We had the good fortune of connecting with Keziah Agbaere and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Keziah, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The Off Duty Nurse was created in 2015 during my 1st year as a registered nurse. A medication error and poor staffing ratios made me nearly leave the nursing profession entirely, but instead I decided to use my voice and experience to create The Off Duty Nurse. This blog also promotes my passion for developing competent and confident nurses of the future, particularly women of color. It serves as a platform to educate, inspire, and empower nurses to build confidence in their nursing roles and to achieve positive
work-life balance. I utilize my social media platform to offer mentorship to nurses around the world, and to serve as a positive role model for African American women aspiring to start their career in nursing.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The Off Duty Nurse blog was created during a very difficult time in my life. I had recently lost my job and was dealing with various other financial and emotional challenges at the time. I decided to create this blog as a creative outlet for stress relief, but I also wanted to share the many challenges I faced as a new graduate nurse up until that point.

Initially, my goal was to showcase the accomplishments of individual nurses on my website and social media platform, as well as give advice to new graduate nurses. I soon realized that my blog was missing something. It was missing a face and a voice. It was missing me. I slowly shifted my blog focus from the experiences of others to my own personal experiences. I then decided to focus my blog on my life outside of my 13 hour work days and began focusing on traveling, self care, and work-life balance.

Although managing and maintaining my blog through the COVID-19 pandemic was difficult due to stress and lack of motivation/creativity, I have been working hard to stay connected with my audience by constantly thinking of new ways to increase engagement and to create digital content that will motivate and influence others.

Throughout this journey, I have learned some important lessons that have helped me to become more confident and patient in my blogging journey. First, comparing yourself to others can stifle your motivation and creativity, so just don’t do it. You have something to offer that no one else has. I have also learned that you may not feel the impact you have right now, but someone out there appreciates your voice and your presence. Keep going. Don’t give up.

Recently, The Off Duty Nurse has focused on nursing lifestyle on and off duty, which includes traveling experiences, restaurant recommendations, event highlights, fashion, and more. I like to call it travel, lifestyle, and chill :).

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
A part of my brand as ‘The Off Duty Nurse’ involves exploring and reviewing different restaurants, events, and activities. It would only be right for me to suggest some things for you all to do if you are visiting Atlanta, Georgia or any surrounding cities.

My favorite thing to do is to get cute and go out to eat a delicious meal or explore an art gallery. If you’re in Atlanta for a week be sure to check out these locations for some of the best food, fun, and overall good vibes.

Restaurants:

Toast on Lenox
The Garden Room
Rock Steady
Jojos Beloved Cocktail Lounge
Ruby Chows
The Southern Gentleman
Krog Street Market
Jojo’s Beloved (bar only)
Chateau Elan Winery

Activities:

The high Museum
The Botanical Gardens
Piedmont Park
Arabia Mountain
Boat ride at Lake Allatoona

Food and activities:

Ponce City Market – you’ll find a variety of restaurants and shops, but be sure to stop by the Rooftop at Ponce City Market for some of the best views in Atlanta as well as good food, drinks, games and rides. Make sure you try a
Frosé before you leave.

I’m always down for a festival, and summer is the perfect time to get out and enjoy the many festivals that are held annually within the city. The next festival will be the Summer Wine Festival on August 13th. If you’re in town, you should definitely check it out.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate this shoutout to all my family, friends, and followers that have supported The Off Duty Nurse over the past 6 years. Thank you guys so much for your love and support!

Instagram: @theoffdutynurse

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UClbPEjsqfiq_PUJRCs5VW7w

Image Credits
@dreaspeaks (images in navy) @mevphotography (image in Pink)

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutAtlanta is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.