The Careerwise Nurse with Natalie D’Itri
Meet Natalie D’Itri
In this episode, Beth talks with Natalie D’Itri, a coach for nurses who want to grow in their professional lives as well as host of the Careerwise Nurse podcast. Their conversation ranges through Natalie’s background and how and why she moved into coaching. They talk about their goals to help nurses realize their career dreams and realize them. Learn more about supporting the Don’t Eat Your Young Podcast with a membership — visit Don’t Eat Your Young’s membership page!
About Natalie
Natalie D’Itri is living her dream of helping nurses find fulfillment in their work. Natalie is host of the Careerwise Nurse podcast and is a coach to nurses looking for expert guidance to launch, grow, and thrive in their professional lives. She is an experienced RN, having worked inpatient and outpatient settings as a direct caregiver, an educator and a clinical mentor. Nurses are tasked with taking care of the sickest people and populations. Natalie helps nurses take ownership of their career and identify resources to build a rich nursing life.
Links
- Careerwise Nurse podcast
- Careerwise Nurse on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram
- Schedule a Time to Talk with Natalie or Email Natalie
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Intro/Outro:
Welcome to Don't Eat Your Young: A Nursing Podcast, with your host Beth Quaas. Before we get started, we have a few quick notes. Don't Eat Your Young is a listener supported podcast. To learn more about becoming a member and the perks available to you for becoming a patron yourself, visit patreon.com/donteatyouryoung. You can learn more about the show, share your story to join Beth as a guest or connect with our wonderful community in our Facebook group. You can find all those links and more at donteatyouryoung.com. And now, on with the show.
Beth Quaas:
Hello everyone. And welcome back to Don't Eat Your Young. We've had a few weeks off because it's summer in Minnesota and we need to take advantage of the nice weather when we have it, but we're back now. Today we have Natalie D'Itri. She's an RN. She has her master's degree from George Mason University. She's an educator, she's a mentor for nurses, and she also has started a podcast that we'll talk about today. So I'd like to welcome Natalie D'Itri to the show.
Natalie D'Itri:
Thank you, Beth, for the opportunity to connect face to face and be a part of your podcast.
Beth Quaas:
Thanks. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Natalie D'Itri:
I've been a nurse for several years and I started in the hospital and I worked inpatient oncology, learned that I love that practice area. And why? It's because with oncology, you learn all the systems of the body. Because the reality is cancer affects the whole body in some way, across all the different diagnoses and conditions and all the severities. So I worked inpatient oncology in a couple different hospitals across the country, spent some time being a traveler.
And through that journey, I landed in the Washington, DC area and there I put down roots and earned my master's at Georgia Mason with a focus on clinical practice in oncology. I met my husband, got a house and I've been here ever since. But I got to work in inpatient clinical research at the National Institutes of Health, which is a very unique place across the country and early phase research. And it was all oncology on my unit. And I also got to see drugs there that were without names yet, but you would know them in practice now in oncology and in other practice areas because they started in phase one or phase two trials. So that was exciting to see things come to fruition and make a difference in patients lives.
Beth Quaas:
That is incredible work, I think. I think that would be so exciting. And then for those drugs that move out into being used every day, that has to give you a really good feeling.
Natalie D'Itri:
It does. Eventually, I retired from the beltway or the big interstate and decided that I didn't want to commute halfway around Washington, DC to go to work. So I started part-time outpatient clinical trials coordination. So then I saw trials, which were in the community settings being enrolling patients in the community settings. And from that, I got to teach patients and work with providers and learn about the clinical trials process in the community.
So that was really exciting. And again, I learned more about drugs. And then I ventured into part-time infusion work and I actually got to give the drugs that I'd been talking about. So I was sort of, again, walking the walk. And I got to work with patients, had a lot of colleagues. We all loved oncology as nurses. And then I actually did go into pharma for a little while. And again, I feel like I could tell my story through nursing because of the drugs I saw and how they came to practice. And so that really helped me to get my pharma job. So for any nurses that want to go into pharma as educators, I have some great secrets to share on that in terms of how that really was a capstone on my career to the point of about five years ago.
Beth Quaas:
I want to hear more about that because I think a lot of nurses too, will want to hear about maybe something they haven't heard of. But when we talk about research and those drugs and how they get there, I think we have to mention all the patients that went through those tests, that research, committed to being part of those research studies. My dad was one of those people. He had brain cancer and he did try some. He was in some trials. Of course, as family members, we never know what happens. But I think it's good to be grateful for all those patients that gave consent to being part of those clinical trials. And I appreciate you for being part of that as well.
Natalie D'Itri:
Well Beth, it was a really exciting journey. I spent a decade doing work in clinical trials, either giving them or educating nurses about them. And it was really fulfilling because largely, it's an outpatient job and you're always learning. You're working with non nurses who are strong in data and science. And we all come to the table with different skills and from different disciplines for a common goal. So that's true in clinical practice, like outpatient oncology, that's true in inpatient oncology and that's true in the pharmaceutical world for nursing roles. So it's a really exciting field. And we appreciate the patients because we know that part of the initial informed consent process is about that you may not receive benefit depending on where the trial is in it's... Where the drug is in its process of being developed or not going forward.
Beth Quaas:
Yeah, I think that's incredible. When you talk about pharma jobs and oncology jobs, oncology must be extremely difficult, just some of the outcomes that you see.
Natalie D'Itri:
It is not sad. I'll say that because oncology nursing society had this button that nurses used to get part of the swag at conferences and stuff. Oncology isn't sad. It is sad for those connections you have with families and patients, because you really do get to know patients and family members well. But it's exciting because of the progress we have made in treating so many cancers. And we can talk about that on a whole nother episode, because immediately, I think of specific examples of different disease states where the world is different today because of oncology, clinical trials and the last 25 years tell an amazing story.
Beth Quaas:
So stay tuned for part two with Natalie when we come back and talk about that. That's amazing, I would love to do that.
Natalie D'Itri:
But I will say that an important part of my journey in being fulfilled in my work is being in oncology and connecting with other nurses in my workplace, in my community, in this country and internationally through professional organization membership. So Oncology Nursing Society. And I always say aside from my connection with patients or taking care of patients and meeting the family members, that being a member of the oncology nursing society, or for nurses that are outside of oncology, because we're not here today, Beth, just to talk about oncology. We talk about having a good nursing life, being fulfilled, being treated with respect, avoiding incivility in the workplace. The professional nursing organization is a way to really be enriched in your life. And it is more than a job. It's a career, it's your life. And you want to have fun, you want to find opportunities to learn more.
It's what has shaped me the most, being a member of a professional organization and kept me on a nice, exciting journey these last many years to where I am now, having just finished being an educator in a large hospital system, as an oncology educator, supporting inpatient and outpatient nurses. Also being a clinical mentor for new nurses coming into oncology and coming into inpatient and outpatient settings, I should say. So that brings me to where I am now. I really didn't leave any gaps in my history. I said I was going to give an abbreviated history, but sort of the nitty gritty of the last 10 years came out. And it's an amazing journey. You learn, you grow, you connect. And it brings me to where I am now, helping nurses to be fulfilled in their work, get support in their new nursing journey, get support in a new role and realize that, yes, it isn't easy most of the time, but there's more to it than just showing up to work.
Beth Quaas:
I think that is a great thing to think about. So if you're a nurse on a unit and you're like, "I'm tired of this, I'm burnt out," but you're an expert at what you do, maybe looking at a professional organization. If you're an oncology nurse, doing what you do, getting more involved. And of course, when everybody's working hard and we don't want to pack on more, but like you said, it might be very fulfilling to focus some of your energy in professional development.
Natalie D'Itri:
So the oncology nursing society or other organizations, whether you're in critical care, psych, mental health, hospice and palliative care, emergency nursing, mother, baby, labor and delivery, women's health. Those organizations really do help you to make it more than a job. You find scholarships for going back to school. They have bachelors and master scholarships through organizations. You network, whether it's at a conference through special interest groups, through chapters where you live, which probably the chapters are trying to meet in person, depending on how big the geography is, where they are formed. But on Zoom, especially during COVID, they connect on Zoom. You meet others who are in your same position or in positions where you might be interested in working.
So you can connect outside of work. You get education, scholarly journals, clinical journals. So not just research articles, but review articles, magazines. You hear voices of your nursing colleagues across the entire continuum of a career. And so I said, scholarship leadership. You got to be a leader. You got to be a chapter leader. You can be a leader in the organization. Nationally. People have probably heard about join a board, the push to get nurses on boards. These organizations need nurses to be involved. So that looks good when you want to go back to school or you want to get a scholarship or a grant, money for your growth and development. The benefits of being in an organization really are limitless.
Beth Quaas:
Yeah. The information that you learn, when you talk about being a leader and an advocate, moving through that and sharing that with people that don't understand what we do, but they are the decision makers is enormous in moving our profession forward, being educated and being able to talk about the issues that matter with the people that don't understand. I love that you said that.
Natalie D'Itri:
And if you're a new nurse, there's a discounted rate to join a professional organization. Just read the different membership categories. They really want people that are early in practice who have graduated in the past year or several years. You'll have to look at what organization for your practice area as a nurse offers. But they're incentivizing people to join early in their careers to grow the membership and to offer members more.
Beth Quaas:
You heard it here folks. Go find your membership that can cost a little less if you're new. That's really good information for people that I didn't know that.
Natalie D'Itri:
And if you're a student, it might be really cheap, like $25 to join a professional organization, if you're a student. Or if you know students, you meet students in your workplace or you teach, or you're a clinical instructor, not just, but clinical instructor or you precept students at work. If you are not yet licensed, you can find membership, full benefits, all the journals, all the emails for as little as $25 to join because they want to encourage people to get involved.
Beth Quaas:
Well, and I don't know this, but I would suspect maybe, do hospitals recognize some of those professional organizations that you're in and maybe can it benefit you in your job? Not just the education, of course, that's going to benefit you. But are there other benefits to becoming members of these organizations?
Natalie D'Itri:
Well, aside from money, education, leadership, and friendship, connecting with other nurses, hospitals would be pleased to see nurses who are looking at getting into a specific practice area. If you're a member of an organization for the practice area, that interests you, that looks good because you're doing some homework and you're trying to learn more about that area of practice you might want to go into, to change roles or to start working as a nurse.
For example, if you've always wanted to be in mother, baby, I recommend you join the women's health. I'm drawing a blank on the name, the Association of Women's Health. There's an organization for labor and delivery postpartum. And if that's the practice area you've had your eye on for a long time, maybe that's why you thought you wanted to be a nurse, join that organization while you're a student, because then you're going to be able to get some background on what's going on in that practice area, or read some articles, learn about what nurses are doing to advance in the field or what's going on in the field. And when you go to an interview, you're going to stand out for having that membership on your resume. It's going to benefit you.
Beth Quaas:
I have to concur with that because I'm in education now. And you have to interview to get into the program. And I would say applicants that come in and they know about our professional anesthesia organization seem much more prepared to come in than someone that has no idea that we even have a professional organization. So that is great advice to anybody. If you can talk about it at an interview, of course, you're going to stand out.
Natalie D'Itri:
It's a buyer's market. Nurses out there, you have a lot of opportunities available to you because of the demand for nurses exceeds the supply. But I'm sure people will remember you when you say, "I've joined that organization while I was looking into practicing in that area," and gives you some talking points. Just some familiarity.
Beth Quaas:
I agree. So what do you do now to mentor nurses?
Natalie D'Itri:
So I recently made a switch and I focus full time on coaching and mentoring nurses. I had launched a podcast earlier this year, actually this summer, and it's called Careerwise Nurse. And you can find it wherever you listen to podcasts. And it really is this vision of being career wise. You own your career, you drive your ship. And no one's going to take you where you want to go, but you. And when you have a busy day, whether it's an eight hour day, nine, 10, 12, 14 hour day, you really, aren't going home to start thinking about more work. But the steps you take to figure out where you want to go and how you're going to get there really matter, because it's your license, it's your career. Your employer doesn't hold onto any of that, you do. What I've said is in private practice, I met some nurses that were really good at what they were doing.
We worked together in infusion, but I said, "You're really good at this. And I just want you to know that you need to keep going. This is not your final stopping point on your nursing journey." This was about 10 years ago. And I said, honestly, the only people that are going to get rich here are the business owners or the partners. And in the case of a private practice, it's the doctors, right? But for us as nurses, you have a lot of lucrative opportunities, especially when you're in charge of your career, you're doing what you love and you're finding ways to have multiple streams of income or go in the direction where you really want to be. But also rich in your job and your career. Not just money when I mean rich, it's what you make it. So you drive that.
So that started my Careerwise Nurse drive, what I wanted to do. And what I realized since then was, well, I could simply spend all my time talking about the benefits of a professional nursing organization, because I spent some time on that in this podcast, but it really is what's had the greatest impact on me besides patients. And I hope others could say that too. And when you look at the thought leaders that you can connect within these organizations, whether they're major researchers from heavily funded nursing programs across the country or just learning who those heavily funded organizations are, those schools, just to know who some of your thought leaders are that comes, that came from me through organizational membership and then the professional nursing organization. So I am a huge advocate for joining your organizations and it will give you more to your job than just a job.
So that's why I think it's so important. And I said, when I create this thing, whatever it's going to be, we can spend the whole time talking about organizations because there's all the different specialties and all the different associated organizations. But I realized that I could bring the two together. And having most recently spent time in a hospital where I was making sure that the new nurses were getting what they needed to be supported through orientation, as the mentor and as the educator, I realized this could all come together. I want nurses to be happy and fulfilled and they need a little extra guidance. Simply for the reason of you show up for your new job. Did you know that you're not going to work night shift that you wanted for two months because you've got classes? And by the way, you're working your preceptor's schedule for the next three to four months. Did anyone tell you those things when you showed up for your first job? How do you balance work and life, especially as a new nurse?
So there's a lot of things that we need to share with nurses. And I realize it's all a part of being career wise. So that's why Careerwise Nurses, my podcast and my way to connect with nurses. And that's how I met Beth actually, is through our work to help nurses live their best nursing life.
Beth Quaas:
We are both advocates for making things better for all of us, new, experienced, it doesn't matter. And I love what you're doing because you're right, as a new nurse, it is overwhelming. And I hear so many young people say, "I'm burnt out already," and they've only been in it for a year. And I get that. I can understand why that would be. So thanks to people like you, that can help them navigate that overwhelming amount of information that they have to take in.
Natalie D'Itri:
Beth, do you ever feel the tension that people talk about when they say they're burned out or stressed?
Beth Quaas:
I've been there. I get it, wholeheartedly.
Natalie D'Itri:
I can feel it. When they talk about what they're going through or how they feel, the struggles, amid victories and doing great work, I can almost put myself in their position, recognizing that I'm not carrying the patient load, that they are with their preceptor during orientation. But I can just picture myself having been there because I was there too, and I just almost can feel or envision what they're going through.
Beth Quaas:
You don't forget that feeling. I still don't. You're right, now that when we talk about it, I still get the tight chest and the closed throat because I can feel that part of being overwhelmed and burnt out and really not knowing what to do about it. You have to navigate your way through.
Natalie D'Itri:
And sometimes, you're afraid to speak up if you're that new employee, because you probably are on the spotlight. You don't always know where to go or what to do. So the community that Beth has and what I'm creating, it's there to help you find your way and feel successful.
Beth Quaas:
Yeah, we've been at this a long time. We want to help and we do have a lot of the answers and the answers we don't have, we've networked to find the people that we can connect them with to get through this. And I totally agree, a new person probably doesn't feel comfortable speaking out and asking for help. They don't want to seem like they don't know what they're doing, but we are here to tell you to, do it, ask for help. And it doesn't have to be someone at your hospital, it can be us. We don't know you, we just want to help you.
Natalie D'Itri:
Know who your allies are. And sometimes you're too exhausted. Like I said, at the end of the day, do you want to start brainstorming your career victories and challenges? Probably not. You want to just go to sleep because you have to get up at 4:30 in the morning to go back again. But spend some time, some self-care time thinking about where can I connect with people to help me understand that we're sort out, that I'm not alone in this. Or, where am I going? Is this job the right fit?
Beth Quaas:
I've met some of the most amazing people, you included, that have been guests on this podcast. I didn't know anyone, but I went out and I found them or they found me. And I just love this part of what I get to do, is bring these stories forth. And hopefully people that can listen to them will reach out for help if they need it.
Natalie D'Itri:
Yeah. Your podcast name, I just thought, oh gosh, that is just so true. I think that phrase has been out there, but it's true now more than ever, because working in healthcare is very challenging. And I actually just recorded an episode for the Careerwise Nurse podcast saying what happens when nursing orientation doesn't go the way you expected. And what I've learned is not everyone will be able to sustain work in a hospital or keep their head above water.
And that doesn't mean it's because you're a new nurse. There are a nurses, six months, 12 months in or more or days where everyone is drowning. And we still go back because we want to have a good day, because we're committed and passionate about what we do. But you have to say, "Is this sustainable?" If you're an orientation, whether you're a new nurse or you're in a new role and not brand new to nursing, is this what I signed up for? Where am I compromising in my life because of the stress?. I don't go to the bathroom all day, I don't take a break. I've got pyelonephritis because I didn't go to the bathroom for 14 hours. At what cost or how can I balance everything out?
Beth Quaas:
Absolutely. So if someone wanted to find you, where can they find you and what would you offer for them?
Natalie D'Itri:
So I have the Careerwise Nurse podcast. As I mentioned, you can find it where you listen to podcasts. I'm on Facebook and Instagram, @careerwisenurse on Instagram. And Facebook is Natalie D'Itri, or there's a Facebook group called CareerWise Nurse, which you can join. It's a private group. I'm on LinkedIn. And Beth has my LinkedIn and Facebook and Instagram information. I have an email and that will be shared as well.
Beth Quaas:
That will all be in the show notes as well, yep.
Natalie D'Itri:
I offer coaching to nurses, one on one. We have a free initial call to talk about getting acquainted, what can I do to help you? And I also ask my listeners to contact me, schedule a time because I want to hear what nurses want to know about, who they want to talk to, who they want to meet on my podcast. I'm here to learn about what nurses need in the community.
Beth Quaas:
That's important. Listening so that we know what to give people is very important. I appreciate that. What are some tips or things that you would like to share with nurses today to inspire them, educate them?
Natalie D'Itri:
Don't wait to live your dream life. Do it now. And I understand that the balance you have work, personal, things ebb and flow. But don't think you have to do the job you're doing forever. Get your feet wet, start out, but make sure you're always looking for options so that you have work that fits in your life. I have kids that are growing up. I feel like I was always rushing to get home from work, get them from daycare and suddenly, they're about to go away. So take time to take care of yourself, those you're nearest and dearest to, whether it's younger or older family members. Take care of yourself so that you can do your best at work and go beyond the job to figure out what is going to help you be fulfilled in your work because you do drive your own ship and you want to live your best nursing life. Nursing is an amazing journey. And reach out for help. Connect with people who can support you.
Beth Quaas:
Those are all important things and I'm hoping people are going to find you and move forward in, like you said, a more fulfilling way. Natalie, I appreciate that you came on the show today and shared your story and everything that you have to offer for nurses. Please look Natalie up on all of those places that you can find her in our show notes. Natalie, I appreciate your time.
Natalie D'Itri:
Thanks Beth. It's really been nice to talk and I look forward to continued collaboration as we work to serve the nurses today and tomorrow.
Intro/Outro:
Don't Eat Your Young was produced in partnership with TruStory FM, engineering by Andy Nelson, music by The Lighthearts. Find the show, show notes and transcripts at donteatyouryoung.com. If your podcast app allows ratings and reviews, please consider doing that for our show. But the best thing you could do to support the show is to share it with a friend or colleague. Thank you for listening.
