Do you feel like all of the hard work you do to study is going to waste because you continue to get bad grades? Today you’ll learn how one Nurse transformed from struggling student who felt “completely overwhelmed”, to independent and “flying on her own” as a successful nurse entrepreneur who now makes over 6 figures. She also happens to have been my very first nursing student that I tutored way back in the day when I was hired as my school’s only official peer tutor. Want to hear more about this inspiring story?
Listen Now!
Some links below may be referral links…purchases made from referral links don’t cost you any extra, but may provide a commission that helps support Your Nursing Tutor’s free content, so thank you!
Links from Episode 42:
Shapes Recovery House Website: https://shapesrecoveryhouse.com
Shapes Recovery House Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ShapesRecoveryHouse
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shapesrecoveryhouse/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shapesrecoveryhouse
Transcript for Episode 42
Welcome to Episode 42 of Navigating Nursing School with Your Nursing Tutor. Today, you’ll be hearing from Nurse Entrepreneur, Skye Ellis, who also happens to be my very first tutoring student way back when I was hired as the official peer tutor for our nursing school. She is joining us today to share the story of HER nursing school struggles and how she overcame them to go on and become a successful nurse, and eventually a nurse entrepreneur, so that you know that YOU can eventually do it, too.
Also, if you don’t already know me, my name is Nicole Whitworth, and I’m a Registered Nurse and the founder of Your Nursing Tutor, which features the VIP Tutoring Membership, an affordable way to access the tutoring and mentoring support you need for nursing school success.
While I gladly serve students of all ages and from all walks of life, I specialize in helping non-traditional nursing students. I know you have an entirely different set of struggles and challenges, doubts and fears, compared to your more traditional counterparts. And I also know how to work with you to manage your unique circumstances to lower your stress and support you all the way to graduation.You can learn more about how I do that by going to www.YourNursingTutor.com/vip
Now it’s time to introduce you to my guest for today, Nurse Skye Ellis.
Skye is a nurse entrepreneur and owner of Shapes Recovery House in Chicago, Illinois. She has been a nurse for over 10 years, which is almost as long as I’ve known her, since we met when we were both still in nursing school. She has worked in many areas of nursing over the years, from proressive nursing to nursing homes, and even worked as a travel nurse for a few years.
She started Shapes Recovery House, the “Chanel” of recovery houses for people who are immediately post-op from extensive plastic surgery procedures, and would like to recover in an upscale, private, luxurious location, all while still receiving professional nursing care. Skye and her staff provide this expert nursing care, as well as hospital transportation, prescription pick-ups, healing massages, and nutritious meals. They even do the laundry so that clients can spend their first few days post-op completely relaxing and recovering.
And personally, I know that Skye’s sweet and sassy personality, along with her bright smile, go a looong way towards setting her clients at ease and making them feel comfortable during a very vulnerable time. Her clients seem to think so too, as she’s been able to quickly grow to a six figure business within only 6-months of opening.
In today’s interview, you’ll hear us talk about…
- The ONE word that Skye would use to describe her entire nursing school experience…and I guarantee it’s the SAME word that you are using right now. Like seriously, if you haven’t used this word to describe how you feel about nursing school then email me and let me know, because you might have to teach me, even though I’ve been tutoring for over 12 years.
- You’ll also learn how connecting with a larger community of nursing students , especially for tutoring support, can help you…and the importance of the phrase, “You are who you hang out with.”
- Skye also shares the importance of asking questions when you’re not sure…and learning to recognize that you’re NOT the only one who sometimes makes mistakes…even really embarrassing ones! In fact, she’ll be sharing some of her embarrassing mistakes today, too.
- And finally, Skye explains how the philosophy of “just get to the next test”, is something that will actually serve you well throughout your entire nursing career!
And now, without further ado, here is my interview with Nurse Skye Ellis:
{Listen to the podcast episode to hear Skye’s full interview segment!}
That almost wrapped up my interview with Skye, but then we kept on talking after the official interview was over, and of course she started saying more stuff that I just knew you would find helpful and interesting. So I turned the recording back on and she shared this next tidbit about her personal entrepreneurship journey, and how she first decided to start Shapes Recovery House, including how long it took to see signs of success.
{Listen to the podcast episode to hear Skye’s full interview segment!}
I want to take a moment to thank Skye for chatting with me on today’s podcast!
I still can’t believe that Skye was able to go from not knowing what a recovery house was, to creating a six-figure business in less than a year…and all with COVID going on, no less.
Of course, the not-so-secret “secret” is that she had 10-years of experience both as a nurse, and with general life experience too, that propelled her to see such amazing success.
None of her previous experiences were wasted. She had created a network of other nurses and surgeons in the plastic surgery field in her town. She always made the extra effort to be a team player, which means she’s exceptional at what she does, and people really notice that sort of thing! She’s positive and upbeat, and people like being around her because they also know that she’s not gonna mess around and she’s gonna get the job done.
One other key to her confidence is that Skye has learned how to think like a nurse. She has learned how to “fly on her own”, as she said. And while some other experienced nurses will try to tell you that’s a skill you can only learn over time, that you just have to wait for it to magically “click” someday, I’m here to tell you that you CAN feel more confident and more independent, right NOW, while you’re still in nursing school.
All it takes is learning to study in a way that mimics the way that experienced nurses think. I teach my VIP Tutoring Membership students how to use a simple, 4-step system I’ve developed called the Silver Bullet Study System. This process trains your brain to automatically think like a nurse in a way that expert nurses like your professors can’t usually help you with, because it’s surprisingly HARD to “think about how you think”. And so many times, nursing professors honestly don’t know how to break things down in a way that is understandable for you as a beginning nurse…even though they DO genuinely want to help.
Instead, they often end up giving you very bad advice, because they often just don’t know what else to say or do…advice like, “you just need to study harder”, or “practice more questions, and make sure to read the rationales!”, or, “Don’t worry, everybody struggles at first, it will click eventually!”
But is it going to magically “click” before, or after you fail your next exam? How about before, or after you fail your entire class, and have to sit out for a semester or even an entire year before you can try again?
You see, learning to think like a nurse is not just some magical skill set that some people are blessed with, and others are not. It’s a NON-magical skill like any other, like learning to ride a bike, drive a car, or even swim. And I can teach you that skill using the Silver Bullet Study System, right now, while you’re in nursing school, or even better, before you officially start nursing school if you’re still pre-nursing.
If that sounds good to you, if you’d like to finally learn the study skills you need to think like a nurse but that your expert nursing professor won’t be able to teach you, or if you’d like to finally feel confident and start having the right answers literally jumping out at you on exams, then join the VIP Tutoring Membership today. It’s affordable, especially compared to the one on one tutoring that I used to do for $75/hour, and the membership is effective at getting you better grades so that your hard work finally pays off. At the time I’m recording this podcast, you can join with a free trial to test it out for yourself at www.YourNursingTutor.com/vip.
Next week, I will be sharing more tips and advice for how to get through nursing school confidently and calmly. Make sure to subscribe to this podcast so you don’t miss out.
And while you’re at it, could you do me a quick favor in return? Please leave a 5-star rating for the Navigating Nursing School Podcast on the Apple Podcast app. Leaving a rating and review helps me to know what kind of content and help YOU like to hear on this podcast, and it also helps other nursing students find the help that THEY need, as well.
As I wrap up, I want to leave you with one last, important, thought. Skye shared that she spent 10-years not even thinking outside the box or knowing she could create a successful nursing business like Shapes Recovery House. This is a perfect example of why it’s SOOO important to seek out mentorship…because you don’t know what you don’t know.
And not only to seek out mentorship for yourself, but also to turn around and mentor others who are one step behind you, like Skye and I both do now. Even as a student you can seek to be mentored, and you can be looking for opportunities TO mentor.
One easy way to meet both of these goals is by joining the VIP Tutoring Membership. As a member, you have access to a private Facebook Group, as well as Live Tutoring Sessions where you can connect with me and get the mentorship and support you will rarely find in your own nursing program. In addition, as you learn and grow, you will have the opportunity to connect with other nursing student VIP members who are one step behind you, so that you can motivate and encourage THEM along their nursing journey, too.
Not only that, but with resources like the Silver Bullet Study System, Conquer Test Anxiety, and Conquer Dosage Calculations, you’ll finally have a chance to train your brain to think like a nurse faster, so that your hard work in nursing school pays off with better grades.
Don’t believe all the bad nursing school advice out there, even if it’s coming from your own nursing program. You CAN study in a way that will improve your critical thinking skills, not to mention confidence, quicker and easier than what you’re doing now, by joining the VIP Tutoring Membership today at www.YourNursingTutor.com/vip
Until next time, good luck on your nursing journey!
Nicole Whitworth is the founder of Your Nursing Tutor. She has a BSN and an MA in Clinical Psychology, and has been a professional nursing tutor for over 12+ years. Nicole specializes in getting nursing students through school confidently and calmly so that everything finally “clicks”. She is also the creator of the Silver Bullet Study System, an easy-to-follow study method that automatically trains your brain to become a nurse at the same time that you study for your normal nursing classes.