New Title, New Shoes: Stepping Into Nursing Leadership

Ever wonder what really changes when a bedside nurse becomes a manager? We pull back the curtain on a leap that wasn’t about a title or a pay bump, but about finding the right fit: outpatient leadership in cardiac rehab and the stress lab, where patient momentum meets sustainable work-life balance. You’ll hear why timing and alignment matter more than ambition, how imposter syndrome sneaks in even with a decade of experience, and why earning trust starts with orienting shoulder to shoulder before making a single policy call.

We talk plainly about the tradeoffs. Management is a thankless job some days, and timelines from “above” rarely match the system’s reality. The antidote isn’t perfection—it’s transparent communication, consistent follow-up, and the courage to say no to the wrong things so you can say yes to the work that protects patients and staff. We share the admin learning curve, the power of mentors, and the tools that make the shift survivable: structured routines, checklists, and honest updates that show your team where advocacy is happening.

If you’re considering leadership, we outline the questions that reveal a unit’s true temperature: how the management team collaborates, what patient experience says about culture, and how decisions actually get made. We also offer compassionate guidance for leaving well—how to tell your coworkers, keep bridges intact, and make space for the next person to grow into their own leadership shoes. For those staying, there’s a reminder that departures aren’t an indictment; they’re invitations to step forward.

Subscribe, share, and leave a review to help more nurses find conversations that tell the truth about career growth. Then tell us: what would it take for you to say yes to leadership?

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Topic Reveal
• 1:48 Why Move From Bedside To Management
• 3:22 The Right Role At The Right Time
• 6:40 Outpatient Vs Inpatient: Work-Life Reality
• 11:03 Imposter Syndrome And Confidence
• 16:45 Orienting First To Earn Trust
• 20:03 Early Wins, Shocks, And New Routines
• 24:25 Hard Truths Of Management
• 28:12 Interview Red Flags And Team Culture
• 33:02 Mentorship, Admin Work, And Learning Gaps
• 37:28 Scrub Hacks: How To Announce You’re Leaving
• 41:30 Grief, Routine Shifts, And Mental Health
• 46:05 Self-Management With ADHD
• 49:10 Advice For Those Staying And Those Leaving
• 52:22 Closing Thoughts And Community Links

Transcript

Christopher: 0:00

Hello, and welcome back to Nursing Like 101. We're so excited to have you here with us as we dive into the world of nursing, sharing our experiences, insights, and a little bit of fun along the way. I'm Christopher.

Colby: 0:11

And I'm Colby. Together we'll bring you real stories, practical tips, and discussions about all things nursing. Whether you're a fellow nurse or just curious about the life behind Scrubs, we're thrilled to have you join us.

Christopher: 0:20

So as the seasons change, so do careers in nursing.

Colby: 0:24

Yep. Today's episode's all about that big leap moving from bedside into management.

Christopher: 0:29

We'll talk about the excitement, the fears, and what happens when your coworkers suddenly start calling you boss.

Colby: 0:37

Or worse, management. Let's start with that moment when you knew it was time for a change.

Christopher: 1:11

Yeah, that feeling of wanting to grow but not wanting to lose who you are as a nurse. This is mainly created because I was wondering what you were going to feel when you decide to be a little bit more than just a bedside nurse.

Colby: 1:29

When I decide or after I've decided, because here we are.

Christopher: 1:33

Well, you know, I I know you have transitioned, but most people haven't. At least that listen here.

Colby: 1:42

So for our listeners, the career update for me, which you might have a little chuckle about if you listen to any of our episodes from last season.

Christopher: 1:50

It's hilarious.

Colby: 1:51

Is that I am now a nurse manager.

Christopher: 1:55

Yes, she is.

Colby: 1:58

How did that happen? What made me make the decision? I think for me, I mean, we talked at some point in some episode about how I felt like I couldn't be, I didn't want to, and I felt like I couldn't be a manager because I didn't want to commit the amount of time that I thought needed to be put into that role in order for me to think that I'm doing the job justice and doing my staff justice. And I was like, I know that I don't want to commit that much time out of my own personal life into work. And I still really do stand by that. And I'm a huge proponent of work-life balance. So I think truly it was a matter of right job opportunity, right time, right place for me. I don't think that I would have moved into management for any, just any nurse manager job, or in my case, assistant nurse manager, but I wouldn't have just done it for like any, any, any opportunity that came up. Um, I knew for sure that I did not want to be an inpatient nurse manager just because like purely the lack of work-life balance that comes with it when you work in an environment that's going on 24 hours. Like even if you're a manager, you still need to be available for 24 hours. And I got, I guess I just got lucky. Like I said, like it was right time, right job, right place. That an outpatient uh ambulatory situation created a new role, which is the assistant nurse manager, over two departments, cardiac rehab and stress lab. So two special sub-specialties of cardiology that I've always been interested in. And actually, I might have even talked about again on another episode from season one. Like my ultimate ideal nurse retirement job would have was cardiac rehab, exactly. And so I had gotten like a heads up that that position was going to be posted, that it was being created, and to keep an eye out for it if I was interested. I kind of had like an inside insider scoop before it was like widely known, um, which was cool. And so as soon as I stocked the jobs for our healthcare system, and when it came up, I applied like within a few days of it being posted. Well that's still like that's like how how it happened.

Christopher: 4:21

But what made me were pretty, you were pretty staunch non-management.

Colby: 4:29

I think I just got to a point where well I was a good way to put it, I guess, is that I kind of outgrew the role that I was in. One of my friends said that, and I was like, that's a really good way to put it, like a smart and um well-thought way to put it. Cause I was just like, oh uh, you know. Um there's a lot of reasons. But yeah, I think, you know, ultimately, or the biggest reason is that I outgrew the role that I was in. Like I am very passionate about nursing administration, and I think I was functioning as at the highest level I could in a nerd in a um in nurse as a charge n in the charge nurse role, but I was doing a lot of things in addition to that and wanting to do more, but like couldn't really because it was out of my scope or I had no no real influence.

Christopher: 5:20

So I'm gonna stop you again. You you talk about work-life balance and you also talk about well, the we' w we'll say what this you talk about work-life balance, but you were very involved outside of just your role as a charge nurse. How do you justify because I mean you were you were in meetings, you were in committees, you were doing things that were not necessarily charge nurse asked of? Like you you as a charge nurse role technically are not supposed to be on any committees. So, like, how do you justify going from inpatient to outpatient? Even though you are very involved inpatient.

Colby: 6:14

How do I justify going from inpatient to outpatient despite my involvement? Because you said I'm it's a proponent of work life bone. I think I'm very efficient with my I was always I've always been very efficient with my time. And so I while I was super involved, a lot of those things that I did outside of like my job description role was still within the hours that I was working at the hospital. And if there was anything extra that I was working on, like again, I am self, like I'm really good with boundaries, and it's like, okay, I'm not gonna work a 12-hour shift and then spend another four hours before going to bed and working on it. Like the I think I'm I'm good boundaries within having work-life balance. Like I never felt overwhelmed with my extracurricular activities that I was involved with in the hospital. Like I was never waking up at 2 a.m. to deal with something. So I think when I when I think of work-life balance and me not wanting to be an inpatient manager, it was like me not wanting to be made available at all hours of the day. And when I'm not in that role, not in that job position, being reached out to constantly to fix problems, put out fires. So, with that being said, I do know that there's probably gonna be some in an outpatient. It's you know, if you're a manager on some level, you're gonna be reached out to out of off quote unquote office hours. But the frequency, the likelihood, the craziness that could happen at two o'clock in the morning, a lot different range is a lot different than what it could being an inpatient manager. Yeah. I don't have to worry about patients doing crazy stuff at three o'clock in the morning causing me to get a phone call.

Christopher: 8:06

True. But I mean, technically, at those moments, they're supposed to reach out to nursing soup. Nursing soup is then the manager of the hospital.

Colby: 8:14

Yeah, but that doesn't always happen. You know that more than best. I know what times your phones go off, you tell me. Yeah. They're like, I was up at two o'clock in the morning because I got a phone call.

Christopher: 8:26

Random.

Colby: 8:28

So the reality is that regardless, you are you are, and you have to be more available when you're in the inpatient setting.

Christopher: 8:36

Yeah, I mean, it is true. And I I think, but I it I guess my challenge would be if you were if you were as efficient as you say you are, you would be able to do that inpatient too.

Colby: 8:51

I don't want to.

Christopher: 8:52

I know.

Colby: 8:53

That's the thing. Yeah. But it's purely not not something I wanted to do.

Christopher: 8:57

Fair.

Colby: 8:57

Yeah. And so I would have never moved up if, you know, I was I was just patiently waiting for the right opportunity as far as moving, quote unquote, moving up to like the next level of nursing, um, going down the admin path. Like I would have I probably would have either kept doing what I've been doing, which is being at the bedside and in patient charge nurse until I was ready for my nurse retirement job. Um if the right opportunity never came along. But yeah, it wasn't like I was it wasn't like I was like hell bent on I'm gonna become a manager, because I truly didn't necessarily want that. But I do want to affect change and make environments where people work a happy place to be and ha give qual you know, contribute to changes that give quality care. I think and that's what I did as a charge nurse, is it's it's just nice being able to like operate at that next level. I think it opens up doors for me to affect more change.

Christopher: 10:05

Okay.

Colby: 10:05

Okay. Are you satisfied with that answer, sir?

Christopher: 10:09

I think I am. I you know, we'll see. I uh I have some things in my head that's still brewing. Um so okay, that in in the whole like affecting change, what what are you like worried that you won't be able to change?

Colby: 10:29

I don't think I'm worried about not being able to change things. I think like as far as like fears or doubts, I think I have a little bit of an imposter syndrome when I I still feel like even though I have a lot of years of experience, I still sometimes feel like oh I'm just a baby. Like I and I think a lot of millennials could relate to that I'm still in the womb. Yeah. Like I think a lot of millennials can relate to that where you're like, I still feel like I'm 21, like just getting started. And I'm looking around and I'm like, oh wait, I'm the elder nurse here. Like, wait a minute. It's me? I'm the one I'm the one that I'm the person that younger nurses look up to on the floor. The way I looked up to people who are older than me and had more experience. And so sometimes like realizing that I'm I'm that person to somebody else, um, there's imposter syndrome there. And I don't think I I think I discredit myself sometimes with, you know, with my years of experience because it doesn't feel I'm I'm definitely one that's like, oh, I'm just a nurse. And people are like, you're not just a nurse, you're blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You know, and um so now uh, you know, I think there's a lot of merit behind, you know, that I've gained behind being in, and so it makes sense that I've that I've, you know, I interviewed for this position. And like leading up to it, the the last two months, like I was telling Christopher, I was like, oh, this is like the first time I've interviewed for a job that I I'm not truly unsure what my chances are of getting it. Like every other job that I have interviewed for in the last 10 plus years was for a position or a role that I currently do at another place. And so it's like, of course, I'm gonna get this job. I I do this job, it's just at a new place. But I've never done this level of nursing before or like did this path of nursing before. So I truly didn't know. I didn't know what the hiring pool looked like. I didn't know like quote unquote the competition looked like. I mean, again, I have some imposter syndrome, so I don't know. Like, is there somebody out there with more experience than me? Like, and of course there is. Of course there is, but like in my brain, there I'm I'm saying, yeah, of course there's more people with more experience that would be a better fit than me. Like I'm just a floor nurse, you know.

Christopher: 12:54

I've just been a floor nurse for 10 plus years.

Colby: 12:57

Like Yeah, there's nothing special about me, but the thing is, is uh I do think that I like if I put it all and write it down on paper, I'm like, oh yeah, of course, like I'm a great, like sturdy candidate for this role. Like I've been a nurse for 10 plus years in cardiology. Like I I know the patient population, I know rhythms, I know, you know, all of this stuff where I'm sure there were people that didn't have the background that I have. Um, even if they did have more years of experience or maybe experience in management or whatever, like I think that there is merit there that I have gathered over years of doing this job. And I have to remember that it's been years of doing this job, and that that's worth something.

Christopher: 13:42

Right. Yeah, and just to clarify, imp imposter syndrome is like a psychological phenomenon that essentially says that you're not you're not the right person. You don't you don't have the right merit, you don't have the right degrees, the qualifications, yeah, all the things and it makes you feel like like you're posing. Yeah, and like somebody's gonna expose you as this like fraud Yeah, like this like person that's an actor or you know like um and so that comes with a lot of different like self-doubt and fear and anxiety, and so it it does cause a lot of different like fears when you're when you're doing things because you're like, oh my goodness, I I've been a nurse for ten years, but there's probably someone that has been a nurse for ten years and has also done cardiac rehab and has also been uh manager in some point. You know, and like do I know if they're going to apply for this job? Yes, maybe, possibly, I don't know. You know, like it Yeah and it it does. It sends you down a little spiral and For sure.

Colby: 15:00

For sure. I spiraled a little bit minorly. I mean, yeah, I was like, well, if I don't get it, it's fine. It's not like I don't have a job. I think it would be more crucial if I was like moving somewhere and I was applying for a job in a new city or a new state.

Christopher: 15:14

And I hope you wouldn't move until you got that job. Right.

Colby: 15:17

No, exactly. But you know some people do. Some people do. Some people just fly by the sea of their pants. I can never, I'm a girl with a plan. But yeah, I think other things that have kind of like that have kind of come up for me is when you work for the majority of your career in the same place on the same floor, the same unit, like the people that you work with, and we've talked about this, that you become very close with them and you spend more time with the people you work with sometimes than your family. And so, like choosing to leave that was very emotional for me. The first time I left to go travel, I cried when I gave them my my 30-day notice in the office, which is like funny looking back at it. Like, why was I crying? And then like now I didn't cry because I just like felt like the timing was right, but it's still like a huge step to make to what when you leave. Like when you're choosing to leave those people that you've been working with for so long and you love and you care about and you're friends with them outside of work, and you you've watched their families grow, or you, you know, have watched them grow in their nursing careers, like from when they started as novice to where they are now. And it's just yeah, that's a huge, that's a huge decision. And so I've been really, you know, I also have fear of being accepted in the new place. Like, and so far, everyone that I've met has been so lovely and welcoming and friendly, thank God. But like you just never know what you're gonna step into, you know, like will they like me? You know, now my experience with past managers like wasn't always the most positive and not even like what I thought. I mean more my like the group, the group's like feelings on past management, like the group, the staff's feeling on past management, and this they didn't necessarily do anything to me to make me feel a certain way about them, but like I just it's also scary, like being like, I'm your newness manager. I'm coming in where I've never worked in cardiac rehab before, and I've never worked in nuclear cardiology before. And now I'm gonna be the manager of you. And like, you know, coming, putting myself in the shoes of in their shoes and the staff's shoes, being like this girl thinks she's gonna come over here and be a manager of us. Like, I'm very lucky in something that was super important, and and I'm so glad that they that they were on this like my director and the other um man other and the management team had the idea coming into it. So when they told me the expectations, I was like, perfect, this is gonna be great. Is that I am orienting first before I am fully enacted in the assistant nurse management role, I'm first orienting into both departments. So I get to learn what the cardiac rehab nurses do, basically train as if I'm gonna be the new cardiac rehab nurse in the unit. And then same thing in our stress lab. So I think that like, you know, that shows the staff like I can get in the trenches with you. I'm fully prepared to do that. I wanna do that, I want to be available in that way, and I'm gonna do that. I think that you get you garner like a sense of trust immediately, showing that you're like, I'm gonna go through all of this and learn every bit of it. But like, I don't know if they, you know, you see, there's just a lot of, I don't know. I don't know, I don't know. There's this like storm that you create in your brain. It's the imposter syndrome, it's the self-doubt, it's all of that stuff. So um it's just something like I constantly I'm I the last I'd spend two weeks, and every day I just say, we're just taking it day by day, and we're gonna, you know, just get through it. And the first week was pretty rough for me, just like information overload, just everything, you know, people are just talking casually to me, but everything's new to me. And so I was, you know, just trying to soak it all up like a sponge. And then by the end of the first week, I was like, okay, I'm I'm okay. And then last week I was like, well, I've sought out saw everything I could possibly see last week. So now I know what to expect coming in the door. And so every day last week was better, you know. So I'm feeling really good now, but I'm only in, you know, two weeks in and one department. I don't start in the other department for a couple more weeks. Um, so it's like it's great to do it that way. You know, it's nice to like get shoulder to shoulder in the trenches with my team and learn who my team is and who they are as people and kinds of nurses and special, you know, there's the I it's multidisciplinary, so there's different specialties in there. But yeah, it's gonna take a little bit of time before I get to the A and M, the assistant nurse manager portion of it. So there's also like that piece, it's like I'm those that's coming in in sprinkles and I'm doing my best to keep up with everything.

Christopher: 19:56

You have done this for two weeks. And this next week starts, well, this starts the third. What what advice would you give someone who is thinking about leadership and kind of going through the process that you have already gone through, but also someone who is just thinking about a new position in general, like how yeah, what what advice would you give them? And I I won't I think that anymore.

Colby: 20:35

Yeah, I think that if you're an individual that's thinking about management, then you're probably already acting like in a higher frequency. I don't know if that makes sense, but like you're already operating in a sense where you're involved like like myself, like I was. Like you're in charge, you're in committees, you're taking, you know, the first steps and asking big questions that is gonna facilitate big changes. Um because if you aren't already doing those things, management's probably not on your radar at all. So I would say that if you're thinking about applying for a leadership role more than what you're doing now, I think it just depends on how bad you want it. I think waiting for the right opportunity is key. I think I don't think like just jumping in, like you all of a sudden you're like, I want to be a nurse manager and I'm gonna apply for this whole other set specialty and do it. I don't think that that's wrong if that's like what you want to do, but I think it's better if you just wait for the right opportunity to come along, like I did. Like I'm there's other assistant nurse manager jobs available in our health system, but I wasn't, I was like, I'm not gonna apply for that one. That's not what I want to do.

Christopher: 21:54

How do you know when it's the right one?

Colby: 21:58

It that's personal, that's a personal decision. I don't think that anybody can tell you what's right or what's wrong except for yourself.

Christopher: 22:07

Okay. How did you find that process? You're right. I 100% agree.

Colby: 22:13

My process was just knowing that I what I didn't want.

Christopher: 22:16

Okay.

Colby: 22:17

You know, like I don't want that. I don't want that. I don't want that. And then I was like, oh, this one sounds interesting.

Christopher: 22:24

Yeah.

Colby: 22:24

I don't really know that there is a process. I didn't have a process. I just just knowing what I didn't want was my process. And like I'm I was content staying doing what I was doing. I mean, it wasn't like I was deeply unhappy and wanting to to take any opportunity out, otherwise I would have. But I think it's it's a deeply personal experience when you're when if you're ready to leave and you're right, you are you're considering a path in management. I mean, some people would want to school first before even looking at jobs. Right. Um, to get their master's in nursing administration or, you know, something along those lines. I think much in nursing fashion, there are many routes to become a nurse. There's many routes to work yourself up the chain of command and management. For me, I feel like, you know, it wasn't exactly it wasn't planned for me. I kind of stumbled into it again, right time, right place, right opportunity, interviewed for it and got the got the offer. I think if that never came up, I might never have taken that step, taken this step. So I don't really know if I could give advice on like this this like profound advice about how to get to where I am now. Because it's like I said, it's just very personal whether or not a position is good good for you or that's the right spot. I think if it feels good to for you, you're interested in the specialty, you d genuinely care about the interests of the people, then sure. Go for it.

Christopher: 24:11

I think there's yeah, I think that's I think that's a good basis. I think there's also, and this is also coming from someone who has now been AM for two years now. Management is a thankless job. Very thankless. And there are going to be days where you're going to have either a directive from a higher up um and you have to find a way to have buy-in, or if you as a a manager m someone of management team don't necessarily believe in the directive that was given to you from a higher up, you have to either find a way to advocate for your staff just like a nurse advocates for their patient, and find a way to not have that directive come down. Or you be up and honest to your team and be like, honestly, I'm not a fan of this directive just as much as you are. Um you probably are not. Um and I totally get that, but this is something that we have to do. Like there's we you you have a lot of weight on you in terms of a manager that even as a charge nurse, you you like you don't you don't see that as that same level. Yeah, it's a different it's a different way. And so when you're thinking about going into leadership, just be mindful that you will go home on days where you're like, I did nothing.

Colby: 25:53

Yeah, you have to be okay with that for sure. You also have to like be someone that is sure of themselves in some capacity, so that like you said, if there's something, if there's a directive that's coming down and you're like, this doesn't make any sense, like these people are so out of touch of what's actually going on. Like, like you said, you need to advocate for your staff. You have to know that if you're if you're wanting to do this, that you can do this.

Christopher: 26:24

Right.

Colby: 26:26

Which I don't think I'll have a problem with.

Christopher: 26:29

Which is fair. You're one, but there are people No, there are definitely others.

Colby: 26:33

I think Yeah, I would say like if you you know take a take a hard look at yourself, could you handle that?

Christopher: 26:39

Yeah, like could you handle that? There's gonna be days where you will either get chewed out by your boss or chewed out by a staff member. Like it it in most days one of those things are gonna happen. Yeah. Um, and that's you emotionally you've got to be grounded enough to not allow that to be something to overtake you so that you don't sleep at night, that you like aren't having fun outside of work, like those things.

Colby: 27:15

I think also like on that note, not saying this is your experience or my experience, or just just generalizing here. But I think when when to circle back to like how do you know that this was the right position for you, you have when you're interviewing for this job and you're interviewing with you're being interviewed by a director or other members in the management team. This goes back to our interviewing episode of season one, but you have to ask the right questions to figure out the temperature of the staff that they're that you would be taking on. One, two, how does the management team work together? What like there's if you ask the right questions, you can very clearly get a temperature of how things currently are going into it. And so I think getting that information is super important so you know what you're getting yourself into. If you're getting in, like you ask, you know, like what what's your management style? Putting them on the spot, kind of seeing what they say, um, asking for, you know, patient experience scores that can tell you a lot about how a staff is doing. Um, how do you engage how do you how do you get uh like staff engagement with whatever? You know, there's a lot of questions to kind of judge how they're currently managing the staff that you're gonna take over and how well they work as a team together. And do you want to be a part of that team? There are a lot of there are a lot of management styles. There's a lot of different groups of managers across the board, not even just in healthcare, where like people are just like, my boss is an asshole and I can't believe blah, blah, blah, blah. Like you can glean, you can get a gle a glimmer of that when you're interviewing. And if there's red flags, like you have to have, you have to be okay with whatever your decision is. If you know, moving forward in that process. Like if you interviewed with them and you did not like the people that interviewed you, you're like, ooh, the vibes are off, like doesn't seem like the staff is happy, that sort of thing. Like, if the position's offered to you and you take it, like you've then made a decision to join a team where there's a lot of turmoil or a lot of, you know, drama going on. And do you really want to be a part of that? That's something that, you know, that for me, that would be a huge red flag. And I'd be like, thank you for considering me for the position, but I'm gonna dec I'm gonna decline.

Christopher: 29:46

Even as someone who is wanting to enact change?

Colby: 29:49

Like Yeah. I on and and then that again, it's a very personal thing. Yeah. Like how much change do I want to enact? Do I want to come in and have to do a full over haul as a person? Person that doesn't have previous experience in a management role? No. Like maybe six years from now for my next job, if I was, you know, coming in and being like, I could really do a lot of work here. But to learn a new role and try to flip the the attitude of, you know, the attitude or temperature of the staff as a whole, no, thank you. No, that sounds like an absolute nightmare and would be setting me up for failure. I'm not an idiot. No, luckily the the management group that I am coming into is amazing. I feel very fortunate in the two departments that I am gonna take over the over as managing the nursing staff. Uh very, I mean, they're so self-sufficient. And that's a classic thing. And I honestly I hated hearing it from when I went through so many managers um as a floor nurse, but like they manage themselves. Like, yeah, okay, yeah, we know we manage ourselves, like, because we haven't had a manager, but they truly are so good. And I and I in through conversation with them, like I'm excited to like go deeper with them and like help them do even more than what they're doing. Not put more on their plates, but like just involvement in in the hospital in general and just make them shine even brighter than they already do.

Christopher: 31:24

So really, was it the leadership opportunity or just being able to sit down for a little bit during your shift? Like I feel like maybe a little bit of both. Probably.

Colby: 31:35

I think honestly, it's like the shorter days for me. This has been amazing.

Christopher: 31:42

Oh gosh. So you you make the leap and then you you are starting to move. That's when you really start to realize learning kind of like everything in nursing. It just kind of keeps going. So it just starts over again.

Colby: 32:01

The biggest surprise for me was was realizing how different your day looks when you're not at the bedside anymore. Like that has been, it's been wild. So of course that was like, again, the first week was shocking. But now I'm like I get text messages from my friends that are still working on the unit, and I'm like, oh, I don't miss it at all. Not a not a wink.

Christopher: 32:26

Oh God. So how did your perspective change in terms of patient care?

Colby: 32:31

I know it's only been two weeks, but it's been Yeah, I think it's also tricky because it's not the same patient care as what I was doing.

Christopher: 32:39

Yeah.

Colby: 32:39

Um, inpatient. And I think if I was an inpatient manager, I think it it probably wouldn't have I don't know, it's hard to say. But like as far as like the patient care that I'm doing now, it's like way more fun because the patients are happy to be there as far as cardiac rehab. Like they're, you know, people are coming out of major surgeries or getting these crazy like diagnoses, diagnoses, and they're eager to they're and they've you know, they've you know, a lot of them are on restrictions, like mobility restrictions after surgeries, and or are too scared because they got, you know, they were told their heart's too weak to to exercise and they need to chill out. Like when they're finally able to get to cardiac rehab, they're so happy. Yeah. So it's so fun working with this with a group of patients that appreciate you, want to learn, are super super active in their own health care. It's such a delight because uh I feel like the pattern that you see more often in inpatient is, you know, and you know, I don't blame them. They're sick. Nobody wants to be sick, nobody wants to be not at their baseline, and nobody wants to be in the hospital. So they're most of the time miserable and going back to management being a thankless job, like nursing in general is a thankless job. Um, so the I mean, I don't know. It's I mean, it's it's a tough question for me because it's just a different kind of nursing. And I am very much so in in in it right now, being like orienting to the actual nurse role. Like I am taking care of the patients in the same way that the staff that I'm gonna be managing takes care of these patients. So um, and I and I hope that it, I hope, like I said, like I want to be able to jump in whenever I can, and that's why it was so important to me that I get to orient in this way. Um, so I hope that like I I don't get to the point where I'm like, I'm in I'm the manager. I'm sitting in the office. I'm not gonna answer that, you know. And and I think what the question is leading towards is like, I'm not gonna answer that call bell. Like, I'm the manager. But I would never be like that even if I was impatient. Like I'm gonna be out there just because that's the kind of person I am. I think that's how I would go with that.

Christopher: 34:58

I so interestingly enough, there are times where even both of us are very similar in terms of we we really are very hands-on in terms of our leadership. We don't we don't normally just sit down and give orders to do stuff. Um, and if we do ask for a someone to do something, we're gonna show that we're gonna do it too. Like it's not right. Right. But in your two weeks, you have yet to fully go into the AM role, which is fine because you're orienting. I think you'll realize that you're gonna have to say occasionally, I cannot get that kill that call bell. I mean, of course. I mean, you know, just like you as a charge nurse, right? Like you have things that you do as a charge nurse that the the floor nurses are not able to do. Same thing goes along with management. Like you're just gonna have to say no to one thing because as my manager would say, if you're saying no to something, you're saying yes to something else. Or opposite, if you say yes to something, you're saying no to something else.

Colby: 36:20

Yeah, no, there's like legitimate things that a manager has to do.

Christopher: 36:23

Right.

Colby: 36:24

Yes. I think it that was kind of burying the lead. Um in an unfair way to ask that question. I obvious yeah, I do agree. I mean, yeah, there's gonna be things that a manager has to do because they have to get it done and nobody else does it.

Christopher: 36:42

Right.

Colby: 36:42

But I think there's also a fine line where there's managers who hide in offices and they don't make themselves as available. And which is again, this goes back to me not wanting to be an inpatient manager because I wouldn't be able to be the nurse manager that I f need. Like I because I well, no, I guess I don't even know that that really that's like going back on me saying like I'm not the kind of person that would would sit behind a door anyways, but yeah. And I think I wouldn't be able to maintain my work-life balance.

Christopher: 37:25

Yeah, I I mean that's a tricky spot to be in. It's a tri it's a very tricky and that, you know, it goes back to us talking about it just a couple minutes ago. Like finding that if it's right for you, like you you've gotta you've gotta know that you're gonna let somebody down by saying no to someone.

Colby: 37:48

Mm-hmm. Ooh, I mean it's like part of the job.

Christopher: 37:51

It is. Um and it sucks, it's not great. It it's one of those things where you're like, I wish I could say yes to everyone because you hope everyone can do the job that you do as well. But when you're sitting and trying to, because some person is like, we need this, this, and this, and you're like, I don't have a clue where to start, and you're diving in, and then they're like, hey, can you come help patient A? I'm like, you know, I can't, because you asked for this, this, and this, and I'm waste to chest deep and trying to figure out who I'm supposed to talk to and how long I'm supposed to talk to, and then I have to go to a meeting to prepare for something about it, and then after that, they tell you that it's not gonna take another month because they gotta build the project. Like it's you know, it and and then you have them complaining that they're take you're taking too long, and you're like, I'm trying. Like this is something I'm trying to do, but it's not as easy as me just saying and yeah, you know, like I think that that like really highlights the importance of communication for me.

Colby: 39:00

Like putting myself in the shoes of the staff, like for me, what I always wanted was communication, and I can appreciate that things take time, but just like a an update, like, hey guys, I'm still waiting for an answer to just that reminder. Because if you don't, I'm not saying that you do or don't. That's fair.

Christopher: 39:18

But how many times can you hear that without them actually saying, is it is it really, is it really just waiting on an answer?

Colby: 39:24

Well, I mean, people are gonna be assholes, but I can only tell them the truth. And I think that's you know, that's something that you it's it's a trust thing that you have to build with your staff. Yeah. And I think for me personally, and not everybody is the same, so not everybody on your staff is gonna be the same, and that's just the nature of human beings. But I think if you start with open lines of communication, you're gonna build trust with people, and that becomes a standard. You know what I mean? So, like, yeah, if I I'm telling you that's the answer I'm getting, that that's like I have no my my, you know what I'm saying? Like my my staff will trust me because we have we are building trust, we are opening lines of communication, you have to show consistency, you have to show that you're working for them, not over them.

Christopher: 40:16

Right. Right. I yeah. I I mean it's definitely something that in theory should work. Uh I think because of the nature of humans.

Colby: 40:35

Not always, but there's always gonna I mean that's the that's the thing. There's always like one bad apple that can turn the whole bunch, but right. And it is what it is.

Christopher: 40:47

Sometimes that that bad apple surprises you and you would have never expected it. Um so yeah, I I think management in in itself is not as I I think management because of management being what it is very hard for full transparency to all staff. And I mean communication is important, trust is even more. It I it I mean, it can be just as simple as you accidentally not sending a text message, like that could ruin that trust you have built. Uh and it's just it's it's an interesting dynamic that I I love the theory of yes, like consistency, you saying you you following up on the little things so that you can continue on bigger things and it builds that like rapport and all that stuff, it's great. I think it's just sometimes I feel as if staff believe managers are mu um magicians or wizards or warlocks, however you want to say it. Genie. But but um Yeah, we're not. And we don't have a crystal ball. We we don't have a wand that fixes, we don't twinkle our nose so that we can disappear and reappear. Um But I I it in the end of the day, it it goes back to if you are going into management, you've gotta be willing to to know that that perspective is being put on you and you are either going to live up to it to a point, um, but you'll never actually reach that goal of being the magician that everybody wants you to be.

Colby: 43:08

Gotta have a thick skin.

Christopher: 43:09

Yeah. And I know this is a little harder because you're still in orientation. What did you not what did you expect about management and like no, excuse me. What did you not expect about management? Good or bad? I don't know yet. What did I not expect?

Colby: 43:35

What was something that you didn't expect when you made that transition?

Christopher: 43:40

The the entire whole like they expect you to do things that they ask and get it done in a timely manner and unfortunately timeline. Yeah. Their timeline is not the timeline is not the timeline that the health system works on.

Colby: 44:02

One thing about our health system is that they throw out these like crazy ideas, and then reality is it takes like four times as long as what they said originally. Right. They really need as like out as a whole, and they probably individually, you know, the the people who make these big decisions probably individually have all taken Dare to lead at some point. But I feel like they need to get back in there as a group and like do like a refresher course with Brene Brown because I love the the concept with Brene Brown where it's like their team is talking about a plan and there's a time like they they do this thing was like flipping a card for as far as like getting a sense of what the timeline should be of like this thing that they're planning being done. And the one example was like three people flip a time card and like the boss is like, oh, it should only take six months. And then like the two people who are like doing the work are like, this is gonna take a year and a half, and it kind of just like brings perspective back in. I think that's that's totally legit. Like actually being told, like, oh, we need this done, and you know, we need to roll this out, and everyone needs to be done in 30 days. And it's like, I'm sorry, like I have people who work wage, like I'm not gonna be able to, like, yeah, like that kind of thing. I can totally understand that. I think again, it's it's a little bit hard for me to speak on it. We should have like a follow-up maybe at the end of this season to talk about the things that I've learned in management just because it's so early for me. But so far, I think I'm also in a really unique position in that I'm a part of a management team that has managers already, or they're calling them supervisors already in both these departments, and they just have never had a nurse on the in the management team. And so I am gonna be splitting the workload. I will never have as much workload as you had in even just your AM role because I have 50% on both departments covered by somebody else. So I really stumbled into like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity best job, like best case scenario. And like I'm like, I'm not worried at all because again, like my workload will never be as bad as yours. Um, sorry. Um, but I guess like I that's something that I didn't expect, like I just didn't expect this job at all as a whole. Um going into something that's being created that's never they've never had before. The I did not expect um I I did so I going into it, my expectations was things would be a little bit more thought out. And I probably should have listened a little bit more when they're saying, like, we're gonna let you figure it out. They were legit, meaning they were gonna let me kind of figure things out. And so that's been a wild ride of me coming to an understanding of what that means. Cause I thought, like, still like outside of like the orientation into the actual nurse roles that there would be some kind of guideline, but really it's a blank slate, and I'm flying by the seat of my pants as far as like the AM thing is. And I'm so lucky to have I'm going to sign up for a legitimate mentor, but you have been my acting mentor um so far. And like I'm so grateful that you've gone through all of this before me. So you know about all of these opportunities and things um that are available to me to help this transition go a little bit smoother and like provide me with guidance um and classes and everything that's coming with it. Like I expected to kind of have that information from my management come from my management team. And because none of them are nurses, they're not even fully aware of the scope that our health system has available for new leaders in nursing. So that I was not expecting to be so alone in that. So again, I am so thankful to you to be like, do you know about this? Have they told you about that? Have you done this? I'm like, no, I'm like frantically writing things down so that I can like look into it. So that is definitely probably the biggest thing that I haven't that I wasn't expecting so far.

Christopher: 48:38

Yeah. Just a little story time, I guess, uh, going toward me as a first week uh as a manager because or assistant nurse manager. It I it it honestly was very similar to what you're feeling right now. Like, yes, luckily I had actually worked on the unit that I was promoted to AM for. And so I was able to really understand the process. I knew the doctors, I knew the APPs, the LIPs, however you want to call it, the surgeons, the the nephrologist, the hepatologist, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And so that like that was that was already something I had kind of already had a leg up on. But I think what was the hardest part in the first week was literally learning the administrative part of it. And so I I sat with our administrative assistant at that time and was like, okay, what do you do? Because I I know that you do something with scheduling.

Colby: 49:40

Yeah.

Christopher: 49:41

That's that's pretty much all I got. Um and so I took time and understood how that person did scheduling, how they did managing of if they needed to move people. I also learned, you know, the whole like ordering process, and there was there's a lot more that the administrative did administrative assistant did. And it was just very eye-opening. I I legitimately took notes. I had like a good four or five pages worth of notes um front and back. You know, like it was a lot of stuff. And even now, like there are things that are being done or being asked of me, and it's like, I don't remember how to do that at all. Like, um, and so I, you know, I I am humble enough to ask that person that I went to and was like, I don't remember how to do this. What what is that? Um, and I think there's an importance in that because it then also shows that you as a a leader are willing to to not overinflate your your lack of shortcomings. Um and because and you know, that builds also the the trust to people because you're like, oh, he's not gonna BS us and just hopefully get an answer that sounds good but might not be right. And I mean it it was that moment that like the administrative that I was like, oh, this is different than just bedside nursing. Like yes, I had to, as a backup charge, had to figure out scheduling in terms of like assignments and stuff like that, but even even the whole like interviewing people, I was like, whoa, this is this is different. Like I have to I have to kind of see through the people that are good at interviewing and be like, is it just because they're really good at interviewing, or are they really going to be good for the team? Like it is are they giving me the vibe that's going to work for the team or not? Like, I mean I still haven't perfected that at all, but it is something that you have to think about when you're in leadership. And I don't know, it's it's fun, it's fun and different, but I don't know, just it it's a fun it's a it's it's a big weight on people that I don't think I feel like during this whole podcast all I'm gonna be like emphasizing is that managers are people too Christopher's his feelings rightfully so. Um and so like in order for a in order for a team to work well you all have to have this baseline trust of baseline value of trust that's going to be like hey they're here to as a manager better my workflow, better my staffing, better my my career in terms of like helping me go to back to school or helping guide me to which certification I need to get, or like all these things. And then as a manager looking at their staff, the staff is going to be there to truly give excellent patient care. And how does that show up? That shows up in coming to work on time, that shows up in um doing the job and be challenging the manager to be like, hey, I don't have the appropriate equipment, and this is why I'm coming to you kind of upset, because you don't have the equipment to do stuff. And so like all of that is a basis of trust, though. Like you can't you can't allow it to be, oh, hey, they're just doing it because they don't they don't like the way I dress today. I mean, it's not that simple, but it is something that I think both managers and those that are being managed have to really check themselves on.

Colby: 54:07

Yeah, it it goes back and forth. It's definitely a two-way street. I think uh to echo. I think trust is really just like such an important part for both. I mean, like as a manager, you want your staff to trust you, but you also want to trust your staff. Like it's the key word that I'm really driving home the last two weeks, like with myself, is that's the word that keeps coming up for me. Trust. Um, talk about like writing things down though. That is like the Christopher um left a little gift bag on my door the morning, my first morning. Um, so like at my apartment door the first morning of where of my AM job. And in it was a notebook, and it was meant for like journaling, you know, like the hard days, whatever. But uh I just I got that thing out with me and I just write notes in it all day long. Like it is like my little Bible now. Like I'm just like writing anything that someone says a name, I'm like, okay, let me write down this name and what do they do? Oh, that's our epic person. Okay, let me write that. Like, if I need anything, like anything is getting written down in there. Um, it's literally, I just have it with me always. I'm walking around with the notebook and writing stuff down because again, it's been information overload and it's important stuff, and I'm not gonna retain it all yet because there's no context. So I'm just like, all right, let me jot that down. It's that I'm gonna have that thing for a long time because it's got my brain in it, basically.

Christopher: 55:38

Yeah, management is all about knowing the people. Which is weird. Yeah. Yeah.

Colby: 55:47

I think one thing I am lucky though is that you were saying, um, like you knew the doctors and everything. That is one thing that like has translated into at least cardiac rehab. It's gonna be a little bit different working with the well, no, stress lab would be the same attendings, but it'll be it. The only thing that's different is our APPs are different inpatient versus outpatient. So I don't know the outpatient APPs, but luckily there's not too many of them, so I'll figure it out pretty quickly. But the doc like the attendings and the fellows, they're they are the same. So that's one less hurdle to get over.

Christopher: 56:21

It is, it's nice.

Colby: 56:25

All right, it's time for scrub hacks. Those quick practical tips that make surviving your shift just a little easier.

Christopher: 56:31

Because let's be honest, anything that saves time or sanity on the floor deserves a round of applause, or at least a caffeine break.

Colby: 56:41

So this week on the theme of moving on to management, how to tell your coworkers that you're leaving. So let's talk about that awkward part.

Christopher: 56:52

Yeah, there's no easy way to say, hey guys, I'm out, but I still love you.

Colby: 56:58

No, it's not easy. I think when I was going through the process of applying for the job, I kind of kept it on the down low just in case like it didn't work out. And I didn't want to like people to be like, oh, she's applying for a man management job and then didn't get it, loser. Like, not that they would, but again, that's more like my internal dialogue of like fear of embarrassment and that kind of thing. So I kept it on the DL and then all of a sudden I got the job and I was I accept the position, and then I was like, oh shit, I'm leaving. And I touched on it earlier. Um, but yeah, like how how are you how are you opening that up to your coworkers, that that subject? How are you broaching that topic?

Christopher: 57:42

Yeah, I mean, I think most of the time I'm always of the rule of thought, just keep everything close to your chest and don't let people know. I'm I'm totally okay with Irish goodbyes.

Colby: 57:55

Did you let people know when you left to leave cards to transplant?

Christopher: 57:59

Nope.

Colby: 58:00

I don't remember how I learned of it.

Christopher: 58:02

Yeah, I was gonna say the only person I let know was the manager, which wasn't necessary.

Colby: 58:07

Um I think I was already gone traveling when you did the transition, so I just like, oh, Christopher's going to transplant. And I was like, oh, that's crazy.

Christopher: 58:17

Well, that's crazy. Yeah, I yeah, I'm probably not the one to talk about this because I I I'm really I'm totally okay with the Irish goodbyes. I I feel like there is a Well, that's not a good way to build trust. Well, it's not, but just felt like I needed to say. I just don't have trust in everybody else. But I mean, it's true, that's what it is. I much rather just silently. My way of doing work has always been do the work, go home. Like, you don't need accolades, you don't need acknowledgement, you don't need uh a party to say how good or bad you've done. And so that's why I'm okay with saying it's the same reason why I don't celebrate my birthday. I come in, I've been in this world, I'm doing what I'm supposed to do, I'll keep going.

Colby: 59:32

You're such a party pooper. Well every party is a party pooper. I'm the complete opposite.

Christopher: 59:39

I mean, like, I did keep the whole Obviously it's your favorite holiday.

Colby: 59:42

My favorite holiday is my birthday. Yeah, I obviously like kept the steps into into leaving on the DL and close to my chest, but when I knew I was going, I'm I think again just being open with people. It's like, oh yeah, by the way, guys, I'm I'm leaving. I have something I have to tell you. Um, I am big on transparency and communication. That is two things that I my as far as like values, I hold very high. And I think when you work so long with a team, it's an I don't know, it's important to me.

Christopher: 1:00:19

Also, just remember, I'm very emotionally unconnected with a lot of things. And so I think that's also one of those like I just Yeah, remember what he said about his dog, guys. Oh God. Do you know my dad was like, Colby stumped you? And I was like, Don't you dare practical tips.

Colby: 1:00:43

Clearly, there are multiple schools of thought on what you should do when you leave. We asked chat. We leaned into our friend ChatGPT and asked them. And some practical tips, they gave us a quick five. The first one is be transparent but professional. And that is exactly what I did. Give your team time to adjust.

Christopher: 1:01:04

Oh yeah. The second one is focus on growth, not escape. So frame it as moving forward, not away.

Colby: 1:01:10

So again, that's very professional.

Christopher: 1:01:13

Yeah. I mean. Yeah, exactly.

Colby: 1:01:16

Yeah. Three, express gratitude, acknowledge that what the team has taught you.

Christopher: 1:01:22

Four is stay connected. Nursing is smaller than you think, so relationships do matter.

Colby: 1:01:28

Yeah, don't burn all the bridges. All of them. Burn them down. No. It's funny because I have a tattoo that says, May the bridges I burn light away. But uh professionally, be very careful in the bridges you burn down.

Christopher: 1:01:43

I mean, it's very true. You never know if you need to come back or if you need someone to come help you.

Colby: 1:01:48

Yeah. You want and you know, connections really help you in the industry. Yeah. And that's like any professional industry keeping connections.

Christopher: 1:01:57

Like it is. And I think we've talked about this before. Nursing is smaller than what you like.

Colby: 1:02:01

Well than what you think it is.

Christopher: 1:02:02

It's really, like, really small.

Colby: 1:02:04

Yeah. It's a huge it's a huge profession, but we uh we all have ears.

Christopher: 1:02:10

Yeah, I'll be bumping bumping elbows quite frequently.

Colby: 1:02:13

That's true. And celebrate it, even if it's better sweet and your your growth deserves recognition. And even though Christopher does not agree with celebrating these things, I certainly do. And I love to celebrate others when they move on. And my co-workers celebrated me with a party. We did a grilled cheese day uh for lunch, potluck. And um I brought the cheese. Did you you brought cheese? You brought a pumpkin roll. That was good. Someone m my friend Hope made or got a cake and decorated it, and it says R.I.P. That should be really funny if we posted a picture of the cake. I can send it to you on the on the page so you guys can see it. But yeah, I think I definitely agree with your growth deserves recognition. When people are moving on to new things, they should be celebrated. And um I would I celebrate Christopher even though he doesn't want to be celebrated for lots of different things. So that's our scrub hack for the week. Because work smarter, not harder, right?

Christopher: 1:03:11

Exactly. If it saves you five minutes or five headaches, it's a win in our book.

Colby: 1:03:15

Now, if only someone could hack these 12-hour shit.

Christopher: 1:03:18

Well, we did, technically. That's right. Uh but uh if we truly hack 12-hour shifts, we probably need to retire.

Colby: 1:03:35

Yeah, retiring early sounds lovely.

Christopher: 1:03:41

So we talk about hacking the 12-hour shifts. Let's talk about something that doesn't get enough or attention. The people you leave behind.

Colby: 1:03:50

Yeah, because no matter how exciting your next step is, leaving a unit means leaving friends, mentors, and a routine that felt like home.

Christopher: 1:03:58

What was the hardest part?

Colby: 1:04:00

Leaving the routine that felt like home. Honestly, that really hits so hard. The routine. I am such a I have I have ADHD, unmedicated. I'm just out here living life like that. And a routine keeps me in check. It keeps everything in balance for me. And I'm big on routines. And um starting a new job has been a a roller coaster for me in the routine department because I Yeah, that it was just bad timing for you. It was bad timing for me. Not only that, but we also just had the time change where we live.

Christopher: 1:04:40

Yeah.

Colby: 1:04:41

It's getting dark at before five o'clock at night. I get pretty bad seasonal affective disorder, and it just normally I think I don't really notice notice the transition. It's it's more blunted because of working 12-hour shifts. And, you know, doesn't really matter what time of the year. Most most of the year you get out of work at eight o'clock at night. The sun's at least setting, if not already down. And with the exception of, you know, summer months.

Christopher: 1:05:06

But um But even then, it's starting to go down.

Colby: 1:05:09

Yeah, but even then, exactly. And so and then on days where I wasn't working, I was getting sunshine throughout the day. So like by the time the sun went down, I was like, whatever, I got enough sun. So it's been quite the transition to be going into work five days a week instead of three. Um, it's getting out of work and the sun going down and my body thinking, oh, well, it must be eight o'clock at night, because that's what happened. That's just my like that mind-body routine outside of like your conscious and like your conscious mind of recognizing the time of day. Um your body has like a feeling, you know, much like a dog knows it's time for dinner at five o'clock on the dot, even though they don't know, can't tell time, you're it's very intrinsic. And so my body just thinks it's eight o'clock at night, and I'm go home and it's like I'm in my pajamas, and then I look, I'm like, wait, it's only 5 30. Like I can do things. So relearning how to be an adult is is so funny. I think in in traditional nursing, working for that many years on that kind of schedule, like not that I wasn't an adult, I was I've been an adult, but it's just a different type of lifestyle. And going to where what most people do, so I call it like a more traditional lifestyle of working like five days a week and nine, two, five. Yeah, like that nine to five schedule. Like that is such a whirlwind for me. I'm like, when do I work out? When do I do my like household chores? Because I used to save that stuff for like my full days off. When I was working, all I had time to do was work, get home, take care of trout, which is my dog, and maybe eat something, maybe, maybe, or it's like an andor, I have time to shower, I have time to eat dinner, and then go to bed and do it all over again. So, like, but now I'm working and I have time to do things to keep my life just going, you know, the things that you need to do in order to keep life going. And it's been, it's been crazy. And so, like, and that's just my personal side. Like my routine at work, I like the last two weeks, haven't really had one because I I've never done this before. So I'm figuring that out. And my routines at at the hospital, like, it didn't matter if it turned out to be a crazy day. Like I had a, you know, something in the Rolodex for anything. I could, you know, I went in, I knew what my baseline day was gonna be. And it didn't matter. It could be something as crazy as having to code someone, but like I had an algorithm in my brain to deal with that. And now I have no algorithms, I have no routines, and that has been so hard. I'm really going through it, guys. That's been the worst part.

Christopher: 1:07:54

Yeah, it it's definitely weighed pretty heavily on Colby. I I can just like you can tell. He's like, Are you okay? There have. There have been times where I'm like, hmm, are you good? Because I'm worried. It doesn't seem like it.

Colby: 1:08:14

Yeah, no, it's it's been a struggle. I'm I definitely, like I said, the second week I'm just figuring things out, so it's definitely feeling a lot better routine-wise. I'm like finding a routine, I'm trying different things to see what works, and I'm kind of just I'm trying to have a lot of self-control. Because of the ADHD, it's really easy for me to without a routine to delineate and just kind of like la la la. And all of a sudden, like six hours goes by and you're like, oh shoot, I didn't do anything. So I'm like really trying hard with myself to like create a new routine as quickly as possible so that I stay productive. It's kind of funny, like in this new role, as I was saying before, they've really kind of just been like, it's yours to create.

Christopher: 1:09:02

Yeah.

Colby: 1:09:03

When you have ADHD, that's a very dangerous amount of blank slate to have. And if you are not a self-driven person, it will be very easy to do nothing. And not even purposefully, right? Like completely accidentally do nothing. Um and it is something I have some worries about because it's it's an easy way, it's an easy thing to slip into and just like lose time, track of time. So it's something I'm very conscious of right now, of trying to be in during my working hours when I don't have when I'm not specifically working with pay like learning the nurse roles. I do have like a couple of free blocks of time in my day to kind of look at stuff on the A and M side right now. And I am like seriously, like I'm I'm like so in line right now, keeping myself, I'm writing things down, I'm making myself schedules and checklists so that I can keep on track, which is very unusual for me because in the inpatient role, I had been doing it for so long that I knew what to do every day.

Christopher: 1:10:15

Those checklists were in your head.

Colby: 1:10:17

Yeah, they were in my head, and it I had it felt to me, because I had those more structured time. And if I don't have structured time, I'm I'm I'm like a I'm like a golden retriever. I'm like, duh, what's going on, guys? Like butterflies dancing around in my brain. So I'm trying to create it's really tricky to to have that part of yourself. And also on the flip side, have this other side of yourself that you know you function well and structure. And you have to be the one to give you yourself the structure. Very tricky, very tricky area to be in. You have to have self-motivation and self-control. Yeah.

Christopher: 1:11:02

What advice would you give those for those that you have left behind, the ones still holding it down on the floor?

Colby: 1:11:08

You know, I think everybody's timeline in their jobs is different. There are a lot of people that come into a bedside job knowing when their end date is, what knowing that what the light at the end of their tunnel is gonna be. Um, and I think there are also a lot of people that don't. I think the advice I would give you is to um take it day by day, learn as much as you can in what you're doing, um, but never be closed off to opportunities that come up come about. Don't restrict yourself. If something comes up, explore it and know that and know that if the option you explore doesn't work out, you could always go back to bedside because they're so desperate, they'll take you back. And that has been a little bit of peace, uh has brought me a little bit of peace, honestly, knowing that that is so true. Um, I was like, well, if this manager thing turns out to be a bust, like I could always go back. And it is very true because I have left and I have gone back. So don't be afraid to take, don't be afraid to take a step in a direction that you weren't expecting. I think it's worth exploring all options and you should do that.

Christopher: 1:12:24

I also want to say, like, to those that are still like on the the team that you leave. When a leader sh when a leader leaves a unit, it is very rarely that it's a reflection of you as a a team. It doesn't mean that you did anything wrong, um, but it gives you the opportunity to step up, not to fill the shoes, but to create the shoes that you are going to wear as a leader. And so take the time to investigate and be intuitive to yourself and how you are going to grow as a leader in this moment of emptiness that you know Colbean left or the one that I left. Like, you know, like it's it's important for you to grow as a leader. And in order for you to grow, you have to have a spot to go into. Every, you know, there's the hermit crab. The hermit crab grows, it sheds its shell and it goes into another one that's a big thing. That's a great analogy, yeah. Um, and so like you've got to be that hermit crab to let go of one of your shells and go into another one that's bigger. Yeah. Um and like I I cannot emphasize enough, you are not going to fill those shoes that that person left. It's not meant for you to fill them, it's meant for you to create your shoe that's going to be that spot.

Colby: 1:13:50

Yeah. Grow into it and make it yours.

Christopher: 1:13:53

Right. And so for those leaving, remember your growth doesn't necessarily erase your roots. And for those staying, keep doing what you do best. Every great leader started right where you are.

Colby: 1:14:06

Yeah. That's the heart of nursing. We grow, but we never really leave each other behind.

Christopher: 1:14:10

All right. Class dismissed. That's a wrap for today's session of Nursing Life 101.

Colby: 1:14:15

We hope this one encourages you to take that next step, whether it's management, education, or just becoming a nurse, the nurse you're meant to be.

Christopher: 1:14:23

You can find us on Twitter or X at Nurse Life101. Life is spelled L-Y-F-E. Facebook at Nursing Life 101, or Instagram at nursing underscore life underscore 101.

Colby: 1:14:35

Don't forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review. It helps more nurses find our show.

Christopher: 1:14:39

And if you're listening from the bedside, remember your leadership journey might already be starting. You just haven't realized it yet.

Colby: 1:14:47

Until next time, take care of yourselves and keep making a difference out there.

Christopher: 1:14:51

Happy Thanksgiving.