send you a pizza, yes, an ice cream sandwich. I've been seeing that. There's there's just so much that goes on, but I think staying in touch with what goes on at the hospital and all these different union hospitals and really the issues that are going on in healthcare, it helps me also on my social media because I get to take all of those points that I'm seeing, all of the issues, and bring it back to people on my social media and be like, you know what? I as much as I post my life on my social media, all the brand trips, the brand deals, this and that, all the things that come with being a content creator, I can also share, hey, I heard about this going on at the hospital. This is not cool. So I think that's why a lot, not I think, I mean, I would only hope that's why a lot of my audience still follows me and I gain more followers, is because people are like, wow, she's still a current practicing nurse and she knows what's going on in healthcare.

SPEAKER_01:

And how did you decide you wanted to be a nurse in the first place? Did you always know or I didn't always know.

SPEAKER_03:

Actually, my sister is also a nurse. Yes, she's been an ER nurse a little bit over a year.

SPEAKER_02:

ER nurse.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes. She's out of her mind and she's on night shift too. She's crazy, absolutely crazy, yes. But I'm so proud of her because that ER nursing is something that I personally could never do. Um, it's a lot of running around. But my sister, long story short, when we were both in high school, she's a year older than I am, we ended up going to a vocational school. So yes. So basically she went to it before me because she's a year older. Um, it's a half day at nursing school. It's like pre-nursing school. It's a half day at nursing school and then a half day at regular high school.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

So the way that it works is that once you graduated from that, it was junior and senior year of high school, the local community college saved you a seat. So I never had to wait on the waiting list. Yes, which is awesome. So it was a great decision, great decision. So once she went through it, I saw her do it and I was like, you know what? That looks like a great idea. So I just followed her and I was like, you know what, you might as well. And I ended up loving it.

SPEAKER_01:

What made her want to do in the first place?

SPEAKER_03:

I think the same thing. It was more of just word of mouth, and her friends were saying, you know, I heard about this program, we don't have to wait on the waiting list, so we can go to community college. And the best thing is that you graduate with the same RN license that you as you would anywhere else, and you were debt-free.

SPEAKER_01:

Dude, yes.

SPEAKER_03:

Crazy, but the best decision.

SPEAKER_01:

That's amazing. It's so funny because you're not gonna believe me, but I have this very similar story. Last semester of high school as a senior in 2005, old as fuck. No, but as grandpa. Grandpa, I'm over there, junior.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

But last uh as a senior in high school, my brother went to EMT class, which is like a not a step below, but it's below a paramedic.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

It's six months to get your EMT. It's basically like a CNA on an ambulance. You can still do all the stuff, just no needles or drugs.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, so we went through that and I was like, huh, I should do the same thing. Didn't know anything about healthcare, didn't even know I wanted to do that. Still the toughest six months of my life because that was the first time you see like anatomy and physiology.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes. Um they see a lot, they do a lot. They do a lot. Yes, I give them all credit. I mean, all aspects of healthcare. I give everyone credit. But the EMTs, I mean, they are there on scene the first time you know anything happens.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh man, there's so many crazy stories. Even though we couldn't do the needles and drugs, we can still do so much. But um, that was my first taste.

SPEAKER_03:

Wow, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_01:

All right, so a lot of people talk down on nurses, which is a huge transition from being heroes. Um, but on the nursing profession specifically. But you often stick up for it and vouch for nursing as a career path.

SPEAKER_03:

I do. I think it's something that needs to be spoken about more. Like we spoke about in the beginning, there's a lot of negativity that comes with social media and a lot of the negativity surrounding nursing on social media. And I always say it on my social media and in real life. If you don't like what you do, if you don't like your job, leave. Go somewhere else because there's somewhere else out there, whether it's as a nurse or whether it's at something else, somebody else will hire you. You know, the worst thing ever, and I think a lot of people can agree with this, is sitting at the nurses' station or sitting in the break room, and you're sitting next to a nurse who hates being there. And they're just talking about how much nursing sucks and this sucks, and I wish I had this and I wish I lived this life. Go find the life that you want to live because clearly you're not finding it here. And it's not that we've all found the life that we wanted working in healthcare, but what goes on when somebody is sitting next to you at the nurse's station or wherever it is, at work, in the hospital, or you know, in a doctor's office, wherever, is that somebody next to you might really love being a nurse or maybe they really love what they're doing. So sitting next to somebody is gonna rub off on them and it just gives the wrong message, like I was talking about. So me bringing positivity into nursing and on my social media, I just hope that it changes somebody else's mind, or maybe they realize, you know what, maybe I should watch what I'm saying around other people or find something else that I like.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, seriously.

SPEAKER_03:

Watch what you say and even watch the people around you. You know, I work with nurses now too that the second they walk in, I'm like, oh, she's working. You know, you don't want to even work with them because it's like they're so negative. And when you're around them, you just want to hold your ears and not listen to what they're saying. But that's the worst type of nurse to be. It's the worst type of nurse to work with. And if you feel negative thoughts about whatever, even it's nursing, real life thoughts, you know, keep it to yourself, unless if you really feel like you need to talk to somebody about it, but don't, you know, spread it to other people.

SPEAKER_01:

It's like an infection almost, isn't it? No, it is spread around the unit.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, negativity is such an infection to anyone, to yourself, and then you spread it to other people. It's the worst thing.

SPEAKER_01:

All right, so rapid fire questions. Are you ready?

SPEAKER_03:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

These are from your followers.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, great.

SPEAKER_01:

Number one, first question on the list will you change your social media handle when you and Vinny get married?

SPEAKER_03:

No. Absolutely not. I would sorry, Vinny. Sorry, Vinny. No, absolutely not. The only reason why I would not change it is because I use my name to build such a brand for myself. If I change my last name, and now Ray is not Natalie Ray is my name, first and middle name, but I've never put my last name on anything. It's more of just for safety reasons.

SPEAKER_01:

So Ray is your middle name?

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, Natalie Ray, yes.

SPEAKER_01:

Second question, number two, how long until you felt comfortable as an e-grad?

SPEAKER_03:

I've been a nurse now for four years. So I think around the two-year mark is when around the two-year mark, because like I was saying, when I was a new grad nurse, it was during COVID. So during that year, I was like, I don't know what the heck is going on. I didn't feel stable as a nurse. You didn't have support. There's still no support, but you learned to support yourself, but there was no support as your first year as a nurse. So I think around year two, when that unit started to become more of a med search floor again, and then I transitioned to orthopedic nursing at that time. I had more of a grasp of what it really took to be a nurse. So I would say around year two.

SPEAKER_01:

Question number three: Are you ready?

SPEAKER_03:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

Who edits and records all your content?

SPEAKER_03:

So editing is all in myself.

SPEAKER_01:

No way.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, it's a self-taught skill. I get asked a lot, you know, who edits your content? I'm gonna be genuine and honest. It's too expensive to hire an editor. At a certain rate, I've, you know, I've been quoted a couple different editors, and it was very expensive. So in the long run, I get to pocket more of my earnings because I don't have to pay an editor. I'm blessed to have a management team and my manager who I do pay a percentage to. They're great. So editing, I edit myself, self-taught skill. I do it all my videos myself. I don't have a single person touch the content that I create. Filming the content and taking the pictures, a lot of it is Vinny.

SPEAKER_01:

Where to go, Vinny?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Big shout out. Big fan. He's actually my um great angles.

SPEAKER_03:

No, but he he's very, you know, I taught him the angles that I like and what I'm really looking for. And something that I really love about I love a lot of things about him, but something that I really do appreciate. He's so cute. I know. No, I love that. But something I appreciate about him is that he sees my vision, you know, what I want my pictures to look like, what I want the videos to look like. And he'll get the extra content and be like, you know what, I really think that you'll use this extra clip. So I think that oh I'm where can I get a Vinny? Yeah, everyone needs a Vinny, but you know, it shows because when I bring a different plus one to these events or to these trips, whatever they are, they're missing the angles, they're missing the content, they've missed the moment. So he understands that the content is not just for fun, it is my job. So as much as I'm locked in, Vinny's locked in as well.

SPEAKER_01:

Speaking of missing content, uh, my social media managers listen up. No, I'm just kidding. Roasted. Everyone's getting roasted. Only you guys. Uh again, question number four how do you manage a healthy relationship as a nurse?

SPEAKER_03:

I think a lot of it is like what we spoke about before. I think a lot of it is remembering deep down, Vinny's not a nurse. And I don't detail cars. So I think understanding that you both have two completely different jobs is very important. And not taking out on your husband or wife when you get home working as a nurse about how bad your day was. It's not Vinny's fault that my patient threw a bedpan at me. And I think that you want to take your anger out on that person because you're going home to them. It's the first person that you're seeing.

SPEAKER_01:

They say you always take it out on the closest person to you.

SPEAKER_03:

Always. And it's something that I personally am working on myself. Vinny and I have many conversations about that. But as frustrated as I am when I come home from work, you can't take it out on your partner because he also had a stressful day that maybe he's not saying because he sees how stressed that I am. So I think a lot of it is just really respecting that the other person has no idea what you're saying. I have no idea what he's talking about with these cars. I'm like, oh, a red car, a blue car. I don't know what he's talking about, but he also doesn't know what I'm talking about as a nurse. So I think it's more of just the respect that you both had a long, hard day. You know, decompress, talk about what you need to talk about, but it's also not your partner's fault that you had a difficult day. So I think swallowing that pill and understanding that really helps strengthen the relationship and really helps with respect between both partners.

SPEAKER_01:

Next question. Would you rather have lower patient ratios, less patients, or more money?

SPEAKER_03:

More money.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, but more money.

SPEAKER_03:

I think to an extent. I think when the ratio is too high, it's very unsafe. Your nursing license is at risk.

SPEAKER_01:

There are some states that have like almost zero to no ratio. It's crazy.

SPEAKER_03:

I mean, in Jersey, some of these nursing homes, it's one nurse to like 22 patients. How crazy is that? Even when I have six patients, I'm like, I You have six patients? Sometimes we do.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, California max four.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, so it should be. That's how it should be, but it's something that they're working on in Jersey because Jersey does mimic a lot of what California and New York do. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

So it's wild to me.

SPEAKER_03:

It's wild, but six is too many. I think it should be one to four or one to three, depending on where you work. ICUs should always be one to two. I mean, you know, it depends how critical the patient is. More money in my eyes, if you're compensated correctly, nobody's gonna say a peep. I think that there's a lot of buzz behind nurses having too many patients because we're not compensated correctly. So I think what goes on, I mean, I not I think I know because I work with it. What goes on is that nurses are having six patients and you're only getting paid 40 something an hour. You know, that's crazy. And especially in the state of New Jersey, it's so expensive to live there. So I think more money in turn would keep a lot of people more quiet, but as long as it's safe.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I I think um a lot of my friends in Northern California, San Francisco area, or New York are getting paid 70 plus an hour, which is great.

SPEAKER_03:

It's great money, it is, and it's all relevant. I think that's something else to talk about too. Very expensive to live in New Jersey. So us nurses and most jobs there, everyone wants to get paid more so that you could afford to live there.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Even here in Florida, depending on certain parts, nurses are getting paid great, but it's also very expensive to live there.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and Hawaii, I think, has the biggest divide. The lowest pay with the highest expenses.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

So there's certain states to know.

SPEAKER_03:

It's all relevant.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. All right, guys, that wraps it up for another episode of Bedpan Banter. Thank you so much. Where can our listeners or watchers find you?

SPEAKER_03:

So every social media app and account that I have is all under my name. Okay. Natalie Ray. So there's a couple E's in it because that's a whole different story in itself.

SPEAKER_01:

What do you mean?

SPEAKER_03:

So somebody actually took the username, Natalie Ray, and I had it before hers, but when I went to go change it, I guess she probably was on her app at the same time. This was actually in um the New York Post. It was an entire article, yes. An entire article on my on myself and also how I got the username somewhere.

SPEAKER_01:

We're gonna throw it on the screen.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

So there's another Natalie Ray out there with one E?

SPEAKER_03:

There is, and she just got the Natalie Ray, just how it's plainly put.

SPEAKER_01:

Next episode, we're gonna bring both of them on. Both Natalie Ray now.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes. So before we wrap up, I actually have something for you. You have something for me? Yes, that I'm so excited to give to you. Whoa. Go ahead, open it up.

SPEAKER_01:

All right, let's take a peek at what we got here. Well, it's upside down.

SPEAKER_03:

So it's yeah, it's upside down. It's one of my merch shirts, one of my best-selling ones that people absolutely love because the saying comes from all of my videos that I reference to all the time. So it's my typical saying, I want to hear it from the doctor. So for people that are confused, this saying directly comes from a lot of our patients who unfortunately do not want to listen to the nurse, although the nurse is probably gonna tell you the same thing that the doctor is gonna tell you. So it's more of a joke towards, you know, being a nurse and what these patients really want out of us. But hopefully nobody asks you to hear from the doctor.

SPEAKER_01:

I love it.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, so the hand is actually my hand. No, exactly. Yes. Doesn't it look like it? Look.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it actually does.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, it's a drawing of my hand because I'm Italian. So in all my videos, people say that I use my hands all the time, but it's always for good reason because I'm talking about something that you need. I can't talk without my hands. It's just not Natalie.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah, it's like a Yes.

SPEAKER_03:

So enjoy, represent it well.

SPEAKER_01:

That's not like a mafia. All right, thanks so much for the shirt. Thank you for being on the show.

SPEAKER_03:

Thank you so much for having me. This has been great.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you again for watching. Follow, like, subscribe, and as always, remember don't let the bedpad.