Meet Laurel Ash

Beth and Laurel have a conversation about Laurel’s start in hospice and home care, working as a nurse practitioner, her transition to academia, her mentorship program, and more. Laurel currently goes out doing healthcare with seniors and is loving what she’s doing. She loves working in this capacity, and they talk about the return to a system where healthcare workers go out into the field to work instead of at a facility.
The transition to practice and mentoring is critical for Laurel as it’s an opportunity to help retain MPs and PAs. It’s also an opportunity to work on a reduction in bullying in the field. “As a leader, for me to develop a culture of belonging – where people feel they belong, that they are valued, that they are respected – can really set the stage for giving each person that safety so that they can perform at their highest level.” Being non-judgmental is key as a mentor, and everyone needs those people to help them in the field. Mentoring is critical.
Part of mentoring may be doing more training to learn how to communicate better. It’s also important to get away from the blame-and-shame system that still happens. The field may not be perfect, but it’s important to build a place for everyone to be that’s safe and working according to your values.
Learn more about supporting the Don’t Eat Your Young Podcast with a membership — visit Don’t Eat Your Young’s membership page!

Links

• Connect with Laurel on LinkedIn

• (00:00) - Welcome to Don't Eat Your Young • Laurel Ash

Susan Farese, a Force of Nature

Susan has been a nurse, but has also worn many other hats as she’s moved through life. Currently, Susan runs SJF Communications – her own PR firm – where she helps pretty much anyone, including nurses market themselves and find the directions for their own lives they’re most excited about.

It’s invigorating to listen to Susan as she is full of positive energy and believes in people. She knows nurses are powerful forces in their roles, but also sees that many nurses need other outlets. Whether it’s a hobby, a side job, or a new career path, she’s here to help.

Susan and Beth talk about coaching and why it’s so important to find a coach or a mentor to help find your direction in life. They also talk about the importance of finding outlets – especially with the world of the pandemic in which we’re all living, which has broken many spirits.

They also talk about finding inspiration, career mapping, as well as Susan’s book, which has recently been re-published.

It’s an exciting and inspiring conversation that will certainly get you thinking about how best to shape your own lives.

Learn more about supporting the Don’t Eat Your Young Podcast with a membership — visit Don’t Eat Your Young’s membership page!

About Susan

Susan J. Farese, MSN, RN, a native of New Jersey, is the owner/ president of  SJF Communications, San Diego, CA. SJF Communications, originally established in 2002 in San Jose, CA, provides communications services including Public Relations, Publicity, Marketing, Websites, Filmmaking, Acting, Social Media, Writing and Public Speaking, Photography, Mentoring, Coaching and Legal Nurse Consulting services. Ms. Farese has diversified experience in health care/communications, including clinical nursing practice, management, education/training, research and consulting.

She has a Masters Degree in Nursing in Adult Health from Seton Hall University (NJ) and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from Widener University(PA). 

Susan has presented numerous continuing education classes, seminars, and keynotes. Susan is the author of the book Poetic Expressions in Nursing…Sharing the Caring (1993 and 2021), currently teaches ‘Capturing Your Creativity with Haiku’ workshops and has published poetry and articles on a variety of topics…

In addition to her being on the advisory board of San Diego Film Week, Susan is a member of SAG-AFTRA,  American Legion Post 43, Veterans in Media & Entertainment, San Diego Writers Ink the San Diego Press Club, the Southern California Writers Association, the Army Nurse Corps Association.

Since 2017, Susan has been a Volunteer Mentor in the San Diego State University Aztec Mentor Program.

Complete list of clients at https://sjfcommunications.com/list-of-clients/

Contact SJF Communications at: 408-398-5940 or [email protected].

Links

• Susan’s Website
• Susan on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Linktree
• Susan’s book ‘Poetic Expressions in Nursing…Sharing the Caring’

• (00:00) - Welcome to Don't Eat Your Young

The Public Utility Model

John Silver joins Beth to discuss the Public Utility Model, a plan to shift the healthcare insurance structure, bringing needed healthcare to everyone. A central council led by nurses – which would also include physicians and other allied healthcare professionals – would work to provide a better and stronger foundation for preventative healthcare for the people of the US, not just disease care. John talks about his look back through history to find a model that could work as a way to fund healthcare, and found that the public utility companies were managed locally and with great success. Healthcare spending is like a runaway train and is not sustainable. John’s ideas about a new twist with an old concept is worth listening to, as it just may be the way to reimagine the administration of healthcare funding.

They discuss John’s Declaration of Independence for Nurses and why John felt it was critical to put it together. They also talk about John’s program, Nurses Transforming Healthcare, and why it’s critical for nurses in this country to come together as a force to bring impactful change to policies of all sorts.

Learn more about supporting the Don’t Eat Your Young Podcast with a membership — visit Don’t Eat Your Young’s membership page!

About John

Dr. Silver started in healthcare in 1974, and became a Respiratory Therapist in 1978. After receiving his nursing degree, he worked extensively in critical care, including medical and surgical ICU’s, trauma units, burn units, and neurological ICU’s. He spent the last decade of practice in the emergency room. Dr. Silver writes and speaks about political issues in nursing and healthcare. He has presented both nationally and internationally on health policy, the restructuring of healthcare systems, and the role of nursing in that process. He has also spoken to a variety of nurse practitioner groups on political tactics for prescriptive authority and independent practice. In 2004, he led Spectrum’s international on-line chat prior to the election. He also studies nursing leadership and has a particular interest in the political fracturing of nursing. Dr. Silver started at NOVA Southeastern in 2005 as an adjunct professor and became an Associate professor full time in 2010. He teaches a variety of courses including health assessment, the second medical-surgical nursing class, as well as problem solving and the trends in nursing class taught in the last term. He has also taught ethics, health policy, and the introductory class in the Master’s program. Currently, Dr. Silver is a Program Chair in an ADN program of nursing.

Links

• Nurses Transforming Healthcare
• Just a Union... of Nurses: The Rise to Political Power of the California Nursing Association by John Silver

• (00:00) - Welcome to Don't Eat Your Young •John Silver

In this week’s episode, Beth is joined by new nurse Troy McMullen, a nurse of three years who started just before the pandemic hit. Beth and Troy talk about his journey to become a nurse and what that meant when COVID took over the world. He talks about the various locations he worked as a travel nurse and how similar they all were in the frustrations he had with the system’s lack of proper care for the patients. Troy and Beth remind everyone that you have to know when to say no, even if that makes co-workers frustrated. It’s a journey you won’t soon forget.

Learn more about supporting the Don’t Eat Your Young Podcast with a membership — visit Don’t Eat Your Young’s membership page!

• (00:00) - Welcome to Don't Eat Your Young •Troy McMullen

Maggie Ortiz

In today’s episode, nurse advocate Maggie Ortiz joins your host Beth Quaas to talk about the challenges in our nursing system today. Why is it so frustratingly complicated and why does it seem to be working against the nurses in it? What can nurses do to protect themselves? How do they deal with liability? Do they need their own insurance? There’s a lot of information in today’s episode so make sure you tune in to this one!

Learn more about supporting the Don’t Eat Your Young Podcast with a membership — visit Don’t Eat Your Young’s membership page!

About Maggie

I have been a critical care nurse for 22 years. I started in the ICU, step down, telemetry moved to the ER and started doing local agency work which included Interventional Radiology to do procedural sedation and I enjoyed doing that type of work. From there I started working PACU and Pre-Op, Pre-Assessment testing nurse, surgery centers and once I moved to San Antonio Texas from Omaha received a security clearance and worked at Lackland Air Force Base in the Level I trauma center during the war and then moved over to Brook Army Center in the Level I Trauma Center ICU. Moved to Austin working pretty much all their hospitals to include their Level I ICU working in the float pool and again doing local agency. Helped open a free-standing ER and then soon took a job at the Texas Board of Nursing as an Investigator. Stayed for about 6 months couldn’t take the lack of due process being extended to nurses left went to the cath lab where I have worked primarily now for the last 8 years. I started doing some grassroots activist work while I finished my bachelors and went onto get my Master’s in leadership and Administration which I have opted never to use, and I’ve stayed at the bedside with my people.

Links

• Get in touch with Maggie via email or just text or call 512-766-8945 (Text works best!)
• Get in touch with Maggie on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook

• (00:00) - Welcome to Don't Eat Your Young •Maggie Ortiz

Sandra Capito

In today’s episode – which was recorded September 2021, so information may be a bit out of date – nurse Sandra Capito joins your host Beth Quaas all the way from Melbourne, Australia, to talk about her work as a nurse to bring more compassion and empathy to the workplace for patients and fellow nurses. The goal? Making everyone feel worthy.

Learn more about supporting the Don’t Eat Your Young Podcast with a membership — visit Don’t Eat Your Young’s membership page!

About Sandra

I’ve been a Registered Nurse for 30 years. This amazing profession has provided me with knowledge and experiences in hospital care, community support, public health management, teaching, and disability. I have learned from and worked with some amazing human beings. These include both colleagues and patients and their families.

Looking back, the hours were long and at times relentless. The workloads were massive and exhausting – but we showed up everyday to provide care and safety to our patients.

Having returned into the “clinical setting” in 2021 during the worldwide pandemic, I was able to work again in a team – which I have always enjoyed. I began to observe the interactions around me. These were between nurse and patient; nurse to nurse and doctors; and nurse with student nurses and support staff-patient services assistants. As an outsider, you could easily conclude that it was a very well oiled machine – things seemed to be running well and everyone knew their role/function. As I have always been a very curious person, I would talk to and observe people. I would often be asked to lead the team and provide advice to nurses if they required it. As is my leadership style, I always made sure that everyone in my team was acknowledged and seen every shift.

What I observed was this:

The attitudes from senior staff directly affected the mood and “vibe” of the whole shift. Lack of effective and consistent communication left nurses vulnerable and disconnected. I noticed disengagement ( which looked like laziness) which then further perpetuated disconnection. I tended to aim for people who were in this category. I would ask them questions about themselves and how they felt about working. I would also share about myself.

Finding commonality has always been “my jam”. The interactions were often brief. My only goal was to acknowledge each individual as worthy and appreciated and that they mattered. Without fail, this changed their attitude. They were more likely to come to me if they had an issue or concern. They worked better and happier. They felt safe knowing we were all in this together. Simple I know, but effective.

We need as a profession to acknowledge each other's paths, similarities and differences and embrace them. Everyone has hidden talents and skills and we need all of them to help evolve and shape the future of nursing.

Sandra on

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Instagram

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• (00:00) - Season Three Intro

Rachel Chianakas and Compassionate Care

Rachel Chianakas lost her ability to work as a bedside nurse after a knee injury with a subsequent failed surgery. Following her first surgery, she was made to feel “crazy” and “embarrassed” when she was told that she was fine and was healing normally. With her symptoms continuing, she was losing hope until a complete stranger told her she should seek a second opinion. She did just that and found that her symptoms were real. She finally felt validated.

Through her experience, she has become a fierce patient advocate and now works with low-income patients and assists them in navigating the immensely confusing healthcare system. Rachel is very grateful to the donor of a ligament graft placed in her knee and is able to function because of that selfless act of a stranger. Because of that, she encourages others to become donors and honors those that have donated organs and tissues so that others can continue to live.

Rachel is working to create a website where people can be educated on traversing the healthcare system and wants those that need help to reach out to her. She also would like to work with healthcare providers to educated them in delivering compassionate care to every patient they encounter and always be a patient advocate.

Learn more about supporting the Don’t Eat Your Young Podcast with a membership — visit Don’t Eat Your Young’s membership page!

About Rachel

Rachel Chianakas is a Registered Nurse living in Milwaukee Wisconsin. She obtained her degree from OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Illinois and began her career in the Emergency Department where she became passionate about providing both safe and quality care to each and every patient she cared for. Rachel has always taken pride in delivering safe care as a nurse and has helped foster change in her working environments to improve patient safety. After personally experiencing harm during a routine surgical procedure, Rachel’s passion and desire to advocate for patients grew exponentially as she learned firsthand the true impact a surgical error can make on one’s life. Rachel is here to give others a voice who have also been affected by patient harm and believes in the importance of being an advocate for yourself, transparency between healthcare workers and patients, the importance of second opinions, and effective communication amongst healthcare providers.

Links

• Rachel’s Website
• Email Rachel
• Rachel on LinkedIn

• (00:00) - Welcome to Don't Eat Your Young • Rachel Chianakas

Traci Powell is helping nurses heal.

Traci Powell is a PMHNP and is nationally certified in Trauma Care. She has known 3 colleagues that have completed suicide and is dedicated to helping others heal before they take their own lives. She says that professionals in medicine don’t usually reach out for help. Traci offers intense therapy in different states in the US, hoping to reach as many people as she can.

Traci has a Facebook group called Nurses Healing Nurses that is a dedicated space for nurses to share their stories and gain positive feedback from others who can understand what we are all going through in this profession. “Nursing is beyond burnout, it is PTSD”, says Traci, and many need the help that she is able to provide.

Learn more about supporting the Don’t Eat Your Young Podcast with a membership — visit Don’t Eat Your Young’s membership page!

About Traci

I’m a board certified psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioner, Certified Trauma Treatment Specialist, writer, trauma education consultant and an unshakable force dedicated to helping you become the person you were always meant to be and unbecome what was never you in the first place.

Links

• Traci’s website The Rebuilt Woman
• Send Traci an Email
• Traci on LinkedIn
• The Rebuilt Woman on Facebook
• Nurses Healing Nurses Facebook Group

• (00:00) - Welcome to Don't Eat Your Young • Traci Powell