Meet Mallory Anderson

We recently connected with Mallory Anderson and have shared our conversation below.

Mallory, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

I learned work ethic from my parents. Both my mom and dad worked hard their whole life and when I started working at 15, my dad instilled in me that “if you’re not 15 minutes early, you’re late” and til this day, I cannot be late for anything! It is one of my biggest pet peeves. The way I look at it, everyone’s time is precious. If you have a certain time to be somewhere, whether it be work, doctor appointment, etc, be on time. People are counting on you to be on time. Don’t waste their time. My dad also always told me that when you’re at work, be the best that you can be. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing. Put in the best effort, do your best, and do your job! People are depending on you to do a good job when you’re at work. Don’t let them down.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m just a Kentucky (Wildcat) girl in a Kansas (Jayhawk) world. I was born and raised in Louisville, KY and lived there until 2013. I met my future husband in Louisville while he was making a pit stop in town for his residency as an ankle and foot surgeon. He’s originally from Iowa and his goal was to get back there one day. And that is where he transplanted me in 2013. Welcome to the Midwest! We were married in 2014 and we celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary with a baby moon. Our sweet son was born in August of 2019, and he’s been keeping us on our toes ever since! We also have two fur babies (Riggs & Sonnie) that we adore. In our spare time (which isn’t a lot), we love to travel back home to see family or to a new destination, go for walks or hiking adventures with our kiddo, and spend time outdoors! My favorite destination: the beach. There is something soothing and soul refreshing about the sand and waves. Makes you feel so small in a gigantic world.

When I was little, I wanted to be a veterinarian. Along with every other little girl on the planet (maybe a princess was on my list as well). But when the reality of life came crashing down at 18 when I graduated high-school, I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. I loved animals so much that the thought of having to say goodbye to them, maybe on a daily basis, was heart breaking just to think about. So, I decided to take an anatomy class. For humans. And I loved it! Actually, it was the only class I didnt skip in college (sorry, mom and dad!). That anatomy class led me to my love of the human body and guided me towards a career in nursing. In 2015, I graduated with my RN-ASN, and then in 2017, I graduated with my RN-BSN. I started my nursing career in the adult ICU, which was way out of my comfort zone. But I wanted something to challenge me mentally (the magic happens when you get uncomfortable). And when I say the ICU is hard, that’s an understatement. It was everything school didn’t teach me. I quickly realized I might be in over my head! I would call my husband daily during orientation, crying, questioning the choices I’ve made. The ICU should be hard, though. We are saving lives. And that’s not just a figure of speech. Literally, saving lives. No pressure! However, after months of great support by mentors, preceptors, managers, team leads, and family, I had the confidence to take care of my 1st patient. By myself. I was absolutely terrified. But I made it through and it allowed me to know that I can do hard things. It gave me a weird confidence I’ve never had before. Even though I didn’t stay in the ICU very long, it changed me forever. The things I witnessed, the emotions, the tears, the confidence. It was life changing! I learned so much from the ICU and I will never regret taking that leap. It led me to pursue another area of nursing I had briefly thought about: aesthetics. I initially didn’t go into aesthetics because I didn’t want to lose my bedside nursing skills out of the gate. When we moved to Lenexa, KS in 2021, I started pursuing my career in aesthetics and in 2022, I got my opportunity. I haven’t looked back! It’s been the equivalent of going back to school. I’m learning so much and being challenged every single day. I’m meeting so many people and making some really great patients! I’ve had people ask me if miss saving lives and my response: I might not be saving someone from dying, but I am helping women (and men) feel good about themselves! And that could most definitely help save their life.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Qualities:
Compassion.
Patience.
Determination.

Any nurse needs to have compassion. Regardless of the area of nursing, you’re going to need to have compassion for the patient/client presented in front of you. Understanding that sometimes that person doesn’t want to be visiting you. They might be sick, tired, struggling, or have recently received devastating news is something you have to take into consideration. You have to treat each patient as you would want your grandmother treated in Healthcare.
Patience is key. Not only while working as a nurse, but my journey to become a nurse required a lot of patience. It’s easy to lose sight of the light at the end of tunnel when you’re knee deep in tests, flash cards, notes, etc. You’re constantly trying to remind yourself that your hard work will always pay off. “Just keep swimming” was written all over my notebooks (thanks, Dory!). And then when I became a nurse, I had to have a lot of patience! I had to constantly remind myself that I was a new nurse. I’m not supposed to know it all, and I will never know it all! I gave myself a lot of grace and allowed myself to become a sponge to learn from the veteran nurses before me. They paved the way and allowed me to feel comfortable to ask questions and speak up without being bullied or criticized.
Determination. This quality is something you have to have to get through school and orientation on the job. You have to be determined to be the best nurse you can be, to be the best co worker, help out when you can, and to be flexible. Nursing isn’t the same day in and day out. Everyday is going to look different, but you have to be determined to address every situation as best you can.

My advice to new nurses: give yourself some grace. You’re brand new to a career that has had some amazing leaders before you. You’re not going to know everything all at once! Utilize the ones who have endured the struggles, listen to their stories, take their advice and ask them all the questions. This is an ever evolving career, things are changing daily. Allow yourself to embrace change. Also, don’t be a lazy nurse. Help your co-workers when they need it, because they will. Do your job, do it well, and don’t take advantage of your CNA or tech to do everything for you.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

Without a doubt, I have to credit my parents and husband for this. My husband is in health-care as well, so he understands what it means to go through a rigorous program (he went to medical school) and what it’s like to be a small fish in a big pond. It is overwhelming and intimidating starting off as a newbie, but he helped me work through all of those emotions. Sometimes with tough love, but he was always a shoulder to cry on when I would doubt my decision to work in the ICU. He reminded me all the time that there is a reason I graduated at the top of my class. My parents favorite quotes for me: “you can do hard things” “this time next year, you’ll look back and laugh at how you responded to this” “anything worth having is hard work”
Those quotes are written in ink in my mind.

Contact Info:

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Image Credits

Mallory Anderson