Teresa Almond for Nurse Life Coach Academy Video Testimonials

Speaker: Teresa Almond, Nurse Manager

Teresa Almond: Hi, my name is Teresa, and I joined Nurse Life Coach Academy because as a nurse manager, I felt really limited in the support I was able to give my nursing staff, and I've always had a passion for helping other nurses grow and be supportive. And I was finding that they were needing a lot more than what I was able to give with my time in the hospital. That really contributed to my burnout and my frustration in my role. And so I really wanted to figure out a way of how I could do this bigger, and how I could be more impactful to not just nurses that were directly under me, but nurses who were finding those same frustrations, either in their bedside role or in their role as upcoming. Leaders on the unit, um, and even administrators to kind of get back to basics of nursing and what does it mean to be supportive and what does it mean to be helpful to others, and I found that coaching was a way that I could do that and be the most impactful and most authentic to myself. And honor my goals and my passion for nursing again. And it was a way to get back in for me, so that's why I joined.

Teresa Almond: I felt like balancing the coursework along with the other obligations and commitments that I had in my life was fairly manageable. They provided a syllabus which really enabled me to be able to stay on track and look ahead and look at the expectations each week. It helped me know that I was in a good place, and that if there was a week coming up, I knew it was going to be especially busy for me, I could work ahead in the weeks that I did have additional time available. I found that if I spent about 2 to 4 hours each week, I could accomplish the coursework that was required and work a little bit ahead each time. That really helped when it came time to start my coaching sessions and my pro bono sessions that I was able to have the coursework under my belt and be able to. Gain those skills provided in the coursework that enabled me to practice them with my peers and grow on them, and then could also go back and revisit them if there was an area that I felt was more challenging than another, or just felt like it's been a minute since I watched or listened to the education, and I also really enjoyed. That it was given in so many different ways and so many different applications. That made it really feel I could tailor it to the work that I was doing as well.

Teresa Almond: As a Learning, nurse coach and a nurse manager in the bedside environment. I've already found ways that I am applying the lessons I've learned through this program into my own practice and leadership and management. I'm able to give support to my nurses. In when they are facing challenges or if they are wanting to grow beyond the bedside and helping them find their values, uh, pinpoint areas that they find really satisfying in nursing, and how can we expand on that and grow them in those areas. So that's one way I've always, I've already seen it. Um, also. Really envisioned when I started this program to bringing in the nurse coach as a role into the hospital, um, which is definitely a possibility and being done across the country, um, in small numbers now, but hopefully growing. I envision this as a way to help support nurses who are in the hospital and not have to use EAP programs or people that are outside of the bedside who may not fully understand the things that we go through every single day, and the patient challenges that we have and staffing challenges. But the more I go through the program, I also see the possibility of how you can take this into private practice and how you can really make it your own and tailor it to what you truly want this life to be. What you want your profession to be, what you want your job to be, and how you can live the life you want to live, and still hang on to the knowledge that you've gained through the years as a nurse and leverage up into this role. So I think it's fantastic.

Teresa Almond: Through the Nurse Life Coach Academy, I have found several ways that I've grown personally through this work. I think anytime that you are coaching others through some of their issues and challenges, you do find a level of self-reflection, and I have found that To be most impactful for me when it comes to the intentionality of my time. And that is when I'm managing the coursework and the coaching hours that we're doing alongside my full-time job, which takes every bit of 45+ hours a week. And then also my ability to sit and be present with others, really be open. And listen. Before moving straight to judgment, um, my ability to be curious and to really ask deep meaningful questions and to sit with that and to let others express themselves. And they've really have given me feedback that it. Has drawn them in to the space and allowed them to be more vulnerable and um really open up, which has helped them, and it also helps me see the benefit of doing this work and why it's so important that we're holding space for each other.

Teresa Almond: If you're considering joining Nurse Life Coach Academy, I would say, what's holding you back? Even if you're not planning on opening your own business or doing this as your full-time profession, these are skills that are very valuable as a nurse. It helps all of us to be able to listen to our patients and to listen to each other and to stop this culture of that may be present in the hospital system or the Offices that we work in, and really get to the bottom of what is going on in in each other's lives and get back to being human for other humans. That is really what has impacted me, and I think the biggest benefit of all of this is really in how we show up each day for each other, and that's something that I'm gonna take with me. Um, no matter where I end up and how I end up using this information at the end of the day, it's gonna make me a better person, it's gonna make me a better Mother, a better friend, a better coworker, and just a better human all around.