Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Did you know that first year nurses
[00:00:03] Speaker B: experience the highest turnover of any group?
[00:00:07] Speaker A: That reality is staggering, but it also tells us something important.
You are not alone, and your growth matters.
[00:00:19] Speaker B: Welcome to the All One Nurse Podcast, where we are bridging the gap between the stethoscope and the soul through real nursing stories and nursing conversations.
Here, our mission is simple. To get back to the human side of healthcare.
I'm your host, nurse Chanel Tompkins, and I'm also your mentor and nurse educator. And this space was created just for you to breathe, to learn, to grow, and most importantly, feel supported no matter where you are in your nursing journey.
So take a deep breath and let's step into your next breakthrough.
[00:01:03] Speaker A: Welcome back to a place you belong. If you are overwhelmed, stressed, seeking guidance, you love stories, and most importantly, you need some encouragement and insights, especially as a aspiring new nurse. You're in the right place and I'm glad that you found this space. So go ahead and click, subscribe from wherever you're tuning in from, and be sure to share this episode with someone.
I'm your host, Chanel Tompkins, and I pray over each and every listener. And before we jump in today, I want to give you some updates and some celebrations. I recently won a Daisy Award for extraordinary nurse educator, and I am gratefully honored as a staff development specialist, who I tell physicians all the time who ask me, what do you do now? I tell them, I develop nurses, I develop staff. And they just laugh. But I do not take it lightly. I love what I do. I love pouring into new nurses and nursing staff because some of our nursing staff do go on to be nurses as well. Now, I also celebrated my 20th high school reunion with some awesome classmates. They are still just as fun as they were back in the day back in 2006. And. And I was invited for the first time to speak at a woman's event called Waiting to Excel. And I am so thankful for Ms. Terry because she wanted me to speak to them about stress, what it is. And I spoke to them about how stress affects us as women across our lifespan. Because stress looks different in our teens and twenties than it does in our seventies and eighties.
[00:02:50] Speaker B: Right?
[00:02:51] Speaker A: Big gap, but you get the point. And why is all this important? Well, because I want you to know a little more about me as a person and not just as a podcast host. Just like our patients, they're not just numbers. They are more than just a patient. They are more than their diagnosis. So enough about me, and let's focus more about getting out of our own way. But before we get go, there is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month and I've added a donation link in the show notes for the National Breast Cancer foundation who provides help and hope for those facing breast cancer. And I have invited Dr. Devin Owens, someone I'm related to through marriage, because she has documented her lived experience going through her diagnosis and treatment and recovery with breast cancer. And she can really pour into you and myself as healthcare providers because as nurses we know a lot about everything, but we become experts in one thing. And even as an expert on the side of providing care, it's still just as important to understand what patients experience see so that we can provide the best care that's actually patient focused. So I'm excited. So be looking out for Dr. Devin Owens. Now today we're going to talk about something that hits home, I believe for most of us and that's getting out of our own way and getting out of our own minds. We're going to talk about our mindset, faith and works and how our feelings, they matter, but they shouldn't lead us. And then I want to leave you with some end of the semester reminders. So number one, the mind as a barrier. We know that sometimes the biggest obstacles in our lives isn't the job or our finances or the kids or our circumstances. Sometimes it is us. It's our overthinking, our fears, our hesitation and doubts or our need to have everything perfect in our little minds before we start. Start what, Chanel? Start whatever it is that God has told you to do. And we tend to get stuck in our heads right where we're playing these doubts. We're rehearsing our failures. And we could have failed. Just as this morning I failed during the school week with the kids, with homework.
I don't want to talk about it. And if you're like me, sometimes we can imagine some of the worst case scenarios and before we know it, we've talked ourselves out of the very thing that God has told us to do or trying to provide for us.
So what do we do with that? I encourage you to take a self evaluation of what you're actually telling yourself and to replace the negative stinking thinking with God's word and what God says about you. Because we were all created, last time I checked, we were all birthed from someone's womb. And so who are we as the created to tell the Creator anything, Anything. Now he is concerned about you and he is in love with you. And he loves us so much, right, that he gave his only begotten son to die on a cross for our sins and rise again with all power in his hands. And but as his child, no matter what our earthly fathers did, we have a really good father that we can call Abba. And he loves us, he sees us, he knows us, he knows the number of hairs on our head. So if we are just that important to him, then I think it's very important that we know what his word says about us. And we can deposit what his word says, enter our minds into our hearts, and start to confess and profess those things over our lives. Because if someone came up to you and started to prophesy death, sickness, disease, hurt, pain, lost, lost, you will be like if you don't get out my way. So how much more important is it that we do not speak? Death, sickness, disease, pain, hurt, grief over our own lives, into our own minds. Anxiety, fear. No. So evaluate what you're thinking and then be sure to watch what you're saying into the atmosphere. So as you change your mindset, you change the way you speak, the way you talk to your situations, the way you talk to yourself, the way you talk to your circumstances, the way you talk to your nursing instructor, the nursing program, that nursing assignment, right? The way you talk to your first shift back on the unit, the way you talk to your kids, the way we talk about our circumstances, our situations, our loved ones, our friends, our work, our workplace, our colleagues. So I encourage you, evaluate what you're thinking, get rid of that stinking thinking and start to move forward by thinking on the words of God. And I heard someone say, taking one scripture out of the Bible and performing that one scripture is better than knowing the whole Bible and not doing anything at all. So one scripture I want to leave you with is out of Philippians. Do not be anxious for anything, but through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your request known to God. That's not the end of it. But I want to leave you with that little nugget so that as you go out during your day, hey, I don't have to be anxious for anything because my father told me I did not have to be anxious for anything.
And you're like Chanel, those are just words. Well, God tells you that his word would not return back void. And it is powerful, alive and active, sharper than any two edged sword. And you have to believe that. So again, going back to your mind, you have to make up your mind, do I believe what the word of God says about me? And that leads to my second point, your faith. Having faith so as you get your mind right, or as we get our minds right. Excuse me. And we build our faith. James reminds us in the Book of James, chapter two, that faith without works is dead. And I believe most of us may have heard this before. Faith without works is dead. So what does that mean, Chanel? That means that we can have faith that we're going to get into that nursing program. We can have faith that I'm going to be a nurse, but if I don't put in the work, it's not going to happen.
So show me your faith, and I'll show you my faith with my deed. I have faith that this podcast platform is going to grow. But if I never make another episode, guess what?
Faith without works is dead. This podcast is going to be dead. So we have to do the work. And on the flip side of that, I want you to think about those of you who may be doing the work. If you are doing the work, but your faith is wavering, that's not living. Works without faith is not living. Why go through a nursing program? And you're angry, you're upset, you're complaining.
Do you want to be a nurse or not? If you are doing the work and you're doing it well, also have a good attitude about it. Because when we complain, I truly believe that we rob ourselves of the capacity to find solutions for whatever the discomfort is versus complaining and not seeking a solution at all. But again, it takes a shift in our mindset. So as you shift your mindset, as you put in the work with faith, with a good attitude and working, as if you're working unto God, then know that your feelings or our feelings can sometimes rob us of our opportunities. Which leads me into my next point.
Doing the work even when we don't feel like it. I once heard that feelings have a place. If we're in a vehicle, our feelings have a place, but they shouldn't be in our driver's seat. Our feelings should not drive us, but we also cannot suppress our feelings in the trunk of the car, of the vehicle either. But we do use our feelings as indicators in the direction that we may need to go or think on before just going full force into that path or that direction. Our feelings are good indicators, but they are not good dictators. So don't let them dictate how your day should go or how things should be or how you do your work or if you should do your work or not. No, keep moving, keep working, keep showing up, even when your mood is off, even when you may feel a little confused or a little overwhelmed. It's the small consistent steps that matter to make progress over time. And with nursing school, you may not be able to go to a accelerated program or you may not be able to attend a bachelor's level program. Okay, get your associates at a two year community college. You may not be able to do the two year program for your associates degree in nursing. Okay, get an LPN license. It's a nursing license. No matter your circumstances, if nursing is something that you really want to do, you got to get out of your own way and do what's best for you. Not comparing yourself to the next person but God, what is it that I need in this day? What do I need to do right now to keep moving forward? To keep moving forward. So I want you to know your feelings are real, but they are not your leader. Seek God in all things. Trust in the Lord and He will direct your path. And some other scriptures that I wanted to share with you is Galatians 6:9 let us not grow weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap. If we faint not. Trust that God is doing a new thing in you.
And then of course, Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Short but powerful scriptures nonetheless. And let them anchor you when your mind tries to speak to you in a negative way. Because negative thoughts will come, but we get to choose what thoughts we keep. So as I wrap up this episode and we step into this next season as your semester is coming to an end. If you're in nursing school or getting ready to graduate in December, congratulations for transitioning jobs because maybe you've been a nurse for a year now. Congratulations to you as well. But there are some things I want you to remember is as the seasons actually change, we know that flu season is among us. And so you'll see a lot of respiratory patients, Covid flu and rsv. Remember to be safe, especially if you're in clinicals or you're actually working at the bedside. Remember to follow your PPE guidelines in isolation. Take care of yourself. Build your own immune system up for my graduates during the time of this recording, you want to start thinking about applying to nurse residency programs, putting your bid in and updating your resume. And remember to give yourself grace. And for my one year nurse or my two year nurse, depending on where you are and what goal you gave yourself on the current unit that you're working, I want you to pray about your next steps. You may need to pray and fast so that you can really lean into what God has for you, especially if you plan to go travel. All money isn't good money, but money do solve a lot of problems. But definitely pray and fast if you're able to, about your next steps. And just know that I believe in you and I'm rooting for you in this next season in transition, if you're deciding to change paths. And guess what, you don't have to change paths. If you like where you're at, if you love it, if you feel led to stay where you're at, stay what makes sense for you. Because other people will tell you what you ought to do, what you should do, but what makes sense for you. And when I say other people, I'm not talking about your spouse, if you're married, because y' all are one and the decisions you make affects both of you. So I have to put out that disclaimer. Don't say Chanel, say it. Okay. And so give yourself grace. Start thinking about certifications. If you've been working for a while, if you want to get certified, I need to get certified. We can hold each other accountable here. Which leads to my call to action for you, which is to join me in the ah, nurse community on Facebook. And that is w w.facebook.com backslash groups backslash all one nurse. A l l O N E Nurse Private community. And feel free to come in. Be your bubbly self, be your anxious self, be your fearful self, or be your resilient self. Come ask questions. We pray together. We meet together every Thursday evening around 7:00pm Central Time, except for the last Thursday of the month. I'm excited and I welcome you to follow All One Nurse on social media. And again, we're on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and of course we have the All One Nurse community. So I hope this has blessed you.
I hope you take something from this episode today, getting out of your own way as far as your mindset, evaluating your mindset, and then starting to meditate on the word of God and watching what you speak to yourself as well as to others and into the atmosphere.
And then faith. Have the faith, but also put in the work. Faith without works is dead. And remember to keep doing the work, even when you don't feel like it. Don't give up on you, even in your failures. Learn how to fail forward. That's my encouragement for you. Until next time, keep letting your light shine.
Bye.
