Beyond the Bedside with "NursePreneurs" Nurse.com, Adni, and The Nursing Beat

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hi everyone, welcome to another Friends of Franz Friday and welcome to the 12th episode

(00:09):
of the third season.
I cannot believe it.
12 episodes.
We're halfway done through the season.
Time is just flying so quickly and I can't keep up with the calendar.
In last week's episode, we were joined by and heard from Stephanie Beggs and Mary Shuwarger
two incredible ER nurses and nurse educators.
As they talked about tackling studying tips and examination strategies to successfully

(00:32):
conquer nursing school and ultimately pass the NCLEX.
Definitely, nursing school examination skills and conquering the NCLEX are beyond important
because it's what will ensure that you get your nursing license so that you can actually
work as a nurse.
But these exams, both school exams and the board exam, are utmost clinical in nature.
Not only is it because nursing as a profession in the field is obviously clinical, but also

(00:53):
because the encouragement is to take part in clinical pathways after school.
And I saw and heard this first hand as a nursing student several years ago.
Throughout nursing school, working in the hospital or at the bedside was definitely
the encouraged career path after graduation and licensure.
I specifically remember one of my nursing professors saying that one should work at
a medical, surgical, or med search unit for at least 2-3 years in the hospital before

(01:16):
going into other units.
We have data that actually proves this.
According to the American Association of the Colleges of Nursing, as per the United States
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 55% of registered nurses worked in medical or surgical hospitals
in 2022.
It honestly lowkey felt kind of demonized to delve in other types of nursing, ones I
didn't know about then, other than the bedside.

(01:37):
I veered away from this expectation working directly in a cardiothoracic surgery specialty
straight out of school.
And I also had classmates who took positions in other specialized units, such as the NICU,
PICU, ED, and OR.
But there were also those who decided to ditch the bedside from the get go.
And truly, one of the beauties of the nursing profession is its versatility of where you
could work.

(01:58):
Hospitals, ambulatory or outpatient clinics, home health, schools, politics, up in the
air as a flight nurse, even Amazon or Google.
Hi, please hit me up.
And definitely, business and tech.
And this is the bulk of today's episode.
With the rise of technology, social media, and artificial intelligence, or AI, we also

(02:18):
see a rise of nursing ventures in these pavements.
Definitely, not only beyond the bedside sphere, but also the clinical.
Or is it?
Do you actually lose your nursing skillsets when you leave the bedside and pursue opportunities
outside the clinical?
We have three incredible minds and figures in their own right today with us to show us
that this is not the case.
We have not one, not two, but three nurse entrepreneurs, or nursepreneurs as they call

(02:43):
it, who are literally developing the world and the future of nursing.
Kara Lunsford is the founder and CEO of HOLLIBLU.
A social networking app for nurses, which was acquired by Relias or Nurse.com, where
she is now the vice president of community.
Nurse.com has been the trusted go-to resource for nurses worldwide for more than 30 years,
providing the nursing community with peer support, job opportunities, and accredited

(03:06):
continuing education.
Kariya has been a registered nurse for almost two decades, having worked in the areas of
pediatric oncology, infusion services, hospice care, and concierge home health as a director
of nursing.
Anthony Scarpone-Lambert is the co-founder and CEO of Adny, formerly Lumify, a one-stop
shop of given resources made for healthcare workers, and the only all-in-one AI-powered

(03:28):
clinician engagement platform.
He previously co-founded Text-911, an advocacy non-profit startup, expediting the process
of implementing emergency tech capabilities in all United States counties.
Fun fact, Anthony was a childhood Broadway performer from the Disney Theatrical Group,
and Tamara AL-Yassin is the CEO of The Nursing Beat.
The only free, daily, digital nurse-operated newsletter made for nurses.

(03:53):
She is also a healthcare consultant for Baxter International, a healthcare product company
focusing on kidney disease and other chronic and acute medical condition treatment.
Tamara was a charge and trauma nurse in the emergency department for over a decade, where
she previously co-founded the Acknowledgement Collective, which created meaningful customized
lab health pins.
I am beyond excited for all of you to hear from these three amazing people right after

(04:14):
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Karen, Anthony, thank you so much for joining me today.

(07:37):
It's like a party in here.
I know.
It's a Nurses Week party.
Woo-hoo!
I have two amazing nurses in front of me and it's such an honor to have you both.
If you could first please introduce yourself to everybody.
Thank you.
Hi everyone, my name is Anthony.
I am a registered nurse and I'm also a nursepreneur, which I know is kind of the topic of this
live.
So yeah, basically I started a company in nursing school and then I became a nurse and

(08:01):
then I ended up going full-time with my company eventually.
We started with a wearable light, which was called the Lumify light and it's a wearable
light for nightshifters and then that kind of evolved into a marketplace, primarily focusing
on businesses founded by healthcare workers.
So it's kind of been a crazy journey and I know we're probably going to get into this
story today, but just love nursing innovation.

(08:23):
Nurses are natural innovators.
You can talk about it all day.
And in my nursing journey, Kara was actually someone that I looked up to so much and someone
who helped me kind of figure out how to even start a company, how to go about it and really
kind of empowered me to realize that I could do it because I think when I started, I didn't
believe in myself and Kara was someone who helped me believe in myself.

(08:44):
So Kara, I'll pass it over to you.
I'm Kara Lunsford.
I am also a registered nurse, have been for 16 years going on 17 years.
I feel like I keep saying 16 because it's stuck in my head, but I think it's probably
17 at this point.
I have done all kinds of nursing, anything from right at the bedside for many years to

(09:05):
home health, hospice, director of nursing and pretty much everything in between.
I too am an entrepreneur.
I created the first social media network just for nurses and nursing students, which was
Holly Blue, which was then acquired in March of 2022 by the incredible nurse.com.
Thank you nurse.com for believing in the vision and mission.

(09:26):
And so now I am the VP of immunity, which seems like I don't even know how I ended up
with such a cool name over at nurse.com.
That's amazing.
I mean, you're both such an inspiration and I feel like I'm in royalty right now, looking
at the TFE on the screen.
But you know, it's nurse's week and this week I was like, you know, we should amplify the

(09:51):
voices of nurses who are usually not on the spotlight.
Right.
Because usually we hear from those in clinical, like especially in bedside.
Right.
I was previously speaking to another live where we were saying that, especially for
new grads, the gold standard of nursing is usually seen as the bedside.
Right.
And throughout the past few years, especially with the pandemic going on and everything,

(10:13):
you know, being online, we have seen, wow, there's so much opportunities and there's
so much power in the field of nursing, the profession of nursing.
And I was like, let's amplify those voices.
And when I was planning this week, I was like, I have to get Karen and Anthony, like I have
to speak to them.
And before all of that, because of this nurse's week, I wanted to know your journeys into

(10:34):
nursing.
Why nursing?
Was there a family member, a friend, a personal experience?
Anthony, we'll just go by like, you have an A that starts with your name and I have a
B. So just like alphabetical order.
Okay.
Robin, Robin, Robin, Robin, Robin, Robin, Robin, Robin, that works.
I honestly love this question because I feel like for me, like I first didn't even know
I wanted to be a nurse, to be honest.
I didn't really know like the possibilities in nursing.

(10:57):
I think for me, I was always very passionate about kind of problem solving.
I was passionate about caring for others.
Like those were kind of two things that I always found myself gravitating towards.
I ended up volunteering at a hospital in high school and there's kind of where I got my
first exposure to like, oh wow, like nurses are actually the ones like doing all the things

(11:18):
in healthcare.
And I think for me, that's when it clicked that nursing could be a path forward for me.
And once I started doing more research and I was like applying to colleges, I started
realizing like, oh my gosh, like there's nurse CEOs.
Like the hospital I was volunteering at, the CEO of the hospital was a nurse.
And I was like, oh my gosh.
And it all clicked for me.
I was like, wait, so nurses can be CEOs.

(11:39):
They can be in Congress.
They can start companies.
So I think just seeing that versatility was ultimately what made me want to pursue nursing.
And that's kind of how I ended up deciding to study nursing.
That's awesome.
I have kind of like two little stories as to like how I got into nursing very short.
Probably the one that's a little bit more tugs on the hard strings a little bit more

(12:01):
is that when I was very young, I was about nine years old, my grandmother who was babysitting,
my sister and I at the time had an aortic aneurysm.
And so I just remember this moment of like standing over her and feeling really helpless,
like completely helpless.

(12:22):
I didn't know what to do other than call 911, which I did know how to do.
But one of our neighbors like ran over and actually did CPR on her, but she passed away.
And it was a really traumatizing experience for me.
But I also think that like sometimes out of those challenges and those really difficult
times that we have this opportunity and we go, you know, I don't ever want to feel that

(12:46):
way again.
I want to make sure that I know what to do.
If something like that happens again, I want to be able to like jump into action and be
able to do something.
So I think it put me on a path towards feeling more empowered and wanting to be able to care
and help people who were in situations like that.
And then many years later after I was like, I was actually a sign language interpreter

(13:08):
for many years.
Some people don't know that about me, but I interpreted in colleges and I interpreted
for the biology of cancer class twice, actually, Dr. Oppenheimer at Cal State Northridge and
a little shout out to him.
And so I interpreted that class and I was like, oh my God, I'm fascinated by oncology
and you know, just everything about it.

(13:30):
And I was like, this fit, this is what I want to do.
I knew I wanted to go into nursing.
I knew I want to be in the medical profession, but now I knew that I wanted to kind of go
that direction.
So that's what I did.
I did pediatric oncology the first eight years of my career.
That's beautiful.
I mean, I feel like when you talk to every nurse, right, there's always a story behind
that decision and to entering such a field that is so hard, right?

(13:54):
And like most of the time underappreciated or not recognized at all.
And it's great that we have nurses week.
I mean, it should be nurse's month, but you know, we have nurses week where we get to
really elevate these stories and amplify these voices and just beautiful, you know, stories
behind it.
But I wanted to delve into the adventures and the journeys that she had within this

(14:15):
space of nursing, which probably, I guess, like 10 or 20 years ago, new grads would never
think of doing, right?
It's like, okay, I'm going to go straight to the hospital, go straight to clinical setting
and then I'll be a nurse.
And then, like I said, we see this boom of nurse entrepreneurs.
What was that term that you said, Anthony?
Nursepreneur?
Nursepreneur.
Yeah.

(14:36):
I love that.
I love it.
I love it.
Yeah.
And we see the boom in this.
And I wanted to delve into your personal stories with your companies, but we'll go with Anthony
first.
Adne, formerly known as Lumify, right?
Can you tell us the story behind your brand and what is the mission behind Adne and what
does the name Adne mean?

(14:58):
Yes.
Okay.
Let me try to, I'll try to be as concise as possible because it's probably a story I could
tell for like six hours because like Kara I'm sure knows firsthand, it's just, there's
so many twists and turns in your story as a nursepreneur.
You know, you start with one thing and then you evolve and you iterate and it's just kind
of a roller coaster experience.
But from a high level, basically, as I said, I was always kind of interested in problem

(15:22):
solving and I was super fortunate to go to a nursing school that I think was very much
like on the forefront of pushing nursing and nursing students as innovators.
So there was always kind of a lot of sessions about innovation, design thinking, lots of
opportunities to just discuss that.
So anyway, I ended up going to a nurse hackathon back in November 2019.

(15:45):
And if you haven't heard of a hackathon, it's basically like a conference setting.
It's a weekend long where you kind of just get teamed up with different nurses and engineers,
you know, different types of stakeholders and you're tasked with solving a problem in
like one weekend and trying to create a solution for the problem.
So at this hackathon is actually where I met my co-founder, Jennifer, who's also a nurse

(16:07):
and also just very passionate about problem solving and nursing.
And I feel like at this hackathon, it really clicked for me that the nursing process is
actually very entrepreneurial in nature.
And I always love to say like ad-pie assessment diagnosis is what you do as an innovator,
right?
Like you assess a problem, you diagnose it, then you plan, then you implement a solution

(16:29):
and then you evaluate if it works.
Like that's just kind of what entrepreneurship is.
And it also is the nursing process.
So that kind of came full circle for me and basically started this journey of wanting
to start a business.
So I teamed up with Jennifer and we kind of started our business, which started with this
idea for a wearable light for healthcare workers, specifically solving the problem that if you

(16:52):
ever work night shift, you have to go into your patient's room all like ninja style and
try to provide care to your patient with the lights off, or you just turn on the lights
and then your patient wakes up.
So we had this idea to create a wearable light for healthcare workers after lots of trials
on air, testing different lights online.
We eventually got to a prototype, eventually connected to a manufacturer through like messaging

(17:13):
a bunch of people on LinkedIn, connecting with awesome nurse entrepreneurs that already
existed like Kara to get advice and basically started with that single product.
And yeah, to our surprise, it kind of started blowing up in the nursing community, which
was such a crazy experience to kind of see your idea come to life.
As I kind of started my nursing career, that's when it was all happening.
So I was working, was trying to run this business and it was eventually just too chaotic.

(17:37):
So Jennifer and I ended up going full time with Lumify.
Long story short, we were able to get some funding, participate in an accelerator, learn
a lot more.
And we eventually evolved to be a marketplace for nursing gear and resources.
Once we kind of realized another gap in the market, which was that there was a lack of
single place to access awesome gear and resources for nurses.

(17:58):
And our marketplace has evolved into basically being a marketplace for gear and resources,
primarily focusing on businesses founded by healthcare workers.
And that's how we have gotten to ADME today.
And ADME actually stands for Lean On and Support in Latin.
So that's how we came up with the word, just kind of wanting to be a supportive ecosystem

(18:18):
and a place that nurses can access great gear and resources.
So that was the crash course.
I know it's a lot to follow in like 60 seconds, but from a high level, that's kind of how
the journey went.
And it's been a wild ride.
You know, Anthony got his pitch down perfectly, right?
He got it down in one day.
That was messy.
I love it.

(18:39):
Actually, I used to work night shift in the hospital and I would have my Unite light and
I would wear black scrubs and my patients would be like, oh, you're such a ninja.
You don't make any sound.
So it was so helpful to have the light and like check the foley or the chest tube drainage
and it has different settings.
So amazing.
As for Kara, I mean, I remember, I think a few months ago we had a Zoom call, I think

(19:02):
for the podcast and I was still hearing, look Kara, I was in Holly Blue a few years ago.
So we were somewhat never met but connected.
I wanted to know your journey Kara from Holly Blue to nurse.com today.
Yeah, much to what Anthony said about, you know, all of the roads and the twists and

(19:23):
the turns and the pivoting and the iterations and the initial MVPs and then changing and
listening, doing a lot of listening and then realizing you need to make some adjustments.
And so I experienced all of that.
So I think that's pretty ubiquitous amongst almost anybody who has been a founder of anything

(19:45):
that they've probably had that similar experience.
So for me, it kind of started, I would say like the seed of it started when I was working
at the bedside.
I was working and we kind of created a supportive care committee.
Myself along with a few of my colleagues decided that we needed a committee to support nurses

(20:05):
through just difficult times on the floor, end of life, trauma, tragedy, all kinds of
things to help with the sustainability.
And it was a lot about like bringing people together and communication and connecting
us.
And I know at the time I kind of thought, well, wouldn't this be great if we could just
do this bigger?
Like if we could just connect everybody, wouldn't that be amazing?

(20:27):
And then flash forward to when I was a director of nursing for a home health here in Los Angeles.
And I was looking for nurses to work for us.
And I thought, and I actually said out loud, I said, where's the watering hole for nurses?
Like where are they?
And they're just like hanging out somewhere, is it a local bar?
Is it like, you know, where are all the nurses?
I found myself on Facebook.

(20:48):
I said, I'm looking for a Korean speaking nurse who has oncology experience and lives
near city of hope.
And I was like, why am I putting that here on Facebook?
This is bizarre.
Like this is just absolutely bizarre that I'm even putting this out here.
And of course, nobody responded back to me.
And I was like, there's a better way.
Many people don't actually know that Holly Blue was initially kind of a workforce management

(21:10):
tool with the added component of trying to bring in nurses to be together and provide
them with certain tools like resume builders and stuff like that.
I spent a lot of money doing that.
And then right as the pandemic was coming, like 2019, started talking to some of our
teammates and was like, you know what, we might have to pivot away and just like focus

(21:31):
solely on community because that's really what nurses seem to need and want.
And talk about hard to like walk away from like hundreds of thousands of dollars worth
of build of technology build, but it was the right move.
And as soon as we pivoted and as soon as we started to explore this other platform where
we were able to build community, we just saw that whole hockey stick of new users and people

(21:54):
starting to adopt the platform.
And we're like, okay, they hit the nail on the head, you know, and sometimes you get
a lot of feedback where they're like, you know, investors or people will say, you know,
where's the money in that?
Or why would you focus your energy on just building a niche community for nurses that,
you know, there's no money there.
But I didn't let it dissuade me.
And I just kept the vision and the mission.
And I was like, you know what, we're going to build this really thriving community and

(22:16):
the altruism of it will stay intact.
And you know, we can still always bring in money even from something that is something
very altruistic in nature.
So that was what we did.
And then sure enough, nurse.com came along and was like, we are looking for exactly what
you built, like the very thing you built.
And so that was pretty amazing.

(22:37):
And so that's kind of our story of like how we got started.
Hearing your stories, it's like, PIVOTS is so hard, right?
It's so scary.
It's kind of like trying to wander into unknown waters.
I guess PIVOTS in life is scary.
PIVOTS within careers is scary, especially like from nursing, either from clinical to
entrepreneurship or from this to that, from even from like one unit to another unit, right?

(23:02):
It's always scary.
Even changing a new is always scary.
What were your tactics to face these fearful unknowns when it comes to pivoting either
in your careers or which obviously is entailed to your life, right?
To your finances, to your families.
How do you tackle those fears?
Wow, that's a great question.

(23:22):
It's definitely not easy.
You're right.
I mean, there's been so many nights, so many sleepless nights where I'm like up thinking
on it like, oh my gosh, like this could happen.
If I do this, then this could happen and I'm kind of like type A, like trying to see all
of these potential paths forward.
But I think when I find myself in that place, I know that the answer forward is to just
start and to just try it out.

(23:42):
Because I think if you go forward and do it, like you can always backtrack.
You can always readjust, right?
Like, it's never like, oh, if I pivot now, like I can never go back to doing this.
Or I'm just like, oh, you know, you always have kind of a path forward again.
So I think for me, I just try to remind myself of that when the pivot is happening, because
it is kind of a comforting feeling to really give yourself the freedom to go all in on

(24:05):
that pivot or that direction.
And I thought that too about just going full time with LUMIFY now at me, right?
It was like, what happens if we can't pay our bills someday?
Like, how are we going to like survive?
Like you kind of have all these questions, right?
Or do we even know what we're doing?
Like, how are we supposed to build this app?
Like, how is anyone going to work for us?
Like, how am I going to try to find an engineer?
How am I going to try to get an investor?

(24:25):
Like, you have all of these questions, but I think just kind of starting and going and
doing and then figuring it out as you go is kind of like the best thing you can do because
you could have all those questions like the what ifs, but if you don't try, you may never
know if that's actually like possible.
And it's just like building a product, right?
Like sometimes users might tell you like, oh, I want this, I really want this feature.

(24:47):
And then you actually go to launch it and realize that people actually wanted like this
part of the product, not the thing that they were saying, you know?
So I feel like it's just a matter of trying it out and just remembering that you can always
continue to iterate and adjust till it feels right.
Yeah, I don't know if I have too much to add to that.
But you know, everything that you're saying, Anthony is exactly right.

(25:07):
It's not being afraid to fail, like not not just afraid to fail, but actually embracing
failure is a little different than like not being afraid of it.
Just like bringing it in, welcoming it, knowing that failure is part of the process.
It's you learn those things.
It's it's not a bad thing to fail.

(25:30):
It's not good if you're you know, you dig your heels in and you're not willing to change
because that's how most companies go downhill is that they are locked in on an idea.
They're not willing to pivot at all.
Recent point, there was a lady across the street from me who was actually starting a

(25:52):
little business and it was a lovely it was a lovely business.
And she was creating kind of these pies and things and very small menu of options.
But they were great.
Like they were all like really great things.
And she insisted on only having drip coffee.
I said to her at one point, I said, you know, boy, this place could be awesome if you just

(26:16):
invested in like not a huge espresso machine, but my goodness, you just have like a little
Nespresso machine and say, boy, wouldn't people just like come here every day to stop and
get their latte or this or that like instead of maybe going because we were like right
in a very residential area.
And she said, you know, I you know, I was told that you have to stick to your business

(26:38):
plan, stick to your business plan.
And that's not in my business plan for at least the first two years.
And I was like, you know, and I was like, well, there you go.
And you know, she was out of business in a year.
She was she had to pack it up.
And you know, sometimes being stubborn, you know, you don't want to be stubborn.

(27:02):
You really want to like, you know, listen.
And to what you're saying is pivot when you hear that feedback and go, you know, I was
wrong.
I thought this or I thought that, but that's not right.
And sometimes we have so much money invested that we just feel like, oh, my gosh, we're
so afraid that we feel like we can't like we're just handcuffed to this idea.

(27:25):
But we never are.
We never are.
There always is like a door that's open.
Sometimes you just have to look that way.
Sometimes we're not looking at it.
And so that's that's kind of like my biggest piece of advice.
Yeah, definitely.
I mean, like I said, it's like the psychic asm, right?
You're just trying to jump over and you don't even know what's on the other side.

(27:48):
Right.
I guess it's all a risk.
I mean, life is a risk.
And I think taking risks, it's so pertinent and indispensable in the field of business,
right.
Entrepreneurship.
But I want to know, given that it is Nurses Week, there's so many nursing students or
new grads or maybe even senior nurses out there are like, I am so tired and burnt out

(28:09):
of the situation I am in and the unit I am in and the facility I am in.
And I have this idea of a business within the nursing field.
How do you get from that pigment of thought to an actual tangible business?
So what is the process to that?

(28:32):
Yes, it's a loaded question.
I feel like I always have the same advice when I get asked this and I'm sure, you know,
I mean, I asked Kara this too when I was starting and you know, people ask me this
all the time too.
And I think, you know, at the end of the day, an idea is just an idea, right?
Like you could have a billion dollar idea, but until you're really taking action to like

(28:53):
actually bring that to life one way or the other, whether it's super, super scrappy,
like minimal viable product, or you know, going out there and just selling the idea,
like you really, you don't have anything.
It's just going to, it's just an idea, right?
Everyone has ideas.
So I think, you know, my advice or what I would say to someone who's like, I have this
idea, I want to start something.
I just haven't really started.

(29:14):
You got to go out there and you got to start building your network.
You got to get on LinkedIn.
You got to message people.
You got to try to get advice.
You got to connect with people who have built something similar.
Start a website, start talking to nurses about it.
Build a super, super simple prototype of your idea, whether it's literally on paper and
just go show your colleagues it and get their feedback.

(29:35):
And by doing those little actions, they can add up and actually start creating momentum
of starting.
But the craziest part is I think that is honestly the hardest part is like doing those little
things and you're just starting.
It's so vulnerable because you're like, oh my gosh, like I'm sharing my idea with people.
Like it feels like, oh, like someone might copy my idea or oh, like, I don't know if
it's ready yet, but you got to just get out there and start.

(29:58):
And then again, iterate and do all the things that we had just talked about.
And I think leaning into your nursing kind of core foundations, you know, like as a nurse,
like we do that all the time for our patients.
Like we have limited information.
We have to use empathy with our patient to try to understand what they're going through,
evaluating like all of those same foundational nursing processes are really kind of the same

(30:20):
thing you would do to get your idea started.
But just remember, you're not going to have all the answers.
Like I started this light with no experience.
I did not even know what went into manufacturing a product.
And you know, a light's pretty simple.
So I was like, I feel like we could probably figure this out.
But I was like, oh my gosh, supply chain and shipping and importing and taxes, all of these

(30:42):
things.
But again, just starting and figuring it out.
Absolutely to all of that.
I usually tell people that I had to stay ignorant enough to move forward.
But meaning like I had to not know enough because like I talked to people who have like
gone to business school, they've done this and they're like, oh, you know that the percentage

(31:04):
of startups that fail is public, you know, and they give you this percentage.
And I'm like, man, if I had known that, I probably wouldn't have gone forward.
So I mean, there's a little bit of like naivete, right?
That you like embrace where you're like, I don't know, I guess I was just stupid enough
to go forward.
And then lucky enough to have like maybe some brains to go along with it.

(31:25):
But I also think that that kind of oversimplifies things a little bit.
But I think to what Anthony is saying is that I think one of the biggest mistakes people
make is keeping their idea in a bubble.
They're afraid of sharing it because they're afraid it will get stolen.
And the first breath of life you put into an idea is the sharing of it.

(31:48):
That is literally that first breath that you give it.
And so once you put it out there, once you say it to somebody, once you say it to more
people, once you start talking to somebody next to you on a plane and you say, I have
this idea, all of a sudden this idea becomes real.
You feel it become real.
And you're like, I feel like I have this, I feel like I have this thing.

(32:10):
Like this thing is already kind of living and breathing and, and then you name it at
some point and you know, like once you name something, well then you got to keep it.
You know, so it's like having like a dog, right?
Like, you know, once you name it, it's yours.
That's so true.
I love that.
Right.
You know, so I've actually said to people sometimes I'm like, even if it's not like

(32:30):
the name you're going to keep, you could name it, give it a name.
Like you know, you had like the LUMIFY, you know, it's not the name you kept.
I had my nurse's station was like the way too long of a name.
I was going to put that on an app, you know, like way too long, but I named it.
Right.
So sometimes I think that's one of the first steps.

(32:52):
What makes you too special is that you're not just entrepreneurs, not just within the
world business, but you are a nursepreneur.
So you are a nurse's first and continue to be nurses.
And I wanted to pick on this next question.
I was scrolling through TikTok a few weeks ago and I think it was Anthony who posted
it and someone commented, oh, but you are not a nurse.
Right.

(33:13):
So there's a comment like that, right.
Because he's an entrepreneur, not within the clinical setting.
I think that's what the comment was trying to connotate.
Right.
Now my question is as nursepreneurs, obviously you are a nurse's first, how does the world
of nurse entrepreneurship cater to the world of nursing?
How is it still nursing for maybe a nursing student who's like, oh, I want to be an entrepreneur

(33:35):
one day, but I'm scared that I will lose my clinical skills or I won't feel like I'm a
nurse.
What would be your answer to those students?
Yes, the TikTok comments definitely will say a lot of things like that.
I think, you know, you can just get told when you're working full time on your business,
like, oh, you're not a nurse anymore.
Like nurses only work at the bedside.
If you're not providing patient care, like you're not a nurse.

(33:57):
Or I've had the flip side of that too, where I'm out pitching my company and people say,
but you're just a nurse.
You're just a nurse.
How could you be building this tech company that you have these huge visions for?
And yeah, so I was able to just take a deep breath and say, okay, you know, time for some
nursing education, Maria.
I'm going to have to do some patient teach back here.

(34:18):
But yeah, to answer your question, I think that it really surprises me honestly, even
every day I'm doing this is like how much of like my daily tasks honestly always stems
back to like nurse 101, you know, and I know I've already said this a few times in the
live, but even today, like I had a user interview with a nurse.
So one, I'm like talking to nurses and like still very pertinent in the nursing world,

(34:43):
talking to nurses about, you know, burnout and staffing and things that can help them,
like all of the topics still in the world.
So just having that foundational knowledge, like from bedside is very kind of pertinent
still to like my daily conversations.
That's one.
Two is that empathy, you know, we're serving nurses and healthcare workers directly.
So we're not directly impacting patient care.

(35:04):
But I always say like, we're the nurses of nurses, you know, like who's going to
nurse the nurses, right?
Because nurses deserve to be cared for just like nurses care for their patients.
So I always kind of think of my role as that like, oh, we're just nursing nurses and healthcare
workers like we're asking them how they're feeling.
We're asking what we can do to build for them to make their lives easier or make their shift

(35:25):
a little bit easier, right?
And having that empathy, I think is very much what a nurse does on the day to day.
And same with education, same with innovating, same with critical thinking and triaging.
It's all I do all day is triage.
Literally, I'm like my report sheet is now my to do list.
And I'm constantly triaging between probably like 25 patients at once because I literally

(35:47):
do everything, but just like a nurse, right?
At bedside.
So I would say it literally is pretty much everything throughout my day.
It obviously looks a little bit different.
You know, I'm sitting at my desk, I'm maybe going for meetings and maybe that's not exactly
the same as like bedside.
But I think again, those skills are still super, super relevant.
And at the end of the day, I feel like I'm still caring and kind of using my nursing

(36:09):
skill set to still care and impact people, which I think ultimately is like the core
of a nurse.
Yeah, I agree.
Well, I started an IV this morning, so guess what?
I'm still...
Love.
So the thing is, is that I think that every time you make a transition, right?

(36:30):
So when I went from being in the acute care setting, I remember thinking to myself, well,
I don't know, I'm going to go into home health and are people going to really see me as like
a real nurse anymore?
You know, I'm not like in the thick of it, like with the alarms and the bells going off
and rushing around and adrenaline and the this and the interdisciplinary care and what

(36:57):
you see yourself doing as a nurse, like when you're in nursing school and you're like,
well, that's where I see myself.
I see myself there.
It's not until later that you start to actually explore that there's other things out there.
I found that like when I went into home health that I loved it because I actually got to
be the nurse I wanted to be.

(37:17):
I had all this one on one time.
I wasn't there.
Nothing distracting me.
There was no one calling me and asking me to transport a patient or bring in everything
else.
Like all of a sudden I felt like, oh my gosh, this is great.
This is great nursing.
And I felt like a better nurse.
And then I went into hospice and the same type of time and attention and care that I

(37:39):
could give was so much better and so much more rewarding.
And I was like, boy, I don't know why it took me so long to like to go into these other
areas.
But like I totally had that identity crisis.
I had an identity crisis.
And then of course then I went into entrepreneurship and then now I'm in a corporate role where

(38:00):
like I'm the VP of community and still very in touch with nurses and what they're doing.
But to what you're saying, Anthony, very, very involved in caring for these nurses,
caring for the nurses.
Like my role, my nursing role has just shifted.
Yeah.
Like who, who's my patient?
Well, the nurses are my patients.
Like there's a lot of them, man.
There's like, I got 4 million patients, so a lot of patients.

(38:24):
Talk about a nurse patient that's a little out of whack, man.
You know, so I would say that we keep moving into a different direction, but we're just
caring for different people in a different way.
And you can always dabble, you know, like I have a patient that I've been seeing for
eight years.

(38:45):
He has kidney transplant patient.
He's my pro bono guy.
I've been seeing him every month for eight years since his kidney transplant and I keep
doing it.
And I have a couple of other people that I see randomly that also like, you know, get,
get some treatments in here and there.
So there's nothing to stop you from continuing or even doing mission work.

(39:06):
If you wanted to do mission work, you can do that.
It's like, you can still utilize your skills if you want to.
I mean, it's so beautiful.
I mean, our good friend, Katie Duke, she shared a few years ago.
I think there was a time where she shared online that she was doing mostly mentorship
and going around the countries for conferences.
And she shared that a person commented saying, oh, so you're no longer a nurse.

(39:27):
And she was like, well, let's get back to the root definition of what a nurse is.
It's about caring and serving others.
Right.
And that has a different definition and manifestation for different people.
For some, we might be caring for the ill, right.
And the bedside for some would be caring for students to teach them as a professor and
educator.
For some, it's caring for the actual nurses through entrepreneurship, right.

(39:49):
Creating products or creating a community where everyone can benefit from.
And I think that's what you two do beautifully.
I mean, it's such necessary and pertinent work.
And I think beyond the products that Adne proposed and was created and nurse.com as
well with the amazing app, which I love and all the groups in it.
I think at the end of the day, it all roots down to creating something that nurses need

(40:14):
the most, which is community.
Right.
Nurses can be very isolating, especially if you work, work, work.
It's like you get detached from your social life, from your friends, from your family.
And sometimes friends who are not in healthcare, they don't want to hear about the pound of
blood that I saw.
You know, no one wants to hear that at the dinner table, but nurses are okay with it.

(40:36):
I mean, that's what we're used to or things that are very common to the nursing profession,
whether inside or outside the clinical.
And so let's just thank you for both for what you do with your platforms.
I wanted to know what is your goal for your brands, both Kara and Anthony?
Oh, that's so kind.
I love that.
And thank you for sharing our stories too.

(40:58):
And I think it's just always really nice to just have these types of conversations that
you know, are different roles that nurses can take.
And I feel like that honestly makes our profession stronger is when people can see that nurses
are so versatile and are doing so many different things in Congress and law and everywhere.
I think it makes our profession like stronger.
But yeah, so in terms of kind of our vision, I guess my vision for Adne, I think the first

(41:23):
is really to support other businesses founded by healthcare workers.
So this has kind of started happening naturally as we evolved into a marketplace before we
knew it.
Over 70% of the brands in our marketplace were founded by healthcare workers.
And I think that's just naturally happened because healthcare workers build the best
tools and resources for healthcare workers.
Like we know what we need better than anyone, because we've lived it firsthand.

(41:46):
So I think yeah, number one, it's just continuing to create an ecosystem that can support healthcare
workers who want to launch their own products or resources and just really make it for healthcare
workers by healthcare workers.
And then the second is really to help healthcare workers save money.
This has been like a much bigger focus for us now.
I think one thing that always really surprised me, especially as a new grad nurse, is like

(42:07):
how much nurses spend on their own gear and resources, like thousands of dollars.
And our kind of ultimate vision is to really have employers be able to kind of help offset
some of those out of pocket expenses and kind of providing our platform as like a benefits
perk or a way to just support nurses and healthcare workers.
So that's kind of been something we've now been piloting and focused on.

(42:30):
We have a few travel nursing agencies that are actually providing our marketplace as
like a rewards system for their nurses and helping us save money, you know, still access
what we need, but hopefully not have to spend all of our own money to get it.
So that's kind of where we're headed.
And it's been a wild ride to get there, but I'm excited to just continue building and

(42:51):
so grateful for the opportunity to do so.
That's amazing.
Just for me personally, it's been just a wonderful experience watching Anthony and Jennifer just
move from like really the beginning stages, like all the way through to where they are
today is just very satisfying for me.

(43:13):
And you guys have done an incredible job and are the epitome of what a nursepreneur does,
which is tons and tons of pivoting, but all in the right direction.
You're like just moving, moving, moving in the right direction, which is so incredible.
So my hat's off to you, my friend.
And thank you, Chris, for like having, you know, yes, us on this with you.

(43:36):
And I love your podcast and I'm very, very excited that this gets to be like on your
podcast as well.
So thank you so much for having us.
Nurse.com for me, it was like a dream come true that we got to come that Holly Blue,
which was a social media network for nurses, was able to come over and be a part of something
that was like so much bigger, but also lent itself in all the right ways.

(43:59):
You know, nurse.com already had so many things like continuing education, which is something
that nurses always need.
They've always been kind of a trusted industry resource, you know, in terms of their news
and their blogs.
And they've been around forever, decades, you know, starting out as Nursing Spectrum
Magazine and Nurse Week Magazine, like, you know, Nurse Week Magazine, like back in the

(44:20):
90s and then coming together to create a baby called nurse.com.
And so they've been around for so long.
So having that kind of like solid foundation is wonderful.
But you know, we have job opportunities and all of these things.
So being able to kind of like be that nurse life all in one place is really what I think
we're trying to do and creating partnerships with companies like Admin and creating partnerships

(44:45):
with anyone who is out there doing awesome things and bringing that all together into
kind of like an ecosystem and making sure that, you know, hey, if you're looking for
that next job opportunity, maybe like nurse.com is where you want to come look.
You know, if you're looking for industry news, maybe like nurse.com is like what you have

(45:05):
pop up on your computer screen every day.
Look at like what's going on and trending, you know, and if you're looking for continuing
education or peer support, you know, that you know that you can rely on that and also
know that like we are working to create partnerships with other companies that are doing amazing
things and that we will make sure you know about companies like Admin and any other company

(45:27):
out there that's doing something awesome.
So I think that's our vision, really.
Yeah, I mean, I must say that I love the continuing education courses and nurse.com.
I needed recently to renew my nursing license for California.
So I've never used it, but I've always jumped up looking to California and working there.
So we'll see within the next few years.

(45:48):
But amazing courses, which I love.
So thank you for that.
And I guess that's a final question.
You know, we've talked about so many beautiful things about nursepreneurship and just the
field of nursing and also, I guess, the feeling of like privilege of being able to care for
others in whatever setting and whichever mode and aspect it might be.
Right.

(46:08):
But on the flip side of that, at the Nurses Suite, we also want to, I guess, elevate the
transparency of the brokenness of the system, the health care system that we are in.
Right.
I mean, I guess, especially over the past few years, we've been hearing about outcries
for nurse staffing ratios and pay and obviously underappreciation and even physical injury
towards nurses.

(46:29):
Right.
A hopeful pre-nursing student or a nursing student is wondering if entering the field
of nursing is still even worth it despite all the brokenness in the system.
What would be your message to that nursing student?
Yeah, I understand.
It is rough out there for sure.
And I think that, you know, I actually just made a TikTok about this today, actually,

(46:49):
for International Nurses Day, which was basically about, you know, there are so many hurdles
and adversity that's facing the nursing profession.
And therefore, it's so important that we speak up about, you know, injustices and things
that we're struggling with to raise awareness, to move the needle, to make progress in improving
things.

(47:10):
But I also can understand how for a potential nursing student coming into the field, how
that can feel really overwhelming.
You know, when you're looking up nursing on Google and every headline is staffing and
burnout and injury, as you said, like nurses getting hurt on the job, etc.
So I understand how that's very overwhelming.
I think what I would say to them is the reason that everyone is speaking up about it is because

(47:32):
nurses are some of the most resilient and passionate people.
And we're speaking up because we care so deeply about our profession, we care so deeply about
our patients.
And you know, that's the reason why healthcare will never stop us.
Like we will continue to fight to have the best outcomes for our patients, the best outcomes
for each other, because that is like, you know, what nurses do, you know.

(47:55):
So I think that to just answer why there is so much noise, that is it.
It's because of our passions, because of our resilience, and there always is a path that
will be right for you in nursing, you know, you can do so much in nursing.
It's literally crazy.
I mean, I was a nurse, barely worked bedside, and then I started a business and I'm still

(48:15):
a nurse, you know, I still have my license and now I'm working as a nurse entrepreneur,
you know, there are nurses in every sector of society.
There's nurses that can go back to school, you can go do literally anything.
Nursing is like the best launching pad.
So I would just really remember that as our biggest strength, and really kind of viewing
all of the noise in the nursing world as the passion and resilience that nurses have.

(48:37):
I agree.
I think I'm kind of like a hopeless romantic in this way.
Okay, so, you know, call me crazy.
But I think that this is when you see change happen, right?
Right now it's loud, like what Anthony just said, it's loud.
You hear so much about what's going on.
But you know, it's always like, you know, when you hear that there's the like the quiet

(49:00):
before the storm, like we're in the storm.
Okay, like there's only up from here.
Okay.
It can only go up from here people.
Definitely.
So yes, we're hearing all kinds of like the worst of it, right.
But that's just because these nurses are making a lot of noise and people just haven't for
a long time.

(49:21):
And I'm actually gonna, you know, I know the millennials get a tough rap.
Okay, a lot, you know, they always talk about the millennials and they don't want to work
as hard and they don't want to do all that we do.
And you know, but I also I think that the millennials have brought some insight into
this field and they basically they walked in and they looked around and they were like,

(49:43):
wait a minute.
Hold up.
This is what you all have been dealing with.
Like what is going on here?
Yeah.
And you know, some of the more seasoned nurses are like, oh, you know, you just can't hack
it.
You're not strong enough.
You don't have thick enough skin.
You don't have whatever, you know, but they were really the one that said this Emperor

(50:05):
has no clothes, you know, and and suddenly like now more people are noticing that the
Emperor doesn't have any clothes.
So we're starting to realize and talk about it.
And this is when change happens.
And I think that we are on the precipice of some really remarkable changes.
I think that, you know, these hospital systems, these health care system, they are feeling

(50:30):
the pain right now.
They are really feeling it.
And they're like, wow, we have got to do something.
And for a while, they just didn't know what to do.
And they just relied on this or that or one thing or the other thing.
And now they're realizing that like maybe the whole thing, this needs to like come down
and like build it back up.
So I think that have hope, you know, really just, you know, have hope.

(50:55):
And if you're in nursing school, make sure that you are having you have a mentor, find
a mentor, you can come into the app and find a mentor here.
We're at nurse.com.
I'm sure somebody's willing to help you and really have that kind of support from early
on so that when you get into the nursing profession, you're not alone.
And you have somebody that is maybe outside of the hospital where you're working.

(51:20):
Because, you know, sometimes it's good to have someone on the outside that's your mentor,
not necessarily like your preceptor.
It's good to have somebody at the hospital too.
But like have that support early as you.
Yeah, definitely.
Well, those are beautiful points.
And it's just amazing because how Adny and nurse.com both contribute to those changes
that we want to see, right?

(51:40):
Especially in the, I think it's been for so long we're hearing like, oh, the nurses eat
their young.
Oh, this, this or that.
But through these companies that Adny promotes and also through the nurse.com, I mean, people,
you have to check out all of the conversation going on in the nurse.com app.
It's like, I love it.
It's like a Facebook for nurses, right?
It's like you create a family with inside the app and that really contributes to the

(52:03):
changes you want to see when it comes to community, right?
Really tight knitting the nursing profession.
Honestly, there's nothing like the nursing profession.
Like Anthony said, you can do so much with it, right?
I was even surprised that you can work as a nurse in this and that in the stadium and

(52:23):
this facility.
Yes.
You're like, whoa, a flight nursing?
And I'm like, whoa, this is such an amazing profession.
And both of you just add to the beauty of it.
It's such an honor to hear both of your stories and just to hear from both of you.
I am so honored and humbled.

(52:43):
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
The feeling is mutual, my friend.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
This was such a lovely conversation, like all my face and a great way to end nurses
week tour.
But you know, we're going to keep the party going and the nurse.com app.
We'll go over there.
Keep the party going.
We had a huge party.
We have to set up another party.

(53:04):
Come to the East Coast.
Yes.
I think we should.
Sarah and Anthony, again, thank you so much.
And I can't wait to hear more from both of you.
And this is not the last time that we'll have another conversation.
Appreciate it.
Have a great day.
Bye, everyone.
Thanks so much for having us.

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(56:47):
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Good morning.
Hello.
Hello.
Hi Chris.
Nice to meet you.
Finally, through the screen.
Good.
You're all the way in the west coast, right?

(57:07):
Today I'm in San Diego.
Oh my gosh, that was a long way.
I'm in San Diego.
I'm in San Diego.
I'm in San Diego.
I'm in San Diego.
I'm in San Diego.
I'm in San Diego.
I'm in San Diego.
I'm in San Diego.
I recently came from Cali, and I really wanted to visit San Diego.
I think the farthest I visited was San Marcos.
So there's so many things to talk about.
I think during Nurses Week, right?

(57:28):
You're like, oh, let's appreciate nurses, and obviously all the great work that nurses
do.
But there's also a whole world within healthcare and nursing that's not really talked about,
right?
That's not really amplified, which is a lot of the things we'll be talking about today.
But first, if you could first introduce yourself to everyone.
Thank you so much again for joining us.
Of course.

(57:48):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
It's such an honor coming from someone who has listened to you and all your viewers and
your podcast.
So yeah, super excited to be here.
But my name is Tamara Aliassine.
I am the CEO of The Nursing Beat, or a digital media company that focuses on content specifically
for nurses and allied healthcare professionals.

(58:10):
I'm a nurse myself.
I've been a nurse 11 years now.
So this is the first year of mine transitioning out of bedside.
So it's been an official year out of bedside and in an executive role.
So it's been definitely a wild ride.
I mean, I must say that I love The Nursing Beat newsletter.
And my friends noticed that I hate getting daily emails.

(58:35):
And I'm like, unsubscribe, unsubscribe.
But I look forward to The Nursing Beat newsletter every single day.
I'm like, there's something to look forward to.
And we'll talk more about that.
But I wanted to go more into your experience and your journey as a nurse.
Where did this inspiration come from to go into this field of nursing?

(58:55):
Oh man, I was one of the lucky ones that went straight out of high school.
I did a bunch of stuff, honestly, in high school to try and figure out what I wanted
to do.
And I was like good at science and I loved having chats with people and developing relationships.
So it just kind of fell into place that I had chosen nursing.
Obviously, at the time, it was really hard to get into programs.

(59:18):
So that was a bit of a challenge.
But I kind of knew right away just through volunteering in the hospitals, I was watching
the nurses and I was like, this is really what I want to do.
This is some work that's beyond, like calling it a profession is not even enough.
You know?
Yeah, definitely.
I mean, even the road to nursing is so long.
We're like from high school and then you do undergrad and then you do all the training

(59:42):
as a work as a nurse.
And then I know you've been in the biz for a decade now within nursing.
Do you have any regrets in pursuing the field?
Honestly, as insane as it is, no.
Like I do not see myself having done anything else.
I think it set me up for entrepreneurship in a way that I never realized.

(01:00:04):
I don't think we talk about it.
I think nurses make the best entrepreneurs because of the difficulty in our profession.
Our resilience like far exceeds the standard of people.
There are different moments that I regret, but overall going into nursing, zero.
I agree with that.
And I think at the end of the day, I feel like no matter how chaotic or how like, this

(01:00:26):
is the worst shift ever, it's still like a sense of fulfillment and reward, right?
And I guess the privilege to be able to take care of others and be so in tune with people's
lives, even just for a shift.
Like I think it's so beautiful.
And I wanted to talk more about like your work as a nurse in the emergency room, right?
I was with another live stream the other day with Stephanie Vags who is a nurse educator.

(01:00:51):
She's also an emergency room nurse.
And I told her that I just don't think I could do it.
Like the amount of chaos like for me, I'm just like, why is my patient awake?
Why are they not on the drip?
What's going on?
Can you tell me about your journey in the emergency room?
Yeah.
I mean, so I graduated, oh man, I feel like this is going to date me in 2012, I think.

(01:01:16):
And the market at the time was terrible.
Like you could not get a job.
You really had to take what you got.
And I luckily got placed in the ER as a new grad, which is like not heard of.
So you have to go to another unit prior.
At the time, I'm going to be honest, like you were saying, being a student and a new
grad is some of the most difficult moments of being a nurse.

(01:01:39):
My first year, I'm going to be totally straight.
I did not like it.
I thought I was going to quit.
I worked at a burn center as well.
So it was really intense.
And I remember going home to my family thinking like, what did I do?
But I will say this.
There is a unit for everybody or a type of nursing job for everyone.

(01:02:02):
I really think we have to like personality test new grads.
There are different personalities for different departments and you are meant to be somewhere
and you might not know.
For me, I always say this.
I really like working with like younger teenagers and young adults.
I had a really hard teenage time.
Like I was super rebellious.
I was one of those annoying teenagers and I felt like I never belonged.

(01:02:26):
And when I got to the ED, like everything that maybe people didn't like translated to
being the best ER nurse I could be.
So you really like have to find your calling and you're right.
It's not for everyone.
I love the chaos.
So I'm all in it and the drama.
You're doing the personality test.

(01:02:48):
I don't know if you watched or read the book Diversion, the Diversion series.
It's basically like, I think you should.
I think the young adults in the community, they're put into factions, I think is what
they were called.
And it's like, if you are like, it's kind of like the houses in the Harry Potter.

(01:03:10):
It's like you're sorted into a faction.
You're sorted into a faction.
Yeah, and in my mind I'm like, I just tell my friends, there should be something like
that for new grad nurses where there's a test where would I be the best IC nurse or the
best ER nurse or the best non-clinical nurse ever, right?
I think it would like help the hospital systems too, right?

(01:03:32):
Because like if you put place people where they'll be happy and they'll succeed the most,
chances are like they'll stay.
So I think that front end work is so important.
It's just, I mean, I have not heard of something like that.
I don't think we have it yet, but maybe Chris, you and I are going to like host our first
Harry Potter like hat.
Every nurses week, right?

(01:03:52):
Probably like, I don't know, a picture that we use for the patients, we use it as a hat.
It's like, oh, emergency room, who knows?
But you know, I mean, it's all the chaos.
I mean, you obviously love being an emergency room nurse.
I was curious, like, what about the emergency department, I guess, cultivated your philosophies

(01:04:12):
as a nurse?
What things that the emergency room taught you about the field of nursing as a whole?
Honestly, the best part is what I learned personally about myself and the growth I had.
I've learned so much from the people around me.
I feel like I grew exponentially as a human being, like the empathy I've had, the way

(01:04:33):
it translated into my own family and personal life, like just to not take things for granted,
to not be afraid.
I think we humans a lot of times respond based on fear.
But fear is just like a symptom.
If you can push through it, you could like really do anything.
And I think being in the ER sort of taught me that.

(01:04:54):
Like I was at first obviously was so scared, like what's happening?
There's trauma coming in.
I don't know what I'm doing.
But now like I've learned so much about life.
And I think that's what makes nurses like the nursing profession.
I don't know if you heard the ambulance behind me.
It's like, oh, there's just like a loud ambulance.

(01:05:14):
It just knows I'm talking to you.
An emergency room nurse right now.
Hi team.
I wanted to know what caused that switch from outside the bedside, outside of the hospital
into an entrepreneurial role.
Yeah, it's a great question.
So I was working full time in the ER during the pandemic.

(01:05:35):
Obviously it was exhausting.
I felt the burnout and I'm very much the type of person, like I want to do things that I
can control.
Right.
So I thought I need to get ahead of this because I know, I know I'm going to get to this like
juncture where I'm just going to leave and I don't want to like fully leave the profession.
I just need to leave the ED.

(01:05:57):
So I applied for business school and graduated actually last year from USC in Southern California
with my MBA.
That was also one of the hardest two years of my life.
I was working full time still because I didn't want to take loans out and then going to school
full time, like taking 18 units.
It like definitely, definitely challenged everything for me, especially like I knew

(01:06:21):
I needed the skills to write.
So I needed like accounting skills, finance, marketing skills, but we don't get that.
So I needed the formal training and then I got this opportunity to take over.
I was a CEO and I literally left the bedside in two weeks.
I was still in school and yeah, it was the best decision honestly I've ever made, but

(01:06:45):
it was super scary.
I left everything behind.
Like I don't say this often, but I left a job that was very secure for a company that
had three months of funding and we had to raise capital within three months.
Like it was, last year was insane, but it like, again, it's like the same skills, triage,
triage move on.
Like blow out this fire.

(01:07:05):
Okay, we're moving on to the next.
So yeah, it's been such a fulfilling year and I've definitely put the work in and I'm
really happy I did because I was getting to a point where I thought like, I don't want
to hate being a nurse.
Like the last thing you want to do is get there.
Before we talk about the nursing, I want to touch more upon what you just said, which

(01:07:26):
is so beautiful.
I guess even prior to the pandemic, right?
The burnout was a very viable and the valid feeling and season and nurse's lives, right?
It's definitely not an easy job, right?
No matter which unit, no matter which facility or what discipline within nursing, who would
you say to a nurse or especially, I guess it's a new nurse, right?

(01:07:50):
Who's entering the workforce and like, wow, this is the worst thing ever based on their
belief, right?
Like, I want to get out of the bedside and I want to do something that may not be so
sure and may not be so secured based on your experiences and the lessons that you've learned
and the skills you've put in acquired during the past three and two tumultuous years.

(01:08:15):
What would be your advice to that fearful nurse?
Yeah, that's such a good question.
I think like there's a special place in my heart for these new grads now and students,
especially with the pandemic, the new grads that had like a lack of clinical skills.
I mean, there's so much like the health system, the nurses that are training them are super
burned out.
So how could you even be positive?

(01:08:35):
Yeah, it's really tough.
And I do think actually seeking out other opportunities while you're still bedside is
so important.
It's what I did.
So like my number one is meet people.
Like when I started this job, I DMed everybody on Instagram, like, hey, talk to me.
Like I went on LinkedIn, I found all these nurse entrepreneurs and I was like, can you
talk to me?

(01:08:56):
Tell me about your journey.
I think like a lot of research first is needed to go into like asking the right questions
of like what is possible.
Even having like a robust LinkedIn account, I got a consulting job while I was bedside
for a pharmaceutical company and even understanding like what that means, like what does it mean

(01:09:17):
to be a consultant?
What do you do?
Why would they even want to talk to a nurse?
But understanding like all these different roles is so, so important.
It's kind of where the nursing beat comes in too, because I want nurses to see that
there are other opportunities.
You can stay bedside and you can leave.
You could do a bit of both.
There's so, so much available.
I guess it's so scary to take that leap rate.

(01:09:39):
I mean, especially, I guess the bedside is where, you know, you can get a full time job
and then the pay is there, right, you get insurance, you get your benefits and to venture
out into something that, I mean, even like nurse entrepreneurship or even things like
nurse informatics or anything outside the clinical, it's like kind of like murky waters

(01:10:01):
for many nurses, right?
Because it's like, oh my gosh, what do I do if it's not clinical, right?
And it can be a very scary venture, but I agree with everything you say.
And I think sometimes just like to do it, right?
You just have to step out and just do it, right?
And if you're scared, like you're living, you know, like there's a certain amount of

(01:10:23):
fear and scared that's healthy.
I think being settled doesn't allow for growth.
I mean, and now talking about the nursing beat, like, I mean, can you tell everyone
who might not know what this beautiful platform is all about?
Oh, well, thank you.
Yeah, super exciting.
The nursing beat, we offer a daily digital short form newsletter.
So much like if you read Robin Hood Snacks, Morning Brew, Skim, we are basically that

(01:10:47):
for nurses and allied healthcare professionals.
The premise is that like we're a nurse driven team and we know that you don't have time
to sift through the depths of content on social, within research and advocacy and legal.
And so we sort of do that work for you so that you can read your updates in like max

(01:11:08):
five minutes, really three minutes or less.
It's something I wish I had and our entire team is nurses.
And so it really was built on the premise that like we needed this resource when we
were bedside and even outside of bedside.
And yeah, it's been super, super fulfilling and exciting to grow.
I wanted to ask like, how does it feel and how is it working with a team that's all nurses?

(01:11:31):
I mean, it's like, it's like the 80, right?
I honestly, so when I started, we didn't.
We had to build it and I was like, this doesn't feel right.
Like this is for nurses.
It needs to be by nurses and I need like all of my people around me just like when you
have a shift and you need all your nurses, it's honestly the best feeling.

(01:11:55):
I feel like it's not even a job.
Like I feel like I work with my best friends, my mentors, my confidants.
Like it really is like such, such a pleasure.
And it's so much easier actually leaving bedside because I'm still with all my people.
It's just in a different environment.
Can you tell us like how it works?
The format of the newsletter, which there's actually a lot of parts which is so interesting

(01:12:19):
and so fun, right?
Can you take us on a guide and a magic school bus guided to like the parts of the newsletter?
Yeah, we, well, I will preface this by saying that we are actually coming out with a full
rebrand and I'm so excited.
It looks so good from a design perspective, content perspective, everything.

(01:12:40):
We've like literally thought of everything top to bottom of how like it would benefit
a nurse.
So I will preface what I'm saying by telling you wait for June because yeah, I'm super
excited.
But yeah, our newsletter comes out five days a week.
Actually it's Monday through Friday.
One of the biggest parts of the newsletter that I love is that we humanize it.

(01:13:00):
So like you see content, right, but like who's writing it, who's behind all of these companies.
We like literally put a face to who is writing our content.
Most of them are nurses.
I want to say like 85% of our writers are nurses.
So that's like a big, big part of the newsletter.
And we also pull in nurses that own their own business or are, they'll have specialties

(01:13:22):
in different fields to write content for us, which is huge because I don't know everything.
Like I am absolutely not an expert.
Neither is like our team, but why reinvent the wheel?
Like pull in these like really great nurse entrepreneurs and writers who know their stuff
and can give us great tips and in a language like that we understand and trust.

(01:13:43):
So for instance, financial wellness, I think is, it should be a big piece of our content.
We focus on it for sure.
But like bring in like Chase Banker to teach you about financial wellness or do you want
a nurse who like you understand to teach you and talk to you like in a trusted voice.
So for us, it's so much about the authenticity.

(01:14:04):
And it seems through the screen, you know, it really does.
I mean, I think it's just so pertinent that we deliver like all of this information in
a very digestible manner, right?
I wanted to ask you that, like, why do you think it's so important that for busy people
like nurses, why is it so important that we get updated news like five days a week?

(01:14:26):
I think that there's multiple answers to this, right?
The like easy one is to say you're delivering care to your patients.
It's you know, for safety for just advancement in your profession, it's always good to stay
up to date.
And then there's like that other part that's like beyond that of the healthcare is so complicated
and it's so fragmented.

(01:14:48):
And obviously we're in like a very negative time.
So how do we provide a platform to give you options and to give you professional development
opportunities places where you can network?
I think that's like building the community has been one of the most important parts about
this newsletter of like, oh, this this nurse is hosting this event for networking because

(01:15:10):
they want X, Y, and Z. We host it like we'll host it on our platform for them will show
up.
So I think it's really about like building the community through content that has become
one of the most important.
You know, even outside of the newsletter and the website to have blog posts, right?
You have more of like long form stories and articles of things like for burnout and staffing

(01:15:34):
and care and mental health.
With that combined in the newsletter itself, which again talks about a lot of things like
events and also like financial matters for you as the CEO of the nursing beat, if there
were and probably be hard to choose, probably choosing from babies, if there are top three
topics within nursing or healthcare as a whole that you really wish the nursing beat would

(01:15:58):
be the vessel to amplify about these topics, what would those topics be?
Oh, man.
Loaded question.
I think advocacy is number one or like top three for sure.
I think we need to be really informed about policy and legislation and how we can actually

(01:16:19):
enact change.
Like from a bedside perspective, like you asked me a couple of years ago, you could
actually elicit change through legislation and policy.
I'd be like, okay, that sounds so far from where I'm at right now.
But if we can like make it easy for you to do that through certain calls to action and
through different opportunities, then over time, we're going to build this massive network

(01:16:43):
that can elicit change because we've gotten to this juncture of like, we know nursing's
not good right now.
Like we know healthcare is negative and fragmented.
So now what?
And then now what starts with being informed and then getting opportunities to change that.
Okay.
I love it.
So advocacy, that was so long.

(01:17:06):
Professional development, a hundred percent.
I think it's really important, honestly, to listen to like to what your audience wants.
We survey and try and understand like what are the pertinent topics to you?
What's most important to you?
Professional development, honestly, is number one.
We have so much outreach for it in terms of like looking for a mentor, don't know where
to begin.

(01:17:27):
I have an idea like, or I want to move up the clinical ladder or I'm a new grad and
thinking about quitting.
Like I need to talk to somebody.
So I think professional development is a must for us.
Yeah, it's so, so important.
Okay.
And then three, I think legal honestly, right now is really important.
I think we really need to be aware of our liabilities and how our practice really affects

(01:17:49):
that.
And I wasn't, I didn't really understand the magnitude of how, you know, what I could
do could like affect my, my license and my profession.
And I want to make sure that people understand sort of what they're signing up for and how
they like the steps they can take to protect themselves.
Those are three crucial matters.

(01:18:10):
And I think, so we are not taught in nursing school, right?
Not a class.
It's great learning pharmacology and pathophysiology, which all basically are the foundations of
our care.
But outside of just clinical care, there's a whole legal logistics to the profession
of nursing, right?
I mean, when I was starting working as a nurse and like, wait, what are the things I should

(01:18:32):
or should not do in a legal matters like charting, you know, documentation, like I guess we see
on TikTok things like we'll continue to monitor or this, this or that.
Like these are things that are not taught in school or how to negotiate pay for those
who are advanced providers, right?
Or even for new nurses or what is an unsafe assignment, right?

(01:18:55):
What are things outside of our scope in that certain facility?
I think these things like legal, like you were saying, are things are so important that
are not usually talked about, right?
Like at all on theory.
No.
And I think that's like where, you know, the nursing beat and other organizations can come
together to really supplement that until, you know, academics catch up because it's

(01:19:20):
really not fair to throw someone out of nursing school and not prepare them for the liability
that they're about to face.
Like when I was bedside, there were definitely like cases that got brought up within the
department and everyone was freaked out, right?
Because like, yeah, nobody talks about it.
And I'm going to be honest, institutions, you can change them.

(01:19:41):
It takes a really long time.
The reason I completely like YOLOed and went to entrepreneurship is because like I can
make change quickly.
Like I can make decisions fast and this kind of stuff, the content, you know, we can put
together really quickly to provide like that support for our community.
Yeah, definitely.
I think all of this like really all boils down to like creating a community, right?

(01:20:03):
Even if it's online, I think the past few years, even like probably a few months before
the pandemic happened, I was able to like meet so many people online, right?
Both in healthcare, outside of healthcare.
But then you when you finally meet in person, it's like, whoa, like the community that we
can build online.
I mean, social media is such a scary world.

(01:20:24):
It can be such a scary world.
There's definitely lots of negativity about it, but there's also so many beautiful things
that can happen, right?
Things like disseminating sound information or having a community.
And I think that's one thing that the nursing beat does well, right?
Because like through sharing the newsletter, you find out more about other people and their
endeavors and their ventures.
And it just creates a sense of community, which is so important because I mean, especially

(01:20:48):
for a new grad, it can be so isolating, right?
Like working can be so isolating, especially working, I don't know, 12 hour shifts, especially
if you're working night shift.
It's like you're detached from your whole social circle.
And I think the sense of community is so vital in this profession.
I'm curious how you wish the nursing beat can contribute to the whole nursing community,

(01:21:12):
both online and outside of our phones and computers.
Yeah.
Like you said, I didn't realize the magnitude of online community really until I sort of
pivoted to the nursing beat and realized that there's so much opportunity and missed opportunity
still that we need to like latch onto for support for nurses.
But it is should be paired for sure with in-person.

(01:21:34):
And we've started to host in-person networking events, which have been amazing and like honestly
life changing to me.
Like you're going to come to one of them.
New York, come on.
The next one that's in your area.
We'll come to New York for sure.
But yeah, it's been, you know, like nothing takes away from being in person, right?

(01:21:57):
Like there's something about connecting with people and feeling their energy and feeling
the community that's like indescribable, but also we don't have time and there are like
millions of resources online and people you can really reach out to.
I am so impressed by the people like you and many other creators that I've met and nurses

(01:22:18):
who own businesses that are like really, I mean, you guys are like dedicating your life
to making sure that people have information and I feel heard and it shows through all
of your work and like that's what drives us to see that.
Like all we want to do is amplify it.
Like we're just a microphone.
Like it's all about you guys.
It's not about, you know, me or our team.

(01:22:40):
It's just so crazy the magnitude that media, whether it's social media or even through
an email or through a newsletter, it can be, right?
It's like the advance of the reach that, you know, you can reach people.
I think the nursing beat, right?
It's just so beautiful how there's so much information online, right?
And I think from online, because there's so much information, so much misinformation and

(01:23:03):
this information can also arise, right?
I mean, who has the time to go through 10 pages in Google to find what you really need,
right?
And from finding something, finding something that is like peer reviewed, something that
is off consensus.
And I think being able to amalgamate all of that into a daily newsletter, it's just, I

(01:23:25):
mean, that's what I love it, right?
And it's like with no flatter.
I'm just like, wow, this is, I wish I had this in nursing school and I wish people had
this when it's needed, right?
I wonder what's your goal for the newsletter in the years to come or goal in general, right?
Yeah, I want to be the largest resource for nurses, especially in the form of content

(01:23:46):
and news and amplification of voices.
100%, if I like close my eyes and 10 years from now, like we will be the voice that other
entities come to and we will help nurses be like the best that they can be given the crazy
circumstances that we're all in.

(01:24:07):
I think it starts with a newsletter and ends with community and I want to build the biggest
one.
Hi, nation.
Hi, world.
You heard it here first.
It's the biggest day, May 12, 2023.
Definitely amplifying all of that and the nursing experience, especially during nurse
this week, right?

(01:24:28):
It's just of utmost importance and it sounds so beautiful, right?
I mean, there's so many opportunities in nursing.
Again, like I said earlier, the feeling of just reward and privilege of caring for others,
but outside of that, there's really a lot of brokenness within the nursing profession,
right?
And nursing as a whole, the system as a whole, right?

(01:24:48):
I mean, definitely we've been battling things like patient ratios.
I mean, we've seen it in the strikes here in New York City and other states, even things
that talk about like physical injuries to nurses, from cancer family members or things
like low pay relative to the work that's done.

(01:25:09):
And so a lot of this like of brokenness, we've seen nurses go out in droves, right?
As the pandemic started, let's say there's a hopeful nursing student just listening now
or to the podcast episode in the future or either a pre-nursing student or a nursing
student or a new grad.
And the thing, all of this brokenness, which I think might exacerbate also in the years

(01:25:29):
to come unless change is done, right?
And they're wondering if they've done their stuff, if they feel this even worth it to
enter.
What would be your advice or word of encouragement or just words for that person?
I would say don't give up that being a new grad in general is so difficult, let alone

(01:25:53):
the circumstance that there are now.
Find support, find a mentor, build a community outside of your unit and system so that you
can start to think about what you really want to do.
Side nursing is like sort of the gold standard and the way that we chat about our profession,
but that is not it.

(01:26:14):
There are so many opportunities for you.
You may need to start there, but you do not have to end there.
It can literally be two years and you can pivot to other things.
I think finding good people and good mentors and not giving up.
Don't leave within a year.
Hold on tight.

(01:26:35):
And hopefully within that time, you can really begin to understand the impact that you will
have on people's lives no matter what type of nurse you are.
But you know what?
It's so cloudy to see it.
It's so cloudy.
And if you don't, I also get it.
If you want to give up, I get it.
I hear you.
What new grads face now is so different than any other sort of generation of nursing.

(01:26:59):
It's so unique.
I myself personally mentor a few new grads that I've followed with during nursing school
and they call me, they text me like, you know, whatever, midnight.
Like they did this, somebody did this.
What do I do?
And you need to find your person.
Like find your people to talk to.
It will help so much.
To that hopeful pre-nursing student who always wanted to be a nurse, I don't know, their

(01:27:21):
parents are nurses or a nurse when they were sick had such an impact on them and they're
wondering, is it even worth it?
What would be your answer to that?
100%.
It's 100% worth it.
But you also have to find, again, it goes back to like, you have to find what you love
within the profession too.

(01:27:42):
I will say this because I'm biased and I have to admit it.
I'm a calorie person.
I'm trying to be one.
So I come from heavy state regulations.
I come from like the hospital gets penalties for not giving me a break.
We have some of the highest pay rates.
Like I know I'm biased because of that.

(01:28:02):
And I know that what I've seen and then what I see happens out of state is shocking.
And hopefully states like, and again, it's not like a union conversation or whatever.
However we decide to solve this, we need to because when you go to certain states and
you see those nurses, they are much happier.

(01:28:23):
And they're much happier because we have ratios and we have lunch breaks and our pay is pretty
good.
And then you look at other states and you're like, no way.
So when I say this, this like this glimmer of hope I know comes from having an experience
where like a system did have my back to a certain degree.

(01:28:43):
Like obviously there were issues, but like even going to those systems to find it, whether
it's like academic institutions or different state, I think it's really important to see
the example of what it could be.
You know, it's just making me jealous of this whole California thing.
I don't know if I told you, but I was supposed to move like, my plan was 2020 and then, you

(01:29:05):
know, Ms. Rona happened.
So I got my California nursing license back in 2019.
So I was like, I am ready to move.
I am ready to move.
But then Rona happened and then I got sucked into the COVID ICUs and I was like, you know
what, change is coming.
Change is coming.
My auntie is a nurse in California.
I visited last week and she was telling me like, oh yeah, you know, this shift, I was

(01:29:29):
just the break nurse.
And I was like, a break nurse?
What are you talking about?
Like, she's like, yeah, I really need people in their break.
I know.
I was like, well, what kind of world is this?
It feels like a dystopian world of nursing.
I was like, I need to get on this.
So you'll see, you'll see me there soon.
San Diego, Los Angeles.

(01:29:49):
I'm so excited.
Well, I wanted to ask, you know, what's your plan for 2020?
I'm so excited, so excited.
We talked a lot about the beauty of nursing and also the brokenness in the system.
And your platform talks a lot about self care and mental health, right?
Which are very, very pertinent aspects, not just within the nursing profession, but just
humanity as a whole, right?

(01:30:10):
Amidst all of the stress, I mean, I know you, I can't imagine the amount of stress we've
gone through the past few years of working and going to school and then being the CEO
of the nursing beat.
How do you decompress that of all of this?
Oh man.
I think that there's like a few, again, a few answers to this.
Mental health first for the nursing beat is like so, so important for content.

(01:30:31):
It's like one of our brand pillars is mental health wellness because A, what we deal with,
just like take away all of the mess that is healthcare, like just what you see within patients,
the way that you're there for them, you know, like death, all of the craziness that goes
along with being a nurse or in the medical field is really hard.

(01:30:54):
And you do not get any moments to debrief them.
There's no time you move to the next patient and it catches up to you one day.
One day you wait, like for me, I bottled it up.
I'll be fully honest.
I just bottled it up because there was another shift and another patient and I never, this
has been the first year that I've actually been able to sit down and reflect on it.

(01:31:17):
And then I see all these nurses that have mental health organizations that have groups
that are supporting people.
And I'm like, I wish I had this 10 years ago, you know?
And if we, if the nursing beat can amplify those people already doing the like good work
in the community, that's really what it's about.
It's like providing platforms for people to really like come to terms with what they've

(01:31:41):
witnessed and debrief them.
And it does, I mean, entrepreneurship comes with its own mental health.
It's a 24 hour job too.
And you really need to stay on top of it.
Like you really need to set boundaries.
I think boundaries in general in life is such, so important.
And within nursing, it's really important too.

(01:32:02):
We do not have to be the nurse that picks up 16 hour shifts.
Like if it's between an extra paycheck and sleeping and like being whole the next day,
you know what I mean?
So yeah, there's so many good nurses doing great things in the community for mental health.
Our goal is to amplify them.
We have this notion that the gold standard is bedside.

(01:32:24):
But actually the truth is the gold standard is wherever you're happy, right?
Wherever you feel fulfilled and whole, like you said.
And I think the pandemic and everything that we've gone through showed the importance of
like self care, right?
And at the end of the day, it's like we need to remain like whole, right?

(01:32:45):
And I love that you and the nursing beat really gives their all to amplify all of that.
Tamara, you are such a boss.
Oh, please.
I feel so honored speaking to you today.
It was such a pleasure and I've learned so much.
And you know, it gives me so much hope, you know, for me and for the next generation of

(01:33:08):
nurses to actually have a platform, right?
Where they can take refuge in knowing that they're not alone and that there are resources
for them so that they can, you know, avoid mistakes and whichever aspect that is.
And to just have a community, right?
Where we can take refuge in and find probably a home in, right?

(01:33:33):
Amidst everything that happens.
There's so many nurses working so hard on the back end to make sure that the next generation
of nurses are fulfilled and happy and whole and it takes time.
But I mean, back to your question about the new grads, like just hold on.
Like it's not just the nursing beat.
Like there's thousands of nurses that literally are leaving the bedside and not leaving the

(01:33:56):
profession but like working on the system and it takes time.
And yeah, I close my eyes and five years from now, this is completely changed.
And we don't have to, you know, talk about like the disparity that it is now on this
nurses week.
Five years from now, I'm going to be on your IG live or no, not even two.
And we'll be on nurses week and we'll be talking about it'll be a different coverage.

(01:34:16):
And again, May 12, 2023, you heard it here first everybody.
The nursing beat.
It's such an honor.
Thank you so much again.
This is not the last time.
We'll definitely be.
It's been a pleasure.
Again, hello, whoever's listening.
New York City.
Nice to meet you.
Next on the list, we're slowly getting there.
I'm waiting.

(01:34:38):
I'm waiting.
We're slowly getting there.
Tamara, thank you so much.
Have a great rest of the day.
Bye.
Thank you so much, Chris.
Thank you.

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