 Hi and welcome to nursing school explained and the nurse interview series and today I'm here with Rick Rosas who's gonna share his experience and his education with us. Hi Rick. Nice to see you Hi Petra, how you doing? I'm doing really good. Thank you. It's so nice to catch up with you briefly before we started this So Rick tell me how long have you been a nurse now? So I've been a nurse for 13 years I Had started back in 2007 or so a year earlier before that I was an EDA trying to get into the nursing program So I was an emergency aid or a tech there and and as soon as I was able to I finished nursing school and Stayed in the emergency department for a good amount of years there So I'll be out as a total has been 13 years very Wow, that is quite a long time and so besides the emergency department What else have you done and can you talk a little bit about your professional experience as well as the schooling that you've completed? Yeah, of course. So I Started like I said as an emergency aid tech and so from there Once I became a nurse In the emergency department they used to allow us to kind of roll over From a tech to a nurse and then just stayed employed, which was excellent because at the time there was a Big need for nurses everywhere, but in our area there was kind of a freeze For nursing employment. So the fact that I was able to have a job Straight out of school was was excellent Usually people require a year experience or whatnot and at least there they already knew me So I was able to start right off the bat But yeah, it was it's very interesting because I started in the ER and and To be truthful, I didn't know that I was an alike, you know, the emergency department until I actually worked there I have a military background. I was in the Marine Corps for for some time and so I Needed a job or a career that had that adrenaline rush, you know where I can just be excited about you know doing things and My first day first week as a tech Before I became a nurse It was a time of the year when there's a lot of stuff going on in the desert a lot of riders and motorcycles and doom bug He's and it was very very traumatic for for them and wait for the place to write But yeah, the first week in there that I was like, oh my god, there was It's gory but there was the gore and the excitement of seeing all this trauma coming in and you know We're a very tiny ER at the time And so the level we just it was incredible stabilizing ship people out to to San Diego a bigger area, right? but it was That rush was there the the scene that work in action the team working together This is like, yep, this is it. I'm gonna do this. This is gonna be my my thing and so You know after graduating nursing school I I rolled straight into that and Yeah, initially the first few years was all you are right all you are all you are and then Slowly, but surely you start just you know getting interested in other things other than that that trauma that excited so then I started Kind of dabbling a little bit into like ICU Kind of getting more into depth of like the process of pathophysiology how medication really works and and you know The treatment of it because in the ER is more it's like stabilize and move stabilize and move so I started kind of floating over into the ICU and Starting to see oh, so this is what happens after we stabilize and transfer and now I know what the ICU nurses are upset Where we place IVs I get it now, you know There's a lot of stuff that I understood, you know And it's all with experience to start kind of learning little things here and there and then the same time I started doing my My BSN trying to get my bachelor's because somebody said hey if you got your You know your ADN go get your bachelor's you're gonna need it later. I listened to one of my one of my instructors I was also working the ER at the time and I did that and Started learning more and more and more about the nursing practice itself not just you know Being in the moment with with trauma or with the patient more of like oh, there's other needs like Family needs and special needs and so you start just building a little bit of a of a knowledge base And once I did that I've kind of started I was a never really big into med surges at all man one up there is just I Don't know very slow. I thought until I again started floating up there just to figure it out And so what it was all about and I realized that that's whole different Nursing you know Even in a hospital setting, you know, you go there's different departments and they're all different Needs right like so in the ER patient needs immediate stabilization immediate help, you know, maybe it's not a mercy for me but it was Of course a mercy for them, right? So we have to treat that and we got to treat the whole person not just They're bleeding toe, you know, but tell me are you okay? Do you need some help in counseling? You know, there's more to it And then I see it was different, you know, they're pretty sick folks Usually they don't really talk too much or they can't But it's a whole different level of need med surge was an experience because They are able to communicate and it almost seems like oh, that's just them Well, it's something and it's not really that it's more that's what they feel they need or their lack So they're asking for it, you know, and that's something that we have to address as well along with the medical needs. I Never did OB just because I just No, you know, I never I'm a hairy guy. So I don't think Anyone would want to see this big hairy guy coming in. Hey, here's your baby. Yeah, I don't know I just didn't feel comfortable there. I did some pediatrics here and there and But again, it wasn't at the time. I didn't feel that was my cup of tea so I was asked to be the one of the house supervisors for To cover somebody that was kind of ill or whatnot and then I kind of stay there for my last Five years before I became a correctional nurse But that was a different experience to just being a house supervisor I would go down to the ER and still be involved in large codes and whatnot I would go into the ICU and see how the staff was going and doing and because I understood their needs as a nurse because I was every four I Think I think I was respected well in the hospital because I did I did work all the departments per se You know, and so when somebody was a hey, you know what this is going on. I understood them The nursing staff I understood what the challenge was. Hey, I'm calling his doctor. He's not answering me back Oh, okay. Yeah, let me try to help you with that. You know staffing was big thing. There's always we're always short And one that's so that's kind of where the 13 years have gone in the last six five six years Part of my personal retirement plan was to get into correctional nursing for Benefits and stuff like that, you know looking out for my family And that's where I've been after the last five years six years. Sorry Thank you for summarizing this so well Rick And what you brought up is actually a really good learning experience for any student or any new nurse out there I think Because when we first start we are so set in our own department and in our own ways whether that's the ED med search ICU And we don't really know what the other departments are going through, right? So the ER is always anxious to get the people out med search They don't want to get the people in because they might be dealing with some psychosocial issue with another patient I see you they might have another code or somebody who's super sick So they might not be ready to receive that patient And so once we get out of our comfort zone or not of our Out of our silos and really understand how the hospital works as a whole and how the different departments are interrelated it's really an important experience because It takes something else to work in somebody else's shoes right to really go through that experience and then you had the the really Nice overview working as a house supervisor and I am sure because you're such a nice guy first of all And second of all because you worked in all those different areas that you are well respected and they knew That you had been in their shoes before so there wasn't anything like oh yeah he's an ER nurse he just wants you know to get the patients here It was more like no he's been you know had all these different experiences So so I think that was probably very helpful in getting the respect of your of your co-workers to Right. Yeah, I think that honestly that that was probably mainly the reason why Things flowed so well when I was the house supervisor I still to my wife work still in the hospital there and they always tell oh, yeah Where's your husband? He should come back and be the supervisor. I mean, I guess they have issues or something I don't know, but you know, it's funny that they still remember how things Flowed before that and it was that I honestly think that whenever the ER would ask me. Hey, you know, can we get these patients up? Well, hold on what you got when I see you to ferment surge or I give me a second You know what you'd have to go and I wouldn't just call that was the biggest thing for me Like when you're a leader or when you're in management It's not just calling and pointing a finger and snapping them and say get it done There's a time for that to don't give me wrong but when there's the chance or the opportunity to face to face See the other departments is hey guys look, you know, all you guys listen to me You know, we have this going on I have to to come up these guys are about to be discharged like give them a plan or a sense of like a goal Like set something that way they understand. Okay, so it's only two good All right, we can manage that because sometimes they just say hey, we got two to come up go take them But they they're like oh to now and like for later and another three and then three discharges So their day just becomes so complex in their mind, right? Because if you think about it, you know, you discharge one they get the other it's simple It's just more communicating and being able to show enough This is why I always do I always say hey, can you do me a favor? This is what I got going on. Could you help me out with this? You know put it on them to accept the challenge or to accept, you know Not directly say do this now because that already starts wrong, you know, that's just you that's not how you communicate with folks You know make them feel like they're a part of this this challenge or this goal for today And that when they're done with that they have completed something or successfully, you know Terminated the goal or we ended it and so that gives them a sense of fulfillment, you know And in the end I as a supervisor got my job done the ER got to move their patients to the floor or to ICU They got discharged and so it kind of it works together it mesh as well I don't know where I learned that quite honestly It's maybe from the military probably where that's how things work over there And it's something that we as a whole I think we like communication skills like that, you know We're stuck like you said on your own little silos and your little island and you're just I'm here I'm doing this nobody bother me, you know When there's more to it, like you said, it's a whole hospital, you know All the gears are turning and everything's moving together simultaneously trying to accomplish that one goal and it's to care for our patients overall so and And I think again you brought up two important points your number one is that communication is so important, right? How and that really applies to Anybody whether you are nursing student with your instructor with your preceptor nurse Whether you are floor nurse with your charge nurse with the house supervisor whether it's communicating with the other Departments and just kind of knowing overall and understanding what's going on so that you kind of get the whole picture The 10,000 foot view rather than just being stuck in your own little priorities And then the other thing is the teamwork, right? We're all there for the patients We're not just there for the ER patients or for the ICU patients We really are there for all of our patients and it needs to care for them as best as we can And if everybody has a pretty good understanding because the leader Communicates so well then everybody's kind of on the same page and everything just works a lot easier And that's right And I think that applies not only to nursing but to to life in general if we could just all be better communicators and say You know what's on our minds or what our priorities are and then kind of come to an agreement with everybody else Then this world will be so much easier to to get through on a day-to-day basis I think so too I think so too So moving on now So now you're a correctional nurse and to be honest with you. I don't know much about What exactly you do? So do you mind taking us through kind of like a day in the life of a correctional nurse? Okay. Yeah, so so it's not difficult at all correctional nursing is not difficult To become one you apply it to the state and Get an interview and you wallop. That's it. There is no special Certification. There's no special nothing that you need to go through you can This is just what I feel but we do have some brand new nurses that come out of school Who have been hired and I don't find it appropriate and I'll explain why later But I don't find that that's appropriate for someone brand new to get put into that kind of a job description career And it would require some experience and then I'll tell you exactly why I feel that way right now, I've worked in the correctional department for about six years In September to be six years and so Along that I've pretty much done every position that's there and I'll tell you how many there is or Give you a summer session of that but What you need to know is that it is a very unique population It is diverse and it's underserved and they are unaware of self and what I mean by that is that The population that's in there does not understand what their needs are Because they grew up in different environments, but what they have in common in these environments is that they're a high-risk population Because they were a low risk Need population they didn't know that they needed health care growing up Because of expiry their environment wherever they may come from And so when they get into the prison system, they keep that mentality There's an honor code and there's a pride to that code That's how they live If you you have to be a tough right if you're an inmate you have to be a tough person Nothing hurts you nothing bothers you even if you get stabbed, you know, nothing's wrong with you I'm still breathing if you have a punctured lung, right? I'm okay They don't seek help And so what happens that that that's that it's a barrier between, you know, us who say hey come here Let's have a look at you. You feel sick. You look sick. No, there's nothing wrong with me. Leave me alone I don't want nothing Whoa, like how do you deal with that? Like you don't want to know or recognize someone's ill Talk to them try to convince them To take treatment and then while they're taking treatment Convince them or somehow persuade them to finish it Because they'll take an antibiotic for three days and they say, oh, I feel better. I'm good It's like no, you got to take the whole course like you have to finish it You do feel a little better your fever is gone, but you still need it all and so again, that's the whole unaware They don't really understand nursing care because They just know to live by this one code and I'm generalized, right? There's others But mostly that's the population you deal with they're very very unique at a higher risk because they're not aware of self in that sense but So in corrections, there is Three different settings. So you have your emergent setting And every institution is a little different And I'll I'll get into that a little bit later But the our institution at least has what they call a ctc, which is a med search type of department. It's um it is Overseed by title 22, which is the same one that Our title 15 and 22 which is same as as a med search department Although we're not a med search department. We're right below that level There's also a clinic setting To where the inmates house their their house and it's complexes And so whenever they need assistance they go and submit a a paper per se is like a To say hey, I went to get seen medical for this that reason and then they get submitted They get an appointment and they come to the clinic to get seen. So that's more like an outpatient setting And there's what we call it's called the triage and triven area, which is what you would consider an er Out in the community. We don't have the same services as an er, of course We don't have a doctor there We don't have but we do have two nurses or three or four depending on the size of the institution that Treat the patients that are in more emergent need like a stabbing like an acute something You know some sort of infection or something that's severe They'll go in a a a type of ambulance. I guess you can consider it's called an itv And that goes and picks them up from wherever area they're at and brings them back to this tta area And then from there we'll treat them as much as we can But if we have to when we transfer out to a local Hospital the local er to do, you know more in depth from our thorough stuff So those are the three main settings and then the fourth one the next one is what all these We call them Specialty services we have in specialty and then out specialty services, but the in services Wouldn't need ophthalmology or optometry Orthopedics there are these clinics that we set up for the inmates to be able to instead of sending All our population out into the community putting everyone at risk and putting them at risk We bring in a provider and then they have clinics that they see once or twice a week, you know where they have 20 30 Patients inmates who they see, you know, and that's how that works And those are kind of like the auxiliary services that we provide for those are the four settings Mainly and and now there's been a little bit with covids, you know, this public health nursing has become whole monster now and and The health department has been involved. So there's some things pop up here and there But mainly those are the four things that we do for Um For our our population for our inmates and that's pretty much a little city if you think about it, you know, that's what we have We have outpatient setting we have urgent or emergency care We do have an in-hospital setting I guess you can call it and then we have that all those auxiliary services so we provide all that stuff and it's all like Compact right in a little little zone there um And so those so that's what i'm saying when I when I was trying to say earlier that a brand new nurse coming out of a a school wouldn't really understand The complexity because you can be asked one day to go here then the next day you're going to go to the emergent area Then over so you don't really have A role you can be asked to replace in all those roles now. There is an assignment. It's a two-year assignment And it's called a post so you once you're there they tell hey This is your post you're going to be in the triage and treatment area for two years But if someone calls off sick, we don't have like Additional staff we have just the staff that we have for e-shift and that's your job And if you don't show up to work that day someone has to cover you so they remove people around So if you're an outpatient clinic and you haven't worked in the triage and treatment area in a year and a half And things do change You get moved there and guess what now you're an emergency room nurse So for someone that's never worked emergency would be the whoa, what am I doing? How do you even treat someone that's just got stabbed and you respond to this alarm or this emergency? And if you're not aware of what you got to do, you know, it's very it's uncomfortable You put yourself at risk give it the patient at risk Although we do yearly for all those things, you know, that doesn't mean that you are really good at it Right or very comfortable with it. So that's why and I always say a new nurse is probably Not the best place for one, you know Um, but yeah, that's kind of what correctional nursing is about. Um The pay is great and the benefits are great There's a pension and so that's the big that's what they lure you in with, you know Hey, we'll give you really good money and Great benefits, you know for the rest of your retired life. So that's that's kind of how they get people will get in there You know and um because it is it's it's a different different animal. I mean, it's not hard it's not bad, but you just have to have a level of experience and You have to understand that you have to accept it, you know, you have to accept it You have to say, okay, my life is going to change because this is now What I do, you know, and there's and yeah, you can you can leave at any time Like it's not give a contract for the rest of your life, but you know It does change and the population is is different. You know, it's very different. You don't have geriatrics mainly mostly You don't have pigs. You don't have women at least in my institution It's just man between the ages of 20 and 55, you know, you have some parameters have some out there, but mostly Young guys that take care of themselves that are stubborn and super healthy freaks and So it's a whole different population seeing a heart rate of 45 50 You know, that's normal, but in our community, that's Almost pretty cardio right or is pretty cardio, you know to us is normal That's that's the whole thing. It's it's kind of different Yeah, but you get used to that Thank you for summarizing that and and really Talking about the different areas And so now that you've been there for, you know, quite some time and have a pretty good understanding of how How the correctional nursing works and for somebody who might be interested in doing that, you know For the benefits and of course for for serving that population Have you ever felt unsafe? And if so, if there is a safety issue, how is that usually handled by the prison? So the it's actually very safe Very very safe So you have correctional officers that are there with you through the whole process And there is the regular correctional officers that oversee The inmate population and they have the correctional officers that oversee your safety when you deal with inmates So there's always plenty of officers around to protect you per se Doesn't mean that you cannot or could potentially get Hurt because there is still a possibility, but You know, you will usually have one or two staff members around you. You're protecting you your safety There's a lot of safety measures. I mean, I've not yet Felt unsafe And I know 50 60 year old ladies that work there that are small and fragile and they're They're still doing it and they've been doing it for years and you figure wow You know, it's it's a very very safe environment. It's not unsafe at all. Initially. It's kind of Different scary. I guess you want to get used to it though, you know So here's the thing it's safe because The inmate population is not there to harm You as a person as long as you have the respect and and you do your job as what it is to Do which is caring for them You'll be fine They don't come that they can't leave their areas. They can't leave their cells It's not permitted unless they're going to go see medical and the only time these guys like I told you They they have this this coat of honor pride that nothing hurts me. I'm invincible But when they get to the point where they realize, oh, you know what? I do need to get this treated They're they're asking for help. So they come to you for help They're not there to go and hurt you because you're the hand that's going to feed them You're going to give them the medication. You're going to give them their their pain management You're going to so they're there for help. They're usually not there Oh, I'm going to go and fake my arm broken and go harm this nurse It there really is no need for that, you know, um, they don't do that They have enough in there on their plate dealing with protecting themselves against each other Then you know worried about this lonely nurse. That's just there to give you, you know Assistance so that's the other thing. That's what I tell Right now my role in institution is I'm one of the nurse instructors So when I do get new personnel and I do have to educate them and and get them introduced to what it is to do The nursing portion of it and that's what I tell them. Don't be afraid of these inmates. They're coming to you For assistance They the vast thing they want to do is hurt you because Then who's going to help them, you know, and that's kind of where you know, okay They as long as you're respectful and and everything usually is still guided by the doctors, right? So doctor Give them this give them that so it's still an order process It's someone computer you still got to do all that stuff So it's the nurse is still just the hands and the ears of the of the mds And so we kind of go through that same process On the other hand, there is a lot of um protocols that we use These protocols are standard and so if we see certain types of uh treatment options or issues, you know, um We use these parameters that we can give certain medications And whatnot without the doctor's consent because they've already been pre-approved by our doctor By our chief medical officer. So we already have these set out And if they fall beyond those parameters, that's when we call our mds for those areas to get new orders and stuff like that So they're kind of like standing orders that you would maybe have at a hospital too sometimes, right? since Yeah, so so thank you again for for sharing that and I know that I've definitely heard of some people being interested in correctional nursing But there is always that little bit of the maybe feeling a little iffy about it So but from what you're describing it makes perfect sense if you're respectful to them just like with any other patient They're going to show you that same respect and I know that That you mentioned that honor code that is super important to to the the inmate population and and Keeping that respect system up. So so that makes perfect So rig now if you were to encounter somebody who's just graduated from nursing school With all your years of experience. What kind of advice would you give them? so when I was um Think of that question, uh, when you send me those questions just to kind of prep for them That was one that that I expanded on and because I I am in The nursing structure position now I was like, you know what? This is something that we should elaborate on And the one thing that comes to mind You know is ask questions If you're a new grad Ask questions and I'm not just saying like now always So the best time to ask a question is when you don't know it And when you're a new grad you don't know it. You haven't experienced you haven't lived it yet. So Don't think you know it, you know, even if you think you know it don't Unless it's something simple, right? But Ask you can just always ask there's someone there to help you. That's the whole point Um, I know there's this big stigma of like, you know, the The nurse the older nurses eat their young and blah blah. Maybe I don't know but most of the time if you ask a question It'll help you either guide you or give you the answer right out, right? So ask questions if you're a new grad and you're doing something you're like, I don't know what this is all about Ask there's nothing wrong with asking that question um And that kind of carries over for the for your whole career um The more experience you gain and the more answers you would answer yourself more questions you would answer yourself, but If you if you doubt yourself or your mind you have like a little I'm not too sure about it. Stop and ask the question. There is nothing wrong with that Um, you can ask the question to yourself. We can ask the question to someone else um, and then when you find the answer then that's it, you know, let's Continue on with your day or continue on with whatever process you were doing But you know, that's something that's going to help you out through your whole career. Just ask questions Never never feel like you need to doubt yourself and do something that you're not a hundred percent sure of So yeah, so if you find uh The other thing would be like finding your career, right? Like I don't know what I want to do. I want to start here. I want to start there. Um Just start, you know do one thing and see if it calls to you. Uh The good thing about our nurses being a nurse is you can actually Step back from a career or a job or an opportunity and move on to the next, you know Because we're in such high demand high need there's so many places you can go Uh and do so if you have not found your calling or or that gig, you know, what you want to do um explore explore start somewhere and move forward. I think I want to say at least Most of us go through that most nurses go through that you start somewhere and From there you're like, okay, I'm going to go over here now Yeah, maybe because you didn't like the job or maybe because you found something else more interesting or you know there's a lot of different reasons why but You know nurses do move around and that's good. That's good, you know And if you're lucky enough to find that you know pediatrics was your thing and you stayed there for 40 years great You know success you did it. You found what you were looking for if you're happy there and that's what you just want to be Perfect, you know, otherwise Explore go out there and you know look for it And I think the asking the question is definitely important What I always tell my students is nobody has all the answers, right? No nurse in the world has been doing this for 50 years. No doctor. No scientist Nobody has all the answers the way we're gonna Safely care for our patients if we continue asking these questions and work and communicate well here I'll be back against the communication That teamwork right because if we all put our brains together And we can care for our patients just in such much more efficient and safe ways. So so thank you for bringing that up again I think that's very very important point So rick in correctional nursing you mentioned that you mostly deal well that you only deal with male patients and You know, there is now more of an influx of male nursing students, but it's still definitely a female dominated career So in your experience what input do you have for male nursing students entering this female dominated profession? I would say enjoy it Enjoy it really. Um, I've always You know found it that I find being a male and it's Is very unique. You know, it gives me um A sense of need. I mean and this is sounds kind of weird, but uh My point is kind of skewed when I went to the nursing program. There was a need for male nurses. So they had allowed They had split my nursing program and there was like 30 students and it was 15 males and 15 nurses And it was through a grant through the state of california and whatnot. So I had you know, 15 guy buddies Going through nursing school with me. So I didn't feel that you know When I went to the er Well, at least in my in the area that I was at in my department at the time It was Half and half there was half, you know, male nurses and half female nurses Um, and then I worked that night. We were receiving more, you know skewed There was more male nurses at night than than females and that that was just it for me Um, but I've seen this before, you know, if you were like, dude, you're a nurse What? You're a guy like friends of mine. Oh, you're a nurse and yeah I am and it's awesome to be unique like that. Like you're a nurse. Wow a guy Yeah, they make faces and whatnot, but it's it's cool and and you know, maybe in at least in my experience I'm always being asked to help, you know, like, oh, you know, you're a strong man Can you come and open this jar for me kind of thing? You know, I mean like they'll find a difficult patient and it's like, hey, can you deal with that? You know, and so that's one of the few drawbacks you know They see a at least in my someone with confidence and and you know, I'm not the smallest guy in the world So they see this bigger guy. Hey, how about you go deal with that difficult patient over there? You know and stuff like that So, you know, usually I got given an assignment and had a special concern right or like always So in other words, he's just the difficult patients and you want me to just deal with it, you know But maybe, you know, that that was just from my experience, but yeah, if you're a male and enjoy it, you know, you're unique That's a very unique spot. Um, and you know what? Sometimes just being a little stronger when it comes to, you know, like physical like being able to lift someone because Hey, you know when they call out for help and you're able to provide that I'm not seeing that when we can't You know, there's tons of women I can out do I can undo push-ups in me any day, but um Uh, it's just it felt nice at the time and like I said, I might use a little skewed because I have been around a lot of male nurses Um, and even now at the corrections, uh, there's a lot of male nurses in my in my area in my prison We're probably about half and half And so it's you know, I've not seen any, you know Any issues there or you know, not felt it at least that you know overwhelming. Um But I have read before and I've seen Um In blogs and whatnot, you know Some male nurses feel like oh my god. I'm I'm being tortured because I'm a guy, you know And again, it just has to do with that whole difficult patient thing, you know, like we'll give it to him and he's a guy I don't know. I haven't had that. Yeah, at least not in my experience And maybe when it does come to that and somebody feels like oh, I always get this assignment with a difficult patient Maybe that would be the time to again communicate and speak up say hey, why do I always get these patients? You know, everybody here has the same qualifications So so why not mix it up? And and you know, you brought the whole qualifications. We're all the same, right is is a thing in the uh correctional setting. Um You know, because we are males and like I told you we're about 50 50, you know Hey, that's a guy you should do with him. Well, you you can also do it You know, you are a nurse. You got hired to be a nurse. It doesn't say male or female You're supposed to be the same job and sometimes, you know, uh, I can tell you we do Some employees that are in their 50s in their older frail or whatever and we expect them to carry this emergency bag It's like 55 pound to run across this area to go save someone's life and you're like really that's like You're talking that's a physical issue. That's not even like I'll they'll want to do it But they physically can't carry a 55 pound bag You know, it it's just that's not I mean, unfortunately I'm gonna get to a point in some point in my life where I'm Too frail to carry a 55 pound bag and run across a yard, you know It's gonna happen. So it there is that point of it where it's just that's just life, you know You can't be too sensitive about that. You know, you just can't do it, you know It'll get there for for all of us at some point So rick out of all those years of nursing whatever Background setting that you had what's your most memorable patient interaction? What's that one that you will never forget? I Well, to be truthful, there there's a lot, right? There's always a lot but when I when I was kind of looking at this I said, you know what? For me, it's it the patient interaction is one thing. It's like, okay, you know Mostly what happened in the ER because that's when you help people the most Um The interaction is with the patient. Yeah, I saved her life. We did this. We did that But it's what the family later. That's when it really counts and it matters The connection have, you know You get connected with this family because at their worst time of this patient's life, right? Because they're having a severe emergency You know, they come to you and they look at you and you're this person that's just doing your job You know, you're moving nine starting IVs. You're doing all this stuff Focusing on your good job and the family seeing you as a hero Like, you know, they're just like, wow, this guy is gonna save my mom my son my daughter, whoever it is the patient right and and when you are done doing your job you know And patient lives you survived You just became a hero to them. You just save their family member You know from death, right? And so that's kind of like Why wouldn't there Be a connection, right? Why would that not, you know be something there? But to tell you the story, you know, um I had a friend I have they're still friends of ours, but uh, they lived And you've been to you know, the hospital where we used to work at, uh There's this big empty lot and there's some housing, you know They lived literally a block and a half away from the hospital from the ER And they had just gotten a pool their daughter was too actually younger than that and We had gone before and hung out with them and you know, so I'm in the pool and what not and that day I was in the ER I was triage because you know, I wasn't charged today. So I had I was doing triage And you know banging at the door you open the door and there's my friend With his two-year-old little daughter, you know in his arms lifeless, you know, and it's like what in the world, right? And He was still looking at his daughter. He not realized it was me there I realized it was him and I'm like, oh my god. He looks up and like you can just see That panic go into this gleam of hope like oh, it's you kind of thing and just hand me the daughter, right? Uh, yeah, and so she lived save her life. She's a beautiful young lady right now and just you know doing her thing and and we're still friends and so that's a great story you know and My friend junie, right? He will always know that Wow, like You know, that's the guy save your life, you know, and that's one of those things that's like super remarkable like I'll go around my by my day, you know and someday run into junie at A target or at the store and then his daughter will be there and he'll be like, hey, you know what? That's the guy that saved your life right there. She might not know what it means or anything, right? I mean but he does You know and I do Right, it's one of those things and of course it wasn't me who saved her life. It was the whole team But I was the guy that he can just say that's him right there, you know, um, and that's happened So many different times. I've been hey, how you doing? How's everything going? Uh, I don't know who you are sir. Oh, you saved my mom's life that one time and and I've gotten though You know, you try to save my my father's life You're like, oh, I don't recall you that because it happens often enough to where over 10 years, you know, you kind of start losing some but You're like, wow, you know, it's still in them like it still impacts them on a daily where they recognize you You know, and I've put on some weight and some hair So, you know, they still recognize me and it's kind of, you know, those are the things that you never forget You know, and it makes the career that that's special, you know Wow made the right choice, you know made the right choice because if you're going to get some sense of satisfaction of what to do Let's say right there, you know, you have found members of impatience. Hey, how you doing? How's everything going? It's really special, you know, and and I think that's that's where you can truly be a hero You know, someone finds you to be That saving grace, you know, but Yeah, so that's just one of my stories To be honest with you, I just had the chills when you told that story about that two-year-old drowning The pediatric ones are the ones that are always special Somehow they I mean as any honors you see so much for the pediatric ones. Oh, yeah That make it they stay with you. They have a special place in your heart And how lucky for you that you I mean living in a small community, right? I'm sure you come across your patients your former patients and their family members quite often And how nice is it to get that recognition in the community? right, you know not for The nurses have been the most trusted professional for how many years in a row in this country and and and this is exactly why This is exactly why and I think that's why a lot of us are in this Given all the difficulties and circumstances and bad things that we deal with but that's exactly it That's why what are we doing? So thank you for summarizing that so well Ah the memories of times So Rick, what do you do in your free time and for kind of work-life balance to to really balance yourself and in unwind and relax so I like it, you know, I've already explained that I'm kind of a of a drilling kind of guy and uh, that's Slow down with the years right because I you know grew up a little bit Have family kids and whatnot. So usually my family time is really important That doesn't help me relax, but Keep in mind busy, but for me After I deal with my family's, uh, you know stuff that we do and have our fun If follows to say that what would you do if you had a free week? Uh, I just did that for my birthday. I do mountain biking. I love mountain biking That's gives me that rush gives me the feeling of being a kid again The excitement of the whoops the dips and the jumps and just kind of being out there, you know risking falling, you know Busted my lip or something, you know Um, I enjoy that there's a lot of freedom in riding a bicycle Especially out in you know in the wilderness in the woods or or in the in the in the mountains Um, and that's what gets the thrill out of it You know that that's the portion that allows me to go back and be you know with my inner child and you know Give me that fun that freedom, uh, which is important to say young, you know In the mind and in the heart. So, uh, that's really really good Uh, and then for my day to day, you know, it's yoga. It has to be yoga And the reason why I practice yoga Initially, my wife got into it and I thought it was the silliest thing. I was like what in the world, you know I did not understand it, right? I was like, but again, you have to experience it to understand it, you know They can tell you what it is and that's a lot of folks are like, well, what is that? What are you doing? You know, it's yoga and they're like, oh, okay, it sounds nice, you know But once you start practicing then you you you get into it You start understanding it and I understood and understood it more once I became a Like an instructor, you know become once you do your your instructor quarters and stuff like that Then you really understand what it's about Um, and I use yoga and meditation, you know, uh, when I say yoga I kind of mean both yoga and meditation because it kind of go hand in hand Um It helps me today. It helps me to stay focused to stay aware of myself Um You know mind body and spirit. It's it's all into one and the reason why yoga helps me is because it keeps me in the moment Um If I have some sort of stress or whatnot, you know, I've understood how to sit down Take the time to reflect to look inward and say, okay What's going on? Why am I stressed about this thing? And then you kind of just self talk self think, you know Breathing allowing that breath to clear your mind and and it does really Bring you in and it helps you understand. Okay So what I'm really upset about is this not what I thought I was upset about So then it kind of guides you into how to resolve that issue internally So any external factor doesn't affect you and so it's it's kind of hard to I mean you have to understand it Like live it do it a few times And then you kind of start. Oh, okay, you know, and so people always. Oh, how come you're still calm and zen all the time? Well, not that I am I scream all the time my kids No, it's more like I help myself Be aware of why I feel that way Um, it doesn't mean that you stop being You know An angry person or you can't have those feelings or those emotions because then that's not true You know, you have to have those emotions. You have to be, you know Overwhelmed at points at times. That's part of life But how you deal with that You know is the the whole point of it. How do you deal with it? Do you just go off on this rager and start yelling and scribbling to everybody, you know Or do you just take the time take a step back and say, but why why is this happening to me? And once you understand the reason then you can calmly adjust to that fix it if you have to or just Understand and how to deal with it You know, so it's that's what it is for me. It's it's yoga and on a day to day and then That goes along with meditation and when I want some excitement in my life It's just from free and wild that go right on my bike You know go ride my bike and so that's what I do That was a beautiful explanation of yoga and meditation and how it really helps this whole mind body spirit connection And I I'm a huge believer, you know that in this stuff as well and sometimes You know when I deal with my nursing students who are Really stressed and anxious and they're trying to juggle school and work and their families and and you know We've all been to nursing school. It's a heck of a time So I always tell them You are the most important person in my life If you don't take care of yourself first, you can't really take care of anyone else, right? And and many people don't have the time Well, I don't think they have the time to take this you know Self-reflect and see what's really going on inside and to really Understand where these emotions are coming from because we're in there We've all been angry and frustrated and sad and all these emotions. It's just natural. It's just human But I think the practice of yoga and meditation just teaches you better to Look at yourself first and then deal with your own emotions before you react Towards others and that's just such an important tool Then unfortunately, you can't just pick up from a textbook. You kind of have to go out and experience it like you said So anybody out there, you know, really looking into this find a yoga studio find a yoga instructor find somebody who can help you with that and there's plenty of podcasts and Apps and meditation tools out there that'll kind of teach you how to how to do that and become a calmer I almost want to say better person Because when you're more calm you become that better person that is able to deal with With issues that life throws you a little bit easier. Yeah, and that's that's that's really really true. You do become um And like you said, it's hard to say it that way like a better person like oh, I do yoga So I'm a better person. No, that's not I know that's not what you mean exactly. It's just You're a better person to yourself You know, and when you're a better person internally You know, you just become a better person everyone else kind of feels it and notices it and so It all becomes better. It's just really, you know And again, you have to like read into it and kind of kind of experience it to understand what that means, but um you know Once you start kind of following those you focus refocus you kind of understand your goals become clear and then you there's just a whole different Balance to your life and that's honestly, that's all it is right You want to balance the good with the bad and the hard with the easy and and all that so Once you understand the balance You understand or you know how to adjust it towards the good You know and so less Bad stuff happens because you understand the good and and you know how to deal with the bad with the good. So in the end You just you feel like you're a better person You know, whether someone else sees it or calls you on it. It doesn't really matter because again The only person that understands yourself or knows yourself is you there's no other way and uh I had a hard time with that initially believe me. I They're like, oh, it doesn't matter. You have to let that go and I was like, I can't I can't let that go It's like in my face But then you do then you start understanding like, okay, that's not what Important right now. This is what and so once you started understanding that kind of stuff Your your goals get adjusted and your refocus things, you know, your five-year plan becomes Unexistent and it's now a 10-year or becomes a one-year plan and you know, but it's it's it's you know The environment that we all live in could be very volatile or could Not right and what I always tell my kids and that's one of those, you know, things I learned You know, it's like you don't have to be where you're at You can reinvent yourself at any time you want If you're in a bad situation in a bad relationship in a bad spot in your life Stop right there And reinvent yourself go the opposite direction You don't have to continue to let's say for example your job. You're at an employment Man, let's keep just not working out for we'll stop working there You know, it's easier said than that, right? But the whole point is you can stop at any given moment and start somewhere else and just really change your direction You don't have to continue so a lot of folks have a hard time in Doing that and understanding that and luckily, you know part of being a nurse is that there is tons of opportunity You are able to just go from one end to the other You don't like the west coast go to the east coast You don't like pediatrics go to the emergency room, you know There's a lot of different things you can do and our career our job is one of those that is Universal, you know universal you can do it anywhere And you can change your your title you can change what you do And then there's always upward mobility to go with that So you don't always have to be a line nurse you can become management You can become instructor, you know, you can make there's so many different things you can do with it and so Yeah to the nurses out there reinvent yourself You're not happy where you're at change your stars go somewhere else You know and uh, you'll find your thing you find your gig you know, but uh That's that's true very uncertain life out there right now but You know find some hobby something to do and Find your thing find your niche Well said rick. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise in nursing specifically correctional nursing That was really enlightening to me too because I really honestly didn't know too much about it either And then also about this work-life balance that I think doesn't get emphasized enough. So thank you for sharing your experience Thank you rick. I'll see you soon