DaneFaden

I love that! I'm hoping the same. Strong work, sir!

I'm 47 and finally working on nursing school. I took a lot of heckling in high school and decided other paths, yet all my life, shy of maybe three years, I've been in healthcare in one form or another. Finally I said, "The kids are older, it's now or never!" My wife, a RN of 25 years, is very proud of me, mentor, and one of my greatest supporters. Congratulations on your path! Enjoy every step of the journey!

I'm not a nurse yet, but working on it. I'm also almost 50, so I've got some years of life and work experience under my belt. My stories may or may not pertain, but maybe there will be some takeaways from my ramblings. I teach a few things, like Reiki, Hunter Safety Education, and a bit of firearms, so there are varying degrees of pressure and nerves. When I decided to start teaching, I doubted myself and thought, "I'm no teacher, my mom the teacher of 45+ years is!" Then one day I took a class with a massage therapist mentor of mine. During a Swedish Myofascial class, he started by saying, "Who am I to be teaching you?!" He continued with speaking of doubt, then adding, "I decided if I didn't start teaching now I never would." I take that with me every class I teach or those I take under my wing. Mentors are becoming a rare thing; quality mentors difficult to find good matches with new "sponges". Years ago while supervising a veterinary hospital I met a young lady, just turned 18, and proved me wrong about youth and dedication. I taught her how to take radiographs of various animals, anesthetized and awake, pre and post surgery, with and without gas anesthesia attached, etc. Years later I was honored twice when she thanked me in person for teaching her and then years after in a post when she was leaving veterinary medicine stating how important my teaching meant to her, building her confidence. and how she passed it on. That last part is very important to not thin out the well and dilute experiences before all seasoned mentors are lost. I've had "nervous nellies" on the range, first time with firearms, that when they realized the fear of the unknown was the only thing holding them back, and how it built their confidence in general and how great they felt overcoming insecurities, made it all seem worth it. And last story, I'm a new Chief Instructor taking over for a 93yo military veteran who's been teaching Hunter ED for 63 years. No pressure! For each time I look like a beat dog after a class that doesn't go as planned, he calls me on it and tells me, "Not every class or thing in life goes as planned. You work with it, learn, and go at it again," with an added shoulder shrug like "what can ya do?". The best time to do anything is when we think we aren't ready; when we step out of our comfort zone, THAT is when we grow. Point of my stories is medicine is a practice. Teaching is a practice. Mentorship is a practice. Even experts have to practice! If your heart is in the right place, and you have people actively wanting to learn and work WITH you, you've earned their respect and your leadership, and most of all act justly and truthfully, then you've succeeded. Failure is success as well, so long as you learn from it. Keep on keepin' on!

Sadly, this is becoming commonplace. On occasion I've reached out to these people and explained the negative implications of their actions, especially when they beg for new hires. Obviously I get no response, but I also don't return to their job postings nor do I refer them to friends or family.