The Conversing Nurse podcast

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Meet Kirsten Ferren, a nurse who has been serving in healthcare for over 23 years. She brings to the table her experience as a former Chief Nursing Officer and currently holds the position of Vice President of Patient Care. She is also an author, mentor, and leadership consultant at the company she owns, Nursing Inferno Coaching.  We had a stimulating conversation about how leaders can show up for those they lead, strategies that help prevent staff burnout, and the qualities that nurse leaders should possess. Kirsten has a passion for developing leaders who value authenticity and connection as essential leadership skills, as well as kindness. I love what she said about kindness! Kirsten's dedication to supporting and developing nurse leaders is apparent, and she strongly believes that how we lead others is critical to changing the culture of nursing.
In the five-minute snippet: between giant hamsters, tiny elephants, and duck-sized horses, this was a crazy five minutes of fun! For Kirsten's bio, visit my website (link below).
Kirsten's Instagram
Nursing Inferno Coaching and Consultation
Nursing Leadership Workbook
Nursing Inferno Facebook Group
Kirsten's bookshop!

Contact The Conversing Nurse podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconversingnursepodcast/
Website: https://theconversingnursepodcast.com
Your review is so important to this Indie podcaster! You can leave one here!  https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/leave-me-a-review
Would you like to be a guest on my podcast? Pitch me! https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/intake-form
Check out my guests' book recommendations! https://bookshop.org/shop/theconversingnursepodcast 

I've partnered with RNegade.pro! You can earn CE's just by listening to my podcast episodes! Check out my CE library here: https://rnegade.thinkific.com/collections/conversing-nurse-podcast

Thanks for listening!

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What happens when two friends have cocktails and dish on a movie? Magic, pure magic. My first returning guest this week is Patrick Pickarts. Patrick debuted in episode 56 when he told us all about being a nurse in tech. And if you don’t remember him, well, how could you forget about Patrick, it would be like putting Baby in a corner and nobody puts Baby in a corner (Let’s see how many movie references I can get in here). In episode 56, Patrick referred to the hit movie, The Devil Wears Prada and gave me some flack about not having seen it. So right then and there, I committed to watching and inviting him back for an episode in which we give our commentary.  It's been seven months since I made that commitment and all I can say is TEMPUS FUGIT- time flies! I recently celebrated my 60th birthday and have vowed not to let time slip away from me because I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. Patrick is my friend and I could not let this promise go unfulfilled. In the end, instead of the five-minute snippet, I test Patrick’s knowledge with Prada trivia (if you ask me, I’m not sure he’s even seen it!) Sit back, relax, and enjoy your low-calorie popcorn and assorted confections. Well, here goes nothin’! For Patrick's bio, visit my website (link below).
Patrick's Instagram

Contact The Conversing Nurse podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconversingnursepodcast/
Website: https://theconversingnursepodcast.com
Your review is so important to this Indie podcaster! You can leave one here!  https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/leave-me-a-review
Would you like to be a guest on my podcast? Pitch me! https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/intake-form
Check out my guests' book recommendations! https://bookshop.org/shop/theconversingnursepodcast 

I've partnered with RNegade.pro! You can earn CE's just by listening to my podcast episodes! Check out my CE library here: https://rnegade.thinkific.com/collections/conversing-nurse-podcast

Thanks for listening!

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Meet Haley Diltz, an exceptional woman who had a childhood dream of being Indiana Jones but instead grew up to become a Neurotrauma ICU nurse. She knew early on she had an affinity for the dying and helping families navigate through some of life’s most tragic experiences. 

It took one very tragic experience in the ICU for Haley to take pause and re-evaluate how she could better serve the dying and is now dedicating her career to end-of-life and palliative care. 

Haley founded Third Eye Nurse, LLC, offering burnout education, integrative health coaching, and doula services for end-of-life care. She became a death doula, and her expertise as a certified death educator has allowed her to promote accessible and inclusive death care, looking at death, not solely as a physical event, but also as a mental, emotional, and spiritual transition. 

Through the education of nurses and patients, Haley destigmatizes death and dying by valuing the sacredness and creativity that can exist when we find the courage to participate in and acknowledge death, not only as a natural process, but a natural part of life. And she is making a difference, one death at a time. 

In the five-minute snippet: She’s a witchy woman. For Haley's bio, visit my website (link below).
Third Eye Nurse Instagram
Third Eye Nurse Facebook Group
Third Eye Nurse website
Haley's bio and contact info

Contact The Conversing Nurse podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconversingnursepodcast/
Website: https://theconversingnursepodcast.com
Your review is so important to this Indie podcaster! You can leave one here!  https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/leave-me-a-review
Would you like to be a guest on my podcast? Pitch me! https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/intake-form
Check out my guests' book recommendations! https://bookshop.org/shop/theconversingnursepodcast 

I've partnered with RNegade.pro! You can earn CE's just by listening to my podcast episodes! Check out my CE library here: https://rnegade.thinkific.com/collections/conversing-nurse-podcast

Thanks for listening!

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Do you ever come across someone on Instagram who is meant to teach you something? For me, that person is Ashley Wynn-Grimes, also known as The Cannabis Nurse.
Ashley is the owner of Cannabis Nursing Solutions, LLC where she teaches nurses the ins and outs of the cannabis industry. Cannabis nursing is a nursing specialty recently recognized by the American Nurses Association.
Through Ashley, I learned about where cannabis nurses can work, who their patients are, and how they can advocate for cannabis use within their communities. Ashley is a pioneer in this field and established cannabis patient care programs in Maryland. She also lobbies for its use.
Ashley is also the author of the book, Stigmatized. Through it, she sheds light on her path to finding freedom through entrepreneurship and building a brand around cannabis medicine.
The research is growing on medicinal cannabis use and the opportunity for nurses to enter this field is great. So if Ashley’s page shows up on your feed, consider yourself lucky because you are about to learn something.
In the five-minute snippet: we’re going back, wayyyyyy back. For Ashley's bio, visit my website (link below).
Cannabis Nursing Solutions Instagram
Ashley's LinkedIn
HIGHlights for Healthcare Newsletter
Cannabis Nursing Solutions Facebook
Cannabis Nursing School website
"Stigmatized" the book
Ashley's YouTube
Ashley's bio and contact info

Contact The Conversing Nurse podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconversingnursepodcast/
Website: https://theconversingnursepodcast.com
Your review is so important to this Indie podcaster! You can leave one here!  https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/leave-me-a-review
Would you like to be a guest on my podcast? Pitch me! https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/intake-form
Check out my guests' book recommendations! https://bookshop.org/shop/theconversingnursepodcast 

I've partnered with RNegade.pro! You can earn CE's just by listening to my podcast episodes! Check out my CE library here: https://rnegade.thinkific.com/collections/conversing-nurse-podcast

Thanks for listening!

Send us Fan Mail

Susan Farese is a nurse who has done it all. Well, let me rephrase that. Susan is a nurse who has done a lot. Maybe not all, but her career includes clinical nursing, education, staff development, research, legal nurse consulting, management and coaching. She's also a veteran, having served in the Navy and as a former Major in the Army.

How has she been able to manage these stressful, demanding positions? Throughout her career and her life, Susan has tapped into her creativity. She lost her cherished grandmother to early Alzheimer's, and 20 years later she wrote a poem in her grandmother's memory which started on a path to healing. She has since authored the book Poetic Expressions in Nursing...Sharing the Caring and advocates for the creative use of poetry for nurses to express what we feel daily: wonder, frustration, grief, and love for the profession and our patients.

But Susan's creativity is not limited to just writing. She is also an accomplished wildlife and nature photographer, a Haiku teacher, an actor, a blogger, a public speaker, a frequent podcast guest, and even runs her own public relations company.

Susan's advice to fellow nurses: cultivate your creativity, be open to new ideas, and always be willing to learn and change. Reinvent yourself.  Evolve. Love your life.

In the five-minute snippet. Is the kazoo an instrument?
Poetic Expressions in Nursing... Sharing the Caring
SJF Communications website
Instagram
LinkedIn
Facebook
Susan's bio and contact info

Contact The Conversing Nurse podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconversingnursepodcast/
Website: https://theconversingnursepodcast.com
Your review is so important to this Indie podcaster! You can leave one here!  https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/leave-me-a-review
Would you like to be a guest on my podcast? Pitch me! https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/intake-form
Check out my guests' book recommendations! https://bookshop.org/shop/theconversingnursepodcast 

I've partnered with RNegade.pro! You can earn CE's just by listening to my podcast episodes! Check out my CE library here: https://rnegade.thinkific.com/collections/conversing-nurse-podcast

Thanks for listening!

Send us Fan Mail

Susan Davis is a class act. She's also a doctorally-prepared nurse and CEO of Code PRep, an in-hospital cardiac arrest mock code training program that helps teams prepare, execute, and evaluate codes more effectively. Now, I opened with Susan is a class act, and let me explain. Susan and I recorded an entire 1-hour podcast episode, or at least I thought we recorded. There was just one small problem, I never hit the record button. It pained me to tell Susan that we had nothing. Our episode was flatline. Susan did not skip a beat and graciously agreed to give her precious time to do Susan and Michelle 2.0. Our second conversation was equally as memorable as our first. We discussed the challenges of running a code, teamwork, egos, and that darn defibrillator. Why are we all scared of the defibrillator? But Susan makes it as easy as one, two, three. Really, it's that easy! Our conversation is full of useful information to make saving lives more efficient with better outcomes. And as Susan says, outcomes equal people. In the five-minute snippet, I see a Game of Thrones remake. 
Susan's LinkedIn
RescueRN
The Rescue RN YouTube
Code Prep CPR Instagram
NTI 2024 AACN Conference
CASAhearts – Cardiac Arrest Survivor Alliance
Parent Heart Watch | Sudden Cardiac Arrest In Youth Prevention | SCA
Home | Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation (sca-aware.org)
Homepage - Citizen CPR
Susan's bio and contact info

Contact The Conversing Nurse podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconversingnursepodcast/
Website: https://theconversingnursepodcast.com
Your review is so important to this Indie podcaster! You can leave one here!  https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/leave-me-a-review
Would you like to be a guest on my podcast? Pitch me! https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/intake-form
Check out my guests' book recommendations! https://bookshop.org/shop/theconversingnursepodcast 

I've partnered with RNegade.pro! You can earn CE's just by listening to my podcast episodes! Check out my CE library here: https://rnegade.thinkific.com/collections/conversing-nurse-podcast

Thanks for listening!

Send us Fan Mail

I was completely captivated by my guest this week, Dr. Sarah Ratekin. Sarah is the Owner and Chief Happiness Officer of Happiness is Courage, LLC. I’m all about the happy and if there’s one thing the nurses need right now, it’s more happiness.
With a background in organizational ethics and a doctorate in business administration she helps her clients, which include healthcare institutions, improve the employee experience, and spoiler alert, it doesn’t involve pizza parties.
She explained the formula of happiness at work is determined by only two factors: solid relationships with the people we work with and that the work we do is meaningful. I can’t think of a healthcare professional who does not have those two factors on their radar.
Sarah has been accused of being a Pollyanna and vehemently rejects that label. Her approach to gratitude and happiness at work comes from both academic research and personal experience. Sarah’s passion for transforming workplace cultures as well as her optimistic outlook has me hopeful for the future of nursing.
In the five-minute snippet: Watch out Wilbur, Sarah’s comin' for you! For Sarah's bio and bookstore, visit my website (link below).
https://www.happinessiscourage.com/
https://www.facebook.com/HappinessIsCourage/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7JAmIvjCfVKUcZE0EXXrJw
https://www.linkedin.com/in/happinessiscourage/
https://www.amazon.com/Silver-Threads-Positivity-Gratitude-Journal/dp/1074789911

Contact The Conversing Nurse podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconversingnursepodcast/
Website: https://theconversingnursepodcast.com
Your review is so important to this Indie podcaster! You can leave one here!  https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/leave-me-a-review
Would you like to be a guest on my podcast? Pitch me! https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/intake-form
Check out my guests' book recommendations! https://bookshop.org/shop/theconversingnursepodcast 

I've partnered with RNegade.pro! You can earn CE's just by listening to my podcast episodes! Check out my CE library here: https://rnegade.thinkific.com/collections/conversing-nurse-podcast

Thanks for listening!

Send us Fan Mail

In 375 BC, the ancient philosopher Plato wrote, "Our need will be the real creator." But over time, the phrase has been condensed to its current form,  "Necessity is the mother of invention." 
Alex Whitefield, aka "The Break Nurse", is an innovator and nurse leader who identified a need: hospitals were using outdated break systems which were making it difficult for nurses to get breaks. So he co-invented Breakalgo, a software program that optimizes break performance through smart scheduling in real-time.
Why do we need breaks? Consider the cognitive, emotional, and physical load nurses endure in a typical twelve-hour shift. Now add to that little time to pause from witnessed trauma, nourish the body, or rest, and recover. Numerous studies show our ability to critically think diminishes with physical, mental, and emotional depletion. But our nursing culture continues to view breaks as a luxury, not a necessity. Alex has made it his mission to change this narrative and is proving to us that over two millennia later, Plato's axiom still holds true. In the five-minute snippet: Alex, you need a raise. To see Alex's bio, visit my website (link below).

Contact The Conversing Nurse podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconversingnursepodcast/
Website: https://theconversingnursepodcast.com
Your review is so important to this Indie podcaster! You can leave one here!  https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/leave-me-a-review
Would you like to be a guest on my podcast? Pitch me! https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/intake-form
Check out my guests' book recommendations! https://bookshop.org/shop/theconversingnursepodcast 

I've partnered with RNegade.pro! You can earn CE's just by listening to my podcast episodes! Check out my CE library here: https://rnegade.thinkific.com/collections/conversing-nurse-podcast

Thanks for listening!

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Brian Cerezo is a nurse who likes to have fun, but he's also passionate about the nursing profession and proud about being able to financially support his family. And he doesn't solely rely on his W-2 job. He's made some risky moves by investing in real estate, stocks, and the dreaded crypto. We agreed investing can sometimes be uncertain, but as his portfolio grows, so does his comfort in knowing he's got a backup plan. Brian is also the host of the popular podcast called Direct Admission,  and if you know, you know. He started his podcast to talk to nurses about nursing and all the doors it can open for them, as well as helping them on their journey to financial independence by sharing his knowledge and experiences. And remember what I said about fun. Well, his Instagram is packed full of nursing memes and will have you chuckling in no time. When you watch him on YouTube, you'll see he always has a smile on his face. And during our conversation, I did, too. In the five-minute snippet: Honey, did you order the lumpia? For Brian's bio, go to my website (link below).
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianbenjiern/
Direct Admission Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/brianmakesbenjamins
Brian's bio and contact info: https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/person/brian-cerezo

Contact The Conversing Nurse podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconversingnursepodcast/
Website: https://theconversingnursepodcast.com
Your review is so important to this Indie podcaster! You can leave one here!  https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/leave-me-a-review
Would you like to be a guest on my podcast? Pitch me! https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/intake-form
Check out my guests' book recommendations! https://bookshop.org/shop/theconversingnursepodcast 

I've partnered with RNegade.pro! You can earn CE's just by listening to my podcast episodes! Check out my CE library here: https://rnegade.thinkific.com/collections/conversing-nurse-podcast

Thanks for listening!

Send us Fan Mail

According to Forbes magazine, the relationship between managers and their employees has a significant impact on their mental health, similar to the effect of a partner. My guest this week, NICU Nurse Manager, Felicia Torres Vaughn, understands this and works hard to build strong relationships with her staff. During our conversation, Felicia clarified some common misconceptions about managers and emphasized the importance of mentorship. She also encouraged the idea of embracing failure, as it provides an opportunity to learn and grow. I’ve had many mentors throughout my journey, and Felicia taught me a valuable lesson on what it means to be a compassionate and thoughtful leader. She does this most profoundly, by example, not expecting her staff to do anything she wouldn't do herself. As she spoke of her love for Mother Teresa, I noticed similarities in their service mindset, humble spirit, and desire to bring love and light to the people they serve.  Her advice for nurses who aspire to be leaders? Find a mentor and be a mentor. In the five-minute snippet: start spreading the news! For Felicia's bio, visit my website (link below).
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/felicia-torres-vaughn-79a71517b/
American Organization for Nurse Leadership: https://www.aonl.org/
Association of California Nurse Leaders: https://www.acnl.org/#!event-list
From the Full Focus article: https://fullfocus.co/batteries-included/#:~:text=Don't%20Hire%20People%20Unless%20the%20Batteries%20Are%20Included%20%2D%20Michael%20Hyatt
Forbes article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tracybrower/2023/01/29/managers-have-major-impact-on-mental-health-how-to-lead-for-wellbeing/?sh=202944ec2ec1

Contact The Conversing Nurse podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconversingnursepodcast/
Website: https://theconversingnursepodcast.com
Your review is so important to this Indie podcaster! You can leave one here!  https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/leave-me-a-review
Would you like to be a guest on my podcast? Pitch me! https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/intake-form
Check out my guests' book recommendations! https://bookshop.org/shop/theconversingnursepodcast 

I've partnered with RNegade.pro! You can earn CE's just by listening to my podcast episodes! Check out my CE library here: https://rnegade.thinkific.com/collections/conversing-nurse-podcast

Thanks for listening!