How did Kylie go from studying journalism and Spanish in college, to working several years in advertising, and then return to school to pursue a fulfilling career in nursing? You may be surprised by how many skills are transferable between these different academic and career spaces. Join us to hear how Kylie wove everything together along her unique career path, while continuously following what was best for her and her family in each chapter of her life. It’s never too late to alter your path, learn new skills, and pursue different types of work that best suit your life and your interests.
How did Kylie go from studying journalism and Spanish in college, to working several years in advertising, and then return to school to pursue a fulfilling career in nursing? You may be surprised by how many skills are transferable between these different academic and career spaces. Join us to hear how Kylie wove everything together along her unique career path, while continuously following what was best for her and her family in each chapter of her life. It’s never too late to alter your path, learn new skills, and pursue different types of work that best suit your life and your interests.
Thank you for joining us today on Paths in Progress. I'm your host, Carrie Young. On this podcast, people in a variety of career fields, talk about their journey from choosing their college, deciding which majors and minors to pursue, their first jobs out of college, and all of the hurdles, detours and victories along their path through today. Our goal is to help students hear about a variety of exciting opportunities out there and understand what day-to-day life is like in these careers. I hope you enjoy and learn from our story today. Thanks for listening.
Carrie:everyone, thanks for joining us today. We are here today with Kylie. Kylie is a registered nurse who's currently working in a school setting, but before that she worked as a nurse in a hospital setting for 10 years, and before that she worked in advertising. She has three bachelor's degrees, one in journalism, one in Spanish, and one in Nursing, and she'll tell us all about how all of that has woven together. So Kylie, thanks so much for joining us today.
Kylie:Thank you, Carrie. I'm so excited to be on here.
Carrie:I'm so happy to have you. I feel like we've been talking in bits and pieces about your path for a long, long time. We've known each other for many, many years. So I'm excited to kind of put it all together in a story today. Can you start by taking us back to high school and talking about What you were thinking as far as, you know, looking for colleges and thinking about what you wanted to major in and whether you saw any kind of career path in your mind for yourself.
Kylie:Yes. What's funny is back in high school, I was not even looking at the maths and the sciences. I never considered myself very strong in those subjects. I kind of leaned into more of the languages. Did honors English. I did Spanish, loved Spanish. I just had a real knack for language and grammar and writing. All through high school, I just thought, I knew I wanted to do something with journalism, and I wanted to also get a degree in Spanish. So, I followed that path, went off to college, and that's where I majored in, was in journalism and Spanish initially in my career.
Carrie:So, as you were going through those programs, did you start to see a way that you wanted to weave those together? Or was there a particular career path that kind of started becoming clear to you as you were going through your degree?
Kylie:Well, what's funny is I didn't really anticipate that I would use my Spanish much in my journalism. I did, initially, right out of college, for about a year, I did work for an immigration Law attorney and I was able to use my Spanish there. I was able to do interpretation and do lots of translation in court hearings as well as just on paper for my attorney who did not know Spanish. And then after that, I went into advertising and did not sadly use it anymore. But I did actually end up using it later in life when I did change my career, which I'll go into later. I did use it with patients in the hospital setting, especially when I was working at an inner city hospital for about three years prior to moving out into the suburbs. But sadly, even to this day, I don't get to use as much as I would have liked, but I'm so glad I had that skill though, cause I can still understand and read it. I just think it's been a great, great career path option for me..
Carrie:Yeah, I think with a lot of the people I've talked to who've double majored in a language or even minored in a language, just talk about the ways they've been able to incorporate it in their path along the way, sometimes intentionally, but sometimes really unexpectedly. And that is a skill, like on your resume and in interviews, like that's something that can totally give you a leg up over someone else if you can speak another language.
Kylie:I totally agree with you on that.
Carrie:So you had two internships. Can you talk a little bit about what those were and what you feel like you took from those experiences moving forward?
Kylie:Sure. So one summer I worked for our local newspaper at our university. I had acquired a few clients that I had to work with that we had established relationships. They had ad space in our publication and so I maintained that, but I also had to go and basically cold pitch new clients as well. That was a very hard, but a very rewarding position. And then the following summer, right before I graduated with my journalism and Spanish degrees, I did work for another advertising agency locally in Kansas City and really enjoyed that. It was a great opportunity and I got to assist on three of their biggest clients.
Carrie:Do you feel like you walked away from those internship experiences, like having a better idea of what you wanted to do, or what did you kind of take away from those as you moved forward? What did it help you figure out as you went through those internships?
Kylie:They really helped me figure out that I had a knack for client relationships and just being able to move forward put myself out there and talk with people. Because before that I would say I've never been considerably shy, but I've been a little bit introverted. So for me to get out and have to cold pitch people in our college town for ad space. That was a big deal for me at the age of 20-21 years old. It was very nerve wracking. But as it turns out, I'd make these appointments and meet with these people and they were super nice. And as long as you are very knowledgeable and what you can offer and pricing, all of the details, they just will sense how kind and genuine you are and they will want to work with you. So I think you really need to just rely on your personality, who you are and let that shine. And then all the details of the actual job, you're trying to carry out will just come through.
Carrie:Yeah, that's great advice because I think a lot of times one thing I talk to students about sometimes is really being true to who you are and letting your strength shine through and using those Instead of trying to conform yourself into what you think people want you to be in a certain space Right because I think a lot of times if it's a company or an industry or some kind of culture that you're trying to get into and You feel like, Oh, I think they want this type of person. So I'm going to make sure I talk about this in my interview or act this way. Or say I'm a people person, even if I'm not, or, you know just like stuff like that. So it's just so important to just let yourself be yourself in those spaces. Cause that's what's going to be most effective. So you mentioned that right out of college, you were working for an attorney. Can you talk a little bit about what led you to do that right out of college? Was that something that just kind of happened or something you were interested in? Like, where did you get that idea to work in that kind of setting right out of college?
Kylie:I actually toyed with the idea of going to law school right after I graduated. Okay. I knew several of my journalism friends were considering the same thing and it seemed like an actual great path. And so I decided to give it a shot with immigration law and I really actually did enjoy it. But it got to a point after a year that I got another opportunity to work at this advertising agency and it sounded really fun. And the client that they had was an excellent client and there were a lot of perks with the job, a company car, a lot of different things that I thought would be really exciting to have as well as some travel opportunities and being at 23 years old. I was like, you know, maybe I'll try that instead. I don't know if I want to go back to school and and rack up more, you know, student loans and all that stuff. So I, I tried. Um, so I moved on to the advertising agency and I ended up working there for almost eight years and it was an excellent opportunity. I wouldn't change a thing. It was a great, great job.
Carrie:Can you talk about how that opportunity presented itself? Because just like as a student listening, it may sound odd that you were working for an immigration attorney and then got an opportunity to jump into advertising. So how did that play out?
Kylie:I know it was very random. Like I just was at like a networking event with some friends for my university. And that company was there and they had an opportunity and we were just talking about it. And I was like, well, I'm actually working for an immigration law attorney. I do really like my job, but I'm willing to interview for it. And so I went for it and got the position. Ended up taking it and never looked back. I know it was a wild whirlwind of an opportunity that I just decided to go for it.
Carrie:Wow, so if we could back up just a little bit, so just the difference between with the immigration attorney work, like the actual work that you were doing day in and day out, and then how that Drastically sounds like drastically changed when you went into advertising. Can you talk a little bit about those two settings and just what the actual kind of day to day work was like in them?
Kylie:You know, they were very different. Very different, but yet, and sometimes there were some similarities. A lot of attention to detail, a lot of documentation, a lot of writing, a lot of managing billing cause I was basically doing paralegal work for the law attorney. And going into my new position, I was an account coordinator at the advertising agency. And so I had to work on billing and media planning, lot of documentation, so to speak. But then I moved up to an account executive where I had several clients and I was still doing some of that, but It required more managing account budgets and I had to go visit clients by car. I would travel to see them and we'd have client meetings. So I had to do lots of public speaking and, lots of organizing, collaborating with my clients on their advertising goals. They were very different, but a lot of the paperwork was streamlined the same way. I think the biggest difference really was just more of the travel. I didn't travel for the attorney at all. But when I went to my new position, I did travel quite a bit and I had a lot of awesome opportunities to see different parts of the country and meet lots of different people and just get out of my comfort zone of the world. My interpersonal skills and the public speaking aspect as well.
Carrie:So for students listening, one thing we talk about a lot is how you know, you can get a degree in one thing and kind of end up in a space that may not seem like a direct correlation on paper. So considering you weren't thinking about this advertising space, like as you were going through your journalism degree, can you talk a little bit about how that degree can benefit you if you're going into an advertising space or how we can connect the dots there with like skills that you learned. Because you mentioned you did a lot of writing, and obviously communication is a part of it, but can you help some students connect the dots between your journalism degree and an advertising space and how that is a possibility for them?
Kylie:Yes, a journalism degree is excellent because they do provide all the tools on not only how to write, but how to communicate, not necessarily have like that sales pitch, but just to be able to have you relate with a client to get on their level to know exactly what they're looking for, what they want. You have to be able to really listen. The journalism platform that I had was great in that we had lots of projects, a lot of collaborative work with other team members. And we even had a capstone at the end that we had to present for a real client in our local college town. And all of that was very transferable to what I was doing in my real job at the advertising agency. All of those skills are very transferable.
Carrie:For students who are maybe interested in going into an advertising space, like, can you talk a little bit about that culture or the climate or kind of what the life is like in that space? Because there's some career paths that kind of have these general things that are similar no matter where you're working. Something like advertising. That's a huge world that is really public facing, right? That a lot of people see that. But you would be kind of behind the scenes. So is there anything you can offer as far as describing that world to students who are interested and possibly going into it?
Kylie:Yes. It's a very fun world. The advertising agencies, it's always changing. There's lots of different people. There's a lot of collaboration. There's lots of team meetings to discuss different ideas to help boost sales for that brand. To work in the advertising agency world, you have to be really creative. You have to be somewhat outspoken. You have to love working with people because Yes, there is some solitary work, but a lot of it is a lot of team meetings, a lot of collaboration, a lot of client lunches, client dinners, you are entertaining the client. It's a lot of fun. Yeah. So you said you were in that space for about eight years? Yes. Eight years.
Carrie:Okay. So what made you decide to leave that space? What were the things that were going on along your path that, that caused you to make a different decision for yourself?
Kylie:So at the turn of 2008, I found out that I was expecting my first child, which was super exciting, but at the same time, the recession was hitting, and even though my advertising agency was thriving as well as the client that we were working for, they were going to want me to do some more travel and I knew Yeah. Based on my goals for my family was I did not want to be traveling all the time as a mom. I wanted to have more of a life work balance and I was concerned about that the way my career path was heading with the advertising agency. And so my husband and I had a long talk. We're like, what do we do? And I had noticed that during my prenatal care experience, how much I really enjoyed working with the nurses and how much I enjoyed my appointments and it just kind of hit me. I'm like, why have I never considered the healthcare field? I love it. I don't dread my appointments. I don't dread my lab work, all this stuff I really enjoyed watching the health care professionals, when I was at my appointment. And what's really ironic is back when I was in college, I actually took a career and life planning course. It was like my sophomore year, just for fun. It's a fun elective, and they actually had all of us take, you know, this career assessment exam, and it was very lengthy. I can't remember the name of it, but I ended up taking it and at the end, it gives you like the career path you're supposed to focus on based on your interests. And I remember it said nursing and I remember laughing like it was, I'll never forget it. It said nursing. And I remember thinking, what, you know, I'm not going to go into nursing. And it was mainly because I just didn't think I was good at math and science to be able to get to the coursework, especially through the university that I was attending. It's very well known for their healthcare career paths. So can
Carrie:we, can we pause right there? Cause I've had a few women, especially make that comment when we've talked about math and science. So do you have any theories about where that came from? Because I know you well enough to know you were a good student. Like, for sure. So I'm sitting here like, okay, maybe you were top in the class in math and science, but like I don't think you were bad at them. So do you know where that came from? Or why you think you thought that way?
Kylie:For me, I think it started my sophomore year in high school with geometry. Algebra, I actually was pretty good at, but I took geometry. And I remember it was the worst grade I got all through high school. It was a C. And I remember thinking, Oh my gosh, I'm so bad at math. And then I even took anatomy and physiology in my junior year. And then I'm getting a B minus in that, which is still really good. It was a very hard class at our school. But I just thought, Oh, I can't get A's in these classes. So I'm just not good at math and science. And I just look back and I'm so frustrated with that mentality. Cause I agree. There's a lot of women, sadly, especially that feel that way. When I went back as a non traditional student at the age of 29, to do all my prerequisites for nursing school, I had to take chemistry and microbiology and physiology, all these different courses that I never dreamed I would ever take. And I ended up getting A's in all of them. Yeah. I mean, I, yes, I had to study hard, but I did not struggle at them and I was actually really good at them. And so I don't know where it starts at that age. I don't know if it's just a confidence thing or what it is. But for me, it took some life experience for me to realize I am capable of doing anything I put my mind to. And I am smart enough to do these things. And so it was a great challenge and I, I laughed because had I done everything differently, I would have become a nursing student at the traditional age of 18 to 20 years old. But instead I didn't start till I was 29, 30 years old and then I ended up completely achieving in those courses.
Carrie:Yeah. Well, I hope anybody's listening who's experienced that to take a step back and if you're thinking, Oh, I'm not good at whatever, X, Y, Z. Is that really true? Yes. And are you just comparing yourself to people who are like super crazy high achieving and you're thinking like you're not the absolute best, which for some reason is translating as not good. I think it's so interesting. Even with students over the years, you know, somebody would say, Oh, this class is so horrible. And then I'd find out they're getting like a B. And it's just like, that's not horrible. Just because it's not the best thing you've done, it doesn't mean you're not good.
Kylie:And honestly, Carrie, at our high school, I mean, we had so many National Merit Scholars, we had Yeah. We had kids in our class that were going to, that end up going to Vassar and to Wake Forest. And, I mean, we had Princeton. I remember several of our classmates. I won't name names. Yeah. But they were excellent. And two of my best friends, especially, they rocked it and were always very, very bright. And I do think that was a factor in that I saw them getting A's easily in these harder courses. And I'm like, Oh, I, I'm just not smart enough like them to do it. So I don't know if it is slightly just an immaturity at that age of not and comparing myself to others. So I would encourage people to really not do that. Give your, give yourself a chance to try everything.
Carrie:Yeah, absolutely. And, and subjects in the college setting are often very different than they were in the high school setting. Some of your high school classes are very geared toward a particular exam, like an AP exam or something, or they're geared in a way that is in line with goals of your school district or who the teacher is or something like that. And a lot of times if you take things in a different setting, especially when you're a little bit older, you can have a really different experience.
Kylie:I totally agree with that.
Carrie:So when you were taking those classes as prerequisites for nursing, as you started the coursework, and you were doing so well, was that kind of like a confirmation for you that you were moving in the right direction? Were you getting excited yet? Because prereqs feel a little bit different than actual nursing school, right? Because you're not like definitely in the nursing stuff yet. So that's right. Yeah. So like, where along the path were you starting to feel like, okay, I feel good about this decision I've made. And like, I feel like I'm moving in the right direction.
Kylie:You know, I gained a lot of confidence by getting the grades that I was getting with my prerequisites and then I think once I had my first interview with the nursing school, I ended up selecting and going with, I met with several of the clinical instructors and they just went effortlessly. Like it just felt right. It was just the right thing for me. But I really honestly didn't know for sure if it was for me until my first semester. I mean, the first semester of nursing school is, if you ask anybody, it's extremely intense. The pharmacology courses, all the real hard stuff is upfront. Plus you're doing your first clinicals. And so you're being thrown in the hospital setting and unless you've worked as A nursing aid before, like I had not, it was quite a wake up call just to be on the floor with the nurses doing the daily cares with the patients, having to do assessments, having to do all that stuff. But once I was in there and yes, there were definitely hard days with my clinical sessions, but at the same time, I always came away with a positive thing that I learned or some kind of knowledge I gained or a particular nurse that I work with that day just was made it very memorable for me or there's always something that I took away in a positive light.
Carrie:Yeah. Were there some things in particular, like you said, this interest kind of started when you were having like your prenatal appointments and you were observing the nurses and the medical staff and what were the things that were kind of clicking with you about nursing. Like from when you first started becoming interested to even once you were in nursing school, where there's some particular things about that career path that just clicked with you better than other things you'd considered before.
Kylie:I think I just like the variety of not only there is documentation that comes with nursing and I've always been really good about writing and documenting and taking notes and just having a lot of attention to detail with that aspect of it. But for me, a lot of it was the patient relationships. I just knew that I had a natural empathy and compassion for others. And I've always had that. I've always been a little extra sensitive about things. So I know to look for that in other people. So that came very easily for me. Also my advertising background probably helped empower me more than anything, just because I was already used to having to talk with people from all walks of life, having to, collaborate, whether it was an advertising about their advertising goals, whether it was as a patient, what are they wanting to do? Or they're trying to improve their health in some way? They're trying to just get out of the hospital, whatever it was. I just had a natural ability to advocate for them and help them to achieve their goal.
Carrie:Did you have any apprehension going into this? Because I know a lot of people, whether it's late 20s or even into 30s, sometimes even later, sometimes people hesitate to switch career paths because they've already either invested time in another career path or they've invested money in a particular degree and the next thing they want to do, they'd have to invest more money. Like you mentioned, you were kind of wondering about law school because it was another investment. Obviously nursing school is too. What was that experience like for you as far as making that decision after you'd been in the workforce almost 10 years and making a very drastic field industry change and having to go back to school for it? Because obviously you need to be licensed for this career path. So in your experience, in school, and then also just making that change, what was that like for you, and do you have any kind of Encouragement or advice for other people who are considering a similar change?
Kylie:I'll be honest, it was very scary. I mean, like I had said, it was during the recession. I had a great job. Why would I throw that away? I'm having a new baby. Lots of different things to consider at the time. I was just looking for long term fulfillment, so I knew it was going to be possibly painful or just uncomfortable at the beginning with that change. I just had faith that it was going to work out for the best for me and for my family. It is scary. You have to do a lot of soul searching. I really encourage people to make that pivot just because if you're not happy and you're looking for a long term fulfillment, there's no reason why you shouldn't make that pivot. I know it's very scary. I know it was for me. I did have a great job. There was no business in me leaving that position, but I was looking for a good life work balance with my family. And then I also wanted to still bring in a good income, but also still help people. And I felt like nursing was going to give me a more well rounded lifestyle. And I have no regrets. But yes, I did have to take out some student loans for it. But it's all paid off in the end.
Carrie:And then what about the actual school? I think that's something that scares people, too, is going back to school after you've been out of school for a while. Just that in itself could be kind of scary and especially you had to do the math and science piece. Oh, yeah. What did that feel like? And then how did you kind of work through that? I mean, obviously a lot of people do it. I mean, it happens all the time, all over the place, but it's a very, it's kind of a fear based thing for people.
Kylie:Oh, it is. Yeah. I'll never forget my first day of chemistry I had to take for my prerequisites. I was probably one of the few non traditional students. I mean, most kids that were in there were the typical 18 to 22. And at the time, I laugh. I thought, Oh, 29 is so old to be going back to school. I was like, Oh my gosh, what am I doing here? So I remember even thinking that the first day of school. But at the same time, it was very invigorating to be back in the classroom. I did not expect that. I thought it might be more kind of a drag but it ended up being really fun. I actually looked forward to going to class. And by the time I got into nursing school, I would say half of my class were non traditional students. I was probably more the middle of the pack. So yes, we had some 20 to 22 year olds, but then there were also like 40, 50 year olds in my class. At the time I was like 31. So I was like right in the middle of the pack. So it was actually comforting to know that I wasn't the oldest and that a lot of people were making this change later in life. But yet I didn't feel too old to make the change. But it was actually really fun to be back in the classroom. And, you know, you build that confidence when you're starting to take classes and you're achieving and you're getting the good grades and it does make you feel young again. It's just kind of like a youthful thing to go back to class. But not everyone would agree with me on that. But I, yeah, a lot of people like, no, thanks. But I actually really enjoyed it cause I always did really like school. So I've always been that student that enjoyed going to school. So it was kind of fun to go back at the time.
Carrie:Yeah. So as you went through nursing school, can you tell us a little bit about just the actual experience of nursing school and what that's like for people who are not familiar with it? Can you talk a little bit about the classroom experience and also the clinical experience?
Kylie:Sure. Every semester you're assigned a clinical and you also have lots of like classwork as well. I'll be honest with you. My journalism and Spanish degrees were challenging in their own right, but nothing nothing like nursing school. I will say it's not for the faint of heart. And I laughed at the time when I actually started the nursing program, my oldest was two and my middle son, he was three months old. So thank, thanks to my wonderful parents and mother in law who helped take care of him when I was at school and in clinicals, I don't know how I would have been able to get in. My husband too. I had a great support system. So that's key too. But yeah, it was very hard. Lots of long hours. Not only are you going to classes, you're going to clinicals that are at least six hours and it's a grind in the hospital. Sometimes you have wonderful nurses that you're paired up with and some are not as kind and patient. So you have to be willing to be flexible with different personalities and, All the different tests you have on a weekly basis, you're studying a lot outside of nursing school, too. So I remember I'd have to go to the local community college and spend hours studying for exams while my husband was home with my older two boys at the time, and he had to be a single parent a lot. And so there was a big sacrifice by being a non traditional student going to nursing school, but it was very fleeting. It really was only about three years out of my life, but it was very hard. You have to be able to manage your time well. And you have to have kind of develop a little bit of a callous in terms of not taking everything too seriously and realize you're going to make mistakes and you're not always going to have the best preceptor. But then the next clinical, you'll have an amazing preceptor and you may not like all areas of nursing. You'll have to do psychiatric. You'll have to do ICU, mother, baby. I mean, it's all over the board. You'll be assigned to clinicals that you're not necessarily interested in, but you just have to fulfill their requirement and make the best of it. You just have to be very flexible and just very patient. And you have to really be committed. It's no joke. Nursing school is intense.
Carrie:So as you were going through nursing school and the different clinical rotations, when did you start to kind of feel like you had a particular interest in one area? Or did you? Or did you go through nursing school and not have one? What was your experience?
Kylie:I actually went into nursing school wanting to do labor and delivery mother, baby. Which is probably very common with women. I had such an awesome prenatal experience with my oldest. And then again, with my second child, that that's what I really wanted to do. But then once I started doing all these different clinicals, it kind of opened my eyes to other skills that I had that I might actually enjoy more because I actually had my capstone at the end of my nursing program in labor and delivery. But what's funny is just like three months prior to that, I had had my last clinical in the ICU, never dreaming I would love ICU. I thought that would be way too acute care for me. Too intense, too close to an emergency department model where I didn't really want that. I liked the excitement of labor and delivery, but I thought that was different then an ICU that I thought would make more sense for me, but I ended up loving the ICU and made some great connections with nurses and the department to where when I started my labor delivery caps, when I'd already accepted a job in the CV ICU at the hospital downtown, which was a big, big, big job. I had made some connections with some of the nurses in the department and I ended up applying for the job there and got it. And then did my labor and delivery capstone at another hospital out in the suburbs. Even though I did enjoy my capstone experience, it Made me realize that actually I wanted the ICU experience more. That's another example of being willing to pivot. Like, you can go into something thinking, Oh, this is what I want to do. But don't be shocked if you find yourself in a position where you're like, Oh, I like this area or this specialty better. And just go with it. Cause the way I saw it, I was like, well, I can start an ICU and if I don't like it, I can always move to labor and delivery or mother, baby. Starting at the ICU is like kind of the cream of the crop type of nursing where once you can do ICU, you can do anything. So I felt confident that I can always make that pivot later if I wanted to. And as it turns out, I didn't. I ended up going into school nursing after working 10 years at the hospital, which is a very, very big difference from ICU to school nursing. But I think that's my biggest lesson for people, especially if you're going to go into nursing is just be flexible and be ready to pivot and don't be just so totally fixated on one specialty.
Carrie:Yeah. What was it about ICU that started making you think that you would want to go in that direction, instead?
Kylie:I love the nurse to patient ratio. It's usually two patients per one nurse. Whereas if you're on med surg or even in mother baby, you can have up to five to six patients. However, by having those one to two patients, I mean, they are critically ill. They're right out of heart surgery. They're in a very critical situation. So they do need your full attention. So for me, I really liked that. I liked all the details that come with being an ICU nurse. You have to really manage a little lot of different things. You don't have an aid, so you're in charge of doing everything, which that was probably one of my weaknesses. That I learned straight on it after becoming a nurse is that I don't delegate well. And it's not that I don't want to share the workload. I just feel like I can do it best and I don't want to put things on other people. So I will just do it. So being an ICU nurse was a perfect fit for me because You don't have anyone helping you. You basically do all of the patient cares. And it's a lot of documenting, a lot of critical thinking, a lot of IV drips you're managing. It's a tough, tough job. But I really enjoyed it at the time.
Carrie:So you mentioned that when you were working in a hospital, you were able to utilize your Spanish. You said you were downtown for a few years and then moved out to the suburbs? Can you talk a little bit about the different types of settings that you worked in and what the different jobs were like?
Kylie:Yes. So the first three years I was working at the CVICU downtown. At the inner city hospital and that's where I use my spanish the most. Even though you're technically supposed to use an interpreter that the hospital provides There were a few times where I was able to at least speak casually with the patients and the patient's families as needed. And that was really very important I thought because I could tell the patients and the families felt at ease knowing that I could at least understand them, and because a lot of them only spoke spanish. They were pretty limited in their communication. So that was very helpful. But once I moved out to the suburbs, I did notice I did not use it as much anymore. I did three years in the ICU. And then I moved out to the community hospital through the health system. And I worked there the last seven years of working in the hospital setting. I was out there and I did a variety of things. I worked in a med surg, surgical care unit. I did some hours in the PACU, but I spent most of my time towards the end of my hospital career in the pain clinic there at the hospital. And I absolutely loved the pain clinic. It was probably actually my favorite job. It was more of an outpatient, skilled nursing, but I did love it. I was able to develop recurring relationships. There would be multiple patients that would come in on a regular basis to get injections, to have medication refills, et cetera. I really enjoyed developing those relationships with those patients.
Carrie:Was that more of a regular business hours type situation where the Downtown Hospital, being in ICU, did you have to do a lot of overnight kind of shifts, or what was the scheduling like for you?
Kylie:Yes. So initially I started out as full time in the ICU and being a newbie, they had you do a night shift requirement for at least through the first six months. But most of us were up to a year. And so I did nights initially, and then I moved to part time in my last year or two there, and was still doing nights. And then right before I moved to days, that's when I decided to move out to the community hospital setting. And work in the surgical care unit. And then I worked day shifts there. I did two twelves a week. So that was considered part time. And I did that for a few years. And then once I had my youngest, my daughter, I moved into a PRN role for my remaining, I guess that would be about five or six years that I was at the hospital. And that's when I moved to the pain clinic. And you're right, it was more regular hours. I didn't have to work weekends, nights, even holidays. I wasn't even on call. It was a wonderful, wonderful job.
Carrie:So how did you balance, when you had small children and you were doing these night shifts for a little while, without getting too personal about your life, but just generally speaking, listening to that, you know, somebody may be like, Oh, how do you even make that work? What does that look like?
Kylie:It was very challenging, especially when I was doing the full time nights, because you would pretty much lose five days out of your week because then you know the day before you're usually taking at least a nap before you go into your night shift and then you have three nights and then you're sleeping the next day to recover for at least a little bit. So it was like five days out of the week. It was extremely hard on me. I found quickly that I was not a night shifter, but some people just thrive on it and they love it and they feel like they actually miss less of their family's life by working night shifts. For me, it was the opposite. I felt like I needed my sleep more and I kind of messed with just my circadian rhythm, all of it. So, I was very grateful to move off the night shift as soon as I could. But a lot of people find they have more balance. They're able to work all night and they would just sleep a few hours in the morning and they were able to either wake up, spend time with their littles if they were still at home, or they would have enough time to get some errands done and then go pick up their kids from school and able to spend time with them until they went to their next shift that night. So they'd have a few hours with them after school. For me, though, I would prefer rather doing the 12 hour days, even though you do lose a day. And there was times where I would come home. I wouldn't even see my boys when I would wake up that morning, go to work. And then I came home and they would already be tucked into bed. And I would just go and give him a little kiss goodnight. And I remember being really sad about that because I felt like I'd missed a whole day with them. But I knew they were in great hands with my husband and my parents and my mother in law. They were doing what they could to help them. But it was hard. It was definitely a big transition from my old career path where I was working more nine to five, never worked nights, had my weekends. I did travel, but I didn't have kids yet. So I didn't really worry about that aspect of it. But yeah, it was definitely a challenge. And so when I moved to pain clinic, It was just wonderful because I was working five to six hour shifts during the daytime. And then even when my kids were not in school yet, they would just go spend time with my mother or my mother in law while I worked, and it was just for a few hours. It's almost like they were going to like a parent's day out type deal. And so it wasn't so hard on our family.
Carrie:Yeah, and I think that's something that a lot of people don't necessarily realize with nursing. especially is there's so many different settings that you can be a nurse in. I mean, we haven't even gotten to your next chapter yet to talk about that. Of course, a lot of people picture a hospital setting because that's where we've seen nurses a lot in our lives or maybe like their, you know, doctor's office that they go to on a regular basis. But there's all of these different medical facilities and different types of practices and you can work in all these different kinds of shifts that you can be on and there's traveling nurses and there's all of these different ways that you can do this. I hope people aren't discounting nursing because of whatever picture they have in their head of what that looks like, because there's probably some other kind of situation that fits them better, that they just don't know is out there.
Kylie:I totally agree. Yeah. The opportunities with nursing are endless. There's even informatics. You can work for certain companies where you just do more of like a typical administrative position with nursing. I mean, there is so many opportunities and that's why, even though it was such a hardship and we did have to temporarily get some student loans to make it happen for me, it was worth it. It was worth every penny because now I've had so much more flexibility with my family and just with my life work balance that I never dreamed I could have with my previous job.
Carrie:Yeah, that's awesome. So when did you decide to leave the hospital setting and how did you make that pivot in your career?
Kylie:So about six years ago, I got a call from the school nurse at my children's school Saying that she was looking to pull off on Fridays where she had been working full time at the school for, I guess at the time it had been like about 13 years. And she was looking to have her Fridays off and she knew that I was working PR in at the hospital and was wondering if I would want to work her Fridays for her. I Was elated at the opportunity. I'm like, sure. I would love to work at the kid's school on Friday for you. So I started doing that six years ago. I actually will pick up shifts whenever she needs time off. And then during the pandemic, I ended up working full time, many weeks where she and I would work together because there was so much going on with having to call the health department. Because our school stayed open through the pandemic. We did close in that spring of 2020, but we went back to school that fall when a lot of the public schools had not gone back to school because my kids go to a private school. And so I was grateful for the opportunity, but yeah, she and I were working full time, whereas like I would work the health room or she would work the health room and then one of us would do all the COVID 19 documentation, monitoring the kids that were out if they had a family member with the illness. We would have to keep track of everything and tell the health department. It was really intense. Plus we were even doing COVID testing on kids and staff members. So it was a whirlwind those from 2020 to 2021 how crazy it was there at the school. But anyway through that experience for the last few years working at the school I've just loved working at the school. I did not realize how much I enjoyed School nursing until I actually did it. The kids are great. You know, you're dealing with a lot of psychosomatic issues, but you're also dealing with true illnesses as well. It requires a lot of TLC, a lot of compassion, which I come by naturally. I've always loved working with kids. So that's been really fun being able to work with the kids in the health room. And granted, I do know most of them just because I've had, my oldest is now in high school, but he attended there, and then my other two are still there now. School nursing is where it's at, in my opinion. I've really, really loved it.
Carrie:So I think we all have an idea of what school nursing is like just from our perspective as students going to the nurse, over the years, but also I think there's been a dramatic shift in like mental health care too that you and I didn't see when we were going through school. So you touched on it already a little bit, but can you talk about some of the things you see on a very regular basis and maybe the kinds of things that people don't necessarily realize are going on in that career path?
Kylie:Yes. You know, a lot of it, you do have your typical illnesses. I work in a private school where the grades are kindergarten through eighth grade. So I do see a wide variety of, developmental levels. Like I was mentioning, I do see a lot of psychosomatic issues. You got the kids that are trying to avoid class because they're nervous about a test or they're having family struggles at home. School nursing requires not only be able to physically assess the child, but you've got to also, in some ways, act as a counselor, and be able to communicate with the parents therapeutically about what that child needs that particular day, or if it's a recurring issue. But yeah, you make a good point, Carrie. There's a lot of mental health stuff now that I don't think you and I saw I don't even know if I remember ever going to the high school nurse ever that I can remember at least. But I also substitute at my son's my oldest son's high school as well. And that's been eye opening to just because you do see a lot of mental health issues. You see some addiction issues that you didn't necessarily see 20, 20, 30 years ago. And just having to be really careful and delicate addressing those issues with that students. A lot of it does involve communicating with the parents therapeutically, getting the school counselor involved if necessary. There's a lot more involved than just putting on band aids like a lot of people might think. It's really true. So, if you enjoy the whole critical thinking aspect, and you like working with kids, but you're also not afraid to communicate with parents as well, because that's a big part of the job.
Carrie:So you've mentioned that you sub at your oldest son's school too. So obviously there's different ways to do this. Until you had started talking about it, I didn't even realize this was an option because you think about the school nurses, you know, the same person's there every day. Right. You said how initially it started with her Fridays. But then, is that something you can just make yourself aware at other schools and be called in when they need a sub, or is there like a network for that among the schools in your area? How does that work? How do you get plugged into that?
Kylie:Yes. I can't speak for the public school system, what they do, but it's probably similar. With our private school, it's through the archdiocese, we're a Catholic school. So through the archdiocese, we actually have a nurse sub list. As a nurse, you're welcome to contact your child's school and have yourself put on that list and they'll do a background check. They'll ensure that you have, your licensure and you can volunteer to be a nurse substitute as long as you have the credentials. I never even started out that way, but I know a few people that have. I was just fortunate that the school nurse just asked me to go ahead and do a job share with her. But yeah, that's how it works in our school system. And then the school nurses will just, the school nurses will just call you off the list as needed. Now I've developed a relationship with the school nurse at my son's high school. She usually probably calls me first before she has to even go to the sublist, but she knows that I'm typically unavailable Fridays, because I'm already committed to my other child's school. But there's times where we're off school and they're not. And so I can help her there, but a lot of it's developing relationships with these school nurses. Once you're on the sublist, for them to contact you.
Carrie:And generally speaking with the schedule of a school nurse, are you really just there the same hours that the kids are? Are there like extra administrative hours that you have to do? Is there like programming that school nurses do? What are some of the additional responsibilities that go along with that position?
Kylie:We do have to host CPR classes for the staff. We did do a CPR training as well. Like where we had an code situation, like a simulation that we did with staff that volunteered to be on that committee that would be ready to go if we needed to run a code. Typically we work just the school opening hours with the kids. The teachers have to put in a lot more hours than we do in terms of just extra school of faith, they do different like professional days and they have to do different meetings that we don't necessarily have to do. But yes, we're there when the school is open. We don't leave until the kids leave and dismiss. We're off though on all the days the school is closed and then we get our summers off. But we do have to come in for various events and even like before school commences, like in August, we put in a lot of hours getting ready for the school year, making the new files for new students and for new kindergartners. There is a lot of extra work there at the beginning, but I would say typically we're there only when the staff and the children are there.
Carrie:If there's anyone listening who's a parent of a child at a school, is there anything that you would want parents to know about their school nurse?
Kylie:I think my biggest thing is I try to be very transparent with parents. I typically only call them if we're at a point where I have done everything I can to alleviate their kids symptoms or whatever it is. So if I'm calling you, it's usually because I'm at a point where they probably just need to go home. Or if I'm calling you, it's because I want to be transparent. Like, say they have a head injury. I do my concussion protocol. I'm just calling to let you know that they did hit their head on the playground or they bumped heads with Steve on the playground and you should know about it just to keep an eye out for them this evening. Usually it's not a concussion, but I think most parents are appreciative that you just at least call and let them know just to keep an eye out for anything, any behavioral changes that might happen with a child. I know I would want to know that even if it's just a minor injury. Just to be patient because the school nurse does have to juggle a lot of different things. I mean, it's similar in a hospital situation where I'll have three kids coming at the same time and it's almost like a triage. You have to figure out who's most critical, the whole like ABC airway, breathing, circulation, like who's most critical and who can just wait. They are juggling a lot of different personalities. We do have what we lovingly call our frequent flyers, that love to come by. A lot of the time, I feel like those are the kids that just need a little extra TLC. And I love them to death. But yes, I will have to sometimes call the parents just to give them a heads up. Not to get them in trouble, but just to let them know, you know, Sally keeps coming in on my Fridays and it's always around this time. And it seems to be during this class and you might want to just talk with her at home and see what's bothering her. And so I think a lot of it is just for parents to be open to communicate with the nurse and to really listen to them because they get to see your child in a different environment and we might have some good input on a situation that you need to know about.
Carrie:Well, one thing that we like to bring out in a lot of these stories on the podcast is how sometimes different seasons of your life, you need different kinds of situations, or you have even maybe different interests. I think it's hard for students to maybe envision that, at the beginning of their journey, right, that what they're wanting to do right now may not be at all what they want to do 20 years later. I appreciate you telling your story because I think yours is a great example of these different chapters of your life that you have recognized that you needed to change your situation. Whether it was the industry that you were in and or you just needed your schedule to be different or the location to be different or whatever it is. So do you have any kind of general advice or encouragement for people who are perhaps either in a situation that they're evaluating and You Or maybe hesitant, especially like you said, with your advertising job, it seemed like, you know, I have this great job and it's so fun. Why would I leave it? I think a lot of times that's the question people are asking. I'm so fortunate to have the situation I have. Why would I walk away from that? So do you have any kind of advice or encouragement for people thinking through that or approaching that?
Kylie:One thing I would really recommend with people is, I wish I had done more of this at a younger age is to do a lot of volunteer work and to find a job that does more customer service focus. I think that's a really good way to grow and learn as a young person what you're comfortable with and what you really don't like. Because there's so many different fields that require those interpersonal skills and client relations, so to speak, and I feel like that is very helpful to know if say nursing or advertising which both rely heavily on customer service to know if that's really going to be the right path for you. I would encourage that. Because even though I did do that at quite a bit in college, I did work for our school's publication doing ad sales. I did have some internships at ad agencies locally that helped me grow. But I would encourage that as well if you're at that stage in your life, if you're younger as a traditional student. If you're a non traditional student, I know it's scary. You have a good job, why change? But yet, you still feel like you have this pull to try to do something different that will complete your life or just make it more well rounded. I know it's scary to leave that income and that security, but give it a shot. Or if you're not willing to completely, like resign like I did, and then go to nursing school. Maybe take on a volunteer opportunity or if you're considering nursing, maybe work as a nurse's aid, just PRN for a nursing home or somewhere local just to kind of get a taste of it, to see if that's something you really think you can do or want to do. So that's what I would recommend is maybe some more hands on experience to really you know, hone down whether that's what you want to do or not. But yeah, that's my biggest takeaway is to just do not be afraid to pivot because I clearly have pivoted a lot And I wouldn't say it's because i've just been indecisive, I just think i've got a lot of different interests and i've always have and i've got a wide variety of skills and so I just wanted to try it all. And I know I can honestly say, I don't regret it. And even when I look back, I don't regret starting an advertising and then going into nursing because yes, it would have been probably a different path for me had I done nursing at a traditional age. I probably would've went on to get more higher education as a nurse practitioner, or a nurse, anesthetist, because I know several of my friends went on from the ICU to be a nurse, anesthetist. And at the time I was like, oh, I'm not going back from more school. I just need to work and be a mom and do my thing. But at the same time, I'm really grateful for those years in my twenties where I was working advertising and I had the flexibility. I didn't have kids yet and I got to travel and I got to learn and do a lot of different things that would have been a much more challenging in my thirties. So I think just be willing to pivot and be willing to just kind of go with the flow, follow your heart. And I know financially, that's always something that holds people back, but try not to let that hold you back because it all typically works out in the end. I know it did for me.
Carrie:That's awesome advice. So we've talked about, you know, you have your degrees in Spanish and journalism, and then you got your degree in nursing and you worked in advertising, you worked at a law firm. You've been working as a nurse for a long time. And sometimes, We talk about with students how even when you have jobs or degrees with jobs or different industries on paper, things can look totally disconnected and like it doesn't make any sense. But a lot of times there are these transferable skills that go between your experiences. that you may not realize are there until you're actually doing them or even looking back on them. Can you talk a little bit about where those have shown up for you and how you feel like that's really helped you along your career path with the different skills you've learned in the different settings you've been in?
Kylie:Sure. I have really found that many of the skills that I have developed with all my different careers has been totally transferable. I would say empathetic communication and good listening has been critical. I've had to not only work with my clients in the advertising world, listening to what they really want and need out of their business to listening to patients and what's troubling them and what they need to improve on to improve their health. You also have to be able to collaborate and help people from all walks of life. I was working in the ad agency world in my 20s as a young woman dealing with a lot of middle aged men at times, and then even later in my 30s, I was working with middle aged men physicians typically, or even female physicians. So. Just being able to connect with people at all different ages and all different walks of life has been very important. Having to multitask is a big one too, because you're working with not only a variety of patients, but a variety of clients in the advertising world. You're having to juggle a number of patients when they come out of surgery and juggle all the medications they require. But then like in advertising you're having to juggle all the media budgets and the media planning and everybody's specific wishlists from client to client. You just have to really be able to multitask and really listen to the patient or the client in whatever setting you are in. You've got to be very intuitive to listen because people will sense if you're not genuinely interested. I think you have to clear your mind and really look at them in the eye, put your phone away. And your body language has to show too, good eye contact, not fidgeting with anything, and just really, like, lean forward like you're interested.
Carrie:Absolutely. So, as you look back over your career path, we've gotten to talk about all of these different chapters and twists and turns and experiences you've had. Is there any like big picture life advice that you have for students, whether it's somebody who is pivoting like you have, or just in general about the college experience or going into either nursing or advertising or something else? Is there some big picture life advice that you really feel like helped you along the way that you would want to share?
Kylie:I think my biggest takeaway for today is just make sure that just because you're good at certain skills at a younger age does not mean that you can't master or gain other skills later in life. Like we were saying earlier in the show, I really thought I was never meant to do anything in the healthcare specialty because I couldn't do math and sciences. Or I thought at the time I was not as good in math and science. And so I didn't even consider nursing as an option. Just because you don't think you're good at something younger doesn't mean that you can't match the skill when you've gained confidence later in life. I'm a perfect example of someone I thought I was just going to be doing writing and advertising the rest of my life, but I end up totally changing my career path and going into nursing. Even though I love and don't regret my background, nursing has been more rewarding than I ever could have dreamed of, and it was because I stretched myself and I tried new things and put myself in situations that weren't comfortable, but then, I grew so much out of them.
Carrie:Yeah, that's awesome. That's one reason why we do this podcast, is for people to hear these examples from other people who've taken those leaps, right, and have made those decisions and tried those things out, because otherwise you'll never know. I remember when you and I were talking about this way back when you were thinking about going back to school and making this change, because at the time I was working at a community college with a lot of nursing students doing their prerequisite courses, so. It's just exciting to see people do that, like, to have that voice inside that's, for some reason, is telling you that you need to make a change or do something different, and when people listen to that and act on it, I think it's really rewarding. And like you said, you're growing and you're learning, even if it's uncomfortable or seems scary, listen to your gut, and go with that. It's really fun to hear the stories of the people who've done that. Well, Kylie, thanks so much for joining us today and sharing your story with us. I really appreciate you telling us about all these chapters and walking us through how you did all of this, and I'm happy that you have found this path for yourself, especially these different chapters when you've listened to the rest of your life, because that's a whole nother piece of this too, right? It's not just you and what you were interested in. It's also What does the rest of your life look like? And what do you need that to be so it can all work together? And I think that's also something we don't necessarily talk with college students about a lot when they're making these decisions, you know, thinking about lifestyle or family or other aspects of their life that are important to them when really that's one of the key drivers to how we make these decisions, right? So I really appreciate you sharing your story from that perspective.
Kylie:well, thank you. Carrie. I enjoyed being with you today
Carrie:Thank you.
Do you know someone I should interview? Please DM me on Instagram@pathsinprogresspodcast and let me know who I should talk to. I would love to hear about how these stories are impacting your journey. Please follow Paths in Progress wherever you download your podcasts and leave a review to let me know what you think. You can also follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn at Paths in Progress Podcast. Our music is by John Grimmett and the artwork is by Edgar Alanis. Thanks again for joining me today.