October 29, 2024 • 18 mins
Ever wondered how the worlds of nursing and acting might overlap? Join Hae for a fascinating conversation from the Mammoth Film Festival with three nurses who are living this unique intersection. Toby shares his inspiring journey from New York to Los Angeles, using travel nursing as a bridge to pursue his acting dreams, and celebrates a recent booking. We dive into experiences in the ER, contrasting the challenges of patient care between locales like LA and Ohio, and reveal the emotional resilience required to navigate these demanding environments.
Explore the unexpected parallels between nursing and acting, where the ability to switch between emotional defenses and vulnerability becomes a daily juggling act. Our discussion covers the intricacies of travel nursing, including contract negotiations and the potential for permanent positions, while highlighting the vital role of the nursing union in California. Whether it's breaking down communication barriers or finding a sense of belonging, this episode uncovers how just like filmmakers, nurses are redefining their careers in Los Angeles, proving that passion and profession can beautifully intertwine.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In the beginning it was very difficult, but when I
first started in LA, I worked atCedars-Sinai.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Yeah, they are definitely a top-tier hospital.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
I was definitely like , ooh, this is luxurious.
And so when I got there, theywere really banging in the make
sure you customer service that'svery important, make sure the
patient is happy, and I'm like,okay, but then you get cussed
out by patients Right and calledall types of names and you just
got to be like I'm sorry, youfeel that way.
How can I make it better foryou?
Speaker 3 (00:31):
this is the cinematography for actors
podcast more than a podcast.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
Cinematography for actors is a vibrant community
devoted to bridging the gapbetween talent and crew.
Each week, our show offerstransparent, insightful
conversations with industryleaders.
We unveil the magic behind thescenes, from candid discussions
about unique filmmakingprocesses to in-depth technical
exploration.
Join us in unraveling theintricacies of filmmaking, one
(00:57):
episode at a time.
It's more than just cameras andlenses we aim to inspire,
educate and empower as we peelback the curtain on the art of
effective storytelling.
Now on to the episode.
Hi everybody.
Welcome to a very, very specialepisode of Cinematography for
Actors.
This is one of our shortepisodes from Mammoth Film
(01:17):
Festival, but today, instead offilmmakers, I, your host, hayley
Royal, have found some nurses.
Actually, these nurses found us.
They came to us, they weatheredthe storm, they're out here to
snowboard and they ended up inthe press lounge and because
everyone else has canceled theirinterviews or just can't get
(01:37):
here because of the snow, Iforced them onto the couch.
So thank you so much for beinghere with us guys.
Can I get names from everybodystarting from this side of the
couch?
So, thank you so much for beinghere with us guys.
Can I get names from everybodystarting from the side of the
couch?
Speaker 5 (01:47):
Okay cool, my name's Oluwatobi Ojalade.
I'm Nigerian.
Oluwatobi, oluwatobi, but myfriends call me Toby Okay.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
Toby Oluwatobi.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Yeah, nice, okay, that's pretty good, I'm Dylan,
last name Alan.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
Dylan, alan and Michael Michael.
Speaker 6 (02:03):
I'm Courtney Innocent .
Speaker 4 (02:05):
Hi, courtney, wait is Innocent, your real last name.
Speaker 6 (02:07):
Yes, it is.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
That's incredible.
Courtney, innocent, okay, butToby, yeah, okay.
Speaker 5 (02:13):
So yes, nurses, but Toby also told us Right,
starting my acting journey Istarted actually, like I said,
I'm from New York, did someoff-Broadway theater in new york
.
Um, always wanted to kind of bein front of the screen, in
front of the camera and stufflike that.
So use my like nursing not thatI only did nursing school just
to move to la, but consideringthere's travel nursing now out
(02:36):
there, I was like let me just goto la, I could.
I could have a job but alsopursue my passion.
So that's all been kind of thewhole process of it all.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
Yeah, use travel nursing to get yourself ready to
be in the start doing it.
And you've booked something,haven't you?
Speaker 5 (02:54):
Yeah, yeah, I'm shooting a small film, for it's
a USC student's master projecton the 8th of March.
So that would be like my firstliteral, although I did do a
small film in brooklyn when Iwas living there, but, um, that
was kind of like.
But this is more like somethingwhere I want to review the
(03:16):
script and really live through acharacter, as opposed to
something where I'm just likelet me just do this for for fun,
okay that's so cool.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
Okay, so being a nurse in Los Angeles, have you
all been nurses in other placesas well?
Speaker 6 (03:30):
Yeah.
Okay so how does it?
Speaker 4 (03:32):
differ.
Speaker 5 (03:35):
Where are you from first?
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Okay, originally from Chicago, I have nursed in
Chicago for three and a halfyears, on and off Well three and
a half years and I came backfor local contracts but I also
nursed in New Mexico andAlbuquerque and LA now for the
last two years.
I want to say honestly thecustomer service is like higher
(04:00):
on the totem pole in LA OK Forpatients than all the other
places.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
I worked at.
Okay, is that hard for you,though?
Because then, instead of justbeing like a nurse, you have to
also, kind of like, take care ofpeople and like In the
beginning it was very difficult.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
But when I first started in LA I worked at
Cedars-Sinai and Cedars they arelike the top of the top, oh
yeah yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yeah, they are definitely a top tier hospital.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
I was definitely like , oh, this is luxurious.
And so when I got there, theywere like, really like banging
in the, make sure you customerservice Like that's very
important Make sure that thepatient is happy.
And I'm like, ok like but thenyou get cussed out by patients
Right and like, called all typesof names and you just got to be
like I'm sorry you feel thatway.
(04:49):
How can I make it better foryou?
Speaker 5 (04:50):
oh, that's not fair when you're actively trying to
take care of their body exactlyand then a lot of people know
that and they use that, theytake advantage of that idea and
if you don't?
Are you not specific to howthey feel you can?
You can get fired and they'llbe like I want another nurse.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Yeah, give me somebody who's going to listen
to me.
Speaker 5 (05:08):
They can definitely request a different nurse.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
I mean, yes, as a person who's a patient, you know
, normally I'm like, yeah, Iwant to feel like I'm being
cared for and like they see meas a person, but if I'm not
seeing them as a person, that'sa problem.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Right, and, like everyone that comes in the ER,
you have to think in your head.
Well, at Cedars, you think inyour head like it doesn't matter
how small their emergency is,it's their emergency, it's their
biggest emergency, right, andit's like they're having a hard
time, no matter what, and I'mlike, okay, all right.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
You know not to be a huge actor about it, but someone
coming in when their emergencyis their biggest emergency is
something that we talk about alot in an acting class, where
they're like why are you doingthis scene right now?
Yeah that is your biggestemergency, that is, the biggest
thing that will happen to yourcharacter at this time.
(05:57):
Uh, so there's a littlecrossover there.
You have to remember that thatperson is having their biggest
emergency.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Yeah, no matter as as actors, no matter how jerk they
are.
Speaker 5 (06:05):
Sometimes it's definitely something that I face
a lot doing both.
One being the literal what'sthe emergency, what's priority,
and the other one being what isyour emotional priority and
crossing between what's okay andhow you have to kind of use
your defense mechanisms at yourjob but kind of drop those
defense mechanisms in youracting so you can kind of use
your defense mechanisms at yourjob but kind of drop those
defense mechanisms in youracting so you can kind of
(06:27):
portray humanity so to a fault.
when you're working you have tolike put up so many walls and
that's on an everyday basis, soit's been so hard to transition
to okay.
When I'm in class like this ishow you really should be feeling
, and I'm like bro.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
You're moving to work .
That's like, okay, let it allout, Feel everything share
everything be vulnerable.
Speaker 5 (06:50):
And there's a lot of evidence to do that.
But letting that go andcreating that is is is not easy.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
No, not easy at all.
How do you feel about takingcare of people at certain
hospitals as opposed to others?
Speaker 6 (07:04):
about taking care of people at certain hospitals as
opposed to others.
Yeah, definitely.
So.
I'm from Ohio and so I was bornand raised out there.
I went to nursing school outthere.
My first job was in a smallcommunity hospital in a suburb
of the Akron Canton area and Iwill say the patients that I had
(07:26):
there were like well, just ingeneral, like I feel like,
compared to like in LA, I thinkthe biggest thing I've noticed
is the language barrier.
So I don't, unfortunately, Idon't speak Spanish and a lot of
our patients speak Spanish andalso there's a lot of Korean and
other languages versus like inOhio I worked.
My first job was a year and ahalf and I remember I only had
(07:47):
one single patient ever whodidn't speak English and she
spoke Russian but, like, all ofher family was there and they
spoke English.
And kind of a big barrier whenyou're taking care of people,
especially in the emergency room.
You have people coming in whovery limited communication and
say you don't have anybody therethat speaks Spanish around you
(08:09):
or Korean or whatever thelanguage is.
It can take a long time to getlike the.
You know we have a translatorlike iPad that we'll use, but if
it's a true emergency, like you, don't have the time for that,
you don't want that.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
You're doing charades , you're acting things out.
Speaker 6 (08:28):
You're like looking up words.
You learn like very simplewords to use.
But it's just.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
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(08:53):
10% off your quote.
Speaker 6 (08:55):
It's a big difference .
And then I've also I worked asa travel nurse as well.
So I also worked in New Mexico,in Albuquerque, in Rio Rancho.
Yeah, that was the first placeI ever moved.
When I was 24, I startedworking as a travel nurse, moved
out of Ohio, I went to NewMexico and then I went to
Washington State and thenultimately came to the LA area
as a travel nurse and I didn'twork in the ER at the time.
(09:17):
So it was different and likethe patient care um that I gave,
I was doing inpatient um on thecardiac unit but um, yeah, I
definitely think where we workin downtown LA um, also in the
emergency room, it's verydifferent.
Patient clientele um.
(09:38):
You see a lot of a lot of stuff.
You gotta have a thick skin yeah, sometimes, like when we're
orienting newer nurses or newer,newer staff, I I don't even
like we'll see things every daythat might be traumatic for
somebody who's never seen itbefore, right, um, and I have to
remember to like, let themprocess that like be gentle.
(10:01):
Be gentle, yeah, because likepeople sometimes will think like
, oh my gosh, you guys have,like you know, I don't want to
say no empathy, but I've hadpeople say that to me before,
like how can you go about yourday after you've just seen, you
know, somebody die or you knowsomething very traumatic
happened?
And I'm like well, if you don'tlearn to laugh and
compartmentalize, you'll cry.
Speaker 4 (10:21):
So right, yeah, yeah uh gonna bridge the gap again,
but yeah uh, because there are alot of jobs where you have to
become like an evil person or dosomething evil and in order to
do it well, a lot of people youknow will go method or will you
know you.
You do have to take on theemotions that you would feel as
(10:42):
a person doing that thing, andso sometimes people get stuck.
You hear stories of people whoget stuck in and you know it
ruins their life.
Um, so being able to turn thatoff and compartmentalize between
where you're doing aperformance and where your life
is is something you have to beable to do on a smaller scale of
course but yeah, there's a lotof really exciting crossover
(11:04):
also.
Er nurses are actors, especiallyin the, in places where you
cannot speak the same languageas someone oh, yeah, and you are
actually acting out like wheredoes it?
Speaker 6 (11:16):
hurt.
Where's your hair, like yeah?
Speaker 4 (11:19):
that's just so amazing.
Well, okay, so you said thatyou have a contract that's
coming up soon well, yeah, Imean I just extended.
Speaker 5 (11:26):
Normally, like with the nurses, it's every like
three months um, 13 weeks.
They call it three months um,and then if you want to stay,
you can stay, but they have toextend you.
Hopefully they like you,because they could be like, no,
we don't want to stay, you canstay, but they have to extend
you.
Hopefully they like you becausethey could be like no, we don't
want to extend this personRight, it's like a request.
Likely for me.
I've been extended a bunch oftimes already.
Okay, and then my nextextension is till June.
(11:47):
Okay, so it's either.
And then, at the hospital thatwe're working at, I've hit my
year mark, so you can't work atthe same hospital for a year and
still be considered a traveler.
Speaker 6 (12:04):
So you either have to not work for 30 days or go find
another travel contract, anddoesn't it also?
It has to do, I think, withtaxes as well.
Speaker 5 (12:07):
Right, Right, right, Because I don't work as a
traveler anymore but I used to,because you become a resident of
LA and now it's just like, yeah, we want to tax you, so is
there any?
Speaker 4 (12:14):
interest in becoming a resident and, just you know,
like having that job as a nurseat that hospital forever.
Can you swap contracts that way, or do?
Speaker 5 (12:23):
you want to do that.
It's a matter of, I mean, ifyou want to.
A lot of people do that, likethey find a hospital, they're
very comfortable and they'rejust like this is where I want
to stay, so I'll stay here.
Yeah, if that's like your plan,but then there is a pay cut to
it.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Yes.
Speaker 6 (12:38):
That's what I did, so I worked as a travel nurse from
it was 2016, 2017, 2018.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
So it was all before COVID.
Speaker 6 (12:46):
So, like, definitely travel nursing changed during
the pandemic.
But I ultimately was kind ofgetting burnt out with the idea
of like, oh my gosh, like mycontract's up in three weeks and
I don't have another job linedup and I don't want to be,
living and it definitely is likea personality type that I don't
really think I have.
I'm surprised I didn't as longas I did, but I came to
(13:10):
California as a travel nurse andultimately liked the hospital.
It's different than thehospital I'm at now.
I've worked at three differenthospitals since I've been in
California, but I like thehospital and it's nice for the.
So like the managers of thathospital if you've already
worked there as a traveler, foryou know, three months, six
(13:30):
months, whatever they would loveto hire you because, it's one
cheaper for them to employ youversus hiring you out as a
subcontractor, and two, theydon't need to orient you, train
you, and they already knowyou're a good employee if they
want to hire you.
Speaker 5 (13:45):
So they know what they're getting Like.
When are you becoming staff?
Speaker 4 (13:48):
I'm like we'll see, yeah, who knows, let me do the
math on that.
Speaker 6 (13:56):
And the pros and cons of like travel, nursing and
being a traveler versus beingstaff is when you're a traveler
you usually don't get, you know,vacation time.
There's not like the benefitssometimes of like health
insurance and 401k, somecontract or some companies there
are, some there aren't.
But and then California?
(14:19):
The one nice thing that theCalifornia has versus a lot of
other states is a nursing unionwhich, like I, didn't have a
nursing union when I worked inOhio and it was awful because
basically they could just maxyou out to unsafe patient ratios
to the nurses and the uppermanagement will say, like well,
it's your license on the line.
If you refuse and say this istoo hard for you, we could turn
(14:40):
around and say, um, you'rerefusing patient care, you're
going to abandon your patients,and you can get fired and lose
your license Like fast, wow.
Speaker 5 (14:48):
That's the one question I didn't answer before,
was the difference betweenworking the East coast?
Speaker 4 (14:53):
and working in California.
Speaker 5 (14:55):
Here's like three to four uh patients per nurse I see
out east, it's like they cangive you it's more.
It's more of an average.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Yeah, I see for minimum they try to keep it for
minimum.
Yeah, maybe at the hospitalthat I started at, but honestly
it can get up to six to eightsometimes depending on that is
so many.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
Yeah, depending on how many icus how packed the?
Speaker 1 (15:21):
icu is and plus like we get a lot of.
Speaker 6 (15:23):
We got a lot of ods and yeah yeah, that was yeah I
was gonna say also another thingthat's very different in
nursing from other statescompared to california is
because of the union.
Um, you get breaks incalifornia you get a lunch break
.
You clock out, and that is thecalifornia is the only state
where I mean I've worked in fourstates yeah it's the only state
(15:45):
where you clock out and youactually get a lunch break.
Wow, and in ohio.
So I actually remember, beforeI became a nurse, where I worked
, no union and it was, andactually the hospital, like the
nurses wanted a union andbecause the management didn't
want it, there was actually likea I didn't find this out until
after I got hired at my firstjob but there was like a lockout
of a wage increase.
(16:06):
This was back.
This was 10 years ago, this wasin 2014,.
But I knew nurses in Ohio in2014 who were working in the ICU
, who were making $17 an hour.
No, okay, pay nurses, pay nursesAmen amen, and that hospital
has since closed down.
Speaker 4 (16:24):
We also really love unions.
Yeah, it's great right.
Speaker 6 (16:28):
And that's the thing.
Is that like okay?
So when I was 21, I remember Iwas out at a bar.
I was about to graduate and bea nurse.
I was at this bar and this girlcame up to me and was, like, oh
my god, you're, I'm a nurse,you're going to school to be a
nurse.
Like, let me just tell you, getused to never taking a break.
You never clock out, you'llnever eat.
If you go to the break room toeat your lunch, you will get
(16:48):
judged as being like the lazynurse that is so just and I was
just and I remember I'm like I'mgraduating in a few months and
I'm just like what the heck For12 hours.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
I'm not even allowed to go to the break room.
Speaker 6 (17:00):
And then, if you do, you're considered like because
you want to give yourself 30minutes of mental break after 12
hours, you're considered likethe lazy one or whatever.
So in California you get evenon like the worst, I feel like
the worst days, like you will.
Still, you get a break, you getto go to the break room, still
(17:20):
get lunch.
It's amazing, okay.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
Well, thanks to California and thank you so much
, you guys, for coming in hereand being so game to sit.
That was so cool for this veryspecial episode of
Cinematography for Nurses,bridging the gap between
entertainment and medicine today.
Thanks you guys.
We'll get you guys links andshow notes and keep an eye out.
Cfa for Toby in the community.
(17:45):
We're going to look for thatshort film soon, amen.
Thank you so much for beinghere with me, guys, thanks for
having us Thanks for listeningBye.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Join us in bridging the gap between talent and crew.
Start by subscribing on yourpreferred podcast platform.
Sign up for our newsletter tostay up to date.
Thank you.
In the beginning it was very difficult, but when I
first started in LA, I worked atCedars-Sinai.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Yeah, they are definitely a top-tier hospital.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
I was definitely like , ooh, this is luxurious.
And so when I got there, theywere really banging in the make
sure you customer service that'svery important, make sure the
patient is happy, and I'm like,okay, but then you get cussed
out by patients Right and calledall types of names and you just
got to be like I'm sorry, youfeel that way.
How can I make it better foryou?
Speaker 3 (00:31):
this is the cinematography for actors
podcast more than a podcast.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
Cinematography for actors is a vibrant community
devoted to bridging the gapbetween talent and crew.
Each week, our show offerstransparent, insightful
conversations with industryleaders.
We unveil the magic behind thescenes, from candid discussions
about unique filmmakingprocesses to in-depth technical
exploration.
Join us in unraveling theintricacies of filmmaking, one
(00:57):
episode at a time.
It's more than just cameras andlenses we aim to inspire,
educate and empower as we peelback the curtain on the art of
effective storytelling.
Now on to the episode.
Hi everybody.
Welcome to a very, very specialepisode of Cinematography for
Actors.
This is one of our shortepisodes from Mammoth Film
(01:17):
Festival, but today, instead offilmmakers, I, your host, hayley
Royal, have found some nurses.
Actually, these nurses found us.
They came to us, they weatheredthe storm, they're out here to
snowboard and they ended up inthe press lounge and because
everyone else has canceled theirinterviews or just can't get
(01:37):
here because of the snow, Iforced them onto the couch.
So thank you so much for beinghere with us guys.
Can I get names from everybodystarting from this side of the
couch?
So, thank you so much for beinghere with us guys.
Can I get names from everybodystarting from the side of the
couch?
Speaker 5 (01:47):
Okay cool, my name's Oluwatobi Ojalade.
I'm Nigerian.
Oluwatobi, oluwatobi, but myfriends call me Toby Okay.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
Toby Oluwatobi.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Yeah, nice, okay, that's pretty good, I'm Dylan,
last name Alan.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
Dylan, alan and Michael Michael.
Speaker 6 (02:03):
I'm Courtney Innocent .
Speaker 4 (02:05):
Hi, courtney, wait is Innocent, your real last name.
Speaker 6 (02:07):
Yes, it is.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
That's incredible.
Courtney, innocent, okay, butToby, yeah, okay.
Speaker 5 (02:13):
So yes, nurses, but Toby also told us Right,
starting my acting journey Istarted actually, like I said,
I'm from New York, did someoff-Broadway theater in new york
.
Um, always wanted to kind of bein front of the screen, in
front of the camera and stufflike that.
So use my like nursing not thatI only did nursing school just
to move to la, but consideringthere's travel nursing now out
(02:36):
there, I was like let me just goto la, I could.
I could have a job but alsopursue my passion.
So that's all been kind of thewhole process of it all.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
Yeah, use travel nursing to get yourself ready to
be in the start doing it.
And you've booked something,haven't you?
Speaker 5 (02:54):
Yeah, yeah, I'm shooting a small film, for it's
a USC student's master projecton the 8th of March.
So that would be like my firstliteral, although I did do a
small film in brooklyn when Iwas living there, but, um, that
was kind of like.
But this is more like somethingwhere I want to review the
(03:16):
script and really live through acharacter, as opposed to
something where I'm just likelet me just do this for for fun,
okay that's so cool.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
Okay, so being a nurse in Los Angeles, have you
all been nurses in other placesas well?
Speaker 6 (03:30):
Yeah.
Okay so how does it?
Speaker 4 (03:32):
differ.
Speaker 5 (03:35):
Where are you from first?
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Okay, originally from Chicago, I have nursed in
Chicago for three and a halfyears, on and off Well three and
a half years and I came backfor local contracts but I also
nursed in New Mexico andAlbuquerque and LA now for the
last two years.
I want to say honestly thecustomer service is like higher
(04:00):
on the totem pole in LA OK Forpatients than all the other
places.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
I worked at.
Okay, is that hard for you,though?
Because then, instead of justbeing like a nurse, you have to
also, kind of like, take care ofpeople and like In the
beginning it was very difficult.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
But when I first started in LA I worked at
Cedars-Sinai and Cedars they arelike the top of the top, oh
yeah yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yeah, they are definitely a top tier hospital.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
I was definitely like , oh, this is luxurious.
And so when I got there, theywere like, really like banging
in the, make sure you customerservice Like that's very
important Make sure that thepatient is happy.
And I'm like, ok like but thenyou get cussed out by patients
Right and like, called all typesof names and you just got to be
like I'm sorry you feel thatway.
(04:49):
How can I make it better foryou?
Speaker 5 (04:50):
oh, that's not fair when you're actively trying to
take care of their body exactlyand then a lot of people know
that and they use that, theytake advantage of that idea and
if you don't?
Are you not specific to howthey feel you can?
You can get fired and they'llbe like I want another nurse.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Yeah, give me somebody who's going to listen
to me.
Speaker 5 (05:08):
They can definitely request a different nurse.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
I mean, yes, as a person who's a patient, you know
, normally I'm like, yeah, Iwant to feel like I'm being
cared for and like they see meas a person, but if I'm not
seeing them as a person, that'sa problem.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Right, and, like everyone that comes in the ER,
you have to think in your head.
Well, at Cedars, you think inyour head like it doesn't matter
how small their emergency is,it's their emergency, it's their
biggest emergency, right, andit's like they're having a hard
time, no matter what, and I'mlike, okay, all right.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
You know not to be a huge actor about it, but someone
coming in when their emergencyis their biggest emergency is
something that we talk about alot in an acting class, where
they're like why are you doingthis scene right now?
Yeah that is your biggestemergency, that is, the biggest
thing that will happen to yourcharacter at this time.
(05:57):
Uh, so there's a littlecrossover there.
You have to remember that thatperson is having their biggest
emergency.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Yeah, no matter as as actors, no matter how jerk they
are.
Speaker 5 (06:05):
Sometimes it's definitely something that I face
a lot doing both.
One being the literal what'sthe emergency, what's priority,
and the other one being what isyour emotional priority and
crossing between what's okay andhow you have to kind of use
your defense mechanisms at yourjob but kind of drop those
defense mechanisms in youracting so you can kind of use
your defense mechanisms at yourjob but kind of drop those
defense mechanisms in youracting so you can kind of
(06:27):
portray humanity so to a fault.
when you're working you have tolike put up so many walls and
that's on an everyday basis, soit's been so hard to transition
to okay.
When I'm in class like this ishow you really should be feeling
, and I'm like bro.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
You're moving to work .
That's like, okay, let it allout, Feel everything share
everything be vulnerable.
Speaker 5 (06:50):
And there's a lot of evidence to do that.
But letting that go andcreating that is is is not easy.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
No, not easy at all.
How do you feel about takingcare of people at certain
hospitals as opposed to others?
Speaker 6 (07:04):
about taking care of people at certain hospitals as
opposed to others.
Yeah, definitely.
So.
I'm from Ohio and so I was bornand raised out there.
I went to nursing school outthere.
My first job was in a smallcommunity hospital in a suburb
of the Akron Canton area and Iwill say the patients that I had
(07:26):
there were like well, just ingeneral, like I feel like,
compared to like in LA, I thinkthe biggest thing I've noticed
is the language barrier.
So I don't, unfortunately, Idon't speak Spanish and a lot of
our patients speak Spanish andalso there's a lot of Korean and
other languages versus like inOhio I worked.
My first job was a year and ahalf and I remember I only had
(07:47):
one single patient ever whodidn't speak English and she
spoke Russian but, like, all ofher family was there and they
spoke English.
And kind of a big barrier whenyou're taking care of people,
especially in the emergency room.
You have people coming in whovery limited communication and
say you don't have anybody therethat speaks Spanish around you
(08:09):
or Korean or whatever thelanguage is.
It can take a long time to getlike the.
You know we have a translatorlike iPad that we'll use, but if
it's a true emergency, like you, don't have the time for that,
you don't want that.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
You're doing charades , you're acting things out.
Speaker 6 (08:28):
You're like looking up words.
You learn like very simplewords to use.
But it's just.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
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(08:53):
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Speaker 6 (08:55):
It's a big difference .
And then I've also I worked asa travel nurse as well.
So I also worked in New Mexico,in Albuquerque, in Rio Rancho.
Yeah, that was the first placeI ever moved.
When I was 24, I startedworking as a travel nurse, moved
out of Ohio, I went to NewMexico and then I went to
Washington State and thenultimately came to the LA area
as a travel nurse and I didn'twork in the ER at the time.
(09:17):
So it was different and likethe patient care um that I gave,
I was doing inpatient um on thecardiac unit but um, yeah, I
definitely think where we workin downtown LA um, also in the
emergency room, it's verydifferent.
Patient clientele um.
(09:38):
You see a lot of a lot of stuff.
You gotta have a thick skin yeah, sometimes, like when we're
orienting newer nurses or newer,newer staff, I I don't even
like we'll see things every daythat might be traumatic for
somebody who's never seen itbefore, right, um, and I have to
remember to like, let themprocess that like be gentle.
(10:01):
Be gentle, yeah, because likepeople sometimes will think like
, oh my gosh, you guys have,like you know, I don't want to
say no empathy, but I've hadpeople say that to me before,
like how can you go about yourday after you've just seen, you
know, somebody die or you knowsomething very traumatic
happened?
And I'm like well, if you don'tlearn to laugh and
compartmentalize, you'll cry.
Speaker 4 (10:21):
So right, yeah, yeah uh gonna bridge the gap again,
but yeah uh, because there are alot of jobs where you have to
become like an evil person or dosomething evil and in order to
do it well, a lot of people youknow will go method or will you
know you.
You do have to take on theemotions that you would feel as
(10:42):
a person doing that thing, andso sometimes people get stuck.
You hear stories of people whoget stuck in and you know it
ruins their life.
Um, so being able to turn thatoff and compartmentalize between
where you're doing aperformance and where your life
is is something you have to beable to do on a smaller scale of
course but yeah, there's a lotof really exciting crossover
(11:04):
also.
Er nurses are actors, especiallyin the, in places where you
cannot speak the same languageas someone oh, yeah, and you are
actually acting out like wheredoes it?
Speaker 6 (11:16):
hurt.
Where's your hair, like yeah?
Speaker 4 (11:19):
that's just so amazing.
Well, okay, so you said thatyou have a contract that's
coming up soon well, yeah, Imean I just extended.
Speaker 5 (11:26):
Normally, like with the nurses, it's every like
three months um, 13 weeks.
They call it three months um,and then if you want to stay,
you can stay, but they have toextend you.
Hopefully they like you,because they could be like, no,
we don't want to stay, you canstay, but they have to extend
you.
Hopefully they like you becausethey could be like no, we don't
want to extend this personRight, it's like a request.
Likely for me.
I've been extended a bunch oftimes already.
Okay, and then my nextextension is till June.
(11:47):
Okay, so it's either.
And then, at the hospital thatwe're working at, I've hit my
year mark, so you can't work atthe same hospital for a year and
still be considered a traveler.
Speaker 6 (12:04):
So you either have to not work for 30 days or go find
another travel contract, anddoesn't it also?
It has to do, I think, withtaxes as well.
Speaker 5 (12:07):
Right, Right, right, Because I don't work as a
traveler anymore but I used to,because you become a resident of
LA and now it's just like, yeah, we want to tax you, so is
there any?
Speaker 4 (12:14):
interest in becoming a resident and, just you know,
like having that job as a nurseat that hospital forever.
Can you swap contracts that way, or do?
Speaker 5 (12:23):
you want to do that.
It's a matter of, I mean, ifyou want to.
A lot of people do that, likethey find a hospital, they're
very comfortable and they'rejust like this is where I want
to stay, so I'll stay here.
Yeah, if that's like your plan,but then there is a pay cut to
it.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Yes.
Speaker 6 (12:38):
That's what I did, so I worked as a travel nurse from
it was 2016, 2017, 2018.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
So it was all before COVID.
Speaker 6 (12:46):
So, like, definitely travel nursing changed during
the pandemic.
But I ultimately was kind ofgetting burnt out with the idea
of like, oh my gosh, like mycontract's up in three weeks and
I don't have another job linedup and I don't want to be,
living and it definitely is likea personality type that I don't
really think I have.
I'm surprised I didn't as longas I did, but I came to
(13:10):
California as a travel nurse andultimately liked the hospital.
It's different than thehospital I'm at now.
I've worked at three differenthospitals since I've been in
California, but I like thehospital and it's nice for the.
So like the managers of thathospital if you've already
worked there as a traveler, foryou know, three months, six
(13:30):
months, whatever they would loveto hire you because, it's one
cheaper for them to employ youversus hiring you out as a
subcontractor, and two, theydon't need to orient you, train
you, and they already knowyou're a good employee if they
want to hire you.
Speaker 5 (13:45):
So they know what they're getting Like.
When are you becoming staff?
Speaker 4 (13:48):
I'm like we'll see, yeah, who knows, let me do the
math on that.
Speaker 6 (13:56):
And the pros and cons of like travel, nursing and
being a traveler versus beingstaff is when you're a traveler
you usually don't get, you know,vacation time.
There's not like the benefitssometimes of like health
insurance and 401k, somecontract or some companies there
are, some there aren't.
But and then California?
(14:19):
The one nice thing that theCalifornia has versus a lot of
other states is a nursing unionwhich, like I, didn't have a
nursing union when I worked inOhio and it was awful because
basically they could just maxyou out to unsafe patient ratios
to the nurses and the uppermanagement will say, like well,
it's your license on the line.
If you refuse and say this istoo hard for you, we could turn
(14:40):
around and say, um, you'rerefusing patient care, you're
going to abandon your patients,and you can get fired and lose
your license Like fast, wow.
Speaker 5 (14:48):
That's the one question I didn't answer before,
was the difference betweenworking the East coast?
Speaker 4 (14:53):
and working in California.
Speaker 5 (14:55):
Here's like three to four uh patients per nurse I see
out east, it's like they cangive you it's more.
It's more of an average.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Yeah, I see for minimum they try to keep it for
minimum.
Yeah, maybe at the hospitalthat I started at, but honestly
it can get up to six to eightsometimes depending on that is
so many.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
Yeah, depending on how many icus how packed the?
Speaker 1 (15:21):
icu is and plus like we get a lot of.
Speaker 6 (15:23):
We got a lot of ods and yeah yeah, that was yeah I
was gonna say also another thingthat's very different in
nursing from other statescompared to california is
because of the union.
Um, you get breaks incalifornia you get a lunch break
.
You clock out, and that is thecalifornia is the only state
where I mean I've worked in fourstates yeah it's the only state
(15:45):
where you clock out and youactually get a lunch break.
Wow, and in ohio.
So I actually remember, beforeI became a nurse, where I worked
, no union and it was, andactually the hospital, like the
nurses wanted a union andbecause the management didn't
want it, there was actually likea I didn't find this out until
after I got hired at my firstjob but there was like a lockout
of a wage increase.
(16:06):
This was back.
This was 10 years ago, this wasin 2014,.
But I knew nurses in Ohio in2014 who were working in the ICU
, who were making $17 an hour.
No, okay, pay nurses, pay nursesAmen amen, and that hospital
has since closed down.
Speaker 4 (16:24):
We also really love unions.
Yeah, it's great right.
Speaker 6 (16:28):
And that's the thing.
Is that like okay?
So when I was 21, I remember Iwas out at a bar.
I was about to graduate and bea nurse.
I was at this bar and this girlcame up to me and was, like, oh
my god, you're, I'm a nurse,you're going to school to be a
nurse.
Like, let me just tell you, getused to never taking a break.
You never clock out, you'llnever eat.
If you go to the break room toeat your lunch, you will get
(16:48):
judged as being like the lazynurse that is so just and I was
just and I remember I'm like I'mgraduating in a few months and
I'm just like what the heck For12 hours.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
I'm not even allowed to go to the break room.
Speaker 6 (17:00):
And then, if you do, you're considered like because
you want to give yourself 30minutes of mental break after 12
hours, you're considered likethe lazy one or whatever.
So in California you get evenon like the worst, I feel like
the worst days, like you will.
Still, you get a break, you getto go to the break room, still
(17:20):
get lunch.
It's amazing, okay.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
Well, thanks to California and thank you so much
, you guys, for coming in hereand being so game to sit.
That was so cool for this veryspecial episode of
Cinematography for Nurses,bridging the gap between
entertainment and medicine today.
Thanks you guys.
We'll get you guys links andshow notes and keep an eye out.
Cfa for Toby in the community.
(17:45):
We're going to look for thatshort film soon, amen.
Thank you so much for beinghere with me, guys, thanks for
having us Thanks for listeningBye.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Join us in bridging the gap between talent and crew.
Start by subscribing on yourpreferred podcast platform.
Sign up for our newsletter tostay up to date.
Thank you.
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