Tarsha Calhoun

I attribute my success to my parents and my faith in God. My biological father was a multi-millionaire, the first Black Banker in Monroe, Louisiana, and he had multiple businesses. He taught me that I would never be broke if I remembered his formula: every problem creates a solution, and every solution creates another problem. He always encouraged me to follow my heart and passion and shoot for the stars. My stepfather was more grounded, a blue-collar worker who believed in getting a good education and brought us up in church. Anytime we had questions, he gave us advice backed by scriptures, but he allowed us to make our own decisions. I feel like I'm more well-rounded because both of my parents had different mindsets when it comes to being successful. They were both very supportive of everything I did, from band to drill team to debate team to basketball. The only rule was that whatever I started, I had to complete at the end of the season. I couldn't quit during the season unless it was something out of my control like an injury. Those are the three people who shaped my success.

The best career advice I've ever received is from the Bible: do unto others as you will have them do unto you. As it relates to nursing, any patient or colleague I come in contact with, I treat them the way I would want my mom, my dad, my sisters, my brothers, my children, my grandparents to be treated. I think of them as family. I've used this principle in all parts of my life, not just nursing.

The biggest opportunity I see right now is providing education around GLP-1 medication and how to maximize it so people can achieve their results and, more importantly, sustain them. The challenge is helping people understand that it's not a quick fix. If you're someone who has been on and off diets and you're seeing other people's results, you don't think about taking care of yourself properly. You just want fast weight release, not realizing the damage that it's doing. The education piece is challenging because people want results right now without considering whether they can sustain it or afford to be on the medication for the rest of their life from a financial standpoint, or what it's doing to their body. I remember one patient who had kidney issues and was so bent on taking GLP-1, even though kidney disease is one of the main contraindications because you need the proteins. It's the psychology around obesity and weight loss. I'm trying to help people understand that GLP-1 may or may not be the answer, but there are so many other resources and tools available.

Integrity and honesty are the most important values to me, along with just being a good person and listening. I'm very honest because the last thing I want is to give a person false hope. I believe in being straightforward about where someone is and how we can work together to get where they want to be. If a person wants to lose 100 pounds, I'll tell them it's possible, but let's talk about how we do this. How about we get you back to a happy weight or a goal size? I focus on being real with people while still supporting them.