Episode Summary:
In this powerful episode of Don't Eat Your Young, host Beth Quas sits down with Dr. Misty Wilkie, PhD, RN, and Director of the Center of Indigenous People Health and Nursing at the University of Minnesota. Misty shares her inspiring journey from being a young single mother to becoming one of the few American Indian nurses with a PhD.
We explore how her Ojibwemowin heritage shaped her path in nursing, her commitment to mentoring minority nursing students, and her work developing culturally responsive simulation tools. Misty also discusses the importance of building trust, honoring traditions, and providing holistic support to Indigenous nursing students.
Key Topics Covered:
Resources & Links:
Connect with Dr. Misty Wilkie on LinkedIn.
Visit Dr. Misty Wilkie’s University of Minnesota page.
Dr. Misty Wilkie’s article about Doctoral Education Pathway for American Indian/Alaska Native Nurses.
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Your support helps us continue bringing valuable conversations to the nursing community. If you know someone in healthcare who's making a significant impact, we want to hear about them! Whether it's a nurse, NP, CRNA, student, aide, manager, supervisor, or even a patient advocate driving positive change and inspiring others, we’d love to shine a spotlight on their work. Nominate someone today by filling out this form.
Episode Summary:
In this powerful episode of Don’t Eat Your Young, host Beth Quaas sits down with nurse practitioner, educator, and healthcare leader Amy Siple to share her shocking story. After 30+ years of spotless nursing service, Amy’s career was nearly destroyed due to a clerical licensing error during her husband's cancer treatment. Together, they uncover the harsh realities of board investigations, license renewals, and the lack of protections for nurses.
Key Topics Covered:
Resources & Links:
Connect with Amy Siple on LinkedIn and Youtube.
Visit Amy's website.
Amy Siple’s article about nurse practitioner-led care can be found on PubMed.
Subscribe, Rate, and Review Don't Eat Your Young!
Your support helps us continue bringing valuable conversations to the nursing community. If you know someone in healthcare who's making a significant impact, we want to hear about them! Whether it's a nurse, NP, CRNA, student, aide, manager, supervisor, or even a patient advocate driving positive change and inspiring others, we’d love to shine a spotlight on their work. Nominate someone today by filling out this form.
Episode Summary:
In this powerful episode of Don’t Eat Your Young, host Beth Quaas sits down with nursing leader Connie Delaney, Dean of the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, to explore transformational leadership, interprofessional collaboration, and the future of healthcare. Connie shares how her early experiences shaped her philosophy of leading with love, the impact of nursing informatics, and her unwavering support for full practice authority for nurse practitioners.
Key Topics Covered:
Resources & Links:
Connect with Connie White Delaney on LinkedIn.
Visit Connie's website.
Igniting Transformational Change book.
Find the School of Nursing on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Winning the CRNA Interview: A Step-By-Step Guide to Admissions Success.
Subscribe, Rate, and Review Don't Eat Your Young!
Your support helps us continue bringing valuable conversations to the nursing community. If you know someone in healthcare who's making a significant impact, we want to hear about them! Whether it's a nurse, NP, CRNA, student, aide, manager, supervisor, or even a patient advocate driving positive change and inspiring others, we’d love to shine a spotlight on their work. Nominate someone today by filling out this form.
Episode Summary:
In this eye-opening episode, host Beth Quaas welcomes Dr. Beth Sanford, a seasoned nurse educator and passionate advocate for vitamin D awareness, to explore the critical role vitamin D plays in physical, cognitive, and emotional health. From personal stories to evidence-based research, Dr. Sanford shares powerful insights about how vitamin D deficiency affects not just the general population but especially nurses, night shift workers, students, and healthcare professionals.
You’ll learn why this “low-hanging fruit” is often overlooked in clinical care, how to assess your own risk, and what steps you can take to improve your health—and maybe even save lives.
Key Topics Covered:
Resources & Links:
Connect with Dr. Beth Sanford on LinkedIn.
Visit Beth's website.
Dr. Beth Sanford touches on this topic in her podcast episode:
Subscribe, Rate, and Review Don't Eat Your Young!
Your support helps us continue bringing valuable conversations to the nursing community. If you know someone in healthcare who's making a significant impact, we want to hear about them! Whether it's a nurse, NP, CRNA, student, aide, manager, supervisor, or even a patient advocate driving positive change and inspiring others, we’d love to shine a spotlight on their work. Nominate someone today by filling out this form.
Episode Summary:
In this inspiring episode of Don't Eat Your Young, host Beth Quaas sits down with author and professor Melissa Pritchard to dive deep into the life and legacy of Florence Nightingale — the true original "GOAT" (Greatest of All Time) in nursing.
Melissa shares the incredible story behind her novel Flight of the Wild Swan and how a serendipitous visit to the Florence Nightingale Museum led her to chronicle Nightingale's groundbreaking impact on healthcare, nursing leadership, public health reform, and the modern role of nurses today.
Learn how Florence Nightingale’s vision, statistical genius, and unwavering compassion still influence nursing practice, healthcare systems, and women's leadership more than 200 years later. If you’re a nurse, healthcare worker, history lover, or leader, this episode will leave you inspired and proud of your profession.
Key Topics Covered:
Resources & Links:
Connect with Melissa Pritchard on Facebook and Instagram.
Get your copy of Flight of the Wild Swan here.
Visit Melissa's website.
Subscribe, Rate, and Review Don't Eat Your Young!
Your support helps us continue bringing valuable conversations to the nursing community. If you know someone in healthcare who's making a significant impact, we want to hear about them! Whether it's a nurse, NP, CRNA, student, aide, manager, supervisor, or even a patient advocate driving positive change and inspiring others, we’d love to shine a spotlight on their work. Nominate someone today by filling out this form.
Episode Summary:
In this powerful episode of Don't Eat Your Young, host Beth Quaas sits down with Megan Carter—nurse leader turned consultant—to unpack the harsh realities of nurse leadership, burnout, and bullying in healthcare. Megan opens up about her own journey from bedside nurse to associate chief nursing officer, the toll it took on her well-being, and how a six-month sabbatical led to the creation of MC Healthcare Consulting.
Together, they explore:
If you're a nurse navigating your path in leadership or looking for hope in the chaos, this episode is your permission slip to thrive.
Resources & Links:
Connect with Megan Carter on LinkedIn.
Visit Megan's website.
Subscribe, Rate, and Review Don't Eat Your Young!
Your support helps us continue bringing valuable conversations to the nursing community. If you know someone in healthcare who's making a significant impact, we want to hear about them! Whether it's a nurse, NP, CRNA, student, aide, manager, supervisor, or even a patient advocate driving positive change and inspiring others, we’d love to shine a spotlight on their work. Nominate someone today by filling out this form.
Episode Summary:
In this episode of Don't Eat Your Young, we sit down with Maureen Metzger, a passionate advocate for nurse well-being and resilience. Maureen shares practical strategies to help nurses maintain their mental, emotional, and physical health while navigating the challenges of the profession. From self-care and mindfulness to workplace support and professional boundaries, we explore the essential ingredients for well-being in nursing. Tune in to gain insights and actionable tips to enhance your work-life balance and sustain a fulfilling career in healthcare.
What You'll Learn in This Episode:
- The key components of well-being for nurses
- How to manage stress and avoid burnout
- Practical self-care strategies for busy healthcare professionals
- The role of leadership in supporting nurse wellness
- Tips for setting boundaries and advocating for your needs
Resources & Links:
Connect with Maureen Metzger on LinkedIn.
Visit Maureen's website.
Free video & guidebook link.
Subscribe, Rate, and Review Don't Eat Your Young!
Your support helps us continue bringing valuable conversations to the nursing community. If you know someone in healthcare who's making a significant impact, we want to hear about them! Whether it's a nurse, NP, CRNA, student, aide, manager, supervisor, or even a patient advocate driving positive change and inspiring others, we’d love to shine a spotlight on their work. Nominate someone today by filling out this form.
Episode Summary:
In this exciting episode, Beth Quaas welcomes Richard Wilson, a knowledgeable DPA, CRNA, FAANA and educator, to discuss how generational differences impact communication, education, and mentorship in the healthcare field. From the challenges of teaching across generations to the evolving landscape of clinical training, Richard shares invaluable insights into fostering collaboration, improving preceptorship, and preparing the next wave of medical professionals.
Key Topics Covered:
✔️ The impact of generational differences on learning and communication
✔️ How educators can adapt their teaching styles to better engage students
✔️ The importance of mentorship and fostering a positive clinical environment
✔️ How new graduates can bridge knowledge gaps and build confidence
Resources & Links:
Connect with Richard Wilson on: LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube.
Visit Richard's website.
Subscribe now on your favorite podcast platform to stay updated on our latest episodes. Let's continue to build a nurturing and empowering nursing community together!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Welcome to Season 5 of "Don't Eat Your Young," the podcast dedicated to empowering nurses and fostering a supportive healthcare community. In this premiere episode, host Beth Quaas reflects on the journey so far and sets the stage for an exciting new season focused on growth, resilience, and innovation in nursing.
Connect with Us:
Subscribe now on your favorite podcast platform to stay updated on our latest episodes. Let's continue to build a nurturing and empowering nursing community together!
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Jenn Johnson has been an ER nurse in Canada for many years. Through those years she was bullied and had to leave jobs because the toxic people she was working with were never dealt with, so she decided to move on. Jenn takes us through three different times she was bullied and how she dealt with each one based on her past experiences and how she grew every time it happened.
With all of her experience at the bedside, she also realized that she could use her intuition, that gut feeling we all get sometimes, to get her patients the care they need much more quickly than if she waited for lab and diagnostic tests to come back. Her colleagues respect her as she uses her intuition to quickly communicate with others to get patients treated before they become even worse off.
Jenn is waiting for her book, Nursing Intuition, to be published this fall. In the book, she will talk more about the science behind using intuition and how she incorporates it into her care of patients. Jenn has a wealth of information to share and I cannot wait to read her book when it comes out. You can find Jenn at www.nursejenn.ca. Check out her work!
Connect:
Follow Jenn's journey on LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok.
Jenn's website www.nursejenn.ca.
Jenn's Amazon profile Jennifer A Johnson RN.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★In this episode, we sit down with Jennifer Crow, RN, a dedicated nurse with over a decade of experience in the healthcare field. Jennifer’s journey began in 2013, and through the challenges of nightshifts and the demands of her profession, she developed a vision to empower and support her fellow nurses. This vision gave birth to Nurses for Nurses, a dynamic community set to launch in September 2024. Jennifer’s passion for nursing has driven her to create a platform where nurses can network, inspire, and uplift each other. Join us as we explore Jennifer’s inspiring story and the profound impact she aims to make on the nursing community.
Connect:
Follow Jennifer's journey on LinkedIn.
Nurses for Nurses website www.nursesfornurses.org.
Get in touch with Jennifer at jen.crow@nursesfornurses.org.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Karen Doiron knows that we don’t have to keep living with the stress we are used to and she wants to help nurses live healthier lives. In this episode, Karen shares some simple strategies that we can incorporate immediately to help us feel better today.
Summary:
Karen Doiron is The Rest RN and her goal is to improve the lives of nurses by teaching them to recognize and decrease their stress levels. She offers simple strategies that can be done at any time of the day. In her coaching, she also helps nurses set boundaries and develop awareness for what our bodies are telling us in relation to stress.
The 3 pillars of The Rest RN are Rest, Reconnect and Restore. Karen says that resting is the state in which we heal and where our creative side lives. She knows that nurses find difficulty in being able to relax and take time to do nothing. Our brains tell us that periods of rest make us feel non-productive because we are used to always being on the go. This is increasing our stress and making it harder to break the cycle.
Connecting with ourselves, which is what Karen helps her clients to do, will teach us to listen to our bodies, set healthy boundaries and start living healthier lives. Thank you to The Rest RN for helping to improve the health of nurses. Let’s keep this conversation going!
Connect:
Follow Karen's journey on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
The Rest RN website www.therestrn.com
Kasey Pacheco believes that collaboration is the key to improving healthcare and bringing nurses together. In this episode, Kasey talks about what she is doing to bring nurses success by teaching them about holistic health and guiding them to pivot into their passion.
Summary:
Kasey is a nurse and loves caring for patients, but found that her nursing colleagues also needed care. She helps others by offering holistic health and assisting them with sharing their stories. Kasey is the founder of Preservers of Life Digital Marketing Agency, where “we blend the nurturing essence of a nurse with the strategic prowess of a marketing expert. Our foundation rests on the belief that every valuable individual deserves a spotlight, a platform where their story shines brightly in the crowded digital landscape.”.
Kasey is also involved in Nurses in Charge, a non-profit nursing community that is committed to empowering nurses, including students, CNAs, LPNs and RNs. By bringing together nurses from all areas, this group strives to inspire and lift up our profession.
Anyone that meets Kasey sees a shining star that wants others to shine brighter than herself. For any nurse entrepreneurs that would like to be more visible, Kasey can do that. She can guide those that are looking for change and promote them on the platform that will serve them best.
Connect:
Follow Kasey's journey on LinkedIn and YouTube.
Beth Ramer empowers ambitious women to go from unfulfilled and burnt out to expanding their passion for possibility without blowing up their lives and careers.
She is a speaker, coach, workshop facilitator and host of the Design your Vibrant Life podcast.
Beth knows that we can get caught up in the busy-ness of life and work, constantly spinning, always doing everything for everyone else and feeling hollow and depleted when it comes time for ourselves.
After experiencing burn out herself, she discovered how vital it is to be able to have control over our own energy.
As an Energy Alignment Coach, she empowers ambitious women to align their energy, intentions, and actions to achieve personal and professional goals creating authentic life and career alignment.
Links:
Connect with Beth
Join Beth's Mailing List
Schedule Complimentary BreathWork Session
Schedule Vision Breakthrough Call
Follow Beth's journey on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Listen to Beth's Podcast: Design Your Vibrant Life Podcast.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Kerry Johnson has worn many hats in her time as a nurse: bedside nurse, FNP, and Functional Medicine NP. What better person than her to teach the new nurses coming into the profession. Listen today to hear how Kerry got into education and how her passion for health turned her to functional medicine.
ABOUT KERRY
Kerry Johnson had been working as a nurse for several years when she decided to get her family nurse practitioner certification. Once she received that degree and was seeing patient’s in the clinic, she noticed how she wasn’t preventing disease, but just treating it. Patients were getting sicker and the healthcare system in which she was working just didn’t seem right to her. So she decided it was time to help patients in a different way and became certified in functional medicine. With that new knowledge and passion, she also decided it was time to teach others how to prevent disease, for their health and the health of their patients.
Kerry is now seeing patients her way by getting to the root of the problem and finding a way to help them get better, without just band-aiding the issues. I know firsthand how Kerry can help with many ailments and can’t speak highly enough of her compassion and knowledge for helping others. She is a great educator, for her patients and her students.
LINKS
Kerry’s website www.drkimwellness.org
Follow Kerry’s journey on Instagram and LinkedIn.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Alex Whitefield knows what it’s like to be an exhausted bedside nurse. It isn’t ok for nurses to do the work that they do without a break away from their patients. So he decided to change that. Listen this week to hear what Alex is working on to help manage the complexities of scheduling our breaks.
Alex Whitefield was an ER nurse before becoming a nurse leader. During the time he was working at the bedside, he realized how important it was that nurses needed their breaks so that they could come back and care for their patients. Once he became a manager, he saw how complex it can be to schedule an entire unit of nurses to get their breaks without missing anyone. So he developed Breakalgo, as in break algorithm, so that if it wasn’t a good time for a nurse to take a break, they wouldn’t get lost in the chaos.
Alex Whitefield cares for the nurses he manages and it is clear when we discuss the importance of nurses caring for themselves. He has taken it upon himself to create a workplace that leads to caring for each other as well. It is nurse leaders like Alex that will change the landscape of the nursing profession.
LINKS
Find the Breakalago tool here www.breakalgo.com
Follow Alex’s journey on LinkedIn
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Ryan George, an experienced ICU nurse, offers a candid account of his decision to leave his job due to workplace bullying, ultimately leading him to exit the nursing profession altogether. As a gay man in a predominantly female field, Ryan sheds light on the reality of toxic workplace dynamics, particularly the "mean girls" phenomenon. Despite his proficiency as a nurse and dedication to teaching, Ryan found himself targeted and uncomfortable in his work environment. He emphasizes the importance of kindness, support, and camaraderie among nurses, advocating for a healthier workplace culture. Ryan's experience underscores the toll of toxic environments on both healthcare professionals and patient care, urging for a more compassionate and supportive approach within the nursing community.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Welcome back to Don't Eat Your Young, the podcast that delves into the inspiring stories and impactful work of individuals shaping the landscape of healthcare. In this episode, we shine a spotlight on Susan B. Davis, widely known as the Rescue RN, who has become a leading figure in cardiac arrest awareness, CPR training, and AED preparedness within communities.
Susan B. Davis has dedicated her career to transforming public understanding and response to cardiac emergencies. In the hospital setting, Susan identified a critical gap in the preparedness of healthcare professionals to manage in-hospital cardiac arrests effectively. This insight led her to establish CodePRep, an innovative mock code training program designed to enhance the competency and readiness of hospital staff. Susan's impact extends into her role as the Resuscitation Education Manager for a prominent healthcare system in Southwest Florida. In this capacity, she oversees the development and implementation of all things related to resuscitation for healthcare professionals. Her leadership ensures that the system's staff are current with the latest cardiac care protocols and proficient in their application, ultimately enhancing patient survival rates and setting new standards in resuscitation education. Susan’s visionary approach and unwavering dedication have established her as a distinguished figure in resuscitation preparedness and response.
LINKS
Maggie Ortiz, a seasoned nurse with over 23 years of experience, brings a wealth of expertise to the nursing community. Having worked in diverse roles, including bedside nursing, administration, and as a Texas Board of Nursing investigator, Maggie is well-versed in protecting nurses from litigation. As the Founder of Advocates for Nurses, she educates fellow nurses on navigating challenges, shares valuable tips on self-protection, and offers her connection for nurses dealing with licensing issues.
Maggie returns this season to share insights into how nurses can protect themselves and provides her personal contact number to those facing potential issues regarding their license. She also teaches courses to empower nurses in safeguarding themselves while caring for patients.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Mel Cortez has been a nurse for 15 years, and an entrepreneur for many of those years. She noticed a gap in nursing and took action. In this episode, she shares her experience facing a violent patient in a community hospital, leading her to initiate a "ground-up" approach to empower nurses. Collaborating with military friends, Mel developed Cortex Gold, a comprehensive training program for healthcare professionals to prevent and handle violence. Discover how Mel is making workplaces safer and explore Cortex Gold for essential knowledge in preventing harm.
Mel Cortez is making the workplace a safer place. If you are threatened by violence or want the knowledge to prevent harm to yourself, your coworkers or your patients, Cortex Gold is something to check out.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★