Lindsey Shelton is a travel intensive care unit (ICU) nurse and mental health advocate. Lindsey and her husband both pursued travel nursing to experience other cultures and places, but didn’t foresee the physical, mental, and emotional toll that would be required of an ICU nurse in 2020. Our latest Humans of HOKA tells her story.

HOKA: Introduce yourself! Where are you from?

Lindsey Shelton: My name is Lindsey Shelton. I am 31 years old. I am from Sand Springs, Oklahoma – west of Tulsa.

HOKA: What is your background, and how did you get started in nursing? What about comedy?

Lindsey Shelton: My background is such a big answer, where do I start? My dad had a motorcycle accident when I was in second grade. I think that event changed just about everything for me. When my dad came home from the hospital / rehabilitation, he was extremely abusive. Eventually my mom divorced him and remarried. I grew up in a blended family with 5 kids total in the home. I had a fairly chaotic childhood with lots of things to work out in therapy later in life.

The truth is, I never grew up wanting to be a nurse. I started modeling when I was 14 years old. I knew I wanted to be in the entertainment industry eventually but wasn’t certain how to get there. I went to college to be a veterinarian while trying to make auditions to any gigs in the meantime. The first few years of college I was a Pre-Vet major while working in a vet office. I realized quickly that I wasn’t cut out for that and bounced majors 4+ more times. I was all over the place; from geology to dental hygiene, then I took a break because I was so lost.

During this break, I was working as a waitress and nurse tech at the hospital. I befriended some of the nurses who convinced me that nursing was such a great opportunity. Besides being paid adequately; they had a flexible schedule, variety within the career itself and opportunity to move up. I graduated nursing school with my husband a year ahead of me. We decided to heavily lean into travel nursing the moment we could as that would give us opportunity to see other cultures/places. We started traveling at the beginning of COVID.

Being an ICU nurse during this time was one of the most challenging things I have ever done in my life. Watching people die, their loved ones saying goodbyes on a screen and the physical/spiritual/mental toll it took on me only made my existing depression and anxiety worse. Nurses have been under-appreciated well before and even after COVID. The treatment towards healthcare workers in general is honestly devastating.

During the last few years, I realized that comedy is really what got me through some of the harder times in my career and my life. I decided to start posting comedy skits along with educational insights on TikTok in December of 2021. I realized that I wasn’t the only one who coped with humor, even a little dark humor, and began building an online community.

HOKA: How has comedy become a creative outlet for you in your role as a traveling nurse?

Lindsey Shelton: I knew that creating comedy online would be a great idea for not only me, but others who are needing a good laugh from their difficult shift. There are days where we go without smiling for a whole shift. That takes a toll on us mentally.

HOKA: According to the American Nurses Foundation a staggering “56% of nurses are experiencing burnout,” and 64% report feeling a “great deal of stress because of their job.” Even more concerning, “two-thirds of nurses who said they are suffering from mental anguish or toxic emotions are either not seeking or not receiving mental health support.” How have you experienced this in your field?

Lindsey Shelton: Burnout is such a huge topic within the nursing world. Like I said before, healthcare workers are so very under-appreciated. But even more to that, nurses are. We are the ones bedside with the patient more than anyone else. Burnout happens for numerous reasons. Poor staffing, a high patient/nurse ratio, toxic work environments with unit bullies, and the overall feeling of being under-appreciated. We are belittled, physically/sexually/verbally assaulted and sometimes feel like we can’t make a difference. The hospital administration doesn’t seem to take serious steps to prevent these things and often put even more of a burden on the staff. There is little to no repercussions to patients or family who treat us poorly and with little to no help from higher-ups, we feel defeated. Not to mention the day to day on its own. Even if those other things weren’t happening, we would be stressed in every way. We are not provided mental health support or therapy like most other Americans. If our insurance doesn’t cover it (which it doesn’t most of the time), we are having to pay out of pocket and usually cannot even afford that. I did experience these same things and honestly had to create income elsewhere to get me into therapy. We redid our budget to fit it in, along with my psychiatry appointments.

HOKA: Can you share a specific moment of support that was particularly meaningful to you?

Lindsey Shelton: I have to bring it back to COVID. The amount of people who even said “thank you” during that time is significant enough. Nurses were appreciated, cared for and trusted. It was some of the worst times I’ve ever encountered because of what was happening, but also some of the only times I’ve felt truly appreciated by the general public.

HOKA: Can you tell us a little bit about Operation Happy Nurse and your relationship with the organization?

Lindsey Shelton: I came upon OHN by a friend. She introduced me to their social media, and it really resonated with me. Shannon, the founder, has also dealt with everything I listed above, and she was speaking out about it online. I thought it was amazing that there was a nurse-lead organization that was actually making moves for our mental health and wellbeing.

HOKA: What advice would you give to any nurses struggling with burnout or their mental health?

Lindsey Shelton: You are not alone. It feels isolating at times, but I promise you more of us feel that way or have felt that way. Please, get professional help. IT IS OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY. If you’re feeling burnt out, sit down and figure out WHY. Is it the environment? Leave. Find something new. There are JOYFUL units out there. Is it too much work? Try to use your PTO, sick leave, whatever you can and get some time away. Make sure you are filling your cup outside of work, whatever that looks like to you. How do you expect to pour into others from an empty cup?

HOKA: Finally, what message do you hope your story conveys to others?

Lindsey Shelton: I hope it gives inspiration to follow your dreams and do the hard things. I hope it reminds you that you’re not alone in your struggles and you belong here.

HOKA: Anything else that you’d like to share?

Lindsey Shelton: I started therapy in October of 2020. I was on antidepressants/anxiety meds for 3+ years. It’s okay to reach out for help and it’s okay to have lows. It’s part of life.

Follow Lindsey Shelton @scrubhacks on Instagram and TikTok and on the Friends & Enemas Podcast, available on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.