Scott Webb (Host): It's not easy being a nurse, but the process of becoming a nurse is made a little easier by my guests today who have many suggestions and tips to help tomorrow's nurses succeed and reach their dreams. And I'm joined today by Melissa Loftis. She's an RN educator and nurse residency coordinator, and I'm also joined by Amanda Pratt. She's an RN political liaison, and they're both with Summa Health.

 This is Healthy Vitals, a podcast from Summa Health. I'm Scott Webb.

It's really nice to have you both here today. We're going to basically have a panel discussion, right? And what that means is we're going to talk about nursing and nursing students and what advice you have, you know, as experts in the field for nursing students. So, Amanda, I'm going to start with you. What are the most valuable training resources available to nursing students today and how can they best access and utilize them?

Amanda Pratt, MBA, MSN, RN, CNRN, ENLS: The school has tutoring, they also have simulation labs. Open lab hours are good, NCLEX books with all the questions. Those are probably the best, Khan Academy, can be used. All the textbooks have questions in the back of the chapters. They can use those. And ANA, I think has a student website that they can access and get multiple resources from that.

Host: Yeah, so a lot of resources, which is good. You know, we've all been students in our lifetime, of course, so always want to have as many resources as possible, whether those are things we can hold in our hands or find online. And Melissa, how can new nursing students effectively balance classroom learning with hands-on clinical experience?

Melissa Loftis, BSN, MSEd, MS, NE-BC, CRRN: So the most important thing I think I would tell a student is when you're in clinicals, make sure you're taking advantage of every situation and opportunity that presents itself. You know, if there's a nurse and she's like, Hey, I have an IV, then jump on it. You know, get out in the rooms, talk to patients.

Sometimes you know, we want those big exciting things like the IVs and drawing blood, but just answering call lights and taking someone's tray and just interacting with patients is super important as well. So I always tell, because I do teach clinicals, so I just tell them, you know what? Get out into the hospital, get out into the floors, follow a nurse around, do whatever you can.

So you're just gaining all the experience you can when you have those opportunities.

Host: Yeah. Right. I mean, I'm, not a nurse. I've never been a nursing student, Melissa, but I'm guessing, you know, that there's, the textbook, the classroom learning, and then as you say, there's the getting out there, getting on the floors and doing it, right?

Melissa Loftis, BSN, MSEd, MS, NE-BC, CRRN: Correct? Correct. You know, we learned from the book, but now you gotta go out there and apply it all.

Host: Yeah, the, the practical application of things, like you're saying, like just drawing blood, that's something you gotta do on people. Right?

Melissa Loftis, BSN, MSEd, MS, NE-BC, CRRN: Correct. I mean, there are fake arms and nurses do practice on those, like in those sim labs, but, it's important to get the feel of a real person.

Host: Right. And may, I don't know, you know, I've never done that, of course. But can those fake arms let you know that you've done it right or wrong? How does that work?

Melissa Loftis, BSN, MSEd, MS, NE-BC, CRRN: Absolutely. So fake arms have fake blood in veins, so if you hit it right, blood comes back in your needle just like a person. So it does give you a feel of it, but it is important to get the feel of real people too. Because veins move on real people.

Host: Right. Yeah. I, I know like my son is one of those people whose veins like to hide right at the moment when, uh, blood is being drawn. His veins like to, they're like, nope, not today. And, yeah. So I can only imagine, being a nurse having to deal with hidden veins and small veins and whatever it might be.

So it's very cool. Uh, I knew this was gonna be educational today. And Amanda, how can students identify and approach mentors or faculty members for guidance throughout their nursing education?

Amanda Pratt, MBA, MSN, RN, CNRN, ENLS: All they have to do is ask. Most of us, all of us, I will say, are very apt to help students. We want them to do the best for the patients. So all they have to do is ask somebody. I also would recommend like getting a job in healthcare. Most hospitals have like employment for students that work around school schedules so they can get exposed to all that stuff.

So, I think that's also, very important. Upperclassmen, if you're a, a sophomore, ask your senior upperclassmen, to help mentor you through school. I think all of those are very, important.

Host: Yeah, I'm sure you're right. I'm sure it's just a matter, the good folks, the students and the folks at Summa is just, reaching out, just asking. And Melissa, Amanda gave us some resources earlier, but are there any lesser known resources, apps, websites, study groups, whatever it might be that you think nursing students should take advantage of?

Melissa Loftis, BSN, MSEd, MS, NE-BC, CRRN: Absolutely. So, you know, your instructors want you to be successful, so if there are study sheets or you're not understanding, make sure you're asking them those kinds of questions. Also, you know, the TikTok and YouTube phenomena, and I actually just saw something on TikTok where, it's for nursing students and this like AI person is singing things about IV solutions, they're singing things. So you're kind of, or there's mnemonics where you can kind of remember things and I'm like, if I was in nursing school, I would follow these people on TikTok. So again, you know, know your resource, but there are some things that you know that is just a great reminder and refresher, so people are remembering things.

You also have the Cahoots and Quizlets, so those are apps that just rou ask questions, make you think about things, and if you go on there, you can find ones that are already created. You can also create your own Quizlet to kind of help you study for certain exams and communication boards. Simple as that.

In school, you know, looking to see, what's hanging up. Are there study groups that I can jump on? Is someone having trouble in a certain class? So just looking out for all those kinds of things that might not just be right from the classroom, but other opportunities. I mean, I think nowadays who doesn't go to YouTube for a question about something?

So, you know, just making sure that they, you know, are looking at those resources as well too. Obviously taking from the classroom, but reinforcing some of those things that you're taught in different ways, how you can remember things.

Host: Yeah. You know, it's funny you mentioned social media and mostly I just watch videos, about baby goats. I just, I just love baby goats. I can't get enough baby goat videos. But as you say, there's also things for nurses, pneumonics and sing-alongs and all that good stuff.

Amanda, wondering how could students stay motivated and resilient when they counter, you know, setbacks or challenging material?

Amanda Pratt, MBA, MSN, RN, CNRN, ENLS: Yes, I think we've all experienced that in nursing school and in our professional nursing careers, and it's important to reach out and talk to somebody that really knows what you're kind of going through. I always say, nobody understands except another nurse, what you're experiencing.

So talking to your instructors, your faculty at school, your mentor, and it doesn't have to be a formal mentor. It can be somebody you've picked, you know, that you relate to. But ask for help, discuss what's going on. The other thing is a lot of schools and hospitals, have counseling services now.

So utilize those. If, if you feel like you can't talk to, you know, somebody that you know or can reach out to somebody that you know.

Host: Right. You can see the advantage of, you know, working with someone, you know, but also having somebody maybe, who's just a little more impartial. Right, right. Someone to just, just someone to talk through and reason through some of this stuff. And Melissa, let's talk about collaboration and the role it plays with peers, in terms of nursing school success and how students can build effective study groups. How can they do that?

Melissa Loftis, BSN, MSEd, MS, NE-BC, CRRN: Well, I don't think anyone would get through nursing school in a silo. You have to be able to count on each other. They say a nursing program has the most exams, most everything compared to any other kind of degree. So I think they really need to count on each other. And you know, like Amanda had said, talk to somebody, if you're having issues in a class or you know, or things are going well, you had a really cool experience in clinicals, you know, share that kind of stuff.

And then, you know, you're learning from each other too. So making sure that they just work together. No, I in team, but it's really true because you can't get through a day as a student or a regular nurse without the rest of the people on your floor and your teammates, to work through and get through some of these patients.

Or maybe you're not even seeing something with a patient that's going on and you need to pull someone in and say, Hey. Do you guys, do you see what's going on here? What am I thinking? Not thinking through what do I need to do, to get this patient in order or whatever. So I think just making sure that, you kind of reach out, you find your people, so that you're able to have that support that you need.

I run the nurse residency program here at Summa and we meet monthly and the peer support that is involved in those, you know, that just that casual conversation of, hey, this is what's been going on, or Oh, this is happening in my area. It's happening in your area. So just that collaboration and feeling that support from each other.

Host: Yeah. Collaboration, communication, support. And I'm glad you mentioned there that it's okay to celebrate when you have a good day. Right. It's, they're not all tough, challenging days. Sometimes you have a nurse for the win, if you will that day and you're like, you know what, I did it right today. I did it. You know, I had a good day.

Melissa Loftis, BSN, MSEd, MS, NE-BC, CRRN: Absolutely. Absolutely. You have to do that as well too. Because I think as nurses we are trained to look at the negative, right? Be or something missing because something's wrong with a person. So I think that's really important to say, okay, what went right? You know, are you debriefing and talking about things at the end of your clinical day, which they usually do. So we can talk about the wins too. You're absolutely right. Yep.

Amanda Pratt, MBA, MSN, RN, CNRN, ENLS: That ties into the resiliency too.

Host: Right. and when we think about wins, you know, it's not, it's everybody winning, right? It's patients, it's families, it's nurses, it's doctors, it's everybody at Summa Health. And Amanda, I want to talk a little bit more about self-care and stress management, you know, kind of a common thread here today.

You know, how can students incorporate those things, along with, alongside their academic responsibilities?

Amanda Pratt, MBA, MSN, RN, CNRN, ENLS: Use wellness centers. Everybody has wellness centers now. So utilize those. Make sure you're taking some time each day for yourself, whether it's going for a walk, playing with your dog, whatever makes you calm. Do that each day. And then I would say for stress to decrease stress, don't wait and don't cram the night before a test or don't try to study everything the night before.

Take that hour, two hours each night, go over a little bit and then put it away. Because you can't remember everything if you're cramming.

Melissa Loftis, BSN, MSEd, MS, NE-BC, CRRN: Hmm.

Amanda Pratt, MBA, MSN, RN, CNRN, ENLS: So taking that at each day, a little time to study what you went over that day or what you saw that day, I think is pretty good. Social gatherings. College students, colleges have tons of social gatherings. Join groups or clubs. I know that's not too much of a thing anymore, but all nursing schools have a nursing club. So there's another support system, and make time for your friends and family.

Host: Yeah, absolutely. Make time for Starbucks. Uh, make time pickleball, uh, you know, all work in no play is not a good thing, right?

Absolutely. This has been really fun today and educational. I knew it would be finish up with you, Melissa. What do you wish students knew about utilizing the resources we've talked about today and seeking support when they're in nursing school?

Melissa Loftis, BSN, MSEd, MS, NE-BC, CRRN: I think the most important thing is nobody wants you to fail. Everyone wants you to be successful. The college, your students, your professors, your family, everyone, fellow nurses, we all want the students to be successful and graduate and become nurses. I used to tell my daughters this in college too.

There's resources available, you just have to go find them because people do not want you to fail. So just, you know, like we said before, ask for help early if you need it. Don't wait till the last minute when it's like a ride or die kind of situation. Like I need a 92% to pass this class. Making sure that you're asking for help when you need it.

Host: Yeah, that's the same advice I gave my son. He just graduated from college and I was like, you know, bud, if you hadn't waited until the, you know, the 11th hour, if you had reached out to your professors earlier, maybe you wouldn't be so stressed. Great advice for all students, especially nursing students. Thank you both. Really appreciate it.

Amanda Pratt, MBA, MSN, RN, CNRN, ENLS: Thank you.

Melissa Loftis, BSN, MSEd, MS, NE-BC, CRRN: Thank you. Thanks Scott.

Host: And learn more about resources and opportunities for nurses at Summa health@summahealth.org/nursing.

 And if you enjoyed this episode of Healthy Vitals, we'd love it if you'd leave us a review. Your review helps others find our educational content. I'm Scott Webb. Thanks for listening, and we'll talk again next time.