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Spending time with Luisa Carvajal, GN, was a real treat. She job shadowed me for the day to learn what Faith Community Nurses do. In the course of the day, we talked about her plans, her new job, her hopes and her concerns. Q: As you start your career, what would you like to say to all other nurses? A: We all had to start here. At some point we were all a Student Nurse and a Graduate Nurse. I know it’s tough to be patient. I know it has to be difficult but you also had to learn. I hope you are ready to put life into the next generation of nursing, to invest in us. Every day is what we make it together. I know that we have frustrations. Our patients are at their most vulnerable. We focus on the best parts as well as we can. Indeed we are messing with people’s lives. They will reciprocate the attitudes they see in us. Q: What made you want to go into nursing? A: A big reason was my grandmother who died from pancreatic cancer when I was in middle school. Because I had to help serve as translator for my family, I had to ask more questions so I could explain it and by doing that I got very interested in medicine in general and in nursing in particular. That was the big reason. I really just wanted to make a difference in patients’ lives just like the nurses made in my life. I also felt like God was calling me into nursing with my personality and the gifts he has given me. Not too long ago I came across an essay that I wrote for a ninth grade assignment. In it, I talked about going to ETSU the college that I graduate from! Q: You are from the country of Columbia. How did your family get here? A: We were able to do it the legal way, by getting a sponsor and visas through my grandmother’s citizenship. My mother and my two brothers all came. I was very young when I came. I started pre-school here and became a citizen while young. My mother worked all the time while I was little—several jobs. My grandmother was the one that took care of me. It was very hard—still is very hard— to lose her. Her illness made me want to be a nurse so I could take care of others the way those nurses took care of my grandmother and of me. Q: What frustrations do you anticipate as you start out in nursing? A: I guess the hardest thing is the biases that come with patients. By that I mean when people call the patient by their diagnosis not their name. I see things in practice that are not the way we are trained or the way we learn to do things. We can become jaded, tired and I understand but there is so much more to people than a diagnosis or a label. I hope I can keep my perspective and try hard to see patients as people who need help and not just a diagnosis. That’s a hard thing for me. Q: What do you really love about nursing at this point? A: I love the patient interaction. Our patients are at their most vulnerable time and we are the people that they can depend on; we can be the shoulder they cry on; someone they can turn to. I enjoy being with the patients and being able to do something, to help. Sometimes that means just listening and letting them vent. I also love all the opportunities that we have as nurses. With a BSN we can do so much! This is one of those fields where you are never completely “stuck.” We have so many options: there is inpatient, administration, community, even policy. In fact, I got to go to Washington, D.C. recently! Q: What did you do in Washington? A: I got to talk with our representatives. We went as part of the advocacy for Title VIII with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). Our school sends faculty and one or two students each year to inform our senators and representatives of the importance of continuing to fund Title VIII which helps nurses who want to further their education. It provides for Nursing Education Loan Repayment and Nursing Scholarship Programs. We were also asking our representatives and senators to consider increasing funding for NIH research for nurses. I was there for 3 days and was privileged to meet with Senator Lamar Alexander, with an aide for Senator Marsha Blackburn and Representative Roe. It opened my eyes to a whole new field of nursing! Who knew? Q: You seem to have such a bubbly, happy spirit. What is your goal as you start your career? A: My goal is to go in every day with a smile. I appreciate being able to have this career and I am excited to start my new job. Nurses: welcome your new colleague!
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In this interview, ICU nurse and social media influencer Maddi Flanagan shares her journey from documenting her ICU experiences on Instagram to becoming a leading voice in nursing education. Maddi discusses how her initial blog evolved into a platform dedicated to supporting new grads and providing valuable educational content. She offers insights on balancing a full-time nursing career with a growing social media presence and how her work with organizations like AACN has shaped her professional development. Discover how Maddi's experiences can guide your own nursing journey, whether you're navigating new challenges, seeking educational resources, or exploring career growth opportunities. Exclusive Interview with Nurse Maddi allnurses: All right, let's start with your name and your organization. Maddi: My name is Maddi Flanagan. I am an ICU nurse in San Diego, California. allnurses: Talk to me about your social media presence. You have a pretty big following. Is it just on Instagram, or are you on other platforms as well? How did you decide to go all in and pursue this? Maddi: Instagram, I would say is my main source. I do dabble with TikTok, and recently, as of last week, I decided to jump into YouTube and started doing vlogs there. I originally started back in 2018 — I had just transitioned from being a tele-neuro nurse and had been accepted into the ICU residency program, so at that time, on my page, I started a blog. Then, on Instagram, I just started posting information about my transition and started sharing what it was like, the content that I was learning, the educational topics, and I slowly transitioned my page into a nursing education page. After about a year, I decided that new grads are my jam, and this is who I want to teach. New grads are just so excited to learn, and I really wanted to pave the way for them because I feel like when I transitioned, I didn't really have anyone to look for or look to. So I did that, and I stuck with Instagram for many years and just started doing education stuff. At first, I did not plan to make it an influencer account. I was just doing it strictly to time mark what was happening in my life, as well as put some education out there, and keeping all the friends I've had from high school and family that was following, keeping them up to date with my journey. And then, yeah, people just ended up liking it and asking for more content, and before I knew it, yeah, this is what I'm doing now. allnurses: As far as nursing education goes, what does that content look like? Are you doing demonstrations? Tell us more about that. Maddi: I've tried a little bit of everything. The biggest things that I stuck with are: I used to do a lot of medication education. I would take a photo of a medication or something at work and then either make a post about what that medication was, or on my stories, I would do pop quizzes. Every week, I would put up different medications or equipment and ask my followers, "What is this?” They could interact, and then about 24 hours later, I would jump on and provide the answer. I had a podcast for about two years called "Life and Scrubs Podcast," and we had episodes every week. Most of those questions were originally questions I was receiving in my DMs. I noticed that I was getting the same questions from people over and over again, like, "What items do I need for clinicals?" or "How can I pick a specialty?" or "What are the things I need as a new grad?" I kept seeing these same questions. Finally, as I was typing a lot of the same things, I thought I should make a podcast of all these questions and answer them all. So, I did that for a couple of years. Then, in the past year or two, I transitioned more to a lifestyle focus. Now, I do a lot of "days in the life of a nurse," "days off as a nurse," and "how to enjoy your days off." allnurses: That's great. So, you have a partnership with AACN. How did that come about? Second, do you have other partnerships, and how do you find those? Maddi: Yeah, so AACN reached out to me a couple of years ago. They were starting an influencer partnership with their marketing team. Originally, I attended the virtual NTI—this was three years ago—and they were looking to promote it more. They wanted me to tell my coworkers and followers about the virtual option. This was coming after COVID, so I think everything was trying to revamp again. So, yeah, they just reached out, and we chatted about stuff. Most companies that you do partnerships with in the influencer world, there's usually a contract, different deliverables, and those are things that you can negotiate. Everything I do, as far as partnerships, are things that I've truly either tried, been a part of, or absolutely represent. I worked with them for that first year for the virtual, and then they reached back out after that and said, "Next year, we're gonna do an in-person. It's going to be a couple of you”—there were three of us—and yeah, we were able to come out and experience that in person in Philadelphia. allnurses: At NTI, are you doing any sessions? Are you guys talking to anyone or sharing your experience? Maddi: Yeah, last year in Philly, we did daily recaps of the day; it was Facebook Lives. That was me and one of the other influencers, and that was recorded. So we did stuff like that. We do a lot of pre-conference posts, as well as interviews. This year, one of the other gals, her name is Diane, attended the very first NTI 50 years ago—so we did a little recap. We had an interview a couple of months ago and then had an interview here, just tying it all together. But yeah, most of it is either pre-conference or during the conference, and then we do a recap. It's a lot of talking about my personal experience attending NTI. Why I feel it's important for my career and being a critical care nurse—I got certified this past year with my CCRN, getting my CEUs, and just really supporting AACN. I already supported this organization before and on the outside, so having the opportunity to support them from the inside has been great. Your question about working with other brands, they come in different ways. Sometimes, if there's a company that I absolutely love and think a lot of my followers would really enjoy, I will reach out to them. Most of the time, the company will reach out to me and say, "Hey, this is what we had in mind for XYZ. Is this something you'd be interested in? Let's chat." So, I have a longstanding partnership with Figs, the scrub company. I'd say that's my biggest one. I also have a couple of other ones that I work with. allnurses: What are some of the challenges that you've faced as a big influencer in the nursing world? Maddi: I would say the time commitment is one. I still work full time, so I wouldn't say it's a hard job, but it is definitely time-consuming. I like to be intentional with the content that I'm putting out, so I'd say that it's challenging—just balancing that with life. I think each stage has different challenges. So, when I first started, it was everyone, you know, saying, "What are you doing?" "What, like that's so embarrassing?" and this and that. Mentally, it was like, "Okay, you just have to do this. This is something I want to do. This is something I'm passionate about. I just need to do it and not care what other people think." Because there are people out there who are genuinely looking for this type of content, that was a challenge in the beginning. Then, figuring out what your niche is, is kind of challenging as well. The social media world is always changing, and what might have been cool last week is not cool this week. So, just trying to stay up with the trends. Then, I would also say, just people in general, just the comments you can get. I've been very fortunate with my account, that it's pretty happy, lifestyle-type nursing, and I don't get too many negative comments. There are definitely people—there's always going to be those people—but I think just criticism in general can be hard. allnurses: Yeah, and I don't know if I've said it, but I was always told never to read the comments—never read the comments. You could post a picture of a puppy playing with a ball, and someone would have something bad to say. So, you have to ignore that stuff. Maddi: Yeah, well, you know, the saying. It's like, you could be the best looking avocado, and someone's still going to hate avocados. allnurses: Absolutely. Have you faced any opposition from management or other nurses? Maddi: I would say I've been fortunate. I'm pretty upfront; I've worked at two different hospitals and was very upfront with my management team and everyone there. Being very clear that I will not be recording when I'm on the clock. I would never put patient information—no HIPAA. Everything I do is for educational purposes. I've been very fortunate that at both hospitals I've worked at, my managers have been very supportive. I just make sure that it doesn't ever interfere with the actual care I'm providing or my work time. I do know friends who have had issues in the social media world because their managers were not supportive. allnurses: What have you learned about the business side of nursing from trade shows, partnerships, and that aspect of it? Maddi: Definitely more on how to advocate for yourself as a nurse. I think I've learned a lot of that through social media and meeting people from different parts of the country. Getting outside of what you know in your hospital and having social media, and having all these pay transparency posts, and you know, this is what we're dealing with with our breaks over here and, and getting to learn more about other hospital systems, what other nurses are going through —that's been eye-opening for me. I would definitely say a benefit to the social media side is getting to meet other people and learn about how I can take those experiences and put them in my day to day work. allnurses: That leads to my next question — what are the most rewarding aspects of being a known influencer? Maddi: I would say getting the opportunities to meet people, opportunities just like this. When I started this page years ago, I never thought that all these opportunities would come. I believe that it's helped me professionally, especially things like this, interviews and getting to talk to people and be more personable. It got me outside my bubble, which I think translated at work. I felt like I was able to connect with patients more; I was able to understand where they're from and their stories because I'm able to do that through social media. Then, I would also say learning more about nursing and the different types of nursing. I went straight out of high school to nursing school and graduated early. I was like, this is what I want to do; this is my one thing. Then, through social media, I was able to learn, "Oh, my gosh, there's outpatient nursing, there's home health nursing." There are so many different types of nursing that you're not taught about in nursing school, and until someone's in that specialty and you're learning about it from them, it's hard to know about it otherwise. allnurses: Do you have any advice for aspiring nurses who want to be influencers and grow on social media? Maddi: Do it for the right reasons; have and know what your "why" is for starting it. You could just start it, but I would say it's not going to be as fulfilling, and you might not be as successful if you go into it just for the fame or the glitz of it. The most influential people I know who are successful are successful because they have a passion, they have a voice, and they have a point that they're trying to share. If there's someone out there who is aspiring to do that, find your niche and find what it is you know. There are so many of us nurses, but we all have our own story, our own examples and experiences to share. Be true to yourself. Don't post things just because you feel like you have to post them or because that's what people want. Post what makes you happy. All nurses: Next and last question—what is next for you? Are you looking to expand and get into other media or more big-picture things? What's it going to look like in five years? Maddi: That is the question of the century. That has been at the top of my list this past week. Coming to NTI especially, I get it in my head, "this is what I'm going to do," and then you meet so many people who are in different things, and I'm not exactly sure what is next. I definitely would like to keep growing on social media with the educational side. I want to make more connections with people, not so much grow in an aspect of numbers, but grow in the aspect of actually knowing who's following me and being able to interact with them more often. Attending events like this, I really enjoy. As far as professionally, I really like where I'm working right now. I've been here for about two years and hope to continue working here. I've also been thinking about doing some education at our local community colleges and nursing schools and maybe getting into being a clinical instructor or a didactic instructor allnurses: Where can our audience find you? Maddi: Instagram: @nurse.maddi TikTok: @nurse.maddi YouTube: @nursemaddi That's all my socials, and like thank you so much. allnurses: Thank you -
Hello everyone! I have a current project for a health education course where I need to interview a nurse working in a hospital or public health. It would just be few questions about the career and should only take a few minutes. If anyone could be my interviewee please respond. 1. Why did you decide to work in this field? 2. Did you have another career before you went to school to become a nurse? What was it like to change from one career to another? 3. Where did you go to school for this job? What was the hardest part of school for you? 4. What is a typical workday like? Do you have a lot of overtime? (If yes, How is overtime scheduled? Do you have enough notification so you can adjust your schedule at home, etc.?) 5. Do you work under a lot of pressure in this job? (If yes) Can you give me an example of a typical high-pressure situation? 6. Is there a lot of take-home work in this job? (If yes, Do you ever find it hard to turn-off work at home and enjoy a personal/family life?) 7. What kinds of professional development opportunities are there in this field? Can a person move up in this career? 8. Do you see this field as growing and expanding? Can you give me examples of why you think this is happening? 9. Is this a secure field? Can you give me reasons why you think this is true? 10. Does this job give you the challenges you need to stay interested in this field? 11. Do you see yourself doing this job for the rest of your work life? Why (or why not)? 12. I am a person who needs a lot of support on a job. Does this career field provide that for a person like me?
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Hello! I'm a New Grad RN who will be interviewing for a Pediatric Stepdown unit. This is my first interview, and I am incredibly anxious. I wanted to know: What scenario questions should I expect? Will they ask me more about intervening for specific diseases? Should I even expect scenario questions? (I've been told by another that she didn't get scenario questions) Thank you!
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I apologize if this should be in the career advice forum, but I wanted PICU specific input. I have an interview the first week of October for the PICU at our hospital. I've already had a chance to visit with the nurse manager and a few of the nurses who work in the PICU to get a tour, ask some questions, etc. Our institution does behavioral interviews, and I'm comfortable with that aspect since I've done the same for other jobs I"ve held within this hospital, but there are also usually a few critical thinking/prioritizing questions pertinent to the specific unit. Anyone have any advice for what questions I may want to prepare for specifically for the PICU? How about what kind of questions I should ask them about the unit that I might not otherwise think of? I've already covered the basics about training, types of patients, nurse to patient ratio, scheduling- I'm wondering what else I might want to know before getting into it? Thanks!
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This is the question everyone dreads at an interview...at least I do. I don't want to tell them something that will turn them off from hiring me entirely. I have 4 interviews this week and I need some ideas on how to answer this question in a positive way. So tell me...what are your weaknesses and how would you describe them to an interviewer? Thanks in advance for your help.
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The second section are the tough ones - the behavior based questions - they require a story or example to answer. Same idea - write outlines and practice. Good luck! Interview Questions1. Tell me about yourself. 2. What is your greatest strength? 3. What can you offer us that no one else can? 4. What are your three most important career accomplishments? 5. How would you describe yourself? 6. Why should I hire you? 7. Describe the biggest crisis in your life (career). 8. What is unique about you? 9. How would your supervisor describe you? 10. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10. 11. Tell me a story. 12. How have you benefited from disappointment? 13. What is your greatest weakness? 14. Have you ever been fired or asked to resign? 15. Why have you changed jobs so frequently? 16. Why have you been out of work so long? What have you been doing? 17. What is the biggest mistake you ever made? 18. What are your career goals? 19. What do you want to do in life? 20. How long have you been out of work? 21. What personal, non-job related gals have you set for yourself? 22. Are you willing to relocate? 23. Are you willing to travel overnight? 24. How do you feel about overtime? 25. What have you learned from your past mistakes? What are some of them? 26. What do you think determines a person's progress with a goof company? 27. Who has exercised the greatest influence on you? How? 28. What public figure do you admire most and why? 29. What are your primary activities outside of work? 30. Would you have any concern if we did a full background check on you? What would we find? 31. What qualities do you most admire in people? 32. What have you done to increase your personal development? 33. What type of books and magazines do you read? 34. What was the last book you read (movie you saw) and how did it affect you? 35. How do you feel about your career progress? 36. Can you work well under stress? 37. Do you prefer to work as an individually or as a part of a team? 38. Are you a team player? 39. Tell me about the last incident that made you angry. How did you handle it? 40. What are the things that motivate you? 41. How do you handle people that you really don't get along with? 42. What have you done that shows initiative? 43. What personal qualities are important for success in this field? 44. Sell me this pen. 45. Are you willing to take calculated risks? 46. Describe your perfect job? 47. What is most important to you in a job? 48. Why do you want to change careers? 49. Why do you want to get into this field? 50. Why did you leave your last job? 51. How long will it take before you make a positive contribution to our organization? 52. What do you like least about this position? Most? 53. Tell me about your duties at your present job? 54. What is the most important aspect of your job? 55. Describe a time when you were criticized for your job. 56. What is the most difficult situation you have ever faced? 57. What frustrates you about your job? 58. What jobs have you enjoyed most? Least? Why? 59. What duties have you enjoyed most? Least? Why? 60. What is the worst thing your have ever heard about this organization? 61. What position do you expect to hold in five years? (similar to, Where do you expect to be in 5 years?) 62. Why would you like to work for us? 63. What is opinion of your present (or past) employer? 64. How long would you stay if we offered you this position? 65. What do you know about our company? 66. Why do you want to leave your present employer? 67. Starting with your first job out of college, tell me why you left each organization. 68. What kinds of recommendations will you get from previous employers? 69. Describe your relationship with your last three supervisors. 70. What are your supervisor's strengths and weaknesses? 71. What kind of supervisors do you like most? Least? Why? 72. How has your supervisor helped you grow? 73. What did your supervisor rate you highest on during your last review? Lowest? 74. What kind of supervisor gets the best results out of you? 75. What is your boss like? 76. What actions would you take if you came on board? 77. Can you supervise people? 78. Describe your management philosophy and management style. 79. How many people have you hired? How do you go about it? How successful have the people been? 80. How many people have you fired? 81. How would your subordinates describe you as a supervisor? 82. Some managers watch their employees closely while others use a loose rein. How do you manage? 83. How have you improved as a supervisor over the years? 84. Why did you pick your major? 85. What kind of grades did you have? 86. What course did you like the most? Least? Why? 87. How has your schooling prepared you for this job? 88. Do you feel you did the best work at school that you were capable of doing? 89. How did your summer jobs benefit you? Some Behavior Based QuestionsTell me about a time when you: 1. Achieved a great deal in a short amount of time. 2. Were disappointed in your performance. 3. Made a major sacrifice to achieve a work goal. 4. Were unwilling or unable to make the necessary sacrifice to achieve a goal. 5. Worked effectively under a great deal of pressure. 6. Didn't handle a stressful situation very well. 7. Really got angry over a situation at work. 8. Felt under a great deal of pressure from an internal or external customer. 9. Were really bothered by the actions of a coworker. 10. Were especially creative in solving a problem. 11. Were not as creative as usual. 12. Organized and planned an event that was successful. 13. Planned and coordinated a project that was very successful. 14. Were unable to complete a project on schedule despite your best efforts. 15. Really had to remain flexible. 16. Had to deal with a personality conflict with a boss or coworker. 17. Were unable to sell your idea to a key person. 18. Felt really good about a decision you made and the process you went through. 19. Were very effective in your problem-solving ability. 20. Used facts and reason to persuade someone to accept your recommendation. 21. Utilized your leadership ability to gain support for what initially had been strong opposition. 22. Were able to build team spirit during a time of low morale. 23. Were able to gain commitment from others to really work as a team. 24. Used your political savvy to push through a program you believed in. 25. Were particularly perceptive regarding a person's or group's feelings and needs. 26. Were able to predict someone's behavior or response based on your assessment of him or her. 27. Were particularly supportive and reassuring to a person who needed a friend. 28. Built rapport quickly with someone under difficult conditions. 29. Wrote a report which was well received by others. 30. Were particularly effective at prioritizing tasks and completing a project on schedule. 31. Identified potential problems and resolved the situation before the problems became serious. 32. Were highly motivated and your example inspired others. 33. Found it necessary to tactfully but forcefully say things others did not want to hear. 34. Were particularly effective in a talk you gave or a seminar you taught. 35. Had to make an important decision quickly even though you did not have all the information you wanted. 36. Had to make a decision you knew would be unpopular. Were in a situation when events and circumstances changed rapidly.
