Amplify Nursing

Today we launch episode 1 season 2 of the Amplify Nursing Podcast. Growing up in rural Louisiana, Travis Nelson didn't consider himself a trailblazer. His drive to help people, along with some encouragement from his mom, lead him to be the first African American man to graduate from his community college nursing program. Once a nurse, he soon found himself gravitating toward union leadership working on behalf of his fellow nurses. We talk to Travis about his passion for advocacy, his work as an elected delegate for the DNC in Oregon, and the political weight that nurses carry.

Today on a bonus episode of Amplify Nursing…Angela and I thought it would be fun and entertaining, if to no one else but ourselves, to interview each other! We talk about our paths to nursing, how we spend our time when we are not hosting this podcast, and our thoughts on all the things related to the profession.

On our season 1 final episode on Amplify Nursing we talk with Dr. Ann Burgess. For the past 50 years, Dr. Burgess has been tirelessly working for victims of violent crime. Her initial research, studying rape victims in 1960's Boston, brought her to the attention of the FBI and lead to a decades long partnership profiling violent criminals and learning how to best help victims. Whether in her role as a researcher and educator at Boston College or as the basis for the fictional TV character, Dr Wendy Carr on the Netflix series, Mindhunter, Dr. Burgess' legacy of advocating for victims continues to grow. Today, we talk about her experiences working with the FBI, the value of nursing research, and her upcoming book, Shattering Silence.

Today on Amplify Nursing we talk with Sarah Gray, founding nurse and clinician at Trusted Health, a company that reimagines how nurses work through unparalleled transparency, efficiency, and technology. As a clinical nurse working at the bedside Sarah felt like she wanted a different perspective on how to innovate and creatively solve for the problems she was seeing in her practice. Unsure how to move her career in that direction she was ultimately drawn away from the bedside to the health tech scene in San Francisco. Today she is helping to lead the change in the clinical and non-traditional nursing workforces, which she hopes will eventually allow for more sustainability and growth in the profession.

This week on AmplifyNursing we speak with Dr. Roxana Chicas. Currently a researcher at Emory University, Dr. Chicas focuses on the health of migrant farm workers. In this episode, she speaks candidly about her experiences as an immigrant in nursing, the importance of mentorship, and the profound effect nurses can have on the health and well-being of vulnerable populations.

This week on AmplifyNursing, we talk with Dr. Pritma Dhillon-Chattha and Dr. Brighid Gannon. When the world shut down for the covid-19 pandemic, these entrepreneurial nurses, saw a need. Dr. Gannon, a psychiatric NP, was inundated with requests for treatment and struggled to meet the demand. Partnering with Dr. Dhillon-Chattha, together they focused on improving access to mental health treatment. We speak with them about their project, Lavender, the trauma suffered by healthcare workers during the pandemic, and creative solutions for improving mental health.

Today on Amplify Nursing we speak with Megan Mariotti, as the Clinical Innovation Delivery Lead at Verily, Megan brings her nursing experience to healthcare innovation. A pediatric nurse practitioner by training, Megan has worked to improve quality and health outcomes throughout her career. In this episode Megan talks about her thoughts on innovation, overcoming barriers and the opportunity for nurse to change the landscape of healthcare.

On an important special episode of Amplify Nursing we talk with Dr. Lisa Lewis, Associate Professor of Nursing and Associate Professor in the Department of Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, as well and the Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusivity at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing. Dr. Lewis’ research centers around health equity and health disparities, and she uses that research as a way to advocate and provide a voice for Black patients. As a mentor and educator she focuses on preparing student nurses to care for this country’s increasingly diverse patient populations. We talk with Dr. Lewis about racism, health inequity, and social justice.Speaking truth to power, she discusses what this means from the nursing perspective, the influence the nursing profession could have to leverage the fight against racial inequity, and what anti-racism nursing might look like.

COVID-19: This week on our next special COVID19 episode of AmplifyNursing we speak with Dr. Sascha James-Conterelli. Whether leading the NY state association of Licensed midwives or teaching at the Yale School of Nursing, Dr James-Conterelli is bringing to light racial disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality. As co-chair of Gov Cuomo’s maternal morbidity and racial disparity task force , she is using her experience to create policy change at a state and national level. We talk with her about her policy work, the added challenges COVID-19 is placing on marginalized communities, and the need to be optimistic about the future.

Author and though leader Dr. Bonnie Clipper has a complete understanding of the profession of nursing. Over her more than 30 year career she has assumed many roles both clinically and in executive leadership. Formerly as the Vice President of innovation at the American Nurses and Association, and currently as the Chief Clinical Officer at Wambi, she is leading the movement to educate and motivate nurses as leaders in the areas of innovation and technology. As a self proclaimed innovation evangelist she sees nurses as natural innovators and encourages us to lean in hard and take control of our own future.