In The Field: Nurse Michelle discusses her support of nurse graduates
Urgent care nurse practitioner Michelle Lew discusses her career journey, supporting new nurses in the field and how to prevent nurse burnout.
Q: TRUE or FALSE “Nurses eat their young.”
A: Partially true. Unfortunately, this type of toxic environment still exists. I experienced it when I started my nursing career and have tried to make sure that new nurses feel supported when they start their career.
Michelle Lew, ARNP
Q: What is your specialty and where are you based?
A: I am a family nurse practitioner working in urgent care in Seattle, WA.
Q: Any self care or mental health tips for new nurses?
A: My latest tip for new nurses - short staffing is not your problem to solve. As a new nurse, you might have this overwhelming feeling where you want to help your clinic/unit out by picking up shifts to prevent short staffing. If you continue down this path, it’s a short path to burn out. Take care of yourself and enjoy your days off to destress and unwind.
Q: Before working in your current role, what was your nursing career path?
A: I started my nursing career as a CNA in a skilled nursing facility. I was a nurse tech while in nursing school, first on a med-surgical unit and then the operating room. I graduated with an Associate in Nursing. My first job out of nursing school was in plastic surgery. As soon as I got settled into my first job, I started looking at different ADN-BSN programs when I stumbled upon an ADN-MSN FNP program that was offered at a local university. My initial plan was to gain some RN experience before applying for grad school but this program seemed too good to pass up. I applied and got accepted.
As an RN, I spent 2.5 years in plastic surgery and then transitioned to do general and ortho surgeries for the last 2 years until I graduated from my NP program.
Follow Michelle @the.np.mom on Instagram!