Nurse, Poet, and Author, Susan Farese

Susan Farese is a nurse who has done it all. Well, let me rephrase that. Susan is a nurse who has done a lot. Maybe not all, but her career includes clinical nursing, education, staff development, research, legal nurse consulting, management and coaching. She's also a veteran, having served in the Navy and as a former Major in the Army.

How has she been able to manage these stressful, demanding positions? Throughout her career and her life, Susan has tapped into her creativity. She lost her cherished grandmother to early Alzheimer's, and 20 years later she wrote a poem in her grandmother's memory which started on a path to healing. She has since authored the book Poetic Expressions in Nursing...Sharing the Caring and advocates for the creative use of poetry for nurses to express what we feel daily: wonder, frustration, grief, and love for the profession and our patients.

But Susan's creativity is not limited to just writing. She is also an accomplished wildlife and nature photographer, a Haiku teacher, an actor, a blogger, a public speaker, a frequent podcast guest, and even runs her own public relations company.

Susan's advice to fellow nurses: cultivate your creativity, be open to new ideas, and always be willing to learn and change. Reinvent yourself.  Evolve. Love your life.

In the five-minute snippet. Is the kazoo an instrument?
Poetic Expressions in Nursing... Sharing the Caring
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Transcript

[00:00] Michelle: Susan Farese is a nurse who has done it all. Well, let me rephrase that. Susan is a nurse who has done a lot. Maybe not all, but her career includes clinical nursing, education, staff development, research, legal nurse consulting, management, and coaching. She's also a veteran, having served in the Navy and retiring as a Major from the Army.
 
How has she been able to manage these stressful, demanding positions? Throughout her career and her life, Susan has tapped into her creativity. She lost her cherished grandmother to early Alzheimer's, and 20 years later she wrote a poem in her grandmother's memory which started her on a path to healing. She has since authored the book Poetic Expressions in Nursing, Sharing the Caring, and advocates for the creative use of poetry for nurses to express what we feel daily: wonder, frustration, grief, and love for the profession and our patients. 

But Susan's creativity is not limited to just writing. She is also an accomplished wildlife and nature photographer, a Haiku teacher, an actor, a blogger, a public speaker, a frequent podcast guest, and even runs her own public relations company. 

Susan's advice to fellow nurses: cultivate your creativity, be open to new ideas, and always be willing to learn and change. Reinvent yourself. Evolve. Love your life. 

In the five-minute snippet: Is the kazoo an instrument?  Well, good morning, Susan. Welcome to the podcast.

[02:10] Susan: Good morning, Michelle. Thanks for having me.

[02:13] Michelle: Well, I'm excited that you're here. Thank you for reaching out. Yes, we met each other on Instagram, which has been a wonderful platform for meeting all kinds of people, including nurses, and health professionals. But you reached out to me and I was like, wow, I cannot pass up Susan. She's amazing. All I had to do was take one look at your bio. So thank you so much for coming on.

[02:43] Susan: Thank you. It's great to be here. I really appreciate it.

[02:46] Michelle: Well, today we're going to talk about lots of things that you're doing, and I think it's just going to give our audience of nurses just so many different perspectives on what you can do as a nurse. And so we'll, we'll definitely get into that. And then you have a lot of creative, what's the word, avenues?

[03:07] Susan: Avenues.

[03:11] Michelle: Exploits sounds a little bit like on the, on the down low, but, yeah, you have a lot of, you have a lot of creative avenues. And so we're going to talk about those, too. But I like to start out because I'm just a nerd this way. I really like to hear the stories of how nurses got into nursing and why they do it, what is their why? So maybe start out by giving us some history on that.

[03:40] Susan: Sure. Well, I grew up in New Jersey, one of two children, and my maternal grandmother, didn't live with us, but she lived near us with my grandpa, like in the neighborhood. And he passed away at age 55 in 1964. And then the next few years were very different. I was a kid growing up, and it turned out that my grandmother had early Alzheimer's, and we didn't know, nobody knew what it was back then. This is in the 1960s, really. They did no support groups or anything like that. So, long story short, I became a nurse psychologically because of growing up with a grandmother who ultimately had to be institutionalized and passed away at age 60 from a devastating disease of Alzheimer's, early Alzheimer's. I became a nurse because I really didn't grow up always wanting to be a nurse, but it led me to be a nurse in high school. Talking to the guidance counselor, he says, well, what are you interested in? And I said, I love people and I love science. And it was just a natural progression to go into nursing. I was never in the nursing clubs or anything, but it was just some affinity that I had. And I think it's all from that early childhood experience. So I hope that answers that question.

[04:59] Michelle: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, thank God for people like guidance counselors who are so intuitive that they can kind of point you in the direction that fits for you. And, yes, so many of my guests and friends and colleagues got into nursing because of exactly what happened. They had to care for a loved one or they became a patient, and then they entered the world of nursing and were just really impressed and connected by what they saw. So thank you so much for that.

[05:33] Susan: Thanks.

[05:34] Michelle: And I did hear you talk on another podcast about your grandmother, and I certainly share that love for a grandparent. My grandmother was just instrumental in my life as well in terms of just guiding me and that's what I aim to be for my grandkids.

[06:01] Susan: She was with me yesterday when I did an author event, and I read the poem about her, which started me as a poet, you know, the poem about my grandmother, and I could just still feel her spirit in the room. I mean, it's uncanny how she's still with me. And she passed away in 1971, so you know it. Listen to your intuition, listen to your heart, and you'll see what you, what will happen. You know, it's very interesting.

[06:26] Michelle: Absolutely. Yes, I believe that. Okay, well, we're going to talk about some of the clinical work that you've done as a nurse because you've done a lot. So. And you've had a lot of roles. So some of the areas that you've worked in are general medicine, cardiothoracic surgery, telemetry med surg, emergency room, surgical intensive care, orthopedic surgery, outpatient clinic, like, that's a lot. That's amazing.

[06:58] Susan: And then nursing research and nursing consulting. So. Yeah.

[07:02] Michelle: And education.

[07:03] Susan: And nursing education as well.

[07:04] Michelle: Yes.

[07:05] Susan: Staff development. I do credit that because, you know, I was in the Navy and the Army as a nurse, and so the system, the culture is that you do change, or when I was in actually, like, the late seventies to nineties, you changed roles or positions or geographically every couple of years. I became a reinventor and a master of change that way from the culture. And so that's why I have a diverse background in professional nursing in different areas, and then as a consultant, I've done a lot of different things as well. So it's just kind of led me to become a master of reinvention in my life.

[07:44] Michelle: Yeah, that's so interesting. When I was in the NICU, I served on a lot of hiring panels, interview panels. And so there was this sense at the time that when you had a candidate before you and they had worked in all these different fields and they had worked in all these different hospitals, that that was kind of like a negative. Right. You know, and it was like, oh, no, this person isn't viewed as stable because they moved around a lot or they worked in a lot of different areas, but I could totally see that as being in the military. That's what you do.

[08:30] Susan: That's a strength. I know it, and I can definitely perceive that it can be looked at that way in a negative light. However, I think it's a strength because we had to adapt. It's leadership. It's all these other qualities that blossom from the fact that you've got to start over again. And it's still me. I'm still the same nurse no matter what role I'm in. I'm still using my intuition, I'm still making rounds. I'm still questioning things that, I don't know, I'm resourceful. So it's those things that stay with you if you do change, and there's nothing wrong with change and there's nothing wrong with staying where you are. I mean, it's just a matter of what's best for you at that time in your life. And it just so happens that in my life, either I moved geographically or something happened inside my heart that, you know, I need a change. So, yeah, I think.

[09:23] Michelle: I think we need to start removing those labels as, like this, as a negative. Like, I think that would only give you more experience if you were coming to me as a nurse and I was thinking about hiring you, and I saw you had worked in all these different areas, and especially if you'd been in the military, because I think there is a certain type of person that is military, and they're usually very disciplined. Right. And I would think that that would be a positive. You know, let's talk about your military experience. So I learned that you. You were a Major, is that correct?

[10:08] Susan: When I left the military, I was a major. Yes. Yes. I joined the navy and was in for three years and then transferred to the army for the next nine, nine and a half or so years and became a major. Yeah. So that was my.

[10:21] Michelle: That's pretty amazing. Yeah. I have a lot of respect. My, brother-in-law is a Major in the Air Force. So what are some of the unique challenges that you faced as a nurse in the military and talk about how you overcame some of those?

[10:39] Susan: I don't think they were challenges. I was fine with it. But I think one of the most important things is that it's a diverse population, so you get to work with people of all different races and ages because, for instance, when I was stationed in Korea, we took care of dependents as well as the active duty soldiers and such. So you're introduced to many different cultures and races, and that was in my twenties. I'm in my sixties now. And it just values people because of the diversity. That was my experience. I don't know about others, but it was not a challenge for me. I thought it was interesting. I thought it was interesting to move every few years and live in a different area, a different state, or in a country. But that was way long ago now. I left in 1990, so I have to kind of remember other challenges. I mean, there could be challenges in nursing a civilian or military with management, administration and things like that. That's a given. But overall, I had a very interesting career. Yeah.

[11:48] Michelle: It's so funny when you say 1990 and you say, that was so long ago, and part of me is like, that wasn't that long ago. But then when I think, like, that's.

[11:58] Susan: Like 30 years ago. Exactly.

[12:01] Michelle: If I do the quick math, you know, and I go, wow. Yeah, that is a long time ago. It's so funny how time is. Right? Well, what do you think of all the clinical work you've done? Did you have a favorite area, and why was it your favorite?

[12:17] Susan: Oh, cardiac cardiothoracic surgery, definitely my favorite clinical area. And then staff development, you know, education, training, that kind of thing. Also, and consulting those three areas, I would say, gosh, like I said, the clinical parts of me were a while ago also. Yeah. Nursing research at Duke University was very interesting, working on several different studies.

[12:40] Michelle: So my brother, I interviewed him on this program. He's the director of research at our local institution here. And so he guides all of the residents with their projects that they must do their research projects. Yeah. And so, you know, people look at research and they go, boring. But, you know, what if. Where would we be without research, right?

[13:08] Susan: Absolutely. It was. It was very important. Yeah, yeah.

[13:12] Michelle: It's vital. It's vital. One of the other things you did in your past was you were a legal nurse consultant. Why did you get into that, and what did you like about it?

[13:25] Susan: So that was in the 1990s, throughout the early two thousands that I did most of it. Like I said, I'm very resourceful. I know how to find things. I'm almost like a detective. And so I was more of a behind-the-scenes legal nurse consultant, not testifying and gathering information in the record. I worked with several different attorneys in different states when I lived in different states, and just marveled at a case coming together, either giving it a green light or a red light to go further, you know, really analyzing the documentation and the trends of the case and that kind of thing. It was just very, very interesting for me. And I was able to do it from home on my own time and was well rewarded for it monetarily as well. So my experience and credibility and, you know, time in nursing led to that role. I felt very comfortable as a legal nurse consultant. I did take a course years ago as well, and this was before, you know, certification, major certification, and things like that. So I felt comfortable with what course I took, and it just kind of evolved, and. And I learned how to market myself even back then, you know, and there was no Internet or anything like that.

[14:49] Michelle: Right.

[14:50] Susan: I don't know how we got the word out. I found people. They found me. I taught some classes, I wrote articles, went to networking events, that kind of thing.

[15:01] Michelle: Yeah, that's a great point that you make, you know, in terms of marketing, like today, it's so easy, right, with social media and just this world wide web, and it's so easy to get your name out there. And, you know, back then, I think if people have never experienced, you know, having to do things by mail, I don't even know if we faxed stuff back then, and I don't know if there was a fax machine. You know, it was super difficult. So you really have to rely on your people skills, and you definitely have those. But what do you think is a common misconception about the role of the legal nurse consultant?

[15:47] Susan: I think it's definitely legitimate. I mean, you need experts or consultants that are aware of what the standards of nursing are so that they can take an objective look at a case, you know, and say, a usual person would not have done this or would have done this, that kind of thing. So.

[16:05] Michelle: Yeah, and I think I had a misconception. I've interviewed several nurses on the podcast who have a background in legal nurse consulting, and one of my misconceptions was that you needed to have, like, a background in law. No, they actually don't want you to.

[16:23] Susan: You learn it as you go along, you know, and I had the textbook and the course that I took, and so I felt comfortable enough with the cases, and if I didn't feel comfortable, I would definitely speak to the attorney and say, this is not in my realm. This is more of a medical issue. This is, you know, or let's, you know, find an expert in this field for this question, that kind of thing. So you need to be able to speak up for yourself and advocate for yourself and not get into an area that's not comfortable or not legal for you.

[16:53] Michelle: Yeah. You really have to know your scope of practice. Right. And be able to stay in your lane.

[16:58] Susan: Right.

[17:00] Michelle: Yeah. It's. It's always just really fascinated me. And I know I've told several of my guests, like, man, if I had. If I had it to do all over again, I think I would go into that. It just seems so interesting.

[17:13] Susan: Well, it's not too late to experience. You can do it. Give me a call. I'll coach you.

[17:20] Michelle: Okay. Yeah. You know what? Yeah. My listeners know that they've been with me through this retirement journey, and I'm two years in now, and I'm finally kind of, like, going, oh, okay, maybe I'm gonna like this.

[17:36] Susan: So. Yeah.

[17:36] Michelle: But thank you. Well, let's talk about some of your creative avenues that you've taken, because I don't know if this is something that's particular to the nurse personality. But do you think nurses are more creative than the general public?

[17:53] Susan: I don't know if they're more creative than the general public. I know that they should look inside themselves and find something that they're passionate about that might be an artistic endeavor. So, you know, it could be is, it could be dance, theater, you know, movies or acting, cooking, sports, something that's artistic in an endeavor that they can be passionate about. I think it's extremely therapeutic. I became a nurse poet in 1991, very accidentally, with a poem about the grandmother I mentioned in the beginning after seeing the movie Awakenings. It brought back 20 years of memories of my grandmother that had passed in 1971, and this was in 1991. And I couldn't get to sleep one night. And I wrote this poem about growing up with her from childhood to 20 years later as a nurse, reflecting on Alzheimer's disease and her. That was my entrance into poetry. I took dance lessons as a child. My mom was a dance teacher, so I had rhythm and I had discipline from dance. I didn't love going to dancing school, but I loved being in the recitals. So I knew I was a creative as far as performer. I became an actor after age 50 here with, with a play that I happened to be with my daughter at. And they needed adults, and I became misses Greer and Annie because I knew how to dance. I could sing a little bit, and I got that part. Things have led me to things throughout my life. I became a Sag-Aftra actor in film, playing a nurse in several films, and living in Boston when we moved there. Each time we move or each time there's an evolution or a reinvention, I become different in a way, but it's still me, and I need to be creative in life and kind of happy. My maiden name is Felice, and it means happiness, and my middle name is Joy.

[19:48] Michelle: Wow.

[19:49] Susan: I try to cultivate creativity and happiness because otherwise, you know, you're just getting older and it can get glum, and I don't want to be glum, so. So creativity, you know, I am a nature photographer, so I go out and go to the lagoons here. I'm in the San Diego area, and, you know, I'll see an egret taking off or a heron getting ready to fish, and I snap that shot, you know, right at the right time. And it gives me joy. Sometimes I'll write a haiku about it. I love nature. I think people need to be out in nature and just listen and use their senses and, you know, capture what's out there, I'm a filmmaker. I've cast films. I've played a nurse and doctor in films. I've. The only thing I can't do, and I'm ready to do is I have these drums that I bought in Morocco in 1973, and I want to drum.

[20:44] Michelle: Wow.

[20:45] Susan: One thing I want to do. So I'm going to dabble with that in the next year or so. It makes you happy, and what's the worst that can happen? You won't excel at it, but you'll experience it, you know?

[20:57] Michelle: Yeah. Well, is this something that you think that nurses need in terms of, you had said, like, for you, it's therapeutic. Do you think nurses need this in their life, a creative outlet?

[21:10] Susan: Well, I think there's a couple of points I have here. First of all, nurses need to recognize when they're burnt out. And because of COVID this past few years, we've seen an increase in many, many nurses that have been depressed, et cetera, to the point of suicide. Anxious. I just wanted to say, that in my very first job in my twenties, I was burnt out and didn't know it. And a supervisor recognized that in me and said, by the end of the day, and I'm in the Navy here, where do you want to work when you come back? And how much vacation or leave will you be taking? And I looked at her like, what? I did not know. I was burnt out. I was taking care of people. I was dealing with death. I was in my early twenties. Nurses now that are just starting out the past few years, are burning out very quickly. So we need to take a look at that and recognize when we are burnt out. So you had asked, as far as a creative outlet, I think it's vital to have something other than nursing and other than maybe leaving and traveling all the time, but facing it with the arts, whether it's writing a poem about your experience or journaling or creating a dance, if you're frustrated, you know, the sky is the limit. People could do whatever gets into their heart. But I think it's absolutely vital that one of the therapeutic avenues is the arts. Yes. In fact, I have a nursing in the arts group on Facebook that I'd like people to join. It's kind of been dormant for a couple of years. I started it during, I think, last year, and I just really want to meet nurses that do artistic things. I think it's extremely interesting. We've got so much value out there with doing things other than nursing as well or in addition to nursing.

[23:04] Michelle: I echo your sentiments on that and definitely send me the Facebook group link. I'd like to in the show notes. But, you know, a few months ago, I interviewed an artist, Nicole Cromwell, who was also an ICU nurse at that time. And she worked through COVID and had some really traumatic experiences in terms of losing patients and such. And she really uses her art to heal, and she found a very healing.

[23:38] Susan: The first poem I wrote about my grandmother, I healed after 20 years of her loss. I finally healed with her loss during COVID I wrote, I was in several anthologies and in the paper, and I was like, you know, fears, anger, what's going on? You know, all that came out in poetry for me. I wholeheartedly believe that we as nurses have so many stories inside of us that need to be released inside way. I hope that makes my point, because think about it. Every shift you've worked, you know, patients that really kind of stay with you and that kind of thing, express it, it may help another nurse with that same type of patient feel better about themselves dealing with it. You know, you never know how it can help others.

[24:28] Michelle: Yeah. You don't. And you have to get it out to be able to process it.

[24:34] Susan: Absolutely.

[24:35] Michelle: Yeah. And I know that a lot of nursing schools now, there's a trend in nursing school, they're having the students journal after clinicals to just put down on paper, you know, their thoughts about the patients that they were caring for, how they felt in certain situations. I think journaling is such a great thing for nurses, but really for anybody I've journaled all my life, and it's, it's really helped me process things. So, yeah, those kind of, those kind of modalities are, are really helpful.

[25:13] Susan: Yes, definitely.

[25:16] Michelle: I don't know if it's a thing just with us. You know, we're, we're almost the same age, so we're from a certain generation of nursing, but I feel like our identity can become really wrapped up in, in the nurse identity, and it can narrow our viewpoint on a lot of things. So how can nurses become more well-rounded?

[25:41] Susan: Oh, well, the way I have, you know, you just experience, you learn, be a master learner all your life. Be open to other people, other disciplines, you know, the arts, et cetera. Just experience life. Don't just go home and go to sleep. And if you need to change your, your shifts or, you know, your time schedule or maybe take a cut and pay or whatever, do it. Your mental health is extremely important, and you're the only one that can care about yourself. Really, really, really. So I mean, I feel so impassioned right now because to me, I've taken breaks. I've been afforded. I've been afforded to be able to take breaks because of my situation in our family and everything. But take a look at what's out there. Life is so special, and you're, you know, as a nurse, you're taking care of all these other lives. What about yours? You know, cultivate your own life?

[26:42] Michelle: Yeah. Yeah. We often put ourselves on the backburners, and I think that there's a new movement of putting ourselves first. It's, you know, it's that saying that, you know, people, a lot of people don't like, you know, you can't pour from an empty cup, but however you want to say it, it's like you have to take care of yourself first before you can put energy into others.

[27:10] Susan: Absolutely. Absolutely.

[27:13] Michelle: Well, your book, Poetic Expressions in Nursing, Sharing the Caring, talk a little bit about that. Like, what can we expect to find in that book in terms of poetry?

[27:24] Susan: Poetry? Well, I first wrote it in 1993, and it just evolved from that first poem. And there are stories from family, from grief. Just different things in the nineties that I was going through. Women's empowerment, just all about nursing, day shift, night shift, just different poems about what we've gone through in nursing, or what I went through in nursing. And so I would do conferences back then, even with other nurses. Like there was a nurse artist, a nurse comedian. I was the nurse poet. We were, like, before our time in the nineties. And so I stayed with it for quite a while, and then COVID hit and I thought, you know, I'm going to do a second edition and add some haiku at the end because I want to give back to my profession and just kind of them again because of how the angst that people have been going through. So I redid the book in 2021 after COVID. And now my mission, so to speak, is to introduce nurses to poetry. That avenue specifically haiku. I teach haiku at the local libraries here for the last several years, and I feel that something like haiku is where you can use your senses and nature and set a time and space and write about an experience, whether it's a patient or what you went through with that patient or whatever, getting the word out so that you can help yourself and help others. So I, with my book, I'm also very involved in the community doing haiku workshops as well as author events. I did one yesterday. So there were ten different authors. I was the only nurse. I'm a nurse author. But I also create coloring books and activity books for kids. Now, my godmother had me publish a book of her deceased daughter, who was a kindergarten teacher who passed away at age 40. And my godmother found a lot of her writings that nobody really knew about. And I put that into a poetry book. So I'm here to help publish. I'm here to promote, you know, poetry. That is my main art and utilize it as an avenue for stress management, catharsis, therapeutic feeling, so that nurses and people are feeling healthy with their mental health.

[29:52] Michelle: Well, what happens when you are writing and photographing and doing some of these things? What happens in your body and your mind when you're going through these processes?

[30:07] Susan: So, for example, I'll go to a lagoon. I'll just say to my husband, you know, I'm going to go for a walk. So I take my camera and. Or my phone. Sometimes I won't have the big camera, and I walk. I, first of all, take nice, deep breaths. I'm looking at the nature around me, you know, just looking for, are there fish that are jumping up? Is there an egret anywhere around? I'm like, open my, you know, I'm very open to nature. I'm listening. I'm feeling. I'm experiencing it, and I'm happy. Like, just getting out in nature is happy. So say I see a shore bird and I snap a photo. Well, then later on, when I'm at home, I'll look at that photo, and it'll inspire me to write a haiku about it. It just happens. I'm a different kind of writer. Some writers must be disciplined, must sit down at the desk every day at a certain time, grab the, you know, grab your computer or pen or whatever. I only write when I'm inspired. Like, when it gets in, something gets into my heart, whether values, clarification, anger, role conflict, you know, beauty, joy, something, but something that inspires me. That's my way. I'm a little different, so different is good. Yeah, that's. That's me. My route.

[31:27] Michelle: Did you always have photography skills, or was it something that you needed to learn?

[31:32] Susan: I know I learned. I don't even know if I learned it. I have a knack for it. And it started several years ago. We have a balcony up in the master bedroom area, and I put a hummingbird feeder up, and so the hummingbirds would come pretty close. So I started with hummingbird photography was either my phone or camera, and I was just amazed. And how hummingbirds remind me of nursing, especially on a day shift, flittering around one after another, going here, going there, you know, fast-paced and that kind of thing. So I was really mesmerized for a few years with these hummingbirds, and then I started venturing out to these lagoons and seeing certain shorebirds and, you know, and landscapes, flowers, Just all kinds of stuff in nature. Other things I like to photograph are benches. You know, if you're at a park.

[32:22] Michelle: I love your benches.

[32:24] Susan: Yes. I think I'm going to do a book of my benches.

[32:27] Michelle: I love that. Yeah, those were. I mean, I love all of your nature photography, but then when I saw the benches in the park, it's like, that's just like. It just paints a picture to me of, like. Like a respite. Like, take a respite. Like, sit here and. And just take everything in and slow down.

[32:49] Susan: Right, exactly. Slow down. And it's also. It's your perspective of that bench.

[32:53] Michelle: Yeah.

[32:54] Susan: Are you looking head-on at the bench? Are you behind the bench? Is the bench looking like. Is it looking at something, you know, like, with the perspective of the bench? I just fascinated by benches. I don't know. Kind of crazy, but it's one of my.

[33:07] Michelle: I love your idea. Like a bench book, you know, photography. That's very cool. And the same. So the same question for your poetry, like, is that something that. Did you take classes on that? Is that something just comes natural to you?

[33:25] Susan: It's absolutely natural. I have never taken a course. I've been in groups, and I've been involved in the community. I'm in the San Diego published poetry annual several times, and different anthologies, some online stuff. But I don't really. I don't want to learn too much about poetry. I want it to come from my heart. That is the thing. It is from my heart, and it's my, you know, my vision. However, when I teach haiku, I feel more like the teacher. And when I do a group session at a library or whatever, I'll walk around and say, oh, okay, you have. It's five, seven. Five. Well, you've got six syllables there. Let's see if we could tweak it and change this one word, and then it'll flow as a haiku. So I become kind of not a master or anything, but I'm just so used to doing it. And every single time I help somebody, it's like a new puzzle. It feels good, too, to help. And then they celebrate, and then we take a picture, they read it out to the group, and then I usually put it like, we take a picture of the group, and then we compile what people have written with their permission. And then I put it on my blog as a post so they get published, so to speak, on my, you know, on my blog. I actually did something very interesting about a year ago. It's about a year ago with a nursing facility through a university, and introduced the book. They bought many copies of the book. I did a video, haiku, introduction to haiku with nursing, and I would like that. I'm still working on it as a pilot program, but I'd like to be able to, at least in California, maybe visit different facilities and be like the poetry nurse poet consultant that gets people started, gets people going. And this facility was supposed to be starting like a poetry wellness room, like an area, because they have a wellness area. I'm not sure how it's going. I'm going to have to follow up with them. But I was so excited about it. And the fact that they bought my book in bulk meant a lot to me because they want to be able to give it to nurses as an inspiration or whatever way that they're doing it for Nurses Week, that kind of thing. And I like inspiring people, you know, for nurses week. And throughout the year, I'll be doing, I think, five different poetry haiku. I mean, workshops in April for poetry month, because April is always poetry month. So I've done a lot with it and I enjoy it, but I really do think that nurses, and nurses can reach out to me, too. In fact, you were going to ask if there's someone that I recommend to you. Yes, there's a nurse. Should I say her name now or wait?

[36:13] Michelle: Absolutely. Yeah.

[36:15] Susan: Alyssa Blake is a nurse artist and poet. Okay, I'll connect you guys. She reached out to me about maybe doing some work with my blog and an interview with each of us to get the word out about it. Nurse poets have been around for a long time. It's just that we have to. You got to find us, you know? So I'm one of the vocal ones and would love to.

[36:41] Michelle: I think it would be fantastic to take. To take it on the road. And, you know, your haiku for nurses, I think there would be a lot of demand for that, and I think that that's something that nurses and healthcare professionals really need, a creative outlet to be able to process everything that we go through on a daily basis. I think we are creative, right? And. But sometimes we need. We need to know how to tap into that, right? We have it in us. But we don't know how to get it out of us.

[37:20] Susan: Right. Well, what you're doing with your podcast is a way. Is definitely an outlet. It's creative. You're learning about other people. You're sharing your stories, too. There's the Nurse Blake out there with the comedy. There are nurse storytellers. There's a lot of the arts in nursing. We just need to say, hey, let's recognize this. Let's, you know, start a movement or whatever. Yeah. 

[37:44] Michelle: That's what I found definitely, through interviewing so many nurses is, you know, that's one of the things that I think ties us together is we are creative beings, and whether that means, you know, having to create something at work to. To make. To make a process go easier, but we. We really enjoy that outlet, and we sometimes just need some help tapping into it.

[38:13] Susan: Mm hmm. Absolutely. Yep. Creativity. Creativity in your nursing practice as well as in your, you know, your professional and personal life is paramount.

[38:22] Michelle: Yeah, it is. I need it. I I've always had a crafting space now to have a whole craft room, and I just go in there and I just play.

[38:35] Susan: Absolutely. Crafting is wonderful. It's a really creative outlet. That's wonderful. Kudos to you.

[38:43] Michelle: Wow. Thank you. Well, do you have any other messages for nurses today, Susan?

[38:50] Susan: Well, one of the other things that started me becoming a consultant years ago was going to the course to become a Myers-Briggs consultant, the personality assessment. And I saw that my type was more entrepreneurial and creative, rather than a typical military, a typical nurse, a typical this or that. So you can seek out, you know, we have the Internet. You can seek out different personality tests and things or assignments, assessments, I mean, and see where you belong, because you might be in an area of nursing that might not be the best for your personality. And that's why, with me, change and reinvention made me happy, because, and it came at the right timing, too. It wasn't like, I'm leaving. Like, I never really said that. It just evolved. So be open to evolving for change and respect it and be creative. Enjoy your life. Get out in nature. I was going to say those things. Just inspire yourself, because who else is going to do it?

[40:00] Michelle: That is absolutely true. Those are great messages. Thank you so much. Well, where can we find you, Susan?

[40:07] Susan: Oh, my goodness. Okay. Sjfcommunications.com is my website, and I'm mostly @sjfcommo,  como because I'm in communications, on Twitter, Instagram, a little bit on TikTok, not that much. And on Facebook, SJF communications and. Or my name and LinkedIn. I believe it's Susan J. Farese, MSN, RN, SJF Communications. It's a long one.

[40:39] Michelle: Yes, I saw you on there.

[40:42] Susan: Oh, great. Let's all connect. Yes.

[40:44] Michelle: I love LinkedIn. It's. I'm finally figuring out how to how it works. Right. Because they all work differently. But, yeah, you have. You have a very strong social media presence, and I love your website. There's so much on there. And I love your logo. You have a hummingbird.

[41:05] Susan: Yes. And I mean, really talked about SJF communications. What that is, is it's my business since 2002, and it's providing public relations, publicity, websites, marketing, social media, a little bit of everything. Virtual assisting. And I've worked with many creatives, theaters, musicians, filmmakers, artists, businesses. And now I want to give back and work with nurses as a nurse coach. So keep me in mind. I would love to network with people, and I'm still here. Old geezer nurse. Yes. I have to renew the license again in May, so I just finished doing my continuing ed, but I am so happy that you invited me on as well. And you're very interesting, and you had such great questions. You've been the most different podcast I've been on, so thank you.

[42:04] Michelle: I appreciate that feedback. Well, I'll tell you what. We're at the end, and, you know, we do the five-minute snippet at the end.

[42:12] Susan: Okay.

[42:12] Michelle: Just five minutes of fun.

[42:14] Susan: Mm hmm.

[42:15] Michelle: Are you ready? Okay, so set my timer, and then we will just go. Okay. Would you rather have a bad spray tan or a bad haircut?

[42:35] Susan: Spray tan, don't need it. Haircuts are important.

[42:42] Michelle: Okay. Do you have a favorite book, and why is it your favorite?

[42:47] Susan: Hmm. I love Silver Linings playbook. I don't know what it is about. I was thinking about this so that it was just. I just really enjoyed it, and I enjoyed the movie.

[42:59] Michelle: Okay.

[43:00] Susan: And I think Bradley Cooper is great. You know, I mean, just the whole. And De Niro is in there, and.

[43:05] Michelle: Yeah, I watched the movie, but I haven't read the book. If you could only eat one color of food for the rest of your life, which color would you choose?

[43:16] Susan: Are you kidding me? What color of food? Let's see. Well, if I could, it would be red. It would be all the Italian stuff,  because I'm Italian,  red.

[43:27] Michelle: Okay, well, that would be good. Tasty. Would you rather be able to speak all languages fluently or be able to play every musical instrument perfectly?

[43:42] Susan: Oh, the instruments, for sure, yeah.

[43:44] Michelle: Do you play an instrument?

[43:46] Susan: I have good rhythm, like I said, so I play by ear. So I have a piano and I just fool around. But no, that's the one thing I wish that I had done as a child, is to take music lessons, which I didn't. I took dance.

[44:00] Michelle: There's still time. Okay. If you were stranded on a desert island and. And could only have one type of pizza delivered to you? What toppings would it have?

[44:17] Susan: Sausage, pepperoni, onions and peppers.

[44:22] Michelle: Sounds good.

[44:23] Susan: Well done. Crispy.

[44:24] Michelle: Yeah. Oh, okay. Would you rather have a photographic memory or have the ability to forget anything you want?

[44:35] Susan: I think I'd rather have the photographic memory. I would.

[44:39] Michelle: Yeah. Well, you are a photographer, so. Yeah. Okay, what is your favorite travel destination?

[44:48] Susan: Anywhere along any coast. Yeah. I don't seek travel much anymore like I used to, but I like being near the water.

[44:57] Michelle: Well, you live in the perfect location for that. San Diego. Beautiful. I have a nephew there, and I have a brother there. And. Yeah, it's a beautiful place.

[45:07] Susan: Let me know if you're here.

[45:08] Michelle: I will, yes. Okay. If you could switch lives with any fictional character, who would you choose?

[45:18] Susan: I don't read fiction too much, but let's see. I'm stuck. I'm really hard.

[45:25] Michelle: Yeah, that's fine. You can say pass.

[45:30] Susan: Let's see. Wait. Oh, yeah, I'm passing on that one. I'll think about it. Back to you.

[45:39] Michelle: Would you rather be able to fly or be able to breathe underwater?

[45:44] Susan: Fly. I want to look. I want to look. I want to be the hummingbird of the world, you know, looking down, looking at everything.

[45:52] Michelle: Do you have a favorite hobby?

[45:55] Susan: I have many different hobbies, so. Oh, my God. It's very hard to choose.

[46:02] Michelle: It is, right?

[46:03] Susan: But something in creative entertainment.

[46:08] Michelle: Okay, this one, you have to tell your grandchildren. Okay, if you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life but it had to be played by a kazoo. Which song would you choose?

[46:23] Susan: Hmm. Maybe. You are my sunshine.

[46:27] Michelle: Oh, that's a great kazoo song. I love it. Okay. Okay, last question. Would you rather live in a world without Internet or air conditioning? Internet.

[46:41] Susan: Yeah.

[46:41] Michelle: I'm Internet. Okay.

[46:43] Susan: Oh, no. Oh, you said no Internet. Wait a minute.

[46:46] Michelle: No Internet.

[46:48] Susan: No air conditioning. I need the Internet.

[46:51] Michelle: You. Yes. Okay.

[46:52] Susan: Yeah.

[46:52] Michelle: And you live in San Diego, so there are not many days where you need air conditioning, right?

[46:57] Susan: Right.

[46:58] Michelle: Thankfully. Yeah. But even with all your resourcefulness, we still need the Internet.

[47:04] Susan: We still need the Internet.

[47:06] Michelle: Hey, you did great, Susan.

[47:08] Susan: Oh, it was so fun. I'm so scared still. Did I pass?

[47:13] Michelle: Did you pass?

[47:14] Susan: I just need to know if you laughed. You passed. I need to know the fictional characters. I think I'm in the real world too much and not in fiction, so that could be it.

[47:23] Michelle: I love it. I've loved having you today. I really loved chatting with you. And you've brought so much information and. And just value to. To our audience today. So thank you so much.

[47:37] Susan: Thank you, Michelle. It was such a pleasure. And let's keep in touch, please. Okay.

[47:41] Michelle: Yes. Yes. You have a great rest of your Monday.

[47:45] Susan: You too.