Found Down

On today's episode, I am checking in the middle of the pandemic. How are you doing? This has been a wild ride especially considering recent events.

I have some thank yous to share, announcements about future episodes and a call to action for an upcoming episode. Also, merch is coming and please check out the website www.founddownpodcast.com to see the pictures of the guests who have been on the show!

Thanks for being amazing and thanks for the support!

Nicole

Today I catch up with a former colleague, Kelsey Ferguson, RN, BSN, CCRN who started her path in nursing in the ICU at a big academic medical center, then moved to rural Washington, to try life full time in the mountains near Leavenworth to suit her lifestyle. Kelsey is a badass and an athlete of super human ability once riding her bike from Canada to Mexico by herself for 60 odd days.

Kelsey's move east brought her to a more rural setting and working in acute care. She shares why she made this move, how the transition felt and the adjustments she had to make to her practice.

Also, having just been diagnosed with Covid-19, she let's us in on that experience, how she thinks she got it and some scary revelations.

Kelsey! It was so wonderful to have you on the show! And I'm so happy you are feeling better!

I hope you enjoy this one.

XO

Nicole

Today I chat with my old friend Amy Kanigher, a Nurse Practitioner who has a history of working in the ED both as an nurse and APRN, she was a hospitalist for 7 years and now she is practicing in Infectious Disease in Reno, Nevada.

We discuss the phenomenon of "frequent flyers" those patients that just keep coming back and share a few stories. Inevitably, things get heavy and she shares what burnt her out.

Amy says that everybody has a story and we shouldn't forget that.

It was such a joy to sit and talk with Amy. She is a true gem and this episode is full of heart. Thank you, Amy.

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Nicole

HOLD ONTO YOUR SHORTS.

This episode I interview former Naval Medic and soon to be nurse, Jerard Cook. He shares the most epic tale from his time a search and rescue swimmer in the Sea of Japan in 2005 - you can read about it here. This story is riveting and had me on the edge of my seat.

Also, Jerard opens up about the day he almost quit his dream of having a career in the medical field which caught me totally by surprise.

Thank you SO much for being on the show and for being such an amazing person.

Nicole

Today I catch up with Cardiac Cath Lab nurse Marci Ross about how she has been holding up and what she has been up to. Turns out she has been making masks and also doing street medic work during the protest. So awesome!

We go WAY BACK to nursing school and talk nursing care plans, to terrible scrubs and tough lessons. Thank God we all made it out alive.

If you are currently in nursing school, THANK YOU! We need you and you can do it! Hang in there because it gets better!

Thanks, Marci for taking me back! Hope you enjoy this episode!

Nicole

Today I interview Sam Doyle, a Critical Care Nurse Practitioner about how she got into oncology, what makes her stay when things are hard and her history as a boxer and the life lessons it taught her.

Sam says oncology chose her but she is drawn to it by the hope for a cure, the science and the challenge of it - and what a challenge it can be! She also is in a unique position where she is the one who delivers hard news, news nobody wants to hear and she openly discusses what that feels like. "It is a skill with a lot of emotion."

As for what makes her stay - it is part calling, part opportunity to help people, she loves what she does and her co-workers.

Additionally, Sam boxed for a few years in her twenties at Cappy's and she offers up some life lessons she learned that stay with her today. Everyone could use this advice.

Sam was a delight and a pleasure - always cool and funny.

I hope you enjoy this episode!

Nicole

On today's episode, I catch up with the beloved and infamous Critical Care Nurse Practitioner Cameron "Cam" Wright. He discusses candidly how his working environment changed overnight from a SICU to a Covid ICU and the implications that had on him and his family. We talk shop about how working in critical care leaves its "collateral damage," Plus, we discuss the importance of creating a cohesive team.

Don't worry, we round it out with some funny nursing stories. Cam was an absolute delight to have on and he made sure to take full advantage of our 'E" for explicit rating.

You won't want to miss this episode!

Nicole

On today's episode, I chat with ICU nurse Mandie Allen about her experience working in a COVID ICU, contracting COVID and laugh about one of my favorite funny nurse stories - a "Nurse Down" story. It was a joy and a pleasure to catch up with my former colleague. This is an interesting, frightening and funny episode.

I hope you enjoy it!

Nicole

On today's episode, I sit down with my "work wife" Martha Oldenburg, an exceptionally talented ICU nurse and assistant nurse manager who is always cool and collected.

We chat about our times traveling and working abroad in Phnom Phen, Cambodia for the International Nursing Program set up by the esteemed and accomplished Lia Golden. We swap thoughts and stories about seeing a hospital setting so different from our own. We both were so impressed by the nurses and how they are excellent clinicians in spite of having such limited resources. It drove home the message that a nurse is a nurse is a nurse. We all want the best for our patients, we just have vastly different resources.

True to Found Down form, there are a few stories in there that will make you say, "what??"

I hope you enjoy this one!

Nicole

Would you be able to do the right thing at the right time for a total stranger? That is the exact position ICU nurse Madeline Dahl found herself in when she did her first ever organized bike ride the STP; a two day 200 mile bike ride from Seattle to Portland.

On today's episode not only do we learn about this EPIC Good Samaritan tale, we catch up with Madeline and talk about the reality and intensity of working in a COVID ICU, how she adapted and is still processing her feelings in real time. We learn how going back to the basics kept her afloat in this intense time, including revisiting 'Notes on Nursing' by Florence Nightingale. This was a truly inspirational interview.

I hope you enjoy this episode! It was a roller coaster!

Nicole