The Ali on the Run Show
Episode 56
Guest: Susan Pass
Listen on iTunes I SoundCloud I Overcast I Stitcher I Google Play
“You should talk more and smile. It’s my favorite.”
Susan Pass — best known on the internet as “Susan Runs” and as the blogger behind “Nurse on the Run” — is a 15-time marathoner who holds a 3:18 personal best time. Susan is currently in school to become a nurse anesthetist — a career path she decided on after majoring in dietetics and going on to nursing school, then working in a burn unit in New York City for 7.5 years.
Here’s what you’ll get in this episode:
- How Susan started running (4:05)
- Susan’s history with injuries, surgeries, and a labral tear (6:11)
- What the first run back after double hip surgery felt like (10:28)
- Susan’s first marathon experience (11:55)
- Susan’s current running goals (14:05)
- How Susan became a nurse — and what she thought she wanted to do before deciding on nursing (14:30)
- How Susan decided on a nursing specialty (16:00)
- What it’s like working in a burn unit (22:25)
- What it’s like working the night shift at a hospital (25:15)
- Why Susan decided to go back to school and what her current 27-month program is like (28:10)
- How Susan balances a demanding job and schooling with running (33:50)
- Susan’s craziest nursing story (38:00)
- What it takes to be a good patient (41:45)
- Susan’s take on being an introvert (46:00)
What We Mention on this Episode:
Susan’s 2013 New Jersey Marathon recap
Hal Higdon Marathon Training Plan
Burn Unit: Saving Lives After the Flames
Big Sur International Marathon
Follow Susan:
Follow Ali:
Listen & Subscribe:
SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!
4 Responses
Holy no paragraph breaks. Sorry y’all!
To those considering going back to school for nursing – we need you! I wanted to add in my experience in an accelerated nursing program today compared to Susan’s experience a few years ago — pretty much the same!! We have two days of classes (usually 8 am – 5 pm with a short break for lunch… we VERY antsy by 3 pm after sitting for so long) and three days in a row of clinicals. We also have various lab days each quarter that involve teaching days and patient simulations –
both with freaky mannequins that cry, moan, and bleed and real medical actors that pretend to have a condition and we go in and assess them – there are cameras filming us so we can be graded!! Each quarter is a different rotation, so last quarter I had med-surg (what Susan described as just a catch-all unit for basically “something is wrong with you and we can’t discharge you yet”), maternity (labor and delivery, postpartum, lactation… some shadowing there, some hands on – “is it OK if I reposition your boob?” is fun to ask to new moms), and pediatrics. This quarter it’s critical care, med-surg again, and community health (i’m at a public school, shadowing a school nurse!)
My program is a year, but if you can find one that is a little longer, say 15 or 18 months, I would highly recommend it. I’ll be glad I’m done, but this has been the most challenging year of my life. A couple extra months to study exams and prepare for the NCLEX would have been ideal. Trying to fit in anything other than school is extremely difficult- I trained for a marathon and completely fell apart afterwards likely due to stress/low immunity. Even typing this comment right now, this is not in my hourly schedule today- WHOOPS (worth it)
We also are not allowed to start IVs at our school – though some nurses at clinicals will let you do it hush hush, we are only taught how to prime the tubing at school.
At my Mom’s nursing school where she teaching in Florida, there’s an IV mannequin arm where I’ve practiced actually placing an IV. I’m very nervous about doing it for the first time on a real patient, and I’ve been told by instructors to NOT tell the patient it’s ever my first time!! But, worst case scenario, I miss the stick and try again.
I loved listening to this episode and hearing Susan’s story from beginning to end. Thanks Ali!
Great episode, I loved hearing about nursing and how Susan fits in running around her career.
Excited to listen! Not sure if you take recommendations for who to get on the podcast, but would love for you to get Kate @socalrunnergal!