Latest / The UNWavering Podcast / Equipping Nurses with Resilience | Dr. Santhiny Rajamohan – Dean, Chief Nurse Administrator and Professor

Transcript

Equipping Nurses with Resilience | Dr. Santhiny Rajamohan – Dean, Chief Nurse Administrator and Professor · The UNWavering Podcast

0:00
SPEAKER_02: We produce nurses that are unshakable in their faith.
0:05
SPEAKER_02: Right?
0:06
SPEAKER_02: Because their faith formation gets strengthened through the journey, not only at Northwestern, but through our program.
0:14
SPEAKER_02: So I do believe our nurses who carry the presence of Christ into the moments of our patience and human vulnerability, that's where true support or meaningful care happens.
0:31
SPEAKER_01: Join as we highlight the people, the purpose, and the pulse of Northwestern.
0:36
SPEAKER_01: This is the Unwavering Podcast.
0:58
SPEAKER_00: Cassie sends her greetings, but unfortunately, she is homesick with the flu, which is really too bad because today we get to interview Dr.
1:06
SPEAKER_00: Santhini Rajamoin, the dean for the School of Nursing here at Northwestern.
1:10
SPEAKER_00: And I can't wait to hear more about her passion for nursing and her passion for the program here.
1:16
SPEAKER_00: Should be a great conversation.
1:23
SPEAKER_00: Dr.
1:24
SPEAKER_00: Rajamoin, thank you for joining us on the podcast today.
1:28
SPEAKER_02: Thank you for having me here.
1:30
SPEAKER_02: I'm grateful.
1:31
SPEAKER_00: Before we get into your story and talk about your calling and your journey and your vision for Northwestern, I have to ask, because you're in the nursing world, we got to talk about germs, right?
1:43
SPEAKER_00: So on a scale from one to Clorox wipes, where do you land?
1:49
SPEAKER_02: I would say I land a solid eight.
1:52
SPEAKER_00: Oh, okay.
1:53
SPEAKER_02: I am not paranoid about germs because remember, God created microorganisms for a reason, right?
2:01
SPEAKER_02: There are good ones and there are bad ones.
2:03
SPEAKER_02: So I just don't fear germs, but I respect them.
2:08
SPEAKER_02: I am all about good stewardship, protecting, you know, myself and also teaching the next generation of nurses how to protect our patients from them, those misbehaved germs.
2:20
SPEAKER_00: So you can't be you can't be ignorant about them like I can.
2:24
SPEAKER_00: Where I just pretend that they don't exist.
2:26
SPEAKER_00: But I found out really fast being married to a nurse that there's germs on the airplane and all over the place, right?
2:33
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, for sure.
2:33
SPEAKER_02: That's why you keep sanitizer everywhere, right?
2:36
SPEAKER_02: My car, my office, my purse.
2:39
SPEAKER_00: We could all go well to have probably more of those things in our life.
2:42
SPEAKER_00: Uh, what is the Lord teaching and showing you now as you as you've been spending time with him and and spending time in his word?
2:49
SPEAKER_00: What is he doing in your heart?
2:51
SPEAKER_02: That's a great question, Monty.
2:53
SPEAKER_02: Right now, the Lord is teaching me how to trust him in transition.
2:58
SPEAKER_02: This has been a season of several changes, as you know.
3:02
SPEAKER_02: New responsibility, new challenges, a new community.
3:06
SPEAKER_02: You know, I just recently moved from New York to Minnesota.
3:10
SPEAKER_02: Uh, a lot of unknowns, and through it all, God keeps bringing me back to these reminders that all things are possible with him.
3:19
SPEAKER_02: My grace is sufficient for you, and I go before you.
3:23
SPEAKER_02: Be still and know that I am God.
3:26
SPEAKER_02: So, what I would say is over the past two years, I had the privilege of working under a leader, my former boss, Dr.
3:34
SPEAKER_02: Janet Summers.
3:36
SPEAKER_02: I deeply respect and love.
3:38
SPEAKER_02: Um, through this transition, you know, when things shifted, you know, I wonder, God, how many more changes can I go through in the short term?
3:48
SPEAKER_02: And the Lord generally reminded me that He's the one constant in my life.
3:53
SPEAKER_02: So I'm learning to release control, to walk with him with open hands, like holding things loosely.
4:01
SPEAKER_02: Um, that's something I'm learning.
4:04
SPEAKER_02: And even in that stretching, he's forming the deep faith and commitment I need to continue to have in order to not only survive, but thrive and get to the place of flourishing with him.
4:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, having having the Lord be our anchor is so important.
4:25
SPEAKER_00: You're coming from New York.
4:27
SPEAKER_00: You've been here at Northwestern now two full years, right?
4:29
SPEAKER_00: This is your third, third time around the cycle.
4:32
SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm not a nurse, but as somebody who gets to watch from the outside, I'm so glad you're here at Northwestern.
4:38
SPEAKER_00: And I'm I'm excited to get into this conversation because I've already gotten a sneak peek into your passion and what drives you in what you do in the school of nursing and in your life.
4:47
SPEAKER_00: And um I want to start to unpack that by just like backpedaling a little, just to be like for anybody who hasn't met you yet, how would you describe Santhony and what drives you uh for your work?
5:01
SPEAKER_02: That's a loaded question, Monty.
5:03
SPEAKER_02: I would love to share.
5:05
SPEAKER_02: So before talking about my work, I always start with who I am at the core, right?
5:12
SPEAKER_02: I am first and foremost a daughter of Almighty God.
5:16
SPEAKER_02: That's what gives me identity.
5:18
SPEAKER_02: Everything else in life flows from that identity in Christ.
5:22
SPEAKER_02: From there, God has entrusted me with several roles.
5:26
SPEAKER_02: You know, name it.
5:27
SPEAKER_02: I'm a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a friend, a colleague, a nurse, and now the privilege of serving as a dean.
5:35
SPEAKER_02: What drives my work is the purpose and calling God has placed in my life.
5:41
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, as you know, I love nursing.
5:44
SPEAKER_02: I believe deeply that we need more Christian nurses who can step into a herding world to serve with confidence, compassion, and Christ-like character.
5:55
SPEAKER_02: So it's a privilege to really be here to support our team that works tirelessly as they teach and train our next generation of Christian nurses.
6:05
SPEAKER_02: So I do think it's really um a calling.
6:09
SPEAKER_02: My ultimate desire is simply having the Lord tell me well done, good and faithful servant.
6:18
SPEAKER_02: So that's what gives me purpose every single day.
6:22
SPEAKER_00: Well, your your commitment and your faithfulness to seek out and clarify what his purpose is is awesome.
6:29
SPEAKER_00: What you just shared.
6:30
SPEAKER_00: You talked about the how the world needs more Christian nurses, more nurses that love Jesus.
6:34
SPEAKER_00: Right.
6:34
SPEAKER_00: I want to get back to that in just a second, but your life story began in Sri Lanka, right?
6:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
6:41
SPEAKER_00: So how did you like how did you end up in the United States?
6:46
SPEAKER_02: How much time do you have, Monty?
6:49
SPEAKER_00: Well, we can always record another episode.
6:53
SPEAKER_02: Um Yeah, my story began in Sri Lanka during a time of civil war and a significant ethnic tension.
7:01
SPEAKER_02: It was a difficult and dangerous season, and my parents made the courageous decision to leave everything familiar to protect the children.
7:10
SPEAKER_02: There were four of us.
7:11
SPEAKER_02: I'm the youngest of four.
7:12
SPEAKER_02: My dad was a principal, my mom was a teacher, but they gave up their um comfort and everything they've known so they can provide safety for their family.
7:23
SPEAKER_02: So we first went to India because that was the closest country we can get to easily.
7:29
SPEAKER_02: And then we were there for a couple of years, and eventually my parents wanted to take us to Canada to uh have a better opportunity.
7:38
SPEAKER_02: So we then had to go back to Sri Lanka.
7:41
SPEAKER_02: Um so by then uh I ended up being in four different high schools.
7:46
SPEAKER_02: Eventually, we immigrated to Canada in 1990, and there God intervention happened where we ended up going to a South Indian church.
7:56
SPEAKER_02: We met a pastor there who happened to be one of the board of trustees, Dr.
8:00
SPEAKER_02: Lysander for Roberts Western University in Rochester, New York.
8:05
SPEAKER_02: So the rest is history.
8:07
SPEAKER_02: He took interest in us because God opened that door to make uh Christian education possible.
8:15
SPEAKER_02: So I ended up moving 1991, August, to Rochester, New York.
8:20
SPEAKER_02: And I was there until um 2023 when Northwestern found me.
8:26
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
8:28
SPEAKER_00: So a lot there, right?
8:30
SPEAKER_00: You just like summed up your whole life in like a minute.
8:33
SPEAKER_00: Um how did how did you, when you look back now, how do you see how the Lord used all of those different experiences through your childhood and young adulthood to shape you and to help you kind of find your lane or find your sense of purpose?
8:50
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I have to admit, when we landed in Canada, uh it was September, the school even started.
8:57
SPEAKER_02: Um I didn't know what the future would look like, right?
9:01
SPEAKER_02: What is next?
9:03
SPEAKER_02: Uh all I could think of is um Romans 8.
9:07
SPEAKER_02: The scripture talks about how God is going to make our calling and bring everything to work out when we know we are in his will, right?
9:20
SPEAKER_02: So even though I didn't understand we were afraid, we didn't know the language, we didn't know the culture.
9:27
SPEAKER_02: God, like, what am I gonna do?
9:29
SPEAKER_02: Am I gonna end up working in Kentucky Fried Chicken?
9:32
SPEAKER_02: Because that was one of my first jobs.
9:35
SPEAKER_02: And God was amazing in connecting us with the faithful people, like starting to go to a church where the pastor was, you know, why would he care?
9:45
SPEAKER_02: Because God made that possible.
9:48
SPEAKER_02: So, all that to say, growing up, my parents wanted me to go to medical school because he they had high hopes for all of us, right?
9:56
SPEAKER_02: And uh, going to medical school wasn't possible.
9:59
SPEAKER_02: So when praying about God, like I love people, I want to serve people, and I'm so glad he directed me to nursing.
10:07
SPEAKER_02: Uh, otherwise, uh, you wouldn't be talking to me right now, right?
10:11
SPEAKER_02: So uh it just the painful experiences shaped me who I am.
10:17
SPEAKER_02: And why would God spare a lot spare our life from Sri Lanka when there are so many people ended up dying, right?
10:25
SPEAKER_02: Were abused by the military.
10:27
SPEAKER_02: So instead of being bitter that I left everything I didn't know, I had to become more intentional, being grateful to God for keeping me alive, keeping me safe, and giving me parents that just gave up everything to provide a better future.
10:46
SPEAKER_02: So all of that kind of shaped me who I am because he's the only constant I could continue to trust and lean on.
10:54
SPEAKER_00: Which is already referencing to what you started with.
10:57
SPEAKER_00: You've seen the Lord be so faithful throughout your entire journey.
11:00
SPEAKER_00: Um for you listening today, I just want to just go back and just say what just Anthony just said.
11:06
SPEAKER_00: She said, instead of being bitter, she was being intentional in being grateful, in choosing to be grateful.
11:13
SPEAKER_00: You know, we just had Susie Larson on this podcast too, and she talked about feeling the emotion of gratitude.
11:19
SPEAKER_00: Not just not just making a list of things, but feeling it.
11:22
SPEAKER_00: And I can just hear it in your voice that you've taken the time not just to list it, but you you feel that deep down through your story of this deep gratitude that the Lord He one, He has He's He spared you, and He has a calling for you that you continue to seek out.
11:39
SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
11:41
SPEAKER_00: Your parents had a vision for you going to medical school, and you eventually landed going more the nursing route, which is similar.
11:49
SPEAKER_00: How did once you went to nursing school, how did you know, like, yes, I'm in, I'm in the right lane?
11:54
SPEAKER_00: Like I really like nursing is for me.
11:59
SPEAKER_02: I think once I started to work, uh, even as a student nurse, seeing what student nurse could even have influence on patients, um, even though it was stressful learning uh hands-on as a nursing student, but I also saw the um influence and the impact we could have, just listening and being there, available to attend to their needs, especially in their most vulnerable time, right?
12:28
SPEAKER_02: I considered that as a privilege.
12:30
SPEAKER_02: So then it just felt natural that I'd chosen.
12:34
SPEAKER_02: And I always wanted to become a missionary nurse.
12:37
SPEAKER_02: Um, but God also helped me redefine that.
12:41
SPEAKER_02: I don't have to go to a third world country to serve as a missionary nurse.
12:45
SPEAKER_02: I could do that right here wherever God calls me.
12:48
SPEAKER_02: So that's also a mind shift that I had to make and be okay with wherever he calls me to give it my best to serve him.
12:58
SPEAKER_00: That's really good.
12:59
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you have a chance to be a missionary nurse and to share the love of Jesus with patients that are right here.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: You don't have to go to a third world country or a different place to be a nurse that's a missionary, right?
13:10
SPEAKER_00: You're on mission here.
13:11
SPEAKER_00: And you feel this deep sense of calling.
13:13
SPEAKER_00: And it feels like, if I'm picking it up right, um that a lot of your experience coming from Sri Lanka and growing up and feeling that vulnerability and feeling the Lord care for you, that seems to like be in your DNA and in your heart with the way that you view patients.
13:29
SPEAKER_00: Is that correct?
13:31
SPEAKER_02: True.
13:31
SPEAKER_02: Life is uh too short, right?
13:35
SPEAKER_02: Every day you wake up, today is a gift.
13:39
SPEAKER_02: God, why did you give me gift of a new day?
13:43
SPEAKER_02: You know, and he already promised he'd give you new mercy every day.
13:47
SPEAKER_02: So, with that, I want to live my purpose for the given day because I don't know whether I'll be around tomorrow, right?
13:53
SPEAKER_02: So when you live life like that, especially what God has brought us through, right?
14:00
SPEAKER_02: We could have lost our life and not be here anymore, but he spared our life.
14:05
SPEAKER_02: So when you face death so close, it gives you a different perspective in life.
14:12
SPEAKER_02: So I think that also helps me and carry me through some of the transition and challenges.
14:17
SPEAKER_02: Like, what can I do today?
14:19
SPEAKER_02: I don't know what the future looks like.
14:20
SPEAKER_02: None of us know in higher ed, right?
14:22
SPEAKER_02: Things are changing all the time.
14:24
SPEAKER_02: There's always cards, there's always changes in leadership, but he's the constant.
14:30
SPEAKER_02: We just have to be faithful to that, right?
14:33
SPEAKER_00: So would you say that an understanding of knowing that the Lord is the constant is a really key to a key to being resilient?
14:40
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
14:41
SPEAKER_00: I know that much of your work has been in the area of mental health and resilience and person-centered care.
14:48
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm guessing that a lot of this passion came from your story all the way through.
14:53
SPEAKER_00: Um, but what continues to drive your your passion for those areas?
14:59
SPEAKER_02: Maybe I'll share a little bit how I got into that.
15:02
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
15:03
SPEAKER_02: Monty, even some of my personal defining moment was uh, like I said, not knowing the culture, not knowing the language.
15:11
SPEAKER_02: I struggled through nursing school.
15:14
SPEAKER_02: There was some, like in my senior year, I had a moment where I wasn't suicidal, but I just wanted God to take me.
15:23
SPEAKER_02: Like I just prayed, I was driving my little Fortress Diva as fast as I could uh from uh school to where I was staying, and I just want to disappear from this earth.
15:37
SPEAKER_02: And at the same time, I'm praying, God, if there is purpose for me to be alive, if you tell me what the next step is, because I was uh actually almost failing uh uh one of the important courses that year, and I thought my future was going to be ending, and I didn't want to disappoint my parents.
15:56
SPEAKER_02: So that was really the guilt drove me to this feeling of despair.
16:02
SPEAKER_02: The exit came, I was crying and screaming the whole way, and God met me there.
16:08
SPEAKER_02: But when I took the exit, I just felt that peace that passeth all understanding, where God just made me realize he wasn't done with me, that he has a special purpose for that season.
16:24
SPEAKER_02: So humbling, you know, got through nursing school, and here I am, right?
16:29
SPEAKER_02: I didn't give up on nursing because I love nursing, what we could do to this hurting world, and then to be in a position to be able to support a team that can train Christian nurses that's definitely a privilege.
16:42
SPEAKER_02: But truly going back to your question, so when I was teaching in the undergrad um program in my previous uh job, I saw a lot of college kids struggle with mental health, right?
16:56
SPEAKER_02: Depression, anxiety, even suicidal ideation, because they carry so much in life.
17:02
SPEAKER_02: They're not just full-time students, right?
17:04
SPEAKER_02: They have a lot of responsibility.
17:07
SPEAKER_02: And nursing school is not easy.
17:09
SPEAKER_02: So when I saw those struggles, part of me is really made me realize what helped me to bounce back from all these hardships, still focus on what God called me to do, right?
17:22
SPEAKER_02: Bouncing back from hardship is literally what resilience is all about.
17:26
SPEAKER_02: So, how can I turn that around and teach others how to do that?
17:30
SPEAKER_02: Where my passion got strengthened wanting to help my students in that space.
17:37
SPEAKER_00: I can for sure see where your passion for this, this mental health and the person-centered care comes from.
17:42
SPEAKER_00: But I want to talk more about this passion that you have that you've seen it came through your own story.
17:47
SPEAKER_00: So you can resonate deeply with nursing students today and nurses and their their well-being.
17:53
SPEAKER_00: So talk to me more about that.
17:55
SPEAKER_00: Like, because I'm not a nurse and I have not been in that, in that field.
17:59
SPEAKER_00: Like, what is facing nurses today?
18:03
SPEAKER_00: Like, what are they staring down?
18:06
SPEAKER_02: So you heard about burnout, right?
18:09
SPEAKER_02: And compassion fatigue.
18:12
SPEAKER_02: Nurses are in an environment where they're not given adequate resources, or they may be in places where uh they are not getting the support or resources they need to be able to do their job, to, you know, take care of patients.
18:29
SPEAKER_02: So it's easier for nurses to just um get discouraged and defeated.
18:34
SPEAKER_02: This is not what they went to school for.
18:36
SPEAKER_02: They're not seeing, you know, uh the ideal nursing they were hoping to practice in real nursing um environment.
18:46
SPEAKER_02: So what we need to do is help them be resilient.
18:51
SPEAKER_02: What does that really mean, right?
18:53
SPEAKER_02: So, what I learned through my uh life is that first we have to learn to lead ourselves.
18:59
SPEAKER_02: Lead ourselves well because we are believers.
19:03
SPEAKER_02: What would God expect us to lead us first, right?
19:08
SPEAKER_02: Our relationship with Him, our relationship with others, and relationship with ourselves, along with the identity we have in Christ.
19:17
SPEAKER_02: The rest model, the R is all about that relationship.
19:21
SPEAKER_02: So when we plan to lead ourselves, it needs to be more natural.
19:26
SPEAKER_02: We are doing that because God, that's what God expects us.
19:29
SPEAKER_02: So even when you're in a toxic environment, we need to just be loyal to that, leading ourselves well and then commit to advocating for changes that need to happen.
19:43
SPEAKER_00: So there's a sense of you can control what you can control in that sense.
19:46
SPEAKER_00: Like take care of yourself first or make sure that you're you are thinking about what you need.
19:51
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
19:52
SPEAKER_02: And being aware, right?
19:53
SPEAKER_02: Even when you're feeling like, man, I can't take this anymore, what are you doing about self-care?
19:58
SPEAKER_02: What do you need to give yourself, right?
20:00
SPEAKER_02: Um the S in the Rust model is all about self-compassion, where you're uh when you're more self-compassionate, you're more resilient.
20:09
SPEAKER_02: That's that's what research says.
20:10
SPEAKER_02: So, what are we doing to care for ourselves, right?
20:13
SPEAKER_02: That's that's another piece.
20:15
SPEAKER_02: But coming back to us leading and advocating for what needs to happen so that we can take care of ourselves at the same time, care for the patients that God interested in us, right?
20:28
SPEAKER_02: So, teaching and training future nurses to have that mindset, not to give up on their purpose.
20:35
SPEAKER_02: Our student, they give up so much to go through nursing school.
20:38
SPEAKER_02: You know that, your wife done that.
20:41
SPEAKER_02: So, how do we help them not to give up that?
20:45
SPEAKER_02: Because the circumstances is difficult, or uh they're facing hardship temporarily.
20:51
SPEAKER_02: Remember, nothing lasts forever.
20:54
SPEAKER_02: So helping them uh know when to seek out for help.
20:58
SPEAKER_02: The relationship with others is really going to their mentor, going to their management, uh going to their peers.
21:05
SPEAKER_02: How do we do life in nursing practice together?
21:09
SPEAKER_02: Because we cannot do nursing alone.
21:11
SPEAKER_02: So even that teamship, all of that matters for you to kind of persevere through challenges, right?
21:19
SPEAKER_02: So because I had to live through it, and especially, I don't think I shared this with you, some of the experience has been discrimination, right?
21:27
SPEAKER_02: Wherever I go, I look different, I talk different, and I didn't know some of the hardship I was facing is because I was different, because I was naive to all of that.
21:37
SPEAKER_02: So, how God allowed those experiences, even though those were painful, and there were times I thought about is it worth it to stay in nursing, right?
21:48
SPEAKER_02: But I didn't make an emotional decision to quit.
21:52
SPEAKER_02: I just waited on God to tell me, okay, God, what's next?
21:56
SPEAKER_02: And then he moved me to academia.
21:58
SPEAKER_02: Okay, you have enough experience.
22:00
SPEAKER_02: Experience now, go and help teach the future nurses, which I love, right?
22:05
SPEAKER_02: I love teaching.
22:06
SPEAKER_02: So if I didn't have that first 10 years in practice, I wouldn't be a good teacher because I wouldn't have the lived experience, right?
22:14
SPEAKER_02: So I feel like it's so organic how God kind of guided my path in nursing.
22:20
SPEAKER_00: I know I'm sharing a lot more, but I think you feel it all.
22:24
SPEAKER_00: I think you've gone through you've gone through the practice of being a nurse, which gives you this deep empathy.
22:29
SPEAKER_00: And I think anybody listening can just feel how much you care for nurses.
22:36
SPEAKER_00: You don't just want to give them a like a lifeline to get them out of nursing.
22:40
SPEAKER_00: You're not trying to rescue them from nursing.
22:43
SPEAKER_00: You're trying to equip them and sustain them because you know that the Lord calls nurses to care.
22:49
SPEAKER_00: And you're trying to say, how can we develop resilience and these different tools that help sustain our own soul?
22:56
SPEAKER_00: Because you're caring for, you're caring physical needs, but you're caring for the soul too.
23:00
SPEAKER_00: So your heart is for the nurse and caring for them, equipping them as good nurses, but also caring for their own well-being while they continue to persevere in their calling, because this is a season.
23:11
SPEAKER_00: And you you feel all that because you've done it.
23:13
SPEAKER_00: You've been there and you are still doing it with transitions in life.
23:17
SPEAKER_00: I want to go back.
23:17
SPEAKER_00: You mentioned the rest model.
23:20
SPEAKER_00: I know R was relationship and S is self-compassion.
23:24
SPEAKER_00: But can you just walk me through really quickly what does the what is R-E-S-T rest?
23:30
SPEAKER_02: So, like you said, R is relationship not only with ourself, but also with God.
23:36
SPEAKER_02: And that's where the identity comes from.
23:39
SPEAKER_02: And then relationship with others, that's the concept for R.
23:43
SPEAKER_02: E, not only exercising your body, everybody knows the benefit of exercise, but how do we exercise our mind and spirit and emotion?
23:53
SPEAKER_02: Because when we bring balance to who we are, that is when we can get to the place of feeling the peace that God already given us.
24:02
SPEAKER_02: So we can't have physical routine, but our spiritual and emotions are suffering, right?
24:08
SPEAKER_02: It there need to be a balance.
24:10
SPEAKER_02: So that comes from, again, your self-aware and reflection, the relationship with yourself.
24:16
SPEAKER_02: You know, it ties into that.
24:17
SPEAKER_02: And then as for self-compassion, and then T is trusting God in the timing of everything you're going through, and then letting that inform the next step, transformative thinking.
24:30
SPEAKER_02: So you can say whether it's trusting God's timing or transformative thinking that leads to action.
24:36
SPEAKER_02: So, what do we learn from going through hardship?
24:39
SPEAKER_02: What did I learn from all that hardship that I went through?
24:43
SPEAKER_02: How is that informing my future direction, right?
24:47
SPEAKER_02: Because I don't want to live in the past where I was so naive and didn't even speak up when abuse happened to me.
24:55
SPEAKER_02: Does that make sense?
24:56
SPEAKER_02: So learning to advocate for myself, it was a lesson I had to learn.
25:01
SPEAKER_02: So I don't want my students to have to live through if they don't have to.
25:06
SPEAKER_02: What if we can teach them for them to become aware, hey, something doesn't feel right.
25:12
SPEAKER_02: I need to do something about it, or I need to talk to somebody about it, because this world is full of unfairness, right?
25:21
SPEAKER_02: So we can't just sugarcoat everything and said, it's going to be great.
25:25
SPEAKER_02: No, it's not going to be great, but can we prepare you better, right?
25:30
SPEAKER_02: And for that, our program, right, we do spiritual formation.
25:34
SPEAKER_02: What Northwestern is all about is truly getting the spiritual grounding right so that we have that to fall back.
25:42
SPEAKER_02: That's really the coping that I needed all along.
25:46
SPEAKER_02: But of course, God uses people to encourage you.
25:49
SPEAKER_02: But at the same time, without that spiritual grounding and formation, I wouldn't be here.
25:56
SPEAKER_02: Either I would have been in a mental institute or uh debt by now, right?
26:01
SPEAKER_02: So I'm just so grateful how God, even though I didn't enjoy the hardship I've been through, but I'm so grateful for the lesson so that I can teach it to others.
26:13
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
26:13
SPEAKER_00: Well, I love what you just shared there.
26:15
SPEAKER_00: And I want to ask some more questions about how you are teaching Northwestern students these principles and helping them grow as they're becoming nurses here.
26:23
SPEAKER_00: Um, but just to review really quick: rest.
26:26
SPEAKER_00: R is relationship with God, with others, with ourself.
26:30
SPEAKER_00: E is exercise, your body, mind, spirit, all elements of yourself to exercise.
26:36
SPEAKER_00: S is self-compassion.
26:38
SPEAKER_00: And then the T is trusting God.
26:40
SPEAKER_00: That's back to the anchor again, to trust in His promises.
26:43
SPEAKER_00: That's the acronym REST.
26:44
SPEAKER_00: I can say, as a non-nurse, that rest applies to me as well, listening to those things that are things that I can put into practice right now.
26:54
SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm also just lingering back on what you said about compassion fatigue.
26:59
SPEAKER_00: Because I think every one of us can think about okay, an experience with a nurse, nurses are filled with compassion, and they have impacted our lives in all kinds of different circumstances.
27:10
SPEAKER_00: Um that's crazy that you have to.
27:12
SPEAKER_00: I didn't even think about the compassion fatigue that you're also trying to deal with to encourage nurses.
27:17
SPEAKER_00: So lots, lots there.
27:20
SPEAKER_00: So you have all these different elements of what's facing nurses and strategies for helping to develop resilience.
27:28
SPEAKER_00: What does that look like in practice here at Northwestern?
27:31
SPEAKER_00: Like what as you lead the school of nursing, what are you trying when a student comes through the nursing program, how are you equipping them in light of all this?
27:41
SPEAKER_02: That's a great question.
27:43
SPEAKER_02: It's a journey and a process.
27:46
SPEAKER_02: So we are incorporating Rosillion education within our program, and we also have special training them how to share their faith with others, right?
27:57
SPEAKER_02: Those are key aspects of our program, and every course they have faculty that are committed to just model Christ and support them in that journey.
28:10
SPEAKER_02: So we are offering Rust workshop.
28:14
SPEAKER_02: So I talked to Term 1 students now that we also have a nursing course in the pre-nursing.
28:21
SPEAKER_02: So I had the privilege of meeting with them a couple of weeks ago just to talk about what Rust means.
28:28
SPEAKER_02: And uh I made custom uh heart shape stress ball.
28:33
SPEAKER_02: I'm sure you have seen them.
28:35
SPEAKER_02: Are they purple?
28:35
SPEAKER_02: Are they purple?
28:38
SPEAKER_02: I actually made some gold one too, so we have both colors.
28:42
SPEAKER_02: And so it has the message what rest means.
28:45
SPEAKER_02: And of course, one site has our logo.
28:48
SPEAKER_02: Uh, the you know, it's not really uh there's meaning behind the stress ball, right?
28:53
SPEAKER_02: No matter how much pressure you put on a stress ball, think about it, it bounces back.
28:58
SPEAKER_02: So that's the message of resilience.
28:59
SPEAKER_02: And then the hardship, we always have to remember the love God has for us.
29:04
SPEAKER_02: And then the love we need to have for ourselves, because we can't go on an autopilot mode and ignoring our feelings and think it's gonna go away.
29:14
SPEAKER_02: It didn't work in my life.
29:15
SPEAKER_02: So I always have to bring that to students' awareness, deal with what you're going through.
29:20
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes you may have to compartmentalize it, especially those uh been through some abuse, they may have to do that for self-preservation.
29:33
SPEAKER_02: They need to have some professional help to be able to cope with that.
29:37
SPEAKER_02: But others, you know, you need to be aware of your feeling.
29:42
SPEAKER_02: You need to reflect on what's happening so you can do something about it.
29:46
SPEAKER_02: Doing life in an autopilot mode doesn't work.
29:51
SPEAKER_02: It only adds more stress, and then you'll end up in confusion and lose the peace that God desired to have a slib daily basis, right?
30:00
SPEAKER_02: So um that's how we are doing uh rest in the beginning, as well as I also meet with seniors um to talk about rest in a way that preparing them to go into practice.
30:14
SPEAKER_02: And the faculty have those conversations, you know, on one-on-one and when they do devotion.
30:20
SPEAKER_02: So we are being intentional how to do that with our students.
30:24
SPEAKER_02: And I would love to go anywhere I am invited to to speak about this too, right?
30:30
SPEAKER_02: Because this is so important.
30:33
SPEAKER_02: This is not just the answer, but this is one way we can help.
30:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
30:38
SPEAKER_00: So you're you're bookending their experience here with REST training, that they're getting it right when they come on in and you're encouraging them that before they go out into their career reminder about caring for yourself and building this resilience, and you're probably doing it throughout the curriculum too.
30:54
SPEAKER_00: Um, what does it look like for you equipping them to know that they're not alone?
30:58
SPEAKER_00: Like, are you helping to connect them with a network of like-minded nurses?
31:02
SPEAKER_00: Or what does that look like?
31:05
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
31:05
SPEAKER_02: We are so grateful for our alum who just lend their hand to support our students.
31:12
SPEAKER_02: And we have faculty that are very uh committed to just making those connections early on in term one.
31:18
SPEAKER_02: They pair them up with alum as a you know mentor.
31:23
SPEAKER_02: So that's really very helpful, and we like to continue that and expand that program even into pre-nursing.
31:29
SPEAKER_02: We just need more alums to want to uh, you know, give their time back whenever possible to do that because as we grow the program, the need is going to be more.
31:39
SPEAKER_02: But we are so grateful for all the alums that's been part of this program.
31:43
SPEAKER_02: It's been really life-changing for our students.
31:46
SPEAKER_02: So I'm grateful for that.
31:47
SPEAKER_02: And um again, uh partnering with you and your team, right?
31:52
SPEAKER_02: How do we engage alums in a more meaningful way?
31:56
SPEAKER_02: And what can we do to serve them?
31:58
SPEAKER_02: That's still a question I have uh to be able to support our alums out there, not only just our alums, but nurses in general.
32:07
SPEAKER_02: What can we do to help them so they can remain uh in the profession, right?
32:14
SPEAKER_02: I don't know, you are aware of the statistic.
32:16
SPEAKER_02: One in every three nurse leave the profession within the 24 months of practice.
32:21
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
32:22
SPEAKER_02: So imagine the sacrificial um time, you know, three or four years, they get through the program, and then within two years.
32:31
SPEAKER_02: That's not our grads, though.
32:34
SPEAKER_02: I do have to make that um a statement because our grads are doing well, they are employed, they're in nursing, but statistically, nationwide, even worldwide, nurses are leaving, especially since COVID because of burnout nature, lack of support, and all the other uh demands and not having a space for them to rest, right?
33:00
SPEAKER_02: So, what I would say is in that, that could happen to any professions, right?
33:05
SPEAKER_02: Not nursing.
33:07
SPEAKER_02: So, what I learned through my own model is how do I find the rest in everything I do?
33:14
SPEAKER_02: Even when the circumstances are challenging, how do I find that peace and rest God promises daily, get to the space?
33:25
SPEAKER_02: So that's where our calling for the day and living life moment by moment with God becomes so real to me, right?
33:34
SPEAKER_02: Remember, I was telling you everything changed.
33:36
SPEAKER_02: How I was hired and the reporting structure, including not having a BSN director, it's all different, Monty, right?
33:45
SPEAKER_02: So if I live in turmoil, how would I ever do a good job focusing on serving God well in this season, right?
33:54
SPEAKER_02: So I have to find that rest in the midst of all this transition and not to feel discouraged or defeated.
34:01
SPEAKER_02: It's hard.
34:02
SPEAKER_02: It's lots of work, right?
34:04
SPEAKER_02: You gotta be intentional, but you can do it with God's help.
34:08
SPEAKER_00: You can.
34:08
SPEAKER_00: Do not be anxious about anything.
34:10
SPEAKER_00: But pray your petition, present your request to God and his peace, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds.
34:17
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
34:17
SPEAKER_00: In all of these seasons.
34:19
SPEAKER_00: I have three closing questions for you.
34:21
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
34:21
SPEAKER_00: This has been such a wonderful conversation already.
34:24
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm soaking this in.
34:25
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna apply rest.
34:27
SPEAKER_00: Um, first question is and you've already hinted at this, but I just want to hear your your kind of off-the-cuff statement.
34:33
SPEAKER_00: But why does the world need more Christian nurses?
34:37
SPEAKER_02: Wow, that's a Lord of question.
34:40
SPEAKER_02: And I know the hurting world needs sincere nurses to care and to connect authentically, and our grads can do that.
34:52
SPEAKER_02: You know, we produce nurses that are unshakable in their faith, right?
35:01
SPEAKER_02: Because their faith formation gets strengthened through the journey, not only at Northwestern, but through our program.
35:09
SPEAKER_02: So I do believe our nurses who carry the presence of Christ into the moments of our patience and human vulnerability, that's where true support or meaningful care happens, right?
35:29
SPEAKER_02: So I do believe without Christian nurses, it will be challenging.
35:37
SPEAKER_02: I don't know how others find purpose and meaning in what they do if they don't realize the calling, nursing as a calling, what God placed in their life.
35:51
SPEAKER_02: I'm not saying other nurses don't find meaning in their work.
35:55
SPEAKER_02: I'm just talking about what's important to our program and why I believe Christian nurses uh can be resilient in what they are called to serve, because it is really not a job, it is not even a profession, it is truly a calling to serve the vulnerable.
36:16
SPEAKER_00: Well, you sense that when you have a nurse care for you, that this is coming from deep inside and they absorb a lot of that, they feel it, and that's what makes them so good at caring, right?
36:25
SPEAKER_00: Um, well, looking forward, what's your vision for the school of nursing?
36:30
SPEAKER_00: Like, what are you excited for that's coming?
36:34
SPEAKER_02: Well, we are always uh dreaming big, and uh just continue to do the work God called us to do.
36:44
SPEAKER_02: And how do we help everyone that wants to become a nurse to get there, right?
36:51
SPEAKER_02: We do have students that struggles initially.
36:54
SPEAKER_02: So looking at resources, bringing in uh what whatever we could to support them to reach that calling in their life.
37:02
SPEAKER_02: Uh we just uh launched a nurse aid program.
37:06
SPEAKER_02: It's four weeks, and uh the first three weeks are all asynchronous online, and the last week there are three days commitment.
37:15
SPEAKER_02: They can have their nurse aid training done, and then that allows them to sit for the uh Department of Health licensing right here in Minnesota.
37:26
SPEAKER_02: Once they get that, they can work as a certified nursing assistant in a long-term care.
37:32
SPEAKER_02: That was my first passion, by the way, geriatric, uh, where my PhD work was.
37:37
SPEAKER_02: So I was that wasn't the reason why I brought the program, but uh we are just uh helping students um 16 and over decide if career in healthcare is possible or is it something that they would desire so they can get that accomplished in a short time.
37:56
SPEAKER_02: And if they like it, they want to come back, we'll welcome them openly to our BSN program.
38:02
SPEAKER_00: Well, what an opportunity to test something out, to go in, and it does practically equip you for a job, but it it also could just open up your heart and your mind to be like, whoa, I want I want to pursue this as a career.
38:13
SPEAKER_00: Um, that's really exciting.
38:15
SPEAKER_00: Um, I want to close with this question, and you've already probably hinted at this, but this is the unwavering podcast, after all.
38:22
SPEAKER_00: So, what does it mean to you as a nurse to live in a way that is unwavering?
38:29
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
38:30
SPEAKER_02: This is a great question.
38:32
SPEAKER_02: You know, we just need to be clear.
38:37
SPEAKER_02: When we are teaching and training our future nurses, we are unwavering in Christ's truth, right?
38:46
SPEAKER_02: Who we are and what it means to be Christian nurses.
38:51
SPEAKER_02: But then taking that further into practice, I want to make sure our nurses know that they are not alone.
39:02
SPEAKER_02: God is always with them.
39:04
SPEAKER_02: Even if they don't feel him, they know he is there.
39:08
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes feelings are changing, right?
39:12
SPEAKER_02: We can't rely on our feelings.
39:14
SPEAKER_02: We need to rely on the truth that no matter what happened, God is with us.
39:18
SPEAKER_02: And he will not give us more than what we can handle, even though sometimes you may feel like you're drowning.
39:25
SPEAKER_02: But knowing the truth that you're able to do this life with God.
39:30
SPEAKER_02: So that unwavering realization matters to our nurses to sustain their work in this demanding world.
39:40
SPEAKER_02: Nursing is not easy, Mantia.
39:42
SPEAKER_02: I'm the first one to admit, I just plot all the nurses out there just serving the most challenging population, vulnerable population with little resources and lack of support.
39:56
SPEAKER_02: I they are true heroes.
39:58
SPEAKER_02: But I also want them to just hold on to these promises, right?
40:02
SPEAKER_02: They're not doing it alone.
40:04
SPEAKER_02: They can always reach back to faculty, staff, us to know that we can be a good listening ears for them, encourage them, pray with them, right?
40:14
SPEAKER_02: So I just feel like that unwavering realization and commitment need to be there day in, day out.
40:23
SPEAKER_00: That's so good.
40:24
SPEAKER_00: That's so good.
40:25
SPEAKER_00: And for you listening to this, if you're a nurse, um, thank you for what you do.
40:30
SPEAKER_00: And I hope that that Santhony's words have been an encouragement to you today to remember that, remember the promises that we have in God.
40:36
SPEAKER_00: And if you're not a nurse, you probably know a nurse.
40:39
SPEAKER_00: So think of a nurse or two that come to mind and send them a note today and just say, Hey, I see you and I appreciate you.
40:46
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for your kindness, your compassion, because they feel it all.
40:49
SPEAKER_00: And um, I think uh encouragement from us would go a long way with our friends who are nurses.
40:53
SPEAKER_00: And uh, Santhony, thank you so much for joining us today.
40:57
SPEAKER_00: And um, thank you for being here at Northwestern.
41:00
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for bringing your mind and your talents and your understanding, but even more, thanks for bringing your heart here to Northwestern, and thanks for putting it on display during this podcast.
41:09
SPEAKER_00: It's been a privilege.
41:10
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, thank you, Mondi.
41:12
SPEAKER_02: It is uh such an honor to have this time with you.
41:14
SPEAKER_02: And again, thank you, Noses.
41:16
SPEAKER_02: We love you and God loves you.
41:24
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for listening.
41:25
SPEAKER_01: To hear more, subscribe and leave a rating wherever you listen.
41:29
SPEAKER_01: And if you know an alum, faculty member, staff, or student of Northwestern doing amazing things out in the world, let us know at alumni at unwsp.edu, the unwavering podcast, highlighting the people, the purpose, and the pulse of Northwestern.