Life After Nursing School
Life After Nursing School is a podcast for new nurses navigating their first year in healthcare. Hosted by Nurse Coach Caroline, each episode offers practical advice, expert interviews, and real stories to help you build confidence, manage stress, and overcome imposter syndrome. From landing your first new graduate nurse job to battling imposter syndrome on the unit, this podcast will provide the support and guidance you need to succeed beyond nursing school. Tune in to every episode to thrive in your nursing career!
Life After Nursing School
How Nurse Coaching Can Transform Your Career (And Your Life) With Julia Joseph
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What if the biggest thing holding you back isn't your résumé or your experience - but the way you see yourself?
In this episode of Life After Nursing School, Caroline sits down with ICU travel nurse and Professional Nurse Life Coach, Julia Joseph to explore how coaching can help nurses build confidence, navigate career transitions, prevent burnout, and create a life they truly love.
Drawing from her unique background in critical care nursing and professional life coaching, Julia shares her philosophy of "coaching with a twist", an approach that goes beyond career advice to help nurses reconnect with their strengths, gain clarity, and move forward with confidence. Rather than telling clients what to do, Julia creates a supportive, low-pressure environment where they can discover their own answers and recognize the potential that's been there all along.
In this episode, we discuss:
- What nurse coaching actually is (and what it isn't)
- Building confidence as a new nurse
- Navigating burnout and career transitions
- The importance of mentors and asking the right questions
- Why your nursing career doesn't have to fit into one box
Whether you're a nursing student, a new graduate, or an experienced nurse searching for your next step, this conversation will leave you feeling encouraged, empowered, and excited about what's possible in your nursing career.
Connect with Nurse Coach Caroline
Instagram: instagram.com/nursecoachcaroline
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nursecoachcaroline
Website: www.nursecoachcaroline.com
Connect with Our Guest: Julia Joseph
Instagram: @juliadelea
Coaching Website: https://juliajosephconsulting.com/jj
Free Virtual Nurse’s Station Resource: Join Here!
Hey, hey, welcome to Life After Nursing School. I'm your host, Caroline Dana, aka Nurse Coach Caroline. And I'm here to help you, the new nurse, thrive in your career. As a former nurse recruiter, nurse manager, and now your personal new nurse career coach, I'm obsessed with making sure you don't just survive your first couple of years at the bedside. I want you to absolutely rock them. From the challenges to the triumphs, I'll be right here with you, giving you the real-world advice and support that you need to shine. Whether you're in nursing school getting ready for life after, or you're already out there in nurse life feeling overwhelmed or even questioning your confidence, I've got your back. I'll be sharing tips, tricks, resources, and strategies that are just for you. We'll dive into everything from landing that dream nursing job to slaying imposter syndrome, and most importantly, how to keep that spark alive and stay the vibrant and amazing nurse that you are. So if you're ready to tackle the things nursing school did not cover, like how to build a career, trust yourself, and keep your passion strong, then get comfortable because we are about to dive in and make nurse life the best life. She's honestly one of my closest friends in the nursing space, and today I'm so excited to officially welcome her to the Life After Nursing School podcast. Julia is an ICU travel nurse, professional nurse life coach, and someone who is deeply passionate about helping nurses build careers and lives they genuinely love. Over the past decade, she's worked as a bedside nurse, preceptor, charge nurse, ICU nurse, and travel nurse, giving her a unique perspective on the challenges nurses face at every stage of their career. But what really sets Julia apart is what she calls her tagline, coaching with a twist. While many coaches focus solely on maybe your next job or struggling at the bedside, Julia's approach goes much deeper than that. By combining her extensive nursing experience with professional life coaching, she helps nurses uncover what's really holding them back, build confidence, navigate burnout and career transitions, and create a life that aligns with who they are, not just the title that they hold. One thing I especially love about Julia is how she meets her clients exactly where they are. Whether someone is feeling overwhelmed, stuck, burnt out, or simply unsure of their next step, she creates a coaching experience that feels supportive, approachable, and genuinely enjoyable. There's no pressure to have it all figured out. Instead, Julia asks thoughtful questions, helps nurses gain clarity at their own pace, and empowers them to discover answers that were often within them all along. One of the things I admire most about Julia is her ability to see potential in people before they see it in themselves. Throughout this conversation, we dive into what coaching actually is and what it is not, why so many nurses underestimate themselves, how to find the right mentor, navigate career transitions with confidence, and why sometimes the biggest thing standing between where you are and where you want to be is simply having someone ask the right questions. Whether you're a nursing student, a new graduate, or an experienced nurse wondering what's next, I think you'll walk away from this episode feeling encouraged, empowered, and reminded that your nursing career and your life don't have to fit into just one box. All right, let's dive in. All right, I want to give a special welcome to Julia Joseph, who is now a podcast guest officially on the Life After Nursing School podcast. I want to say before Julia even says hi, that she's literally my virtual BFF. Me and her have been friends for a few years now. And I am so excited to have her on the show. So Julia, welcome.
SPEAKER_00Thank you. I'm so happy to be here.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so typically with my guests, I like to start out with you just obviously introducing yourself and then give us kind of the rundown of your nursing journey, you know, when you graduate nursing school, like what kind of where you've been since.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So I became a nurse in 2015. So this summer, in fact, August 3rd to 5th. I can't really remember. Let's just call it August 4th. I don't know, is my 11-year anniversary of nursing, being an official nurse. So in 2015, I started on a med surge unit as a new grad. And I was living in a very rural area. So I was really lucky to get one of the new grad spots. They hired about 20 of us, and I started doing night shift. And I actually got hired on the unit I did my nursing school preceptorship on, which is why it's very important to get to know people when you're in nursing school and network because they will look out for you. And if you build strong relationships, that'll get you far. So that got me my first job, and I started, like I said, med surge nights. And within a year, I started precepting. And I want, I know this is a little about a little bit about me, but I want to talk in a few minutes about precepting and new grad stuff, because that's really important. So I started precepting. I've always loved teaching, coaching, nurturing people. And so I thought that that was a pretty good way to start to do that in the nursing capacity, even though I was somewhat of a new grad. And then two years in, I became a charge nurse. And then after that, I transitioned to the ICU in 2019. So I had been a nurse for about three and a half, maybe four years, went to the ICU. I'm a pre-pandemic ICU nurse. I always feel like I need to mention that because a lot of people during COVID became ICU nurses out of necessity. I did it pre-pandemic by choice, and now I'm still in the ICU, but I have since moved states, moved hospitals, become a travel nurse. I've done a ton of things. And then to further my education, I did a program where I learned how to be a professional nurse life coach. So that's why I'm here today to talk about my coaching business, how I support nurses, especially new nurses in their nursing journey. And I think we both kind of consider ourselves like big sisters in the nursing world. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And I love, Julia, that your background is ICU, where mine is ER. So it kind of feels like we complement each other when we coach together, which we have done, you know, on one of my platforms, which has been really exciting. Now, you mentioned you want to talk about precepting. I love that you were a preceptor at year one of being a nurse because I remember when I first started precepting around the same time. It really forces you to actually learn even more. Like when you're first done with precept, you're like, wow, look at everything I know. And wait, let me take it a step further. Like, why does that happen or whatever? And it really tests what you know and it helps you realize how much you've learned. And then you even can take that learning just like an additional step.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So to be a preceptor, you don't need to know everything. You just need to know who to ask questions to and then where to find the resources. So I started precepting naturally because at other jobs prior to nursing, I had also trained people at those jobs. And like I said, you don't have to know everything, you just have to know where to find the answers. So I started precepting at about a year. And I think a lot of people on my unit who had more experience than me were a little put off by that. They were a little surprised. They're like, what is this girl doing? You know, but it's like, you don't, you're not claiming to be the expert, but also the biggest precepting hack ever is guess what? Now you have two nurses to meet the needs of your team of patients. So you have hacked the staffing matrix, and now you're team nursing. And when you need your patient needs to get cleaned up because they've been incontinent, you have another nurse right by your side. When you need to do a med pass, one nurse can be assessing, one nurse is passing meds, you're tag teaming the entire situation. Maybe your patient is a feeder, someone needs a feed, someone needs to scan the meds. You do all of it together, and that is called a married preceptor state. So, one of the things that I would like to remind new nurses, whether you're in nursing school or you're a new grad or you're gonna become a preceptor, is that if your preceptee and preceptor relationship is not a married preceptor state where you're doing all the things together, that is a red flag. I do agree with that. That's really important is not to be delegated to do things on your own because you're still learning, and two brains are always better than one.
SPEAKER_01I do agree. And I think, too, what commonly happens or should happen is that you're in that married state, but then the preceptor can sort of scale back as time goes on and allow the person being precepted to, you know, take autonomy and independence in their caregiving. And it actually reminds me of when I was a new grad, I had a wonderful preceptor. She was absolutely the best, Becky. Love her. And she, you know, we were in that married state and I would ask her all the stupid questions. I would tell her how nervous I am, this and that. She took me under her wing. It was a lot of work to get me up and running. But I remember, you know, so many weeks in, I became more and more independent. And that girl was getting married, and she sat at the nurses station with her bride book like magazine books planning her wedding while I was like doing patient care on our assignment together. But she was always available for me, you know. So she was like, no, this worked out well. Like it's a lot of work at first to really show you the ropes. But if it goes well and you have a good preceptor, you become more and more confident in your skills and independent. And then she was able to sort of sit back and literally plan her wedding from the nurse's station. So it worked out. What a gift to Becky. She's the best. I I love her even to this day. Um you still keep in contact? Oh, yeah. And she'll like like all my stuff. And yeah, she's the literally the best. The best. That's so cool. Yeah. Now, okay, I and I love that you started, I mean, year one as a preceptor. I remember you told me this story about this gentleman who was not doing well on day shift. And then you took him as you were like, I'll precept him on nights, right? Am I oh you remember that story?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you're so right. Okay, so that was when I was a preceptor in the ICU and I precepted a new grad. And day shift wasn't really working out for him. Definitely he had some barriers to, you know, as far as like confidence goes, and there was just some things that he was struggling with, but I didn't feel that the personalities of the nurses on day shift in that unit were really the best for him. I didn't feel like they were the right fit. He needed somebody who understood thinking outside the box because not every nurse is going to operate the same. So I think where I have strengths is I get to know someone, and then I get to know how they learn or how they operate. And then, like, I like to build teaching around that, or I like to foster their strengths. So, like, I just saw that he was struggling, and I my manager had brought it up to me, and she was like, What do you think about this? And I said, You gotta put him on nights with me. And then he ended up getting six months of uh training on new grab, but he was going to ICU, and that's a huge learning curve, and that's it's so cutthroat. And I would say that not a lot of people survived that, and he ended up doing amazing, and this was maybe four or five years ago, and he is still in critical care. He remained still in the ICU, you know, he graduated preceptorship, he's on his own, and I think he just recently switched to the float pool, but we are still in contact, and I'm so proud of him. And I just think you need to meet people where they're at. And honestly, that's a lot of what I do in my coaching practice is thinking outside the box, critically thinking, how does this fit this person? Because I think as a society, we expect people to be a certain way.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00They just don't all fit in the same box, and we really need to foster who the person is and factor that into their learning.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. And you know, even a great preceptor isn't going to be great for everybody. And there's going to be a different and I think that's what's important to know too is if you're a new grad and you're really struggling to learn with the nurse that you're with, it's okay to say, I don't think I have like the right match. And it doesn't mean they're not a good nurse or they're not a good preceptor. It's just your learning styles are different. And I think new grads need to remember that they're in the driver's seat of their career and their success. And it really is up to them to go to management or even the nurse residency program director and just to say, hey, I think I'm struggling to learn with this individual. Could I try a different shift? Could I try someone else? You know, it's nothing against them or whatever it may be. It's just I need to ensure that I am learning as best that I can.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And part of becoming a nurse is really understanding it's your job to speak up for patients. So just as much as it's your job to speak up for your patients, it's your job to speak up for yourself. And this is your shot at training, and it has to be a situation that works for you. So I say all the time, nursing is people think nursing is like skill-based. It is so much of navigating personalities. You become a master personality navigator, and you're navigating not just your patients and their families, you're navigating doctor personalities, chargers personalities, coworker personalities, all the personnel in the hospital, yourself and your patients and their families. So it you really become quite a master of multiple personalities.
SPEAKER_01It's so true. And the hospital is a very stressful environment. So you're meeting these people in a stressful time. And many our patients are usually not their best selves, right? Because they're struggling on their own, on their own health journey. So you're absolutely right with that. I also I want to note too here that you started as a preceptor, obviously, quite early. And then you shared that a few years ago. You helped that gentleman. And I love that saying, I think it's Steve Jobs, where it's like you don't realize your journey or like all the all the dots connect when you're looking back, but along the way, you don't realize like kind of where you're headed or why certain things are happening to you, or opportunities are falling in your lap. But you get to maybe this new destination and you look back and it makes sense. And I think now you're a nurse life coach and you just telling these stories where you've been precepting, you you help that gentleman, you've been kind of doing a lot of coaching and precepting on the job. And now here you are as a nurse life coach. And I feel like it really is perfect for your skill set. And I want to know, like, can you share with everyone like what is a nurse life coach? I think I see like nurse coach get thrown around a lot now, but I don't think people really understand what it is and what that role looks like.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I guess I want to start by saying that I feel like the word coach is really it's like oversaturated, overused, watered down. Anyone can call themselves a coach. I went to an actual school where you had to be a nurse to get into the school. I did actual training on theories and frameworks and how to ask great questions. And we did coaching labs, and it was a very like legitimate process. It was maybe six to nine months long. We had to do a certain amount of actual hours out in the real world with clients. I'm gonna start with what a coach is not because I think it's important to differentiate. So coaching is not therapy, coaching is not dealing with like deep emotional issues. Coaching is very solution-based and action-oriented, and it's forward-moving.
SPEAKER_02I love that.
SPEAKER_00Coaching is also not giving advice for me. What I like to do is foster a relationship with my client, get to know them, and really help understand their goals, their dreams, and then help them build the life that they love.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Now, do you work with just nurses? Like, what is like are nurse life coaches just to help serve nurses that are struggling, or it really is the decision of the nurse life coach who to help and who their bases?
SPEAKER_00That's a great question because I think using the word nurse in front of life coach is confusing. You don't just have to have clients that are nurses, you are the nurse. So the unique thing that a nurse coach brings to the table is their nursing expertise and experience as a nurse, but your clients can be anyone. And just like any professional, you can niche down the way that you want to and specialize your practice and work with a certain population of people. My clients are not all nurses, but I would say the majority of them are in healthcare or are nurses because naturally that's just who I gravitate to.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And I think as I had kind of mentioned or alluded to earlier, me and Julia have both done workshops together for nurses and kind of coaching for new nurses. And I have sent quite a few people in Julia's direction because I think once you hit a decade of nursing, and Julia, you especially have been in as a travel nurse in so many different healthcare environments that I think you have seen probably similar themes, similar issues that people have struggled with. You have, I think, a well-grounded point of view of healthcare, which I think is really helpful because I think when you start in nursing, especially when you have that limited experience, you really think like this is a big deal, or how am I gonna ever navigate this? When really this is actually quite a common obstacle that maybe we encounter, you know, wherever you're a nurse.
SPEAKER_00Just because you learn something one way, that's not the only way that you do things in nursing. A different facility might do the same thing, but a different way, and you get to the same result. And I've been a traveler at facilities where people are like, that's not how we do it here. And I'm like, just relax. This is how I do it because it's within my scope of practice. And as long as you're not breaking any protocols, there's just multiple ways to do something. And so moving around to different hospitals and working in different environments, you see so much. And I still teach my so when I go to a new travel assignment, I get like one or two days of orientation, and I will do things on that shift that my preceptor learns from. Whether they've been a nurse longer than me or a nurse shorter than me, like they still learn from me and I learn from them.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. Yeah, I think what me and you have similar too is that in our nursing experience, we started out in one, you know, hospital and stayed there for quite some time and then branched out. For me, I was at a small community hospital that was that is now, I think, six or seven time magnet status and really made that a big deal. And the this small community hospital, I, you know, I still hold near and dear to my heart. I had great years there, but they were very much like, you don't want to go to a big institution because they don't care about you there. They, you will be just a number, this and that. And I took the leap to a very large level one trauma center academic facility and initially got a huge bump in pay, had so many additional educational opportunities available to me. And yeah, was it a different experience from a cultural standpoint? Like the floors, different, you know, different kind of nursing culture. You know, it was like definitely a big, a big pond and I was a small fish versus the other way around at the small community hospital. But it opened my eyes to the narrative that sometimes you get fed when you are just in that one healthcare setting. And then you take a leap to another facility and you're like, whoa, there's like different ways to do things. There are pluses and minuses to every work kind of work environment, and not to necessarily believe everything you're told. I don't know if you had like similar experiences when you left your initial workplace and and branched out.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, the second hospital I ever worked at, it was that was my time to prove to myself how much I knew. And I did fine. It was a travel assignment in the ICU. I didn't know a single person. I was just getting thrown into this crazy kind of post-COVID, like on the tail end of COVID ICU setting, super busy hospital, really sick patients, and I survived. And after that, I was like, I can do anything. And I was so grateful I took that opportunity. I'm not telling everyone to go travel nurse, but I'm just saying that don't handicap yourself in your career by staying in the same place the whole time or the same unit or the same hospital. You can really learn a lot from moving around. And one of the best pieces of advice I got from one of my very first mentors in nursing, he was a break nurse. Some people listening may not know what that is. I was born and raised in California as a California nurse. So we had resource nurses or break nurses to give us breaks and cover our patients because we were union. So very lucky there. But one of my break nurses told me, he said, I switch jobs every two years. It is my rule. I change jobs, I change whether it be a hospital, a different unit, a different skill set. Because when I was actually training as a brand new grad, he was working in clinic informatics. And so he actually did my Meditech training as a new grad. Then a few months later, I met him and he was. Break nurse, and then after that, I believe he went to a different facility and did like their step down and ICU, and then from there, med surge or float pool. So he just switches his environment. He said it helps prevent burnout, it helps you from getting way too involved in the unit dynamics. You get to know your coworkers too well. And I just think that that was really great advice. And so I have actually done that. Now I did say I've been in ICU since 2019, but what I did is I switched a variable. So yes, I've stayed in the same specialty, but I went to travel nursing. And then I went back to staff nursing, and then I went back to travel nursing. So I've switched environments, I've switched hospitals, you know, gotten different educations throughout that whole thing. So I've always switched a variable about every two years. And I just love that advice.
SPEAKER_01I love that advice. I think people are scared of change, but I also now that I have been in different environments doing clinical and you know, have had my own fair share of different different jobs. I swear the most cranky staff are the ones that have been there for a long time. Like, you know, because like you said, they're almost like too invested, and maybe they're too comfortable too.
SPEAKER_00Being too comfortable is one of the most dangerous things you can do in nursing. So true. So true. When you're stagnant and you're not dynamic and you're not learning and you're not changing and you're not growing and you're doing the same thing over and over and over, you can become complacent, you can become lazy, you can overlook things that actually do matter. You can make mistakes.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you lose your compassion. I mean, there's like so many, so many issues. And I think the baby boomer generation really stayed at jobs because I do think they actually had decent benefits to do so, right? They had pensions and other things, but really most hospitals don't offer that now. And from a financial standpoint, after you get your first job, let me say, there's very little room for negotiating, if any at all. There really isn't. But after you get a year of experience, if you leave that hospital for another hospital, there's so much more room for negotiating. And then I heard similar advice. Every year or two, leaving one organization for the other, you really have to leave the organization for a new job. You can negotiate so much more pay. And actually, like over time, it's, I don't know the number, but it's like X amount, potentially more. So even if you're someone that's like, I'm just, I'm also driven by yes, new experiences, but also I have like financial goals that I want to hit, that really is the way to do it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. There's also benefit in staying at your certain organization for X amount of time. I think at my organization, first organization, if you stayed for five years, you were fully vested. Yes. And you're 401k and whatever they had contributed. So there are perks to, you know, you know, you have to know the individual perks for your hospital and then what your goals are. But within that hospital system, you can move around. You can even move to clinic, you can do outpatient. It just I think it just has to be within the system you're hired into.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's true. And you can call HR, I think, for that information, or they can at least point you to a benefits person. So it's definitely something to consider. I know people who have left like months before being fully invested and not knowing that and lost money. So yeah, that's something to think about for sure. Now, kind of bringing going back to coaching, when we were talking about this like episode and like what we want to focus on, because clearly me and Julia can talk about literally anything, especially nursing. This could be like a four-hour podcast episode. We won't do that to you, but it really could be. You mentioned something that, like, actually, I want you to explain to me because I was a little bit lost about your coaching coaching style being like like jimmying from what are you talking about?
SPEAKER_00So please like elaborate. Okay, for all of our listeners, I hope that some of you guys have seen the show shrinking on Apple TV. Oh, I just have Apple. I feel like I have everything else.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I love Jason Siegel.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so he's the therapist, he's the main character, and it's about therapists. And so he has a certain very untraditional style of therapy that he calls Jimmying, because his name is Jimmy. And so what he does is he like gets out in the world with people and he sees them in their natural environment and he hangs out with them and he like notices their patterns and he challenges them to do something different or like reframe this or rewire your brain by doing this. And so he calls this technique jimmying because it's very like most traditional therapists would be like, Oh my gosh, no, you have to have boundaries, like that's not okay, it's not appropriate. Um, but when I was thinking about like my style of coaching, I was thinking about Jimmy and Jimmying because I feel like I'm very untraditional. Like I really like to think outside the box. I like to have fun. I become friends with my clients. I have a client where we sometimes do like, we won't even talk about it, but we do like a happy hour on our sessions. We'll be like sipping a beer and I'm like sipping, or we have like mugs, and I'm like, well, what are you sipping on? She's like, Oh, this. And I'm like, oh, mine's a margarita. Like, I just know that like that's her vibe. And so, like, we have fun and we have evening, you know, this isn't like at noon. We have like 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. calls. And so, like, you know, we don't make it a huge deal, but like we just make that a part of our routine and it's super fun. And I just like to meet people where they're at.
SPEAKER_01I also think, too. I mean, now that I kind of understand the concept, because I was like, what is she talking about? You actually do this and you've done it to me. Like, we've been on like like just a like a brainstorming session or something, and I'll kind of call out something that I don't think I'm good at or something, and you'll actually be like, Well, what do you mean? And you'll like kind of challenge me, and then you'll you'll share with me what you've observed that has made me realize like I have to reframe that thought pattern because yeah, Julia really like you you do a great job of shining light on an area that we might overlook. And I can't keep come up with an exact example, but you have done it to me so many times where I've been like, wow, Julia, like you've you've praised me on my boundaries. And I've been like, oh, you think so? Like I've been better about like, you know, setting boundaries around around my energy and what I take on. And that's an area I always thought I was really bad at, and you've like commended me for it. And it had examples that clearly you've been observing it over time, and I'm like, oh my gosh, you're right. Like I have come a long way or whatever.
SPEAKER_00I think it's human nature for us to be really hard on ourselves. And I think it's really special to build relationships with people in your life who are in your support system who can recognize the strengths in you. And that's what you're saying is that I feel like it's one of my superpowers that I listen to people talk about their weaknesses and I actually reframe them into strengths, and it's like not fake at all. I'm like, no, no, no. Okay, so for example, I have been working with a client who is incredible. I love her so much. I wish that she saw herself in the light that I see her in because she's an incredible nurse. And some of the places where she feels she's falling short are limitations of bedside nursing. It's not necessarily something that's like personally her, but she can't, you know, meet all the needs of her patients and she takes that as like a personal failure. And I'm like, okay, hold on. We need to distinguish this for a second because there is a failure of the healthcare system to provide you with the adequate environment to meet your patient's needs. You're not the failure.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00So, really learning how to differentiate between is your job providing you with the opportunity to be the nurse that you want to be, or are you actually not living up to your job title? And most of the time, the environment is falling short and it's not the nurse. And we just have to figure out what values, what beliefs, like what strengths this person has, what's important to them. And then we have to find a nursing job that fits them so that they have better overall success and they're happier. And the we make the nursing profession work for them versus the nurse having to work so hard to make the nursing profession exist. Do you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01This is how Gen Z, I think, collapsing.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_02You're like, what the hell is she doing?
SPEAKER_01Okay, snapping. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Silent snapping. Okay, two things. First, it sounds like yes, what is in my control and what is out of my control? And understanding that and letting go of what's out of your control because it's out of your control. And the other thing is like that is literally my mission is to help people understand there are so many different roles in nursing. And if you are like literally your soul feels like it's being sucked dry in a role, that's not for you. But let me tell you, there's a hundred other options. But yes, you need to take time to figure out what's aligned with who you are in your values, if you can, before you take a new role, because the more, the closer you can match the two, like what is this job prioritize, and what do I personally want to prioritize in my job? And getting something that's aligned, I feel like that's that literally will change your whole life. Like you will be so much happier.
SPEAKER_00And I'm like obsessed with helping people build a life that they absolutely love and a life that they deserve.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Because I think I've been on like all different spectrums of that. I've been in a job where I felt like I was in prison and it was like sucking me dry, and I felt like I wasn't there for my kids, and I and it was it was horrible. And and that was actually the job that I was paid the most. And then I've like decided now I'm on this crazy different, you know, kind of unique path where I feel like I'm the most aligned in everything I do daily, and that gives me such a fulfilling life.
SPEAKER_00When you were in that job where it was sucking you dry, did you need permission from somebody else other than yourself to quit that job? Like, were you I felt like I did.
SPEAKER_01Like I had to make sure that my husband backed me. I had to make I had to get approval from my mom just because I knew that would make me give me the confidence to leave. But I knew in my heart I was leaving that job no matter what. But I wanted, of course, like that permission from outside, right? You know, support, which is kind of interesting thinking about that.
SPEAKER_00It is, but it's also we are community-driven beings. Support systems are really important to us. And although we have the power to make that choice within ourselves, I think it is important for your community to back you. And I think a lot of times people are so worried about the people around them judging them or um being like, oh, you failed. When really it's not a failure, it's actually a massive success to put down a boundary and say, this isn't no longer serving me. I need to do something about it. And this is where the internal locus of control and the external locus of control play a big part. And I love this concept that I learned in nursing school that I have never forgotten. So internal locus of control means that I have control over what's going on in my life. I'm drive, I'm in the driver's seat. I'm making the choices, I'm happening to the world. I love that. And an external locus of control is the world is happening to me. I'm, I hate to use the word victim, but like you're not so much in control. Everything's happening to me. Woe is me.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_00I'm not taking, you know, it's like not being in the driver's seat. Right.
SPEAKER_01And acting kind of helpless, like kind of like I have options and this is my life. And it's like you have options, you have to take action.
SPEAKER_00I have options, you have choices, especially as a nurse. So we could go down a whole rabbit hole talking about that. But I love to bring that up because I think it's so important to people for people to harness that power. Yeah, make the choices and know that people are backing you. And if I'm the only one in your corner that needs to give you permission, I will give you permission.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I'm sure we can kind of swing one way or the other with that external versus internal locus of control. Because when I think of that experience for me, it was when I was a nurse manager. I had gotten my master's to get into this role that I thought I would sort of be in forever, right? Or continue to kind of climb the career ladder in management. And obviously it was a huge pill to swallow that, like, hey, I went back to school. I spent money, I spent time, effort, all these things to finally get in this role that just like doesn't serve me. And in the beginning of it, I was in nurse management for a little over three years. I think in the beginning, I was more in the external locus of control where I felt like it was like, oh, this job and this keeps happening and that, and oh my gosh, and this is, you know, and kind of making it about the job and all these things happening in the job that were making me unhappy when I think I finally realized like that's like those little things are not gonna change. And I, it's every week it's gonna be something different. Every day it could be something different that I could blame everything on.
SPEAKER_00And there's always gonna be external factors that we don't have control over. Like there's always gonna be that variable, but it's how do you perceive it? And what is what how do you process it? How do you let it affect you? And what do you do about it?
SPEAKER_01Right. And I think, you know, it was kind of like, well, I can't keep doing this and expecting a different outcome, right? So then it then it became like, what control do I have in the situation?
SPEAKER_00And how can kind of like you said, like how can I be intentional to the world and sort of be in the driver's seat and control what's happening, you know, sort of to me, rather than it's like it sounds like when you were experiencing that, do you feel like you had to reevaluate your goals and what was important to you? Because it sounds like everything. Everything. Yeah, because it sounds everything. Going back to school and working this management job was like maybe a little bit of a yes, it was a career goal, but also financial goals.
SPEAKER_01Oh, totally. And the thing I think that threw a wrench in it is during management, yes, there was COVID, there's all these other things, but I also really was in the thick of motherhood. And I felt like here I was, you know, going into the trenches of the pandemic, leaving my kids for long hours, feeling like I was always answering to staffing issues, patient acuity issues, all these things, had to report expenses for the unit and why are we over budget and all these things, and just also seeing my staff struggle so much in the job because we just didn't have the staffing resources and things we needed to do a good job. So it was like that moral compass of mine was like at the detriment. And when I was in the thick of motherhood, it was I I was driving to work. And I think this also started kind of my love for manifestation because every single day driving to work in my head, I was playing a movie. I was, of course, the main character, right? I was getting I was having a slow morning, I was getting a cup of coffee, I was making my kids, you know, pancakes for breakfast. I was getting them, I was like, you know, Susie Homemaker. And I was almost like in my head living this life of that was completely different than the chaotic life I was truly living. And I think that repetition of like thinking about what I really wish my morning and day would look like, that almost gave me the confidence to be like, wait, I want that. Like I want that version or close to it. And I can't be sitting in this same chaotic reality of mine and expecting that dream.
SPEAKER_00Where are you at now that you have changed the trajectory of your nursing career and what that looks like, are you living that reality? Living it. Like I am living my best life.
SPEAKER_01Like, is the income as good? No. But I have never been happier. And I don't know. I think that's why I'm so passionate about making these nurses as as early on as possible aware that they have choices and giving them the resources and things to really make them feel empowered in what job they they take and how they navigate throughout throughout their career. Because there have been many times where I have felt like I was in the passenger seat of my career, or kind of kind of living this life that was told to me, like, yeah, career, you know, go back to nursing school, get your master's, climb the career ladder, or become an APRN and all these things that you end up in this grind and on this trajectory that's actually not even aligned with who you are.
SPEAKER_00So it's easy to get lost in that. It's also easy. I have so many things I want to say. It's also really easy to get lost in the identity of nursing. So you become a new nurse, you're in the hospital setting, or wherever you end up working, which is a total other tangent. I want to go down. Not everyone has to become a bedside nurse, not everyone has to go to the hospital. My nursing instructor called that sexy nursing. And I think that's hilarious. And it stuck with me because it is the shiny object. Yes. Hospital is the shiny, sexy object. It's like, oh, you get to work 312s and you get maybe higher pay, and it's really fast paced, and you get to leave, you know, work at work, and you get five weeks of vacation time a year, and you get your 401k and all yours. Well, guess what? A lot of that exists in a lot of different jobs.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00It's just that bedside nursing for some reason is this big carrot that's dangled and it's glorified and it's actually really messy and can be really ugly and can be really hard. And some people are built for it and some aren't. And that's a whole other conversation we could have.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01But you don't necessarily need to chase the narrative that we see on TV. I had so many friends that have become nurse practitioners. And let me tell you, they're working the ugliest hours. They are working so dang hard. And they're all entering motherhood like me. And it's it's not easy. And I think the label of nursing for me though, I definitely like I feel like I was like, hi, I'm Caroline, I'm a nurse. It was like, I was so proud of that label. Identity definitely, yes, my identity was that label. And the thing that finally challenged that label was motherhood. Well now I have two competing labels that are equal, equally like I was proud of. But like, of course, you know, nothing will ch replace the loves of your children. So I think that really challenged everything for me. I was like, wow, here I am, nurse manager. I'm gonna go be the next CNO. I mean, not really, but like that was my trajectory where these kids were like, you know, I was like, wait, my heart is over here. And I don't want to be on this, on this crazy hamster wheel of nursing management. I need a life where I can actually nurture my identity of being a mom.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, well, that's just natural evolution of life and your perspective changed. And thank you for bringing it back to identity because that's where I was going with this, is that I think some people become nurses, myself included, and nursing becomes your entire identity. You have a new work family, you have a new schedule, you have a new routine. You're very important. What you're doing is very incredibly important. It is fast-paced, you're helping, you're making such an impact. You're you're making more of an impact than you will ever be able to understand. You're touching the lives of so many people on a daily basis. And those people may remember you, they may not. You probably will not remember them, except for a few cases here and there that stick in your mind, but you are making an incredibly large impact. And sometimes that becomes overwhelming. And I think that the thing new nurses need to really focus on is creating work-life balance. And I think a better way to say it is creating a life that you absolutely love. And it can't just be centered around nursing. Nursing is your job, it's not your life. I think it's very common for people to fall into this pattern of picking up overtime and maybe hanging out with your work friends. And that's fine for a season, but you you don't need to be in that season all the time. You need hobbies, you need a support system, you need a well-rounded life because otherwise you're just gonna burn out.
SPEAKER_01I totally agree.
SPEAKER_00And then what was the point?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, what was the point? I know, and I I think uh too, the media they really glorify, like if you think of Grey's Anatomy, they show these people living at the hospital and saving lives and all these crazy experiences. And yes, it's an adrenaline rush, but we chase that version of what we think we're gonna love of reality, and it and it really isn't that. I also do think that Gen Z is much better at uh basically making their work uh fit their life. And I had Matt Burnt on the show, he is the head of Job Search Academy, I believe it is, at Indeed. And he said, like, there's evidence that Gen Z is really good at being like, well, how you know, how is this job going to fit into my life? Where I do feel like most nurses have really been like, I'm a nurse first, and how can I make my life revolve around my career? Yeah, it really should be the other way around.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I want to tell a story, and I don't know if you're gonna ask me about this, but I had this defining moment where I was sitting on my front porch or I was turning 33, and I told myself this was gonna be my year of yes.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yes. I want to talk about this. Yes, yes, yes. Yes.
SPEAKER_00Um and this is just kind of goes along with my whole life philosophy. I lost my mom when I was a teenager. She died pretty suddenly, and I've I've endured quite a few personal losses of people close to me, and life is just really short. And so I think that's also why I'm really passionate about helping people have great balance in their life and enjoy their life and travel and build a career that works for them and not that they drown in. And so, my year of yes, I was 33. I remember exactly where I was sitting in my front yard, beautiful front yard at this rental home. And I just had this moment of reflection and I told myself, I'm just gonna say yes to every single opportunity that comes my way.
SPEAKER_01Like professional and personal.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, everything.
SPEAKER_01Wow. How did that go?
SPEAKER_00Um, I found my dog who was astray, and I ended up keeping him.
SPEAKER_01Because you had to say yes.
SPEAKER_00Then I bought him a house because obviously yes, and I said yes. I bought us a house. Um, the opportunity just kind of came up. I toured one home. I knew what neighborhood I liked and kind of what price range I wanted to be in. I went and looked at it, it had great natural light, and the redwood forest was right behind it. And I said, This is my house. I'm gonna buy this. And I said yes to professional opportunities. I said yes to travel. I met the man that is now my life partner. I don't know, I just said yes to everything. Everything. And it's like, I think it's just a reminder to invest in yourself. I think we spend so much time digging our heels in and resisting.
SPEAKER_01And it keeps us comfortable and safe.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we are hardwired to resist change because it's scary and we want to stay in this like safety zone. And so I think it's just a really good example of how you can tell your brain or tell yourself to say yes. Take these opportunities, invest in yourself, grow, because what's the worst that's going to happen?
SPEAKER_01Seriously. No, I love that. I even think like this year, my word of the year has been like ease. And I kind of feel like, okay, if something doesn't flow easily, or if I feel like I'm chasing something that is constantly just like there's resistance there, then I'm not going to put my energy in that direction. But if something sort of falls in my lap, I'm not saying whatever it is is going to be easy, but if the if the opportunity clicks in the place, like I recently won't needed to get in touch with more tech people. And I'm not kidding, I asked ChatGPT, like, okay, I want to network with tech people. How do I do that? And it was like, well, funny that you should ask that because next week is tech week in your state and everything's free and you just show up. And I was like, What timing? Right? And I'm like, okay, that's ease, right? Like, was it walking into those events being like, hi, I'm Caroline, and I literally don't know anything about tech? No, but I feel like it's already opened so many doors. So if things are sort of naturally falling into place, yes, you need to have action behind it. Like to me, it's like, okay, you're moving in the right direction. Sort of kind of like your yes, where okay, if there's an opportunity, you say yes to it and it's going to move you in a certain direction rather than constantly chasing and forcing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Those go really well together. They really do.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I love that. Thanks for sharing that. I'm coaching you now. No kidding. I need it. Um we all need it. We do need it. I love that. And I do, I do think saying yes, like I mean, I look back on my life and there are certain things that I actually was like, I don't think I should say, I don't think I should do it. And then I do it and I'm like, thank God I did it. And there's not anything that I'm like, why did I say yes to that? That was such a huge waste or a mistake. I don't know. I I feel like, like kind of like you said, even if you say yes at something and it doesn't pan out to something big, great, and beautiful, it was probably a lesson that you learned in there. Or some kind of value that maybe it's not a tangible, you know, monetary value or whatever. But I feel like it teaches you something.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I think avoiding resistance is always the best path.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And it's like if something, if there is resistance in a certain direction, like but that's also a message too. Like that direction. Let me talk about that.
SPEAKER_00Let's talk about that. Well, you know what I mean? Like, what is that resistance? Why do you feel that way? Um one thing also that coaching is not, because I feel like this kind of plays in what we're talking about, is it's not fixing anything and it's not giving advice. Like we're not fixing if you're feeling that resistance, like we don't necessarily need to fix it, we just need to understand more about it.
SPEAKER_01Sort of like gather more evidence and like and how to move around it. I like that a lot. And how to move forward. Obviously, continuing to circle around coaching. Like, who would you say coaching is for? Like, who is a great person? You're like, yeah, you'd be a good client for coaching, like you'd benefit a lot from coaching.
SPEAKER_00I think everybody can benefit from coaching because everybody deserves a support system, a neutral party who just shows up as a blank slate to hear your ideas and think help you think outside the box and help you brainstorm and move forward. But I think coaching is not for somebody who's stuck in their ways, who doesn't want to grow. You really have to have like a growth mindset, you have to be open. You don't have to know what you want out of coaching.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00You just have to know you want someone to hold your hand and support you and ask questions. And maybe you're feeling kind of uneasy in your career and something's not working for you, or uneasy in your personal life, and you don't really know what it looks like next, but you want to sit and kind of talk to somebody about that. That's who coaching is for. If you know you have a plan in place, you want to move on, you want to start travel nursing, or you want to move to a different state, or you want to do something that feels really big, which is really big, but you don't quite know how to get there. That's what a coach can help you with. A coach is not someone who's gonna tell you what to do or tell you how to fix yourself, or you know, it's it's more just to help guide you forward in a really beautiful way, hold you accountable, help you make a plan.
SPEAKER_01There's power in accountability and someone holding a mirror up to you, and someone just being able to literally shine a light in the blind spot that you don't realize is there. I mean, you've done it for me multiple times where I'm like, oh, I didn't think of it that way, or oh, you know, just you giving your point of view, third party or outside party giving a point of view, and you're like, wow, that like changes things for me completely. But I know you have helped people through certain transitions, like you know, and like navigating that. Can you share a few of those like examples?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so that kind of ended up being my niche is that helping helping people navigate transitions in their life, whether whether it be personal or professional. Um, so I had a non-healthcare client who was planning to move from the West Coast to the East Coast. Okay. And she has a family, they were relocating by choice. Um, her husband had to find a new job. Her kid had they had to do it in a time frame in which it made sense for the kid to go into school in the fall. So she had a very set time frame and through a six-week or a six-session coaching container, I helped her navigate that move. And I'm no moving, I mean, I have moved before, I've moved states, but I'm no moving expert. It's not like that's my expertise. Yeah. I just know how to come up with a plan and how to ask her questions. You know, what feels like a direct threat to your stability right now? What are your priorities? What is weighing really heavily on you? How can I help you feel more organized? What do you want to get done before next week? And so just by having a really focused 60-minute session with somebody where there's no interruptions, you know, maybe the kid was at school, husband's at work, she could just really zone in and get a lot done and come up with a plan. And then I always send a recap email. So after every session, it's like, hey, these are the notes from what we talked about, these are your next steps. And like whether or not somebody actually takes them for the next week, that's up to them. I'm I don't care. It's just, I'm just trying to help you stay organized. And that really helped her. And she went from being kind of frazzled and unorganized and just really anxious about the move, but it was she was having anxiety because she didn't have a plan.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And so, I mean, that's just an example of a big personal transition. And they moved and it ended up really being great. And she was so grateful for the time that we spent together. Other examples would be transitioning jobs. I I work with a lot of nurses who are then they're not happy in their job. A lot of it is just because the healthcare system is not letting them be who they want to be and give care to patients in the way that they want to. So it's like, let's let's evaluate where your strengths are and let's come up with a better job opportunity for you. Let's talk about different environments that might work well for you.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Do you do you feel like there's common themes or like mindset struggles that you see when you're coaching?
SPEAKER_00Everyone is unique, but I think a common theme is that people want something different and they just don't know how to get there. And that's why I was asking you with your experience, did you need permission from someone? Because it's also hard to give ourselves permission.
SPEAKER_01Oh, so hard. Like if my husband said no, or my my mom said, you know, that's a bad idea, that would have been hard for me. That would have definitely delayed the transition a long time. I mean, I do think ultimately I probably would have still like left that job. I don't know for what exactly. Um, but yeah, I agree with you. It's hard to give yourself permission.
SPEAKER_00And I feel like had we been working together at that point, I would have then said to you, okay, even though they said no, tell me right now what are the reasons why you think it's okay to walk away from this job and you'd be like, and we talk about how highly employable you are.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00It's not like you're walking away from this job with no other option.
SPEAKER_01Right, right. It's so true. It's like we almost don't have the confidence, too. And I think really talking it out probably would help being like, you're right. I'm feeling more empowered and confident in making the transition. There's a plan, you know, we've thought it out.
SPEAKER_00Like, like having a therapist. Yeah. Because I love having a therapist who knows no one in my life, and she's a safe space that I can talk to. A coach is similar because it's confidential, it's a safe space. You can open up. I don't really know the context of the people in your life. Yeah, I'm not judging you. I don't have preconceived notions, I don't know, you know, your history except for what you're telling me. So I really come at it with a blank slate. Yeah. And I've had one of my clients tell me, like, she's like, that is why talking to family or talking to friends is not as helpful because they give advice or they have preconceived notions or judgments, or there's they have bias. And then working with a coach is just cleaner.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I totally get that. And I think that is really helpful for especially new nurses struggling. I know we've both coached new nurses that are struggling on the job. And I think it's nice because they know that they have a support system that is not, we're not tied to your employer, right? And I know every employer usually offers EAP, right? Employee assistance program where it is confidential. But, you know, there's always that in the back of your mind, like, hmm, but will my coworkers find out? Will my will my boss find out? Well, yeah, can I really say my honest truth? Where when you go and hire a coach like you, Julia, that's obviously not tied to your workplace. Like you really can be so brutally honest in what you're going through.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Speaking of not being tied to a workplace, I do want to do a little plug here for a free resource that I'm involved in that I helped co-found. So um my partner in this project, his name is Victor, and him and I built a free online community for nurses. It's a safe space, a confidential space. It's a place for people to meet on Zoom calls. We have a newsletter. It's called the Virtual Nurses Station. And we just thought it was really powerful for nurses to be able to connect with other nurses outside of their workplace. I think out of the hundred plus people that are in our community, no one works with each other.
SPEAKER_02That's so cool.
SPEAKER_00I know, and nobody from my past, maybe one person, but very few people. It's not like I went to all my old coworkers and said, Hey, I'm building this thing. Do you want to be a part of it? It's just kind of like whoever was naturally interested in it came. And it just gives you an opportunity to connect with other nurses throughout the US who you don't see on a day-to-day basis. You can share your honest feelings about your job. You can talk about a hard situation that happened. We have different topics every month. It's a beautiful free resource for nurses to use for a support system in whatever capacity that that works.
SPEAKER_01Okay, two things with that. One, also like none of your calls are recorded, right? So that's nice too, from like confidentiality, and no one's gonna be able to have any evidence against you or whatever if that works because you really want to feel like it's a safe space, right? That's still how you proceed. Okay. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00For now, there's the email subscription. So you get multiple emails a month, and that helps you really stay connected with us because we do a monthly newsletter, we do recaps of some of our calls. We're just kind of recapping the topics we talk about and the main points. And then I send out links every single day. We have a call. There's an email with a link, so you can just do like a quick click and join the Zoom call. And then we have a Facebook page. If you're on Facebook, we have a group, we kind of duplicate everything I just talked about, but in the group, and then that's kind of a group discussion, and you can post there anonymously as well.
SPEAKER_01I'll post a link for that in the show notes, and that's the virtual nurses station.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. VNS is what we call it. So it's really just kind of a well-rounded resource for people. I love that new new nurses can come. We've had some brand new nurses in the group, and we have some nurses with 20 plus years of experience or who are even retired.
SPEAKER_01I love that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Now, I only have a few questions left for you, but I wanted to ask you this one. If someone listening is thinking, I've always wanted a coach, but I don't really know if it's worth investing in myself, what would you say to that?
SPEAKER_00I would say I think it's always worth investing in yourself because I guess the worst case scenario is that you get into a coaching relationship and either the coach is not the right, it's not the right fit, or you're just not that into it. And in that case, then you put that aside and you say, I tried it, it wasn't for me. But I don't really see that happening.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Do you have a call where you kind of feel each other out and you're like, okay, let me make sure, yeah, we're a fit.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So I do a free coaching consultation, usually about 30 minutes. Sometimes it goes over that. We just kind of chat about like, why are you interested in coaching? What's going on in your life to bring you, you know, what piqued your interest in this? Yeah. How do you feel I can help you? And we just kind of get to know each other. And then one of my biggest things is I like meeting people where they're at. So where I do propose a package for of coaching sessions based on what the client says that they need at the time. I this is a little unusual, and I don't know if anybody else does this, but I offer coaching sessions PRN.
SPEAKER_01Oh, so like once they're established with you, you're kind of like, hey, I will meet with you as needed.
SPEAKER_00Yes. So I would, and I don't have this like written in stone, but I would like to work with someone for at least three to six sessions to establish a relationship. And then moving forward, we can book PRN. You don't really have to dedicate, say you're like, you know what, I don't really want to pay for six sessions. I'd rather just schedule you as needed. I'm cool with that. And normally what happens is people end up meeting with me once or twice a month anyway.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So, like, say the girl who used you to help her move during the move, something happened and she felt anxious and overwhelmed again. And she could reach back out to you and say, Hey, Julia, I think I need one more session with you because I'm stressed about XYZ. And you're like, hey, go because I know you.
SPEAKER_00We have a relationship established. I know the context. We're not going to spend that whole hour, you know, talking about the buildup to what got her here. It's really could be a good working session and she can get value out of it. So that is something that I offer that I'm not sure other coaches offer.
SPEAKER_02I love that.
SPEAKER_00I think a lot of other nurse coaches or coaches in general provide these like preset packages. And I do think there's value in that because then it shows that the person who wants coaching is dedicated, they're willing to invest in themselves and then commit to three, six, nine sessions, whatever they choose. Yeah. But that's something that we can work out together. I'm very all about I'm all about customization, meeting people where they're at. But one of the things I'd like to on the whole PRN thing, yeah, is I had a nurse that I know experience a very traumatic code blue. And one of the things I had been envisioning for my practice is having this like offering called code blue, where it's kind of more of like a crisis session, where it's like something at work happened or something in life happened, and you need some kind of immediate venting and feedback and support. It's just the same as what you would do going to like talk to your charge nurse or your preceptor or a work friend or your unit educator or your manager. But I'm a separate entity, I don't know all the dynamics of your job, so I'm a safe space. You can talk me through it. And what I found doing this is it was so helpful. The nurse was carrying a lot of personal blame. And so the biggest takeaway from our session was I heard everything that happened. She was able to process it. We were able to talk through it. I was able to ask a lot of questions. And the the conclusion that we came to together, but I think I opened her eyes to, is that this code blue was not her fault. It was a failure of some of the systems in place. And there was multiple people that failed this patient. And she had been carrying this personal responsibility since the event. And I just felt like she was able to finally breathe.
SPEAKER_01It feels like it comes back to almost giving yourself permission to be at peace and to move on.
SPEAKER_00But also, you know, not having such tunnel vision and just kind of understanding like she had to tell me the story for me to hear the full story and then be able to pick it apart and say, Hey, did you realize that X, Y, and Z also happened?
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00And that is not your fault.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I think that really helps that you have that ICU background to be like, I can literally pick this apart clinically with you, work through it to learn maybe from a clinical standpoint. But then I can also understand the emotional turmoil or whatever it is that we're going through.
SPEAKER_00So I would say I would love to offer these like code blue sessions. And I would say that I probably don't need prior context to a person if it's more like clinical and we can just like spend 90 minutes or two hours picking this apart and kind of working through something. And I feel like that is kind of unusual, but my skill set as an ICU nurse, I can think on my toes. I get handed these situations with no context. At this point in my career, you don't even have to give me a report on the patient. Like, I'm good. Don't even bother. I mean, honestly, I can read a chart, I can look at a person, how they're presenting, their airway, their vitals. I mean, so I can do that in a coaching session. I can hear and assess the situation and help you move forward.
SPEAKER_01I think that's an incredible resource. You need to list that on your website, ASAP.
SPEAKER_00I'm so my website is very remedial, you guys. I don't have it dialed. I don't even have like all my offerings listed. I like to meet with people in a session so that we can figure out are we a good fit? And then how can I build sessions for you? And what resources do you need? So my website will be in the works and I will be improving it and making it more of something you want to look at. Oh, sure.
SPEAKER_01And I will list your your website. That's fine. Obviously, people can reach right out to you if they're struggling to figure out.
SPEAKER_00Email, social media. So my email is julia at coaching with Julia.com.
SPEAKER_03Great.
SPEAKER_00I'm also offering for anybody that wants to sign up for coaching. We can definitely do a consultation. I will offer three sessions. If you do a three session or six session package, I will give you one free session after that. So kind of a built-in bonus session. But just mentioned you heard me on the podcast. And then social media, I'm not huge on social media. Are you kidding?
SPEAKER_01Your social media is incredible. Like you should be a photographer.
SPEAKER_00If coaching, like another side passion, like what I mean is I don't have a ton of like different outlets of social media. I have Instagram, I love Instagram, I love photography. So what Caroline's saying is that she likes the pictures of my life, which I I tend to use social media to just kind of like show my travels and my adventures and my life. Not so much, it's not so business heavy. If you follow Julia, you're going to see Julia Delay. So at Julia Delay. So that's J-U-L-I-A-D-E-L-E-A.
SPEAKER_01I'll put it in the show notes too. Yeah. But if you follow her, you guys are going to see mountains, you're going to see adventure, you're going to see margaritas, you're going to see good food, you're going to see ketones, you're going to see her dog. But like every picture, I'm just like, geez, she is just, you're just so good at capturing pictures.
SPEAKER_00The rodeo. You'll see the rodeo. The rodeo.
SPEAKER_01I am going to fly out to you one day and you're going to take me to the rodeo. That's like so much fun.
SPEAKER_00So much fun. And I guess so uh two more quick little things I want to say. Is I created merch for bedside nurses called Bedside Baddie.
SPEAKER_02Wait, I think I have my hat. Hold on.
SPEAKER_00Oh, do you really? That's so great.
SPEAKER_02But we all know that I look like Kid Rock in a hat. So please don't judge.
SPEAKER_00When I saw you wearing a Nike hat the other day, I was like, she's doing it. And you're like, no, it's just trucker hats that make me look like I love it. So Bedside Baddie. Yep. It's kids like isn't it cute? Um this, you know, honestly, non-bedside nurses can wear it too. It's just a fun little thing. So my friend Alicia makes custom uh merch and she made the bedside baddie line. So that's super fun. So if you want something, just hit me up. And then I'm a trip, I'm doing something new with another nurse. I am co hosting a women's trip to Croatia. Awesome. I'm Leaving in like 37 days.
SPEAKER_01I'm so jealous. I'm gonna have to block you too when you're gone because I feel like you and Josie are gonna have so much FOMO and Lindsay. Lindsay's coming. I know. I'm so excited. Jealous. Okay. So jealous.
SPEAKER_00So Live Travel Vibe is our girlfriend Josie. She owns this company. I had to give her a little plug because I'm as a nurse going and I'm gonna be a co-host on this trip. Super fun experience for me. But I also wanted to talk about the power of social media for two quick seconds because I posted a reel, a trial reel. Yes. And it went viral. It has over 260,000 views. Look at you, girl.
SPEAKER_01I'm not a I don't really use social media.
SPEAKER_00I know. This is why it's really funny, is because the power of the internet is insane. And we sold out our Croatia trip.
unknownOh my god.
SPEAKER_00From my trial reel. We had three girls from social media sign up and pay in full for their trip just from that reel. Are they do they know each other? No.
unknownWow.
SPEAKER_03I know.
SPEAKER_00I know. Isn't that crazy? You girl? No, it's a fluke, but we'll take it. But you will see a lot of travel content this summer. I'm going, not it's not a trip with all nurses. About half of our group is healthcare and nurses, but it'll be super fun. So you can follow along.
SPEAKER_01All right. I'm gonna ask you the final question before. Okay. What I'd love to ask my guests at the end of the episode is if you could go back in time to new grad nurse Julia, what would you tell her and why?
SPEAKER_00I would tell her, good job. You did so many things right, and maybe it took you a while to get there, but I really truly feel like I've always trusted my own gut and my instincts. And I made a lot of the right moves. I res I respected my work education. I found mentors, I learned from nurses that had been working there a long time. I continued to build my skill set as I felt like, you know, kind of the itch to do that. I taught other people, I had a good support system, and then I really dug into investing in myself and also my hobbies. You know, when I became, yeah, when I became a nurse, I really leaned into learning the practice of yoga. I, for a full year after I became a nurse and I had big girl money, I was riding horses. I rode horses. I'm a wannabe equestrian, as my sister said. Um I rode horses as a as a child. And then again, as an adult, when I first became a nurse, that was like my gift to myself, um, horseback riding lessons. So just doing things to really honor yourself. And that's my whole platform, my whole message to nurses in general. But I would just say good job to myself because I I really think that even though I went through some like really hard stuff, I always chose myself first.
SPEAKER_01I love that. I think you're the first guest that I've ever had that's literally just been like, I would tell myself, good job. Like everyone's like, keep going, you got that.
SPEAKER_02You know, you're just like, I'm just gonna say, good job.
SPEAKER_01Like you did it, girl. Yeah, Julia. I absolutely love that. I love our entire conversation today. You're one of my favorite people, and I can't believe we've never even met in real life.
SPEAKER_00I know that's great. But we have, I feel like we have. We will.
SPEAKER_01And we have, we will, but I just want to thank you so much for being a guest on my show. And I just feel like you bring so much light to our profession, and I love how you nurture the nursing community, especially the new nurses. You know, I have a special place in my heart for them, and I feel like we're gonna do a lot of good for that little portion of our profession. So thank you so much.
SPEAKER_00I appreciate it. That's really nice of you. Thanks for having me on, and also thank you for nurturing new nurses because I remember what it how uncomfortable it was to be a new nurse. Yeah, and I think a lot of people forget. Absolutely. It's so important to be patient and kind and a good teacher, and you know, this is the future of our profession. So let's just do better.
SPEAKER_01We're doing the Lord's work, manual. Well, that's it for today's episode of Life After Nursing School. I hope you feel more confident and ready to tackle the challenges that come with starting your nursing career. Remember, the first year or two might not be easy, but with the right mindset, you can overcome anything. If you found value in today's episode, I'd love for you to hit that subscribe button so you never miss a future episode. Also, please consider leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform. It helps so much in reaching other new nurses like you. Thanks for listening, and remember, you've got this. Take care and see you next time.