Failure isn’t the end of the road. It’s often a detour to something better. And what could be better than joining the team at The Nursing Beat?

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For Raquél Pérez, struggling to pass the NCLEX felt like a roadblock, but it ultimately led her to an unexpected and fulfilling path. Now, as Chief Operating Officer of The Nursing Beat, she’s proving that sometimes, failing forward is the best way to move ahead.

Q: Where did your nursing journey begin?

A: I graduated from nursing school in 2017 and earned my license in 2018. It took me a full year to become licensed because I had a really hard time passing the NCLEX. But once I finally did become a nurse, I worked in various specialties. I started in med-surg, then cardiac med-surg, moved to women’s oncology, and finally settled in the NICU.

The NICU was always the end goal for me when I thought about what I wanted to do. And when I got there, it was absolutely lovely, and everything I wanted it to be. Unfortunately, though, it was a tricky time. We were at the cusp of coming out of the pandemic lockdown. I was also dealing with the struggle of burnout as a new grad nurse. Considering that I always thought that once I became a NICU nurse, I would be set for life, it was a difficult realization.

So, while in the NICU, I was passively finding ways to be innovative and looking for non-bedside positions. Even while working as a nurse, I had my own business on the side where I was helping healthcare-based businesses and clients with their marketing, which ranged from social media to website development to acting as a persona for their brand.

I also looked into remote nursing to go beyond bedside, but still have that clinical side.

Q: What advice do you have for nursing students struggling to pass the NCLEX?

A: When I struggled to pass the NCLEX, it was just a massive confidence hit. 

I was someone who studied often, but I failed three times. It took me the fourth attempt to finally pass the NCLEX, and by that point, it was really difficult for me not to compare myself to all of my peers who were not only passing, but getting the jobs they had wanted and dreamed of. 

At one point, I wondered if I should still pursue being a nurse. But truly, I feel like I would not be in this seat right now as Chief Operating Officer at The Nursing Beat without having failed all the way back then. I like to say that failing is failing forward. It’s just another means to a different path for you.

Q: How did you go from the bedside to Chief Operating Officer of The Nursing Beat?

A: There was a brand that came across knowledge called Gale's shoes. What first started as me contracting to help with their user-generated content for marketing ended up with me pitching to join their team full-time, and fortunately, that happened. I was hired as Chief Nursing Officer and Director of Communications, and I worked there for two years. 

The whole premise of my role was to bring our shoes to nurses, which were created during the pandemic to provide antimicrobial, protective, and comfortable solutions for them. It opened my eyes to the career possibilities that nurses can pitch and present to brands. It also made me realize that there should be a nurse in every business that touches healthcare.

Working at Gales led me to meet Tamara AL-Yassin and Hannah Berns at The Nursing Beat because, at the time, we were partners on brand giveaways and collaborations. It’s really cool to now come full circle and be working as the Chief Operating Officer at The Nursing Beat.

Q: Do you think bedside nurses without a creative outlet struggle with a different type of burnout?

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A: My whole life, I’ve leaned into creativity and music. When it comes to nursing, it’s very task-oriented. A lot of people find comfort in that, but sometimes it can feel like you’re going through the motions. 

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Sometimes, you feel stuck because there is a specific order to things, and you don’t always have the freedom to ideate and create. There’s a lot of ways nurses can do that without leaving the bedside, but my path just happened to involve leaving the bedside. 

Q: How does your work now amplify nurse voices?

A: When nurses collectively come together, we have a very strong voice, both separate and together. I truly believe that nurses should be in every sector and every facet of leadership in the world. 

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I think that a nurse should be involved in pretty much any sector, especially in business, because we have so many skills that translate from one sector to the next. The Nursing Beat is a tool that shines a light on all the incredible nurses and healthcare leaders and allies who are doing very innovative and incredible work. My position here is to be able to shape that as we continue to grow and guide. We ask, “How do we want to amplify nurses' voices even more?” and “How do we want to control our own narrative as nurses?”

Rapid Fire Round 

Q: What do you do to pump up before a speech or something nerve-wracking?

A: I was a theater kid, so we did this little exercise where you shake your limbs. I did that before my TEDx talk. It works. 

Q: If you could master a non-nursing skill, what would it be?

A: Pottery. One of my sisters does pottery, and I’ve always been so amazed. 

Final Thoughts

From struggling with self-doubt to shaping the future of nursing media, Pérez has redefined what success looks like in the nursing profession. Remember that setbacks aren’t dead ends—they just offer different routes to your successful future.

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For nurses who know every setback is just a plot twist, subscribe to The Nursing Beat!