Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: This is the All One Nurse podcast, where we are bridging the gap between the stethoscope and the soul and getting back to the human side of healthcare.
Powered by Riverside.
Did you know that nursing not only has to be a calling, but can also be a paid position? I believe Sarah Lorenzini said it best. She believes nursing is a calling, but she's not trying to do it for free. Welcome to this episode of the All One Nurse podcast, where I'm your host, Chanel Tompkins. And today we have an absolutely inspiring guest with us who is revolutionizing the nursing world. Joining us is none other than Farrah Laurent, dmp, a powerhouse in the field of career coaching. Nurse career coaching, nurse entrepreneurship and leadership. Farrah in education. Farah is not just a career coach. She's a career catalyst, empowering nurses to break barriers and achieve the professional success they deserve. She's also a media, social media dynamo that creates content that educates, motivates, and uplifts others. And if that wasn't enough, she's the acclaimed author of the game changing book, Nurses Making Money Moves. Nurses Making Money Moves. It's a must read to anyone who is ready to take control of their financial future, especially as nurses, because we give so much. But sometimes I think we feel we're such givers that we don't know how to receive or put ourselves in a position to receive, especially when we're thinking about the financial aspect, especially those of us who are just big givers. So if you're a big giver and you're still like, I need to do more or I'm not fully satisfied or I am just struggling. Chanel, could I need help? I think that this episode is definitely, definitely for you because Farah is going to drop some gems that I promise you. It's like, okay, can we, can I get Farrah back here again? Again? With Farah's unmatched enthusiasm and optimism, optimistic spirit, she's here to share her wisdom, ignite your ambition, and remind you that bold impacts start with bold moves. So whether you're a new nurse or a seasoned professional, this episode is packed with insights to transform your career and your life. So grab your coffee or tea or your favorite drink. Get, get comfortable and let's dive right in. Now, before we dive in, go ahead and click that subscribe button or follow, depending on where you're tuning in from. And of course, the more subscribers, the bigger the podcast gets, the more I'm able to reach more awesome guest speakers. And as a subscriber, most Importantly, you won't miss another episode. And just being here, I'm so grateful that you're here with us. So let's dive right in. Hey, Sarah, how are you?
[00:03:17] Speaker B: Good. How are you?
[00:03:18] Speaker A: Good. Welcome. Welcome to the All One Nurse podcast.
[00:03:21] Speaker B: Thank you so much for having me. So excited to be here and to be on the podcast.
[00:03:26] Speaker A: Yes. Now tell us a little bit about you.
[00:03:29] Speaker B: Sure. So I'll give you the. Try to give you the short version. So I've been a nurse for about 20 years now. I started my career in Canada, and then I always tell the story where nursing school. It was my senior year, and my clinical instructor asked me what type of nurse I wanted to be. And I said, well, I want to be an ER nurse, because I used to watch Trauma Life in the er and I was like, that's the nurse I want to be. I love the action, I love the drama. And she was like, farrah, you'll never be an emergency nurse. You should go to med surg. You're too unorganized. It's never going to happen. So of course, as a student, I was like, oh, my gosh, like, how can she say this, right? And I was crushed just for a little bit. And then in like, true, fair fashion, I'm like, who's this lady telling me what I can and can't do? And I was like, okay, watch me. So literally in my senior year, got into the emergency department. In my last rotation, I made great relationships. And they're like, fair, you should apply. So I applied. Not only did I get an ER position, I got two offers from two separate hospitals. So of course I picked the trauma hospital and it was just over from there. Like, any time in my career, someone has told me no. I'm like, all right, I'm just going to find a different way to get what it is that I need to get done. So that happened, you know, so fast forward, I left Canada, moved to New York City to pursue travel nursing as an ER nurse. So moving to New York City was one of the best moves ever because not only for my career, it, like helped advance me, but I feel like for my mindset, the way I move, like, I move a lot differently because, you know, New York is New York. It's like, you gotta move fast. And they just have like a can do attitude about anything. So that's kind of what I've adopted throughout my career. After that, I went into education, but of course, it took me some time to get into education positions again. I had a nurse manager told me that I would never be an educator because I didn't have the soft skills to do it. And I was like, what? And I was like, whatever. Of course, you know, ran into some discrimination and things like that, but I didn't let that stop me. You know, as nurses, we're so adaptable, and we just have to keep doing what we want to do. We just find a different way. So not only did I get two offers at the same time, I got a faculty position at NYU School of Nursing, and I negotiated four day week so I could also be a clinical educator at the same time. And then fast forward went into some leadership roles. Even though I was told I didn't have leadership experience as a nurse manager, I made it up to director of Education, all the way up to associate dean. So that's kind of been my journey. And then throughout nursing said, well, I'm always mentoring new nurses. I'm always helping them with career guidance. Naturally, I opened my business as a nurse career coach called Fair Laurent International nurse coach in 2021 and have been, you know, helping these new nurses land their specialty areas in less than 90 days. So that's kind of what I've been doing, along with some speaking, you know, and doing some other events that I just recently have done for. For nurses who are aspiring nurse entrepreneurs. That's kind of been, in a nutshell, my nursing career.
[00:06:45] Speaker A: You've been busy, Farrah. You've been busy.
[00:06:48] Speaker B: Yes, yes. And an author, too. And I got my doctorate a DNP with two strong kids. Yes.
[00:06:56] Speaker A: I'mma tell you, we. I know we met, like, on LinkedIn.
[00:07:00] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:07:01] Speaker A: And just leading up to this episode, I felt like you were in my devotion time. Like, you were calling me. We were, you know, talking about something that you have coming up, and I'm just like, farrah, are you listening to my devotion? Because you are. You're just the epitome of, like, hey, let's. Let's go get it. Let's make impact. Let's go get it. And just even talking with you earlier over the phone was just about getting into a business mindset or entrepreneurial mindset. As a nurse. Yes, as a nurse. And you're helping other nurses, and you're working hard for yourself. And so it's like, how. Even for myself, how do I get in that position to, like, Chanel, it's okay to provide value.
It's okay to even be compensated for it, or just seeing things from a different lens, because I believe as nurses, we're so used to giving. I'M so used to, like, being bedside and providing care.
[00:07:55] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:07:55] Speaker A: Even a lot of my guests have been someone who still practice in some form or fashion. Right. And so to have you as a coach, but you're not coaching patients per se, but new nurses, I think that's just so awesome. So awesome.
[00:08:11] Speaker B: I think. Thank you for all that. I appreciate it. Because, you know, I naturally was just doing it all the time, not getting paid for it, but I found such a joy in coaching nurses with career guidance, but particularly new grads, because it was almost like I was helping myself when I was a new nurse. So that's why I was so, you know, like, so drawn to the new graduate nurse, because there's not a lot of support out there for them. Yes, there's residency programs and things like that, but not everybody has that, especially if you are a nurse that may not have particular resources or mentors to help you. Right. And also in nursing school, you know, this is a whole nother episode, but some faculty were not that diverse. Right. So when you don't see diverse faculty who look like you, who can support you, who understand you, it's a little different. Right. So that's why I was so, you know, excited to be able to support these new graduate nurses and make them think, like, what I say, Badass nurses. No. Nursing school, I almost feel like, takes away your confidence a little bit. Right. Like, yes, they try to build you up and have you ready, but it's like they put so much fear into you, like, don't make a mistake. So I believe in the opposite. Build up their confidence so they're like, I have the resources. I'm good enough. I can start anywhere I want to start as long as I have a good organization that supports me so that they can look for healthy work environments that support them in education so that they could thrive but not push them towards med surg like they're still doing, because you don't even have to start in the hospital. You could start an outpatient, and I want people to start normalizing that for nurses, for new nurses. So that's why I was so passionate about it, because I started on the ER and people were looking at me like I was crazy, but I was like, let the nurses go where they want to go. And same thing with entrepreneurship. You know, we're not pulling anybody away from the bedside, but you could still be a bedside nurse or work full time and have a side hustle. And it doesn't necessarily have to be something in nursing or in health care. You Know, I talked to someone recently who's interested in doing events like birthday parties and weddings and she wants to do her own event planning company. And I was like, go for it. And I talked to her about opening up her own llc. By the way, the book I'm talking about is Nurses Making Money Moves A Nurse's Guide to Starting a Business. Because literally the reason I named it that is because nurses don't like talking about money. And we need to normalize that. It's okay because we've been put in this profession, we're like, oh, it's a calling. You know, we're helping people. So it's like when we want to be compensated or ask for more, we feel bad about it, but we shouldn't because we're providing a service that's literally saving lives.
[00:11:01] Speaker A: That's true. Yeah.
[00:11:02] Speaker B: You know, we are the largest workforce and we provide so much and we could do so many different things. So this is why I'm really on a mission to help change nurses mindset when it comes to business. Mindset money. And even if you don't want to start a business, you should, should be negotiating your salary, making more money, understanding financial literacy so that you don't have to work two, three jobs just to make ends meet.
[00:11:29] Speaker A: You said a lot. And one thing I realized, even as nurses, like we are licensed, nobody takes that nclex but you for that license. So you are a brand all by yourself when you maintain your licensure and go out and provide services based on your license. So it's like, how do we see ourselves as that brand? And I can only assume because I haven't done travel nursing, but with travel nurses, one thing I do appreciate about them, like they are their own brand, like M so and so rn. This is my expertise and this is where I'm willing to take a contract at and this is where I'm not willing to take a contract at or you take a contract and it's like, this is not working out. Thank you for your time.
[00:12:10] Speaker B: Yeah, this is the thing, and I think it's not just for travel nurses, but any nurse number one, even if you're a nursing student or a new grad. And this is something that I been focusing on is really teaching nurses like you mentioned to focus and be intentional about building their personal brand. Whether you know it or not, you are a brand. You don't necessarily have to have a business to have a personal brand, but you do have a brand. And this is something that has hurt me in my career early on because I think I didn't manage my personal brand in the beginning. I was like, what are they talking about? Like, I'm an emergency nurse. Somebody said, fair, you should, like, like, you know, think about yourself as a brand. I'm like, what are you talking about? Right? But honestly, in simple words, a brand is not. Is like kind of like your reputation, but something that you're managing. And it's like how people see you, how they perceive you, how they feel when they're around you, and really what they're saying about you when you're not in the room. So are people speaking about you in a positive way that says, hey, you should promote this person, or, hey, I think this nurse could be a great speaker at your next conference. Or, you know, I have this nurse that I think is an expert in this area. Maybe you can do this and this. But we need to see ourselves as a brand and not only work on our image, because that's important. You know, how people see you. Like, when I first was a new nurse, I was like, I don't care about my uniform. Like, it used to be wrinkled. I'm like, I don't care. And I'm so, like, such a laid back person. And then later I realized, like, really, image makes a difference because you're judged. Like, first impressions really do matter. Right. Both in business and in your career. So I think that's important. And the better your personal brand is, and the more you manage it, the more opportunities you'll attract and will come to you. And another thing nurses need to do better at is, like, making the ask and also networking. I didn't understand the power of networking. And a lot of times I saw it, like, I don't want to, like, suck up to this person or like, whatever, but this is the way of the world. Like, it's all about who you know.
And it's not so much a transaction, but it's like, hey, I can connect you with this person or that person. And it's like you become a service to others, and then people will refer you or whatever it is, or connect you with other people. It's so powerful.
[00:14:44] Speaker A: Yeah. Now that's very insightful. So in all that you've said, what is your main takeaway, Farrah, and how can others connect with you?
[00:14:53] Speaker B: So I'm gonna say I'm gonna go back to. So I know we didn't get into it, but I recently hosted my first conference ever. And y'all, I never have felt thrown an event ever before. And I always say Like, God was my event planner, because I did it in less than three months, and I made it come to life. It was basically a conference for aspiring nurse entrepreneurs, nurse entrepreneurs and business owners who are in the, like, finance space, speaking space. And we all came together because I truly believe nursing needs to learn from other industries. Not only in our personal, like nursing career for personal development or in our business, but we need to learn from other industries. So that's why I brought all these wonderful women on International Women's Day in Tampa, Florida. So there was about, like over 70 people in attendance. And the theme of the conference was what I truly believe in, which is visibility, networking, and impact. So I always say, no matter what impact you're trying to make in nursing or in life in general, people need to know about you. If they don't know about you, they don't know what you're selling, they don't know what you're doing. Even if you have a nonprofit, they can't support you. So you need to be visible in the sense of both have a social media or digital footprint where basically you're top of mind and also in person. You need to network and go to events and be in the right room so that you can have these opportunities, connect with the right people so that you can make that impact. And all of this really starts out with having a growth mindset, having that entrepreneurial mindset and an abundance mindset and being open to receive. Because like you said nurses a lot, we're always giving, but we need to be in a positive mindset to say, hey, you know, it all starts with gratitude and then abundance and say, God wants me to receive and I am open to receive. And that's it. Because we're not good receivers.
[00:16:57] Speaker A: We're not. We're not. We just had this conversation.
[00:17:00] Speaker B: Yeah. And really that's what it is. And I always say, when you have direction and when. When you know what your purpose is and what impact you want to make, you will always know what to do next. You don't have to necessarily figure it out. I truly believe, like I said, in God, in prayer and manifesting, and the right people will come into your life to get you to that impact that you want to make. But you need to speak about it. You need to be about it. You need to take action and really be visible.
[00:17:29] Speaker A: Now, how can my listeners connect with you? Farrah?
[00:17:33] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:17:33] Speaker A: You bring this wealth of knowledge.
[00:17:35] Speaker B: I'm all about creating content. I'm also a social media content creator. They can find me on Nurse Farrah.com, which is my website. You could subscribe to my newsletter on there, and you can subscribe to my podcast, the Nursing Dose with Farah. And they can find me on LinkedIn, but literally, just Google me and you will. You will find me, we'll connect, and then I have a bunch of different events coming up. A mastermind will be coming up. I don't know if this episode will air before that, but contact me if you are interested in elevating your career in nursing. If you feel stuck, you want to do something different, or if you want to start a business or you're in business, you're like, man, I need to get more clients. I don't know how to do the social media thing. Connect with me and then connect with Chanel as well. Thank you so much for the opportunity, and I'm sure we'll do this again.
[00:18:24] Speaker A: Yes. Thank you so much, Farrah.
[00:18:27] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:18:30] Speaker A: Now, as I wrap up this episode, I told you Farrah would leave us with some gems. That was so worth tuning into some of my takeaways. I'm gonna list about four, but there's so much more. One, do not let others tell you what you ought to be doing, because Farrah had someone to tell her, almost like, at every transition that she shouldn't pursue whatever it was that she was pursuing. So imagine what she would be doing if she allowed what others thought about her to determine her journey. Now, thanks to those naysayers, they have truly, I believe, shaped her goal to help new nurses now move along the way. Now, Farah is just very impactful, and it is all about action instead of excuses with Farah. And my second takeaway is that she's helping me find myself in this new space as a podcaster. And, you know, also got my nursing blog that has so much to offer, particularly telling me that, hey, it's okay to pass the baton to nursing students, to new nurses coming up behind me and being okay with that. And people like Farrah and my other awesome guest speakers who have been on the all in One Nurse podcast are making the nursing profession so much more worth being a part of it. Now. My third takeaway is being confident, building the confidence of our new nurses and nursing students along the way, changing the narrative and understanding that new nurses do not have to start out on med surg, even though it is okay to start on med surg now. Fourth takeaway is nurses seeing ourselves as a brand. We carry our own license, and we need to learn how to negotiate our worth. Just being honest, not even diving all the way into the entrepreneurship aspect of it, but understanding that it's okay to have a side hustle that may not even be related to healthcare or nursing, and also normalizing that it's okay to talk about money in spite of nursing being a calling and it's okay to be compensated for our service. Now just on the topic of being a brand, for me, it's like what do people say about you in your absence? And you have to think, do your name go before you in places that will create opportunities for you and that alone will enhance your ability to network, which is another takeaway. Network with others that you haven't even met yet. When your name goes before you because you are a brand and how you carry yourself matters. Now. I hope this episode blessed you just as much as it has blessed me. Go and follow Farrah on Instagram to stay up to date with a lot of the important events that she has coming up for just this year. And I'm going to drop how to connect with Farrah and myself in the episode description below. And coming up on the podcast is a episode on the heart of Bedside nursing challenges and realities that nurses face and some empowering affirmations for nurses. And don't forget to subscribe so that you can stay tuned and listen to some of my more awesome guest speakers who should be coming on talking about maternal health, especially in women of color, men's health, and and so much more. Please leave a positive review and a five star rating for the podcast. And as Nurse Farah says and I my hope for you is to leave this episode with having a growth mindset, an entrepreneurial mindset if that's your thing, an abundance mindset, and being open to receive and do all of this with a mindset of gratitude. Until next time, let your light shine. Bye.
