Don't Eat Your Young: A Nursing Podcast

Episode Summary:
In this rich, conversation-forward episode, host Beth Quaas sits down with Dr. Melissa Eisenhauer — CRNA, nurse anesthesia educator, program administrator, and co-founder of Pinnacle Preceptor Academy. Melissa brings 24 years of CRNA practice and a growing body of research to a topic that touches every corner of clinical education: preceptorship. From the barriers preceptors face in the OR, to the heartbreaking survey data on student experiences with clinical incivility, to the generational gap between how we were trained and how today's learners need to be taught — this episode is a masterclass in what it takes to build better clinical learning environments. 

Key Topics Covered:

• Preceptors weren't trained to teach.
• Why incivility isn't always loud.
• Why it is important to set expectations early.
• How the one-minute preceptor model works.
• Why not every CRNA should preceptor.

Resources & Links:

Connect with Melissa on LinkedIn.
Pinnacle Preceptor Academy website and Facebook.
University of Evansville Nurse Anesthesia Program.

Nurse Anesthesia Program Website.

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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 inspiring episode, host Beth Quaas sits down with Lexi Urman, a current MICU nurse and future SRNA set to begin her DNP in Anesthesia program in 2026. With over four years as a bedside RN — across surgical progressive care, same-day surgery, PACU, and MICU — plus six years as a CNA before that, Lexi brings a grounded, experienced perspective to the CRNA journey. 

It was during an early RN role working alongside CRNAs and MDAs that she first discovered her passion for anesthesia, and with their encouragement, spent the next three years building a path toward acceptance into her top choice DNP Nurse Anesthesia program. 

In this conversation, she opens up about navigating a COVID-impacted nursing education, the competitive CRNA application process, facing workplace stigma for pursuing advancement, and how she turned every doubt into fuel. Her message is clear: do the work, don't let anyone shrink your dreams, and never stop reaching.

Key Topics Covered:

• Shadowing is non-negotiable.
• Use prep platforms wisely.
• The stigma is real, but survivable.
• Why is important to attend your state and national association meetings.
• How to use doubt as fuel.

Resources & Links:

Connect with Lexi by email.

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:
Running a 1099 business as a CRNA or healthcare professional can feel overwhelming — from tracking mileage and invoices to managing tax deductions, credential renewals, and scheduling across multiple facilities.

In this episode of Don’t Eat Your Young, host Beth Quaas sits down with CoryAnn, CRNA, entrepreneur, and founder of 1099 Pro LLC and the 1099 Hub app, to break down exactly how healthcare professionals can stay organized while building a profitable independent practice.

CoryAnn shares her journey from pediatric ICU nurse to CRNA and business founder, along with practical strategies for managing the financial and operational side of 1099 work.

Whether you’re a new grad exploring independent practice or an experienced CRNA ready to optimize your business systems, this episode gives you the practical roadmap you need.

Key Topics Covered:

• What 1099 work means for CRNAs and nurses.
• Key differences between W2 vs 1099 employment.
• Why every CRNA should understand tax deductions and audit-proof documentation.
• Preventing burnout through flexible scheduling.
• How the 1099 Hub app simplifies business management for medical professionals.

Resources & Links:
Visit Go 1099 Pro website.
Join the Facebook community.
Follow the 1099 Hub app on Instagram and YouTube.
Connect with CoryAnn on Instagram.

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, host Beth Quaas sits down with nurse, author, and wellness expert Giovanna Navarro to unpack the real science behind burnout, stress, and healing in nursing. With nearly three decades of clinical experience and deep training in neuroscience and behavioral health—including mentorship under Dr. Joe Dispenza—Giovanna explains why traditional “self-care” isn’t enough.

This conversation dives into the physiological impact of chronic stress, the concept of “bracing” in healthcare environments, and how unresolved trauma stays stored in the body—affecting performance, relationships, and long-term health. Giovanna shares practical, science-backed tools nurses can use in real-time on shift to regulate their nervous system, recover faster, and prevent long-term burnout.

Key Topics Covered:

• Why burnout in nursing is different (and deeper) than in other professions.
• The concept of “physiological bracing” and chronic nervous system activation.
• The difference between sympathetic vs parasympathetic nervous system states.
• The power of gratitude and emotional regulation in high-stress environments.
• Why changing roles doesn’t fix burnout.

Resources & Links:
Find the book Burn Bright Not Out, Burnout Solutions for Nurses in a Broken System on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Connect with Giovanna on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Visit Giovanna'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:
Resilience is more than completing mandatory wellness modules. In this episode of Don’t Eat Your Young, host Beth Quaas welcomes nurse anesthetist, educator, and author Richard Wilson to explore a practical, real-world approach to building resilience in nursing and healthcare education. Richard shares how resilience directly impacts wellness, patient safety, leadership effectiveness, and long-term career success. He also discusses the importance of training preceptors and mentors to support learners through difficult clinical experiences, setbacks, and professional growth.

Key Topics Covered:

• The difference between wellness and resilience and why both matter in healthcare.
• How resilience helps nurses recover from clinical stress, setbacks, and poor outcomes.
• Why preceptor training and mentorship are critical to building stronger nurses.
• How individualized support improves learner confidence, performance, and patient safety.
• Practical strategies leaders can use to create resilient healthcare teams.

Resources & Links:
Winning the CRNA Interview: A Step by Step Guide to Admissions Success.
Visit the Pinnacle Preceptor Academy website.
Connect with Richard Wilson on: LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube.
Visit Richard'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, host Beth Quaas talks with Abby Kent, a board-certified nurse coach in Raleigh, North Carolina, about stepping off autopilot after post-COVID burnout, rebuilding self-trust, and creating lasting change through empowerment. Abby shares her 14-year nursing path (including a unique role as the RN for the North Carolina Highway Patrol) and how nurse coaching helped her shift from “giving people the worksheet” to creating space for sustainable, values-based change. 

Key Topics Covered:

• Why so many nurses feel numb and disconnected after COVID, and how “autopilot” can spill into personal life.
• Abby’s “winding road” in nursing and what a nontraditional nursing role can look like.
• What nurse coach training taught her: coaching skills, deeper listening, better questions, and stronger communication.
• Different ways nurse coaches work (leadership, units supporting nurses, corporate wellness, functional medicine, bedside enhancement).
• Abby’s message for nurses: You don’t have to leave nursing. There are other paths.

Resources & Links:
Visit Abby’s website https://www.abbykentcoaching.com/.
Follow Abby’s journey on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Episode Summary:
In this inspiring episode, host Beth Quaas sits down with emergency nurse and ZooMates founder Laura Siwinski, a mom of five who transformed her personal journey with her autistic son into a powerful visual-communication tool. ZooMates is a free, ad-free platform using real animal photography to support communication for children, people with autism, patients with aphasia or dementia, and anyone who benefits from visual cues.

Laura shares how her nursing background, her family’s experience, and her passion for helping others sparked this innovative resource. Beth and Laura discuss how nurses can use ZooMates at the bedside, in the ER, in neuro settings, pediatric units, and even at home to reduce fear, encourage communication, and improve patient connection.

Key Topics Covered:

• Laura’s nursing journey and love for ER nursing.
• Using animal imagery for language development and emotional expression.
• Innovation in nursing and how simple ideas can become powerful tools.
• How ZooMates is expanding with new features, partnerships, and real photography.
• Encouragement for nurses exploring entrepreneurship.

Resources & Links:
Visit ZooMates website https://zoomates.org/.
Follow ZooMates journey on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.

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, returning guest Amy Siple provides an urgent update on her legal battle with the Board of Nursing. What started as a missed license renewal during a family crisis has escalated into a years-long fight revealing major problems in nursing oversight and disciplinary systems. Amy explains her recent administrative hearing loss, her upcoming judicial appeal, and the constitutional concerns involved, including due process and First Amendment issues. She also highlights how minor clerical mistakes can end a nurse’s career and how little accountability state boards often face. 

Beyond her own case, Amy has become a national advocate driving legislative reform, gaining bipartisan support, and pushing for model laws to protect nurses from unfair and harmful disciplinary practices. This episode is essential listening for nurses, students, and healthcare leaders.

Key Topics Covered:

• A lapsed license — even without practicing — can lead to discipline, permanent databases, and job loss.
• Kansas’ Board of Nursing faces bipartisan scrutiny for overreach, uneven discipline, and profit-driven fines.
• Real-life cases show nurses losing careers over button-click errors, credit card typos, and non-clinical issues.
• Legislative hearings revealed millions collected in fines and systemic inconsistencies in discipline.

Resources & Links:
Connect with Amy Siple on LinkedIn and Youtube.
Get access to Amy’s Substack account.
Visit Amy'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 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:

• Supporting minority nursing students, particularly those from American Indian/Alaska Native/Indigenous backgrounds.
• Addressing healthcare disparities.
• Cultural humility in clinical training.
• The power of mentorship in nursing.
• Nursing education and retention strategies.

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.

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 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:

• Why nurse licensing boards aren't your ally during investigations
• How failing to renew a license on time can result in accusations of unprofessional conduct
• The critical importance of malpractice insurance license protection riders
• How public shaming and broken systems are driving compassionate nurses out of practice

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.