Advice for Achieving Success as a First-Year Nurse

Podcast Transcript

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

All these years later, I can still remember so many moments from my first year of nursing as a new grad. Moments of joy, of frustration, moments where I knew I was growing, whether I liked it or not. And the more nurses I get to meet, the more I realize that this first year is so impactful, so transformative for all of us. I'm joined today by Kathryn Stuck Boyd to discuss strategies new nurses can take and use to be successful during that first critical year.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Hi, and welcome to Nurse Essentials, a Cleveland Clinic podcast where we discuss all things nursing, from patient care to advancing your career, to navigating tough on-the-job issues. We're so glad you're here. I'm your host, Carol Pehotsky, associate chief nursing officer of surgical services nursing.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Welcome back, everyone. In February, I celebrated 22 years as a nurse, actually walking through Cleveland Clinic's doors on the first day as a nurse. So, it's been a minute. And yet, I can still remember. I can still remember the very first patient I took care of in nursing school. I can remember that first week of orientation and onboarding and my preceptor, and the first patient we took care of and those early days many years ago. There's so many core memories that are there in terms of what nursing was, what I thought it was going to be. I worked as a behavioral health technician during school, so I had some exposure there. I had been a music therapist at the burn unit, so I had some exposure to nursing there, but it's just so different when it's you. And it's not watching other people do the work. It is you.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

I think probably a lot of us have that experience. So, some of you are listening and you're in nursing school and this is not meant to scare you. It's meant to prepare you. And it's my great pleasure to welcome back to the show for her second time here, Kathryn Stuck Boyd. Kathryn is education manager and nursing residency director. Welcome back, Kathryn.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Thank you very much.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

So glad to have you. If you do not listen or know about our fabulous nurse residency program, there's a whole episode on that. It's actually one of our top episodes downloaded in all three years.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

I love it.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

We're just building on top of that success by having you back. So, we're going to fast forward. All our folks listened and they've finished nursing school and they've decided where they're going to go, but it's real time. I'm a new grad. It's go time.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Yes, it gets real. And it gets real fast.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

It does. Before we get into that, can you remind us a little bit about your career trajectory and what your path has been like?

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Yes. I decided that I wanted to be a nurse at the beginning of high school, middle school, early. I had the opportunity to do some mission work, and I just fell in love with serving. I fell in love with healthcare. I think that then I was that person who, because I was so driven and so excited, I saw Cleveland Clinic, I lived nearby. I got my first job as a PCNA so I had some experience there. Then when I graduated, I came to the Clinic, and I've been here ever since.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

And she's still driven, folks.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

It's wonderful because the beautiful thing about nursing is you can continue to grow and develop, and you can do new and different things. And I've had the opportunity to do that. So, I was bedside nurse, assistant nurse manager. I had the opportunity to support our nurse residents, new grads right when they started, when they were at the bedside. Then I progressed over the years to different positions. And now I get to support our entire enterprise nurse residency program. It's really a lot of fun to see how our nurse residents develop over time.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

So, what are some of your core memories from that first year as a nurse?

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Oh, my goodness. My first rapid response, I will never forget. My first ICU transfer, will never forget. But I will also never forget taking one of my patients and wheeling them around on the 4th of July and watching fireworks with them.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

There you go.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Those are the things that, early days, core memories that really shape who you are, I think.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

That's a great place to start, yes, I remember my, well, almost every code, but definitely the first code. But I remember the first time that a patient honestly said to me, “What do you think?” I had enough time to pull up a chair and have a real deep conversation with this person who just needed another human connection. And so, knowing that there are going to be some challenging memories and some of the most rewarding memories that you can have from that first year, what's the biggest shock, especially because you've worked with new nurses, they come to you, what are some of the biggest shocks that they are experiencing?

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Absolutely. I think that, as a nurse, you have to develop some mental and emotional stamina on top of the physical stamina of working consecutive shifts. I think that is a shock. Not only are you walking around for 12 hours straight, and you're physically working, but you also have this mental cognitive load that is exhausting. You have ups and downs throughout your shift. And you have to learn how to manage interruptions and learn how to do multiple things all at once. I think that shock that it's not just physically taxing, but it's mentally and emotionally taxing, can be an eye opener sometimes. But that's very manageable, right?

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Yes.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

And that's one of the beautiful things about nursing is that we have a plethora of evidence that drives our practice. So, we can tell you before you come in to be a nurse that you're going to be exhausted.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

That's right.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

I promise, it's coming. And that's not a bad thing. That means you care. Now is the time to start developing strong sleep strategies. Now is the time to start preparing yourself for that exhaustion. And then when you get there, it's not going to be as exhausting.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

And it truly is universal.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

It is.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

It is.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

I absolutely love reading Florence Nightingale's work. The number one nurse, and she talks about being emotionally and physically exhausted. This is nursing. It's because we care.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Yes. I know I did, again, that many years ago, I'm not going to have to juggle three jobs and clinicals and labs and all this reading. So, you walk in with this like, oh, not that it's going to be easy, but you can focus on one thing. But it does not translate. You've already planted some good seeds that we'll talk more about in terms of getting your body and your mindset right. What are some of the things that separate that new nurse who jumps and thrives versus somebody who struggles a little bit early on?

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

That's hard. Everybody's a little different. The theme that I see is that the nurses that really thrive are curious and they're coachable. They're the ones that ask the questions and when they get the answers, they really adapt to that. Nursing isn't about intelligence. It isn't about grades. That's not the only piece of it. It's embracing what you don't know, being curious about it. And then when you figure it out, really remembering it and learning it for the future. Nurses who thrive ask questions, and they really embrace those opportunities to learn.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

So, with that, I'm a student, and I'm used to asking questions of my preceptor, my clinical instructor during class, et cetera. What sort of mindset shift do nurses really need to make when they're transitioning from student to… They're still in a learning mode, they're still in residency, but they need to shift their minds.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Absolutely. When you're in school, you have a professor there, or you have a textbook to help give you the answers. When you become a nurse, you are now the one that has to know the answers, but you also have to appreciate that you don't know the answers.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

That's right.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

I think the biggest mindset shift is recognizing that you have the responsibility, you have the accountability, you are the one driving safe patient care, and you have to accept that you don't have that continuous feedback loop. You have to create it for yourself. Instead of expecting that the textbook is going to give you the answer, you have to go find the answer yourself. And that can be really hard. And it can be hard when you realize that no one's going to come behind you and give you a grade.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

There's not an adult right behind you.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

No, no, no. At the end of your shift, you're not going to get a percentage and find out, did you get an A, B, or C on the test for patient care? It's very different. I think that goes back to why a nurse is a profession. Because it is evolving. You are now a professional, and you need to have that mindset shift to embrace that. And part of that is knowing that you don't know everything.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

And the feedback style itself changes. You're used to a structured clinical instructor, maybe a preceptorship at the end of your schooling. Now you're still learning with a preceptor. What sort of changes should a new grad nurse expect in terms of some of that feedback as well?

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

When you're working with a preceptor, it's important that you are the one driving the experience. Because the preceptor doesn't necessarily know your thought process. They don't know where you're coming from, your past experiences. And instead of having an instructor driving the learning experience, now you have to be the one driving the learning experience. One of my favorite strategies is just thinking out loud.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Absolutely.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Asking your preceptor to think out loud is another way that you can really drive that learning experience because it fosters those natural feedback moments. And then feedback isn't a, let's sit down right now and look at everything from top to bottom and I'm going to tell you all the things you did wrong. It is a very in-the-moment discussion. And that's when you really start to have some meaningful, sustained learning.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

And preceptors, there's a reason why you might be sick of the sound of your own voice with it. I just say that I loved precepting, but sometimes it's like, I don't want to hear another word come out of my mouth. I have thought out loud for 12 hours. I'm happy to do it. I'm done.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Yes. It can be exhausting. Absolutely. But it's the best way for a new nurse to learn what you're thinking, and then for them to start adopting that same thought process, that same pattern.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

We've talked a lot about mindset. Let's keep going further. What clinical skills do new grads sometimes feel unprepared for, and say to you and your team, “I didn't feel ready,” and how could they proactively strengthen or how do you and your team really help bolster them through that?

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

That's an important part of a nurse residency program, or any sort of development program, is to make sure that you have the opportunity. It should have some clinical skills embedded in it as structured learning opportunities. But the piece that, I'm going to kind of burst some people's bubbles here, the most important skill is to be able to thoroughly and clearly communicate.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

It is different trying to communicate during a simulation or through role play than when it's a real patient in front of you, and you're having to explain a medication or a procedure, or you are having to talk to a physician. I think that there's incredible value, and skills are incredibly important, but I would really say that a skill that nurses tend to struggle with is having that clear, thorough communication. But the beautiful thing is it's something that they can improve on.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Absolutely.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Very quickly.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

It is a skill.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Exactly. It is a skill that you can improve very quickly by thinking out loud, like we were talking about. I am not exaggerating when I say for a very long time, out loud in my car, I would rehearse on my commute.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

How am I going to do these discharge instructions? Or how can I explain this procedure? Or this is the patient I know I'm going to have, and I had them yesterday and they weren't happy about all the things. I know that I'm going to have to tell them that we're out of sandwiches, and I know they're not going to be happy. So how am I going to explain that?

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Having those moments where you are practicing your communication during your commute, it's beautiful. It's a great time. And it converts those moments where you are struggling to help someone understand, to clear closed-loop communication opportunities.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

And what a great time to, well, steal shamelessly from your preceptor. That's one of the things we talk about, especially in OR nursing, is we don't expect you to know how to stop the line, how to speak up. But listen to the people around you.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

No matter your specialty, whether it's your preceptor or other people you happen to be working with, and steal those snippets of like, “Oh, I love how she said that. He said this thing and then I saw the action it resulted in, I thought it was really effective.” Steal it, copy it. You will eventually find your own words.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

I wish somebody had said that to me. You're going to find your own words, but you don't have to have them on day one.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

No, you don't. And jot them down. I think everybody in the notes app on your phone has some key phrases. And when you hear something that you really like, don't hesitate to write it down so you have it in the future because it takes time to develop your own language.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Yes. So, appreciating that anymore, independent of specialty, things are fast paced, high acuity. It doesn’t matter what specialty of nursing you go into. There's certainly a difference between I have checked off the boxes and I've been deemed, quote, competent, versus I'm confident in those skills.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

A big difference. That might also be another episode. But how do nurses build that confidence in such a fast-paced high-acuity world that we have today?

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

I think that you called it out very nicely that nurses are going to be competent before they are confident. That is going to happen, expect it, embrace it. And know that those times when you're not feeling confident, that's when you're learning, you're growing.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Take every experience you possibly can. So, if someone on the unit is saying that they have to go place a Foley, go with them, take advantage. Because the more experience you have, the more confidence you're going to develop. Nursing is an experiential profession. You're not going to be confident on day one.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Not for a while, actually.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Over time, you get there. And in that notes app on your phone, keep track of your progress. So, let's just say that it's been a month, and every day you've got a note on your phone that says, “I did this admission, I placed this Foley, I placed this IV.”

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

When you go back and look at those things, it's a really great moment to celebrate the good things that you've done. That builds your confidence because you have that visual cue right in front of you.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

I have had five straight IVs that I have been able to put all by myself first stick. You're winning.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Everybody else was scared of this patient. I took great care of them. I was able to meet them where they were. I was able to turn around a patient experience issue. Yes. Those things, absolutely celebrate them. I love it. What great advice.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Nobody's going to do it for you. You have got to do it yourself.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

That's right. One of the beautiful things about residencies is that they are meant to be a year long. There is built into that timeline an acknowledgement that this isn't a five week, a 10 week, this is an experience.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

So, with that, we just talked about confidence versus competence. I'm rewinding back to my day one. What should I have set for myself as realistic expectations? What should new nurses be thinking about?

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

What does six months look like? What does 12 months look like? How competent, maybe not confident am I, and how independent am I at that six-month mark or at that year mark?

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

I think a six-month mark is a really telling point in the first year. Universally, nurses have a little bit of a dip because around that four-to-six-month mark, a lot of times nurses start to become aware of what they don't know.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Start to really embrace the bigger picture. And you have that moment of, oh my goodness, I missed that. But you haven't developed those prioritization skills yet. You haven't developed that strong recognition of complexity. You're in a little bit of a limbo, and that limbo gets better over time.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

You start your first year with the preceptor support. It's wonderful. You have that honeymoon phase. You're on your own. And then inevitably about that halfway point in your first year, you're going to have a little bit of a dip.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

So, appreciate it's going to happen. It happens to everybody. You're not alone. But as that year continues to progress, you will get to a point where you're between that nine-and-12-month mark and you notice a difference.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

You have a patient who has a rapid response, and you are on point.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Pull up the notes after. Make note of it afterwards. Yes.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Exactly. Exactly. It's going to get there. As much as it's hard to hear, you have to be patient. You do have to be patient a little bit throughout that first year.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

And again, nursing is experiential. You can't rush this. You have to get the experience to really thrive. It does take a little time to do that, and that's okay.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Well, and I love that the way our program is set up is you're coming in as cohorts. So, you're not the only person at six months having a dip.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

And really staying in touch with your colleagues to understand there's nothing wrong with me. I see my colleagues doing this as well. How do we have those shared experiences?

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

That is why residency programs and mentors are so important. If I was talking with a new grad, one of the things that is so important is making sure that you have a residency that it is evidence-based, that there is that infrastructure at the organization to help you.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Because that is going to prevent you from feeling isolated. You are going to be with other people who are in the same boat as you, and you have the opportunity to learn from each other and support each other.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

It becomes an informal network sometimes. And it is very, very powerful. Sometimes development, over the first year, you can feel like you're drowning.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

But really development, if you have that peer network, if you have that support, it's like that life raft. You aren't drowning at that point. You've got somebody there to help you, and then you're swimming together instead.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

And anything in life. It's so easy to look at the world and say, everyone else has this figured out but me.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Yes, it is. But in nursing, we do so many different things. There are different specialties and such a broad array of experiences that you're going to have as a nurse. You're not going to know everything. And that's part of the fun of it.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Absolutely. So, I want to come back to specialties in a second. But before we get there, we were talking about that feeling of being overwhelmed. I would imagine that is also just about universal. I know it was for me.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

What else can new grads be doing or asking for, or how they manage that feeling of, gosh, I'm feeling overwhelmed. I feel like I'm drowning.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Everyone's a little different. I would really encourage any new grad now, before you start your job, what does it feel like for you when you're getting overwhelmed? Know the cues.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Name the emotion and the cues. Okay.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Because it's going to happen. Start by having that self-awareness of this is what I feel like when I'm overwhelmed.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

And then when you get overwhelmed, because it's going to happen, try not to let it escalate to a point where you don't know what's up from what's down. Try to get ahead of it early.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

If you know the cues, you know my heart starts to race when I start to get overwhelmed, if you feel your heart starting to race, that's when you need to pause and ask for help. It's not a bad thing to ask for help. It is a sign of strength.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

And so often nurses might say, “I don't want to be a bother. I don't want my preceptor to think I'm asking too many questions. I don't want there to be this perception that you don't know what you're doing.”

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

But it's actually very much the opposite. If you are not asking questions, your peers are going to be worried about what you're doing.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

So, knowing what it's like for you to feel overwhelmed, and then ask for help early, then you don't get there. Because once you get there, it's a lot harder to come back from.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

And nursing is, again, independent of specialty, nursing is a team sport. Period.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

It is. It is.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Nobody can boost a patient by themselves.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Never.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

The most basic example.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

You're absolutely right. And you're not expected to boost a patient on your own. No one is. So don't go into nursing or your orientation or your residency thinking that you're going to have to. You can't. And nobody wants you to.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Exactly. As our early mobility and our patient handling folks are also saying yes, ask for help. There's an episode on that too.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

So, let's go back to specialties. We'd mentioned that lightly. Now listen, we all know people who came out of the womb, I'm going to be this type of nurse. And their whole lives have said insert blank here.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Lots of people like that. The beauty of nursing school is you get exposed to lots of specialties. I was that person who every time I had a specialty, I'm going to be this kind of nurse. Nope, I'm going to be this kind of nurse.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

So, it took me a minute to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Do you have any advice on how soon to choose a specialty or how to know when to pivot? Everybody wants to have the perfect first job, and every first job, you're going to learn something and there's going to be challenges as well. Nothing is perfect.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

What advice do you have for folks that are trying to find their way with a specialty?

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Nursing has so many opportunities. I think it's helpful to know that, just because this is your first job, it's very, very likely that it's not going to be your last.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

That's right.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

You can pivot. It's a good thing. And if you're really not sure where to go, start with med surg because you're going to get to see a little bit of everything.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

And it is a specialty.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

It is. Just being able to navigate the amazingly complex patients that we have and the variety of backgrounds that they're going to have, it is a skillset unto itself.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

I really encourage med surg nursing. And then, like you were saying, then you can look at it and, okay, now I know I want to be a surgical nurse, or now I know I want to be a cardiac nurse, whatever the case may be.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Think about what interests you and what you've been exposed to. So, I can tell you that a lot of nursing students when I talk to them, they say, “I want to be a pediatric nurse.”

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Everyone. Almost universally.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Or labor and delivery. Those are the two. Everybody wants to be peds or labor and delivery. I will tell you that I was that person.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Same.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Yes. One hundred percent. I had my first clinical rotation in peds and immediately walked out and said, no way.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

No thank you.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Yes. And that's okay. That's okay. Start by thinking about where is your interest. Is there a body system that you really appreciate?

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Some nurses look at it and say, I love cardiac. Some nurses look at it and say, I love neuro. Some nurses aren't really sure. Med surg, that's awesome. That is an amazing place.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

And then also think about, do you like talking to people? Do you like a relationship that you build over time, or are you the person that really thrives on adrenaline? Because there are environments for each of those as well.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

A setting for each one of us.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

And that's good too. So, before you zero in on a specific patient population, think about what brings you joy and what you want to learn more about.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Because you're going to end up learning a whole lot in any setting that you're in. What do you want to learn more about? And then sometimes you can back into which nursing area is best for you.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Like you said, it's never been a better time to be a nurse. There are specialties that didn't even exist. With the right aptitude and attitude, you can succeed in all of them.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

I know many, many nurses who have done that. They work a few years in one area, then they switch and they work a few years in another area because they enjoy that challenge of a new patient population.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

It's amazing.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

It is. It's wonderful.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

You've given a lot of great counsel to our folks who are going to be joining the nursing profession soon, or maybe just did. But if you could boil it down to one piece of advice, every new nursing graduate should hear and embrace, what would it be?

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

One piece of advice is really hard.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Okay. Maybe a couple.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Can I give two?

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Of course.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

All right. Two. Give yourself grace to grow. Someone told me that at one point in time. Her name is Lisa Baszynski. She is the associate chief nursing officer of our nursing professional development group.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

She sat down with me at one point in time and said, “You need to give yourself grace to grow.”

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

I love it.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

And that has stuck with me. I tell people that routinely because growing is hard, and you have to allow that of yourself.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

So, the first thing that I would say is to give yourself grace to grow. And then also, if you can recognize how important it is to stay curious.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Be curious about what your patient's story is. Be curious about what their medications are. Be curious about what might be going on with the provider and what they're thinking.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Because if you stay curious, you're going to ask those questions, and that's what's going to drive patient safety.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

I love it. Perfect. You heard it here first, folks.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

All right. Well, now we're going to flip to the speed round, and ask some fun questions, so that our audience gets to learn more about you as an amazing human being in addition to being a fantastic content expert.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

All these people you have and continue to touch in the role that you serve, how would your 10-year-old self react to what you do and your journey?

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

My 10-year-old self would not believe what I'm doing. I was shy. I was quiet.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

No.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Yes. Oh, my goodness. Yes. I was paranoid. I was scared. I was scared to get in front of a person and talk and be the person in front of others presenting. And now I do this all the time.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

All the time.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

All the time. If my 10-year-old self could see me now, and how I've embraced nursing and supporting other people, I don't think that they would know what to think.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Jaw on the ground.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Fantastic. And as you know, we've recently revised our organizational values, and they've been revised to three. Serve with heart, succeed as one team, and shape the future. Which of those three most resonates with you?

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Serve with heart resonates with me. It really does. As a nurse, we serve. As a leader, we serve. As an educator, we serve.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

And I think that my professional journey has really allowed me to blend those things. So, I am a nurse, I am a nursing educator, and I am a nurse leader. And all those things come back to serving and serving with heart.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Wonderful. Thank you so much for joining me today.

Kathryn Stuck Boyd:

Thank you for having me.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

As always, thanks so much for joining us for today's discussion. Don't miss out. Subscribe to hear new episodes wherever you get your podcasts.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

And remember, we want to hear from you. Do you have ideas for future podcasts or want to share your stories? Email us at nurseessentials@ccf.org.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

To learn more about nursing at Cleveland Clinic, please check us out at clevelandclinic.org/nursing.

Dr. Carol Pehotsky:

Until next time, take care of yourselves and take care of each other.

The information in this podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical or legal advice. Consult your local state boards of nursing for any specific practice questions.