Hey, guys, and welcome to another episode of the doctor
nurse podcast. Today, we're going to be
chatting with a me, Felix. She's the nurse with over 18
years of nursing experience, a graduate of the Pennsylvania
School of Nursing with a bachelor's in 2004 and a
master's in 2008, as she's skilled and providing exemplary
care to Pediatric patients in the hospital acute and
outpatient settings including the Intensive Care units
outpatient subspecialties in emergency medicine, she's
passionate about quality improvement.
But in health care, nurses well-being, leadership
development and diversity and nursing currently on sabbatical
to reinvigorate her passion for nursing through blogging and
leading a her start-up tech company called track.
See guys, she comes on to the podcast today.
Don't really describe why she took a sabbatical, how she took
a sabbatical, and what it has done for her career.
And the reason why I think this is so important.
And cool to discuss is because I think this might be a key to
burnout that allows nurses to still work in the thing that
called them to nursing without becoming burned out in to take
these breaks to either explore side hustles to either find
other passions and just take a break from pouring into people,
like, we do at our jobs, I hope you enjoyed the episode.
Again, check her out. All her links are in the show
notes. Yeah, just explore.
What she has to say. Keep your mind open.
Open to the idea. And I'd love to hear what you
guys are thinking about what she's doing.
So guys, enjoy the episode doctors podcast, fam.
Welcome to another episode of the doctor nurse podcast, guys.
Today we have on the show. Amy Felix, she is a nurse with
over 18 years of experience, including Critical Care
outpatient, ambulatory, and Leadership.
And she is going to come on and talk to us a little bit today
about her journey kind of She's been doing with her career and
how she's kind of metamorphosis test her career into now really
advocating for nurses to take care of themselves.
And I just think it's such a neat thing.
She's also developed an app, we're going to get into all of
that today on the podcast, guys. Welcome in the podcast.
Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
Yeah, oh my gosh. And so for those of you that
aren't watching on YouTube, she's like super gorgeous.
So we're just saying I'm just really happy.
I love your hair like I'm a little biased but it's fine.
You know from one curly to the next, I'm just loving it.
All right, so again I'm kind of briefly introduced you tell my
listeners kind of what it is that you're doing right now.
Well dive into kind of how you got to where you are but just
ten listeners, kind of how you see yourself, sure.
So especially as we're you know, talking about 20-23.
I really truly see myself right now is an entrepreneur and
sometimes I use it Lesnar's entrepreneur because the work
that I'm doing kind of encompasses so many different
things and yeah, as a nurse entrepreneurs / innovator, yeah,
myself right now. So, tell me a little bit about
what you have been working on some of the projects that you're
heading up and leading in your career.
When these are just kind of the major ones, your two major
buckets. At least, I think of, at least
two and if you have even more just break into all the
different areas that you're showing your in.
So, the things that I'm working on is first I am the co-founder
Under of the nurses medical movement, which inspires nurses
to take career break so that they can restore themselves and
do their best work and find joy in the work they do.
Secondly, I am the co-founder and CEO of track C, which is a
mobile application that supports the nurses and doctors managing
their renewals and for their licenses and certifications.
And then lastly, I am doing some kind of work on the side working
with a start-up tech company called burnout anticipatory
anticipation Technologies which focuses on anticipating bernau
and Four units in hospitals. That is so cool.
So in that last role are you working as kind of like a
consultant like, Korean Guys? These are the signs and if
you're seeing this, you're about to lose a bunch of your staff.
Exactly. So it's an amazing company
that's just getting off the ground.
We're keeping off this year, with using different hospitals
to try out the model. It uses technology app, which I
love technology and really looks at different areas to see where
can we anticipate for now and not just prevent it.
So this is a hot spot area. How do we We start getting into
these spaces and do almost like a rapid test to make sure that
we prevent burnout from happening.
So, it's really from the spectrum of before we even
happens. Let's figure out how to deal
with it. Oh my gosh.
So, I love that, and because you remember, I don't know if you
remember this, but if whenever I was in the hospital, we used to
have this system, where we would type in your Vital Signs, it was
called like the Muse. We would type in the vital signs
and then it would tell us if a patient was like, on the way
Like patient was crashing, right?
And so used to type it in and then every shift would get like
a musescore. So, the musical would be like,
ten or five or whatever and like correlated with, okay.
I think he's getting really sick stuff before the patient crops,
and then we're trying to do CPR and code blue and all this other
stuff. There might be little tiny
indicators that you should stop doing.
So I think that's what it sounds like.
What you're what you're describing to me.
It's like an amuse. Mm, you score for nurses that
are Are on the way out there on their own, the burnout.
Browse. Exactly.
And really trying to help see how we can help institutions.
Use that information to help retain nurses.
How do they make in the moment changes to support?
Not even just the nurses, but also the leaders who are leading
the nurses. So I'm really excited about that
project. That's so cool.
Okay, so Amy, tell me a little bit about how you got here in
your career. I mean, take me through, as
you've been working as a nurse and you 18 years of experience,
you graduated with your bachelors, For and then your
Masters and I have oh not for 0808 808, okay.
Because I think whatever we typed it, we type 2009, ate it.
So I was like, I don't know which one it is and that's why
it's in 2008. So you finished your Masters in
2008 and you've been just kind of look at you.
Remember when we talked before the podcast you were like I was
just cranking but I'm mostly working in Pediatrics.
I think. Yes.
And so yeah, so kind of bribe to my listeners kind of what led
you to this point where you're like.
All right, I can't do this anymore.
Like I can't keep climbing the corporate ladder to like take me
through your story and your dream.
Sure. So I think my story has been
unique to me and I'm so glad for the journey and all the
experiences that I've had. I've always wanted to take care
of kids, that's always been my passion and I've always wanted
to help people. And so in the work that I
started doing, you know, my first role was a bedside nurse
in the picu, 55 beds level 1 trauma center.
The hardest of the hardest, and I loved it, I call it almost
like it was boot camp that people talk about military.
This was boot. Because people were crashing and
we're dying. They were living.
Like it was an amazing time within that space.
I always knew I wanted to make more of a difference and I think
that's what's Driven, most of my decisions.
And so, when I decided to go back and become a nurse
practitioner, it was obvious that I wanted to have more of a
say, or a seat at the table and making decisions for parents for
patients and parents. And So within that, I did, I did
my NP and did outpatient G which was like, completely different,
right care to, you know, working out Patient ambulatory, with
guts and poop and all that great stuff, right?
Yeah. And people are like, are you
crazy? Like GI patients are crazy and
but I knew I wanted a different experience.
I was feeling a little bit, fatigued from taking care of
them, really sick patients. And really just was open to the
experience and within that frame, like I got to learn so
much stuff and really use my skill set as a nurse.
As I was the nurse the MP, you know, the social worker that
care coordinator and kept finding certain things that I
love to do and was passionate about it.
Kind of thrive in that room but lo and behold after six years gr
just wasn't the thing anymore. And I went to the emergency
department, which kind of was like the bread-and-butter PDF,
again, an amazing time learned a lot and Leadership opportunities
presented itself, right? So you think about the ladder,
right? People tell you, okay, as a
nurse, you can become an NP or, you know, do research or you
could go into admin and never in the mood.
Did I think I would do admit? Like, I remember walking into
the job the first year and me, Eating with my boss for 12 and I
told her I could never do what you do like thank you for doing
it but little did I know five years later?
I would be in her job, right? So it goes to show that you
never know what will happen and I found myself in leadership
after doing a lot of clinical work and saying I want to make a
difference. I want to have a seat at the
table. Have when I paid for my work
force, the NP Workforce, if you think about it, in the unit is
so small here to Physicians and nurses.
So how can I truly tell them what's happening?
13. And so, I did leadership for
about five years and it was a great experience.
You know, people find their passion and maybe Cardiology in,
you know, ekron diabetes, it never was a thing.
For me was always like, oh, this is kind of cool.
I like learning about it but when I got into leadership and
leading people and helping people do great work, I found
myself light up, you know, covid happened, I became exhausted the
demands and the role was just do more, do more, do more with less
time. And I felt burned out right,
like I was losing sleep, I had headaches, I had my friends, I
was breaking out, I felt like I had no energy and time for the
things that I loved and even when I went on vacation, it's
still didn't feel. Like I would recover it, come
back and be like, here we go again.
And so I decided one day I was like, you know, I could look for
another job which is what typically people do.
But instead I think I want to take a break and I'm going to
call it a sabbatical because you know, Physicians get it and they
Clinically priest, get it. I mean clergy get it different
institutions offering it and even McDonald's offers it.
So like why can't why can't we as nurses the most trusted
profession in the United States? Take breaks.
So I think my sabbatical is truly led me to all these
various roles that I'm doing now and really focusing on self-care
supporting nurses and inspiring them to do their best work while
taking care of themselves and that it is compatible.
Yeah. So what is the sabbatical?
Look. Like for you because I think
that is so interesting, again, what you said, priest, who pour
into people, right? Like they come there to serve,
they have a lifetime, excuse me, of service and newsflash.
Nurses, all that's all that we do is serve people.
We actually serve them at the bedside where like right
alongside their hardest times in their hardest Journeys.
Why don't we get sabbaticals and sabbaticals, from what I've
known? And again, this might be a
listener, might be like, okay, what is this about achill?
But it's just this time where you just take a break and you
just get a loan and you Quiet and you just kind of listen to
what your soul is saying. So what it is sabbatical look
like for you and then what did you walk away from that?
Sabbatical with exactly? Does that do you define it
correctly? And while people might look at
my story and say that it wasn't necessary sabbatical because I
literally quit my job, but I will talk a little bit more
about that afterwards. My sabbatical really was to take
three months off to rest. Like I knew I was burned out, I
wanted to just buy it. My mind I wanted to sleep in,
maybe take a vacation on a beach and really just just refocus on
my healing. Let my leg workout made and not
be disturbed by The Cutting noises of a ding.
Microsoft teams meeting non-stop.
Eat a real meal and not rush to do so, in front of a computer
while typing patient milk, like the little things that we take
for granted and so for the first three months, that's what I did.
I nothing people would say you're on your couch and I was
like, yes, it's great to be on my couch and not having to focus
on the next 50 things that I have to do.
However, three I was like, you know, by the second month I
said, oh I'll start looking for a job, but I wasn't ready.
I wasn't healed yet and So within how did you know that?
Don't, you know, you weren't ready.
I was so tired and every job that I looked at, I mean, I
look, I was looking at Raw jobs, because I was saying to my, you
know, once I take this break, I'm ready to get back out there.
I'm ready to hike the cause but nothing brought joy to me every
job that I've ever taken in my life.
I've been excited about every single one, there was nothing
that was Calling me to say the next step.
Now I do believe in God and I would say, maybe there's a
spiritual portion to this where he was like that's not it.
But for me in those moments I knowing that no job was
appealing. I realized I needed more time
and so I took more time. That's incredible.
I love that. So, with your time that you
took, excuse me, what were the questions you ask yourself, what
were the the little Quiet Moments in The Whispers that you
heard from your soul? I hear.
You said you were tired. Is something that you began to
go. What does bring me joy of being?
These are questions. You had to ask yourself.
How do you explore? What what was going to be?
The thing that you would jump back into the workforce for?
Yes. Oh I think it was multiple
modalities. So I will say and really do
support. Nurses are asking anybody really
talking to a therapist or seeking counseling because I
think we see so much in our career that that also helped me
transition to this space so I will definitely say that was
part of my journey. A part of it was thinking about
what are the skill sets that I enjoy the most in the work that
I do and what are the skills that said I do?
Effortlessly that bring me joy which is mentorship talking
about will be supporting nurses, right?
So anything in that framework and then how did I see myself
wanting to work. So it's not just the role.
What did I want my day-to-day to look?
Like, do I want 10 hour days? Do I want 12-hour days?
Did I want to be on a, you know, device, all of the time and I
realized those things didn't take me.
Anymore being busy, the excitement of walking to the
hospital did not resonate with me.
I realized I wanted flexibility. I wanted to do my best work, but
be able to create and innovate without restrictions.
So what came to the surface? I mean what was it that you
walked away, from this sabbatical like rip-roarin ready
to do? Yeah, so I think two things
really surfaced in the midst of prior, to me leaving my role.
I had been working on this app because I really got frustrated
with the process of renewing. My three.
Isis and my two certifications, and I was like, this is
ridiculous copying pieces of paper putting them in file
folders. So my co-founder and I have to
Raj's Eyre had formed this company called track, see where
we wanted to create an app to do so, but, you know, when you're
kind of working on a passion project, and it's there, and
it's like, oh, we're slowly building it.
And so, in April, of last year, when I was ready to say, okay,
I'm going to find a job. The app was ready to go on the
market and I was like, wait like that wasn't part of my plan,
right? But I was like here's this great
opportunity. Let's put it out there for free.
And see what happens. So, we did.
And we started getting some traction and then, within a week
or two, I entered my first pitch competition.
Now, I can tell you, I may have watched a few episodes of Shark
Tank. I come from a healthcare
background. I know how to do budgets, but
pitching like, what is it? And so, I entered my first pitch
competition in the city of Philadelphia against nine other
countries and got third place. And we went ten thousand dollars
and I think it was like, ding ding, ding.
This is where you're supposed to be.
It's going to feel Rocky it. It's completely different than
you've ever done, but you're still helping people using your
nursing skills in a different way.
And I think those were the signs that told me you're entering an
entrepreneurship plane and you're really going to create
this whole new thing that's different and that's okay.
It is so inspiring. I mean like update makes my hair
stand up on end. It's just so cool because I
can't like what you were saying about hearing and knowing from
something higher. Now, for me, that again, that's
God too. Like he does direct us if we
quiet our Selves and we allow him to and we get so busy in the
hubbub of everyday work and we just think about the paycheck
and the stability and we talk about faith, we talk about
having faith. And yet, when we are asked to
step out in faith and do the scary thing, we're like that's
real scary. This one security do that.
I think you just say I got faith but like, if you know, it's
just, you know, it's like shaky faith and I'm there.
But I'm not like 100% And so like what you're describing is
just like stepping out in faith and just being like, okay wait,
what is this look like. I'm taking a bet on me when I'm,
you know, able to accomplish. And when I'm able to push myself
to, in the limits that I'm able to do our least the limits, I'm
able to extend myself to and so I think that is.
So I think it's just so neat that you were able to step into
that really out of that. And even though you were looking
for a job, you were looking to do that thing that we always do
is to get back in the rat race and to get back in the boat and
row, the boat something told you.
No wait, listen, wait, wait wait.
And we're so busy rushing. Sheep all the time.
That it is so good that you spent that time and you were
able to hear yourself, and you just seem like you're just
living in. What is what you're passionate
about. So, tell me a little bit about
what you've done with the, excuse me, with the sabbatical
thing, because I know that you were telling me you've been
encouraging other nurses, right? So you've got tracks ee, that's
making because I'm assuming it's like a subscription service, you
sign up, you get to serve rice. Exactly.
So we're in the beginning. Phases of developing, it was
running on, it's like initial version which we call the
minimal viable product. And then we plan to hopefully
watch this year as a paid subscription and collaboration
with state board. So hopefully that system or
process can be more automated, that's so cool.
And then the sabbatical the sabbatical experience in that
whole thing is made you go. Hey listen, I think more nurses.
Need this and that's watched another side.
Hustle thing that you've been a part of tell me a little bit
about exactly. So really, a It was more of me
just blogging to say hey this is my experience, is of the things
that I've been feeling. Is there anyone else feeling it?
But as I started sitting with it more, I was like I want to help
other people and people have reached out to me saying, hey
Mike are you still on sabbatical like what did you do?
I had, you know, other people who also left the similar role
to me and took a month off. Like it doesn't have to be a
long period of time and they would just felt rejuvenated.
I had people who question like I want to leave my role but I'm
not sure. And I was like, well you can do
all these things don't Worried about the money but you can make
a different lifestyle for yourself because nursing is
truly a great profession and you can do thing you want, we just
have to be reminded to use those skills to do as such.
So I'm really excited that this year.
I'm going to be launching, of course, to support nurses with
some group coaching and how to do their own sabbatical and use
their skill set, to ReDiscover their passion, for nursing and
find roles that really are, you know, suitable to the lifestyle,
they want to lead. So look out for more information
and that coming this February, who cool So what are some of the
goals that you have for the sabbatical course that you're
going to launch? Thanks for listening to the
episode. I hope you're enjoying the
conversation. I wanted to take this time and
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It's a shop that I design with my best girlfriend, cute nurse,
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appreciate it. Now let's get back to the
episode. So really and truly to hopefully
Inspire 50 nurses to take a career break, Andre kind of
refocus how they want to work and how they want to Babe.
And, you know, my big, big goal which is not.
This here is really to get a sabbatical program within an
institution that is sponsored. So that nurses, you know, so
many times were denied vacation can take a month off and rest,
and come back refreshed to do the work that they want.
Yeah, that's yeah. My big big goal.
Yeah, that would be really cool. And again, just even if that was
something that we could do every year, I think that we would plea
retain more nurses where we could have the coverage Image to
step out, right? Because we're in this nursing
shortage and that I can imagine institutions being like, Oh my
gosh, how are we going to let a nurse, take a month off?
We're already short. Hey, you already short because,
you know, let nurses do this. So if you allow blacks to have
the break to have the space to have the time to go, I have the
next month off, I get to just think and create and because I
believe we're creative people. Like I believe something inside
of us, when you think about biblically, we're from a
creator. Created the world in seven days,
right? They that was his job.
He spent seven days, he created the world.
He spent the last day of rest, if the god of the universe needs
a day of rest, you don't think you do.
So, one thing I love about it is that he shows I love creating
and then I also need rest. Right?
Exactly. So those are two themes that we
get from the Bible that are very clear on how we should live our
life. Which again, I'm not saying we
can't work and institutions and systems that are already
created. Waited for us, that's not wrong.
But I do believe that there is something in all of us that
desires or is something that's been implanted in us for us to
build, for us to make because we all have a contribution to make
in this world. One of the things I noticed as
well and I was telling my husband this and before husband,
he probably thinks that trips super hard on stuff, but I
noticed that in toddlers shows which I do.
I'm a you know, I let my kid watch TV.
He I'm sure people will be up in arms about that but yeah, I let
him I monitor what it is, but I noticed they all talk about
being a hero, all of them, you know, spider, he's a hero, he
chase the heroes and it's always the heroes and the villains,
right? And I was thinking about it.
I was like, why are all the shows for kids, based on the
same premise? And I think it's because there's
something within us that wants to change the world contribute
to be this thing. That's like I did that.
That like I read that and so I think that that's a mile like
desire is on all of us, but we suppress it with pills with
bills with you know obligations with all the things that we
think are things were supposed to be doing and yet that child
still stays in there and it's like, I want to like, what am I
meant to do? Like, am I meant to be
Spider-Man. Am I meant to be gecko from PJ
masks? Like, what is it?
Can I'm supposed to do? That's supposed to bring it.
That's my role as, you know, the hero in my own journey and my
own story. So I think it's something that
I've been looking at and I've been wondering, like, what is
that? And then how do we apply that
ourselves, as adults? Because I'm starting to realize
that toddlers are just uninhibited adults and this
wonderful, it's sometimes really tough but it's also super
wonderful to watch. Did you just realize like I mean
they're tired I need to eat food or you know like it's just
certain things that really don't change about the way that we
are. But yeah, I think that that is
something that I think is very interesting.
Anyway, it's probably a huge aside, but let's chat again,
keep it on to on task here. What was one aspect of business
that you have found something to overcome?
And then one aspect that you felt like your nursing skills
helped you in navigating? I think just understanding
business. Like I said, I'm purely for my
nursing background. I have no idea about marketing
and different terms and Technology.
Like we Technology from our standpoint, but it could be very
scary when, you know, you're learning a business or even how
to build it and the forms and everything you have to figure
out and I was nervous. I was like, am I really doing
this? Like, am I doing the right
thing? But then, if you think about
nursing, right, like when we go to school, we get all of the
books that tell us, okay? These are the things you do.
And it's that prepares us for when you're the patients in
front of you because things are always going awry and, you know,
through my career, I've transitioned to different
Specialties so many times that I'm starting new fresh and
learning something new is not the first time and it's not
going to be the last time, so going with that same mindset,
that it's not going to be perfect but I'm going to learn
it as I go. And get better.
Is really what's helped me get this far and especially in
talking to people. It's like, as nurses, we talked
to so many people all the time but even today, my friends are,
like, everywhere you go, you meet people and I was like,
don't you talk to people, right? But I realize that's, that's my
special add. That's my my gift, right?
I just share it with others, so I guess you're super pup.
Me, that's my super super right. Yep.
That's how I've found people. To help support me as I moved in
charge. Yeah, that's really good.
And then what is something that you felt like was a natural.
And again, that's probably what you're saying, my natural
ability is I was a nurse and so I'm able to just go into the
room and talk to complete strangers and feel very
comfortable. And then the part is, I don't
really know business and I don't really understand these things.
And so it's something new every day.
It's something challenging, which is nice, right?
I mean, that's that plasticity. That nurses Has I think have to
have a lot of because we aren't specialized, whereas Physicians.
You know, they they perfect in their little area, right?
Urology, or GI or, and they get really, really specific and they
Niche down really, really well. But nurse practitioners have the
options of walking into a GI clinic and taking patients and
walking into urology clinic and we can just be really flexible
which, you know, again is more challenging but again, that
neuroplasticity that we've got to then use it can actually
translate into. Hey, Need to learn business and
however, you learn it either through a course or through a
mentor or through asking or whatever.
Might take a little bit longer, but you'll get there, it's just
going to take some time. So I think that's really, really
neat and if you can talk to a nurse that's burned out, she's
exhausted. I want to sabbatical, that
sounds great. Oh my gosh, I think there was
this John Crist. He's a, he's a comedian but he
did this. This act where he said he was in
rehab because he had some issue. And so he went to rehab and he
called his Ends. And he told his friends, I'm in
rehab, and they have children. So she was like, he's like,
yeah, I was complaining. He's like, they make my food for
me and I just have to, like, go and like meditate and like, I
just gotta like, be quiet. I can't like, you know,
whatever, whatever. And I'm always outside and the
wife was, like, can I go to rehab like that?
It sounds wonderful. Like and so it was just really
funny, like skip, but I was just thinking, like, you know, what
is, what it, what if there was a nurse that's like, listen, I
want to Radical like that sounds great.
What would you? What would be one of the things
that you would tell her to do, or to start in order to maybe
get her doing a sabbatical? I would say.
Number one, first of all believe that it's possible like I never
and I think it might be the tourist in me.
The words, no, doesn't really exist if it's no this time, it's
find another way because anything is possible.
And then, secondly, I would say I understand, you're why?
Like, I think I knew what I wanted from it.
Why? I I needed to do it but I think
once you understand that it's possible and why you want to do
it, everything else can fall into line, right?
Your why drives your wife feels feels your purpose and it helps
you in the moments when you have doubt fear that you can do this
thing. So, those are the first two
things that I would say that. Yeah, because I would imagine,
like, you know, again, if most Americans are living paycheck to
back then how do you just break away from your job for 42 months
or whatever? Reister, you just just were like
during your work hours or just like, put money.
Away you're like I know. This is what I'm doing.
So I'm going to prepare I'm going to build the nest I guess.
Well yeah and I think it's I mean there are two different
ways you do it. I've met someone recently who
just really told their boss that and I think I would have had I
had this option that I'm really exhausted and I need time off
and they were able to get a month off from work, right?
So it's really if you think about it right now, it is the
nurses rule. You can decide how you want to
do. Things people may look at you
differently. They may talk about you.
Like, how dare? Dare he, or she do this but
really and truly you can design it how you want it to be done.
So there are some people who have taken paid.
There's some people have done vacation time in order to get it
for me. Like I said, I needed to break
free completely and I was lucky enough that, you know, I came
off the year of the pandemic where I was able to save a lot
of money because I wasn't able to travel.
I paid off my student debt, and so I was debt-free and I was
like, I can afford to put money into me, I can afford.
Can afford to do this, right? And reading books.
Like the psychology of money time is money, right?
And money buys your freedom and that's what my savings did.
And having a strategic plan like looking at, you know, you know,
you're sick time, you're paid vacation and all of that and you
just live differently like and not to say that I have not been
traveling and look you know the way that I normally am
accustomed to but certain things I didn't need any more like I
didn't have to buy lunch five days a week.
Why? Because I could make food and it
was like great like at 12:00 noon time.
Eating lunch for myself, instead of ordering from GrubHub, that
would take an hour. Those were the benefits for me.
Yeah, that is so, well said. And then, if you could go back
and tell yourself, one thing at the beginning of your career
that you would say, Amy, I want you to hold onto this piece of
advice. What would you tell that tell
that young Amy? And what is a piece of advice
that you would tell her, this is garbage, don't listen to it.
So a piece of advice that she needs to hold ghost, her heart
for the rest of her career, and then one piece of advice.
You tell her. And this is garbage toss it.
I think the one piece of advice, I would tell her is that your
path is going to look different. And it's okay.
I think, you know, coming up as a young nurses, starting with
other people in the ICU, you're always wanting your peers to see
how far they scaling. I remember the first time that
one of my peers was charge nurse after two years and I'm like,
I'm just as good. Why can't I be charging us and
then advocated for that and always trying to be on that same
level, right? And they're probably many
reasons for that I like push myself to be the best that I
could be. But understanding that my path
looking different than others. And that's okay because it's
still going to get me to where I want to be.
So I would say that would be the one thing that I would tell my
younger self. The second question was, what is
the piece of advice? You would tell her if she comes
to you and says this to you. This is not true.
Don't believe it. This isn't true.
Is it true? You have to work this hard all
the time? Oh, that's a good one.
That's a good. What?
You have one of my favorite is hard.
Yeah, you have to work this hard all the time, I think, you know,
I'm also kind of like this anti hustle culture, I'm over it and
I'm not about it, I'm not about checking emails and for
different devices, every single hour to make sure I'm super
aware. I think that it's important for
quiet time as we discussed before.
I think it's important for silence and you can still get
the work done. But yeah.
That would be my one piece of advice.
Yeah. Because when you think about it,
I got going back to a similar concept.
We were discussing about you know the the Lord built the
world. That's always my project, it's
not he did that in seven days, right?
And then he spent time for rest and so I just find it ironic
that he spent one-seventh of the time of the week in Rust in
absolutely doing nothing. Which again is described what he
was doing but he was resting whatever that looks like to you
and it wasn't a legalistic thing.
I think it's just the way that nature needs it to be like you
can't just keep going and you do feel That way you do.
I mean we run low on sleep, we don't take our time to eat,
there's a lot of literature out there on taking your time when
you're eating to step away from the work, and go sit outside and
eat. I find in my clinical space
right now that I don't even have time to go sit outside and eat.
I have to be at the desk writing notes because if I'm not there,
I'm gonna be there late and so that little 30 minutes we'll be
going to say no, please don't finish, no, not, that was it.
That's always gonna say, well, that's so so it's not awful,
it's awful. I know it's awful.
So I think, you know, really how I got started in this well-being
work is that I was the manager of almost 40 advanced practice
providers in a busy emergency department with over 80,
something beds. And the thing that drove me into
the craziest, the most, when some of these, I don't have time
to eat. I just have to keep going.
And I was like, what are you talking about?
Because I also get hangry like the Snickers commercial if I
don't use. So, that's really not at all
blurry. That's right.
If I love but I know how to take care of it.
All right, but it's this idea of nurses.
We have to keep going. We can't take breaks, we can't
take vacation. The day that we have off, if
they call us for overtime, I feel bad for my team so I have
to go in or that extra x amount of money is when I need to
propel me. But what is it that when you do
go in, and you're tired and you're exhausted and you're not
giving your back right? Again, the toddler comes out and
I think it's us realizing like, wait a minute, maybe I do need
to take the 20 minutes, just to even talk to someone just
change, just take a breath. Would really just change how the
rest of my day flows and also as an aside, as a nurse of the
embarrassing to go out and eat socially because I'm so used to
doing this. That would your people like we
just got the course, how are you done already?
I was like oh you're not. Oh my gosh, that is so funny.
Oh I can totally see that happening.
Yes for sure. And I think one of the things
that I listen to Tony Robbins and like one of the things he
said one time was he Like you need to take five minutes for
yourself to meditate and he goes if you don't have five minutes
what kind of life are you living?
It was like such a statement and I just remember stopping and
just being like he's 100% correct if I don't even have
five minutes, I've met in my life to sit down and deep
breathe, what kind of Life am I living?
And again, if I can't take a month, 30 days to 30 Bend out of
my out of my year. I'm just Going to listen to
here, to rest to recoup again. What kind of Life am I living?
And I don't think we ever stop and think about it.
I don't think we ever stop and think I think I deserved rest,
like, and I really believe that this rest will be restorative
and bring me back to work even better.
So you want me gone? You don't want me here.
I want my toddler to nap. I I miss him, the moment, he's
asleep, I'm like, oh man, I miss that kid.
I want him to nap because it manages he's awful.
So it's the same thing. It's so interesting that we
accept these things and other areas of our lives.
But for ourselves, we don't give ourselves the option to go but
I'm feeling a little toddler. Like, I'm gonna go take five
20-minute break during my day and I don't have 20 minutes
during my day for me. I got to find the job, like I
got to go find something else because I can't keep doing this.
This is not, this is not acceptable and when you set that
in your mind that this is Is not acceptable anymore.
It changes. Everything.
You begin to just go. This is the standard.
You're not meeting at you. Need to go like I and you just
you operate differently, you attract things differently.
Now, you're able to help other nurses do exactly what it is
that you needed to do, which is something unique to you, but I
think. Yeah, it's incredible, you know,
for them. Okay, so tell me.
The last part of the interview we're going to do rapid fire.
OK, so rapid-fire, you can't prepare for which is Spyglass to
your pants. Just give it to give what you
got, what comes to the surface and what's your favorite holiday
coming up, Holly? So I just thought I would ask.
What's my favorite holiday? I was a Christmas Christmas is I
think? Yeah, I think it's all the
Traditions. The family traditions, my family
is from the Caribbean. There's to eat foods and things
that we eat, and it's just like this homey, and, although homey
and what's your favorite color? Favorite color green greet?
Like what kind of green like an emerald green.
Like A kelly green hunter green. It's it's like a between which
is kind of the color of, like, dinner sabbatical because it's
just so calming. Oh, I love that and if you had
to give a gift to someone as a book, so you have to give
somebody a gift, a book as a gift.
Which book? Is it all my life?
Just went out, there it goes its back which book would you give
I've heard so many good. Most recently, I would say this
year, I would honestly say the psychology of money.
I think that we are driven so much by money, like, we need
money in order to pay bills and live excetera, that we sometimes
don't really understand its power.
And if we have a better understanding of it than what
have a better way of using it to design the lifestyle that we
look. I love that because it's true
and there's a lot of trauma around money.
There's a lot of generational curses around money and so if
you can break down what it is like you're just function is
with money. I think you would learn a lot
about yourself. I mean, even just in the time
that I've been an adult. I've learned there's certain
things about money that are triggers and things that are
just in there. Just rough.
I think that's cool. I'm going to I wrote it down so
I'm going to check it out. Yeah definitely Amy thank you so
much for your time today. No problem.
Thank you so much for having me. It was a pleasure.
Is there any like Shameless plug you'd like to give so people can
find you on all your social medias sure.
It definitely follow me on. Graham, I'm the nurse about
Uncle or fake opener sabbatical. Like I said, I am here to help
Inspire and support nurses, take breaks, so that they can do the
work. They love with ease and not
stressed out and we'll be launching a group coaching
program. So please come find me, send me
a DM. You can also email me, as well.
All of my information is on my blog as well ww.
Dot the nurse about.com, fantastic ice.
Check her out. And as always guys, enjoy the
journey of your careers. Thanks for hanging out.
So that's a wrap, be sure to subscribe to the show so you
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Jim mom back. Bye.