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.
[00:00:15] Speaker B: Powered by Riverside.
[00:00:33] Speaker A: Welcome back to the all one Nurse podcast, where I'm your host, Nurse Chanel, and I have Doctor Brian Bogard, who works in one of the highest paid nursing careers out there, known as Crna, and that is a certified registered nurse anesthesist. But before we get into what all is like being a crna and what it takes to get there, I also want to point out that Doctor Bogard is also a man of God, a husband, a father, and a nurse. I've personally gotten the pleasure of working with Doctor Bogard in the Cvicu many years ago, and I can just remember him being a man of good character. So welcome, Doctor Bovard.
[00:01:13] Speaker B: Thank you for having me, Chanel. You can call me Brian.
[00:01:16] Speaker A: Thank you. Yes, Brian. So, as we get into this conversation today, we are definitely going to dive into Brian's professional journey, his personal insights, which includes his motivation and challenges, as well as his patient perspective, which may include any personal experiences that has influenced his role or approach as a crna. And then, of course, his expertise in his current role as a crna. I'm just excited to get right into it, Brian. So tell us your origin story.
[00:01:48] Speaker B: So, when we look at the origin of, you know, just becoming in a healthcare profession, my family always told me that I was always caring, that I always wanted to look out for people. So naturally I thought I was going to be a veterinarian. But, you know, things changed. I went to school and my first degree was actually in biology. And, you know, I was trying to figure it out, maybe that being physical therapy, pharmacy, or actually going to medical school. And I just so happened to meet a crna in that transition of trying to figure out what my next life was going to be, and here I am. So this is who you have. I've always been a servant since a kidde, so it's just reiterating it as being a nurse.
[00:02:29] Speaker A: Got you. Now, tell the listeners where you're from.
[00:02:32] Speaker B: Okay, born and raised. Okay.
Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. I have a brother who's eleven years older than me, so I was kind of like the only child for a while. I love playing sports. I'm very big into my religion, so if you hear anything about God in Christ, you probably gonna hear a lot about it today, because that's what, you know, that's who made me who I am. I'm very I was very close to my grandmother before she passed, so she was very, she was a servant as well. That's kind of where my servitude, where I get all that passion to give back to people was through her and through my mom, too, just always being people that always wanted to give back. Everybody in my family, my childhood name was big head, so everybody thought I was super smart, but I was always just humble by my grandmother and my mom. Even though I was smart, they always tried to keep me humble, and so is my dad. Made me realize my passion of hard work. Not giving up, failing on the first try, but continuing to do what you need to do to get to where you want to go.
[00:03:38] Speaker A: Thanks for sharing that.
So when you say you became, did you go straight from high school to nursing?
[00:03:44] Speaker B: Well, no.
[00:03:45] Speaker A: You said you did biology.
[00:03:46] Speaker B: Yes. Yeah. So I graduated with a degree in biology in 2010. You know, that was a holding place for me. So I was trying to figure out what was the next step going to be. I was prepping for the MCAT. I was looking at pharmacy physical therapy because I was the first 1st male in my grandmother's tribe to go to college. So all the women had went to college, but that's different when they're going. And all of them, you know, like 1011 years older than me, so I didn't have a correct path. I just thought, hey, you go to college, you graduate, you get a good job. Not knowing that you was competing with all these people for the same resources, same graduate schools. So it was a real awakening for me. So then I just started transitioning and trying to figure out what was best.
[00:04:32] Speaker A: For me and then. So you knew that you want to do Crna as you went into the nursing route.
[00:04:37] Speaker B: So, yes, yes, that was my goal. I said, you know, if I was going to do nursing, then I knew I was going Crna because that's what I saw. I didn't see myself being at the bedside entirely too long, not because it's not a good job, but because I knew I'd probably throw my back out at some point and I needed to preserve myself. I saw CRNs being a job that was very complex but very rewarding as well, because you get to be a part of people having surgery procedure and you see immediate benefit from it, and.
[00:05:11] Speaker A: We'Ll definitely get more into that part of it with the benefit of being a cRNA, because it seemed like a lot of new nurses or people that's aspiring to become nurses. That's like when I asked them, what do you want to do. What do you want to do with your nursing life? Oh, I want to be a crna, and I'm like, let's go back some. You know, where you going to start at right now to get.
[00:05:33] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure.
[00:05:34] Speaker A: Or what if. What if that. What if that doesn't work out? You know, what do you think? Some other things that you would like to do as well? But what can you say? What are some of the challenges that you face coming through nursing school or just your academia in general?
[00:05:49] Speaker B: You know, just staying grounded, you know, making sure that you put the effort in? I don't like to use, you know, use my race and who I am, but I have been in situations where I didn't feel welcome, but, you know, through it all, you know, just constantly striving and understanding that. That, uh, you know, it's not everybody's bad, not everybody's good, but you had just have to continue to maintain. Keep your faith in God and keep persevering through it all.
[00:06:18] Speaker A: Yes, yes. And, you know, I was just. And with me, I was just telling the young lady, I was giving her some encouragement about going. She's going into the LPN program, and she's a. She's a mom. And I told her, I said, keep the end in mind, because you will have a lot of challenges around you. One, being a mom.
[00:06:37] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:06:37] Speaker A: A single mom. If you're not married for the most part, as well as just in that program, you may not have many people that look like you. I think now we see definitely more women, even women of color, background, or whatever. But then you still may not be as many men in certain areas. For me, when I graduated with my BSN in nursing, we only had one black male in the class, but we also only had about maybe. Maybe one or two white males. So there wasn't that many men coming through nursing, either.
[00:07:08] Speaker B: Yeah, so that's my story, too. I was the only, actually, I give you even double that. I graduated from Baptist College of Health Science, so now it's Baptist University. And not only was I only male, but I was black. So, you know, that was a significant thing, and I enjoyed it. The staff treated me well there, and it was a great experience. But I did see people asking, like, why are you here? Why do you want to be a nurse? You know, like, why do you belong here? So I got a lot of that feedback or that, you know, turmoil. I ain't gonna say it's turmoil, but, you know, it was.
[00:07:44] Speaker A: You had to fight a pushback.
[00:07:46] Speaker B: Yeah. Like a pushback.
[00:07:47] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, we got to get rid of that stigma of, like, nails not working in a nursing role because patients, they have no respect of persons. We're going to take care of the young, the old, male, female. And I think that we honestly have to. I think men respond to other mendenna. So how often is it for a man to see another man walk into the room and help care from them? Care for them and not just from a physician role per se.
[00:08:14] Speaker B: Right.
[00:08:15] Speaker A: You know, because that position may be in there for a couple of minutes and then gone. Versus this male nurse is with that man, that male patient for 12 hours.
[00:08:24] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:08:25] Speaker A: And can really connect with him about his condition. So I think that is awesome. And we have to get out of that stigma and actually welcome more men into the nursing field.
[00:08:36] Speaker B: Yes, I agree.
[00:08:37] Speaker A: Thank you. Thank you. Now, what motivates you, and I know you're very spiritual as a Christian, but what can you say? What motivates you to get up in the morning or what all motivates you to get up?
[00:08:48] Speaker B: So what motivates me to get up in the morning, man? You know, first of all, it's just, man, I'm a. You said it. I'm a vessel. Hey, God uses me to take care of his people. I know what my plan is in my head, but, you know, every day God gives me a new challenge to try to help these people out. What else? My family. Big family, man. So just getting up and being able to provide for my family, being able to go on trips and buy gifts and see the smiles on my daughter and my son and my wife face, that motivates me. It motivates me that a young black male of Memphis, you know, we live in a city faced with a lot of challenges for young men, man, they get to see somebody that look like them and say, hey, you know what? I don't have to become part of the street or have to deal with these things, but I can really aspire to be whatever I want to. And that's really one of the biggest thing that motivates me.
[00:09:46] Speaker A: That is awesome, because when we hear Memphis, I'm from Arkansas, so my grandfather, even when I went to go, when I go to visit my hometown, my grandfather is just like, you better head home, you know? And I'm like, grandpa, I'm not going to get killed on the bridge. But we know that crime is kind of the first thing that comes to a lot of people's minds when it comes to Memphis, Tennessee. But Memphis still has some good things going on in Memphis, and we are the evidence as well as others. And so thank you for sharing that as well. Do you have any plans or goals to. Or is there anything that you're doing specifically to reach out to young black Mendez?
[00:10:29] Speaker B: You know, I'm a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Incorporated. I put that out there. I do a lot of community service with them, but I do a lot of community service by myself. I go into my wife's school. She's a teacher. And I usually just. Anybody doesn't have to be a woman. It doesn't have to be a young male. Just anybody that wants to seek knowledge and understand it. And I try to give back to them by providing them different things from, like, teaching them about credit, because that's one thing we don't understand of sometimes as young people, just about life goals. You know, what do you want to be? What do you see yourself doing? Are you college material? Can you go to a trade school? You know, just different things that I don't believe I had growing up as a young man or as a young person in general, providing them with them steps to get them to where they need to be.
[00:11:19] Speaker A: Yeah, that's priceless when you honestly take the time and go to that store just to connect with whoever is willing to listen. And a lot of times, I feel like young adults, they need to know that they are loved and that somebody truly cares about them, because I believe. And, you know, you can give me your take on this, but it seems that young people are facing just as part of a challenge as adults, and a lot of their challenges are stemming from adults who are not adulting well, and the kids and the children are falling in the. Falling in the balance of it. And so I think that's just awesome, because a lot of times, kids come to school for security or meals, and I think that's just awesome for you to even take the time on your time off, to even just go up there to say, hey, I want to connect with someone a day, because that one conversation may be what they need to tell them, oh, I can do something different, or I don't have to choose my environment. I can choose better. I don't have to be my environment. I can be better. That's awesome. So let's talk a little bit. A little bit about patient perspective. We kind of. You kind of gave us your professional journey, which, going back, you didn't tell us where you got your degrees from. Where did you say you got your BSN from? Baptist.
[00:12:33] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:12:34] Speaker A: Baptist College, which is now, Baptist University. Where did you get your tRNA from?
[00:12:39] Speaker B: I graduated from union university and received my doctorate of Nursing anesthesia.
[00:12:44] Speaker A: Awesome. I went. I got my master's from union.
[00:12:47] Speaker B: Okay, cool.
[00:12:48] Speaker A: Yes. Yes. I said, they're a little expensive because they're private christians. I said, but, man, they're going to pray with you.
[00:12:54] Speaker B: They are.
[00:12:55] Speaker A: They're going to pray you through.
[00:12:56] Speaker B: They are, for sure.
[00:12:57] Speaker A: And I did. I love the program. I was, like, the only person who met with the educator because my master's is in nursing education, and I was just there by chance with another nurse who wanted to learn about their practitioner program. The educator told me to go home, speak to my husband, pray about it, and I just won me over from there.
[00:13:15] Speaker B: That's cool.
[00:13:16] Speaker A: And they went from there. And here we are.
[00:13:18] Speaker B: Here we are.
[00:13:19] Speaker A: Thank you. Now, for your patient perspective, have you been put in a position to where you've been a patient or you've had a family member be a patient that has, based off of your interaction with healthcare from that side of healthcare, how has it influenced your approach as a.
[00:13:37] Speaker B: Nurse, as a crna, being patient? A lot of times, patients feel really rushed because we look at it as we're doing something in a timely fashion. We are sitting on these timetables, and a patient may not truly understand what's going on. One thing I can recall was being, my grandmother needed carotid surgery done, and the doctor came in and was saying, hey, you know, these things are happening, or whatever, and walked out. And I was like, huh? I was like, grandma, do you understand what they're trying to do? She was like, no, not really. So being able to explain to her what was going on, and she was like, I don't want that at all. And I think we have to take time to listen to our patients, but at the same time, allow our patients to be comfortable with who we are and what we're doing for them.
[00:14:24] Speaker A: That's good. That's good. Thank you. Yeah, that's good. I like that. You said, be patient, so we have to learn how to be patient on both sides.
[00:14:34] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:14:35] Speaker A: And one of my things that I tell new nurses, or just nurses in general, in my role as an educator, is when you cross that door, that patient's door, it's like crossing a threshold that regardless of a thousand things that's going on or needed outside of that patient's room, you're in that room with that patient and let that patient know you are there. Only if you're there for two minutes, let them feel that those two minutes felt like 30 minutes, and that they are the only ones that mattered at that time, and that goes with just being patient. Okay, so let's get right into the crna. Let's get right into the role itself. Tell me more about that, like, how. How is it? What is. What does that role entail for you, man, that road.
[00:15:19] Speaker B: I really. When I say this, I mean this wholeheartedly. I'm in a position to actually take on the role of God for a short time. And I mean that in all sincerity. When you go to sleep at night, you're not aware of what's going on. You sleep, you don't control your breathing. You don't control your heartbeat. You don't control your blood pressure. You don't control any of those things. So now you get giving me the opportunity to take on your role just for a little bit, to take care of these people, to get through a surgery or procedure or any, you know, any.
Anything that requires anesthesia. So, man, it's beautiful. I really, really explain it from that aspect. I enjoy. I tell patients this all the time, and they laugh at me when I say this, but then when they understand it, they were like, oh, Cassie, what you're doing?
Before I put a patient to sleep, anytime, I always tell them, thank you for letting me take care of you. They was like, huh? And I'm like, well, you. You know, when we get on the plane, we look at the pilot, and you want to know that your pilot's gonna get you from point a to point b. Well, in this standpoint, I'm the pilot, so I want you to have all certainty that this pilot is gonna get you from point a to point b. So, you know, just to answer your first question, that's how I look at my role. If you want to go more in depth, I can.
[00:16:45] Speaker A: You know, I think you took it there. You know, you mentioned God. I don't think nothing bigger than God. So, you know, that is. That's a good way of looking at it. I said, that's just one. I can't focus that long to even be playing with nobody's sleep and trying to. I've been to forgot. It's just too much, too much pressure. But I think that is awesome for those of you who do it. Okay? So I appreciate you, because procedures. Certain procedures and surgeries won't get done without your role. And given the fact that. That you're needed, and so many crnas are needed throughout just this area of being in Memphis, you know, it's like, it's definitely a demand for crnas.
[00:17:28] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:17:28] Speaker A: So I thank you for being in the role that you're in and doing all that hard school work you did. I'm just proud of you.
[00:17:35] Speaker B: Thank you. I appreciate it.
[00:17:36] Speaker A: Proud of you. And so with that, do you feel like you have more autonomy in your role as a crna, working in. I know you work in a hospital setting.
[00:17:46] Speaker B: Right.
[00:17:47] Speaker A: Go ahead.
[00:17:47] Speaker B: Yeah. So my, where I'm working at that medical directive. So we work on the supervision of anesthesiologists, but depending on your relationship, you have fair range to, you know, do what you need to do to make sure that they're patient is safe. And it's just the balance of a relationship. So I make sure that my anesthesiologist is, you know, it's comfortable, you know, with what I'm doing. And, you know, we just kind of talk back and forth. I like to tell my patients when we both come into a room with the anesthesiologist, that's the coaching on the point guard. So a lot of times, you know, as a point guy, he allowed me to set the plate. He may give me, you know, the game plan, but then he allowed me to sit the play, or she allows me to sit the play to do what I need to do to make sure that, again, as their pilots, you make it from point a to point b. But also in rural settings, crnas usually are the only anesthesia provider available. So a place like where you're from, Arkansas, that may be the person that you see that do your anesthesia. So crnas are actually also able to independently work on their own as well.
[00:18:55] Speaker A: Thank you.
So I was also looking at some of the other work settings that crnas can work in outside of the hospital, which includes surgical centers and pain management clinics. And so that was interesting. And then, of course, I think that a lot of times people want to do crna because of the pay. I think even just nursing in general, a lot of people want to become nurses or young people are looking at nursing, because another thing I'll say, well, what do you want to do? They say, oh, I want to be a travel nurse. And I'm like, you got to step back.
What type of nursing do you want to do before you actually go travel? Like, it just, you don't just get your licensure and then just go out there with no med surg experience or no ed, no ICU experience, hopefully, you know, you got to come with some orientation to some type of specialty unit, whatever that may be, but salary have that. CRNAs are the highest paid nurses with an average salary of around 214,000 annually. And so it's like an overall average in the United States. And so I thought that was awesome. I'm like, yeah, the money sounds good, but again, I feel like you're compassionate about it because you actually have somebody's life in your hands when it comes to those medications, putting people under. You have to have to do your job well in a. But of course, in healthcare, let me just say, any job as a Christian myself, everything that we do, we should do with exercise, right?
[00:20:27] Speaker B: I should give 100% as a person. If you're doing it just personally for the money, you go, you'll get burnt out. Because a lot of people think of when they look at nursing instances, a lot of people look at the money, or they look at, oh, I got all this autonomy independent on what city you are in, you may not get the autonomy you want to, or you may work a lot, but then don't get the time off to enjoy life. You know, I'm a servant, like I told you from the beginning, so you gotta have a sense of servant attitude to really take care of a person. And I believe you get to the standpoint of where you regret, and you wake up in the morning, like, I gotta go to work. You probably need to find something else, because in any position where you're taking care of a human, whether that's as a pharmacist, as a physical therapist, nurse, physician, you got to think about the overall thing in the beginning, this. The person.
[00:21:22] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's good. I always tell healthcare providers that I work with that. At the end of the day, we get to go home.
[00:21:30] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:21:30] Speaker A: At the end of that shift, we get to go home. Those patients get to stay right there most of the time, and then, by God's grace, they get to leave, period. You know, alive. And so he said, we have to think about the humans that we are caring for, which are the reasons why we're in the roles that we're in now.
[00:21:48] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:21:49] Speaker A: As a crna, as a registered nurse, as a nurse educator, like humans or people are the reason why we are even in this role, or why the nursing profession is even needed.
And so with crna, because I know a lot of people are very interested in it. I just kind of wrote down some educational requirements, because people need to know if you're interested in becoming a crna, that you do have to have a bachelor's degree in nursing.
[00:22:14] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:22:15] Speaker A: And with that you have to ask boards, which is called NCLex, to get your nursing licensure and then have at least one year of experience in an intensive care unit is typically required for cRNA school, is that correct?
[00:22:30] Speaker B: That is correct. Usually schools like to look at, you know, between one and one and three years is where I've seen most people competitive, like more so, or three years.
It's also good to have your CCR in, which is, I think both of us know, you know about that, but that's your credentialing, critical care nursing. So that looks great on your resume for us going to school. I also like having leadership roles. I served as float head nurse on the unit, so they kind of showed some type of leadership skills of being on like the, when you developed protocols on your unit. So just having those different leadership roles as well.
[00:23:10] Speaker A: Yeah, I didn't think of. I wouldn't have known that. That's awesome. And then as you get into the cRNA program, it's actually a doctoral degree because a lot of time I think we just think cRNA, cRNA, but it's actually a DMP or a doctor of nurse anesthesia practice program. And that is a doctorate's level nursing degree. And here I have that. It takes about seven to ten years to complete, which includes the undergraduate education, because a BSEn could easily be a four year program. Right. And then the curriculum I have, the program includes extensive clinical training and coursework and in anesthesia, pharmacology and physio. Physiology.
Physiology. So does that sound about right?
[00:23:59] Speaker B: Yes, we usually do on average.
And I may be undercutting like three to 5000 clinical hours, so.
[00:24:07] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:24:08] Speaker B: Yeah. So it's up there. Depending. We do two years of clinicals start right after you do your didactic. We do a year full of didactic where we learn about, like you said, physiology. We learned about the principle of anesthesia. And some of your doctoral classes are counter scattered abroad. So not only are you going to clinicals and not really living life, I say for them three years I was in school, you know, I vaguely saw my kids, vaguely saw my wife, and really didn't see any of my friends. I mean, I'm just gonna be totally honest with you, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. You know, it's extensive, like I said, because you're balancing that fine line between getting a didactic, getting your clinical skills. But then you still gotta come home and think about it. Oh, man, I gotta write a paper or I gotta do this paper, then study for this test. My teacher equated to as this. It's the longest marathon you ever ran while running hurdles.
So you running, you jump a hurdle, start running again, then next thing you know, you think you got smooth seven, you find another hurdle, and you jump over. So it's like, constant just making sure you do this after this, after this. So.
So you think about that, and I'm dealing with different personalities. So as a. As a student, unfortunately, you the lowest person on the totem pole. So not only are you dealing with, you know, trying to interact with the crnas that, you know, maybe you're precepted, but then, you know, maybe you're dealing with an anesthesiologist on top of the crna. So it's like all these complexities of, you know, answering the people, you know, you got to be different. I tell people that all the time. You gotta sometimes swallow your ego at the time and just know, hey, you there to learn. And if you don't like something they do, then apply, and I do that, too.
I'm very, very self aware of how my students are around me, so I tell them all the time, I'm not gonna yell at you. I'm not gonna belittle you. Only thing I want to know is, if you do something, why are you doing it? Do you have a reasoning for it? Because I didn't like being in places where people yelled at you or they belittled you and all that, so I, you know, just to be comfortable, so that you can be the provider that you need to be.
[00:26:20] Speaker A: Right, right. That's awesome. And I love that, because even, you know, they say nurses eat their young, and I say it's not true all the time because you're an example of the proof. You're sitting here saying that you don't like to yell at them, your students. When I had clinical students, I didn't yell at them, but I did set an expectation for them that, hey, I expect you to get all the patient information written down, look it up. If you don't know it, come talk to me so that we can have a conversation about it, because eventually I see you working alongside me. You're not beneath me. Even those who work up under me, they are not beneath me. We are all a team.
[00:27:02] Speaker B: You know, chanel, I always tell my students this. When you with me, I want to have you prepared to be great at what you do, because I don't know what emergency, IBM, whatever city I'm in, if I look up, I don't want to look up. And say, oh, is you. I won't be able to say, okay, they're gonna take care of me. I know they get, okay, there you go.
[00:27:33] Speaker A: Okay.
But also, when it comes to educational requirements, you know, just like with rn or getting your nursing licensure, whether it be LPN, Reg, well licensed practical nurse.
[00:27:44] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:27:45] Speaker A: You also had to take a board, a certification or boards exam for CRNA as well.
[00:27:51] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:27:52] Speaker A: How is the studying for that? How was it different from, like, studying for NClex or preparing for NCLex?
[00:27:58] Speaker B: I'm gonna say this, and you gonna laugh about this. I tell everybody, I think nursing school was harder for me than anesthesia school. Um, when. When I took my boards, they give you, like, as you complete your task, like I told you, you're constantly jumping hurdles. But in between time, I slept, I breathed, and I ate anesthesia because I knew I had people dependent on me. My wife pretty much held down the fort, so I came home, so I didn't work. I was little, I was a student, so I knew my job was to make sure that I got everything I needed so that I didn't have to come home and tell my kids and my wife, hey, you know what? Daddy didn't make it. We got a bunch of student loans, but we got to live out this. This nursing license.
So I was dialed in. I was focused on what I needed to do. So the weekends, when I wanted to go hang out, I would study. I would be in somebody library. So if you wanted to find me, I was in. I was in three libraries, and I would rotate so it wouldn't feel monotonous. So when you take that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So when you take that into account, I spent, you know, my free time, you know, either studying, and I always called out, like 3 hours a day. I gave 2 hours to my family and 1 hour to myself to go work out and do something to kind of take my focus off of it. And then on Sundays, I completed, didn't do any work because I felt like they were reserved for family and God. So, yes. So once I got to board, and I ain't gonna lie, man, that was God, too. I took my boards, and we were going through a tragedy had just happened in my family, so really wasn't. I'm not gonna say I wasn't motivated, but I had things pulling on me, and I got to boards, and when I tell you guys showed up, I did my DNP project on a certain topic, and I, like, man, did you put, like, a lot of questions from my DNP project on this test. And, I mean, I passed. So, like, when I left the, like, when I got done taking the test, you know, usually when you take the test, you like, man, I don't know if. I don't know how I did. I was like, all right, God, you showed out. So when the lady came out, she was like, oh, well, here's your results, you. And I said, I already know I passed. She's like, you sure did. So when I say, you know, that's why I said, man, you know, when we started this, we started this interview, I can't tell you my story without putting God in it because he does things that I don't. I can't imagine. I can't even put into words. So, you know, you asking me how to prepare for it. I mean, I was. I'm an athlete. When they going for the gold, people train four years for, like, 10 seconds of their life, especially the sprinters, for 10 seconds of their life to get a gold, gold medal. I had three years to get my gold medal, so nothing was going to stop me.
[00:30:49] Speaker A: Gotcha. Gotcha. How soon did you take boards after graduating?
[00:30:53] Speaker B: A week.
[00:30:55] Speaker A: Really?
[00:30:56] Speaker B: A week? I didn't want to prolong it. I didn't want to think about it. I knew we got a month beforehand to study, okay, to, you know, where. We didn't go to clinicals and we studied, but, um, I mean, I studied so much in between that time beforehand. So, like, I knew I wanted a week. I wanted to get all the, you know, I graduated during COVID So I graduated in 2020. So I didn't get to, I didn't get to have the graduation I wanted to because all my family was talking about, you know, everybody knew. Everybody was flying in from California to New York to any part of the United States that you could imagine. So I didn't get to get that part, so. But I knew still, I was excited. I was excited to be the first person with a doctorate degree in my family.
[00:31:42] Speaker A: Wow, so you bypassed the women.
[00:31:46] Speaker B: Yeah, I bypassed the women on that one. So just be able to have the first doctorate in the family. So I was just, I had to let that wear off a little bit. And then, like I said, we was going through a tragedy at the time, too, and I didn't want to prolong on it, so I was like, man, let's just do it.
[00:32:01] Speaker A: God damn.
[00:32:02] Speaker B: And here we are.
[00:32:03] Speaker A: Yes. I'm so proud of you.
[00:32:05] Speaker B: Appreciate it.
[00:32:05] Speaker A: I just want you to know that I am so proud of you. So in preparing for the boards, for cRNA, what type of study material do y'all use? Like for nclex, there's hrs, there's u one, Kaplan, all that good stuff. Like, what are some names of some study material or does it really, do it work that way?
[00:32:24] Speaker B: Different schools use different things.
I use my textbooks, reading them. And then we had a program called Apex that we were able to use to study for boards. Some places use a review called storm reviews. It's like different programs or different institution use different things to kind of prepare a lot of material out there to prepare. It's just what is unique to you or what do you feel prepares you the best for your program or your thinking? I guess it didn't make sense. Yeah.
[00:32:57] Speaker A: To make you more effective in passing that test.
And also, when you go back to your school, choosing union, were there some things that you looked at when it came to choosing a program, a cRNA program?
[00:33:12] Speaker B: Yeah, man, it's crazy talking about union. In 2015, I went and visited the campus just to get a feel of, you know, what to expect. And I went in, I talked to the teachers, and they showed me so much love. Doctor Foster, Doctor Wright, doctor Lefabe. I'm just gonna throw y'all name out there. Cause y'all was really instrumental to me becoming who I am. Even though it's like 100 people on the preview day, they made me feel special. They made me feel like I was the only person.
True story is, I didn't get into anesthesia school the first time I applied. I literally did not get in. I sent the email, and it's for anybody who ever get a failure, it's okay because no sometimes means next opportunity. So I sent them an email directly saying, hey, how do I make myself more competitive to getting your program? They said, hey, retake some courses and then reapply. So I reapply. And I got waitlisted. Yeah, I got waitlisted. So I'm like, okay, I'm not gonna say I didn't think I was gonna get in school, but I was like, oh, man. Well, let me start figuring my next plan, God, because parent ain't gonna let me in. Well, I'm gonna tell you how God worked. End up finding out that I got in school and my wife was pregnant on the same day. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it was crazy just being in union and with those professors, it was always there. I used to call doctor Wright mom because she used to look out for me. Sometimes if a clinical thing came up, they were like, oh, Brian's not doing this, this and this. She would go back, check the records, and look at my performance against my. My classmate performance and be like, well, he's doing the same thing as they are taking up for me, making sure that I could continue to transition, make sure that I was being taken care of. So, like you said, paying that extra money to be a union, I knew I was protected. He was protected by. By God first. But then I knew my teachers. They felt the way about God, too, and they protected me. It's some programs that, you know, that I've heard where the students don't feel protected. I feel protected every step of the way. I give union these kudos for, you know, my time there for, you know, how they. How they protected me and made sure I. I made it through.
[00:35:25] Speaker A: Yes. Yes. That's awesome. And it's a genuine. To me, I feel like it's a genuine connection. Like, there's still professors now that I keep in contact with on social media. Thank you. Also, with choosing a school, did you look at any other programs?
[00:35:40] Speaker B: I looked at the. I looked at Arkansas State. I looked at University of Tennessee health science, which is here in Memphis.
But I. I mean, it was something about uni, and I was like, okay, once I, you know, I was about to broaden my scope, but I just kept asking God, like, hey, this is not a good fit for me. Tell me this time, because I was getting used to it. Well, you told no. Just stop. That was how I feel. Well, I got told no. Well, ain't no way I can get in this time. And it was my first time really stepping out on faith and being like, I know. Like I told you, mehden, next opportunity. So you got told no. Try it again. And it was just like, the fit that God had for me because not only going to school there, but I met some people that. That I still talk to today call my brothers and sisters. So, you know, it's just. It's just that aspect as well.
[00:36:31] Speaker A: Thank you. Thank you. So as we wrap up this episode, what would your. What is some things that you want the listeners to take away from this episode?
[00:36:41] Speaker B: Things I. Yeah, man. For me, no matter your religious belief, always speak.
Speak how you feel to yourself first. You gotta motivate yourself first. So, you know, if you go, you know, if you're saying, hey, I'm, you know, going to school and going to school for Crna or nurse education, I want you to be able to say every day when you wake up in the morning, and I'm gonna be the best at what I do every day, being confident in that way, but not being arrogant, remaining humble. You know, you a healthcare provider, so people are not just tasks that you. Once you complete the task, you check off them. People have lives. They're worried about their finances. They're worried about who's going to take care of them. I always had a compassion to know that, hey, just like this person is laying down on this operating table or in this bed, in the ICU or on the. On just the regular med service floor, anytime, it could be you as well. So be able to show some compassion when things like that happen.
Yeah. Just being a compassionate provider, understanding that at any day that you could trade places with the person that you're taking care of, that, you know, a freak injury, some type of accident can put you in positions that you wouldn't. You didn't think you could be. It just at the drop of, you know, just. Just at a second, at a minute, just at any time. So how did that compassion and have it wherewithal, that could be you.
[00:38:10] Speaker A: Okay, now, what would you say to any young men, or especially young black men that may be listening to this.
[00:38:19] Speaker B: Episode, sky's the limit? Be able to understand that despite what you see every day, despite what the media depicts you as, despite what people are telling you, that. That you a winner. If you able to say, you know, it's a song. I'm gonna go back to the secular side, but he say, win, win, win.
You know, saying, so, you have to be able to motivate yourself. You have to be able to speak within yourself to say that every day I wake up, that I'm a win. But it be, I'm a win by taking a breath, I'm a win. By taking this step. I'm going to win by just talking to a person that I thought I would never talk to. You gotta be able to add that ability to win and understand that the negativity that we see in the word doesn't define you. You define what you feel about yourself.
[00:39:09] Speaker A: That's good. That's good. Thank you. Thank you so much. So how can listeners connect with you?
[00:39:16] Speaker B: I am on social media. It's my first and last name. Definitely reach out to me if you have any concerns about being a crna or just in general. I try to get back to you at my earliest convenience. I will say this for different diversities. There is a group called Diversity crna, and the founder, Lena Gold. She wrote her DNP paper to describe why to increase diversity of nursing emphasis in the community. So a lot is done with that to make sure that we have people that are of Hispanic heritage, people, black heritage, people of Muslim heritage, to be able to connect and be a part of the crna world, too. So if you can't connect to me, diversity cRNA does different events throughout the United States to allow you to get that culture type experience from being a cRNA.
[00:40:11] Speaker A: Awesome. Well, thank you so much for even being here today.
[00:40:14] Speaker B: Yeah, thank you.
[00:40:15] Speaker A: So, as I wrap up as my listener, hope that you take this information with you, that you found something that was very impactful for you or something that just stuck with you, that gave you that aha moment or gave you guidance on what to do if you're interested in going into the crna profession or nursing career. And so you can connect with me, your host, nurse Chanel. At all, one nurse on Facebook. At all, one nurse Chanel. Chanel is s h e n e l l on Instagram, as well as you can find me at all one nurse on TikTok. So until next time, be sure to let your light shine, and I hope y'all enjoyed this episode. Thank you, doctor Brian Bobaugh.
[00:41:00] Speaker B: Thank you, Chanel. I really appreciate.