In this podcast episode we want to introduce you to our BCEN Friend Joe Hill.

Joe Hill started his career at a Level 1 adult/pediatric trauma center then moved into critical care ground transport. He decided to make the jump into flight medicine where he stayed for 19 years serving as a flight nurse and clinical directors.

In 2021, Joe finished his MSN-APRN and in March of 2023 Joe began working as a Family Nurse practitioner. Even though the learning curve was bit higher than he initially expected, Joe is finding he can make a significant difference in the emergency needs of patients through his new role in primary care.

Come along as Michael Dexter and Hollye Briggs talk with Joe about his career in emergency and flight nursing. From his initial why to why he’s stayed in this profession for over 25 years, this episode is sure to help us all find a place to land.    

This episode is called “Setting up an LZ in Primary Care”.

Joe can be reached on LinkedIn @JosephHill-78937951

BCEN & Friends Podcast is presented by the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing. We invite you to visit us online at https://bcen.org for additional information about emergency nursing certification, education, and much more.

In this podcast episode we want to introduce you to our BCEN Friend Mandy Felder.

Mandy Felder is a leader in pediatric trauma care with over 20 years of pediatric nursing experience. She is currently the Pediatric Trauma Program Manager at an ACS Level II trauma center in South Carolina. Mandy serves on the South Carolina Emergency Medical Services for Children Committee as well as the Trauma Advisory Committee.

She is an active member in several professional organizations including the Trauma Association of South Carolina, the Pediatric Trauma Society, and the Society of Trauma Nursing. She teaches ENPC, TNCC and PTACC. She holds her masters in nursing administration and organizational leadership as well as the TCRN and CPEN.

Mandy is passionate about improving care for children in the prehospital and hospital setting and promoting injury prevention efforts and education.

Come along as Michael Dexter and Hollye Briggs talk with Mandy about her passion for pediatric trauma care. She will also discuss why she believes it’s important to take that next step in professional development because even a small step is significant.  

This episode is called “Creating Space for Pediatrics in Trauma Services.”

Mandy can be reached on LinkedIn @Amanda Felder

In this podcast episode we want to introduce you to our BCEN Friend Tesla Teitge.

Tesla is an emergency nurse with over 10 years of clinical experience. She is also the owner and creator for the dynamic and “Paradise” inspired compressions socks from her company, Up at Dawn Compression Socks.

In 2023, Tesla completed her Masters in Nursing Education. She lives with her family in the Garden State where she has the opportunity to fill some of her favorite roles: ER nurse, university clinical instructor, mother, wife, beach enthusiast, and small business owner.

Come along as Michael Dexter and Hollye Briggs talk with Tesla about her passion for emergency nursing and how she took her personal love of compression socks and became an entrepreneur for her company, Up at Dawn Compression.  

This episode is called “Emergency Nursing Til Dawn Edition.”

Tesla can be reached from her website: www.upatdawn.co

In this podcast episode we want to introduce you to our BCEN Friend Lynn Miller Hayward.

Lynn Miller Hayward was born in South Africa and started her nursing career by obtaining a Bachelor of Social Sciences as a Registered Nursing and Midwife in 1979. She moved to the US shortly after graduating and spent 3 years in US healthcare before returning to South Africa. An experience with emergency services, lit the fire for Lynn to become an Advance Life Support Paramedic and take to the flight world for several years. She also became an AHA instructor for community education.

From a cruise ship nurse to a free-standing ED in North Carolina, Lynn’s career has moved into many different specialties of nursing, but she as she will tell, gaining her CEN made her feel recognized and respected in the field of emergency nursing. Lynn returned stateside in 2023 and is trying something new in the field of Endoscopy, as she believes there is always something to learn.

Come along as Michael Dexter and Hollye Briggs talk with Lynn about her deep-rooted career in nursing grown over the past 40 years. Lynn is sure to inspire and impart some wisdom she’s learned along the way.  

This episode is called “No Wasted Time.”

Lynn can be reached by email at [email protected]

In this podcast episode we want to introduce you to our BCEN Friend Shawntay Harris.

Shawntay Harris is the President and CEO of Eminent Healthcare Resources Consultants Inc, which offers education for nurses from bedside clinical training to leadership and administrative coursework. With over 23 years of nursing experience in emergency services, she has established an influence in her home state of Texas as well as nationally through her work with the Texas Emergency Nurses Association and the ENA Foundation.

Shawntay was recently highlighted in the media for her induction as a Fellow in the Academy of Emergency Nursing, becoming the first black nurse to be awarded this distinction for her service and leadership.  Shawntay maintains all 5 BCEN credentials as well as being a doctoral student with completion of her program coming very soon in 2024.

Come along as Michael Dexter and Hollye Briggs talk with Shawntay about her career, and the ways she’s shaping the future of nursing through education and influence. Shawntay’s energy and excellence are sure to leave an impression.   

This episode is called “Establishing an Eminent Legacy.”

Shawntay can be reached on LinkedIn and Facebook @ShawntayHarris and on Eminentcpr.com

In this podcast episode we want to introduce you to our BCEN Friend Mary Whelan.

Mary Whelan has held many different leadership positions over the past 24 years of her career as a director of emergency services from a level II Trauma Center to a community hospital ED, she proved time and again with every leadership role that she possesses the tools to transform department culture and produce improved staff and patient engagement scores.

Mary built a reputation of actively engaging with staff to assist with patient flow and clinical care, helping build a relationship with bedside staff and demonstrating to them that she understands the valuable work they are doing. Mary’s tireless work to develop strategic collaborations within the ED and the healthcare system resulted in outcome data that reflected clinical excellence under her leadership. 

Come along as Michael Dexter and Hollye Briggs talk with Mary about nursing leadership. Looking across the span of her career, what topics she believes are most important for those continuing to lead the profession.  

This episode is called “Reigniting Leadership in Nursing.”

Mary can be reached on LinkedIn @MaryWhelan.

In this podcast episode we want to introduce you to our BCEN Friend Joe Blansfield.

Joseph “Joe” Blansfield is a board-certified Adult Nurse Practitioner with over 5 decades of experience in the emergency and trauma setting. The last 27 years of his career were spent in the role of the Trauma/Acute Care Surgery Program Manager at Boston Medical Center, where Joe was responsible for maintaining all the requirements for this Level 1 Trauma Center until his retirement in June 2019.

Joe also has 26 years of active military service in the US Army Reserves retiring as a Colonel from the Army Nurse Corp, also earning a Bronze Star Medal and Legion of Merit. Joe has volunteered for BCEN through the TCRN Exam Construction Review Committee, worked on revisions of trauma materials for ENA, as well as being a speaker and published author of many clinical topics. He has been recognized for his excellence through various national awards as his dedication to nursing seems to know no bounds.

Come along as Michael Dexter and Hollye Briggs talk with Joe about his career in all things trauma related, from the stretcher-side to deployment, advanced practice to giving back and everything in between.   

This episode is called “Navigating and Challenging the Trauma Landscape.”

Joe can be reached on Facebook and LinkedIn @Joseph Blansfield.

In this podcast episode we want to introduce you to our BCEN Friend Anne O’Connor.

Annemarie O’Connor is an Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioner at the Burn and Complex Wound Center at the University of Chicago Medicine in Illinois. With over 35 years of nursing within burn care from the bedside to administration and advanced practice, Anne has taken on responsibilities that encompass intensive care, surgical assist, outpatient wound management and community health and education.

Anne has served on various councils for advanced practice nursing and worked with the American Burn Association on several national committees including the Burn Nurse Certification initiative. She is a national faculty for the Advanced Burn Life Support Course thru ABA and has presented at state, national and international events presenting burn care content and education.  

Come along as Michael Dexter and Hollye Briggs talk with Anne about her journey in the specialty of burn nursing from initial fears to pioneering the future with national certification.  

This episode is called “When a Passion for Burn Care ignites your Whole Career.”

Anne recommends connecting through the website for University of Chicago Medical Center-Burn Center (www.uchicagomedicine.org/conditions-services/burn-center).

BCEN & Friends Podcast is presented by the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing. We invite you to visit us online at https://bcen.org for additional information about emergency nursing certification, education, and much more.

In this podcast episode we want to introduce you to our BCEN Friend Alice Benjamin.

“Nurse Alice” Benjamin is a board-certified family nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, author, speaker, podcast host and a nurse pioneer on TV as a medical correspondent. Her experiences range from cardiovascular health, critical care, and emergency medicine involving patient care at some of the most prestigious and underserved hospitals.

As a medical correspondent for NBC Los Angeles, she was the nation's most watched nurse on TV who kept millions of viewers up to date with daily reporting during the Covid crisis. Spanning her career, Nurse Alice has appeared on numerous national shows, networks and radio shows including GMA3, Dr. Oz, The Doctors, CNN, HLN, FOX News, News Nation, TVOne, BBC, just to name a few. She also hosts the Ask Nurse Alice Podcast which we will spend more time on in the episode. Her written health features have been published in Parent Magazine, Blavity, Huffington Post, EBONY, The American Nurse, Minority Nurse, and many more. She is also the Founder and Senior editor for AskNurseAlice.com, a trusted online health, wellness, and medical media outlet.

Her mantra is she likes to talk to people before they become her patients. And when she talks, people listen.

Come along as Michael Dexter and Hollye Briggs talk with Alice about her career in nursing, which has spanned from the bedside to the boardroom and national media outlets.  

This episode is called “My Way to Becoming Nurse Alice.”

Alice can be reached on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @AskNurseAlice or on her website at www.AskNurseAlice.com.  

In this podcast episode we want to introduce you to our BCEN Friend George Olschewski.

George Olschewski started out in healthcare as an EMT in 1993 and finished an English degree with a minor in journalism before going back for his nursing degree. Since 1998 George worked in the hospital from the intermediate and step down units to the ED at the Level One trauma center-University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey. It was there that George became a founding member of the Critical Care Transport Team at the trauma center.

George continues to serve in both specialties of EMS and transport nursing at Hackensack University Medical Center’s specialty care transport unit and Angel Midflight’s aeromedical flight team. In addition to his CTRN, George holds the TCRN, CEN and TCRN certification along with his certification as a Nationally Registered Paramedic.

Come along as Janie Schumaker, Michael Dexter, and Hollye Briggs talk with George about his career in transport nursing and recent nomination and selection for a BCEN award. 

Come join in on this celebration conversation.

This episode is called “Not all Heroes are in Comic Books: Spotlight on the 2023 Distinguished CTRN Award Winner.”

George can be reached on LinkedIn @GeorgeOlschewski.