September 3, 2025 • 22 mins
Nurse Mike shares the origin story of SimpleNursing, from his beginnings as an EMT and paramedic to becoming a nursing educator with a massive online following. He details his unexpected journey into healthcare, nursing school struggles, and how a school dismissal led to creating educational content that would change his life.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Woo, we got a code brown.
Welcome to Bedpan Banter withme, nurse Mike, the dad of
nursing, can I get a bedpan overhere?
Welcome to Bedpan Banter.
The official podcast of SimpleNursing.
We're diving into all thingsnursing and healthcare related.
I'm your host, nurse Mike, andtoday we're diving into the
origin story behind my babySimple Nursing.
(00:23):
So this podcast exists becauseI have an area where I can teach
you guys.
We've done over 5,000educational videos but I don't
necessarily have an avenue totalk to you guys and really
relating to my experience as anurse and really all the behind
the scenes of my personal lifeand what got me into nursing and
healthcare in general.
So it's kind of like nursingschool.
It sounded like a good idea atthe time, but then when you're
in it it's like what?
(00:43):
No, I'm just kidding.
So the real big point is Idon't want you guys to simply
think of me as your teacher.
I really want you to get toknow me on a personal level.
So who is Nurse Mike?
So yeah, I'm a six-time failureat different business ideas.
Four of those were actuallyYouTube channels in the fitness
industry.
So when I first started, I was apersonal trainer right out of
(01:06):
high school and I went to EMTschool to work on an ambulance
at 18.
I was really supposed to be afirefighter.
I didn't even want to doanything medical.
It was my brother when I was asenior in high school.
He's like, dude, take thiscourse because you can get
certified as an EMT, which islike 600 bucks.
And at the time, you know,being a broke high school
student, I'm like $600.
(01:27):
Like, oh my gosh, and theschool's gonna pay for it.
Perfect, I'll do it in my lastsemester, you know, as a senior.
And so by the time I graduatedhigh school, I already had my
EMT certificate to work on theambulance.
So I was doing both EMT andmedical.
And then, you know, personaltraining on the side.
And then my brother and Iworked at the same ambulance
(01:47):
company and I think that'sreally funny because they would
never let us work together.
My dad would always say, likeit's kind of like working at the
circus, like those two littlemonkeys in the ambulance, like
those little miniatureambulances.
We did work one time togetherand it was hilarious.
We were just ripping on eachother and making jokes.
So, yeah, this ambulancecompany where we started at you
(02:08):
really don't save anyone or doany critical care.
It's literally dialysis,transports or from, like nursing
home to doctor's appointment,so there was no like code
criticals or 911 emergencies.
Later on I became a paramedic,started teaching EKG this is
right when I was supposed to gointo the fire academy, and then
I started working critical careand there was gunshot wounds and
(02:29):
stabbings and it was in LosAngeles.
It was wild times, a lot oflike heart attacks and strokes
and stuff like that.
So, making the transition ofgoing from fire to nursing
school, it was kind of weirdbecause I actually never wanted
to be a nurse.
I talked a lot of my friendswho were going into, you know,
(02:51):
from fire into something else,because back then it's like it
was 10 years just to get hiredas a firefighter which is wild
to me and never wanted to be anurse.
I was actually going to go toPA school.
I applied to physicianassistant school three times but
I didn't have a bachelor'sdegree, so there was only like
four or five colleges I couldapply to with 2000 hours of
medical work and I got deniedthree years in a row.
(03:11):
Then I started working in theemergency room seeing what
nurses did and I was like whoa,I didn't really know what nurses
did and how they made 80% ofthe backbone of the hospital and
I was like, whoa, you can do atravel nurse, you can work on
all these multiple units, youcan work outside, you can work
in a helicopter.
This is wild.
And so that changed myperception of nursing, because
(03:33):
at the time I was so naive, inlike early twenties, thinking I
knew everything, which actuallygot me kicked out of nursing
school, which is a sad story.
But so when I went to nursingschool first got accepted I
think 2011, I had to apply toseven different schools in
Southern California, where I'mfrom.
A lot of the community collegeswere just totally impacted.
I never wanted to go to a fouryear university because the
(03:55):
price and also the the privateuniversities were like 50,000,
all the way up to over $100,000at certain universities in SoCal
, and I'm like gosh.
So I applied to over a hundredthousand dollars at certain
universities in SoCal, and I'mlike gosh.
So I applied to seven communitycolleges which will give me my
you know RN degree or my RNlicense in like two years.
So I didn't make it the firstsemester and I was actually
(04:15):
pulling the lottery for thesecond time.
I applied to seven schoolsagain and it was really funny.
It was really stressful at thetime because, um, they called me
three weeks before the nursingprogram was going to start and
I'm working as a tech in the ermaking like 12 13 dollars an
hour.
I remember being so unprepared.
I'm like, oh my gosh, it's likealmost like you have news like
(04:37):
you're you know you're pregnantor you're having a baby.
Like, oh snap, I don't thinkI'm ready for this.
But I was on the lottery, right, so right.
So it wasn't like I'mguaranteed a spot.
So I had to pass my TEAS exambut there was two students in
front of me.
The only way I was getting innursing school is if one of
these two students failed.
And they look way smarter thanme and it was just a TEAS exam,
(04:58):
right it's.
You know math, sciences and allthis other stuff.
So I go into the T-Center.
They gave us like three hoursto take the T's.
One of the students that had tofail like left in the first 45
minutes.
I'm like dang, that person'ssmart.
And I'm like I'm a dummy.
I'm like, okay, who cares, I'mjust going to try my best.
(05:19):
Turns out, one of those studentsfailed and that's why I got in
the program and I'm like, oh mygosh, so starting in nursing
school from all that medicalexperience of being a paramedic
educator for EKG and I think atthe time I had like maybe seven
years of medical experience fromthe ambulance to the emergency
(05:40):
room to kind of teaching, andand first semester for me was a
total joke and I'm like in myearly 20s, so I'm still like
naive and cocky and like veryegocentric.
I'm not mature as I am today.
Fine wine.
So I get into my first semesterand they're talking vital signs
(06:03):
, right, they're talking bedpansor ambulating someone to the
restroom and I'm like lookingaround, I'm like what the heck?
Like I'm used to teaching EKGstuff.
So I start slacking off at thattime and I start like bending
the rules a little bit, being alittle mischievous.
You know what I mean and that'swhat gets me into trouble.
I still hold the record for themost write-ups in your first
(06:27):
semester of nursing school.
I think I still hold thatrecord.
I had four write-ups.
Usually people go throughoutthe entire nursing program
without even having a write-up,and write-ups can be anything
from being late on a paper,being late to class, even
parking in the wrong spot.
I think I parked in the facultyone time, so it was dumb stuff,
but it was like.
(06:48):
It was just kind of like youknow um, the vibe I was in at
the time, which you know makessense because nursing school
does get harder, which I wasn'texpecting.
My first semester.
I'm like, oh, this is a pieceof cake, I got this, I can do
anything I want, blah, blah.
Then, when it came to secondsemester, I had all this like
bad rap sheet.
Then it started getting hardPharmacology, intro to
(07:11):
pathophysiology and I think, afew other ones.
That really kicked my butt andreally like was a huge wake-up
call.
I'm like, oh my gosh, I thoughtwe were on the bunny slopes and
all of a sudden takes off.
So that, mixed in with myslacking, I really had to dial
it in.
And then third semester comesaround.
(07:31):
I think I barely passed secondsemester because I had to make
up so much ground.
I slacked off in the first halfand then had to really do well.
Then third semester comesaround and I think around two or
three clinicals in the wholeclass wasn't prepared.
We didn't have enough time.
But instead of like you know uscoming forward and saying like,
hey, we don't have enough time,we're not prepared.
(07:52):
I was the first one on thechopping block with all this bad
rap and our clinical instructoralready knew and kind of like
looked down upon me for havingthis bad rap sheet and I was
like you're not prepared.
I'm like, well, we didn't haveenough time.
Like no one's really prepared.
She's like this is your thirdwrite-up or whatever write-up it
was, and I got kicked out ofthe program and so I'm like,
(08:13):
well, this is dumb.
Like I didn't get kicked outfor grades or anything, it was
more for just not being prepared.
But my dean was really cool.
My dean sat me down with theinstructor that was kicking me
out and she's like, mike, I knowyou can, you know, even teach
these courses.
You can pass these courses.
Show me that you're serious,show me a project, that you're
(08:35):
motivated and dedicated, just todo everything we're asking you
to do and then get out of ourhair.
So she was really nice and Iwas like, okay, I'll do a
project.
So I was used to doing fitnessstuff, right, like 14-day boot
camps and things like that.
So I'm like what if we just didlike a 14-day boot camp or like
a two-week boot camp for newnursing students or struggling
nursing students and talk aboutlike study strategies or memory
(08:58):
tricks for the hardest topicsbecause I was used to making
those for paramedics and I'mlike, okay, let's do that.
And we did this like littleworkshop of a few students and
at the time they're like, hey,put this on YouTube.
And before I got into nursingschool a little side note here I
(09:19):
started four other YouTubechannels for fitness.
This is like a few summers likebetween like going to PA school
and applying that route.
You can still find these videoson YouTube, but I think YouTube
like sunsetted it or deleted itbecause this, oh my gosh, this
is like over 13 years ago, 14years ago now but it was called
Smart Fit Bootcamp and that's awhole side note in and of itself
(09:41):
.
But I just thought YouTubedidn't work for me because I
already tried four times and I'mlike this is the dumbest idea
in the world.
But I still remember being inthe shower one day and I'm
thinking early on the reasonthat I got bit by this
entrepreneurial bug, or like hadthis entrepreneurial seizure,
as they call it.
In the book E-Myth they alwayssay, like you know, you got to
(10:04):
learn before you earn, grow yourbrain, grow your bank.
So one of the seven books thatI read early on my early
twenties was four hour work week, and I think it was in that
book, maybe another book.
It said you have to fail ninetimes before you succeed the
10th time.
And this is for businesses,right, um, because nine of every
10 businesses will fail orideas.
It's kind of like dates nine ofevery 10 dates you're going to
(10:27):
go on are not going to end up ina relationship or something
further.
So I'm like it's just keep ongoing at the point.
At that point I was at sixfailures, um, with various ideas
.
So I'm like you know, screw it,I'm going to just do it again.
They're all throw up fivevideos on YouTube.
It's going to go nowhere, butit'll be like my seventh failure
(10:48):
.
And from all the other failuresI was like eight grand in debt.
So I'm like I have an iPhoneand I have a whiteboard that was
30 bucks from Walmart and Ididn't even have an eraser.
I had a sock to erase the boardand I was using my dad's chair,
uh, which was like a whopping70 dollars at the time, and he's
like these chairs are superexpensive.
I don't want your whiteboard tobe on here, and so that was
really funny.
And my dad seeing me failed at anursing school, uh trying to
(11:11):
get back in and now starting aseventh business idea and he was
the one that was like tryinglike, oh my gosh, he's like miho
is like trying to protect me's.
Like stop doing all this.
Like get rich quick stuff.
Like focus on getting back intonursing school, get your career
, get your pension.
Because he was a LAPD detectivewith Los Angeles the police
department for like 30 years andwas like super into, like you
(11:32):
know, security.
So it was really funny because,like some of the earliest
videos you can still probablylook up, uh, from like 2012,
you'll see those videos of justreally old and like rustic.
It was just like I couldn'tafford anything.
It was like a little tinywebcam that was like super
choppy.
Good thing the audio was clear.
But those videos is what madesimple nursing back in 2012 and
(11:55):
it was really about just liketiming and talent, because
youtube was in a transitionperiod of like four years in
that era of like early 2010s andI started in 2012 where they
were putting a lot of money intoeducation, because before that
YouTube was just about catvideos, fall down videos, those
kinds of things, and they wantedto be a place of education.
(12:18):
So they were putting a lot ofmoney into Khan Academy and
Crash Course and really anyeducation.
So I made first five videos on,like that really crappy quality
, and I was so shocked I'm likeI got a few thousand views.
Like this is no way, this is afluke, it's a fad Never going to
last.
So then I made five more andI'm like whoa, now people start
(12:38):
requesting videos.
I'm like dude, what, what theheck?
And there were a few otherpeople doing YouTube at the time
um, for nursing, but no one wasdoing it in that style that I
had, where it was kind of likefitnessy, where it's like in the
first five seconds it's likehey guys, it's nurse Mike here.
Today we're gonna be divinginto the top five tips for EKG,
(12:58):
let's just say.
And no one had that spice oflike boom, boom, boom, let's get
it done Eight minute video.
You know this will replace awhole chapter of content.
So five videos turns into 50videos.
And then I came to a point in mylast semester of nursing school
when I finally got back in, thedean was like super impressed,
like wow, not only did you dothis, but now you're helping
(13:20):
students around the world onYouTube.
Okay, you're back in theprogram.
I'm like, woohoo.
So I had six months left innursing program and I'm like,
okay, this is really interesting.
A lot of people are watchingthis, but no one's going to pay
for it.
So from my experience of all theother failures, I knew how to
set up a website on udemycom.
From my experience of all theother failures, I knew how to
(13:41):
set up a website on udemycom.
So I put $19 for 50 videos thatweren't on YouTube and a few
downloads like study guides andstuff.
This was back in 2013.
And my test was I will quit myjob making a whopping $13 an
hour and do this full time in mylast semester if I can make a
(14:02):
sale a day for 45 days.
So it turns out I made 90 sales, basically doubled the amount,
and I'm like, well, I felt likeI hit the big time.
I'm like, oh my gosh, nevermade any dollars online before.
I never really helped anyoneonline before.
No one really watched my stufffor fitness, and it was like, oh
my gosh, this is crazy.
So by the time I graduated, Iwas doing about a hundred videos
(14:25):
a month in that really crappyquality, but I think a lot of
students liked that because itwas real, it was like authentic,
it kind of felt like a livewebinar and that's really was
the birthplace of simple nursing.
So summer of 2013 is when itreally took flight, right when I
was graduating, and I delayedmy NCLEX for about, I think, a
(14:47):
year because there was actuallyone class in child development
that I missed, a prerequisite toget my degree and then
ultimately get my ATT to sit forthe NCLEX.
So between 2013 and 14, therewas a blogger nurse that I can't
mention his name, but he wasjust running me through the mud
on blogs.
A lot of people don't even knowthis.
So this is behind-the-scenesfootage and he's saying, like,
(15:09):
nurse Mike is not even a nurse,he's a total scam artist because
he doesn't have a license, andblah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
And I'm like, well, I mean, itsounds like that quote from the
Hangover.
It's like, well, I mean, itsounds like that quote from the
Hangover, it's like I'm a nurse,I'm just not licensed, right.
So same way.
So by the time I sat for theNCLEX, I already made over a
thousand videos and I was justwaiting for that last class to
(15:30):
process and it was really funnybecause I'm helping people pass
their NCLEX and then I hadn'teven taken my NCLEX yet.
It was like in 2014,.
I took my NCLEX.
So I still remember my brother,like you know.
I wish he would have hyped meup, but he kind of like got in
my head in a negative way.
He's like dude, what if you dolike all these videos for
(15:51):
nursing and you can't even passthe NCLEX yourself?
I'm like, oh crap, you're right.
So thank you, joe, I appreciateit.
How's the fire stuff workingout?
So, anyways, I studied my buttoff.
There was no, you know,advanced question banks like we
have now.
There was literally just thoselike ATI, old books from Amazon
(16:12):
and like some really crappyquestion banks in like 2014.
So I remember studying my buttoff and then passing and here's
another little behind the scenessneak peek I was the student
that took the entire time totake the NCLEX and then before
it was 75 questions, minimumquestions, and then you can get
out right.
But I was there and I took thefull.
(16:34):
At the time I think it was like265 questions.
It was incredibly long and Istill remember like I don't know
if I'm gonna ever pass this,and my brother's like voices in
my head Like what if you canever pass those NCLEX.
But I ended up passing theNCLEX, got my license and at
that moment I knew I was at mybest.
(16:56):
So I attempted to start mymaster's because I only have my
associates right the beauty ofjust going to an associate's
degree program.
Because I got a lot of shamefrom it from, like, bachelor's
degree people or master's degreepeople.
But I'm like guys like it wasfour grand in two years and all
these other people are likeshaming me.
They're like, you know, in 30,40, 50 grand debt.
(17:17):
I'm like, okay.
So I was really glad.
I don't think there's any shamein being an associate degree
nurse.
So I was like, okay, I got toget my master's because I am
teaching online and I'm helpinga lot of students.
But I've met a lot of master'sdegree trained nurses that don't
know how to teach, which isreally weird.
Because I'm like how do youhave your master's in education
(17:37):
but don't know how to delivereducation?
Like it's a bleep.
That's weird.
So I attempted to start in 2015at Walden University, but
there's so much going on.
I was still making a crap tonof videos and building out the
team and my brother's wife wasworking the phones for Simple
(17:58):
Nursing, like customer service,and one of my best friends from
nursing school we used tocarpool together he was ended up
becoming a nurse.
He was doing our sales atSimple Nursing.
He was the phone number youcall and I was like, okay, so
we're building that wholeecosystem out still at the time,
2015.
And then Walden University wasthe cheapest and fastest.
(18:20):
At the time they had a programwhere you can skip your
bachelor's and get your master'sin 18 months for 30 grand.
So I started the first semesterbut there was just so much
paperwork like you know, apaformat, all this like mumbo
jumbo.
I'm like, oh, I don't reallywant to do this because I really
didn't need my master's, right,I just needed to be a licensed
(18:40):
nurse, I guess, to teach onlineor to be a student nurse mentor,
we call it back in the day.
So I dropped out in 2015 fromWalden University and I'm glad I
did, because about 2019 Irevisited the master's degree
route to skip my bachelor's andgo master's and man, the space
got super competitive.
So I researched seven schoolsand it turns out that the
(19:05):
cheapest and fastest at 2019 itwasn't 30 grand anymore, it was
actually 12 000, around 12 000,I think.
Um, in about 12 months.
And I was like what, you canskip your bachelor's in 12
months and get your master's ineducation.
So that was capella universityand they I even hit them up and
I'm like, hey, do you guys wantto sponsor me to go through your
(19:26):
program?
And like, yeah, just do a bunchof videos for us for youtube
and social.
I'm like, okay, cool, and thatwas 2019, um, and super easy
program called the flex edprogram.
This is not a sponsor, by theway, but capella, if you're
watching this, shout me or giveme, I don't know, give me
something, give me a free rockfor nurses week, and now I'm
flirting with the idea of goingfor my phd or dnp, which you can
(19:51):
do 100% online, yeah, so a lotof people ask me, especially
seasoned nurses that I've helpedthrough nursing school and
going back to school is reallytough because once you're a
nurse, you just you know youwant to make a bunch of money to
pay off your student loans andjust live your life because
you've been in school from yourprerequisites all the way
through nursing.
So to even think about goingback for your bachelor's or your
(20:11):
master's or something higher isreally difficult.
So for me, what really helpedme balance my work-life balance
from going to my master's andalso all the YouTube stuff, and
then I was actually working perdiem in the ER in Los Angeles.
So what really helped me is Imade a term called laundry day,
(20:31):
right.
So laundry day for me was likeyou choose one day out of the
week to like do a deep dive inanything that advances you.
So at the time it was justgoing for a master's and I call
it laundry day because everysingle time you have a dirty
sock or dirty undies or whateverit is, you don't wash it right
then.
And there right, no one reallywashes their clothes as they
(20:53):
become dirty.
So you kind of save it for alaundry day, and so that's what
I usually do for productivity.
So if you're ever like wantingto advance your life but you
don't know where to fit stuff in, choose one day out of the week
.
For me it was like Fridays andI would just put eight hours
into like, boom, I'm going to doit all on laundry day, yeah.
So if you're in nursing school,you kind of don't have really
(21:15):
have a laundry day too much.
You should be picking away atstudying.
But I'd say something that Ilive by in nursing school for
time management the best thingthat ever helped me.
I think it's called the, thePonomoro or the platypus
platyypus, something type oflike time management technique.
I forget I have to look this up, but it's 15 to 20 minutes of
(21:36):
really deep, intense work.
That's all you're focused on,like only what you're focused on
, like the book or whateveryou're studying.
And then, after you are out ofthat box, then you can check
your text messages, facebook,whatever, go to the bathroom,
because I see a lot of studentsand me included.
At the time I was like studyingfor three hours straight.
(21:57):
You don't really study forthree hours straight.
Your mind goes in 15 to 20minute boxes.
Then you'll naturally getdistracted.
So if I'm at Starbucks, I'mlike, okay, I'm going to get
five boxes here at Starbucks.
It'll probably take a few hoursand then I'll just get five
boxes at home and change thescenery.
So that really helped me.
If you're finding difficultywith your study habits, try this
(22:18):
box method where that's all youdo for each box to get 10 of
them a day for four days a week,and I always recommend watch
the videos before you studybecause that'll cut your study
time down dramatically, like by60%, because one eight minute
video is about a chat an hour inyour textbook reading a chapter
of content.
Oh, and I'm getting a callright now.
(22:44):
So remember, don't be scared,be prepared and don't let the
bed pans bite.
Woo, we got a code brown.
Welcome to Bedpan Banter withme, nurse Mike, the dad of
nursing, can I get a bedpan overhere?
Welcome to Bedpan Banter.
The official podcast of SimpleNursing.
We're diving into all thingsnursing and healthcare related.
I'm your host, nurse Mike, andtoday we're diving into the
origin story behind my babySimple Nursing.
(00:23):
So this podcast exists becauseI have an area where I can teach
you guys.
We've done over 5,000educational videos but I don't
necessarily have an avenue totalk to you guys and really
relating to my experience as anurse and really all the behind
the scenes of my personal lifeand what got me into nursing and
healthcare in general.
So it's kind of like nursingschool.
It sounded like a good idea atthe time, but then when you're
in it it's like what?
(00:43):
No, I'm just kidding.
So the real big point is Idon't want you guys to simply
think of me as your teacher.
I really want you to get toknow me on a personal level.
So who is Nurse Mike?
So yeah, I'm a six-time failureat different business ideas.
Four of those were actuallyYouTube channels in the fitness
industry.
So when I first started, I was apersonal trainer right out of
(01:06):
high school and I went to EMTschool to work on an ambulance
at 18.
I was really supposed to be afirefighter.
I didn't even want to doanything medical.
It was my brother when I was asenior in high school.
He's like, dude, take thiscourse because you can get
certified as an EMT, which islike 600 bucks.
And at the time, you know,being a broke high school
student, I'm like $600.
(01:27):
Like, oh my gosh, and theschool's gonna pay for it.
Perfect, I'll do it in my lastsemester, you know, as a senior.
And so by the time I graduatedhigh school, I already had my
EMT certificate to work on theambulance.
So I was doing both EMT andmedical.
And then, you know, personaltraining on the side.
And then my brother and Iworked at the same ambulance
(01:47):
company and I think that'sreally funny because they would
never let us work together.
My dad would always say, likeit's kind of like working at the
circus, like those two littlemonkeys in the ambulance, like
those little miniatureambulances.
We did work one time togetherand it was hilarious.
We were just ripping on eachother and making jokes.
So, yeah, this ambulancecompany where we started at you
(02:08):
really don't save anyone or doany critical care.
It's literally dialysis,transports or from, like nursing
home to doctor's appointment,so there was no like code
criticals or 911 emergencies.
Later on I became a paramedic,started teaching EKG this is
right when I was supposed to gointo the fire academy, and then
I started working critical careand there was gunshot wounds and
(02:29):
stabbings and it was in LosAngeles.
It was wild times, a lot oflike heart attacks and strokes
and stuff like that.
So, making the transition ofgoing from fire to nursing
school, it was kind of weirdbecause I actually never wanted
to be a nurse.
I talked a lot of my friendswho were going into, you know,
(02:51):
from fire into something else,because back then it's like it
was 10 years just to get hiredas a firefighter which is wild
to me and never wanted to be anurse.
I was actually going to go toPA school.
I applied to physicianassistant school three times but
I didn't have a bachelor'sdegree, so there was only like
four or five colleges I couldapply to with 2000 hours of
medical work and I got deniedthree years in a row.
(03:11):
Then I started working in theemergency room seeing what
nurses did and I was like whoa,I didn't really know what nurses
did and how they made 80% ofthe backbone of the hospital and
I was like, whoa, you can do atravel nurse, you can work on
all these multiple units, youcan work outside, you can work
in a helicopter.
This is wild.
And so that changed myperception of nursing, because
(03:33):
at the time I was so naive, inlike early twenties, thinking I
knew everything, which actuallygot me kicked out of nursing
school, which is a sad story.
But so when I went to nursingschool first got accepted I
think 2011, I had to apply toseven different schools in
Southern California, where I'mfrom.
A lot of the community collegeswere just totally impacted.
I never wanted to go to a fouryear university because the
(03:55):
price and also the the privateuniversities were like 50,000,
all the way up to over $100,000at certain universities in SoCal
, and I'm like gosh.
So I applied to over a hundredthousand dollars at certain
universities in SoCal, and I'mlike gosh.
So I applied to seven communitycolleges which will give me my
you know RN degree or my RNlicense in like two years.
So I didn't make it the firstsemester and I was actually
(04:15):
pulling the lottery for thesecond time.
I applied to seven schoolsagain and it was really funny.
It was really stressful at thetime because, um, they called me
three weeks before the nursingprogram was going to start and
I'm working as a tech in the ermaking like 12 13 dollars an
hour.
I remember being so unprepared.
I'm like, oh my gosh, it's likealmost like you have news like
(04:37):
you're you know you're pregnantor you're having a baby.
Like, oh snap, I don't thinkI'm ready for this.
But I was on the lottery, right, so right.
So it wasn't like I'mguaranteed a spot.
So I had to pass my TEAS exambut there was two students in
front of me.
The only way I was getting innursing school is if one of
these two students failed.
And they look way smarter thanme and it was just a TEAS exam,
(04:58):
right it's.
You know math, sciences and allthis other stuff.
So I go into the T-Center.
They gave us like three hoursto take the T's.
One of the students that had tofail like left in the first 45
minutes.
I'm like dang, that person'ssmart.
And I'm like I'm a dummy.
I'm like, okay, who cares, I'mjust going to try my best.
(05:19):
Turns out, one of those studentsfailed and that's why I got in
the program and I'm like, oh mygosh, so starting in nursing
school from all that medicalexperience of being a paramedic
educator for EKG and I think atthe time I had like maybe seven
years of medical experience fromthe ambulance to the emergency
(05:40):
room to kind of teaching, andand first semester for me was a
total joke and I'm like in myearly 20s, so I'm still like
naive and cocky and like veryegocentric.
I'm not mature as I am today.
Fine wine.
So I get into my first semesterand they're talking vital signs
(06:03):
, right, they're talking bedpansor ambulating someone to the
restroom and I'm like lookingaround, I'm like what the heck?
Like I'm used to teaching EKGstuff.
So I start slacking off at thattime and I start like bending
the rules a little bit, being alittle mischievous.
You know what I mean and that'swhat gets me into trouble.
I still hold the record for themost write-ups in your first
(06:27):
semester of nursing school.
I think I still hold thatrecord.
I had four write-ups.
Usually people go throughoutthe entire nursing program
without even having a write-up,and write-ups can be anything
from being late on a paper,being late to class, even
parking in the wrong spot.
I think I parked in the facultyone time, so it was dumb stuff,
but it was like.
(06:48):
It was just kind of like youknow um, the vibe I was in at
the time, which you know makessense because nursing school
does get harder, which I wasn'texpecting.
My first semester.
I'm like, oh, this is a pieceof cake, I got this, I can do
anything I want, blah, blah.
Then, when it came to secondsemester, I had all this like
bad rap sheet.
Then it started getting hardPharmacology, intro to
(07:11):
pathophysiology and I think, afew other ones.
That really kicked my butt andreally like was a huge wake-up
call.
I'm like, oh my gosh, I thoughtwe were on the bunny slopes and
all of a sudden takes off.
So that, mixed in with myslacking, I really had to dial
it in.
And then third semester comesaround.
(07:31):
I think I barely passed secondsemester because I had to make
up so much ground.
I slacked off in the first halfand then had to really do well.
Then third semester comesaround and I think around two or
three clinicals in the wholeclass wasn't prepared.
We didn't have enough time.
But instead of like you know uscoming forward and saying like,
hey, we don't have enough time,we're not prepared.
(07:52):
I was the first one on thechopping block with all this bad
rap and our clinical instructoralready knew and kind of like
looked down upon me for havingthis bad rap sheet and I was
like you're not prepared.
I'm like, well, we didn't haveenough time.
Like no one's really prepared.
She's like this is your thirdwrite-up or whatever write-up it
was, and I got kicked out ofthe program and so I'm like,
(08:13):
well, this is dumb.
Like I didn't get kicked outfor grades or anything, it was
more for just not being prepared.
But my dean was really cool.
My dean sat me down with theinstructor that was kicking me
out and she's like, mike, I knowyou can, you know, even teach
these courses.
You can pass these courses.
Show me that you're serious,show me a project, that you're
(08:35):
motivated and dedicated, just todo everything we're asking you
to do and then get out of ourhair.
So she was really nice and Iwas like, okay, I'll do a
project.
So I was used to doing fitnessstuff, right, like 14-day boot
camps and things like that.
So I'm like what if we just didlike a 14-day boot camp or like
a two-week boot camp for newnursing students or struggling
nursing students and talk aboutlike study strategies or memory
(08:58):
tricks for the hardest topicsbecause I was used to making
those for paramedics and I'mlike, okay, let's do that.
And we did this like littleworkshop of a few students and
at the time they're like, hey,put this on YouTube.
And before I got into nursingschool a little side note here I
(09:19):
started four other YouTubechannels for fitness.
This is like a few summers likebetween like going to PA school
and applying that route.
You can still find these videoson YouTube, but I think YouTube
like sunsetted it or deleted itbecause this, oh my gosh, this
is like over 13 years ago, 14years ago now but it was called
Smart Fit Bootcamp and that's awhole side note in and of itself
(09:41):
.
But I just thought YouTubedidn't work for me because I
already tried four times and I'mlike this is the dumbest idea
in the world.
But I still remember being inthe shower one day and I'm
thinking early on the reasonthat I got bit by this
entrepreneurial bug, or like hadthis entrepreneurial seizure,
as they call it.
In the book E-Myth they alwayssay, like you know, you got to
(10:04):
learn before you earn, grow yourbrain, grow your bank.
So one of the seven books thatI read early on my early
twenties was four hour work week, and I think it was in that
book, maybe another book.
It said you have to fail ninetimes before you succeed the
10th time.
And this is for businesses,right, um, because nine of every
10 businesses will fail orideas.
It's kind of like dates nine ofevery 10 dates you're going to
(10:27):
go on are not going to end up ina relationship or something
further.
So I'm like it's just keep ongoing at the point.
At that point I was at sixfailures, um, with various ideas
.
So I'm like you know, screw it,I'm going to just do it again.
They're all throw up fivevideos on YouTube.
It's going to go nowhere, butit'll be like my seventh failure
(10:48):
.
And from all the other failuresI was like eight grand in debt.
So I'm like I have an iPhoneand I have a whiteboard that was
30 bucks from Walmart and Ididn't even have an eraser.
I had a sock to erase the boardand I was using my dad's chair,
uh, which was like a whopping70 dollars at the time, and he's
like these chairs are superexpensive.
I don't want your whiteboard tobe on here, and so that was
really funny.
And my dad seeing me failed at anursing school, uh trying to
(11:11):
get back in and now starting aseventh business idea and he was
the one that was like tryinglike, oh my gosh, he's like miho
is like trying to protect me's.
Like stop doing all this.
Like get rich quick stuff.
Like focus on getting back intonursing school, get your career
, get your pension.
Because he was a LAPD detectivewith Los Angeles the police
department for like 30 years andwas like super into, like you
(11:32):
know, security.
So it was really funny because,like some of the earliest
videos you can still probablylook up, uh, from like 2012,
you'll see those videos of justreally old and like rustic.
It was just like I couldn'tafford anything.
It was like a little tinywebcam that was like super
choppy.
Good thing the audio was clear.
But those videos is what madesimple nursing back in 2012 and
(11:55):
it was really about just liketiming and talent, because
youtube was in a transitionperiod of like four years in
that era of like early 2010s andI started in 2012 where they
were putting a lot of money intoeducation, because before that
YouTube was just about catvideos, fall down videos, those
kinds of things, and they wantedto be a place of education.
(12:18):
So they were putting a lot ofmoney into Khan Academy and
Crash Course and really anyeducation.
So I made first five videos on,like that really crappy quality
, and I was so shocked I'm likeI got a few thousand views.
Like this is no way, this is afluke, it's a fad Never going to
last.
So then I made five more andI'm like whoa, now people start
(12:38):
requesting videos.
I'm like dude, what, what theheck?
And there were a few otherpeople doing YouTube at the time
um, for nursing, but no one wasdoing it in that style that I
had, where it was kind of likefitnessy, where it's like in the
first five seconds it's likehey guys, it's nurse Mike here.
Today we're gonna be divinginto the top five tips for EKG,
(12:58):
let's just say.
And no one had that spice oflike boom, boom, boom, let's get
it done Eight minute video.
You know this will replace awhole chapter of content.
So five videos turns into 50videos.
And then I came to a point in mylast semester of nursing school
when I finally got back in, thedean was like super impressed,
like wow, not only did you dothis, but now you're helping
(13:20):
students around the world onYouTube.
Okay, you're back in theprogram.
I'm like, woohoo.
So I had six months left innursing program and I'm like,
okay, this is really interesting.
A lot of people are watchingthis, but no one's going to pay
for it.
So from my experience of all theother failures, I knew how to
set up a website on udemycom.
From my experience of all theother failures, I knew how to
(13:41):
set up a website on udemycom.
So I put $19 for 50 videos thatweren't on YouTube and a few
downloads like study guides andstuff.
This was back in 2013.
And my test was I will quit myjob making a whopping $13 an
hour and do this full time in mylast semester if I can make a
(14:02):
sale a day for 45 days.
So it turns out I made 90 sales, basically doubled the amount,
and I'm like, well, I felt likeI hit the big time.
I'm like, oh my gosh, nevermade any dollars online before.
I never really helped anyoneonline before.
No one really watched my stufffor fitness, and it was like, oh
my gosh, this is crazy.
So by the time I graduated, Iwas doing about a hundred videos
(14:25):
a month in that really crappyquality, but I think a lot of
students liked that because itwas real, it was like authentic,
it kind of felt like a livewebinar and that's really was
the birthplace of simple nursing.
So summer of 2013 is when itreally took flight, right when I
was graduating, and I delayedmy NCLEX for about, I think, a
(14:47):
year because there was actuallyone class in child development
that I missed, a prerequisite toget my degree and then
ultimately get my ATT to sit forthe NCLEX.
So between 2013 and 14, therewas a blogger nurse that I can't
mention his name, but he wasjust running me through the mud
on blogs.
A lot of people don't even knowthis.
So this is behind-the-scenesfootage and he's saying, like,
(15:09):
nurse Mike is not even a nurse,he's a total scam artist because
he doesn't have a license, andblah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
And I'm like, well, I mean, itsounds like that quote from the
Hangover.
It's like, well, I mean, itsounds like that quote from the
Hangover, it's like I'm a nurse,I'm just not licensed, right.
So same way.
So by the time I sat for theNCLEX, I already made over a
thousand videos and I was justwaiting for that last class to
(15:30):
process and it was really funnybecause I'm helping people pass
their NCLEX and then I hadn'teven taken my NCLEX yet.
It was like in 2014,.
I took my NCLEX.
So I still remember my brother,like you know.
I wish he would have hyped meup, but he kind of like got in
my head in a negative way.
He's like dude, what if you dolike all these videos for
(15:51):
nursing and you can't even passthe NCLEX yourself?
I'm like, oh crap, you're right.
So thank you, joe, I appreciateit.
How's the fire stuff workingout?
So, anyways, I studied my buttoff.
There was no, you know,advanced question banks like we
have now.
There was literally just thoselike ATI, old books from Amazon
(16:12):
and like some really crappyquestion banks in like 2014.
So I remember studying my buttoff and then passing and here's
another little behind the scenessneak peek I was the student
that took the entire time totake the NCLEX and then before
it was 75 questions, minimumquestions, and then you can get
out right.
But I was there and I took thefull.
(16:34):
At the time I think it was like265 questions.
It was incredibly long and Istill remember like I don't know
if I'm gonna ever pass this,and my brother's like voices in
my head Like what if you canever pass those NCLEX.
But I ended up passing theNCLEX, got my license and at
that moment I knew I was at mybest.
(16:56):
So I attempted to start mymaster's because I only have my
associates right the beauty ofjust going to an associate's
degree program.
Because I got a lot of shamefrom it from, like, bachelor's
degree people or master's degreepeople.
But I'm like guys like it wasfour grand in two years and all
these other people are likeshaming me.
They're like, you know, in 30,40, 50 grand debt.
(17:17):
I'm like, okay.
So I was really glad.
I don't think there's any shamein being an associate degree
nurse.
So I was like, okay, I got toget my master's because I am
teaching online and I'm helpinga lot of students.
But I've met a lot of master'sdegree trained nurses that don't
know how to teach, which isreally weird.
Because I'm like how do youhave your master's in education
(17:37):
but don't know how to delivereducation?
Like it's a bleep.
That's weird.
So I attempted to start in 2015at Walden University, but
there's so much going on.
I was still making a crap tonof videos and building out the
team and my brother's wife wasworking the phones for Simple
(17:58):
Nursing, like customer service,and one of my best friends from
nursing school we used tocarpool together he was ended up
becoming a nurse.
He was doing our sales atSimple Nursing.
He was the phone number youcall and I was like, okay, so
we're building that wholeecosystem out still at the time,
2015.
And then Walden University wasthe cheapest and fastest.
(18:20):
At the time they had a programwhere you can skip your
bachelor's and get your master'sin 18 months for 30 grand.
So I started the first semesterbut there was just so much
paperwork like you know, apaformat, all this like mumbo
jumbo.
I'm like, oh, I don't reallywant to do this because I really
didn't need my master's, right,I just needed to be a licensed
(18:40):
nurse, I guess, to teach onlineor to be a student nurse mentor,
we call it back in the day.
So I dropped out in 2015 fromWalden University and I'm glad I
did, because about 2019 Irevisited the master's degree
route to skip my bachelor's andgo master's and man, the space
got super competitive.
So I researched seven schoolsand it turns out that the
(19:05):
cheapest and fastest at 2019 itwasn't 30 grand anymore, it was
actually 12 000, around 12 000,I think.
Um, in about 12 months.
And I was like what, you canskip your bachelor's in 12
months and get your master's ineducation.
So that was capella universityand they I even hit them up and
I'm like, hey, do you guys wantto sponsor me to go through your
(19:26):
program?
And like, yeah, just do a bunchof videos for us for youtube
and social.
I'm like, okay, cool, and thatwas 2019, um, and super easy
program called the flex edprogram.
This is not a sponsor, by theway, but capella, if you're
watching this, shout me or giveme, I don't know, give me
something, give me a free rockfor nurses week, and now I'm
flirting with the idea of goingfor my phd or dnp, which you can
(19:51):
do 100% online, yeah, so a lotof people ask me, especially
seasoned nurses that I've helpedthrough nursing school and
going back to school is reallytough because once you're a
nurse, you just you know youwant to make a bunch of money to
pay off your student loans andjust live your life because
you've been in school from yourprerequisites all the way
through nursing.
So to even think about goingback for your bachelor's or your
(20:11):
master's or something higher isreally difficult.
So for me, what really helpedme balance my work-life balance
from going to my master's andalso all the YouTube stuff, and
then I was actually working perdiem in the ER in Los Angeles.
So what really helped me is Imade a term called laundry day,
(20:31):
right.
So laundry day for me was likeyou choose one day out of the
week to like do a deep dive inanything that advances you.
So at the time it was justgoing for a master's and I call
it laundry day because everysingle time you have a dirty
sock or dirty undies or whateverit is, you don't wash it right
then.
And there right, no one reallywashes their clothes as they
(20:53):
become dirty.
So you kind of save it for alaundry day, and so that's what
I usually do for productivity.
So if you're ever like wantingto advance your life but you
don't know where to fit stuff in, choose one day out of the week
.
For me it was like Fridays andI would just put eight hours
into like, boom, I'm going to doit all on laundry day, yeah.
So if you're in nursing school,you kind of don't have really
(21:15):
have a laundry day too much.
You should be picking away atstudying.
But I'd say something that Ilive by in nursing school for
time management the best thingthat ever helped me.
I think it's called the, thePonomoro or the platypus
platyypus, something type oflike time management technique.
I forget I have to look this up, but it's 15 to 20 minutes of
(21:36):
really deep, intense work.
That's all you're focused on,like only what you're focused on
, like the book or whateveryou're studying.
And then, after you are out ofthat box, then you can check
your text messages, facebook,whatever, go to the bathroom,
because I see a lot of studentsand me included.
At the time I was like studyingfor three hours straight.
(21:57):
You don't really study forthree hours straight.
Your mind goes in 15 to 20minute boxes.
Then you'll naturally getdistracted.
So if I'm at Starbucks, I'mlike, okay, I'm going to get
five boxes here at Starbucks.
It'll probably take a few hoursand then I'll just get five
boxes at home and change thescenery.
So that really helped me.
If you're finding difficultywith your study habits, try this
(22:18):
box method where that's all youdo for each box to get 10 of
them a day for four days a week,and I always recommend watch
the videos before you studybecause that'll cut your study
time down dramatically, like by60%, because one eight minute
video is about a chat an hour inyour textbook reading a chapter
of content.
Oh, and I'm getting a callright now.
(22:44):
So remember, don't be scared,be prepared and don't let the
bed pans bite.
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