Growing up, Xiongmee Chang didn’t imagine herself working in health care. As the oldest grandchild, she had to go to doctor’s appointments to help interpret for her family. Uncomfortable experiences like translating personal health questions for her grandma didn’t shine the brightest light on a clinical career path.

However, after a short stint as an investment banker, Xiongmee started her professional health care journey as a nursing assistant in 2009. Now, Xiongmee has just celebrated her 16-year anniversary at Regions Hospital, today as a nurse manager, as well as an instructor at Rasmussen University, a member of the Hmong Nurses Association board of directors and a Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal 40 under 40 honoree. In this episode of Off the Charts, Xiongmee talks about how an influential mentor added fuel to her own drive and ambition, leading her to inspire new generations of nurses. Listen to the episode or read the transcript.

The unexpected path

Despite the short start in finance, Xiongmee went to college for pre-med. But nursing wasn’t on the horizon – at least not at first. “Nursing was Plan C for me,” after going to med school to be a pediatrician or becoming a physician’s assistant. “Along the way came my beautiful daughter that switched my whole life around to change my path.” And while she was confident that she made the right choice soon after she started work as a nursing assistant, it was the mentorship of a manager that helped her realize her true potential.

After finishing nursing school, Xiongmee worked as a nurse under Patsy Reed, a nurse manager at Regions Hospital for 35 years. “She said I should be a charge nurse. And I said absolutely not. I don’t want to be the captain of the ship … someone who oversees the whole unit (with) patients that are coming in, patients that are leaving (and) all the nurses and nursing assistants.” After Xiongmee said that she didn’t trust herself enough to put herself in that position, Patsy responded bluntly: “You’re going to be a charge nurse.” Xiongmee answered, “So okay, I’m going to be a charge nurse.”

After she became a charge nurse, the COVID-19 pandemic brought Xiongmee’s kids home for distance learning. Taking the opportunity, Xiongmee enrolled in a master’s program at Capella University, doing her homework nightly alongside her children. Ten months later, Xiongmee earned her master’s degree while working full time and having a baby during the height of the pandemic.

The un-resigned resignation

After graduating from Capella, Xiongmee wanted to pursue her dream of working Monday to Friday, 8 to 5, with no weekends or holidays. So, she lined up a job at a clinic outside of Regions. At the same time, her manager Patsy was going to retire, highly recommending that Xiongmee take her place. “Being a manager was not something I thought I would want to do,” Xiongmee recalls. “Putting myself in that position where you’re in between 100 staff members and upper leadership. And when Patsy was retiring, she had the conversation with me and I said that I don’t want to do that.”

But when Xiongmee arrived with her notice to leave Regions, “Patsy said ‘you’re not quitting.’ So, I said ‘well, I took a new job.’ ‘Well, call them back and tell them you’re not quitting.’ ‘Well, I have my resignation letter.’ Then she said okay and she tossed it into the recycling … I said ‘okay, I guess I’m not quitting.’ So I stayed … she said ‘you stayed for a reason. It’s your time to shine.’ So I decided to apply for that position and that’s where I am today.”

And the confidence, encouragement and mentorship that pushed Xiongmee out of her comfort zone is still motivating her, most recently seen in her joining the board of directors of the Hmong Nurses Association (HNA) and becoming an instructor at Rasmussen University. It has also inspired her to be a role model and mentor herself, as Patsy did for her.

“I come as one, but stand as 10,000”

But Xiongmee’s success as part of the HNA wasn’t without reservation either. Before she joined, Xiongmee thought that she was too busy with life to do community work. After talking herself out of applying for the board position, she changed her mind after her brother and many friends mentioned that they thought it would be perfect for her.

Fortunately, she had experience with the HNA before, attending their conference at St. Thomas University that was also sponsored by Regions Hospital. (Not to mention a conference that her manager Patsy told her to attend by giving her the day off.) Xiongmee left the conference inspired after watching a speech by the dean of the science program where he said, “I come as one, but stand as 10,000.” As Xiongmee remembers, “I felt so inspired, like I feel I have so much more to accomplish. This is not it for me. Bedside nursing is not it.”

After joining the HNA, Xiongmee was asked to be on the planning committee for the association’s second conference in Sacramento. During the planning process, Xiongmee was invited to help host a youth summit for kids who are interested in a career in nursing. Initially, the committee only expected around 15 kids to join. They were pleasantly surprised when they received 50 applications from kids ages 8-18. It all resulted in 30 participants experiencing a unique opportunity with inspiration and answers from nurses in the field, and hands-on experiences with help from Sacramento State University.

Xiongmee’s work with the HNA is just a part of how she is helping those new to nursing to realize their potential, even if they’re unsure of what they’re capable of. “I always tell my kids, especially my 18-year-old who’s in college right now going for nursing, nothing worth doing is ever easy … you would be surprised at what you’re capable of doing.” As Xiongmee says, just trust your guts and go for it. “Nothing is ever perfect and it’s never an easy journey, but you learn every time you take that leap.”

To hear more about Xiongmee’s journey, including her family’s journey to America and her father’s involvement in the Secret War, and how reading “The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir” by Kao Kalia Yang helped her reconcile with her mother and grandmother after her rebellious teenage years, listen to this episode of Off the Charts.