Hi guys and welcome to another week of the doctor nurse
podcast. I hope you guys are having a
great start to the week and you, if you're listening to this
podcast, towards the end of the week, you were having a
wonderful week. Is this week, we will be hearing
from mr. Rommel who is the owner, CEO and
founder of the points. Retreat, we talked about her
journey to developing and starting up her business as well
as what she's really providing for healthcare workers.
Hers, who are burned out and really need to get away and
reset their lives, their careers, her Retreats offer,
really good, reset to kind of getting back to why we do what
we do. She really does want to bring
not just health and wellness together which she does, she has
a big focus on continuous. Glucose monitoring Mossad
healthy eating but she also just wants you to leave with a
renewed sense of why you got it. To health care.
It's an incredible episode. I hope you enjoy it and let's
hear from my first sponsor. I am so excited to tell you guys
about the newest sponsorship between the doctors podcast and
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Guys, thank you so much for listening to the podcast.
And let's dive into today's episode.
I'm ready. Hi Christa.
Welcome to the doctor nurse podcast.
I'm so excited to give you this conversation.
I really want you to just Take it from the top and actually the
top being. What is your current job title?
What do you do for a living? Yeah, that's a great question,
thanks for asking. So I currently run a health and
wellness Retreat Center. So my exact title is CEO
co-founder and co-owner of a retreat center in northern
Minnesota and at a retreat center.
We host some General Health and Wellness Retreat, for those
looking to improve their overall health.
And chronic disease. Live a great in particular,
second half of life and then we also host a number of retreat
specifically for healthcare professionals given that's my
background where we offer continuing medical, education
credits and really focus on helping healers heal thyself.
So, giving nurses doctors npa's the whole gamut and opportunity
to say I matter. My health matters and it's okay
that I take time to take care of myself.
I That company in 2017. It actually used to be a family
property that we then kind of shifted into kind of full-blown
retreat center but that was catapulted by some of the things
we were talking about before we hit record which was having an
abundance of time in my focused on the impact that lifestyle
medicine and functional medicine, can have an improving
health and that was really unexpected juncture in my career
in healthcare. So I started as a nurse at the
bedside did a number of different things.
From ICU Telemetry. Med-surg spent about seven eight
years of the bedside nurse, but pretty quickly into my cursor to
just shift into different leadership positions.
Which eventually took me from being a nursing supervisor and
hospital to supervisor of our primary care clinics in a larger
Healthcare System to being the director of diabetes and
endocrinology for local, Hospitals and Clinics in the
Twin and added Health Care system and the transfuse area
and through. Not position.
I thought people's so hungry for something different and it was
not just patients, but it was also a provider's clinicians who
were so burned out on prescribing, the same kind of
algorithm medications, that often led to every patient
dreaded, which was insulin. Now, some people need to be on
medication. I am fully aware of the fact
that there are certain people who that is something.
They need either in the interim or they just need because their
disease is that advanced, but there's such a great window for
people to improve their health with the changing.
So many parts of their Lifestyles, so many parts of
nutrition, sleep, Stress Management movement.
That oftentimes, I think providers watch a prescribed
that they want to recommend that, but I saw them holding
themselves back because they didn't feel like they knew
enough about how to do it. Well, so I really started to
implement some programs through that.
I'm where we took patients and their families and to places
like a local, a kind of well-known kitchen, where we
could work with a chef on, how do you cook healthy food and we
had endocrinologist there and we had diabetes Educators there and
we really talked about the whole gamut of it, right?
Because it's so interesting to me that we prescribe all this
medication and then we're like entirely with your food and
patients often times you're like I don't even know what that
means. I don't know how to do that, I
eat erratically if at all. And so we really talked about
the component of nutrition and the Impact that can have on
improving health and disease management.
And then we also talked about if you're on medication how you
time that. Well, so it works the best and
I've got families involved, right?
Because changed as a solo, human can be really hard.
I mean, change is hard all the time, but if you have a tribe if
you have your family, if you have your friends that are doing
it with you, oftentimes that will lead to more success.
So and Sandra as much as like, we love stethoscopes and are
like so accustomed to seeing white coats.
Really also very healthy to talk about health outside of the four
white walls of clinics and hospitals and like make it so,
it feels really relatable for people because most people don't
live, like, we do or have inside clinics or hospitals.
They need to know how to work in a gym.
They need to know how to cook in a kitchen.
They need to know how to take a hike outside.
So trying to make Healthcare something that we just kind of
take outside the box and then I literally did that at the point.
So, created, all of that up there for People to join a
different way. So when people go to your
retreat, the point, if their Healthcare Providers, can they
take classes on health and wellness, and cooking and
nutrition. Food nutrition, all these
different things. You offer that would like CME
credits and stuff. We do yes, which I will tell
you, I am so grateful the healthcare system and I spent
most of my career with in terms of the traditional career in
traditional medicine, they have sponsored Fuming credits and
they have been so gracious in terms of offering see me credits
for yoga for meditation for culinary classes with the
wellness chef and I think if there's some silver lining is so
cool. I think it's that we have
realized the rate of the rate of burnout has become so friend
Center, it was there before the pandemic.
So we've been doing this for free 20/20 but since 2020 it's
been easier to capture Health Care system and Health Care
leaders. Attention, because everybody's
like, I don't really know what to do right now, everyone.
Everybody still going out and eating self-care and so,
fortunately, I'm healthy review which is the health care System.
I spent most of my career with has been so incredibly
supportive of giving providers, the opportunity to really learn
how to practice, lifestyle medicine, and functional
medicine, but also like just take care of themselves.
So, usually, what's good for? Our patient is good for us for a
long time, like it. I lured like it had to be like
has to be for the patient. Well there's a lot of healthcare
professionals who are patients or are going to be patients.
We don't do something about it. Things you have for CME credits
which is great because it's tricky for healthcare
professionals to take time away, right?
It's not always easy to get away from your practice, or your
family or your dirty work, long hours.
So, we quickly saw the need for, that should be kind of valued by
also offering the CME credits. Yeah, but I love about what
you're describing in this Retreat is it's a an escape or
just time away from the hospital for providers or other nurses
Nurse Practitioners Pas, other Healthcare professionals to
really kind of isolate themselves, get quiet.
Which is something that I talk about all the time on my podcast
because I don't think that we spent enough time alone.
We spend a lot of time distracted by our phones and
distracted by life and family and career.
And we don't spend enough time in the choir.
It places of meditation spending time alone seeing if we're
connected with what we're doing. And I know you've told me this
before but people have gone out to your retreat and left and
just been like I can't go back to this.
Like I did not realize that my soul was screaming for
attention, my soul was screaming for space and four boundaries.
And so I'm going to go back with this renewed sense of I'm not
going to go back into that same hurricane of stress again.
I do want to kind of hear about some of the experiences that
you've had with Health Care Professionals that have gone
kind of in that acute burnout stage and what you've noticed
that your retreat has been able to bring out of them.
Yeah and it's this the last year has been so profound the things
that have unfolded at the point and and we had to be really
mindful to create a very safe space always but the level of
emotional fragile notice that has walked in Yours is here in
particular, has been really deep.
We have one Retreat. I'll never forget this in our
introductions within the first hour.
Not one health care. Professional can get through
without just breaking down. Sobbing, they finally felt like
they had a place. What I realized is they finally
felt like I had a place that really said you matter your
health matters being in a community of support matters and
that just allow them to just kind of shed this survive.
Earlier that they had carried for probably years and then
really intensely the last couple of years.
And we've had a couple of keynote speakers who really do a
great job helping guide people through kind of processing
trauma, while finding gratitude and thankfulness and peace and
mindfulness and I had one nurse. I'll never forget this.
She said, Krista this place is like a hospital for healthcare
professionals and I was like, goodness.
I love that. I just love Actually makes me
tear up a little bit as I'm saying that, but I don't think
the general population realizes what Healthcare professionals,
give it tends to attract a certain person and usually
someone who's gonna give 110% and they will often put people
others before themselves. And so this was really a place
where it's like no this is you putting you before everybody
else. And that is incredibly important
not I mean for first and foremost for you but Kind of
that old saying right? Like we all hop on a plane and
took put your own oxygen mask on First and I don't know why
that's so hard to do in healthcare for all of us but it
is. So we've seen people reconnect
to their purpose of why I became a healthcare professional
because I think that's so easily lost in the rat race, right?
It's always do. We have enough Staffing.
This patients coding. All of these other things that
we kind of sometimes disconnect from our purpose of why we went
into it. And that's usually to make a And
so a lot of people realize the difference they've made because
it's been so clouded by all the chaos, right?
So it's reconnecting to that purpose.
But then we've had a lot of people to who and this one I've
struggled with a little bit could but I'm also like this is
part of taking care of healthcare professionals.
I had a nurse practitioner say and she works in a large
Minneapolis County hospital and she said, Krista I love what I
do so much. Like I can't imagine that to do.
Doing it. But she also said that every
time I go back into that hospital I feel like I'm going
back into an abusive relationship because they don't
really hear. They're not looking out for me,
it's me fighting a system every day to do what I want to do and
what I know I can do and how I can make an impact, but it's
just like the student class, right?
And we've had some people who have chosen to leave the
profession because they just don't feel like the environment
can support their own personal well-being.
And that's okay. Like I don't know why Healthcare
professionals. We do feel like we have to wear
this badge and like, well I don't have to sleep if I don't
need to eat and I don't need to use the restroom at.
That makes me a better person and I've done that.
I get it. I mean I have been guilty of it
and the end of the day it leaves you with very little right?
Little Health, little more to give you reason ships, failing
and mean so it's okay if your health begins to fail what your
health begins to fail and so forth for some people in certain
circumstances. Um, stances their level of
fatigue, is so great. That it actually is better for
them and probably better for the Health Care system to just to
embrace that and say, do what you need to do to take care of
you. And I hope that Healthcare
systems are saying we're here to support you.
If you want to come back and we're here to support you.
If there's another profession that feels like a better fit but
we're kind of here just to be that Catalyst, right?
To do whatever that Healthcare professional needs.
Of course, our goal is I mean I Sometimes turns a little bit
because people are like, well you got out I want to get out
and I'm like well I still have such an affinity in love for
medicine and Healthcare like I love it.
I just knew that. I the way I wanted to drive
change was really outside the box for healthcare system,
right? And I could have stayed and I
probably would have beat my head against the wall like on a daily
basis because everything I wanted to be like well you can
write a grant for that. That'd be a great thing to write
a grant for and I just finally Like that.
I think I can do more good in the world and more good for
Health Care Professionals if I just step out and kind of break
through some of those barriers right out of the gate and just
say, we're going to learn and do an experience wellness and
health in traditional ways and non-traditional ways.
And you can embrace them both here, you can be both are two
thoughts. My first thought is the impact
that you have is greater outside of the hospital system because
the hospital system is I couldn't as a kind of straining.
System. It's only they only allow
certain things because it's a huge organization and your
ability to really change people's lives in a meaningful
way, is very limited there because you are working up
underneath a corporation, you stepped out on your own and
created this, but you also took risks.
So, anyone that's saying, oh, she got out, you have to realize
that she got out and she's putting her own skin in the
game. You're not just getting a Out
and running on other people's, good graces and you're just
unicorns and ponies. And, and blueberries and hoping
everything works out like, no, like you're taking the risk,
just like the Corgan ization is taking the risk, which is why
they can't just let you do whatever inside the organization
because they don't want to risk. Whichever you then said, listen,
instead of being up underneath, someone who's going to tell me
what to do because they don't want me to risk their business.
I'm going to risk my livelihood, my home.
I find It says, and I'm going to go create the change that I know
the hospital's can't do because they have their constraints.
So I don't think that's anything.
You need to feel. Sorry about if anybody's like
man, she got out. Put your skin in the game and
you can get out. Like, everyone has that
opportunity to do that. That's my first thought.
And then my second thought is as you're talking and I feel like
maybe a listener is thinking, okay?
So what is happening at this Retreat?
Like she passing out like cookies, were everyone like has
a brownie and like things changed for them.
What is She doing at these Retreats that are making people
go back and question their lives and I was thinking, maybe you
can give us like a rundown of like what a retreat weekend
looks like if you can break down like this is the time.
Most people spend, this is roughly, the cost of this thing.
And like, this is what we do depending on this time, because
I know that there are nurse practitioners at, maybe they're,
like, I'll take a week off. Like I'll go, like, how can I,
what can I expect from this experience?
I just wondered if maybe you could Touch on that and then.
Yeah, and then we'll transition to.
I want to hear about a challenge because again, going back to
putting your skin in the game. I know that someone that's like,
oh, she got out like, you got out, but it wasn't always
rainbows and butterflies and everything was great like you've
had challenges. So let's start there.
And then we'll move on to that one as the next one.
So tell me about the retreat and then we'll move on to a
challenge. Well, I'll kind of answer it
with the premise of at a client that we have.
And I was a little nervous to introduce it to a couple of
fish. Oceans who are going to be
keynote speakers at whenever first Retreats it.
The first Retreat, we had was our in the middle of the
pandemic, I should say. And I said came up with his
tagline. What do you think of it?
And here's our tagline Rebelle, and be well, and they just kind
of sat there and looked at me and I was like, do you like it?
And they're like, we love it. Like you do.
Okay, that's nice. It kind of gives us that like
rise up and like that empowering us to like we can be well, like,
we don't have to do and I I'm not trying to pit like system
Healthcare professionals because I spent a lot of my leadership
career trying to be a translator between the two.
Right. Because I value at the front
lines do you? And I also value at leadership
Jazz and often. They're just speaking really
different languages but for those who are actually providing
Hands-On care, it really just Empower them to say like my
health matters, my well-being matters and so that's been a
huge Focus for us these last couple years in the middle of
the pandemic and since March of 2020 is Kind of empowering
Healthcare professionals, if you can Rebel and be.
Well, even though there's all this craziness right now in the
world inside Healthcare systems and how that looks in particular
the last few years is oftentimes in the morning.
We'll start with a couple of options for workout.
People can do yoga, or we have a log garage Jam because at our
retreat center, it's all a big log buildings.
Kind of on this beautiful Peninsula, surrounded by lakes.
So you feel like you're in nature, Everywhere.
You Go including our gym so people can work out in the gym.
With the trainer who take yoga, class with a yoga instructor and
then our Wellness chefs will have like this beautiful
breakfast spread and no, it's all incredible food.
It's all very healthy. Our chefs are very Versed and
creating healthy delicious meals.
But I always like struggle when I say healthy, people think
they're just eating my tofu and bean sprouts.
I'm like no. Like these are like I'm
starving. You just even forget like that,
it's insanely healthy but because it's so delicious.
So, So good they did was they prepare three meals a day for
everybody there all five star we've so many gorgeous pictures
of that our chefs create on our website and its people in.
Like I think they just come for the food which is fair.
It's very fair. Sheffster that great.
And then we often do we have a variety of speakers?
So I speak on continuous glucose monitors preventing chronic
disease, how lifestyle medicine can improve and functional
medicine can improve health and well-being and kind of go to
some of those foundational. I've like, we talked about
inflammation and glucose management.
So some of its really tangible relatable science data
experiential. I'm wearing everyone gets a
glucose monitor at a lot of our Retreats so they get to see how
things are impacting their health.
Like really stressed, what happens when I eat a good meal?
What happens if I do? Work out versus not, you get to
experiment with all that and then we also have a lot of great
keynote speakers that come in and focus on how do you process
trauma and how do you create healthy goals for yourself?
How do you get back to mindfulness and gratitude and a
time of deep stress and Brokenness.
So we have psychologists to leave this.
We have Physicians who read this done a lot of work in and around
self-care. And so we have like this huge
gamut and so we kind of break it up into different small groups
or larger groups. When I say large groups, it's
usually like 30, 35 Max. So it's kind of an intimate
group, you get to know each other.
Like right in front of the presenter in the speaker to ask
questions and engage and our setting is really different.
I mean, sander. You've probably been to like,
over 100 CMEs, we are in a hotel conference room, right?
Angles? So, therapist.
And we're like this. It's just the thought of it is
so draining me. I thought it was just raining
me. I'm like, yeah.
Our siding is very different, urinal big, log cabin and
there's a fire going, and we're like, where your baseball cap
put on your yoga pants. You don't?
Care, like, drink coffee, drink a tea, sit there and learn and
then after you don't let people sit usually for longer than a
few years. I'm like, hey, let's go and take
a hike. Let's go out on the water and
kayak or paddleboard or like let's move for a little bit and
then come back and oftentimes our Shuffle have another
incredible meal and or they can hop in the kitchen with the
chefs, actually get CME credits for taking a culinary class with
them, where they go through from the oils that you use at the
beginning of your cooking. Experience to the things that
you table off your avocado brownie with and everything in
between about how you can kind of fall back in love with
cooking and culinary experiences but make it doable, right?
Like our chefs, make it really attainable and something that
they can translate to like, oh I could do this at home and we do
some more conferences. Sometimes we'll go out.
Take like a sunset pontoon ride and have a little dry Farm
wines, which is a lower sugar 1. Yeah.
And we have done so many things. We had a another physician come
in. She's Dynamite.
She's written a book on Forest bathing, she's an OB but did you
say forest bathing bathing? Yes.
So it's this practice of going in and she's really used it for
clinicians experiencing burnout and she actually works part-time
at deepak's Retreat centers to but she let us through the
process of forest bathing which is really tapping into all of
your senses and how you can buy the practice of being in nature.
Take all your senses from a sympathetic state to Our
sympathetic State and she actually is part of our national
park system. She's also medical director of
all trails and she helps people figure out how to write nature
prescriptions for naturally. There's actually a prescription
you can write for nature therapy and Forest bathing.
And it's so cool. So, I mean, we have so many
different things. We usually close the evening
with a soundboard meditation. So, if weather permitting, we
take the sound was outside. We kind of gather around this,
beautiful fire, everyone lays down, you're looking at up but
obviously, Or just pine trees with the Stars just above and we
have a couple of sound both therapists who just play this,
beautiful sound Bowl meditation, which would take people down
into a very deep relaxed State. And I mean we just it's it's
honestly, I have to sometimes after you've worked in a
hospital setting every now and then I'll have this moment where
I look around. I'm like, this is my new
hospital. Like this is my new place, like
this is so exciting and I'm so happy to see We do practice the
obviously a lot of learning, but it it's so personal and it's so
impactful and it's so meaningful.
That Even our education sessions.
Feels like a 180 from what most clinicians are used to
experiencing. And then we do a lot of
experience alone this because what good is learning it, if you
don't practice it, right? Like do it, like learn it and
live it. So we give people an opportunity
to really do both in their time They're so, yeah, it's really
fun. Everyone is a little bit
different, but part of our Core Curriculum is we always have
these five things for people to experience themselves.
Which also benefit their patients, which is sleep
Community restoration movement and nutrition.
So you will always experience the gamut of those.
Whether it's a two-day or four day or five day Retreat, those
will always be immersed into the experience and then kind of
depending on the retreat topic. People can learn and experience
many others. Things to hearing you talk about
what goes on there. I could just see being
underneath the Stars, having the really cool holes and the
background just creating that Ambience of just peace and
tranquility. And it's just kind of again,
just quieting your soul and seeing what floats to the top
and what what themes or thoughts or feelings.
Just you give space for those things.
And yeah like I kind of got emotional just like thinking
about like oh my God, how much? That would comfort the soul,
regardless of like, what your religious background is,
regardless of like, what your political all that other stuff
is, meld, all that stuff away, because it's just overwhelming
and just really, just quiet down this part of yourself that you,
you don't really give a lot of space for my no more nurses.
Want that as well. And again, you didn't wake up
one day and have this Retreat. Somebody didn't just walk over
and say, like, here's all your dreams on a silver platter.
You had to fight for this. You said, you're not Against the
system because you were that person that was translating.
What leadership needs to have done to the people.
But you know they've been some challenges along the way.
Could you describe may be a time that you really had to fight for
what you believed in or had to overcome something that you're
like? This is so scary and you just
fought through it to get to the end.
Hey guys, thanks for listening to the podcast.
I hope you're enjoying the conversation.
I want to take a second to remind you guys to join the
doctor nurse podcast, email list.
Weakly I send out emails about podcast episodes blogs and
creating with information about nursing motherhood, Finance
health and wellness. How to build side hustles.
It's all there. I want to provide nurses with
information that I'm gleaning. As I grow my business, and my
podcast. Let's get back to the
conversation. Yeah, it's a great question
because being an entrepreneur is not something I don't, even if I
took a business class in my undergrad, I should lie.
I'm like so being an entrepreneur is a whole nother.
Yeah, unique challenge, a very rewarding one.
But there's I mean I could spend hours talking on the podcast
about like what it means to be an entrepreneur and, and that is
something I've definitely grown a deeper appreciation for I look
at people now we started something round up and like,
blown it up and I'm like Oh my gosh, like I can't even imagine
what that took you because I'm doing something a little here
and it's like a lot. So I will say, I want to go back
to one other quick thing that you mentioned, Sandra.
And interestingly enough and I guess this probably flows into
the principle of what happens at the point.
Retreats is I initially left my leadership position, Health Care
to take care of my dad full-time, who is terminally ill
and I after it took me stepping out.
And even though I'm still caring for somebody, In a very
different circumstance leaving, Healthcare gave me kind of a
backwards view of what was happening in healthcare, right?
So that process of just stepping out for some significant time,
gave me a different lens that which I could look through.
It was still with so much admiration and Beauty, but that
process of doing and being somewhere, different helped
catapult me into saying, okay, I can go a little further with
this, right? And I had I mean, I learn
everyday. I mean, I almost like a big
lesson that comes when we got on a regular basis, some of them
are hard. Yeah, so I would say, just
looking at life, as it's been in the last few years, the, it was
challenging to figure out how to get a group of 30 to 40.
Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, doctors, and peace, who are
coming from here. I see all over them, right.
And everybody's Ideas around creating a safe space.
Safe space looked a little different, right?
So I had to navigate, like, do we have people test?
Do we check vaccine cards? Do we wear masks?
Do we just do? I mean, how do we gather people
safely? Right?
But still make this a really profound experience.
And honestly, I really what I first and foremost is obviously
making sure everybody's health and well-being is Acted.
But second part of what I want to offer is a space where people
can leave all of that behind and that was really hard to find us
a spot in the middle to do that the last couple years.
And I thought I just kind of had to like hold my ground and trust
me, I had a lot of different opinions for rolling around me
about it like you should be doing this.
You should be doing that, or this is too much for, that's not
enough and I had to just like literally at times go outside
make around to myself and be like Krista.
You're doing 30 people as safe. As humanly possible here.
But you're also giving people an opportunity to tap into
something that distances differences them from that
because that's their life all the time right now.
And they actually I really saw a need for people not to ignore it
because it was a huge part of what people had to release
process but not make it this thing that was like, this
constant like gosh, almost like a battle wound.
So they were just, like, carrying all the time.
It was like, he had. Yeah, I just, I gotta pick Her
of like, like a weight, like carrying this constant weight,
like a yoke around your neck, that just caught some of you
constantly have to drag or like one of those guys that are in
those silos where you're like, arms and your head and just your
head is like sticking out and you're like, stuck in this thing
that you have to drive that around.
It's exhausting and I like, I agree with you.
I think what you're saying is people are burned out from
having to be hyper-vigilant, right?
Like there's a hyper-vigilance that you can only keep up for so
long and it's crazy because You you get burned out from not
being able to stay vigilant forever because just like, I
can't live like this. Like I can't constantly be in
this state of fear with every single thing that I do and
second-guessing it over checking and cleaning and wiping down and
masking, it does begin to wear on your soul in a way that you
just you kind of get used to it. But then the moment that you're
like wait I can drop all this, you just realize how heavy that
yolk has been that you've been carrying.
So I Hear exactly what you're trying to do.
You're trying to keep people safe.
But also just let people drop that yolk for a period of time
to get a break and rest from it. Yeah, that's a really hard hard
thing. So what did you end up?
Finding that was actually kind of wondered initially when we
relaunched Retreats 20, early early 2021, if initially kind of
that Healthcare professionals. Be like, the last people have a
common, but, ironically Sandra, they were the first people like,
not, At the door. Like, help us like we need a
place to go like we don't need any more pizza parties or
doughnuts for at it. Like we need a place like a
respite really. So we just worked through it.
And of course, as the world like changed constantly during these
last few years, we tried to morph with it respectfully and
appropriately. But we also really did want
people because we saw the trauma that, that broad right for
people. Whether but in the world, you
think it's necessary or not? It's, it was really traumatic.
But Healthcare professionals went through and and Giving them
a space where they could work through that, right?
And it's hard to work through something if part of what was
causing trauma is there, so we had to follow you.
Yeah, Eiffel got so and and everybody came to feel like the
whole world, right? Everybody came from a little bit
different place. So we somehow navigated through
it like just shy of a miracle I guess I would say but our team,
we really supported each other and our keynote speakers to.
We Truly mindfully and just had really great conversations
around it. And so it was not the end of the
day I had to stay grounded in like, okay.
Here's what we're going to stand on it but it was a collaborative
effort of our whole team, really, bringing a lot of
different great perspectives. So we have a dynamite group of
Health and Wellness. Experts from rekey to massage to
health and wellness. Shafts to mindful coaches, just
psychologists to Physicians to nurses.
And we just have this, like, phenomenal team of people that
come. Together and made the last
couple years. Incredible.
Interestingly, yeah. So and how often do you do your
Retreats? Is it like three times a year or
five times a year? Good question.
And obviously, this last couple years was just a little bit
different because we kept our spacing our numbers down.
So we had a little bit more space in other room for people,
which we have a lot of that. Anyways, but we really extra
mindful of that, you know, the last couple years we had about
six to seven years. They are now moving forward,
will hope to have more but we're also looking to reach out not
going to obviously to healthcare professionals and Health Care
system. So but Healthcare professionals
have their own unique stressors for certain.
But what we have found is we started to get these calls from
people. Like I'm a teacher, like, I need
this to, or I'm preventive is or I'm in an office and you need
this. I mean there are so many other
industries that also really need these same principle.
So we're also going to spread her wings a little bit and open
up more opportunities for additional professionals and
people to come in because burnout is so prevalent across
the world right now, everybody needs effort.
Yes, yes. And well-being.
So we are going to hopefully have more World, allowing will
have more in the year ahead for healthcare professionals and
Beyond and then it is so fantastic.
We have other groups in between our Retreats that will come.
In and rent the space and host their own events to.
So we we have a great space that we want to see more people have
the opportunity to use it and experience it because humans are
humans are humans. No matter what you do and most
of us need the same thing. That's really what part of
business has been may be the most challenging for you to
master coming from your nursing background.
And what have you found has been the easiest because you are a
nurse and your background is in nursing.
So What has been the most challenging that you had to
master and then what has been the easiest transition because
of your nursing background. That is a great question.
I love that question. Okay, most of Channel, I just
thought about it. I was like, I didn't let you
prepare for this so sorry. So I had a father with a great
deal of business Acumen, so he was like this business
Superstar, right? So I washed him function and run
a company and do really well in a business operation.
And Leadership standpoint. I learned a lot from him, kind
of by osmosis and observation but without actually falls on
your shoulders, I was like I haven't done a piano like I
haven't. I mean, I've done a lot of
leadership things like managing a team and leaving, people was
easy ish for me like all the details business elements that
are needed to run a business or challenge.
We're challenging, still are challenging.
To be honest, I still have to really think about them and rely
heavily on other people. And our accounting team and I
like it going backwards. Irish are taking some more
business classes and in my Master's, a leadership that
leadership was a big Focus but again and not like operations of
running a business. And when you're a smaller
business, you kind of have to wear a lot of hats.
Like I wish I could have a CFO, would be awesome.
That's not in my budget. So, yeah.
You just have to figure out and do a lot on your own and that's
been a huge Challenge. And, and I'm going to beg to
say, most people in healthcare haven't had a A lot of us even
leadership courses. So that's been the biggest
challenge. But here's the cool thing about
why, I think nurse and Entrepreneurship, I don't know
if there's another profession that has more great than nursing
really truthfully, like, so much great.
I mean, we as a, as a profession will do whatever it takes to
make sure our patients are well here cared for, and I don't know
if the general population understands what that means, but
you And it means like the to be easy things.
We see crazy things, we hear crazy things.
We absorb a lot from the healthcare system from the
patients, from their families from our colleagues, and what I
have yet to see a nurse who does not rock a shift.
And make sure that like, everything is as good as it
possibly can be given that 8, 12 16 hours, whatever.
They're they're working for so that grid that same grit that it
takes to get through. The clinic day or a hospital day
is the same grit will take you to get through a day as an
entrepreneur. And I have some good friends who
are now who are nurses, who are now running their own
independent businesses, and I see it all the time and it's
like, it gives me like great joy just to share that nursing
camaraderie of like, dang were strong like stronger than.
Yeah, sometimes give ourselves credit for and maybe stronger
then is recognized right. So there's a lot of Jillian,
determination great in every single nurse segment and I've
got pulled on really deeply but that's I think that's the
greatest gift and the greatest asset of being a notch, a nurse
entrepreneur. And at the end of the day
Sandra, I mean, we you can appreciate this also is probably
a lot of people can, we've had some really crazy days happen.
Like, you don't run a retreat center and have everything go
perfectly like. We've had water leaks or the hot
water heater. Go out or the oven stop working
or something. Something's not Going right?
And when we have 50 people that are arriving in two hours, I'm
like oh no panic mode. And then I have to stop and I'm
like Krista. And like you've liked run codes.
You had like people almost died revived people, you had family
members make death threats to positions, you've had nurses
walked out on the job. I'm like nobody's dying here the
cube like we'll figure this out, nobody's died.
So it gives me a different perspective.
We just good and I just kind of maybe a little that's with my
God. That's my Absalom.
Yes I do a lot of business people like I'm going well,
nobody's dying this time, but doesn't the first?
You just have a different perspective.
Like nobody's fallen out of their bed when he's all those
things, right? But you three inches in her
starts taking out there any of the year and pulled out their NG
tube. It's like I can handle a broken
water heater. Yes.
Well said, I love that and I agree with you 100% that there
is a resiliency in nurses and almost every nurse now, it's not
a blanket statement and it's not one fits all some people just
don't don't have what it takes. But I feel like if you've been
nursing for any period of time, you have made it, you have
resiliency to start something on your own and continue to fight
and push to see a completed to work through all the issues.
I love that perspective of no one's dying.
And that is something that I talked to my husband about, to,
about his job. And I'm like, did anybody die?
Nobody died. So you're fucked like it.
So, it's true though because we legitimately have that
perspective at our jobs. Like people do do pass away and
that is something that is a very present, real, real and present
danger every point of our jobs. And so again, like I used to
have dreams that I would have never checked on my patient, the
entire shift and the patient had died in the room and I never
like it would be a nightmare I'd wake up.
Like, how was I? So negligent, I never went into
the patient's room and I never had done that, but it was just
constant real fear that I would just never go into the room and
find the patient not alive. And so again, I just feel like
when you do To put it in perspective and you do weigh it
against things, you can look at a situation and just go, I could
do with this, it's fine, it's just neat, we can just keep
going and then also I feel like nurses are so Innovative and be
able to create things to help them in moments, that they're
short and nurses were so Geared for entrepreneurship because you
are able to just create things on the whim, be resilient stay
in the fight. So I guess we're the last
question is, if you go back to Krista when she is Just started
off in her career. She was a baby nurse and she was
working all those different jobs Cardiology saw that you were in
Ortho. You've been in Primary Care.
Cardiac Care, you've done all the things.
If you could go back to her and let her know one thing about her
career that you would want her to keep and wanted piece of
advice, you'd wanted to toss and say, hold on to this throughout
your whole career. Don't let it go.
Don't ever lose sight of this and then one thing that you
would tell her and don't you dare listen to this?
Gosh, it's such a great question.
One really good question. And I love your answer to the
entrepreneur part of the last question to an innovation.
Like that was great. I love that.
Such a great point. In terms of nurses, were
considering being entrepreneurs or our.
I love that. This is a good question.
I haven't been asked that one before, but I would say no
matter what you do, as a nurse, I really believe in the sounds a
little cliche that like, you really make a difference.
And I think that difference initially, when I started
nursing and I did my EMT And I did some extra emergency
medicine training because I thought I was going to be a
flight nurse and I thought I had to do like this.
These really big interventions to make a difference in
someone's life. Like the like the bigger the
better, right? Yeah.
Serious the better. The more dramatic, the more, the
better. And what I found in my career is
often, it was like those little soft things that really like
that actually was what really made a difference in somebody's
day or the family's day and those are taught in yours.
Sing school and some things you have to experience.
It can't be taught everything. Like, you have to figure them
out on your own and my first couple of years of nursing are
so focused on clinical intervention of what I was doing
that. I maybe didn't Focus as much on
the soft skills that were needed.
And then I started having more opportunities where I was like.
I mean of course you have to do the things right?
Like have to hide hang IVs and get the medications and change
the wound dressings above it. It was the moments where I
stopped to have the Relations or listen to somebody or address
somebody's deepest, concerns or let them release something that
they've been holding onto, and we're worried as they approach
to surgery, or death, or those were the moments that like made
a huge impact in someone's life. So I guess if I could, as a
nurse, you're going to always, always, always make a
difference, no matter what you're doing.
Like I can just tell you if you're nursing, you are making a
difference, but don't let go of those soft skills.
I mean, it's kind of Of, almost like this full circle, right?
Of an icy clinicians professionals meeting at the
point Retreat. So they just need someone to
genuinely care about them and care about their well-being, and
our patients need that to they at.
So it's kind of goes back to that.
We all kind of need the same thing at the end of the day,
right? And it's just being listened to
being understood having someone care how we're doing, on the
outside, and on the inside, and giving us permission to take
care of both. And I wish I knew that a little
bit earlier on in Career. But again some things you just
have to learn on your journey and so yeah it's kind of that
whole spectrum of it doesn't always have to be the biggest
intervention to make the biggest impact.
Yeah. Yeah sometimes less is more.
The things that you think are going to be making a huge
difference or sometimes a little things and it's not even in
marriage. I mean, we can apply that to
almost anything in any relationship.
It's the little things. It's my husband making me coffee
and he's like I got coffee for you.
No more. My God.
Thanks like it's a cup of coffee but it's that.
Yeah, exactly. But it's the thought of like,
he's taking care of me and he's doing the little things to show
that he cares and so, yes, he could do big things, big
gestures. I'm not gonna like turn it away.
Like new diamond earrings are flowers and I'm not going to be
like, no, I don't want that. But I'm just saying when he
makes me a cup of coffee. I feel loved and stuff, honey.
I'm if you listening, you can do that stuff.
I just feel most loved your cup of coffee.
So yeah and I get, I don't think there's anybody Doesn't intend
on urgent, wish they had time to do all of those but just find
that if there is that moment right for anybody it's it's an
opportunity that we will sometimes pass up quickly
because we don't think it's relevant but sometimes it has a
bigger impact like, I know but you Sandra but I can think of a
couple of patients in particular where they were carrying
something really heavy inside. And I'm sure I missed to this
many times that these particular few stop saying you, hey, it
seems like There's something more that you want to share or
that you need and and I don't want to miss it and then they
let go of whatever it is that you and and I was like wow.
Like that was a lot to hold onto for a lot of years and I can see
where yeah the fear and the stress that you were carrying
are impacting you and very profound ways.
So letting them release that was important and important for
their gear important for the right.
Yeah. 100%. That those are all things that
Again, was why nurses can never be replaced by robots and no one
else can do this job but a nurse and it is imperative that
nurses. See their value at the bedside
because and to be compensated as so as well.
Because it is something that if you are well and if you are well
inside, you could have these moments where you look and see
that someone suffering or that someone is going through
something. And that is something that a
robot dispensing meds can I'll never do because it requires a
level of empathy that we learn in school.
The ability to really sit with people in these hard times of
being in the hospital and not being well and really get into
that space with them that I believe brene.
Brown talks about in her different books that I've read
about empathy and what that looks like and sitting in those
dark spaces with people. Nurses get access to those spots
all the time and we are invited into really stuff spaces with
with with nurses and so Summarize.
You would say, hold on to the little things that you're doing
and what would you say for someone to toss?
So you would say, don't listen to this piece of advice because
I just don't think it matters or it's not going to be as big of a
deal. If I don't know if you touched
on, maybe I missed it. But what did you say?
Would be a piece of advice. You would just say, don't listen
to this. Okay, we go back to that and
honestly like know your value kind of what you hit on but I
think nurses often need that. Reminder.
It's like we all know it intrinsically, right?
But we aren't always. Ways, externally validated in
that and some biscuits two things come to mind,
occasionally, although I think it's becoming less and less to
be like, weird, just the nurse I want to hear what the doctor has
to say. I'm kind of laughing because I'm
like, but you have occasionally as a physician.
I believe in the family too. Could you explain that to us?
Can you help us understand in my chair.
So there's a great language and skill set clearly that is deeply
respective, The Physician population and and the mid-level
providers and in Arcing. It's like don't devalue your
skill set. Don't evaluate yeah.
Equally as important as every other person and I don't care if
you have a two-year four-year six or eight year 10, I don't
care how long you got to college.
I mean it's just you have yep, deep value and nobody can take
that from you and don't don't let anybody take that from you
because I see that happen a lot and Healthcare systems.
And and then the other thing would would be just dream.
Big like in nursing to you like Like I honestly I have a
daughter who I just dropped off at College who's going to now go
into nursing and I'm like, honey, like it is a fast and far
and wide. Like there's a million things
you can do. So don't feel like you have to
lock into like I can just do this.
That's the beauty of the profession.
Is, you can do 20, 30 plus things in your career or you can
stay in your one specialty, and that's okay too, but it's
awesome. That like, you can do so many
different things. Agree.
Beautifully said, The different things and honestly, like loved
them all just different phases of life and different things
calling you. And it's great that you can
pursue that in your career. So I would say two nurses, like
if you're someone who wants to experience do try like go do it
and and don't hold yourself back.
So that would be my other piece. Nice.
That's very good. So for the last part of the
interview, it's the rapid fire questions.
So are you ready? Let's do it.
I thought you probably don't eat.
So I was going to ask you a pizza question but I don't even
know what do you eat pizza? Okay, well, not okay, what's
your favorite holiday because I do but it's not that often and
it's gluten free to be like, oh this is so boring.
It's gluten-free. I like the last thing I just
made is I use the venison basil tomato as no cheese and
gluten-free crust and we made it in our wood fire sister girl
just so good he's really nice so good.
Yes. Is that sounds good?
Sign me up for some of that I would love to just do you
Chicago deep dish every day because I actually would that
would be great. That would work for me.
Then I will be able to live to be 80 and I will be super
unhealthy and like not able to get out of here.
I'm making a choice 100%. Yeah, it doesn't mean.
I don't think us to find different things.
I like English that are just better healthier.
Yep, I do the same because my knee would flare up really bad.
My portal? There would be an like covered
in eggs, IMA. And so, yeah, we're like, as
much as I would love to eat. Eat, regular gluten full pasta.
I mean not pasta. I'm, I love all the alternatives
to Pasta now that I eat but like gluten free, I wouldn't Laden
Pizza. I would just be punished for it.
I'm like, bam. Okay, I'll pass this is not
funny anymore and then oh, I feel like because you're at this
beautiful Retreat. Like what's your favorite
season? Like and the retreat?
Good question. I love fall in Minnesota.
It's so beautiful. It's like comfort.
Temperature, like a little bit of monies were just like orange
red colors all over. It's so pretty.
But I'll tell you that interestingly enough there, we
treat season that people tend to come the most to is Venture, so,
really, yeah. Which is very interesting in
Minnesota. She's sick.
Yeah, it's cold. Yeah, I feel like, but maybe
it's again just that like, the atmosphere like quiet, calm is
something about winter. That is like slowing.
It's just a Be like yeah, it's just like chill it.
Maybe like the cold Retreat. I think you guys do like, cold
plunges and stuff like that, you guys to cool plunges we do.
Yeah. And that actually is really.
Yeah, last winter. So yeah, we did some interesting
things, and it is so peaceful Winters, beautiful, but I'm
always intrigued in. It's like that wasn't Retreats.
That are like waiting list. Oh my gosh.
It's so interesting to me, but I love it.
I mean, it's great. Very cool.
He's so I would imagine it'd be beautiful.
Yeah, for sure, Krista thank you for coming on and chatting with
my listeners and sharing everything that you've gone
through and building this business of yours and as a
nurse, like the challenges that are specific and unique to
nursing and how you've overcome them with the simple and more
complex elements of business and combining that with nursing and
figuring out how to do something to help impact the lives of not.
It Just other patients, nurses and PAs and doctors but also
expanding out to teachers and office workers.
Anybody that just needs space to rest and relax and to learn
about how to care for their bodies.
You're making a bigger impact than you would ever.
Realize then you were in those moments at the hospital, you
even have more impact. Now, that's further reaching
that people go back to their jobs or back to their homes and
back to their perspective areas and they're different from the
time that they spent at your, Treat.
So it is far reaching the tentacles of change that you're
able to do with what you've done with what you've built.
So it's very inspiring. So thank you.
Yeah. Thank you for having me.
And thank you for having this platform to it's so needed.
I mean what a beautiful gift. You are giving our profession,
right? Just to continue to push them to
be the best they can be and not a self limit.
And just embrace all that the nursing profession and Health
Care Professionals can An experienced do be give.
So thank you for that. Thank you.
And guys, thanks for tuning in to this week.
I'll link all of her show notes. All her places that you can find
her that in my show notes today. And guys, don't forget to enjoy
the journey of your career. Teen mom back by.
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