Talking to Spartan Nurses featured on Instagram Takeovers

On this episode, Dr. Mike Martel and Harley Brown sit down with two students of Michigan State University's College of Nursing, Alli Walsh and Caleb Fraser. Both proudly showcased a day in the life of a Spartan Nurse via our Instagram “Takeovers.”

Allí Walsh, a former BSN and first-year PhD student, works as a research assistant and hospital nurse on an inpatient child and psychiatric floor.

Caleb Fraser, a senior of the traditional BSN program, is heavily involved in the community as a squad leader in the marching band, a music director of an acapella group, a superior for a local coffee shop, and a volunteer at Ele’s Place.

To find your breaking news and latest updates within the College of Nursing, please refer to our website at nursing.msu.edu. You can also find us on all social media platforms @MICHSTNursing

Transcript

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[Music] thank you for joining this episode of the Spartan nurse podcast today we interview two of our very own MSU College of Nursing students you may know them from our social media takeovers Ally Walsh and Caleb Frasier let us welcome Ally so Ally I know you pretty well from these takeovers but can you give our audience a little bit more background about who you are yeah so my name is Ally I am a first year PhD student at Michigan State's College of Nursing however I was just recently A Bachelor of Science and nursing student um I graduated last spring and started back here in the fall also here at MSU I work as a research assistant um where I get practice with a lot of the professors and uh learning a little bit more about research technique and then outside of MSU I work as a nurse on an inpatient child and psychiatric floor um while I do school as well so that's a little bit about me my research topic focuses on um early adolescent mental health and social media use awesome um what inspired you to pursue a career in nursing what was your passion and what what led you to nursing and specifically as a Spartan nurse well what led me to nursing was actually one of uh the quizzes that we took in high school about like what career best suits you and it told me nursing and I didn't really think that much of it until later on that year when I wanted to do some volunteering in my community and I thought the hospital was a great place to start so I volunteered as a front desk member at our local ER and that is where I first really got exposed to the healthcare field I don't come from a family of healthcare workers um and that was a really great experience for me just interacting with patients and definitely interacting with the nurses there and so that's when I decided to pursue nursing and I decided to come to Michigan State because I came for a tour and I just really liked the sense of community even from the start um before I was actually enrolled here everyone was so welcoming and I toured the College of Nursing and spoke to some current students and they just gave me the sense that uh they're all in this together which is kind of cheesy but um I knew even from the start that's what you need to get through nursing school and that's certainly what helped me get to where I am today after you graduated with your uh BSN um what what made you want to go back to the PHD program right away so I spent uh my last year and a half of undergrad working as a research assistant U for one of the faculty here and she really kind of played a role as my mentor in that sense of introducing me to um how research really works and what you can do with it and she kind of guided me with my own interests in psychiatric and mental health nursing and kind of showed me the possibilities of what could be done and uh that really hit home for me because I love working one-on-one with my patients at the hospital but I also have this sense that I want to have a very broad impact um on the mental health field and to help uh so many more adolescence that I could ever reach oneon-one so that is what pushed me to the PHD program and research it's awesome definitely an opportunity for a much broader impact that's great that's awesome so Ally you've kind of alluded to your Spartan experience here at MSU can you talk to us a little bit more about it specifically the College of Nursing so I think it all kind of started my freshman year I was part of the nurse Scholars Program so right out the gate I met I think there were 15 of us in this class so it was a really small setting where we got to know each other and got to make really lasting bonds I'm still friends with a lot of the people that I met in that class um even though we've all kind of scattered from MSU so I think that's really what defined my experience here at MSU is having strong friendships for people or with people that have different experiences than I do um from their past but also are sharing the current experience of being an nursing student um it's always helpful to have kind of that shoulder to lean on and someone to give you know advice from another perspective so are there any you know we talked a little bit about your passion for you know wanting to go back for your PhD and with mental health um are there any specific Health Care issues or challenges that you're passionate about specifically yeah so there are a couple I remember not too long ago in one of our health promotion classes in undergrad we had the opportunity to go to the capital um building and Lancing and do some advocating for issues that were close to us and U my group and I we decided to talk to our Representatives about um nurse staffing ratios and that is something that I think is super important in every area of nursing which is kind of hard to find because every you know Niche area has their own issues but I think we're all very much impacted by that and the biggest reason that I think that is a major healthcare issue that needs attention is because of the patient safety is ultimately the outcome that's most important regardless of what unit they're on um also obviously I'm a big advocate for mental health um although you know mental health care and resources have come a long way they're still really not up to speed with you know other areas of nursing um so that is part of what I want to contribute with my research and you know my work as a nurse on the floor is uh advocating for those who you know are sometimes in a spot where they can't advocate for themselves especially children with mental health issues so Ally I have one of the hardest questions for you I hope you're ready can you talk about your social media takeover and your experience with it yes I can um I remember the next day after I did that takeover I told all my friends like maybe I'll become a social media influencer but probably shouldn't because of my research topic um but it was a really great experience I um really like kind of getting the word out about research because not a lot of nursing students know kind of what it can bring um so I always take any chance to kind of uh give my little spiel about what research can do for you and most importantly what it can do for the world of nursing um I thought it was really a good day to bring people around I had a lot of fun stuff to do and it kind of framed my day which was a a day of finals in nursing school it kind of framed it in you know a fun and positive and uplifting light when uh usually they can be quite stressful so that was my experience and it's kind of interesting that we're talking about social media and that plays into your research yeah it really can be used um to promote a sense of community and to connect people that otherwise you know never would have known each other um I know I relied a lot on looking at the MSU College of Nursing Instagram when I was coming in as a new student just to kind of see what was going on um but yeah I think like most areas of life there there are up there are benefits and there are drawbacks I think it's so important to look at the intent and the impact of it I always say that whenever I'm talking about social media to anybody that we can have the best intentions on social media but the impact is what matters yeah definitely I think that is um that specific topic is really interesting to me um last semester was my first semester in the PHD program and I was really trying to get into the nitty-gritty about what I wanted to do and um as you all probably know cyber bullying is a major issue for middle schoolers on social media so I had to decide kind of what way to go and I decided to go a different route which was to focus on body image mostly because of what you just said it's an issue that can arise not from ill intent um so it you know can kind of be one of those scenarios where you see someone who is posting online in the newest clothes and the trendiest shoes and you know a really nice bag or something and it's like they may not be trying to do you any harm but it's really on the receiver um how that can be misconstrued and I think especially for the middle school age uh population and trying to fit in I my goal is really to intervene to kind of keep them away from having those uh poor mental health outcomes when really it's not the intent so during the social media takeover you provided a a glimpse into your daily life can you expand and share more about a typical day as a as a student Nur yeah so at this point in time it is very flexible is the best word to describe it no two days are alike um I have uh one when and a half days I'll say of set classes and then all the other days during the week I'm balancing between uh working shifts at the hospital and working on my uh research assistant position which I'm really thankful is quite a flexible position I can do a lot of it from home or remotely or I'll come to the college and work on some of it and I'm able to pop into the office of all the professors just to um see what's going on so yeah I I think the best uh way to describe it is just ever changing and that's something that I like about it um and I think that's something that a lot of people are drawn to nursing because of because you never know what's going to happen um so I was really pleased to find out that even in the academic side and research side that still holds true we've talked a lot about the day in the life but what are some challenges and rewards that you've kind of faced during your education I guess my biggest challenge in undergrad I'll start was balancing between Class portions in clinical it was my first experience of being in a hospital and having you know a significant responsibility versus um you know my volunteer position where it was more of a social interaction um I thought that was quite challenging at first um however as I said I really adjusted to it well after a long day of clinical and I would meet up with my friends and you know have dinner and kind of break everything down process everything give each other tips and tricks I know I am not shy from you know talking about maybe embarrassing experiences I've had um in clinical and even as a full practicing nurse now um and I don't think there's any shame in that and I think that can only help you grow and if you're willing to share it help other people grow um and avoid your mistakes and then now in the PHD program I would say my biggest challenge was shifting my thinking to be a bit more abstract so in nursing school I really learned how to assess the situation and you know take it one step at a time to get to the desired outcome for the patient and for their family as well um to improve their health and now in the PHD program it's the same steps but it's a bit more um challenging to the way I think and I really enjoy that I could feel like my brain rewiring itself um to to kind of think outside of the box and and you know hopefully one day be in the position to generate those ideas and recommendations that I can use in the hospital setting it's great you know and I like just going back to the undergraduate thing when you talked about the peer-to-peer support I think that's so huge because as nurses we need that peer-to-peer support too um you know being able to debrief and talk about the day and to be there to support one another you know we go nursing is a stressful profession and you know being a nursing student is is stressful and you know to have that peer-to-peer disport somebody that you can talk to I think is is really great what advice um do you have for individuals considering a career in nursing my biggest piece of advice would be to see the challenges you face as an opportunity to improve yourself in your practice instead of a roadblock that you should turn around from um I know that was hard for me to adjust to at first um because you know transitioning from high school the college is so different and if you you know keep getting knocked down you get you know a little bit afraid of getting back up but in nursing that's it's a field where you really you can't be so so stuck in your own way of thinking and everything is always changing and you're always um finding out new things from research or from other nurses about how you can do things better um and even finding things out from the patient and their family it's really about them and the care that they're receiving so it's a really individual ual IED approach and I think that if you take constructive criticism as a way to improve your work as a nurse and you know me as well for my work as a researcher um I found that reframing that to be an opportunity versus an obstacle has been really[Applause] [Music] helpful so now we have Caleb Fraser joining us a BSN student who was also involved and took over our social media because he was a homecoming representative Caleb can you start off by telling us a little bit about yourself and your background in nursing yeah of course so like they said my name is Caleb Frasier um I'm in the traditional Bachelor's of Science of nursing program here at MSU senior in it of course um and at MSU I feel like I'm pretty involved in some extracurriculars uh so I'm the music director for my acapella group I was a squad leader in the marching band obviously while I wearing the jacket um I also volunteer at Ellie's Place uh which stands for experiencing loss effectively so I do like uh group facilitator work with grieving children which I really love um and then on top of that I'm a superviser at Starbucks right off of campus and I have been for a while now and I don't know I just like to have fun at MSU I'm on an I am volleyball team which is always just a great way to get exercise in and hang out with friends um uh with nursing my history of nursing pretty much stems my sophomore year or late freshman year once I applied for the program before that I wasn't really too keen on uh what nursing really meant to me um and so it was really great to have such a great introduction not only into nursing but into the program here at MSU you know Caleb you've talked a lot about what you're balancing right now but what keeps you motivated I feel like definitely like just the end goals looking at um I like to have I have a 5year plan that I have right now um so always having that like to kind of feed into my type A personality um but I also just really like to work towards myself um I always like to continue to better myself I feel like my biggest fear in life is complacency um so anything I can do whether that's you know working harder on my homework in clinical or even just you know hanging out with friends making sure that I have a good social life too is really what keeps me going or representing the school in front of a football game you could say that too yeah that's pretty cool how has your experience been at the Michigan State University College of Nursing so far and maybe can you share some memorable highlights or moments um from your time as a Spartan nursing student yeah so I think the College nursing here I feel like a great way to it like to describe my experience would be challenging but in the best way possible uh coming from high school I was valedictorian and I came from a very small town and so I love that I was supported and I was able to to do so many things um and so when I came out to MSU and I wasn't top of my class and you know even though that I was putting in a lot of work still it it was a very quick learning experience to understand that even though that I am doing a lot I'm surrounded by great people um and so I think the fact that I'm challenged every day is why I love the program so much because at the end of the day I feel like I wouldn't learn if I was if I felt too comfortable in the program I know that every day there's something that I could do wrong or something that could learn from and I really love that I have that experience here um I guess some highlights of being in the nursing program my your first clinical group you just never forget um and mine we still are all friends and everything the a couple weeks ago uh a couple of them had called me and they're like hey Caleb we made you some cookies like can we drop them off I was like oh my gosh yeah that's I'm like that's so nice of you like you guys didn't have to think about me like that and then I opened my door and they silly stringed me so you know and that's just that's the bond that you have with your first clinical group um and even beyond that the ones that I've had throughout the years you know the ones that you get up at 400 a.m. and drive a couple hours to your sites you know that there's conversations and bonding that you just can't have anywhere else so Caleb what do you want to do what's your area of Interest so I really love that nursing is so Broad and diverse and that you can do pretty much anything with it um right now I'm very drawn to ICU and and I love the fact that you can do a lot of critical thinking and I don't like it's just it seems like a huge task to me and like that's just like a huge goal to have and so the like if it's obtainable I know it and so I've been pushing myself to do that I I just like how much there is to do can you tell share your experience with the social media takeover for the College of Nursing it was a lot of fun I'm not gonna lie it was really cool to just kind of take people through my day um and I had like different prompts where people could ask me questions different like interactive stuff uh and I guess it opened my eyes too of where I was a couple years ago when I was this freshman at MSU that had no idea what I was doing and I just needed somebody to tell me what to do um and it was really insightful to see people that were like oh my gosh how do I get into the program like having all these different questions and it was really cool that I was able to connect with some of them and I even have friends that I made because I took over the Instagram so can you tell tell us about some of the challenges that you've maybe faced in your nursing education how you've overcome them and then maybe what kind of support um have you received and then on the flip side maybe uh rewarding um aspects of your journey as a nursing student so I think like such a challenging part of nursing is breaking out of that role of just being a student nurse because at the end of the day ju if you just want to do nursing school your time is full like that is more than enough things to do to fill your time um but for me I know I didn't just want to like I I do love nursing school but I know that I love other things too and I refused to let it be that I had to give up all these things that I love doing in high school as soon as I got to college so at first it was difficult for me to try and find that balance of you know sleeping first of all I was like when do you sleep yeah never but trying to find the balance of sleeping with the social life and like pulling out maso's hierarchy of needs you know what I mean trying to get everything that I want out of my education but also having the fact that I'm a nursing student at the core so I think that was very challenging at first um and there you know there are always those days where it's like oh my gosh I can't do this this is so stressful you know like I I think I'm going to quit this so that next semester my load is easier and then there's days where it's like okay I know why I'm doing all of this and you get to see the payoff of it um so talking about the rewards specifically I I feel like I've been able to see a lot of them recently getting a lot closer graduation um I think specifically with my cohort it is just really special like I I always talk to my friends that aren't nursing Majors about like oh no there's like 80 of us that came in my sophomore year and they're the same people that I've had every single class like every time that we have a lecture we sit and bought in that little room for you know like what seven eight hours and we trauma bond together a little bit right but I think it's really special to see where we all started where we were terrified of washing our hands and getting checked off on that to now we're starting to be confident and doing our own preceptor roles and or working with our preceptor and having these different tasks and being more independent and it's really been rewarding not only to see myself gain more confidence but to also see the people that you know like I grew up in nursing with if that makes sense and and that's really great to have that support network um you know and and even out there when you're a nurse um you know when you're out on the unit that that unit and those nurses on the unit and the staff on the unit and the tax and the Physicians and the providers it it becomes like a family unit you know and it really um you rely on each other for a lot of different things and especially like when times get tough like you were saying when it's like those moments where it's like you know I don't know if I can I can keep doing this you need those people that you can call for that you know no you can do this we you got this um I remember when I was in the Cs CNS program um I had one of those moments I was working full-time I was in the CNS program I was doing clinicals and I actually called my my mentor and and I said uh I I need to quit I'm I'm I think I need to be done um and she was like no you got this you can do this let's put this in perspective you know and I just needed that to just you know sometimes you have those moments and you just kind of need that that that voice of reason and and you kind of need that support network to lean on um so I'm glad that you talked about the support because I think that's huge I definitely do not think I could have made it through nursing school without my peers so Caleb you kind of talked a little bit about about this during your takeover but what's your advice for inspiring nurses definitely focusing on your why I think that if you have the compassion if you have the empathy if you really know why you want to be a nurse the rest will follow you know you can teach somebody pharmacology even though that sometimes it takes a couple times but you can't really teach people empathy the same way so at least in the experience that I've had with my peers and just going through the program I think just having a why and if you know why you're doing it and why you want to make a difference and why nursing specifically I think that that's the best thing to have in your back pocket so you talked about um your future um role as an ICU nurse what would you say um is some advice as far as pursuing a job um while you're in the program and and what was the process like in doing that I think my situation is a little bit unique being an out of state student and I knew that I wanted to go back home and be around family and everything so I was a little bit eager when it came to getting jobs um so this last November I think it was I started sending out emails um and there's a trauma 1 Hospital uh I live in Wyoming Montana it's kind of complicated Harley knows this um but there's a level one trauma Hospital in Montana and it's the only one I think for like six or 700 miles um so growing up my uh brother had type 1 diabetes and so anytime that he'd go into dka or like anytime like my aunt had an issue with her kidneys one time every time people always get sent up to Billings um so was like that's the hospital that I grew up going to um so I reached out to them and I found out that that they had a nurse Residency program and that was something that was really big for me because I don't want to just kind of get thrown to the wolves um and I really want the opportunity to kind of go directly in whatever specialy I want to do um so I reached out to I can't remember specifically what his his job title was but he was like the program coordinator like he kind of just did Outreach for it um and he was amazing we had a three-hour long phone call where he talked to me about benefits being there pretty much every single question I could have which I have a lot um he answered them all um so I was lucky enough I got to go home for Christmas break and I got to tour the units um and I got to meet the managers which I think was probably the best thing I did um uh because once it came around February I did interviews for the ICU emergency department and Pediatrics and even though that it was on a zoom call I already knew all of them and it was it wasn't a very formal I was scared to be there was like oh hey Brad how are you doing like it's good to see you again um and I'm very thankful that I did that and not only that but they look at my resume and they see big 10 University nursing student and they're like oh we're good so I'm thankful I was offered all three positions that I applied for um and I ended up taking the ICU nurse so I think I'll start probably July or August depending on once I take my NCLEX so I think definitely being I think I was a little bit too ambitious in a way of kind of getting ahead of the Curve um but on the bright side I'm kind of relaxing a little bit my last couple months of nursing school realizing like you know what I have a job secured so I think it's going to be it's going to be all right there's a light at the end of the tunnel you know and yeah you talked about asking questions of the organization I think that's so important when you're interviewing because you know people ask you questions it's good to also interview the organization because you know you want to make sure it's the right fit um um so that's great that you said you had a lot of questions a lot of questions are good especially like I'm very thankful being in nursing because getting a job for nursing is a lot easier than getting a job for business and so at the end of the day knowing that yes I really do want to try and go after and get a job but having the confidence to know with the degree that I have from here I I want to interview them too to make sure that I'm on a unit that you know has the same amount of support and collaboration that I have now in the program you know because I don't want to leave a program that's always supported me to just kind of go off the deep end and I really do think that I found a place that will support me as much as I am here that's really great that's awesome well Caleb thank you for joining us here today yeah thank you I really appreciate you guys having me on here who will SP nurses [Music] well