In this episode, we would like to introduce our guest Tanya Freedman. Tanya Freedman is the founder of Connetics USA and is an expert in international nursing. And we can say she is a career matchmaker.
Tanya, tell us a little bit about your life. Where did you come from, and how did you end up where you are today?
Tanya, how did you get started with Connetics USA?
Why do nurses want to come to the US?
Better pay?
More opportunity?
We know many countries differ from the US. Have you noticed any common struggles faced by nurses in other countries?
Poor living conditions, poor hospital environment, lack of career opportunities?
Is there a particular story or stories that really stand out to you from any of the international nurses you’ve placed?
How do nurses from other countries differ from nurses in the states?
What are some benefits of hospitals and care facilities in hiring international nurses?
What is the process for international nurses to get work in the states?
Do they need a visa?
Does their degree transfer over?
Do they need to retake the NCLEX?
Short-term contracts? Longterm contracts?
How has Covid and the pandemic affected you and Connetics USA
To learn more about international nursing, watch the full Episode 135 here 👇
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Cup of Nurses Introduction 1:41 Guest Introduction 2:17 Tanya Freedman’s background 3:17 What made you start your business? 4:18 Why do nurses want to go to the USA? 5:26 What is the difference between International and US healthcare? 7:40 Memorable international nurse story 9:52 Do you place nurses in all states? 10:51 How does the international nurses’ contract work? 12:36 Can international nurses switch units? 13:30 Do you have to pass the NCLEX to work in the US? 16:34 How do visas work for international nurses? 17:44 Do you see hospitals hiring international nurses now? 19:36 What is the timeline between passing the NCLEX and starting working? 22:44 Do international nurses pursue higher education? 24:14 Do they bring their family over to the US? 25:27 Changes in Immigration laws 28:28 What are the struggles of international nurses when they arrive? 31:48 Do hospitals help in the process of hiring? 33:37 Is it hard to get a green card in certain countries? 35:46 What’s the country with the highest number of applicants? 38:32 Facebook group and Instagram Live 41:48 What is your current obsession? 43:49 Where can people find Tanya Freedman?
Anxiety and depression are something that many of us are dealing with these days. It has been reported that about 264 million people suffer from it all over the world.
In this episode, we would like to introduce our guest, Aleks Zubek who is a Licenses Professional Counselor with a Master’s in Counseling Psychology.
We dive into some interesting topics such as depression and anxiety, how it affects us, what we can do, and finding our inner self. It is another informational episode where you’ll surely have a lot of takeaways.
The questions below are some we tackle.
You’ve got your Master’s in Counseling Psychology and now are a Licensed Professional Counselor, what made you choose that route? And what’s the schooling process?
What does an LPC do? Do you work with a team?
Is there a certain psychological or mental demographic that you specifically help or is it a wide range?
You taught us a little about health anxiety, it’s almost like the fear of getting sick or imagining an illness, can you explain what it actually is?
Where does this stem from? Are certain people more susceptible?
How do you treat it or help someone with health anxiety?
What kind of patients do you work with?
Is there a trend or an increase in certain mental illnesses that you are seeing?
Do you have a favorite type of patient?
Is there any advice that can generally help most people?
More open communication, being honest, getting help, meditation?
To watch the full Episode 71, click here 👇
TIME STAMPS:
0:00 Cup of Nurses Introduction 1:56 Guest Introduction 2:15 News and updates about Aleks Zubek 5:15 What is your day-to-day as an LPC? 9:46 What is the state of the unit in terms of mental health? 11:28 What are the common mental health issues of your patients? 12:48 Are you seeing a lot of health anxiety lately? 17:00 How do you help someone manage their anxiety? 19:38 How do you stop the disease that is causing the symptoms? 21:50 Is it depression that causes anxiety or the other way around? 23:30 What are your tips to people who are suffering from anxiety/depression? 28:23 Have you noticed any trends or issues that are more prevalent now? 34:28 What are the traits that a person needs in order to overcome trauma? 36:47 Questions you can ask yourself to assess your own mental health 41:48 How do you get somebody to open up 100%? 46:20 How do you develop emotional literacy? 49:40 How soon do you start seeing improvements in your patients?
Catch more on David by watching the full Episode 134 here 👇
SHOW NOTES:
0:00 Cup of Nurses Introduction 1:27 Guest Introduction 1:54 David Metzger Background 2:31 How do you balance being a pediatric nurse, father, and husband? 6:11 Struggles of children because of the pandemic 9:00 Meaningful life lessons from children 17:40 How can families handle pediatric deaths 23:43 Struggles of parents having kids in pediatric oncology 26:13 How do you keep the positive energy from your patients to your family 28:20 Learnings and advice for newbie parents 34:18 Profound moment with the book 47:23 Hobbies outside work 51:18 Where to buy Nurse Papa book
The placebo effect is something that science is struggling to explain. It’s a remarkable thing, but it does not mean it is medicine. We should not overestimate its effectiveness and potential. But as it may, we must understand that it is a reoccurring phenomenon.
It is interesting to note that belief in treatment can create responses. And the idea that it can change the course of a person’s illness. Many clinical trials show the effectiveness of placebos. And it can definitely stir up some ethical dilemmas.
Even when people knew that they’re given a placebo, the outcome is still positive. How can science and medicine explain these situations?
A placebo effect is when a person goes through the desired treatment outcome. But it’s not the treatment aimed toward a specific result.
The response is often triggered by the person’s belief in that expected response. Almost like mind over matter, and if you believe you will succeed vibe.
Some possible explanations for the placebo effect:
Self-limiting disorders – good examples of these are the cold and flu. These disorders resolve by themselves at the end of the day. They do not necessarily need any medication or treatment. Either you can give a placebo or essential medicines. Those infections will resolve.
Remission disorders – excellent examples of these are lupus and RA. To name a couple of remission disorders. It means they tend to come and go with or without treatment. The treatment goals usually prolong remission for as long as possible. This means you are symptom-free between occurrences.
Changes in a person’s behavior – a patient improves their diet or increases exercise. This change of behavior was based on the medication or placebo. The treatment did not bring out any specific effect but changed the person’s action.
Altered perception – this is assigning treatment may change the person’s outlook. For example, a pain that they would describe as sharp may not turn into an uncomfortable itch or shocking sensation.
Effects on the Brain
Decreased anxiety – this happens when an individual experiences anxiety. It worsens specific symptoms or even causes an exacerbation. Giving a placebo or treating the anxiety may solve the person’s issue. This is because stress plays a significant role in the human body.
Altered brain state – studies show that a brain can respond to visualized situations. Walking through an imagined scenario may cause the person to have positive outcomes. Sometimes you can train the brain to get rid of specific fears, pains, and anxieties.
Research on Placebos
A study done in the US examined the effectiveness of the placebo effect. It looked at 84 trials of treatments for nerve pain over 23 years. The trials took place in the US.
The researchers noted that the placebo effect wasn’t as strong in Europe. The hypothesis is that it was due to direct-to-consumer drug advertising. All those informercials you see on TV may have a subconscious effect on us and they are not legal in Europe.
The authors saw a dramatic increase in positive responses. This positive response was often seen in the placebo group. While the medication group stagnated over time [1].
It can be confusing when the placebo shows effectiveness. It is harder to prove the effectiveness of the actual treatment. Another smaller trial was for Major Depressive Disorder and how placebos play a role. This study looked at 35 participants.
The Results:
Half of the participants received an “active” oral placebo. The other half got an inactive placebo. The active had so-called fast-acting antidepressant-like effects and the inactive.
After one week the participants then switched to the other. PET exams were then done to check the activation of mu-opioid receptor activity.
Two weeks later, the participants were then put on actual SSRIs.
The results showed reductions in depressive symptoms after 1-week of “active” placebo treatment. Compared to the “inactive”, it was associated with increased placebo-induced μ-opioid neurotransmission. It was in a network of regions implicated in emotion, stress regulation, and the pathophysiology of MDD [2].
The Placebo Effects on Antidepressant Treatments
Placebo-induced endogenous opioid release in these regions is associated with better antidepressant treatment response. It predicts 43% of the variance in symptom improvement at the end of the antidepressant trial.
The third study was a meta-analysis composed of 11 studies. It had totaled 654 participants.
Researchers looked at whether Open-Label Placebos, OLP, had any effect on patients’ responses.
OPLs are treatments that the patient know is a placebo, so it has no deception. They looked at how OLPs compared to no treatment.
They looked at the effectiveness of placebos on back pain, RA, and cancer-related fatigue. It was also used in IBS, ADHD, allergies, MDD, and hot flashes.
Researchers concluded that OLPs appear to be promising and found a significant effect. But the research is not conclusive an only in its infancy. More research must be done on the effectiveness [3].
The Nocebo Effect
The nocebo effect is the opposite of the placebo effect. It hasn’t been studied as much as the placebo effect, even though the placebo effect is still in its infancy phase.
The nocebo effect is similar to the placebo effect because it is not an actual treatment. The main difference is that the nocebo effect can lead to unwanted symptoms and complications.
Adverse reactions to certain medications, treatments, or even placebos can happen based on the patient’s thinking. Media frenzies can influence the nocebo effect. It is the thought of a potential adverse reaction that causes the negative reaction to happen.
An increase in stress or anxiety can cause this. It is more prone in people with anxiety, depression, and even a pessimistic outlook on life or their situation.
Dr. Joe Dispenza
We recommend reading a book titled “You Are the Placebo” by Dr. Joe Dispenza. He was in a severe car accident years ago and contemplated surgery. To get back to normal, he was advised to get surgery. But with many potential risks and no guarantees of returning to normalcy. He then left AMA to spend three months reconstructing his spine and recovering [4].
“For two hours twice a day, I went within and began creating a picture of my intended result: a fully healed spine. Nine-and-a-half weeks after the accident. I got up and walked back into my life recovered—without having had a body cast or surgeries. I resumed my chiropractic practice ten weeks out. Eventually, I was training and lifting weights again. I continued my rehabilitation regimen at 12 weeks. Now, after almost 30 years since the accident, I can say that I rarely experience any back pain.”
Dr. Dispenza on Placebo and Nocebo Effects
“Think about the idea of giving somebody a sugar pill, saline solution, or a false surgery. A certain percentage of those people will accept, believe and surrender—without analysis—to the “thought” that they are receiving the real substance or treatment. As a result, they’ll program their autonomic nervous systems to manufacture the same pharmacy of drugs to match the real substance or treatment. They can make their antidepressants and painkilling medicines. Healing is not something that takes place outside of you.”
Want to know more about the placebo effect? Watch the full Episode 70 here 👇
SHOW NOTES:
0:00 Cup of Nurses Introduction 1:59 Episode Introduction 2:10 What is the Placebo Effect? 7:48 Possible explanations for the Placebo effect 29:01 Research on Placebos 39:48 What is the Nocebo Effect?
In this episode, we would like to introduce our guest, Dr. Nicole Garritano. Nicole Garritano is an energetic, intuitive coach and consultant who uses human design, subconscious transformation techniques, and healing modalities to help others reach their full potential.
Before starting her business, Nicole held various nurse faculty, academic, and administrative positions and practiced clinically as a pediatric nurse practitioner.
Nicole gladly answered the following questions and shared her real-life experiences with nursing and business.
Tell us a little bit about yourself, your nursing career, and how you ended up where you are today.
How do you help people achieve their full potential? Is there a way to measure someone’s potential?
What is human design, and what are some subconscious transformation techniques?
You can watch the full Episode 133 with Dr. Garritano here 👇
SHOW NOTES:
0:00 Cup of Nurses Introduction 1:50 Guest Introduction 2:27 Nicole Garritano’s Background 5:00 Learnings in Nursing experience 6:00 What made you switch from nursing to running your own business? 8:55 Do you feel the same gratification with nursing & business? 10:11 What is the Human Design? 20:04 How do you do the mental work to program from 0 to 7 years? 35:58 What is the first step to start healing? 40:08 How do you get past burnout? 46:19 What is the subconscious level of nurses with the pandemic? 48:55 What is the paradigm shift 51:13 What is the end goal? 54:33 What are you currently obsessed with? 57:33 Where can people find Nicole Garritano?
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