Episode 56: Nurse Shark Academy

🎧 From nursing scrubs to business suits - Tina Baxter reveals how to turn your medical passion into entrepreneurial success! In this inspiring episode, the founder of Nurse Shark Academy shares her journey from curious teen to innovative nurse entrepreneur, breaking down how today's students can explore healthcare careers and create their own path.

Through engaging stories and real-world wisdom, Tina exposes the untapped opportunities in healthcare that most people never see.

This eye-opening episode explores:

• How to discover if healthcare is really your calling before investing years of study
• The hidden entrepreneurial opportunities for nurses beyond traditional hospital roles
• Why early exposure and hands-on experience is crucial for career decisions
• Real strategies for finding mentors and gaining valuable healthcare experience
• The journey from clinical practice to business ownership
• How to blend multiple passions into an innovative healthcare career

Perfect for: Students interested in healthcare careers, teens exploring different professions, young innovators wanting to make a difference in medicine, and the counselors, teachers, and parents guiding youth toward healthcare paths. Plus: Essential insights on turning medical expertise into entrepreneurial ventures that change lives.

To learn more about Tina Baxter's businesses, please click on the links below.

https://www.thenursesharkacademy.biz/

https://www.baxterprofessionalserviceshealtheducation.com/

Transcript

00:01.12
fatimabey
And welcome everyone. Today we have with us Tina Baxter from the Nurse Shark Academy. She is from Anderson, Indiana. She is a nurse entrepreneur, owner of Baxter Professional Services Health Education, and owner of the Nurse Shark Academy. How are you today, Tina?

00:21.06
Tina Baxter
I'm doing great. How are you?

00:23.32
fatimabey
I'm really good. I'm looking forward to talking to you. So I like to dive right into it. Tell us a little bit about your background.

00:32.40
Tina Baxter
Well, I am a nurse practitioner and a registered nurse, advanced practice nurse. So I've been in healthcare care for over 20 years.

00:40.02
fatimabey
Oh, wow.

00:40.57
Tina Baxter
um I started out as a lab tech in high school. I worked summers in the lab and then I became a certified nursing assistant and worked in long-term care and then decided to go back to school to become a registered nurse and then later got my master's degree in education and as a nurse practitioner.

01:02.22
fatimabey
What made you decide to go back to school to become a nurse?

01:05.69
Tina Baxter
Well, originally I was in college at the time I'm studying biology and my goal was to go to medical school, but I discovered that I did not want to be a physician.

01:13.53
fatimabey
Oh.

01:17.88
Tina Baxter
Um, I have physicians in my family and what I saw is I just didn't like the way they live.

01:17.76
fatimabey
Oh.

01:23.71
Tina Baxter
They had all the money, but none of the time freedom. And I wanted to know more about how

01:27.33
fatimabey
o

01:31.64
Tina Baxter
the patient got to where they are and what we can do to help them to, to get better, not just fix the immediate problem, but you know, the other stuff that goes on that led to the issue a lot of times. And so I found nursing was really my calling in my niches and I love it.

01:48.70
fatimabey
Oh, I find that very interesting. So what I what I just heard from what I just gathered from what you just said was that there is more than just money as a an objective.

02:01.46
Tina Baxter
Yes. Yes. i You know what? Nurse nurses can make good money. yeah You know, we can, but if you're just in it for the money, you're going to be one of those that burn out really quickly.

02:06.94
fatimabey
Mm hmm.

02:15.02
fatimabey
I can you repeat that, please and say it louder.

02:17.28
Tina Baxter
Yeah. Yeah. Cause if you're just in it for the money, the burnout factor is there. Uh, you have to really enjoy and love what you're doing.

02:29.19
Tina Baxter
um And for me, yeah, there are days when it's tough and days when I'm like, yep, I'm ready to hang up my hat and retire. But then I also remember the days where um the patients whose lives I've changed and touched and helped.

02:37.85
fatimabey
yeah

02:44.28
Tina Baxter
And, um you know, for me, that's a fulfilling of a calling.

02:44.36
fatimabey
you

02:48.41
Tina Baxter
So it's not just a job, it's a passion for me.

02:49.81
fatimabey
Yeah Yes, I love hearing all of that because that is something that I I teach in and coach on your your passion Is a part of your purpose and that's what you should be making money on not just working a job And if you had become a doctor you would have been just working a job

03:08.67
Tina Baxter
Yes.

03:08.61
fatimabey
You had been making more money ah but with more misery attached to it. So what's the point?

03:14.83
Tina Baxter
I found it kind of stifling, actually.

03:17.66
fatimabey
m And I'm sure there are doctors out there who feel the same way about nursing because we're not all called to the same thing.

03:18.64
Tina Baxter
um

03:22.97
Tina Baxter
Yeah. No.

03:24.45
fatimabey
And that's a beautiful thing.

03:26.28
Tina Baxter
Mm hmm.

03:26.47
fatimabey
I think that's great. So I'm glad that you you you said that. now I said you were the owner of Nurse Shark Academy. So what is Nurse Shark Academy? Do you like to teach sharks how to be nurses?

03:40.41
Tina Baxter
I actually teach nurses that they are sharks.

03:43.84
fatimabey
o So tell us about that.

03:44.61
Tina Baxter
h A shark is an expert in their field of business. So for example, um you know everybody's seen the show Shark Tank.

03:50.06
fatimabey
o

03:55.25
Tina Baxter
and And when I came with the name of the Academy, I've been watching a lot of Shark Tank. And Damon John happens to be ah one of the people that I follow, and I had read his book.

04:06.76
Tina Baxter
And so I got inspired and I was trying to find a name for my academy where I help nurses to start, build and launch their own businesses. And I thought, well, if we're experts in nursing, yes.

04:19.95
Tina Baxter
And now we're going to be experts in business. So the Nurse Shark Academy came along and then I also researched the actual animal.

04:22.78
fatimabey
Mm.

04:28.16
Tina Baxter
There is a Nurse Shark animal. And what I love about the Nurse Shark Animal, yes, there really is, um is that it has a lot of teeth.

04:32.35
fatimabey
What?

04:38.03
Tina Baxter
The shark has a lot of teeth, but it's ah generally non-lethal.

04:38.17
fatimabey
Oh.

04:41.13
fatimabey
Mm.

04:42.77
Tina Baxter
In other words, it won't bother you if you don't bother it. Um, and, and so I liked that aspect because nurses, we do have teeth now, met some nurses, we got some teeth, but most of the time, you know, we are compassionate and helpful and we want to do what's best for the person, but don't, don't get us twisted. We will stand up and advocate for our patients for each other. Um, and so that's a good thing. And so I thought that's a great way of describing what it is to be a nurse expert in business is to be a nurse shark.

05:17.14
fatimabey
Oh, wow. I absolutely love that. And I like that analogy because now I just love that analogy of the the the nurse shark. I ever didn't know that there was actual real thing. So um give us some examples of businesses that ah some of your clients who attend the Nurse Shark Academy have started.

05:38.57
Tina Baxter
Well, one ah actually she's not a nurse, but one is a social worker and she developed her own.

05:42.92
fatimabey
Mm hmm.

05:44.41
Tina Baxter
She was in the school system for over 30 years um and retired.

05:48.88
fatimabey
Hmm.

05:50.88
Tina Baxter
And she wanted to develop a program for young people, teenagers, on helping them to cope with some of the things that you know they deal with. and really put them forward.

06:03.11
Tina Baxter
So she developed her own a consulting business and coaching business to help families deal with the

06:06.39
fatimabey
Oh.

06:10.02
Tina Baxter
things that teenagers do deal with. And then she also included financial literacy in her practice. So we helped her with some of the concepts and getting her started um and really working her through her business plan and and planning that. I had another client of who I have to say she's probably my best one because she talks about it all the time. and I helped her start a CNA training school.

06:37.22
fatimabey
okay

06:37.82
Tina Baxter
she She was a CPR instructor and kind of like me, you know biology major and all of that became a nurse, a nurse educator.

06:40.86
fatimabey
Okay.

06:45.73
Tina Baxter
And she wanted to have her own CNA training school. So by the time we got done working through her plan, um she had called me one day and said, Ms. Tina, Ms. Tina, I went to the bank to start my bank account and they asked for my financial plan and I could just hand it right to them because it was already done.

07:03.49
Tina Baxter
I said, I told you that that little,

07:04.37
fatimabey
That's awesome. That feels really good.

07:05.93
Tina Baxter
Yeah, that little bit of pain that you had and getting it together. We worked through that. It worked out. So now she's doing so well. She's got contracts with several school systems teaching their CNA training programs through her company.

07:20.66
fatimabey
I absolutely love that you're doing this. I love entrepreneurship. Anybody who knows me knows that. I'm very passionate about entrepreneurship. But I like that you have a special niche that you focus on with it. um and And what I'm hearing is you know how to think outside of the box when it comes to your industry and teaching people that they can go from just being a nurse. And some people are happy just being a nurse. But many of them do have ideas of entrepreneurship and you can help them to to Get into that. um That's wonderful. So let me ask you this. How has Nurse Shark Academy made a difference in the medical world? Have you seen that?

08:03.29
Tina Baxter
I always would say just by opening up people's eyes to what nurses can do and be. One of the things when I started the NoShark Academy, I noticed is that when I was talking to people that were not in the healthcare care field, they would say, I didn't know nurses could own businesses.

08:20.42
fatimabey
Mmm, exactly.

08:21.44
Tina Baxter
I said, absolutely we can. I'm like, if you can write a nursing care plan, you can write a business plan. ah So I said, yeah, we can do ah any type of business and use our nursing skills in a different way. You're still a nurse. You just happen to be a nurse entrepreneur.

08:38.13
Tina Baxter
And ah one of the things that, uh, that came out of that realization was that people didn't know what nurses could do. And then I had conversation with nurses who said, I never thought of owning a business. I didn't know I could own a business. And so that's what made me start the podcast. So I can talk to other nurse business owners so we can find out how they got started. So maybe it would inspire someone else to start their business.

09:03.20
fatimabey
So I'm Fatima Bay, the mind shifter. I think you're Tina Baxter, the nurse mind shifter,

09:10.13
fatimabey
because that's what I'm hearing. you You are able to shift people's thinking within your field um to to open up their minds to do more. And that is amazing because I think

09:21.14
fatimabey
If you are able to do that, you know like you said, with with nurses in the field, then the entire medical world does benefit by all these other practices, businesses um opening up that otherwise wouldn't exist that aren't just your standard

09:34.02
Tina Baxter
Mm hmm.

09:36.24
fatimabey
ah uh, insurance, you know, reigned businesses, which is what most of the medical field is right now.

09:42.94
Tina Baxter
Yes.

09:47.39
fatimabey
Um, I think that that is, that is wonderful. And do you see, do you, and does anybody ever come back to you and say, wow, thank you so much, uh, for teaching me.

09:58.11
fatimabey
Cause now I'm excited and I'm doing this and that or whatever.

10:02.07
Tina Baxter
all the time. That's the great part of being in this collaborative space. So I have met so many other nurse entrepreneurs and innovators out there.

10:14.91
Tina Baxter
There's a whole movement that's going on in nursing that I don't think people are aware of. um I think of organizations like nurses in tech that are helping nurses bridge the gap between technology and the nursing field.

10:28.60
Tina Baxter
This was this is a nurse who, um her name is Amanda Payne, and she was in the technology sector.

10:28.59
fatimabey
Hmm.

10:35.83
Tina Baxter
sectors you know She was in IT, and it became a nurse, and now she's marrying that and helping other nurses overcome that gap.

10:41.04
fatimabey
Oh, I love that.

10:43.85
Tina Baxter
um and There's just been so many great nurses out there. There's nurses that nurses that are inventing new ah devices, right?

10:47.05
fatimabey
Hmm.

10:53.71
Tina Baxter
And there's this wonderful event that happens, I think think they call it like NurseCon or something like that, where basically it's a big pitch fest for nurses that have invented something um to get investment into their products that put on every year.

11:05.03
fatimabey
Wow.

11:08.81
Tina Baxter
So there's a lot of great things happening But nobody hears about it. And so that's why I do what I do so you can hear about these wonderful things that are happening out there.

11:14.62
fatimabey
Wow.

11:19.94
fatimabey
Wow, i I did not know that even existed. But that's actually exciting to me. um And for all of you listening out there right now, I want you to, as you're listening to the rest of this episode, I want you to think, what are some things that are inside of you that you could also marry and create some beautiful babies with? Just think about it. So how do you work with youth right now?

11:44.92
Tina Baxter
I'm glad you asked because through Baxter Professional Services Health Education, I have a group of high school students. These young ladies are in my CNA training program, so I do have a CNA training program as well.

12:02.08
Tina Baxter
um And it's it's very interesting and rewarding to have such a group of young people. um I've forgotten what it's like to work with teenagers because I'd work in adolescence as a nurse.

12:14.42
Tina Baxter
um So this has been really refreshing to work with them on a weekly basis and to see them grow.

12:21.30
fatimabey
and what do you do with them

12:22.94
Tina Baxter
I help train them so that when they're done with the program, Um, and ah if they pass my test, they get to take the state test and become certified nursing assistants.

12:33.14
fatimabey
oh

12:34.99
Tina Baxter
And so they can then go out into the workforce and get a job immediately after high school, or even while they're in high school, they can start their journey on becoming a nurse or whatever in the healthcare care field if they still choose to do so.

12:49.05
Tina Baxter
So there's room for them to move on. So when they graduate from high school, they'll already be ahead of the game and already have a certification under their belt.

12:55.83
fatimabey
That's awesome. And this is something that you do in person only, I'm assuming.

13:00.31
Tina Baxter
ah Yes, it's in person. Well, it's kind of hybrid but they have to be in person because the state ah rules and getting trained ah as a CNA.

13:06.72
fatimabey
Yeah, yeah.

13:08.27
Tina Baxter
Yeah.

13:08.42
fatimabey
OK. And ah how do how do you find these students?

13:13.42
Tina Baxter
I actually have a contract with the school that's offering the program. So our cup they approached our company to offer the training for their students.

13:18.90
fatimabey
OK.

13:23.14
Tina Baxter
And so um we started their first class for them. So we'll see what happens. I mean, we may grow and they've got nine campuses. So who knows where this is going to go.

13:33.19
fatimabey
So CNA training is a good is a good pathway to to nurse them.

13:38.49
Tina Baxter
Yes, or or actually I've had, when I had my other business training CNAs, we had our very first class, one of our students is now the, he was he became an administrator of the nursing home, kept the CNA, became the administrator, then now he's the vice president working for the entire chain. um So that he started about, gosh, about 15 years ago, 16 years ago now. um Gosh, it's been a long time. And then some of our students have become ah physician assistants. They've gone on to go to PA school. Some have become nurses, one entered medical school. So you don't know where it's going to take you.

14:21.07
Tina Baxter
So just getting that that start of how to talk to a patient, how to um help someone with their physical care, what to look for um as far as the changes in their condition and what to report, that goes a long way. You'll be surprised at how many people who enter the medical field who have never ah Touch someone else's body in that way in a professional way Never had a conversation with an older adult that wasn't part of their family So this is a great way of getting that step into the healthcare care field um And knowing that if it's something you're gonna really like because that's another important thing too so you can take the class get learn the certification and and Get started and then figure out is health care really for me without having to invest a lot of money or time ah Because some people find out you know what this isn't for me one of our students She worked as a CNA for a little while, but she found out that she really liked the culinary arts and so she became a chef

14:53.75
fatimabey
Hmm.

14:59.13
fatimabey
Hmm.

15:27.09
Tina Baxter
She worked dietary in the nursing home and then ah became a chef. So she has her own ah catering business as well as now over the all the kitchens in the nursing home.

15:34.90
fatimabey
Oh, nice.

15:39.15
Tina Baxter
So yeah, she's doing good things.

15:40.45
fatimabey
Oh, that's good.

15:42.22
Tina Baxter
But she started as a CNA.

15:42.56
fatimabey
i I like the idea of starting off as a senior, doing something, I like the principle or the idea of trying to work in a field first before spending all of that time and investment, and especially money into going to school, because nursing school is not easy.

15:56.54
Tina Baxter
Yes.

15:59.23
fatimabey
i My step-sister's a nurse and I, it you know, she's a really good one, ah but it was difficult doing that, especially being a single mother with a kid, you know, but she did it.

16:11.42
fatimabey
She she worked her behind off and now she's doing well. but um I know how hard that nurses have to work to get to get to that. I just have known a few. and And yeah, you want to make sure it's what you're getting into just like someone goes into law.

16:26.15
fatimabey
Make sure that that's what you want to do before you spent all this time and money and then you're like,

16:28.07
Tina Baxter
Exactly.

16:31.74
fatimabey
i want to be a dancer because i can't stand that and you spend all this time you know and this is what happens to people when they're rushed into this is the career we want you to do and it's something i talk about a lot because i don't think that anybody should rush into a career they're not sure about now you do need to you might have to do things before you figure it out that's normal but i think one of the best ways to figure out is like you said work in the field that you're considering

16:34.24
Tina Baxter
yeah

16:56.10
fatimabey
Doing so it might be doing something else you might just be in an orderly do something so that you're in there so that you could kind of get a gist of What things are like and then you can make a better decision and like it might see you might go. Oh my god. This is absolutely it I'm definitely sure now or I know I have had people and I'm sure you've seen this too I've seen people who have told me that they went to go be ah Become something in the medical field nurse doctor, whatever it was And then they find then they go to school and they realize, I don't like blood.

17:29.40
fatimabey
So you definitely can't work anywhere in the medical field if you don't like blood.

17:35.63
Tina Baxter
Those are the people that work in administration.

17:35.36
fatimabey
So it is not for you. Yeah. You can't, that's nothing you can't do. I'm one of those people where I can, I can watch you dig around my arm and and with a needle I have and not flinch and just look like, did you find it yet? Like that doesn't bother me, but don't spit. Cause I know I'm totally grossed out.

17:54.73
Tina Baxter
You know, the spitting part, the sputum I don't do well with, but I've been around dead bodies since high school.

17:57.01
fatimabey
but

18:00.81
Tina Baxter
So um it's for me, that was nothing.

18:04.50
fatimabey
Oh, really?

18:05.64
Tina Baxter
Yeah. Well, I in high school, because I was part of this learning program, and this is what I'm going to say out for your young listeners. Hey, listen, if you get an opportunity to do something that maybe feel uncomfortable, go for it.

18:19.06
Tina Baxter
So I was part of this program called Upward Bound.

18:18.95
fatimabey
Mm hmm.

18:22.63
Tina Baxter
And we got to work um with these students. And also I had a chance to work on the campus of the medical college um as a student leader in the lab.

18:35.80
Tina Baxter
And because I was there doing these rotations, um the physicians there took me under their wing, me and this other girl, and every time they had an autopsy, they would let us come and learn.

18:47.21
fatimabey
Oh, wow.

18:49.00
Tina Baxter
And so I got a chance to see three autopsies. um All before I went to to college, by the way. um So I saw an older gentleman who died from COPD and really bad ah um lung cancer.

18:56.05
fatimabey
Oh wow.

19:08.24
Tina Baxter
Well, when they opened him up, and not to be too graphic for your show, but I think it's important for our young people to hear this, one of his lungs looked perfect. It was pink, healthy.

19:20.18
Tina Baxter
The other lung was so damaged by the cancer and the smoking. It was shriveled and blackened. It was horrible.

19:27.45
fatimabey
Oh wow.

19:29.03
Tina Baxter
And he showed me where um On the outside the lung looked good, but when he opened up the other lung that looked healthy He should show me where the damage was and the lung and so I want I wanted to hear that Don't smoke don't smoke as an ex-smoker that stuck with me in my hand um Don't smoke it's terrible, but I saw that and then I saw unfortunately I watched an autopsy of a baby.

19:38.74
fatimabey
Oh wow. Yeah, yeah.

19:54.67
Tina Baxter
They want to know why the baby died That was pretty sad and then I saw an autopsy

19:58.11
fatimabey
Did that traumatize you at all?

20:00.37
Tina Baxter
No, um, I'm very good with stuff like that.

20:05.56
fatimabey
Okay.

20:06.83
Tina Baxter
I learned how to detach early. I don't know. i i've I've always been curious about science and the human body.

20:11.87
fatimabey
Mm hmm.

20:12.78
Tina Baxter
So I was very good with stuff like that. And my dad my dad brought me a ah medical books that had like the human body in there and and dissections and all this stuff when I was younger.

20:24.05
fatimabey
Mm hmm.

20:26.42
Tina Baxter
So I already knew what the human body kind of looked like.

20:28.13
fatimabey
Oh, OK.

20:28.70
Tina Baxter
I just hadn't seen it in person. um And so for me, it was a learning opportunity. And I was so focused on what I wanted to learn. And um it was a really good.

20:39.13
Tina Baxter
the The only thing that was bad was the smell. um That was really bad. ah But to say, I've also been around older adults a lot, though, growing up, because my mom was a volunteer in the nursing home.

20:51.70
Tina Baxter
So kind of the rule in the house was wherever mom volunteered, that's where we also volunteered.

20:56.87
fatimabey
yeah I get that. I get that.

20:58.45
Tina Baxter
We would go with her when she was volunteering. So I had been around older adults all my life and kind of was used to that population going into nursing homes and and seeing things. So for me, it wasn't scary at all.

21:11.75
fatimabey
Okay.

21:12.99
Tina Baxter
And um what was terrifying for me was OB.

21:18.27
fatimabey
Really?

21:19.32
Tina Baxter
My cousin is an OB-GYN, or he was, I think he retired now, but I spent two weeks with him. And that's one of the one of the reasons why I didn't go to medical school, um because I just saw the lifestyle and I'm like, yeah, not not for that. um And so um I realized I was never gonna be an OB nurse because of that experience.

21:40.29
Tina Baxter
What got to me was I didn't like being woken up in the middle of the night to go to the hospital for someone to have a baby, and there was no baby. It was Braxton Hicks.

21:50.68
Tina Baxter
I was like, you woke me up at 3 a.m.

21:51.39
fatimabey
Oh yeah, that would happen.

21:52.24
Tina Baxter
for no baby? Oh, now he's all happy, you know, whatever, whatever, and I'm over there mad.

22:00.36
fatimabey
but Not for you.

22:01.90
Tina Baxter
I need my sleep, okay? So I'm...

22:04.32
fatimabey
So it sounds like the experience you're, what you were saying earlier really rings true. If you get an opportunity to have a new experience, do it because you don't know what it's going to teach you.

22:10.05
Tina Baxter
and do it. Exactly.

22:15.11
fatimabey
It will teach you where you're, it will teach you what you can and can't handle, which is good to know ahead of time.

22:20.46
Tina Baxter
I knew OB wasn't for me and I worked in the lab for three summers and I realized I couldn't do that for the rest of my life.

22:20.78
fatimabey
yeah

22:28.24
Tina Baxter
Sorry lab people, but it was boring.

22:31.39
fatimabey
Yeah.

22:32.01
Tina Baxter
It was the same thing every day. And I love my midwifery friends.

22:33.90
fatimabey
yeah just

22:36.39
Tina Baxter
And I would tell them we were went to school together. um And they would be we would be in some of the same classes. And they're like, oh, I can't wait to be a midwife. And I'm just thinking, why? They're like, oh, because the first experience is beautiful.

22:49.32
Tina Baxter
And I'm like, yeah, but it's all the same. And they're like, oh, no, every every experience is different. I was like, no, it's not unless something exciting happens. And of course, you don't want anything exciting to happen.

23:00.22
Tina Baxter
So no, it's not for me.

23:00.02
fatimabey
No, you don't. but And that's the thing. it's That's the thing. It's good that you were able to figure out what is and isn't for you because someone else, the the things that turns you off will turn somebody else totally on.

23:07.04
Tina Baxter
Yes.

23:13.84
fatimabey
There are people who will sit in a lab all day and it's super exciting.

23:16.85
Tina Baxter
Yep.

23:16.94
fatimabey
They don't get excited by events. They get excited by information. So for so for that type of person, a lab is amazing. They get excited by discovery. You do a lot of that in the lab. So you know it's it's different for each of us, and that's beautiful. so it's And I'm saying that because I want all the listeners to hear more than just about nursing. Hear the principles of what she's talking about, because everything she's saying is extremely important, regardless of what field you're getting into. Take the principles behind what she's saying and apply them for yourself. you know Figure out, when you want to figure out your career, have those experiences.

23:53.77
fatimabey
You work, if you think you want to own a store, work at Walmart. If you think you want to, you know, start there.

23:58.63
Tina Baxter
yes

23:58.68
fatimabey
If you think you want to own a restaurant, start off at 16 or 14 or whatever age and work at McDonald's. That's not a regular restaurant, but it's a start. And then you can move up from there.

24:09.98
fatimabey
There's things that you'll learn like, Oh my God, I can't stand standing on my feet all day and cooking food. So that ain't for me. Or I just want to eat the food. I don't want cooking no more. whatever it is whatever it is you know for you to for people to figure out um so i love that you brought out those factors because i think it's very important for people to hear and i'm me personally you know the the the medical field has never been an interest to me um so to me it's all like okay it's just stuff that people do um but the thing that i do like about nursing and

24:44.51
fatimabey
and ah Being a doctor and a lot of the medical field actually but especially in those two positions You guys really make a difference in people's lives Like for real, you guys and nurses and doctors make a difference differently.

24:59.99
fatimabey
And I will tell you from my own experience, doctors make a difference because they could kill you or they can help you live better. Okay, that's enough of a difference right there, right?

25:07.75
Tina Baxter
Yeah.

25:08.09
fatimabey
So they can help you solve a problem or they can kill you. You know, either way, hopefully they'll help you solve a problem. But nurses, you guys spend more time with the patients than the doctor just by nature of how things are set up here in the US.

25:21.66
fatimabey
So you guys are the ones that sometimes are the ones that are comforting ah the patients where where the doctor can't because the doctor has to talk to you and do what he has to do he or she and then just like dart off to the next patient by nature they absolutely have to do that. Nurses you have to do that too but you have to spend a little more time with the patient and I know I've had more conversations with nurses and uh I don't remember the names of the other positions the other people that take your blood pressure and stuff like that some of those people they can make a difference too because they also hold conversations with patients and sometimes they can be the one that comforts us when you think you know when you're like scared you're about to die or your heart's gonna explode or whatever's going on with you

25:53.06
Tina Baxter
Yes.

26:08.44
fatimabey
it's important to have people around you who can soothe soothe you the best they can whatever that means because it's going to be different for each of us but i know that you guys do make a big difference in people's lives because uh you know you make you can make a break someone's psyche in in a situation and where how we think i know this is a mind shifter how we think is absolutely everything because how we think affects our physical health as well. And I know as a nurse, you already know that. Um, so I, I just thank you for, for all that you guys do. Um, now I want to ask you what advice you've already talked about a little bit, but what advice do you have for a teen considering getting into the nursing field now?

26:54.39
Tina Baxter
I would say look for opportunities and in your community, there may be a chance for you to get a CNA training class or even start with getting CPR trained.

27:09.12
Tina Baxter
Take a CPR class.

27:08.88
fatimabey
Hmm.

27:11.29
Tina Baxter
Learn first aid. Um, one of the things we try to do is to get them involved in making some of those decisions that you have to make, you know, in an emergency, just learning those little things can kind of open up doors. Uh, don't be afraid to ask questions. Right. Uh, look for some organizations in your community. So in our community, we have the black nurses association, uh, of which I happen to be the president and in, in our community and we,

27:42.60
Tina Baxter
Look for students that want some coaching, mentoring to help them if they want to enter the nursing field because we want to want them to understand some of the behind the scenes stuff. So if there's an opportunity for you to go to a job fair or get a job working at the hospital, I don't care if it's volunteering.

28:00.53
Tina Baxter
as ah as a candy striper like they call back in the day or working as a volunteer, try to do something to get to know some of the people that are doing the things that you're interested in doing.

28:11.81
Tina Baxter
Get into their atmosphere.

28:14.09
fatimabey
Mm.

28:14.81
Tina Baxter
You'll find mentors there and people who will want to help you. ah People genuinely want to help you. And you'll find the the right people to do that. And that's one of the things that was very encouraging to me um as a nursing student, as two of the members of the black nurses happened to be in the hospital. One was a nursing supervisor at the hospital and one was a vice president of mission in the hospital.

28:40.62
Tina Baxter
And they took me under their wing and helped guide me through that process and made sure that I got exposed to opportunities. And a lot of times they're writing this who you know. you know And so because they we were part of this, they made sure that I got a chance to work as a nurse tech on the floor and to do other things.

28:51.36
fatimabey
Mm.

29:00.32
Tina Baxter
I also worked in home care and hospice care during that time. And they helped me, let me work and volunteer in the church health stations. and put me on salary as a paid person to work for them so you know they did all these different things to encourage me as a brand new nurse as a nursing student becoming a nurse and so find out if there's organizations in your area that's doing what you want to do so i'm a mentor with an organization called pass the torch in indianapolis And one of the young ladies that I mentored was going into mortuary science. Now, I don't know much about mortuary science other than they take care of the dead bodies, you know, yada, yada, yada. What I didn't know was that that was a very male dominated ah industry.

29:47.95
fatimabey
Hmm okay.

29:49.12
Tina Baxter
so much so that they actively sometimes discourage women and particularly women of color from going into the field.

29:56.45
fatimabey
Hmm.

29:58.58
Tina Baxter
And so ah this young lady was, ah she she was also a chef. I don't know why I keep getting any chefs in my life, but it's great. um She was also a chef by training, but she was not in love with food anymore.

30:10.91
Tina Baxter
she She loved it when she was doing it, but she was burnt out on that. She didn't want to do that anymore. And so she her heart's desire was to own her own funeral home one day.

30:21.09
fatimabey
Okay.

30:22.13
Tina Baxter
And so ah I was able to help her navigate some things, get in touch with some organizations, kind of coach her through a problem she was having in her program because in Indiana, there's only two places you can train to be a mortician.

30:35.93
fatimabey
Oh,

30:40.23
Tina Baxter
And the one program had to shut down temporarily because the person that was over it teaching it retired suddenly.

30:40.04
fatimabey
really?

30:48.52
Tina Baxter
And they had no one to replace that person.

30:48.78
fatimabey
Oh.

30:50.87
Tina Baxter
So she had to go back to another school um that she had previously left and went back there because they're the only other school in the state that had a program. I was able to encourage her to continue and say, hey, this is a different experience for you.

31:04.91
Tina Baxter
um You were there before, but this you're a totally different person now and you're doing something you really want to do to keep at it. So, um, I know she's, she's doing well and she's kept at it.

31:15.33
Tina Baxter
So, um, I'm just saying you can start something, enjoy it, love it, but maybe after a while it's not the right thing in that season for you. And you can always make a shift and change.

31:26.14
Tina Baxter
So don't be afraid to try something new. And if you love it, great. If you love it now and maybe not later, that's fine too. You can always make a change. You have plenty of time to do that in your life.

31:36.39
fatimabey
Yes.

31:38.95
fatimabey
It is okay to change careers and a lot of people do that.

31:41.18
Tina Baxter
Yes.

31:41.71
fatimabey
And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. You can get tired of something after a while and okay, I i want to move on. And I've known people to do the opposite when it gets, but I don't know why, but especially when it comes to chefs, I've seen people go from the medical field to chefry to becoming a chef, you know, to, to, uh,

31:57.84
Tina Baxter
Yes.

32:01.48
fatimabey
Code you know the culinary arts they were a beautician and then they decided to become a nurse There's just it's okay to do that because if you have gifts and talents which we all do but most of us have more than one so you might find a different avenue to To use another or ah you just get burnt out sometimes you just want something new and There's nothing wrong with that and it is okay to say I'm gonna do this for 10 years and then I'm gonna do something else you know

32:27.85
Tina Baxter
And that's perfectly fine and perfectly valid. And then maybe you'll fall into like a hobby that suddenly becomes part of your job. Um, not a lot of people know that I was a radio DJ.

32:42.00
fatimabey
Oh, really?

32:42.87
Tina Baxter
Yeah. So I was a radio DJ in high school and college.

32:42.85
fatimabey
I didn't know that.

32:46.82
Tina Baxter
I had a jazz show in high school and then I had a ah gospel show in college. I went to a Christian university and I, only got into broadcasting in high school because I ran out of classes to take.

33:02.87
Tina Baxter
I seriously did nothing else. but Nothing would fit into my schedule.

33:04.08
fatimabey
There we go. Trying something new.

33:08.61
Tina Baxter
And I was, you know, I was getting ready. I could have graduated early, but I didn't want to do that. You know, I could have graduated in January, but I liked school that I, plus I was on the student council and all that kind of stuff. So I wanted to stay in school and I was in the band. Um, and so I needed something to fill that cap and I said, Oh, they have radio broadcasting. That's completely out of my element.

33:30.60
Tina Baxter
Never would have thought about it. So I convinced my mom because she was also in radio and television at the time. ah She worked in public relations. ah So she didn't want me to go into radio and television or music. That's a whole other story. ah But I convinced her to let me take the class and I started taking and I loved it. So I kept up the show in college until I had to set it aside because of school as a had a major in biology in ah and two minors at the time, so I had to let it go.

34:04.25
Tina Baxter
um But I was telling my mom a couple of years ago when I started the podcast, I was just doing my thing one day and I looked up and I said, oh my gosh, those skills that I learned back in high school, in college, being a radio DJ, just came back to me and naturally added to my work as a podcaster.

34:26.98
Tina Baxter
I just couldn't believe it. And I said, you know, nothing nothing's wasted.

34:28.52
fatimabey
Oh wow, yeah.

34:31.14
Tina Baxter
So maybe there's something you've done like as a kid that you enjoy that later on you get to do again.

34:31.32
fatimabey
Yeah.

34:37.31
Tina Baxter
And I'm like this one of the reasons why I'm so comfortable behind a mic.

34:41.38
fatimabey
I was on the radio before I did the podcast. you i You probably didn't know that either. But I really think it trained me for the podcast. you know i was Again, it was an opportunity that was brought to me.

34:52.74
fatimabey
i didn't go and I didn't go to them and say, hey, I want to be on the radio. It was brought to me. It was like, would you like to be on my radio show? Because you have a lot to say. So I'm like, sure. and And I really think that gave me training for the podcast.

35:05.64
fatimabey
So I'm grateful for it.

35:07.37
Tina Baxter
Yeah.

35:07.08
fatimabey
And again, I see the running theme here is, Create opportunities or seek them out and do something different because you don't know What's gonna what's gonna be the outcome of that and it could change your trajectory for life It could change where you're headed career wise make a difference for you.

35:23.72
fatimabey
That's a big deal. No We talked about the fact that you have a podcast. So ah before we go if you could tell the audience where they could find your podcast and where they could find your other businesses and

35:35.53
Tina Baxter
Okay, great. So it's the Nurse Shark Academy show. And you can find us on our website, the NurseSharkAcademy.biz or you can go to Podbean and you can find this wherever you get your podcasts, Apple, Google, well, not Google now, it's YouTube now.

35:52.22
Tina Baxter
ah home ah Samsung, Amazon, Spotify.

35:53.17
fatimabey
Yeah.

35:56.29
fatimabey
Spotify.

35:58.19
Tina Baxter
Yep. And then we also have the YouTube channel. So you can also ah follow us on the YouTube channel and subscribe.

36:04.80
fatimabey
Awesome. Well, Tina, it has been awesome talking to you. It's really been fun. And I've, I've actually gotten really excited about yeah so lots of conversation. I love talking about entrepreneurship.

36:15.63
fatimabey
Um, and we can hear your passion and excitement. And I think you are doing the right, I think you're in the exact right field where you belong. And, uh, it sounds like you're making a difference for other people, which is at the end of the day, the biggest deal.

36:27.46
fatimabey
So again, thank you for coming on.

36:29.38
Tina Baxter
Well, thank you. Thanks for having me.