Certified Nurse but Panicking During a Code? You’re Not Alone—Here’s How to Feel Ready (With Susan Davis)

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Welcome to Club Nurse. I'm Colton Lord, your host. By you being here today, it shows me that you are someone who wants to learn, grow, laugh, Connect and just let your emotions flow. We are here to share real stories and hear real-life experiences from real people. You are not alone in this, and Club Nurse is here to show you that. Don't forget to follow the show and share today's episode with someone you love. Now let's dive into today's conversation. Welcome back to Club Nurse, everybody. My name is Colton Lord, your host. I have with me today Susan Davis, who I'm super excited to chat with. I actually met Susan at the health conference in Las Vegas in 2020. Yeah, last year. So I'm super excited to jump into this, talk to you about Rescue RN and talk to you about what you do in the nursing world. But if you don't mind, Susan, just introduce yourself. Tell us a little bit about your nursing background and how we ended up where we are today.

Yeah, sure. So what a crazy route it has been. I think you probably hear that with a lot of these, a lot of nurses, but we, where we are today is not necessarily where we thought we would be. So I came to nursing as a second slash 3rd career later in my life. I actually started out at University of Illinois in veterinary medicine. So large animal medicine, I do raise cattle and horses. And so that was the route I was taking. But my life pivoted in real time and I ended up in nursing school, came right out of nursing school into trauma because it was really the closest thing to animal medicine. Right into ER trauma. So I did that, which I love. The love of my life was trauma medicine. From there, I did some open heart and I had a passion for all things kind of critical, crazy, and fast. You know, when that ER has a certain hum to it, my brain seems to kick in and work better. So I ended up getting my EMT while I was working trauma and then my paramedic so I could do some flight.

Nice.

From there, I did again a little bit of open heart and then I transitioned into education. So I became the director of American Heart Association because I had 3 Crazy teenagers. And it was really difficult to be a trauma nurse and a mom of 3 crazy teenagers. Both of my sons, by the way, who were trauma patients during that timeframe. So yeah.

Wow.

Little did I know I was going to be more than prepared for that. But from there I switched. I was the director of American Heart Association for a large healthcare system. And I did that for a decade while I went back to school and got my my bachelor's, my master's, and my doctorate. And in that timeframe, I created my signature program called Code Prep, which kind of started the whole Rescue RN story. And that's where I am today. I'm currently the resuscitation education manager for a healthcare system here in Florida, as well as the CEO and founder of Rescue RN.

Amazing. Yeah, I was kind of— I didn't realize that you had worked on some— doing some flight nursing as well. I'd seen that actually on your LinkedIn profile today, and I just had a flight nurse on the podcast. Maybe 2 days ago. Um, but it was very interesting to talk to somebody who had done flight nursing. I, I just, I guess I had never really spoken to a nurse who kind of went that route. Um, sounds like a very, very fulfilling, interesting, adrenaline-rushing career path. And I'm sure that you learned some really amazing things doing that and some skills that you probably took with you forever. I'm sure you have some crazy stories about flight nursing.

Yeah. I mean, it, it is definitely wild. You know, I, it's really neat. I didn't do as much as your most Flight nurses because I did have those three insane kids at the time, and so they were for sure. My mom, my mom and my daughter were certain I was going to die every single time I went, and so, and my sons were like, "Hey, high five, Mom! That's awesome." So it ended up, and I hated being on call, Colton. I hated being on call. I mean, like, you know, come, come one minute before that call, you'd be ready to, you know, maybe crack a cerveza, and they'd be like, "Oh, nice try! Off you go." So. Yeah.

When, well, through my conversation with her, I was like, I respect this so much, but I would, this is not for me. And I, I think I do that for, I mean, I never had the ambition to be a flight nurse, but I, I definitely respect it for sure. Um, so I think that when I met you at Health, I think we instantly kind of just connected as most, you know, I think most nurses do. But then when you kind of even break it down into subspecialties, uh, ER nurses, you just, you know, you just understand each other. Uh, you know, you understand each other's experience, the things that you go through.

Yeah.

And again, each specialty has their things that maybe others don't fully understand. So there's that camaraderie for sure in ER nursing. Uh, it's, you know, it's again, kind of with the flight nursing, it's very fulfilling. There's a lot of things you witness, a lot of working, you know, it's literally in the name being a trauma nurse. So what did you see? Like what kind of hole or gap in healthcare did you see that, you know, the light bulb kind of went off in your head that, that got you to want to start? Um, kind of explain to us exactly what, um, Code Prep and Rescue RN, like what is that exactly and what? What inspired you to start that?

Yeah, so it's a great question. So here we are, put yourself into the emergency room, and if you're not in an emergency, you know, like you said, definitely personalities find their way to different units in the hospital. So, you know, there we were, you kind of function always at that hum, and it's a way— I think certain people's brains just work better at that kind of a pace, and some 100% want to run the other direction. It's just not their comfort zone. So it was my comfort zone and I got better. So during those days, we would respond to inpatient codes because the ER would respond. We didn't have a formal rapid response team back then. And so whenever there was a code, there would be someone from the ICU would come, someone from the ER would come, and we'd end up wherever in the hospital, whether it be radiology, CT, any unit. And we would get there. And when we got there, and I think there's probably not a nurse that will listen to this that hasn't had the same experience, we get there and it's just— it was an Awkward, chaotic scene. A lot of people wanting and willing to help, but wasn't really happening very smoothly. It was chaotic, it's loud, and you can feel the fear and the discomfort in that room. So when I first started responding to the inpatient environment, I thought, what the heck is going on here? Is cardiac arrest new here?

Yeah.

And it really just— ultimately what got this whole thing going was I hated how I felt my colleagues, how they felt. I could feel that they were uncomfortable and I could feel this hierarchy was so gross. I'd never left the ER. I've never worked on a unit before. So I only ever knew that environment. I thought patients were born with monitors. I didn't know.

Yeah.

So we'd get there anyway, the vibes just concerned me. So I thought, you know what? This is not okay. We need to be okay with this and we need to be good at this. For goodness sakes. So that's kind of what started the code prep journey is at the time I was going back to my master's and I needed a project and I said that at the healthcare system I was working in, they always said, you know, Susan, can we, can we get our teams to, you know, at least do compressions and, you know, get the equipment there and get it on before we get there? Turns out that code blue practice was the number one most requested educational intervention by nurses worldwide.

I believe it, actually. And I think to your point on You know, coming from the ER thinking everybody's born with a monitor, I started my career on a med-surg floor and I think it is actually like, it's a little bit scary, you know, when you, when I look back on those times because yeah, you don't have the luxury of just slapping a monitor on and, you know, seeing what's going on with them. I mean, you have vitals cards, sure. But in the ER, you know, if your patient's not, you know, in a hallway and you have access to the monitor, you have that, oh, something feels off. I'm gonna at least just slap like teleleads on, you know, You know, have the blood pressure cuff cycling. Yes. When you're on the floor, you don't necessarily have that luxury all the time. So I could think it is more of like a little bit alarming to not have that almost like safety net to kind of confirm like that you're feeling a little bit weird about what's going on.

I agree. And the way it's set up culturally, it's, it's that gut feeling that something's not right becomes really a disruption to the flow of that patient care in a way that's very uncomfortable to the nurse. And it really does affect all the other patients, right? Because all of a sudden there has to be a focus on this. And then we get this nerve-wracking, should I, shouldn't I? Or, ooh, I'm not sure, I'm not right. And then we hesitate because anyway, there's lots of becausees. I mean, I have a very long list of the barriers of what causes fear in a nurse's heart and soul to ask for help. That is a long list.

Several reasons.

Oh my gosh. It goes on and on and on. And so that was my first like, oh my God, what's Do these— first of all, I was like, wait a minute, these people don't think like we do in critical care. Like, these people, that's ridiculous. But I mean, meaning I always talk about this hamburger, the hospital hamburger. So the ICU top bun, ER bottom bun, you know, we're kind of expecting cardiac arrest and/or respiratory emergencies, any kind of emergencies in these areas. Doesn't mean they're prepared for it, Colton, though.

Yeah.

I mean, you know, we're not all that and a bag of chips. We're just humans too. And there's usually just a few in each of those areas that really run to that kind of thing because they function better Most everybody else is like, oof, you know what? That really makes me feel awkward. That class we take once every 2 years does not prepare me for knowing what to do in that moment.

It's true.

And so I didn't like how it made me feel. I didn't like how it made them feel. I didn't like how the critical care teams, when they arrived, made everybody else feel because— and it wasn't there. It's not there. There's no fault. It was just this soup of culture that has accumulated for years. First of all, we have this. So what I did was I decided I was gonna study this. What the heck are we doing? Where's this gap? The response meant to look like? What are hospital and healthcare systems around the world doing to prepare their teams for this? And it turns out not a whole lot. I mean, we all think we get this, doesn't matter what the legacy person, American Heart, Red Cross, it doesn't matter who, but they do give us like great foundational work studies and in theory, But how does that translate to practice? How does that translate to your team, your equipment, and your unit? It flat out doesn't.

Right.

And I have this unique perspective of being an in-hospital responder as well as being the director of an American Heart program, one of the largest in our country for, I mean, 200+ providers, BLS, ACLS, and PALS every week for 10 years. So I've seen gazillions of people of every, you know, from the trauma surgeon to the transporter. The class is the same, you know, and the bottom line is one size does not fit all. And then you get in the hospital setting, they're always like, well, we have an education team, Susan, we have BLS, ACLS, and PALS. I'm like, mm-hmm. And—

And right.

And then they'll say, well, we do mock codes quarterly. Okay. And I don't even get into that because usually those are put on by critical care teams who again have this cultural mindset of They've got this, you don't. And they like to kind of— and I don't hate on them because I'm one of them. It's just, again, it's just been built up over time, right? Because we're used to arriving to the hot mess that they end up having to move people out of the way so that they can do the basics before they can get to the advanced measures because the basics haven't been done.

And it's just not the same. I mean, you see, I mean, it's kind of like that reminds me of these, you know, I don't want to say these poor people, but almost like these nurses, nursing students who went through school during the pandemic and really were only doing things in a simulation lab. It's just Sure, it's a foundation, like you're saying. It can't— you know, gets those wheels turning. It's at least there planting a seed, but it's very different than when you're in a real-world scenario. And it's like then all those things are just jumbled up in your head when all you've seen are like simulations, right?

Yeah. And then you're— and then I mean, like, should I, should I, should I, shouldn't I? Like, we all know what to do, but are we empowered to really do it? Or should we like, you know, someone get help, get compressions, and then, you know, wait for the superhero team to arrive to take over? So, you know, I called 100% baloney. I just, I hated it. I didn't like how it made me feel. You know, down the line, I almost even forgot, Colton, that we were doing this for patient outcomes. I mean, it really wasn't. It was, I did this because I wanted my colleagues to feel confident. Yeah. And if you have, if you're, if you're confident that you can handle this part of being a nurse, you can handle anything.

That will then subsequently trickle down to better patient outcomes. 100%.

I mean, that— so, I mean, I tease because I really did it for the nurses, and then I ultimately did it for now every other professional that might respond. So, you know, the mock codes are cool, but they tend to bomb. They're quarterly. They're only beneficial to those who are there. So, I mean, I studied all that. What kind of time and resources do they put into those programs? Bottom line is it's not standard anywhere, and not everybody gets the benefit of it, right? Only if you were at that unit that day. So we still have night shift, we have weekends, we have every single unit in the hospital. Cardiac arrest does not care what your job description is, and it does not care where in the hospital you are. In fact, it doesn't care if it's you in your living room or at the grocery store or at the soccer field.

Yeah.

So we have to be ready and we have to be confident, and it always goes back to the basics. So going back to my master's, I was ready. I'd studied this from all over the world. I was really excited to put this thing together. And at the very last second, I thought, you know, we don't need another mock code program. We need a code preparation program. We need everyone to know what to do until we get there. 100%. Like ABC, we're done. Order some pizza. We got this.

Yeah.

And that's that's how cold prep was born. So I studied everything. I shredded all the algorithms. I dumped them all. It's too much. You know, it's less is more. Meat and potatoes. Who's rescuer one, two, and three? Everybody. Everybody is one, two, and three. Basic life support is the only Prerequisite. Colton, we do have advanced, we do have pediatric, we do have AED, but quite often even the advanced teams can't do those basics the way they're meant to be done because they're like, when are we going to get to the hard stuff? I'm like, it's not hard to change the rhythms and the algorithms. I mean, we can give enough epi to this table to get a pulse, right?

Right.

But that person's not going home.

Right.

So I always say getting them in the ICU is cool, but getting them home is much cooler. And all the research in the whole wide world is it repeats. It's just the 2025 updates were out just a couple of weeks ago. Early compressions and early electricity. That's what wins the game.

Yeah. Yeah.

So, so that's what we do. We go into unit, unit, anywhere healthcare is. And we, after they have the initial education, we do the drills with them. They're 2 to 6 minute drills. So I call it a no complaint zone. Literally, it's 2 to 6 minutes for the 3 people to do their drills. It's hands-on and my teams are shocking in a minute or less every time.

Are you teaching? So this— and this is not just nurses, this is everybody, everybody in an outpatient setting, inpatient setting. Are you even— are you in anywhere that's not like healthcare? Like, I think about these things like even, you know, like flight attendants or something like, are you in any kind of other area or is this right now you're in healthcare systems only?

So it's a great question. Really anywhere. Like if you have a heart, you qualify. So we can do this anywhere. And I started out only nurses and only in healthcare. And frankly, we just expanded because just based on the need. So it's always first come, first serve. We're doing a lot of outpatient right now, which is— I'm having so much fun holding outpatient because every type of patient in the world that comes in the hospital goes to their doctor's office. They all wait until they're super sick because they know they have appointment in 10 days. So they walk into these, your asthma clinics or your every kind. I mean, every kind.

Yeah.

So we're having a lot of fun there. I've been consulting in dental practices, a lot of sedation happening in dental practice. You got to think about the scope of who is there, the scope of, you know, it's not even licensure in some cases, you know, certificate hygienists and stuff, you know, no hate, but they need the extra training.

Yeah.

And anywhere that a drug is given, even just an antibiotic or that doesn't have— some of them have some clinics and outpatients have, you know, they give drugs, but they don't have drugs to respond. Or they have drugs to respond, but they don't have the scope of practice to use those drugs. And all this stuff comes out of the woodwork when you do, when you show up. But outside of that, I've had some mining companies reach out. I mean, so it's starting to go everywhere recently. I work with the Citizen CPR Foundation, so we do community work, which is huge.

Yeah. Yeah.

So we train entire municipalities and it's a free resource, by the way. Wherever I teach nurses and/or other healthcare professionals, it's like, you know, I see you, you're a human, you go home, you go into the community. So this really goes home. And 80% of cardiac arrests happen in your home.

Yeah, I believe it.

So we got to be ready. Like, no one knows what to do until help arrives. The national average to first shock in the hospital setting is 9 minutes. Wow.

Well, what are the— like, what are the— do you have the— I don't know if you have these top of mind or if you know, but like, so what are the statistics of You know, when the person goes down and, you know, when there's so much time elapsed, like you said, 9 minutes to first shock, like what is your goal then to first shock in, in your program? Do you guys have a goal time? Um, and do you, and do you know like what the percentage is the outcome better at that point if you're hitting those marks?

Oh, okay. So, you know, when they like, time is brain, you know, every single second, every minute, 10%, you get 10% less chance of any of it, right? So every minute passed past the arrest. So yeah, the gold standard, according to the American Heart, for years has been 2 minutes or less. In the community setting, it's meant to be 3 minutes. So they're actually creating what's like 3 to 4 minute cities. Some of the AED companies right now are being really creative and trying to get as many AEDs in the public so that no matter where you are, you should be within 3 minutes of an AED. Right. Because it's stopping that crazy rhythm that's going to save you. In the hospital, it's meant to be 2 minutes or less. So remember we said 9-minute average, which means, you know, there's 12 and 15-minute numbers out there and are outliers.

Yeah.

So, you know, time is brain. You're starting to lose brain cells, you know, immediately at 2-minute mark. The cardiac arrest comes in like in 3 phases. The initial phase is you still have some electricity. So that's why we've got a shock in 2 minutes or less. It's like when you go out, you know, we're still hopefully fibrillating, there's some juice. So you go out to try your car. And you go to start it and you still got a little chink, chink, like, okay, you only have those first 2 minutes-ish to get that electricity to slap some sense into that heart. You know, the second phase, we're kind of— now we're moving. So electricity is the most prominent thing in those first 2 minutes. And then we move into the second phase where we start having a mismatch in our cardiac output, what's going in and what's going out.

Mm-hmm.

And compressions is the only thing we've got at this point. And then the third phase, which starts at like minute 3 to 5 is, I call it the, um, it's like the metabolic phase. So it's like the banana has the spots at this point. Like it's, yeah, we're going out and, and, and there's not gonna, who knows how much is left now? Only, you know, only God knows. Um, but it's in those very first 2 to 6 minutes. Um, that'll make or break that human's the rest of their life. Nurse.org and major league sports teams are honoring nurses with discounted game tickets and once in a lifetime experiences. From throwing the first pitch to riding the Zamboni to on-court recognition, join the fun. Visit nurse.org/nursenight to find a nurse appreciation event near you and grab your discounted tickets today.

These are important points to make, and I've told this story before. You know, it always still makes me like feel so uncomfortable inside, but I think it's important to share with people, especially nurses, to make them not feel like, you know, like they're so crazy or things that they, you know, like they have like lapses in knowledge. But I, when I first transferred to the ER from my med-surg job, um, I had still never really witnessed a full, like a code, you know? And I, I think when you're a nurse for a little bit, like you're almost like embarrassed to say that, you know? And so then I was working and I remember I was, um, I don't remember if I was actually still training or if I was on my own at this point. I think I was on my own at this point. Um, and at that point I think I had been actually part of codes, but I had never like been the first one there. And I had a patient and I remember looking, so for some reason the monitor didn't actually go off, but I remember looking up seeing, oh my God, like the heart rate was like in the 20s or something. Ran into the room, patient was unresponsive. I had like called, we had Voceras, I don't know if you ever used Vocera. I had called for help and our, we called them Zoomers, our resource nurse for the department came in and I had already like checked the pulse, but I hadn't done anything. And this had been, you know, this had been seconds, maybe like 30 seconds, but she comes in and I'm just kind of like, frozen, right? Like that flight, you know, fight or flight or freeze. I was frozen. And she was like, she just, I remember she just whispered to me, she's like, you should probably start compressions. And it's just, you know, those, those moments of where you're just like, you know, like you're saying, like, you know, these things, like, you know, you should be doing this, like, start, hello, start compressions. But you're, you're almost just like, you're hesitant. You're like, should I do this? Should I not? Like, is this really happening? Like, what, you know, am I gonna start compressions? And they're gonna be like, what are you doing?

That's huge. I mean, that's everyone everywhere. And you know what? You brought up so many important points in that example, because let's go back to the very first part. The first part was, I'm a new nurse and I haven't even seen it. There's nurses who've been nurses for 30 years who've never seen a cardiac arrest, yet one day you're up. And then frankly, here's the other part of that being embarrassed. If you have been a nurse for any length of time, like let's say you're the more senior nurse just by age alone, There's an assumption that you got this, and they're more fearful than the new nurse because if they haven't been here, they haven't done it. And now they have this, you know, kind of ego thing that gets in our way. We can't help it. It's just an innate thing, you know, to feel like, yes, I've been here long enough. And then they have this horror in their deep gut because they aren't competent and they haven't done it. So when I work with code prep, I always make— all leaders have to play too. I'm like, I don't even come anymore. I used to do Teams only because that's who I was there to serve, the teams. And then I realized it wasn't sustainable. So I trained coaches. Now we do coaches and teams. Then I realized, you know what, who's supporting my coaches? I need the leaders to support my coaches. Now I get a system-level approval before I— because if you're not going to support your leaders that support my coaches, that support our teams to serve our patients, then we're not coming.

Yeah.

But I say that to say that even in my— everywhere I go, leaders are doing their drills too. And you know why I do it? Because I know they're scared too.

Yeah.

They're scared. And so, and we all giggle and laugh, and I gotta tell you something cool, it is a lot of fun, you know, because nobody knows how to put the pads on. 87%— this is my original research, excuse me, from my doctoral work— 87% have never ever handled their— they've never turned it on, they've never touched it, they never handle it, they've never put the pad. I mean, the pads come out and you're like, no, no, no, it's totally okay. It's okay. We're just gonna move them down a little bit.

Yeah, yeah.

But I make the leaders do it too because they are secretly secret squirrel, totally nervous and scared too. So then the teams and coaches love it when the leaders do the drills too, and everyone goes home feeling better. But then the next part of what you brought up was that freeze, the fight, flight, or freeze. Physiologically, your adrenaline is dumping in your system and it's preparing you to And no one knows. You don't know until it's happening to you whether you'll fight, be too loud and be too much, you'll flight, you're gonna run to the john instead of the patient, or literally freeze. And I've seen all of it. It happens to everybody.

Yeah, I think that that's— I think that's kind of what you're saying is the most important piece is just feeling— just feeling like increasing your confidence level just even a little bit has to just— it's just so much of a, you know, better feeling. I know from, again, personal experience, like when you know what to do, you're not then using all your energy to like panic inside. Like you still may have that little panicky feeling, but like, you know what to do. You feel confident. You've seen this before. Um, so is that kind of like your mission with what you're doing is to just make people feel more comfortable? You arrive to the scene, you're the first person there. Like you are going to know what to do and help will be there shortly.

Yeah. And we break it down literally to the— I get real, I get it. I'm like, unlock the wheels, handles on this side. Are you pushing it or are you pulling it? You know, we— I make them touch everything. Every single person locks and unlocks the wheels. They plug and unplug the defibrillator. They all turn it on. They all push the shock button, right? They analyze. I teach them analyze function. They all place the pads. They all roll and do the backboard. So everybody does Rescue 1, 2, and 3. They rotate. 1 becomes 2, 2 becomes 3, 3 becomes 1. It's the first essential moves in the first 2 to 6 minutes, and everyone does it until they're quite— literally, they're giggling. They've got it. The first time it's usually kind of junk. The second time they're like, hmm, wait a minute, we can be better. And the third time they're like, you know, rock star. And they every single time they're like, is that it? I'm like, that's it. Like, yeah, stop taking more of this. The critical care people make it be like, if you don't know what is this rhythm and what goes with this drug, and everyone's like, like, I don't know. Like, nobody knows. But guess what? You don't have to know them, Colton. The machine knows. That's why we spend all that money on that horrible— that machine, you know, that expensive machine.

Yeah.

It knows. So if they can recognize the problem, literally call for help, begin compressions, that's Rescuer 1.

Mm-hmm.

Rescuer 2 is the closest person to hear Rescuer 1, and their job, their first job is to support Rescuer 1. We got you. I see you. Slow it down. Speed it up. What can I do to make those compressions better? Lower the bed, lower the rail, get the pillow out, unslunk the airway. All we do is open the airway.

Mm-hmm.

And Rescuer 3 is whoever is closest to that machine. CNAs rocking it. PT, OT, everyone who has basic life support plays, right? So if you're right there, you're grabbing a cart and bringing it. I try to remember, remind everybody that grabbing the cart, everything to save a life is on the outside of the crash cart. So guess who can grab it? Everybody.

Everyone. Yeah.

Everybody. And, you know, we even have our non-licensed play. They don't touch the defibrillator, you know, in a healthcare setting, but they do. They can get the backboard, they can call for help, they can do compressions.

Mm-hmm.

They can place pads. So we include everybody. And we also, then we go a little bit upstream and I teach a green, yellow, red. I actually take it from pre-hospital. A green, yellow, red, I call it visual acuity, Colton. And it's like thumbs up or thumbs down. And this is to help that decision, to decide to call, like that hesitation. So we do, it's a green, yellow, red, thumbs up or thumbs down, sick or not sick, RPMs, respiration, perfusion, mental status. Good or bad. And if it's bad, you have permission to call.

Mm-hmm.

Whether it's your met, whether it's your, you know, nurse stat, whether it's your rapid, hopefully before they're a red. But anyway, and so it's very empowering. And when the leaders and the systems say that we're bringing this program in, they now know they literally have permission. If it's a thumbs down, they're gonna call.

Mm-hmm.

And it really builds great relationship with the rapid response teams. Rapid response teams don't want to show up and be jerks. They really don't. It's just culturally, and this is not everywhere by a long shot.

Yeah.

You know, it's just that it happens. And so if they were to show up, and my goal with our teams is to roll out that red carpet, compressions are going, pads are on. Frankly, we've shocked 2 and 3 times before rapid arrives. You know, our co-teams arrive a lot. It happens. They have time to give report. No one's run away, right? So they're— who is the nurse? Is this patient— you know what I mean? And then give a little SBAR. They hand them the keys, then, you know, they go order pizza. So, and rapids are so happy, right? Because all the basics have been done and now they can move on to advanced measures.

Well, I think that that alleviates the stress too for, you know, because like you're saying, when the rapid response team gets there, generally they're not trying to be mean, but you have to put yourself in the shoes of that team when you're showing up and it's a hot mess. Like you have to have some level of like, okay, get out of the way. Like, let us just do what we need to do and catch up kind of. Um, and I also think that that's great, like kind of what you're saying, because I think everybody's been there, whether it was when you were a nursing student, a nursing aide, a new nurse, when somebody, the first time somebody says, go grab the code cart. And you're like, all of a sudden you're like, oh my God, I don't even know how to push that. I don't know how to unlock the wheels. And it's like those seconds matter. And then, you know, before you know it, you're there at the code cart shaking it to try to get it to move. And it's just like those little simple things that you're like, oh my God, I'm so stupid. How do I not? Those are like the thoughts that go through your head, right? Just because it's just, it's foreign. And then it's like the adrenaline's pumping and it's a very stressful situation. And it's just like, you know, how can I be like, go to somebody and be like, I don't know how to move the code cart. You know, like that's, so that's so important. Just people don't, I think, realize till they're maybe doing this kind of training, like how important it is to just get your hands on things. Right. It's like, it's like a, A new doctor in like, you know, like an anatomy class with a cadaver and just like touching things. Like you just get familiar with, with things like that, right?

You have to touch it. Yeah, you have to touch it. You remember being a new nurse? If you don't understand how to use what's in your— how to get your stuff in your supply room, you're done. Like the most important room. You got to understand how to use your tools. Where are they? How do we handle them? And, you know, how can you know algorithms and drugs if you don't know how to unplug Plug it and turn it on.

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, literally. So in my doctoral work, and this is what this is why I do what I do today because I don't want them going home feeling that way. Like I can't you and we know what we do. We tuck it down in there. We go home to our families and our and our loved ones, and we you know we have dinner, and we know what we're thinking inside, and it does not feel well. They might not come back from just this alone. And so that I was calling no no on that. There's just no way. So. You know, for the longest time, I did what I call code prepping in dark alleys because they loved it. I would just go and do the drills and they would stand taller and they would literally say to me, are you kidding me? That's it? Like, okay, there's a cheat sheet on the front of every letter. Step 1, step 2, and step 3. It's not the scary beast that you need like a Hail Mary when you pass every morning. You know, it's actually not such a bad deal.

Okay.

But until you handle it and use it, you don't know it. So, We literally break it down to unlocking, unplugging, pushing/pulling. Where do we put the cart? In this room. Because you know what that is, right? When the insanity shows up, the half the world shows up, they're like the smokers that got kicked out of a restaurant in the hallways. You know, they're everywhere. And it's like, what is going on here, guys?

Mm-hmm.

So we know right where we're going to put the crash cart in this particular room. So we code prep that space and they've done it. They do it once a month. They do it once a month, 2 to 6 minutes apiece. When it happens, it's so smooth and so easy. And I know I measured self-efficacy. That's all I cared about. They were like, everyone wants numbers, Colton, especially when it comes to resuscitation. They want the numbers. I'm like, if you build their confidence, the numbers will come. Like, we have enough numbers we have to worry about.

Yeah.

We have a chart. I just want this to be— I want them to use their hands, their eyes, and their brains, especially in the AI world and all this stuff that's coming in now. I'm like, nope, guess what? Someone's hands still have to get on that chest. Someone has to grab it and bring it to the room. And we have to be able to work together as a team. So, you know, I'll wrap this up with where we are in 2025 with the new updates that just came out. I mean, the highest and best suggestions from the top resuscitation people in the world, you know, is what a lot of healthcare systems have adapted these days for their American Heart training, which is even if they do the quarterly, you know, they do the quarterly. So it's completely online, right? We take the course online at home in our jammies. Then we show up to this computer avatar in a closet somewhere in the hospital doing compressions, very difficult compressions and airway only. Right. And somehow that's supposed to translate to the radiology suite, you know, the echo lab, the sleep study room, the med surg, the, you know, I mean, my goodness gracious, endo, right?

Yeah.

How does that translate? There's no Defibrillator or AED. There's no pads, there's no backboard, there's no team.

Yeah.

And who's messing with airway? I can't—

who?

I'm sorry, who? We're not very good at that. Nobody's good at that unless you're respiratory. So, you know, this is a huge gap in my mind because I live in this gap between what we're saying. We're all certified, you know, so you have a provider card. Somehow that means you're prepared for the worst. 2 to 6 minutes, right? I don't think—

yeah, yeah. What are you gonna do, pull out your ACLS card and slap it on their chest? Like, it's not right. It's not gonna do anything.

Just a minute now, I'm gonna get the algorithm.

Yeah, yeah, get your little booklet out and read it. Um, I just think it's— I just think it's so like, it's so true, obviously. And this makes like so much sense. I mean, I, I think about, okay, even if I went to grab, uh, you know, the environmental services cart, I wouldn't know what to do with it until I, you know, messed with it a little bit. It's just, it's something I— but I think You know, obviously when you're in a code situation, it's somebody's, you know, it's life or death. So that's just where I think the fumbling and the freaking out and the panicking comes from, or the fight, flight, or freeze. So what is the feedback you've gotten from these facilities? Have you gotten, um, a lot of, you know, positive feedback and testimonials of like, wow, you've really changed the culture of our, of our unit, our hospital, our, you know, our clinic and just being prepared in these situations? Like, have you gotten that kind of feedback? And what is, you know, what are, what are people saying to you as far as like, Having like that readiness in those emergent situations?

Yeah, so that's another great question. So, you know, I'll go back to saying, you know, I was code prepping in dark alleys because they just kept asking for it, right? So the teams are asking for it, the teams are asking for it. And then there was always a passionate supervisor or director like, you know, we can't wait for the system to get on board here. Like, we just need it. Like, our teams are begging for it. Literally every survey of what can we do for you nurses, What can we do for you? We want more co-training. They're like, anything else? So I just would do it and do it and do it, do it. And then I started to not be able to keep up because I was going to different systems and different places because it's not rocket science at all. And they love it. So they want more. They would go into their, you know, their yearlies with their supervisor and say, you know, what can we do for you? We want more co-prep. We want more co-prep. I don't think I've ever had a negative other than Maybe something that could support them better that we, my team and I, will then create based on, you know, like for instance, we just in outpatient offices where a lot of outpatients, right? You know what? They don't have a standard charting document like we do in the— and I was like, what? So the more we do it, it's always positive feedback. Their people love it. The coaches love being coaches. The teams love being teams. Team members can become coaches. There isn't any prerequisite. You don't have to be a leadership to be a coach. You can just want to feel better yourself to become a coach. It's just a bit more training. But the bottom line is we are now, we just are moving into Canada, looking at South America right now. And 2026, I have scheduled, I'm in 5 to 7 of the top healthcare systems in the United States, have our tour set up right now because it works. I also, we were doing a lot in imaging areas. So, that's the heart of every hospital, you know, code blue CT, code blue CT, they're there. CT, MR, and echo. There's a lot more contrast media going into our patients for a lot of imaging. So we're going into imaging areas. So it works. It's a little bit of a lift at the beginning just because you have to have the, you know, online foundational, which is not long. And then we do onsite workshops to get our coaches up to speed, and then we schedule them quarterly because of turnover. And because once you do it, everybody else wants to do it too.

Yeah.

So it's made for systems. So we have Reaction Ready, that's code prep, custom code prep for imaging areas, and then Code Prep. Code Prep is for the entire hospital, inpatient, outpatient, ambulatory, like you said, every dental offices. It could be, it could be anywhere. Yeah. Okay.

Do nurses work for you as far as like going out and doing these trainings, or how, how do you do that?

Oh my gosh. Well, I'm just needing, I'm just hiring. So I have, I just hired my first chief clinic nurse. clinical nurse. She's— he, pardon me, Dave Perry. He's awesome. He is now the first me. So I'm so grateful. And then I have a handful of people that have been helping me locally. But now that we have this giant tour in 2026 and moving into another country and all that. So we are starting— Great. I'm glad you asked. It's exciting. We are— Dave is actually in charge of our master instructor program. So we are starting a master rescue RN master instructor program in early 2026. So there's travel, there's travel, there's onsite teaching. It's super fulfilling and a lot of fun. And you don't have to be the rock star ACLS ICU PALS critical care person. You just have to have a love for teaching nurses and understand that we're building self-efficacy like our whole goal. You know, it's a mindset thing. We are not there to prove that we know how to do it and you don't. We're there to really lift them up and make them rock stars. When we leave, they're high-fiving. I mean, it's a lot of fun. So yeah.

Amazing.

Hiring in early 2026.

And where do people find that?

So it will be coming out on our socials and on LinkedIn, and we're just transitioning all of our stuff by rescueren.com. And we have our app coming out in early 2026 too to help support all these efforts. But they can find us on LinkedIn is great, and then rescueren.com.

Amazing. All right, Susan, well, thank you so much. Any, any parting words with the, with the audience? Anything that we didn't cover that you want to leave them with?

Or— You know, it's okay to be afraid. I think we all have to— it's okay to be afraid. Young nurse, old nurse. If you're not, then there's something the matter. I mean, when someone's trying to die in front of you, scary. Please give yourself some grace. I think my greatest is just please give yourself some grace. Don't ever feel less than. That is outlawed in my world. You are just a I'm just a med-surg nurse. I'm just a— no, we allow that too. You can use your hands, your eyes, and your brains. You don't need all that advanced stuff. So I'm just going to say, give yourself some grace and give us a call. We'll make sure you and your team are ready no matter.

I love that. Well, thank you so much, Susan. I really appreciate your time today.

Thank you, Colton.

From the bottom of my heart, I wanted to thank you for being here at Club Nurse. I hope you gained something valuable from today's episode. And if you did, remember to share this episode with someone that you love. Follow me on socials at Nurse Daddies or Colton Lord 17, and be sure to follow nurse.org to stay informed with all of the hottest healthcare topics. Until next time, take care of yourself the way you take care of everyone else. Love ya. Bye.