NDM Interview Series | Ryan Frank, Nurse at Trilogy Health Services

A candid discussion about the unique challenges of the nursing profession and why being passionate about the work you do is critical to success.

Non-Desk Matters had the privilege of interviewing Ryan Frank, an LPN at Trilogy Health Services about the ins and outs of being a nurse.

Topics we discussed:

• The ‘flying hazards’ of working a fast-food restaurant drive thru
• Having a passion for the work you do
• The hardships of the nursing profession
• Liver cheese (This is a GREAT story)
• How nursing and construction are similar
• And more…

Patrick: Alright so this morning we are here with Ryan Frank. This is Patrick Goodman from Non-Desk Matters to take some time and talk about your work and how you got there, but before we start we like to ask everyone this question. What was your first hourly job?

Ryan: My first job was actually at McDonald’s. I feel like that’s a general answer for most of the United States. But yeah, options are kind of limited when you’re 16 and there’s only a few things you can choose from. So, yeah, I was at McDonald’s for a couple of years.

Patrick: Did you like it?

Ryan: Yeah, I liked working. Most of the second shift co-workers were also high schoolers so it was a lot of my friends and we had a good time. So it was rough but it was also fun. I don’t envy all the managers who had to keep us in line. That was that was probably kind of rough on them.

Patrick: Any crazy drive through stories?

Ryan: Oh yeah. I mean it’s McDonald’s. You always have to dodge a cup through the window or have somebody irate over the fact they can’t get barbecue sauce.

Patrick: Barbecue sauce?

Ryan: Yeah, right?! I mean barbecue sauce is life, so.

Patrick: So you finished up there and then what was next for you after McDonald’s?

Ryan: I worked in a few factories around Louisville. I went to college straight out of high school. I got kicked out because I couldn’t pay for it. At the time I had just turned 18. I went to Western Kentucky University. It was a rough time for me. But I came back and worked at a few factories and then decided I wanted to go to nursing school.

Patrick: Cool. Where’d you do nursing school?

Ryan: Spencerian College.

Patrick: How long is that program?

Ryan: It’s actually a year for your LPN. So it’s basically just a nurse factory. Nine to five Monday through Friday for a whole year. It’s very intense.

Patrick: Favorite course?

Ryan: Eh. I had a favorite teacher. Her name was Mrs. Livingston and she is what you would hope every teacher would be like. She was enthusiastic and knowledgeable. She really made you want to be a nurse and be the best nurse that you could be. What else could you ask for.

Patrick: Gotcha. So when did you finish that?

Ryan: I graduated in 2008.

Patrick: OK. And where did you work after that?

Ryan: Actually back when I graduated you had to do 120 hours of preceptorship prior to and after graduating. The rehab facility that they put me at, the preceptor and I made friends there at Rockford Manor.

Patrick: And where are you now?

Ryan: I’m actually at Westport Place, a Trilogy facility out on Westport Road. I’ve been there for two years.

Patrick: I’m sure you have some fun, crazy stories.

Ryan: Nursing is just full of crazy stories.

Patrick: My sister is a nurse so I have heard a few.

Ryan: Not all of them are ok to talk about during interviews but it’s always something — always a wild ride in nursing.

I’ll tell you my favorite story. It’s not so much crazy as is the reason people become nurses. So I had a couple patients who were talking and they were still at the dining table way after lunch and I was like “Hey. What’s going on?” So I sat down and started talking with them and they were talking about how when they were children their mothers always made a snack for them after school and how it just so happened that one had liver cheese and crackers and the other one had a liver cheese sandwich. So I was like, “What is liver cheese?” Like, I don’t feel like there should be cheese from a liver but, hey, whatever. So they got to talking about it, and the way their eyes lit up when they remembered that feeling of their mothers making snacks — it’s very surreal. The next day I went shopping for liver cheese and I looked like a complete fool in Kroger because nobody knew what I was talking about. Finally there was this one lady, probably in her 60s, and she says “Oh liver cheese? No it’s not in the cheeses, that is going to be in bologna.” So I was like, ok, this is getting weirder by the minute. So I picked up some liver cheese and I made liver cheese and crackers and a liver cheese sandwich to take to them.

The look on their face when they saw what it was and took their first bite just made it all totally worth it.

Things like that are why I got into nursing in the first place. That little extra you can do to make someone’s day and show how much you care about them as a person makes it worth it.

Patrick: That is an amazing story!

What are some challenges related to the nursing profession in general?

Ryan: The hardest thing for me is to separate my emotions and keep who I am grounded. As much as you want to heal everybody you come in contact with and make them better and take care of them, it doesn’t always work out that way. We deal with a lot of stuff that most people on a daily basis don’t. You have to have a very strong core to help you handle some situations. You may have to hold someone’s hand as they are dying or console a child who just lost their mother. It’s very tough to able to leave that situation, walk five feet over to the next room, put a smile on your face and ask the next person how they are doing today. It’s very difficult to be able to compartmentalize those emotions and not show them to other patients.

Patrick: What do you think the public perception is of the nursing profession?

Ryan: Generally I think people think highly of nurses. There is always that random person though that has a negative comment or view. To be totally honest, nurses are the worst when it comes to that. Older nurses are a lot of times very condescending to newer nurses. But I think generally the public views nurses as people who just want to help them and heal them and be a rock in a storm and a safe place.

Patrick: My sister shares stories of what you just mentioned.

Your organization (Trilogy Health Services) uses Red e App as a communication tool. I’m curious of your experience with it there: Have you used it? Do you like it? And also, what do you dislike about it?

Ryan: Well, one of the big issues of nursing is that nobody knows what we go through on the floor. Like, I can walk past a construction site but I have no clue what they’re actually doing. The issues that they’re dealing with. Nursing is the same way. Our management walks past but they can’t go through what we go through or deal with what we deal with. A lot of times management is a name without a face or a picture on a wall. I think Red e App bridges that gap between a random person who is in charge of all of us and someone who connects to us personally. It’s sort of like a mass texting system but at the same time, it’s nice to hear from your direct boss that you otherwise have no contact with. Sometimes it’s just, “Hey this is happening on campus” or some encouragement, or “Hey this is changing.” That’s really nice to be able to have. When I started nursing that just didn’t happen. I worked night shift for a long time and I would go a year without seeing my boss and then they would pop up and be like, “Oh, who are you?” Red e App allows management all the way up to the top to be able to connect to the employees personally. I think that’s a very powerful tool.

Patrick: Thanks for that. Last question. If you could swap jobs with someone in the world for about a month, what would you do and why?

Ryan: Anyone? OK. This is it seems a little bit odd but I would like to be a nurse in a different country. I would like to see how being a nurse in the states compares to being a nurse around the world. I love what I do. I found my niche and don’t really want to change. But to see my job through the eyes of someone else would be interesting.

Patrick: Any last words of wisdom for people who read this?

Ryan: I would say if you were in the mindset about becoming a nurse, really understand that you have to have a heart for it. At the end of the day if you’re doing it for the money or job stability, you’re not going to like it because nurses work in very challenging and emotional situations. We have to mediate and help from all sides. We have to coordinate with CNAs, patients, families, and other co-workers. We are the buffer between everyone. To succeed and become a great nurse, you must legitimately love the people and the job that you’re doing.