Dare To Do Nursing Differently

Most nurses were taught there are only a few “acceptable” career paths.

Bedside.

NP.

Management.

Maybe education.

But nursing has changed, and many nurses are realizing they want more options, more flexibility, and more ownership over their careers.

In this episode of Dare to Do Nursing Differently, I sat down with Ellie Kirkpatrick, founder of The Non-Traditional Nurse, to talk about what happens when nurses stop waiting for permission to explore what’s possible.

We talked about:

• Why nursing is far bigger than bedside care

• The rise of non-traditional nursing careers

• Why nurses need a seat at the table in healthcare innovation

• The mindset shifts that help nurses overcome imposter syndrome

• Why perfectionism keeps so many nurses stuck

• The importance of networking, mentorship, and community

One of the most important things Ellie said:Waiting for the “perfect moment” is often what keeps nurses from ever starting.

This conversation is for the nurse who feels curious about what else is out there… but isn’t sure where to begin.

Watch the episode and tell us:What’s one thing nursing school never taught you about building a career?

#NursingEducation #NurseEntrepreneur #PassiveIncomeForNurses #NursingCE #NursingContinuingEducation

Most nurses don’t leave leadership because they “can’t handle it.”

They leave because the system quietly normalizes exhaustion.

In this episode of Dare to Do Nursing Differently, Dr. Megan Carter breaks down what nurse leaders are carrying behind the scenes including the invisible labor nobody measures, the lack of onboarding for new leaders, and why so many nurses under 35 are walking away from leadership entirely.

One statistic from this conversation stands out:

The average nurse manager may be juggling more than 200 active tasks at any given time.

Not patients.

Tasks.

And somehow we still act surprised when burnout happens.

This conversation goes deeper than burnout clichés.

We talk about:

the culture of martyrdom in nursing,

why boundaries feel unsafe for many nurses,

how silence keeps unhealthy systems alive,

and what sustainable leadership could actually look like.

Dr. Carter also shares her five-pillar framework for helping healthcare leaders step out of survival mode and reconnect with purpose, meaning, and joy again.

If you’re a nurse leader, aspiring leader, educator, or nurse entrepreneur trying to build a healthier future for this profession, this episode will hit home.

Watch the full episode.

#NursingEducation #NurseEntrepreneur #NurseOwnedBusiness #NursingCareerGrowth #NursingContinuingEducation

Most nurses don’t need another lecture about self-care.

They need something they can actually use between patient rooms.

In this episode of Dare to Do Nursing Differently, Teresa Sanderson talks with Eva ZobianWolf, RN and certified yoga therapist, about what yoga therapy really is.

Not poses.

Not flexibility.

Not an hour-long class you feel guilty for missing.

Eva shares how years of critical care and night shift left her feeling like “a shell walking on autopilot” and how yoga therapy helped her find a different way to care for herself.

One of the most powerful parts of this conversation is the idea that nurses can use micro practices right on the floor.

Thirty seconds at the Pyxis.

A breath before walking into the next room.

A grounding practice while charting.

A small moment to stop carrying the emotional weight of one room into the next.

That matters.

Because nurse burnout is not just about being tired. It is about the nervous system being asked to stay in survival mode for years.

This episode is for the nurse who thinks, “I’m not flexible enough for yoga.”

Eva’s answer is simple:

If you are breathing, you are already practicing yoga.

Listen to the full episode and rethink what recovery can look like for nurses.

#NursingEducation #NurseEntrepreneur #NurseOwnedBusiness #NursingCareerGrowth #NursingContinuingEducation

Nurse managers have been blamed for staffing problems they may never have had the math to solve.

In this episode of Dare to Do Nursing Differently, Teresa Sanderson sits down with Robert Wingo, a board-certified informatics nurse, to talk about a 66-year-old math error hiding inside nurse staffing budget formulas.

The impact?

For every 100 nurses a unit actually needs, the formula may already be shorting the budget by 2–6 positions.

And that is before PTO.

Before FMLA.

Before vacancies.

Before call-outs.

Before turnover.

Before anyone says, “We just need to be more resilient.”

This conversation matters because chronic understaffing is not just an operations issue.

It affects burnout.

It affects moral injury.

It affects incivility.

It affects patient care.

It affects whether nurse leaders are set up to succeed or quietly handed an impossible assignment.

Robert also challenges the language nursing has accepted for years: “productive” and “non-productive” time.

Because education, orientation, PTO, professional development, and recovery are not waste.

They are patient care support.

And when we cut patient care support, we are not becoming more efficient.

We are defunding the fuel and maintenance that keep nursing running.

Nursing has to understand the math.

Not because nurses need one more responsibility.

Because the people making financial decisions need to hear from nurses who can speak the language, challenge the assumptions, and name the real root cause.

Watch this episode if you have ever felt like staffing was broken before the schedule was even written.

#NursingEducation #NurseEntrepreneur #NurseOwnedBusiness #NursingCE #NursingContinuingEducation

Nurses are often promoted into leadership because they are clinically strong.

But being a great clinician and being a great leader are not the same skill set.

That gap matters.

Because when nurses step into leadership without coaching, mentorship, or communication tools, they are expected to manage conflict, emotions, staffing pressure, accountability, morale, and culture almost overnight.

Then we wonder why nurse leaders burn out.

We wonder why teams feel unsupported.

We wonder why toxic cultures keep repeating themselves.

Angie Gray said something in this conversation that every healthcare organization needs to hear:

Coaching should not be saved for when someone is “in trouble.”

It should be offered the moment a nurse is promoted.

Leadership in nursing is relational. It requires self-awareness, emotional intelligence, communication, humility, and the ability to grow through imperfection.

Those are not soft skills.

They are survival skills.

And if we want to keep nurses, protect new grads, and build healthier units, we have to stop pretending nurse leaders should figure it out alone.

This episode of Dare to Do Nursing Differently is a must-watch for nurses, nurse leaders, educators, and organizations ready to build nursing culture from the inside out.

Watch the conversation with Angie Gray.

#NursingEducation #NurseEntrepreneur #PassiveIncomeForNurses #NursingCE #NursingContinuingEducation

Most nurses don’t expect to start over at 60.

But what if starting over… is actually the point?

In this episode of Dare to Do Nursing Differently, Maureen Metzger shares what happened when she was unexpectedly let go from her academic role after 40 years in nursing.

No warning. No clear next step.

Just a moment that could have easily turned into regret.

Instead, she asked a different question:

“What if this is happening for me?”

That one shift changed everything.

What she realized is something many nurses feel but struggle to name:

You can keep doing nursing… and still feel completely disconnected from why you started.

She calls it “disconnected doing.” And it’s everywhere.

It’s what happens when systems pull you away from your values. When you stop recognizing yourself in your own work. When you forget the dream you once had.

This conversation is a reminder:

• Your experience is not a limitation, it’s an asset

• Boundaries aren’t selfish, they’re directional

• And nursing doesn’t have to look one way to be meaningful

There is more than one way to be a nurse.

But you won’t see it if you’re only looking where you’ve always been told to look.

If you’ve been quietly wondering what else is possible… this is episode is for you.

 #NursingEducation #NurseEntrepreneur #NurseOwnedBusiness #NursingCE #NursingContinuingEducation

A lot of nurses think they only have two choices:

Stay miserable at the bedside or leave nursing completely.

That’s exactly why this conversation with Kristen Gutierrez matters.

Kristen is a master’s-prepared nurse, certified nurse career coach, and former neuro ICU nurse leader who had to rethink her own career after being diagnosed with CIDP and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

What makes this episode so powerful is that it is not just about burnout.

It’s about identity.

It’s about what happens when the version of nursing you planned for no longer fits your life, your body, or your future.

In this episode, we talk about:

How chronic illness forced Kristen to reimagine her nursing career

Why so many nurses feel stuck when they cannot see options beyond traditional roles

How she uses the nursing process to help nurses find the right next step

Why nurses do not need another advanced degree just to create more flexibility or start something of their own

And why nurses should explore every option before walking away from their license

This episode is for the new grad who already feels unsure.

It’s for the experienced nurse who is burned out.

And it’s for the nurse who knows they need a change but does not know where to start.

There’s more than one way to be a nurse.

#NursingEducation #NurseEntrepreneur #PassiveIncomeForNurses #NursingCE #NursingContinuingEducation

Most nurses don’t actually want to leave nursing.

They just can’t see a future in the version of nursing they’re in.

And that’s the real problem.

In this episode of Dare to Do Nursing Differently, Maria Jasayna shares what most nurses were never taught:

You are not limited to one role, one income stream, or one version of your career.

She went from bedside nurse to:

– Certified nurse midwife

– Adjunct faculty

– Freelance nurse writer

– CE specialist

Not by accident, but by thinking long-term.

Here’s what hit hardest:

50–60% of new grad nurses are leaving within two years.

Not because they picked the wrong profession…

But because they were never shown what was possible inside it.

We tell nurses:

“Follow the money.”

But Maria makes a different case:

Follow your interests, build your skills, and the money follows.

And more importantly, so does sustainability.

Because burnout doesn’t happen overnight.

It happens when you stay in one lane too long without options.

This conversation is for the nurse who:

– Feels boxed in

– Knows bedside isn’t forever

– Wants more flexibility, income, or impact

– Just doesn’t know what’s next

You don’t have to leave nursing to change your life.

But you do have to think differently about your career.

Watch the full episode.

#NursingEducation #NurseEntrepreneur #PassiveIncomeForNurses #NursingCE #NursingContinuingEducation

Most nurses don’t fail in business because they lack skill.

They fail because they stay stuck in overthinking.

In this episode, Catie Harris (RN) said something that will challenge a lot of nurses:

“Just pick a name and go with it. You can always change it later.”

Simple. But uncomfortable.

Because nursing trains you to get everything right before you move.

But business doesn’t reward perfection.

It rewards movement.

Here’s what stood out most from this conversation:

Nurses are trying to build businesses while still thinking like employees

Many are undercharging, and it’s actually costing them credibility

IV hydration is often just the starting point, not the end game

Peptide therapy is opening doors for recurring revenue and deeper patient outcomes

The nurses who grow fastest? They delegate early and stay in their strengths

And maybe the most important shift:

Stop trying to do everything yourself.

If you hate operations, systems, or marketing. there are people who love it.

Your job isn’t to be good at everything.

Your job is to build something that works.

If you’ve been sitting on an idea, waiting until it feels “ready”…

This is your sign to move.

Listen to the full episode.

#NursingEducation #NurseEntrepreneur #PassiveIncomeForNurses #NursingCE #NursingContinuingEducation

Most people think new nurses are leaving because they “can’t handle it.”

That’s not what’s happening.

Up to 60% of new graduate nurses leave within their first two years.

Not just their job.

Nursing.

And it’s not because they’re weak.

It’s not because of COVID.

And it’s not a generational issue.

It’s what happens when expectations collide with reality and there’s no real support to bridge that gap.

In this episode, Jennifer Johnson breaks down what’s actually driving nurses away:

Transition shock no one prepares you for

Schedules you have zero control over

Systems designed without input from bedside nurses

And a level of emotional labor that takes years, not months, to learn

But here’s what makes this conversation different:

She’s not just talking about the problem.

She’s building a solution.

Combining AI support, reflective journaling, and real nurse mentorship outside hospital systems because what new nurses need isn’t more policies.

They need support that actually meets them where they are.

There’s also a bigger message here for nurses thinking about doing something different:

Your first idea won’t be your final one.

And that’s not failure.

That’s how this works.

If you’ve ever questioned your path, felt unsupported, or wondered if there’s a better way to stay in nursing without burning out this episode will hit home.

Watch Now.

#NursingEducation #NurseLeadership #FutureOfNursing #NurseEntrepreneur