I’m joined today by Nate & Lien Woodin who are married and the parents of two boys – aged 6 & 9 as this show comes out on the first of October 2021.
If you’re a critical care nurse, medical student, resident or SRNA – or a spouse or partner to one of these folks – and you’re wondering how to hold it together as a parent & partner during anesthesia training or even if it’s possible for you to go back to anesthesia school – this podcast is for you!
We don’t hit a list of bullet points on this one. There’s no simple how-to here. Instead, we walk through Lien & Nate’s story and in it you’ll find some incredible insights of how they prepared for anesthesia school, parented during anesthesia school and stuck together as a couple all the way through.
Lien just wrapped up her Master’s of Nursing in Anesthesia at the University of New England a couple of weeks ago and decided to go back to school after working as a nurse for 20 years – 17 of which were as a critical care nurse in a cardiothoracic intensive care unit. Nate is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who focuses his practice on child & adolescent therapy. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at the University of New Hampshire in 2000 and his Master’s of Arts in Marital & Family Therapy from the University of San Diego in 2007. He completed a post-master’s Certificate of Studies in Play Therapy in 2009 from the University of California, San Diego.
Lien worked as a critical care Registered Nurse at Maine Medical Center and came back to train for a couple of months with the anesthesia team at Maine Med, where I work as the SRNA Clinical Coordinator. We got to spend a few days in the OR together and that’s where I first heard snippets of her story. When she talked about how hard it was to make the decision to go back to school after working as an ICU nurse for 20 years, how her & Nate have a son with PANDAS which encompasses a set of neuropsychiatric disorders and how Nate is a child & family therapist who Lien always bragged about as being such a huge support to her as a SRNA and their boys, I knew I wanted to get them on the podcast and hear more about their story. And it’s a remarkable story. I think you’ll really enjoy hearing it.
A couple other things before we get to the show…
Lien was in the same class as Robert Montague. You may remember Robert and his wife Jenny from episode 15 titled “Significant Others and Anesthesia School.” That episode came out in December of 2020. Robert also just successfully passed boards and became a CRNA along with Lien. He and Jenny are doing well and are also enjoying life after anesthesia school. I think both this and that podcast would be key shows to listen to if you’re considering going back to anesthesia school as parents – or if you’re in an anesthesia program or residency now and need a little encouragement to keep going and find ways to make it work. They’re great shows for you and your partners.
There’s never really a good time to go to anesthesia school and having a significant other and kids can make the process very challenging. And while both of these families have found ways to thrive during their programs, others are frankly not. For, I think the first time ever on the podcast, in this episode, I talk a little about my own path in anesthesia school which involved going through a divorce in the fist six months as well as meeting my wife in the program who I now share a life with along with our 3-month old son and how helpful marriage therapy has been for both of us.
I know other SRNAs who are either in or have gone through extremely challenging family situations including the loss of a child, or a partner, severe illnesses, trauma & surgery, ugly divorces, restraining orders, physical & emotional abuse and more. For those of you out there who are struggling I want you to know that you’re not alone and that help is available. The AANA has a wealth of resources available that I’ll link to in the show notes. There’s also a free 24-hour Crisis Text Line if you need support right now… you can text anything to the number 741741 and a trained counselor will reach out with support over text. You can also find support at your university or hospital through wellness committees and student or employee health services… there are usually always free, confidential counseling & therapy resources available. Don’t struggle alone. Reach out to one of these resources. Get help. It’s a very human thing to do.
And hopefully you’ll find a little hope & encouragement through Lien & Nate’s story…
Resources:
Crisis Text Line text “hello” or “help” or whatever to 741741 and a trained counselor will respond. It’s free and it’s over text.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
