I am continuing a series for our newsletter to include a leadership topic along with passing along news in the nursing community. I want to focus on the positive in nursing and leadership. Subscribe to receive notification when our newsletter comes out. I publish twice a month.
What if today is the day that you step into your destiny? What if you choose to stop playing small and focus on making TODAY the beginning of a new chapter in your life? What if this is where it all begins and you can look back one year, five years, ten years from now and say this, this was the moment.
I just celebrated a couple of anniversaries. One anniversary was the four-year mark of The Nurse Shark Academy. I can remember starting my first challenge years ago, like it was yesterday. My goal was and continues to be simple: I want nurses to love being a nurse and I accomplish it by teaching entrepreneurship. I want nurses to own their seat at the table of leadership. I want nurses to not just survive, but to thrive. As nurses, we are often told what must be done, work harder, pick up extra shifts, stay later, take the punches both figuratively and literally, and yet, there are some like me, who are willing to break out of the mold. That is why I started The Nurse Shark Academy Show to invite nurse business owners and leaders to tell their stories. I want nurses who may not be able to work at the bedside any longer to realize that they can still work in the profession albeit differently. I want future nurses to know that anything is possible. I want to inspire future nurse innovators, scientists, and business moguls to dream big.
When I started Baxter Professional Services, almost 10 years ago now, it came with the realization that I could start a company from scratch to build on what I already loved doing which is education and consulting. I am a visual learner and I gain insights through experiences and medium in which I immerse myself. For example, I remember when Marvel’s Avengers Endgame was going to come out in 2019. The local movie theater at that time was showing all the Marvel movies in order. You could obtain a pass to watch all of the movies for a week. I happened to be on vacation that week and I thought, I am going to spend my time watching the movies. We did not have a trip planned that year so I thought, let’s have a staycation. Now, I know a lot of people would say, what a waste of time. You could have been more productive. What I know is that I was tired. My brain was mush and I needed a break. I needed to refocus. I watched the movies in order of the release date and spent several hours each day at the theater. It was a fun, party-like atmosphere. While there, I gained some inspiration. The overall theme of the movies for me was one of hope, how at the end of the day, when facing an insurmountable evil, you counted on your friends to help you through it. We band together and we keep entering the fight. It was this lesson that stuck with me and encouraged me to start The Nurse Shark Academy. I thought, what if we as nurses came together to support one another, build each other up, help strengthen one another, and take leadership and ownership of our own destiny, to make nursing the best profession on the planet. It is with hope and optimism; I took the leap and began with my first online challenge. I began to reflect on my nursing mentors that had gone on before me, fighting the good fight, like Mary Seacole and Mary Eliza Mahoney. I thought if they could change the face of nursing, why couldn’t I? What if today, I was called for such a time as this? The time is to begin NOW.
If we want to see real change in nursing, today is the day we take a stand. I think of my nursing colleagues who are stepping up and stepping out such as Kristi Van Winkle, RN, BSN, LNC , Taylor-Paige Bourque MSN,RN, NC-BC , Dr. Farah Laurent DNP RN NEA-BC NPD-BC CPXP CEN, Amy Puls, MSN, APNP, FNP-BC, Legal Nurse, Amanda M Payne RN BSN, Casey Green MSN, RN, RRNA, CCRN-CMC, CTRN, CFRN, CEN, TCRN, CPEN, CNRN, NRP, Dr. Lendra James DNP, MS, RN, NE-BC, to name a few.
Hearing their stories and watching them continue to rise encourages me to work harder and to strive forward.
What is the one thing you can do today to be effective in your career, your profession, and your life? Share below in the comments.
Nursing News
In Illinois, a new bill has been introduced to address nurses to patient staffing ratios. “SB2022 introduces a maximum number of patients that can be assigned per nurse...addressing what nurses said is a growing problem… SB 2022 establishes a committee to review patient outcomes, complaints regarding staff, overtime, and more to make it easier for nurses to help patients.” To read more about this bill, click the link below:
About The Nurse Shark Academy
My mission is for you to own your seat at the table of nurse entrepreneurship, gaining the confidence, skills, and freedom to live your life on your own terms. You will dream big and expand your consciousness as an entrepreneur.
The Nurse Shark Academy show https://thenursesharkacademy.podbean.com/ Interviews nurse entrepreneurs and leaders. Special bonus content is available to patrons.
Available on Apple, iHeart Radio, Spotify, Amazon, https://www.thenursesharkacademy.biz/ or wherever you get your podcasts.
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