Maggie McKay (Host): Welcome to Careers in Care, a Mount Carmel College of Nursing podcast. I'm your host, Maggie McKay, and today we'll talk with Emily Thompson, a Mount Carmel College of Nursing graduate, about what it's like to go from a student to a nurse launching your career in a brand new hospital. Thank you so much for being here, Emily.

Emily Thompson, BSN: Hi. Thank you for having me.

Host: Congratulations on graduating and landing your first nursing job. That's so exciting.

Emily Thompson, BSN: Thank you. Yes, I'm very excited.

Host: Would you tell us about what drew you to nursing in the first place and why you chose Mount Carmel College of Nursing?

Emily Thompson, BSN: Yes, absolutely. So my nursing career actually starts in the teaching arena and growing up I wanted to be a teacher. That was my whole life, what I knew was my career plan. And I was lucky enough through my district growing up to be able to shadow a teacher. I spent a couple days in a classroom and I quickly realized that was not for me. It's a lot of classroom management and I have a great respect for teachers and I thought to myself, well, I really do love the educational aspect of the aha or the light bulb moment. I love that I could use my education to further other people's education. And so I was thinking about what can I do with that, that will also give me a satisfying career.

 I really reflected back on when my grandmother was a nurse. She would tell me all these wonderful stories about how much she loved her units that she was on. And as I started my nursing journey, I realized that there is a lot of patient education within the nursing scope of practice. So that kind of fulfills both, what I want to do as a career to really help progress people forward.

And then also that educational aspect of how can I help people achieve that aha moment.

Host: Med-Surg is known for being a fast-paced and diverse environment. What skills or experiences from your BSN program do you think prepared you best for this role? And for those who don't know, what is BSN?

Emily Thompson, BSN: Yes, so BSN, that is our Bachelor Science of nursing program. So I was in the traditional undergraduate program, which is four years of education, and that education, that bachelor's is the educational backing, and then you also need your nursing licensure exam to become the nurse. So with my program specifically for bachelor science in nursing, what prepared me for med surg, because you're right, med surg is a very wide range, wide scope of practice, wide patient population type of nursing.

So you can see a little bit of everything. Which is exciting and a little daunting. I found that my clinicals and then my lab simulation components were the two major things that really helped me kind of adapt to what nursing really can be like in the real life. So I got to see and interact with real patients during my clinical experience, but then I also got to go through specific simulations, when I got farther down the line with my nursing program. When I was in patient specific classes like OBGYN, pediatrics, mental health, I was able to actually partake in lab simulations at our college that were really honed in on, okay, what are specifics with this patient population that you need to look out for, that you need to pay extra attention to?

So that experience combined with the real world clinicals really helped me to progress my nursing career and get ready for that med surg unit.

Host: So looking back on your time at Mount Carmel College of Nursing, what was one of the most impactful moments or lessons that you'll carry with you throughout your career?

Emily Thompson, BSN: I think that one of the most impactful moments was when I had a professor that was reminding us that education, textbook knowledge is a great thing and you really do need a strong educational backing for nursing, but it's also important to really think about the patient as a whole and really just think about, okay, how is this patient feeling?

What are their thoughts, emotions towards what's going on? And so really just stop and look at the patient because a patient can actually tell you a lot in their subjective, how they're feeling, where their pain is, what their concern is, versus just the objective facts. And I think a combination of both of those is really what helps you to capture the whole patient and to really get the essence of what they need for their care.

Host: So starting your career in a new hospital has gotta be very exciting, but also a little nerve wracking. How are you preparing mentally and emotionally for this transition?

Emily Thompson, BSN: Yeah, it can be a lot. I'm definitely very excited, but then also a little bit nervous because it's not only a new environment for me, but it's a new environment for everyone. And so what I have really hung on to for preparing for this role is there's a popular trend that I've seen online on the internet about preparing your five to nine before your nine to five.

And so it's basically people reflecting on how they can take care of themselves. Whether it's getting a workout in, getting a good nourishing meal in, taking some time to reflect and just relax before going to work that next day. So right now, while I'm in the, in-between of just finishing my undergraduate and then starting my new nursing career, I'm kind of solidifying, okay, what's my after work schedule?

What's my schedule on those days off to really help me balance that career and then that personal life.

Host: That's so smart. I know I can't even start the day until I've worked out and the days that I just can't, I feel it for sure. Just not as productive or awake or whatever. So that's a great plan. What advice would you give to current nursing students who are just beginning their journey at Mount Carmel?

Emily Thompson, BSN: My biggest advice to incoming nursing students to incoming Mount Carmel fellow Nightingales is to just talk. Talk to everybody. Talk to the people in your administrative offices. They can help you so much with course coordination and just knowing what you need to do in order to graduate, what your next steps are.

Talk to your peers. I had quite a few good friends throughout my nursing career, and we would just kind of spur each other on and encourage each other and we could collaborate together to work on, whether it's lab simulations or exams, just prepping and really getting that head knowledge together, creating that oneness within the field, which was really amazing.

And talk to your professors, definitely. Especially at Mount Carmel, that smaller student to faculty ratio is so helpful and so beneficial. So whether it's your clinical instructor, your lab guide, or maybe even just your professor for the class, if you have a question or concern, please, please, please bring it up.

They are more than happy to help you. My professors were so helpful and so lovely during my time in the program.

Host: I think people really want to help the newer generation coming in. It makes them feel like they're important, they have a purpose, and they can share their experience, which is invaluable. Emily, finally, what are your long-term goals in nursing? Do you plan to continue your nursing education?

Emily Thompson, BSN: Yes, I do plan on continuing my nursing education. I'm very excited to be starting Mount Carmel's family nurse practitioner program, and that's under their division of Master Science of nursing programs that they house. And I'm really excited because not only does Mount Carmel carry that really strong undergraduate program, they also do have a lot of really strong graduate programs.

So it'll be great to continue my education there. I already have a feel for the school. I'm really looking forward to that, just continuing that care continuum. And I'm also really excited to combine my experiences, so I will have this experience as a nurse now. I'll have a lot of medical surgical experience, and combining that with my education to become a family nurse practitioner will be really beneficial, not only for my current patients, but my patients in the future as well.

Host: Well, thank goodness there are people as dedicated as you and as enthusiastic. It's great to hear all this and your experience. We really appreciate your time and sharing it with us.

Emily Thompson, BSN: Thank you so much. I really enjoyed this time together.

Host: Absolutely. So did I. Good luck in your future.

Emily Thompson, BSN: Thank you.

Host: Again, that's Emily Thompson. And if you'd like to learn more about the programs offered at Mount Carmel College of Nursing, go to mccn.edu.

That's mccn.edu. And if you found this podcast helpful. Please share it on your social channels and check out our entire podcast library for topics of interest to you. I'm Maggie McKay. Thanks for listening to Careers in Care, a Mount Carmel College of Nursing podcast.