Mayo Clinic Employee Experiences: The grass isn’t always greener

By In the Loop • October 19, 2018

Mayo Clinic is a unique place: the culture, the values, the people. "Mayo Clinic Employee Experiences" is a podcast that explores the experiences of Mayo Clinic staff as they navigate life personally and professionally. Individual experiences make each person unique, increase understanding of others, and ultimately contribute to finding connections, belonging and inclusion at work.

In this episode, you'll hear Emily, a nurse practitioner, and Kristin, a nurse, discuss their experiences of being "boomerang" staff members. Both left Mayo and came back. There are many reasons for leaving an organization — to pursue an education, raise a family, experience different climates, explore a new career path, and many other dreams. Emily moved across the country to pursue her dream of working and living in California, and Kristin focused on raising her family while pursuing a nursing degree.

Or read the transcript, edited for length and clarity, below.

EMILY: The grass is not always greener. The reason we came back was the timing was right.

NARRATOR: In this episode, Emily and Kristin share their experiences on what's sometimes referred to as "boomerang employees." They discuss their pride in working for Mayo, as well as the commitment Mayo has towards its staff and making them feel valued.

KRISTIN: The first time I was at Mayo, I was hired as a teller. I worked part time — about 20 hours a week at the Phoenix campus. It was great to be able to serve all the different employees of the hospital. I interacted with the nurses, the doctors, support staff. And overall, it seemed like all of the employees were kind and personable. It really did leave a good impression on me.

EMILY: I initially began my career at Mayo Clinic as a newly graduated nurse. I moved to Rochester in the middle of winter, in January. It was 35-below windchill. Right then and there, I knew I was in for an adventure since it was way colder than Michigan, where I grew up. Prior to that, I had done a nursing internship here. I noticed how different Mayo was. It was unique that right away I noticed how friendly everyone was. People would hold the door open for you, stop to ask patients if they needed help. There is such tremendous history surrounding how Mayo came to be.

KRISTIN: I actually came from a family of nurses. My mom has been a nurse for about 33 years, and she still works bedside today.

As a kid, I observed her being such a hard worker, providing for her family, while at the same time being a great mom to us. When I became an adult, I didn't know what I wanted to do for a while. I had kids pretty young, so I was mostly busy taking care of them and got the job as a teller part time. When my older son went to kindergarten, I really felt like I wanted to go back to school and pursue a career. Nursing seemed like a really good fit. It seemed that I could work with people, be able to help others — which is something I'm passionate about — but still be able to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

EMILY: After I had worked as a nurse, I moved to Los Angeles for just over a year. I started noticing in the medical intensive care unit where I was working that they were starting to use advanced-practice providers — both nurse practitioners and physician assistants. At that point, after seeing a lot of the people I respected going into the career, I decided I wanted to pursue it, as well. Also, I had some encouragement from my father, who is a physician in Michigan, really speaking highly of the career path and encouraging me to pursue further education.

My time away from Mayo was actually time I learned a lot about myself and did a lot of self-reflection and growth. One thing I learned, too, was that the reality of living in a place you like to vacation is not the same thing as being on vacation all the time. Even though we were just over a mile from the beach, we didn't take advantage of it as much as I thought we would. I really learned that my roots are in the Midwest, and I had a wonderful career at Mayo. Even though I enjoyed my job in Los Angeles, I was ready to come back home.

KRISTIN: That's amazing that you lived a mile from the beach though.

EMILY: I know and I'm sad that I didn't take advantage of it as much as I should have. We had a lot of fun. We enjoyed Los Angeles. We got to experience a lot, but ultimately we knew we wanted to be closer to our families and to start a family of our own. I left to pursue this dream that I had, and I'm glad that I got to do that. I think it was a really important chapter in my life and has really shaped me for who I am, but it taught me a lot about being content and happy where I am. California is still a place I love to visit, but it's not the same.

KRISTIN: I felt like I wanted to be at Mayo pretty much from the beginning — even when I was hired as a new grad at another hospital. At that time, it was really competitive to get in, and that new grad in you is afraid of saying no to a new job. You just feel like: "It's my first job. I have to take what comes my way."  I took the job, and it was a really good learning experience, but I kept hearing through friends that Mayo's reputation as a whole, that they are just so dedicated to providing care where the patient is a priority. I feel like Mayo actually cares for their nurses. You feel like they care for your health, for your safety, for your well-being. That's huge, because if nurses feel taken care of, they feel more confident and motivated to continue their job in providing high-quality care to their patients.

EMILY: I agree. It's phenomenal to be part of an organization that really does go after their mission. It's not the same at other places.

NARRATOR: Whether the time away was spent chasing a dream, furthering education or raising a family, many Mayo Clinic employees have had the pleasure of calling Mayo Clinic "home" more than once. If you know a boomerang employee, talk with them and learn about their experiences.

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