>>Maya: For the next couple of weeks, we're going to be taking a road trip on this big green RV from South Florida all the way up to North Florida.

>>Adrianna: Interviewing different nurses and learning about >>Maya: all the possibilities there are in nursing.

>>Logan: Getting to talk to people who are doing the work and experience what it's like.

>>Maya: We're currently in nursing school.

What's next?

Finding that job, finding that position.

>>Sylvia: The journey is not about finding yourself.

It's about creating yourself.

>>Narrator: How do I know which path is best for me?

Is it possible to take on these challenges and obstacles?

Where do I even start?

What should I do with my life?

Sometimes, the only way to find out is to go see what's possible Since 2001, we've been sharing the stories of people who ventured out and explored different career paths and different possibilities for their futures.

This is one of those stories.

This is Roadtrip Nation.

>> Maya: So for the next couple of weeks, we're going to be taking a road trip on this big green RV from South Florida all the way up to North Florida.

>> Adrianna: Interviewing different nurses and learning about all the possibilities there are in nursing.

>> Logan: Getting to talk to people who are actually in the trenches doing the work and experience what it's like in the real world as nurses and maybe it'll give us some insight as to what we want to do in the future.

[music] >> Logan: There it is, big green RV.

[music] >> Logan: Hi.

Hi, it's so good to see you.

>> Adrianna: Nice to see you [laugh] >> Logan: There it is.

>> Adrianna: Yes.

>> Logan: Let's do it.

>> Adrianna: This is our home for the next three weeks, Logan.

>> Logan: I know, I know.

>> Adrianna: When am I ever going to have this opportunity again to go on an RV, and be with people that I've never met before, and just meet nurses and learn about their career paths?

>> Maya: I only brought a travel pillow.

I was like, I'll be okay.

>> Adrianna: Yeah, and you're gonna “regwet” bringing just a neck.

>> Maya: “Regwet” [laugh] You're gonna regret.

>> Logan: Adrianna and Maya, they actually knew each other previously to this.

Is that something that they're going to talk about?

>> Adrianna: Okay, so I'm going to start off with Logan.

We don't talk about Maya [laugh] >> Maya: Well some backstory.

I know Adrianna because we go to school together.

>> Adrianna: We're in the same cohort [laugh] We're also Sorority sisters.

This is a lot, [laugh].

Maya, technically, you don't need all that space.

>> Maya: No, I >> Adrianna: Yeah because this you don't [laugh] >> Logan: She said, I need that space.

>> Adrianna: We're so happy we're going to be on this road trip together.

And Logan is so sweet, understanding, and he's so nice.

>> Logan: Honestly, the whole trip is going to be so much fun.

[music] >> Adrianna: Me and the other Roadtrippers, we're currently in nursing school.

>> Maya: There's a million things that we have to do.

I'm literally writing an undergraduate thesis right now.

Don't ask me how much I've done.

>> Logan: I've got a test on Monday.

I've got go to back and take it in person.

>> Adrianna: Have you started studying [laugh]?

>> Maya: No, you're so >> Logan: A littlereal for that.

I'm so happy, we're all on the same page.

>> Adrianna: Just think about the sleep after you find out you passed, that's what keeps us going.

>> Logan: That sounds awful [all laugh] >> Maya: Ready to get the show on the road.

>> Logan: Let's do it.

>> Adrianna: So we are interviewing nurses on this road trip.

>> Maya: Meeting people that are passionate in what they do and can share what keeps them going.

>> Adrianna: There's more to nursing than what we know, so yeah, I'm so excited.

Okay.

Somebody's watching me [laugh].

I forgot you guys are not editing this.

Hello, my name's Adrianna, I'm 21 years old.

I come from a very cultural background.

I'm Haitian American.

Welcome to my Caribbean household, where we have an avocado tree here, a plantain tree here.

I come from a big family.

I'm the second oldest of seven, and this is my aunt and uncle.

She's a nurse, she's the one that brought me into the healthcare field, and my late grandma, she always knew that I love to help people and take care of people.

And I got it from her.

I see the statistics that comes with minorities and birth rates, and they're very low.

So I want to be the change one day, to make a difference in the world along that path.

Once I graduate in May, I'll have my bachelor's in nursing.

So that's just like the generic.

And then I can further my education and get that higher degree in a concentration, and my concentration will be women's health.

I do see myself maybe owning my own practice, maybe not.

I'm currently a nurse extern on a med-surg unit.

Eventually I have to put on my big girl pants and become a real nurse.

My biggest fear is once I get into that field 15 years from now, am I still going to have that spark, or is it going to die down and I switch paths?

[music] >> Logan: We very much have these set expectations of this is what a nurse does.

But there's so many other aspects.

>> Maya: There's so many different careers within nursing.

This road trip will be really helpful.

>> Logan: Especially because soon it's going to be us.

We're going to be out in the real world.

So it's kind of exciting.

>> Adrianna: Today we are interviewing Nurse Blanca at Memorial Regional Hospital down here in Hollywood.

>> Logan: Florida.

>> Adrianna: [laugh] Sorry.

[music] >> Blanca: Hey.

>> Maya: Hello.

>> Blanca: How are you!

>> Maya: Nice meeting you.

>> Blanca: Blanca, nice to meet you.

>> Adrianna: My name is Adrianna, I'm a fourth semester nursing student.

I am interested in labor and delivery, women's health, so >> Blanca: How exciting.

I'm so excited, so excited.

>> Blanca: So my name is Blanca, I have been here for about seven and a half years.

My first degree is in psychology, a master's degree in clinical psychology.

I did that for about 12 years, and then I had children.

It was constant pondering for those first two years as to whether I wanted to go back into psych or wanted to challenge myself and do something else.

And my husband was like, you should think about nursing.

I was like, no, no, no.

And the more I thought about it I was like actually it's actually a natural move, I'll still be with people, I'll still be in healthcare.

So, yeah, I started off as a nurse in labor and delivery.

I did operating room, obstetrical emergency room, and then I have been a clinical manager here for about a year.

>> Logan: It's not a competition, but I got it done first, so.

>> Adrianna: What qualities and skills do you think we should have coming into this job?

>> Blanca: I think the qualities of nursing in general applies.

You have to be compassionate, you have to be patient.

And you have to understand that even though labor and delivery is usually a fun and exciting time, it's also scary.

So you have to be empathic for that family's experience and understand that it's a lot of times, the first time a mom steps into a hospital.

So understand that some of their anxieties that they didn't even realize they had are going to come out.

And you just have to be understanding, you have to be patient, and you have to treat the family.

You treat them all because they impact her process.

>> Logan: How is it being a mom because to be honest, I have no kids and I have no responsibilities.

And I'm already stressed out, like I stay consistently baseline stress, >> Maya: We were talking aboutly this yesterday.baseline stress, especially in nursing school.

Nursing school is such a >> Blanca: Absolutely.

>> Logan: well known for being a stressful, hard thing to do.

>> Blanca: It was.

>> Logan: How did you do it?

What advice would you give?

>> Blanca: Well, I think my kids trained me because I had to learn time management with them.

>> Maya: Yeah.

>> Logan: Okay.

>> Blanca: So I got to nursing school I was like, I don't have the luxury of a whole day off to study, so it's all about time management.

My calendar is everything to me [laugh] >> Maya: As we know, nursing days are long, 12 hour shifts.

It's nice because you get the three days on and four days off, right?

But how would you say that your work-life balance is being that those three days and having a family, you're gone for most of the day.

You leave early and you come home late.

>> Blanca: For me, it's great because I don't have to take time off of my job for dentist appointments and doctor's appointments, because I schedule it accordingly.

So to me, I feel like in nursing that kind of helps I think.

I would have a hard time working eight to five.

>> Maya: I was about to say that.

I never thought about that.

>> Blanca: Yeah, so I think that's a plus.

You want to go have lunch with your girlfriend, you can do that because you have days off.

>> Adrianna: Coming from a Haitian background, I feel like that's one of the reasons why I chose nursing.

We're a community where we're always helping each other.

So I do know you're from Nicaragua, right?

>> Blanca: I am.

>> Adrianna: Do you feel your cultural identity has shaped your way of caring for your patients or any way?

>> Blanca: I think so, I come from big family oriented.

So that was very natural to me, is caring and to look at not just your patient, but the family as a whole.

So definitely I think that my culture and my background of being family-oriented has helped me because I don't see them as just one person.

Also, from leadership to our nurses on the floor to the physicians we work with, it's truly a family.

>> Maya: Do you see yourself going back to school?

>> Blanca: Maybe, yeah.

I just haven't figured out what I want to be when I grow up.

>> [all laugh] >> Adrianna: So real.

>> Logan: I guess it's one of those things that it's nice to have all those options, but it's also scar>> Blanca: Scary, have all those optionabsolutely.

>> Maya: There's too many choices.

>> Blanca: So many choices.

>> Maya: When you're a nurse, you can do whatever unit.

>> Blanca: Yes.

>> Maya: You can move wherever you want in the country, you can go back to school.

You don't have to go back to school, you can go into leadership.

I'm losing my mind.

>> Blanca: I know [laugh].

There's so many options in nursing.

>> Adrianna: Yeah, so many.

>> Blanca: So if you start off in an area that maybe it's not your favorite, you can always move.

So don't give up, keep going.

>> Adrianna: I definitely see myself working for them.

It really solidified my passion for women's health.

She has a big family.

We're both from the islands.

My gosh, if I could be so inspired by this first interview, and this is only the first, imagine how the other interviews are going to leave an impact on me.

[music] >> Logan: I feel like I connected with Blanca, that this was her second career because I started my career in the marketing sales world.

And it's scary changing careers, but it's nice to hear that, that you're never too late to go back and do something new, something different.

[music] >> Logan: So I'm currently a second degree seeeking BSN nursing student.

I enjoy spending time with my family and my husband, who's a doctor, my pets, I have two cats.

I love cooking.

Quiche Lorraine, which is what this is.

It's just a super common French recipe, and it tastes good.

I like it.

So I grew up in central Georgia.

I had a great childhood.

My dad worked as an engineer and my mom was a nurse.

That's when you were cute.

[laugh] >> Dale: It didn't last very long.

[laugh] >> Logan: You were too much of a keeper.

>> Dale: I guess so, I guess so.

>> Logan: Aw, cute.

I was very close with my mom.

She unfortunately passed away a little over ten years ago, after a long history of battling breast cancer and a couple other different types.

That was really difficult, but I got to see my dad care for my mom as she slowly declined.

Right at the end, there was a point where my mom needed to have morphine given through a syringe into her mouth.

The nurse came and she showed us how to do it.

And I just remember seeing my dad saying, I can't do this.

I just, I can't, but he did.

He took on that caregiver role, and in that moment, it made me realize just maybe caring for people and helping them get better or even just helping them get through the worst point of their lives is something that I could see myself doing.

You showed me what nursing was about.

You acted as a nurse for so long, and it never occurred to me before.

Because you did take, you took care of mom.

>> Dale: It's a caretaker.

>> Logan: It's a caretaker, yeah.

And you were so instrumental in me choosing to do nursing.

I know, I know.

I just, I really hope that I can live up to the legacy of not only my mom but also to my dad and make a positive difference in the world.

I just hope to make them proud.

[music] >> Logan: So I'm hoping that all of the interviews can help me narrow down what I want to do within this field because I have no idea what I want to do [laugh].

Today, we're going to speak with Tracy Penny, who is a volunteer nurse at Shepherd's Hope Clinic in Winter Garden, Florida.

>> Tracy: So I get to see a lot of good things at Shepherd's Hope.

I see a lot of interesting things.

We had this lady come in and nobody could figure out what was wrong with her knee, she had been itching and itching, and they just kept saying, it's just a vein.

And it turns out she had a worm in her knee.

She gardens on her knees, and she got a larva through her skin, and it hatched, and you could see the worm.

>> Adrianna: That is crazy.

>> Tracy: Crazy, so it's really incredible what we see come in there.

>> Logan: Yeah, so can you tell us a little about what is Shepherd's Hope?

>> Tracy: Shepherd's Hope is a community health center for the uninsured.

So when I was looking for things to do in nursing, I wanted to give back because just because you don't have insurance doesn't mean you're not eligible or qualified to get health care.

>> Maya: At what point in your nursing career did you feel like, I got this?

>> Tracy: I would say probably 10 years in.

>> Maya: 10 years in.

>> Adrianna: Wow.

>> Maya: I'm not surprised by that.

I'm honestly not.

>> Tracy: But knew a lot after my first year.

I've done CVICU, oncology, I've done pediatrics.

>> Logan: That's a long list already.

>> Tracy: The health department, I've done home health care, community health care.

If you name it, I've done it.

>> Logan: I mean, you mentioned some really interesting cases.

Has there ever been a particular patient or interaction that you have that just really solidified your love for nursing or particularly working with this organization that just really spoke to you.

>> Tracy: Yes, my son was a competitive skateboarder and he was put on Oxycontin, so he became addicted to it.

So, he went to a rehab facility and he ended up overdosing and passing away.

>> Maya: I'm sorry to hear t>> Adrianna: I'm so sorry.

>> Tracy: Thank you but my point of this is it's 12 years later, and I'm able to talk about what I know to all these men that come in with all this knowledge that I have about drug use because I studied it, I took my CEUs on it.

I hope that by hearing my story they don't go out and overdose so that I don't read about another addict dying.

To say, hey, this doesn't have to be your past anymore.

>> Logan: That's amazing.

The fact that you were able to turn such a negative experience into a positive one.

That's just amazing.

It's amazing.

What would you want to do to inspire the next set of nurses that want to leave that lasting impression, that want to persevere?

What advice would you give?

>> Tracy: Just remember that the patient is the most important thing.

And if they tell you something's wrong, believe them.

You guys are going to be great nurses, I can already tell.

But community-centered healthcare is a great way to go too if you have any free time.

Even if it's one day a month, you might see some interesting things like that worm in the knee.

>> Logan: I'm never going to forget the worm in the knee.

>> Maya: No, literally.

[music] >> Logan: The fact that she uses her son's death to teach others to prevent that is very inspiring.

>> Adrianna: I definitely see myself doing some community healthcare work.

>> Logan: You think so?

>> Adrianna: Yeah.

>> Logan: It was never something I considered.

>> Adrianna: I didn't even know this was a thing.

>> Tracy: And what are you going to do?

>> Logan: That's a good question.

I don't know yet [laugh].

>> Tracy: You are so funny.

>> Logan: What?

>> Tracy: You would do well with patients that you can talk to, so not ICU or not CCD-ICU.

Something in a surgical ward where you are having day-to-day talking to your patient.

Yeah, you would do well with that.

>> Logan: Cool, okay, I'll keep that in mind.

>> Tracy: Be your patient's advocate because you may be their only voice.

>> Logan: Thank you.

>> Tracy: I can't wait to see where you fall.

>> Logan: Same, I'm still very excited to figure that out myself.

[music] >> Logan: I've been studying on the road trip.

[laugh] I'm still in school currently.

It's fun studying on the road.

Yeah, it's not fun, I hate studying.

I actually have a test coming up that I have to study for.

>> Adrianna: Me and the other Roadtrippers we're trying to balance our last semesters in nursing, trying to solidify that postgrad job.

>> Logan: Just trying to keep up with everything that is going on with school as well.

>> Maya: It's going to be on our right, so get in the right lane.

>> Adrianna: We did our late night games.

Logan brought this game from his home.

It's called phase 10.

Do I know how to play it now?

No.

Will I play it again?

No.

>> Logan: Two sets of three, which could be three sevens, three tens, whatever, they can be any of the colors.

>> Adrianna: It's just too many rules, like too many steps.

And I feel like Logan's a cheater, he's good at everything, so please, I don't want to play with him no more [laugh] I don't want to play with him no more, I'm done [laugh].

>> Maya: Wait, I got this.

Did I win yet?

>> Logan: Put down that, no, get rid of those.

>> Maya: Can I play these ones?

>> Logan: Play them on top of it.

Could we imagine working together?

>> Adrianna: On the same unit?

>> Maya: Yeah.

>> Adrianna: I could see it.

>> Logan: Y'all would be separated like that, these two, no.

>> Maya: Immediately.

>> Adrianna: Everything would be a two-person job.

>> Logan: Two-person assist, I can ambulate on my own, no you can't [laugh].

We're about to talk to two people who took their experiences in nursing and turned them into businesses.

>> Adrianna: So we are in interviewing Craig Jorden.

He's a psych mental health nurse practitioner with his own practice, Recovery From Society.

>> Logan: And we're speaking with Sylvia Walker.

She went from a bedside nurse to a nurse manager, then she was on the corporate side for a little bit.

>> Adrianna: Ms.

Sylvia's brand is NAIWBE, Natural As I Wanna Be.

All her products are natural and organic.

She started this because of her own eczema.

And they're creating these products so patients feel better about themselves, feel beautiful in their most vulnerable state at the hospital.

She's still making an impact.

>> Sylvia: I love people, so I knew that I would always work in a field that I would serve others, I knew that much.

But I really didn't know what was my true passion.

And so ICU, I did do a little bit of that.

But when I was a young nurse, because of my eczema, they didn't have latex-free gloves back then.

So that's why when I got into skin care, I knew that I wanted to do something totally different.

>> Logan: Can you tell us a little bit of history about you, what you do?

>> Craig: So how I got here, I worked in patient psych at a hospital for two years and I also worked inpatient facility as well, too.

So I learned a lot inpatient psych, and I loved inpatient psych because it was so exciting.

It was just the adrenaline and not knowing what you're going to get into.

>> Sylvia: I took some extra chemistry classes, graduate school.

I took some additional courses.

So I took that leap of faith.

I just really wanted to do something that would not only help me, but help other people.

Also, patients in hospitals, especially women of color, don't have access to products that work for us.

And so they say, you're doing something that nobody's doing [laugh].

>> Maya: Why did you transition from bedside to then wanting to have your own practice?

>> Craig: So inpatient, I would say, gave me that trajectory to start my own practice because I was seeing a lot of the clients when they were discharged from the hospital, they didn't have the proper care to follow up with psychiatrists.

Or a lot of the clients could not receive that quality of care for, because they did not have the proper insurance.

So I figured the biggest thing to making a difference and to change the lives of members of the community would be to open a a private practice that would accept all insurance companies.

So my typical day, mostly medication management, psychotherapy, and I also provide medication management for clients in the group home.

So for at-risk youth in the community, that's the underserved population.

So I have a passion for the youth right now.

>> Logan: Thank you.

>> Maya: Thank you.

>> Adrianna: Thank you.

>> Sylvia: So this is a facial cleanser.

>> Logan: I love it.

>> Sylvia: And this is a beard oil.

>> Logan: Ooh.

>> Maya: Look, my hands aren't oily, they're just soft.

>> Sylvia: And especially, to being a nurse, after you wash your hands, apply a little bit, and then they keep you moisturized all day.

It's a sleeping cap, actually.

>> Maya: Sleeping, you forgot yours.

>> Adrianna: [scream] Thank you [laugh] >> Maya: Last night >> Adrianna: I was like, we have to stop somewhere I need a bonnet [laugh] >> Sylvia: You know, skin care, it's not trendy.

It's a necessity.

It's your largest organ [laugh].

>> Adrianna: Within your business, on rough days, how did you push yourself to keep going?

Because I know that as a Black woman, starting a business on your own is not always easy.

So how did you keep going?

>> Sylvia: Definitely, as a Black woman, even today, as you know, still less than 3% of Black >> Adrianna: Exactly.t investors and make it to that next level, mid-level.

People will say you can't do it.

Don't be afraid.

The key really is don't be afraid to venture out and do anything.

And always listen to that inner voice first.

That'll let you know if you're going down the right path.

>> Craig: And the business side of it, we're not taught business anything in nursing schools.

>> Adrianna: Exactly, even when I Google it, I don't find nothing.

>> Craig: Yeah, Google will send you in a rabbit hole.

>> Adrianna: [laugh].

>> Craig: ChatGPT will send you in a rabbit hole.

So definitely, starting with the SWOT analysis, looking at the market, looking at the demographic you would like to treat and also grind six, seven days a week, make it work.

>> Sylvia: And remember all three of you that life and the journey is not about finding yourself.

It's about creating yourself.

The you that you want to be.

Each chapter of your life is a stepping stone in your journey.

So what I did when I was a nurse are things that I had to do at that stage of my life for me to get where I am now.

You may start in one place in nursing but you may end up somewhere else, but you're still in nursing.

You may end up further than your mind you could ever dream possible.

>> Adrianna: You're making such a huge impact in everyone's lives.

I'm moved right now.

And I feel like I could take on the world when I leave here.

So thank you [laugh].

>> Logan: We're almost halfway through.

>> Maya: We're almost done.

And I can't believe it's going fast, very fast.

>> Logan: Just like nursing school?

>> Maya: Yes, just like nursing school.

>> Adrianna: I'm not going to lie, this is my first time staying in an RV, and it's not as bad as I expected.

>> Logan: No.

>> Maya: But it's also fun.

It's like a sleepover every day.

>> Adrianna: Literally.

>> Maya: Like me and Nana will be in there giggling.

[music] >> Adrianna: If I, well when I, not if, when I do have my own practice, I do want to just make a difference, help women and children.

Sounds great to me [laugh].

>> Logan: Hopefully, at the end of this trip, it'll kind of help me narrow down what I want to do within this field.

>> Maya: I would say that with the next nursing leaders, the things that I want to know most is what keeps them going, because my biggest fear about being a nurse would just be experiencing burnout.

I'm excited to see what people I meet and where this journey goes next.

[music] >>Adrianna: On this road trip, we are traveling across Florida, >>Logan: in a big green RV.

>>Adrianna: Interviewing different nurses.

>>Maya: And learning about all the possibilities there are in nursing.

>>Logan: Because soon it's gonna be us.

We're gonna be out in the real world.

>> Maya: My biggest fear about being a nurse would just be experiencing burnout.

>>Adrianna: Once I get into that field, am I still gonna have that spark?

>>Sarah: Everyone always says there's nothing worth doing in life that isn't hard, but don't give up.

Keep going.

Wondering what to do with your life?

Well we've been there and we're here to help Our website has some awesome tools to help you find your path And you can check out all our documentaries, interviews and more Start exploring at roadtripnation.com