🎙 Episode Overview:

Silos in healthcare are everywhere, from departments that don’t communicate to shifts operating in isolation. 

In this episode, I’m diving into why breaking down these barriers is critical for collaboration, patient care, and building a healthier workplace culture. 

I’ll walk you through practical steps to start dissolving silos at your level—whether that’s with your coworkers, managers, or other departments—so we can create an interconnected web of trust and teamwork.

🔑 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why silos limit collaboration and delay patient care—and how to recognize them in your workplace.
• Practical ways to connect with your coworkers and reduce the “us vs. them” mindset.
• How building trust with your manager strengthens team dynamics and problem-solving.
• Strategies to go beyond surface-level niceties with other departments.
• How to become a connector and foster collaboration across your organization.

🧠 Key Ideas to Take With You:

• Silos limit communication, delay care, and create an “us vs. them” culture.
• Collaboration starts with empathy and understanding others’ perspectives, no matter their role.
• Strong workplace connections create a “web” of trust that helps solve problems faster.
• You don’t need authority to make an impact—small actions can create ripple effects across your team.

🎧 How to Get the Most Out of This Episode:

Come ready to reflect on how you interact with others at work. Pay attention to the practical examples I share and think about how you can apply them to build stronger connections in your organization.

🛠️ Practical Actions You Can Take:

1. Ask a coworker a meaningful question, like, “What’s one thing making your shift harder today?”
2. Have a quick, intentional check-in with your manager to better understand their perspective.
3. Break the ice with other departments by asking a thoughtful question, like, “What drew you to this role?”
4. Introduce two people who could collaborate better and watch how that connection drives teamwork.

📣 Special Announcements:

🚨 I’m so excited to announce the launch of the Map Your Impact Mini-Course! In this course, I’ll guide you through creating a personalized impact map to help you identify your role, focus your energy, and start driving meaningful change without feeling overwhelmed.

As a podcast listener, you can use the code MYI10OFF for $10 off your enrollment.

📲 Call to Action:

• Enroll in the Map Your Impact Mini-Course with code MYI10OFF.
• Follow me on Instagram @nursing.the.system for more tools and tips on breaking silos.
• Share this episode with a colleague who’s ready to make their workplace stronger.
• Join the CME Waitlist
• Join my System Sunday email list for your weekly dose of strategy and sanity for nurses leading change in healthcare.



⁉️ Want me to answer your question or scenario on the podcast?

I just opened a new form where you can anonymously submit:

• A leadership or systems challenge you’re facing
• A scenario you want me to walk through
• A question that’s been stuck in your head about your role, team, or impact

I'll be selecting a few to feature in upcoming episodes.

Submit your Q here!

👉 Resources Mentioned:

• Map Your Impact Mini-Course (Code: MYI10OFF)
• Connect with me: @nursing.the.system

🎙 Episode Overview: 

When you're in a meeting discussing a complex problem, have you ever wondered how everyone can be looking at the same issue but seeing it completely differently? 

In this episode, we dive into systems mapping—a powerful visual tool that helps get your entire team on the same page. You'll learn how to use this approach to break down complex problems, create shared understanding, and move toward meaningful solutions together.

🔑 In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• How to use systems mapping to visualize relationships between different parts of your healthcare system—from staffing patterns to communication breakdowns
• Why creating a shared mental model is crucial for solving complex problems (and how systems mapping makes this possible)
• The key difference between systems mapping and workflow mapping, and when to use each
• A step-by-step approach to facilitate your first systems mapping session with your team

🧠 Key Ideas to Take With You:

• Systems mapping isn't about controlling the system—it's about understanding it so we can move with it more effectively
• The act of mapping together is often just as valuable as the final map itself
• You're already familiar with systems mapping through things like org charts and anatomy diagrams—now it's about applying this skill intentionally
• When diverse stakeholders map together, you get a more complete picture of what's really happening

🎧 How to Get the Most Out of This Episode

Take notes on the 4-step process for facilitating a systems mapping session. Think about a current challenge in your workplace that could benefit from getting everyone's perspective visually mapped out.

🛠️ Practical Actions You Can Take:

• Choose a specific problem or process in your unit that would benefit from shared understanding
• Gather your team and use sticky notes or a whiteboard to map out the current system together
• Ask "what might be happening?" instead of "what is happening?" to encourage more open discussion
• Use the bathtub analogy (inflows, stock, outflows) to analyze staffing or resource challenges

📣 Special Announcements:

Stay tuned for a special surprise in the next episode! Make sure you've collected all the secret code letters from the past few episodes. Collect this episode's secret code letters: "O F F"

👉 Call to Action:

• Share this episode
• Connect with Claire on Instagram @nursing.the.system to share your feedback
• Subscribe, rate, and leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts
• Join my System Sunday email list for your weekly dose of strategy and sanity for nurses leading change in healthcare.

⁉️ Want me to answer your question or scenario on the podcast?

I just opened a new form where you can anonymously submit:

• A leadership or systems challenge you’re facing
• A scenario you want me to walk through
• A question that’s been stuck in your head about your role, team, or impact

I'll be selecting a few to feature in upcoming episodes.

Submit your Q here!



📲 Links & Resources:

• Instagram
• Systems Sunday Newsletter

In this deeply personal episode, I share how an unexpected pull toward living in the Netherlands challenged my carefully planned life path—and what that taught me about navigating vision shifts. Whether you're feeling a tug toward something new or wrestling with seemingly conflicting goals, this episode offers a framework for aligning your shifting vision with your life and career.

• How to recognize and sit with the discomfort of a shifting vision instead of immediately trying to "fix" it
• A practical framework for integrating seemingly conflicting personal and professional goals
• Why "irrational" pulls toward new directions might hold important clues about your future path
• How to take small, exploratory steps toward a new vision while maintaining your current commitments

• Your vision naturally evolves—this isn't a failure of planning but an invitation to grow
• Being stuck is always a feeling, never a fact. It's an invitation to think differently about your situation
• Being a changemaker isn't about becoming a strategic robot. It's about asking: Who do I want to be? What do I love to do? And how can I integrate that into my life?
• Clarity comes from action, not endless analysis

Take time to reflect on your own experiences with shifting visions or conflicting goals as you listen. Consider grabbing a journal to work through the reflection prompts shared in the episode, especially if you're currently feeling a "tug" toward something new in your life or career.

1. Sit with the discomfort: Journal about where you're feeling a "tug" toward something new or unexpected
2. Map your intersections: Write down your seemingly conflicting goals side by side and look for creative overlaps
3. Take small, exploratory steps: Choose one low-stakes way to explore your new vision this week
4. Ask yourself: "What parts of my current life feel out of alignment? What is this new vision trying to tell me about who I'm becoming?"

• Keep collecting for the secret code! This episode's numbers: 1 and 0

• Share this episode with someone wrestling with a shifting vision
• Connect with Claire on Instagram @nursing.the.system to share your feedback
• Subscribe, rate, and leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts
• Join my System Sunday email list for your weekly dose of strategy and sanity for nurses leading change in healthcare.

⁉️ Want me to answer your question or scenario on the podcast?

I just opened a new form where you can anonymously submit:

• A leadership or systems challenge you’re facing
• A scenario you want me to walk through
• A question that’s been stuck in your head about your role, team, or impact

I'll be selecting a few to feature in upcoming episodes.

Submit your Q here!

• Book: "Curbing Traffic” by Melissa and Chris Bruntlett
• Claire's Systems Thinking Reading List
• Not Just Bikes YouTube Channel
• Change Maker Essentials Program
• Innovative Career Coaching Program
• Instagram
• Systems Sunday Newsletter

🎙 Episode Overview:

When you hear the word “resilience” paired with “nurses,” how does it make you feel? Frustrated? Defensive? Just plain tired? You’re not alone.

In this episode, we’re breaking down one of the biggest myths about burnout: it’s not a personal problem—it’s a systems problem.

Bubble baths and yoga might offer momentary relief, but they won’t fix the core issue: healthcare systems built for maximum efficiency, not long-term resilience.

It’s time to stop blaming individuals for systemic failures and start building systems that can actually absorb shocks and adapt to challenges without burning out their people.

• Why burnout feels so personal—and why it’s actually a systems-level issue.
• The difference between resilience and efficiency in healthcare systems and why they need balance.
• How healthcare systems excel at acute crises but fail at addressing slow-burning, chronic problems.
• Practical strategies for nurses to reframe personal complaints as systemic observations.
• How to advocate for changes using systems language that leaders understand.

• Burnout isn’t a personal failure—it’s a symptom of an overstretched system.
• Resilience and efficiency exist on a seesaw: Too much focus on one will destabilize the other.
• Slow-burn problems (like chronic understaffing) often go unnoticed until they become full-blown crises.
• Observation beats complaint: Framing problems as system patterns (e.g., “Our system is over-relying on overtime”) shifts the conversation to solutions.
• True resilience means absorbing shocks while maintaining core functions.

• Listen with a systems mindset: Notice patterns, not just problems.
• Reflect on where you’ve seen the efficiency vs. resilience seesaw tilt too far in either direction.
• Share this episode with colleagues—it’s a conversation that needs to happen across teams, not just in leadership meetings.

1. Reframe Complaints → System Observations: For example, replace “I’m exhausted” with “Our system relies too heavily on overtime to meet basic needs”.
2. Spot Patterns of Over-Efficiency: Where are resources maxed out? Where is there no room for error?
3. Raise Awareness of Slow-Burn Issues: Identify trends like turnover or increased workloads before they snowball.
4. Speak Systems Language to Leaders: Highlight systemic solutions like better staffing models, flexible workflows, and improved resource allocation.

📣 Heads Up: Something’s Coming!

I’ll be dropping an Easter egg at the end of the next few episodes. Today’s letters are “Y” and “I”. Keep listening—you’ll want to collect them all! 

• Subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes.
• Share this episode with your team or a leader who needs to hear it.
• DM Claire on Instagram with your thoughts or follow-up questions.
• Leave a review to help other healthcare professionals find this podcast.
• Join my System Sunday email list for your weekly dose of strategy and sanity for nurses leading change in healthcare.

⁉️ Want me to answer your question or scenario on the podcast?

I just opened a new form where you can anonymously submit:

• A leadership or systems challenge you’re facing
• A scenario you want me to walk through
• A question that’s been stuck in your head about your role, team, or impact

I'll be selecting a few to feature in upcoming episodes.

Submit your Q here!

Let’s stop putting burnout on individual shoulders and start redesigning the systems we work in.

🎧 Hit play and let’s get into it.

👉 Resources Mentioned:

• Instagram
• Systems Sunday Newsletter

🎙 Episode Overview:

Season 2 is here—and we’re taking this podcast public. In this kickoff episode, we’re tackling one of the most frustrating dynamics in healthcare: the “Us vs. Them” mindset.

Whether it’s staff vs. leadership, nursing vs. admin, or bedside vs. boardroom—it’s a pattern that keeps teams stuck, burned out, and spinning their wheels. But it doesn’t have to.

This episode is about adopting a systems-thinking approach to shift from blame to collaboration, so we can actually make progress on the problems we care about most.

🔑 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why the “Us vs. Them” mindset is so common—and so limiting.
• How to use a two-step systems thinking approach to break out of the cycle:

1. Look at Yourself: How are you contributing to the dynamic?
2. Look at Others: What pressures, incentives, and beliefs are shaping their decisions?

• Why relationships are systems too—and how strengthening them makes every change effort easier.
• How to ask better questions, understand what drives other people, and build trust without over-explaining or overextending yourself.

🧠 Key Ideas to Take With You:

• Every relationship is a system. And when relationships work better, everything works better.
• Shift from frustration to curiosity. Ask yourself: What assumptions am I making? What might I not understand about their perspective?
• Find the overlap. Even when priorities differ, shared goals like better patient outcomes or team well-being can bring people together.
• Stop seeing people as obstacles. See them as part of the solution.

🎧 How to Listen to This Season:

This podcast isn’t just a place to tune in—it’s a place to learn. And here’s the thing:

• Every episode will add something to your toolkit, even if it doesn’t seem directly relevant to your role.
• The best changemakers are the ones who understand the bigger picture, not just their own corner of the system.

So stick around.

📣 Heads Up: Something’s Coming!

And I’ll be dropping an Easter egg at the end of the next few episodes. Today’s letter to collect is “M”. Keep listening—you’ll want to collect them all! 

📲 Call to Action:

• Subscribe so you don’t miss an episode!
• DM me on Instagram with your thoughts or questions—I’d love to hear from you.
• Join my System Sunday email list for your weekly dose of strategy and sanity for nurses leading change in healthcare.

⁉️ Want me to answer your question or scenario on the podcast?

I just opened a new form where you can anonymously submit:

• A leadership or systems challenge you’re facing
• A scenario you want me to walk through
• A question that’s been stuck in your head about your role, team, or impact

I'll be selecting a few to feature in upcoming episodes.

Submit your Q here!

👉 Links & Resources:

• Instagram
• Systems Sunday Newsletter

🎙 Episode Overview: In this season finale, I tackle the false choice between self-care and systems change, sharing why becoming a systems thinker is actually the ultimate form of both personal and organizational care.

🔑 In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• Why separating self-care from systems work creates unnecessary tension
• How systems thinking benefits both personal wellbeing and organizational change
• My perspective on why personal development is crucial for effective change making

🧠 Key Ideas to Take With You:

• The self work IS the systems work - they're inseparable
• Compartmentalizing our work lives from personal lives often backfires
• Becoming a systems thinker brings more peace, not less

🎧 How to Get the Most Out of This Episode: Reflect on how you might be creating false binaries between caring for yourself and working for change. Consider how these aspects of your life might actually support each other.

🛠️ Practical Actions You Can Take:

• Notice where you're putting off self-work in service of systems change (or vice versa)
• Examine how your personal development connects to your change making goals
• Ask yourself: "How are my needs and system needs interconnected?"
• Consider how becoming a systems thinker could serve both you and your goals

📲 Call to Action:

• Follow me on Instagram

🎙 Episode Overview: I share my apartment-hunting story in the Netherlands to illustrate how shifting from competition to collaboration can unlock unexpected solutions and build meaningful connections.

🔑 In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• How competitive mindsets shape healthcare, education, and organizations
• Why partnership often yields better results than competition
• My approach to finding collaborative solutions in challenging situations

🧠 Key Ideas to Take With You:

• Competition isn't always natural - it's often a cultural narrative we can rewrite
• Most "competitors" are potential collaborators facing similar challenges
• Partnership mindset opens possibilities that competition obscures

🎧 How to Get the Most Out of This Episode: Notice where competitive thinking might be limiting your perspective, and consider how reframing situations through a collaboration lens could reveal new opportunities.

🛠️ Practical Actions You Can Take:

• Identify one competitive situation you could reframe as collaborative
• Look for "unlikely partners" in your change efforts
• Ask: "How can we build community around this shared challenge?"
• Examine where militaristic or competitive language might be hindering progress

📲 Call to Action:

• Share this partnership mindset with your healthcare colleagues
• Join Changemaker Essentials to explore collaboration-based change
• DM me your experiences with turning competition into partnership

🎙 Episode Overview: I share my personal composting story to explore why we sometimes act against our values, and how environmental design impacts our ability to do what we believe is right.

🔑 In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• Why good intentions often aren't enough to drive lasting change
• How to identify environmental barriers blocking desired behaviors
• My framework for making positive changes easier to implement

🧠 Key Ideas to Take With You:

• The gap between values and actions often comes from environmental barriers, not lack of motivation
• As leaders, our job is to remove obstacles, not just inspire better behavior
• Simple environmental changes can have more impact than willpower alone

🎧 How to Get the Most Out of This Episode: Reflect on areas where you or your team struggle to act on good intentions, and consider how you might redesign the environment to make the right choices easier.

🛠️ Practical Actions You Can Take:

• Identify one behavior you want to change but find difficult
• List the environmental barriers in your way
• Ask yourself: "How can I make this easy?"
• Look for simple system changes that could remove obstacles

📲 Call to Action:

• Share this systems thinking approach with other healthcare leaders
• Join Changemaker Essentials for deeper insights into these concepts
• DM me your thoughts on making positive change easier

🎙 Episode Overview: In this episode, I share a vulnerable story from my early days as an ER nurse that taught me a crucial lesson about capacity and burnout. Through what seemed like a simple incident with my car mirror, I discovered important insights about recognizing and managing our limits as healthcare leaders.

🔑 In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• My perspective on identifying warning signs before hitting your capacity limits
• How I use systems thinking to understand personal and organizational resilience
• The framework I developed for finding your sustainable "green zone" of operation

🧠 Key Ideas to Take With You:

• Think of your capacity like an oxygen tank - it needs to stay in the "green zone" for sustainability
• Expanding system capacity requires structural adjustments, not just working harder
• True sustainability requires both engagement and reasonable boundaries

🎧 How to Get the Most Out of This Episode: Listen to my journey from an overwhelmed new nurse to a systems thinker. Consider how my realizations about capacity might parallel your own leadership challenges.

🛠️ Practical Actions You Can Take:

• Use my oxygen tank analogy to assess your current capacity percentage
• Follow my approach of setting clear boundary cutoff times for high-intensity periods
• Apply my framework to evaluate if your current pace is both sustainable and engaging
• Look for areas where structural changes could expand your capacity

📲 Call to Action:

• Share this episode with your fellow nurse leaders who are navigating capacity challenges
• DM me with your own experiences and insights about managing capacity
• Subscribe to The Change Channel for more leadership insights

🎙 Episode Overview: In this episode, I share a crucial lesson learned during a 2021 ER triage redesign project: the importance of identifying and including all stakeholders in system changes. Through my experience of forgetting to include the CT department in our communications, I explore why asking "who's missing?" is vital for successful change implementation in healthcare.

🔑 In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• How my ER navigated the challenging surge of 2021 with creative solutions
• Why we needed to redesign our triage process during crisis conditions
• What happened when we accidentally left out the CT department from our communications
• How to recover and learn from stakeholder oversight in change projects

🧠 Key Ideas to Take With You:

• System changes affect more people than we initially realize
• Early stakeholder identification prevents costly backtracking
• Recovery from oversight is possible with humility and proactive communication
• Complex systems require balance between inclusion and scope management

🎧 How to Get the Most Out of This Episode: Consider your own change initiatives and use this story to reflect on stakeholders you might have overlooked. Remember that mistakes in change management are normal—it's how we recover and learn from them that matters.

🛠️ Practical Actions You Can Take:

• Start asking "who's missing?" in every meeting about change
• Create stakeholder maps before implementing new processes
• Develop communication plans that include all affected parties
• Build feedback loops to catch oversights early

📲 Call to Action:

• DM me onInstagram with your thoughts on stakeholder inclusion
• Share this episode with someone leading organizational change
• Think about who might be missing from your current projects