This story comes from NPR’s Next Generation Radio project:
Born and raised in Houston, home to the largest medical complex in the world, Tandiwe “Tandi” Kone was always surrounded by nurses, which inspired her to pursue a career in healthcare. She felt called to make a lasting impact on patients’ lives and witness the difference her care as a nurse could make.
But she wasn’t expecting the emotional and mental baggage that she encountered every shift. In 2012, after a decade of seeing Houston from behind hospital curtains and carrying the emotions from all those she met, she realized she needed an outlet. One of her patients gave her an idea.
“You’re funny. You ever think about doing comedy?” asked the patient, who also happened to be a comedian.
Tandi’s experience with burnout as a nurse is not an outlier in the health care field, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Acting on her patient’s suggestion, Tandi tried stand-up comedy. But her first show finished at two in the morning, and she quickly realized that such late nights were not going to work.
“The problem with stand-up when you’re new is that when you sign up for those open mics, you are the last one. You’re going on at 1:30 [a.m.],” Tandi said. “I did that a couple of times, but coming in at that hour with a small child, my spouse at the time was like, ‘Oh no, no, something else has gotta give.’”
