EP 214: How to Land Your First Nursing Job With Benjamin Baker
In this episode, we interview Ben Baker, a current ICU travel nurse, and new grad coach, about how to succeed in your first nursing job. We discuss new grad nurses’ challenges, how to thrive in your practice and best practices for resumes and interviews. We also touch on how healthcare facilities can better invest in and retain new nurses and the issue of “nurses eating their young.” Join us for an informative and engaging conversation!
It’s totally normal to feel both excited and nervous about starting your first shift as a Registered Nurse. Take a deep breath and remember you’ve worked hard to get here. To help ease any anxiety, take some time to prepare for success. You’ve got this! Join us for an informative and engaging conversation!
Questions for Our Guest
The questions below are some we’d like to tackle. We often go off-topic, so we don’t expect to hit them all. If you have any ideas, please let us know.
Can you give us a background about yourself and some of the experiences you’ve had throughout your career that bring you here today?
What area(s) do you think new grad nurses struggle with?
How do you cultivate resilience as a new grad – to see your “mess” as a “message”
What are the best tips you can give to nurses getting ready for their interview?
What are the key things to remember when writing your nursing resume?
How do you stand out as a new grad to get hired?
How do you think healthcare facilities can better invest and retain new nurses coming into the workforce?
How do we cancel the call light on nurses eating their young?
Ending Questions
Before we end the show, we have one last question we like to ask all our guests.
If you had the opportunity to have a Cup of coffee with anybody one last time, who would it be & why?
As nurses, our jobs require us to deal with stress almost 24/7. Finding humor in our actions helps us stay sane and make it through the day. It’s also a good feeling to laugh after a stressful day, so humor is important in this line of work.
In this episode, we would like to introduce you to Jim Fulmer. Jim is currently a board-certified Internal medicine hospitalist who has worked with nurses in a lot of different healthcare settings over a long career.
He has had experience working in health care in the Appalachian mountains of Kentucky, Australia, and Alaska, public health, traditional office practice, research, and in various leadership roles as a hospitalist.
He is also a medical cartoonist on Instagram and has created a hospital-themed board game and card game called Doctor Wars.
Questions for Our Guest
The questions below are some we’d like to tackle. We often go off-topic, so we don’t expect to hit them all. If you have any ideas, please let us know.
Looking forward to our conversation!
These are the questions you had in Calendly. We’ll go off your questions and wherever else our conversation goes.
Can you give us a background about yourself and some of the experiences you’ve had throughout your career?
How has your perspective on medicine and healthcare changed over your career?
Was there a point in your career when you realized that the way you interact with people and the way you treat them is just as important as the treatment you give?
What do you think about the insurance side of healthcare?
Insurance can be frustrating to patients and healthcare workers. Time to evaluate the patient is less and less, and the most important factor for the quality of the care of the patient is the TIME you spend with them…now we are focusing more on documentation and coding system than actual care.
What made you start, and what is the Doctors Wars game?
You recently posted if musical instruments were healthcare specialties, were humor and education something you were always passionate about?
Ending Questions
Before we end the show, we have one last question we like to ask all our guests.
If you had the opportunity to have a Cup of coffee with anybody one last time, who would it be & why?
To watch the full episode, click here for the full video 👇👇
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Introduction 01:52 About James Fulmer 08:58 The distinction between working in hospitals and rural places 12:17 Adapting and respecting multiple cultures as a travel health professional 16:21 The very complex problem of improving healthcare 18:28 Why is improving healthcare such a challenge in the face of a massive project? 22:19 Using our talent to improve everything around us 25:42 Is medicine’s future headed in the right direction? 37:45 Can a single-payer system solve one of healthcare’s problems? 42:49 There is no perfect healthcare system 44:52 Bias decisions in healthcare 48:26 The pros and cons of social media and humor 53:45 How Jim came up with the card game 1:00:05 Wrapping up the show
EP 210: ER Nurse to Viral Content Creator With Stephanee Beggs
Can one become a viral content creator? The short answer is yes. Our profession gives us the freedom to become an inspiration to others. Whether it be through bedside nursing or content creators, we have the means to help others.
It is unsurprising to see many healthcare professionals rise to the ranks of online personalities as they help educate others about health and well-being. If you’re a nurse interested in making digital content, this episode is for you.
In this episode, we would like to introduce you to Stephanee Beggs. Stephanee is a content creator, Forbes 30 under 30, and Emergency Room nurse.
She unintentionally became viral on social media for her quick, concise educational tools that led to the creation of RNExplained, Inc.
The questions below are some we’d like to tackle. We often go off-topic, so we don’t expect to hit them all. If you have any ideas, please let us know.
Looking forward to our conversation!
These are the questions you had in Calendly. We’ll go off your questions, and wherever else our conversation goes.
Please give us a brief background about yourself and your nursing experience.
What made you decide to get into emergency nursing?
Let’s address the elephant in the room, do you have any beef with ICU nurses?
What is the day in the life like of an emergency nurse?
Has your life changed significantly being a social media influencer?
Did you get any backlash from your employer?
How did you create RNExplained? What inspired you?
You became the 30 under 30 on Forbes for the education category.
How do you juggle multiple roles as a nurse?
How do you prioritize self-care as a nurse?
Ending Questions
Before we end the show, we have one last question we like to ask all our guests. If you had the opportunity to have a Cup of coffee with anybody one last time, who would it be & why?
Connect and catch up with Stephanee through her socials at:
Want to become a viral content creator too? Watch the full episode here 👇👇👇
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Introduction 01:39 About Stephanee Beggs 05:08 What causes the conflict between ER and ICU nursing? 07:24 What does an ER nurse’s shift look like 11:19 Traumatic experiences as a nurse 16:03 The love of helping and nursing patient 18:05 How RNExplained started 18:47 What is it like to be an entrepreneur and a social media influencer? 19:46 Secrets on how Stephanee balances her life 21:29 Nurse Influencers are being misunderstood by hospital administration. 27:51 Tips on how to avoid trouble with what you post on social media 29:13 Setting Boundaries with Employers and Social Media Influence 30:47 How Stephanee grew RNExplained 33:11 Stephanee’s future business plans 34:30 The importance of self-care? 35:52 Wrapping up the show
In this episode, we will discuss the nine qualities of a good overall nurse. It is undeniable that nursing is a noble profession that requires a unique set of skills and qualities.
It is not an easy job, and nurses must possess several qualities that make them stand out. In this podcast, we will discuss nine qualities that every aspiring nurse should strive to have.
1. Be a team player – hard work ethic.
One of the most important qualities of a good nurse is being a team player with a strong work ethic. Nurses should be willing to work collaboratively with their colleagues and be proactive in helping them.
Even if your shift is difficult, can you still go out of your way to help another nurse? What if you’re busy and your co-worker wants a 15 min break? Will you say no? Do it for the squad! In some units, you know the team got you back.
2. Learn to communicate with everybody on the healthcare team
Communication is another critical skill that every good nurse should have. Nurses interact with several people, including patients, families, physicians, and other healthcare professionals.
Therefore, excellent communication skills are a must. Nurses should be able to convey information, listen actively, and respond appropriately. Effective communication ensures that patients receive quality care and that the healthcare team works together seamlessly.
3. Flexibility in your shift – going with the flow
Flexibility is also crucial in nursing. Nurses must work flexible hours, including night shifts, weekends, and holidays or even deal with floating multiple times a shift as we did in our travel nursing contract.
Flexibility helps ensure that patients receive the care they need and that the healthcare team is adequately staffed. Can you float as a nurse without negatively impacting your team?
4. Don’t be hyper-independent and not help others
While nurses need to be independent and resilient, they should also be careful not to be hyper-independent and not help others. Nurses work in teams, and every team member should be willing to help their colleagues.
Being a team player means being willing to lend a helping hand, ask for help when needed, and work collaboratively to achieve the best patient outcomes. This is what makes you a high-quality nurse to be around.
5. Having empathy – compassionate
Empathy is another crucial quality of a good nurse. Nurses should be empathetic and compassionate towards their patients.
They should be able to connect with their patients, show them kindness, and provide emotional support. Having empathy helps patients feel valued, understood, and cared for, which can positively impact their recovery.
6. Emotional Stability – Tempered
Nursing is a challenging job that can be emotionally draining. Thus, a good nurse should be emotionally stable and tempered.
They should be able to manage their emotions, remain calm under pressure, and handle stressful situations effectively.
Emotional stability helps nurses provide quality care and maintain a positive work environment.
7. Attention to detail
Attention to detail is another critical quality for nurses. Nurses are responsible for administering medications, monitoring vital signs, and providing treatments. Therefore, they should be meticulous and detail-oriented.
Paying attention to detail ensures that patients receive the right medication, dosage, and treatment, which can significantly impact their recovery or potentially cause harm.
8. Problem-solving skills – a Critical thinker
Problem-solving skills are also essential for nurses. Nurses encounter complex problems daily and must be able to solve them effectively. A good nurse should be a critical thinker and possess problem-solving skills.
They should be able to assess a situation, identify the problem, and develop a plan to solve it. If you don’t know how to solve the problem, who can you escalate the situation to (chain of command)?
Problem-solving skills help nurses provide quality care and improve patient outcomes.
9. Patient advocate
The core of nursing is centered around being a patient advocate. They should speak up for their patients, protect their rights, and provide the best possible care.
Being a patient advocate requires nurses to be knowledgeable, assertive, and proactive in advocating for their patient’s needs.
In Closing
In conclusion, becoming a successful and effective nurse involves possessing several qualities. These qualities include being a team player, having excellent communication skills, being flexible, empathetic, emotionally stable, detail-oriented, possessing problem-solving skills, and being a patient advocate.
Every aspiring nurse should strive to possess these qualities to provide quality patient care, maintain a positive work environment, and achieve the best outcomes for patients.
Do you have all the qualities of a good nurse? Check out the full episode here 👇👇👇
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Introduction 02:09 1. Be a team player – hard work ethic 04:00 2. Learn to communicate with everybody on the healthcare team 06:03 3. Flexibility in your shift -going with the flow 09:50 4. Don’t be hyper-independent and not help others 13:32 5. Having Empathy – Compassionate 17:53 6. Emotional Stability – Tempered 23:47 7. Attention to detail 27:02 8.Problem-solving skills – Critical thinker 29:53 9. Patient Advocate 35:02 Wrapping up the show
What does it take to be in a different nursing path? Nursing is a vast field to explore. If you are not too keen to work as a bedside nurse, you can always find a different nursing field to pursue. One of these paths is being a flight nurse.
A flight nurse cares for critically ill patients in a plane or helicopter as they are transported from an accident scene to a medical facility. They also ensure their patients don’t go into code while transported to long-term care.
Qualifying as a flight nurse is easy. You need a nursing license in your state and experience in critical and trauma care. If you’re interested in a fast-paced environment like this, you may qualify to be one. But is that all that it takes to become a flight nurse?
In this episode, we would like to introduce you to Madison Vawter. Madison is a flight nurse with an ER, ICU, and Trauma background. We talk about what a flight nurse does, how to become one, and how to build confidence.
Question for Our Guest
The questions below are some we’d like to tackle. We often go off-topic, so we don’t expect to hit them all. If you have any ideas, please let us know.
Looking forward to our conversation!
These are the questions you had in Calendly. We’ll go off your questions and wherever else our conversation goes.
Can you give us a brief background about yourself and How you got into flight nursing?
What are the responsibilities of a flight nurse?
What education is needed to become a flight nurse?
Is it a competitive market to find a flight nurse position?
What are the keys to building a solid resume as a nurse?
What are your thoughts about bullying in nursing?
What do you think is the key to building confidence as a nurse?
Ending Questions
Before we end the show, we have one last question we like to ask all our guests. If you had the opportunity to have a Cup of coffee with anybody one last time, who would it be & why?
Connect with Madison and follow her journey through her Instagram at @madrose.v.
Do you have what it takes to be a flight nurse? Check out the full episode here 👇👇👇
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Introduction 01:27 About Madison Vawter 03:54 What is a typical day in the life of a flight nurse like? 05:50 What tasks fall under a flight nurse’s responsibility when there are no patients? 08:01 What other healthcare professionals accompany a flight nurse? 10:48 Who makes the decisions about orders, and how are they communicated? 12:42 What does the team do when they receive an emergency call 17:42 Cases that Madison enjoys addressing 19:18 What does it look like working inside a helicopter 22:02 The most memorable experience 29:43 What is required to enter the field of flight nursing? 32:38 The very competitive field of flight nursing 37:20 Hospital vs. Company based program 38:24 How does the onboarding process look like 41:00 Does a flight nurse need to get familiar with aviation? 44:00 Can a flight nurse care for patients of any age? 45:19 Tips for building self-confidence 53:23 The challenges of a flight nurse 57:42 Wrapping up the show
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