Empowering Women in Midlife

This RN uses her background in leadership to support women in midlife looking to pivot in their career

Welcome to Nurse Ascent, a twice-weekly newsletter created by nurses for nurses. This week, one nurse tells the story of jumping on an old dream after years of it sitting on the back burner as she grew in her career while taking care of her family. We also discuss cases number for cyclospora outbreak, a possible source of the parasitic outbreak as well updates about a Legionnare's disease outbreak.

But first....

AI Training Jobs

A few weeks ago, we asked whether you’d be interested in paid opportunities using your healthcare expertise to help train AI models. Many of you said yes, so we’re experimenting with sharing more opportunities like this alongside our curated nursing jobs.

A company is currently looking for healthcare and clinical experts to evaluate AI-generated work. The remove roles can be completed on your own schedule and pays $80 to $120 per hour.

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Featured Jobs

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Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) - Sarasota, FL

Sarasota, FL

$206.61 - $223.65/hourly

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Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) - Staten Island, NY

Staten Island, NY

$206.61 - $223.65/hourly

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Certified Nurse Midwife

Merced, CA

$135,000 - $190,000/year

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Nurse Spotlight: Alissa Colonna RN, BSN, PCCN

What I do for work

I work part-time as a night shift RN House Supervisor. My background is in nursing leadership. A year ago, I began my work as a nurse entrepreneur helping women in midlife create more freedom, purpose, and possibility in their life. This came from a seed that was planted in me in 2008. Before I became a nurse, I had a YouTube channel but I left that behind to pursue nursing. That part of me never left and stayed on my mind until I finally came back to it with a nursing lens last year.

How I got here

My son was diagnosed with autism during the pandemic while I was working full-time as a nurse manager. This was a rough time for me both professionally and personally while my family adjusted to the needed lifestyle changes when schools and services shutdown. After this transition, I had a strong pull to be home more with my family and be more available to support my son. This lit a fire under me to move into part-time nurse entrepreneurship in the online health and wellness space. Right now, I partner with a telehealth provider to help connect people with the peptide and wellness treatments they’re looking for. I started my RN career as a progressive care nurse and it took me probably 3 years to feel very confident with what I was doing because I was taking care of very sick people. I’ve found that nurse entrepreneurship has been a similar to that process and taking things one step at a time for long-term growth.

Headlines in Healthcare

11,500 cyclosporiasis cases reported in 41 states

According to the CDC, as of this week there has been a record high of 11,500 cyclosporiasis cases and 308 hospitalizations reported in 41 states. HHS Secretary released a statement saying the outbreak is "under control," however cases continue to rise. The infections were first detected on 13 May, according to the FDA.

Cyclospora linked to lettuce supplied to Taco Bell per FDA

Last week, the FDA says the current cyclospora outbreak in 41 states it is tied to Taco Bell lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms. On Sunday, the FDA backtracked saying: "Due to the complexity in detection of Cyclospora, FDA laboratory experts re-reviewed the sample results and have concluded that the finding does not represent true amplification and should be considered a false positive." And now the FDA is also investigating a separate outbreak, with 72 more cases and no identified source.

Legionnaries' pneumonia outbreaks in NYC kills 5

New York health officials are sharing ways people can reduce the risk of exposure to Legionnaires' disease after the NYC outbreak kills 5 people. As of July 21, there have been five deaths and 82 diagnoses linked to the Upper East Side outbreak, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Eight patients remain hospitalized. The CDC shares that comprehensive water management programs can prevent Legionella bacteria from growing in cooling towers, plumbing systems, hot tubs and other building water systems. It is estimated that nearly 9 in 10 outbreaks could have been prevented with more effective water management.

More on Alissa

A day in my life

I work two days a week as a night shift House Supervisor and the rest of the week I’m home with my family and working on my own business. In the morning I take care of the kids and get them to school. While they’re gone, I spend time networking for my business. On any given day, I might be connecting with new people, creating content, or following up with conversations. I’ve learned that diving into entrepreneurship alone is a lot more challenging than it could be otherwise. It’s helped me so much to have a mentor and coaches who guide my process. I was previously in a position making really good money at the hospital, but I didn’t have the work-life balance quality I longed for. Now I want to inspire other women in midlife to remind them that we have diverse backgrounds with transferable skills that we can take into our next opportunity.

What I do for fun & to relax

The thing most important to me is my family. We spend a lot of time in the backyard swimming. Being an autism and cheer mom keeps me very busy. We also make time for our extended family. Between all this, I work to protect my energy and take care of my mindset, so I can keep being there for the people that I care about. For myself, I have a coach who is helping me with my business. I meet with her a couple times a month and that has really helped me. This is why I tell people not to do it alone. The closer you can get to people who have what you want, the faster you’ll get there. I know there are so many people asking “what else could I be doing?”, while they look to others for inspiration. I want to remind them they’re not starting over, they’re just pivoting to the next best thing for them.

Share your story & be entered to win

As part of our effort to spotlight nurses, we’d love to feature you in an upcoming issue of Nurse Ascent! Share your story by filling out our quick interview form, and you’ll be entered into a raffle to win a $50 gift card.

An image of author Katie Scoggins is pictured.

Meet the author:
Katie Scoggins
(RN, BSN & Health Writer)

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