Timeless Topics

We’re excited to share our first guest episode featuring Mia Malcolm! Mia is an all around fantastic human being, equity, diversity, inclusion, belonging, and justice educator, and NICU parent. Her son, Gavin, was born at 24 weeks and spent 268 days in the NICU. We get comfortable being uncomfortable and dive into topics like equity, oppression, intersectionality, and perfectionism. At times this conversation may be uncomfortable or unexpected. We invite you to sit with that discomfort and reflect on what bubbles up. The discussion was so rich, we had to split it into two episodes! We are so grateful you are here with us. We look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Reflection prompts for this episode:

• What, if anything, did this episode teach you or bring up for you?

• Reflect on the ways in which perfection may have been set up as the expectation for you. How did that affect the way you relate to the profession?

Resources we mentioned during this episode:

• The urgency of intersectionality | Kimberlé Crenshaw | TED 

• About the Weary Weaponizing of White Women Tears 

• Introduction to Evidence-Based Practice 

• ‘White People are the default’: A qualitative analysis of medical trainees' perceptions of cultural competency, medical culture, and racial bias - ScienceDirect        

Do you have feedback or suggestions? You can find us on social media as @TimelessTopicsNICU, and our email address is [email protected]. Please share with your friends and colleagues!

-Jessi 🖤, Tracey 💙, and Mary 💛

We’re excited to be back for season two of Timeless Topics! This season we’re introducing longer form episodes and inviting guests to join our circle. Stay tuned for some really special episodes. 

In this episode Jessi, Tracey, and Mary discuss the tragic death of Dr. Janell Green Smith, the importance of embracing the nuance of medicine from a foundation of standardization, and being courageous in our vulnerability. We look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Reflection prompts for this episode:

• How do you advocate for individualizing care from a foundation of standardization? What do you do when a patient doesn't fit the standard?

• Reflect on biased terms like "wimpy white boy and strong black female." Have you heard of them before? Where and how did you hear them?

Resources we mentioned during this episode:

• Janell Green Smith (@dr.midwife_nelli) • Instagram photos and videos 

• Working Together to Reduce Black Maternal Mortality | Women’s Health | CDC

• Creating the Healthcare Racial Justice Assessment Tool (HC-RJAT): A Novel Tool to Identify Modifiable Loci of Structural Racism in the Healthcare Setting to Guide Equity-Focused Improvements | Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities

• Inappropriate Labeling in the NICU: The Strong Black Female and the Wimpy White Boy - PubMed

• Becoming an Antiracist Neonatal Community - PubMed

• Inclusion of People with Lived Experience in Research Innovation and Prioritization - Engage

• "Ringleader who has no power": a qualitative study of parent uncertainty during a NICU admission unrelated to prematurity - PubMed

• Let’s Talk About Code-Switching: A Double-Edged Sword        

Do you have feedback or suggestions? You can find us on social media as @TimelessTopicsNICU, and our email address is [email protected]. Please share with your friends and colleagues!

-Jessi 🖤, Tracey 💙, and Mary 💛

Welcome back to Timeless Topics! Join us for the final episode of season one! We cover everything from mentorship to communication styles to NRP…again. (Jessi wasn’t the one who brought it up this time!) We are grateful for your support for this first season. Stay tuned until the end for an exciting opportunity!

Reflection prompts for this episode:

• Have you identified your communication style? How open are you to adjusting to someone else’s communication style?

• What is one vulnerable, courageous moment you’ve had professionally? 

Resources we mentioned during this episode:

• What is SWOT? - SWOT Analysis - Research Guides at Baruch College        

• What is psychological safety at work? Here’s how to start creating it             

Do you have feedback or suggestions? You can find us on social media as @TimelessTopicsNICU, and our email address is [email protected]. Please share with your friends and colleagues!

We are taking a bit of a break and will return in 2026 with new episodes! If you are interested in joining us for circle time, reach out and let us know!

 -Jessi 🖤, Tracey 💙, and Mary 💛

Welcome back to Timeless Topics! Join us for part two of our two-part discussion on the importance of universal precautions to prevent retraumatizing those we serve and serve with. We cover everything from discomfort to stigmatizing language to gratitude. We're excited to share this spicy discussion with you and look forward to your thoughts!

Reflection prompts for this episode:

• How do you manage discomfort in your personal and professional lives? 

• Reflect on one of your recent charting experiences. Did you use language that is potentially stigmatizing?

Resources we mentioned during this episode:

• Identifying stigmatizing and positive/preferred language in obstetric clinical notes using natural language processing - PubMed       

• Stigmatizing and Positive Language in Birth Clinical Notes Associated With Race and Ethnicity - PubMed  

• Toward equitable documentation: Evaluating ChatGPT's role in identifying and rephrasing stigmatizing language in electronic health records - PubMed 

• Addressing the Minority Tax: Perspectives From Two Diversity Leaders on Building Minority Faculty Success in Academic Medicine 

• Creating the Healthcare Racial Justice Assessment Tool (HC-RJAT): A Novel Tool to Identify Modifiable Loci of Structural Racism in the Healthcare Setting to Guide Equity-Focused Improvements | Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 

• Social Needs Screening During Pediatric Emergency Department Visits: Disparities in Unmet Social Needs - PubMed

• Serve and Return: Back-and-forth exchanges             

Do you have feedback or suggestions? You can find us on social media as @TimelessTopicsNICU, and our email address is [email protected]. Please share with your friends and colleagues!

 -Jessi 🖤, Tracey 💙, and Mary 💛

Welcome back to Timeless Topics! Join us for part one of our two-part discussion on the importance of universal precautions to prevent retraumatizing those we serve and serve with. We cover everything from vulnerability to debriefing to quantifying the suffering of others. We're excited to share this relatively spicy discussion with you and look forward to your thoughts!

Reflection prompts for this episode:

• Reflect on your relationship with vulnerability in healthcare – from the clinician and patient perspectives. 

• How do you balance seeking information and quantifying experiences with honoring the person who is sharing their experience?

Resources we mentioned during this episode:

• IntraConnected: MWe (Me + We) as the Integration of Self, Identity, and Belonging - Dr. Dan Siegel      

• Trauma Informed Universal Precautions - Institute for Inpatient Psychiatric Rehabilitation

• Trauma-Informed Care as a Universal Precaution: Beyond the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire - PubMed

• Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study - PubMed

• About Adverse Childhood Experiences           

Do you have feedback or suggestions? You can find us on social media as @TimelessTopicsNICU, and our email address is [email protected]. Please share with your friends and colleagues!

 -Jessi 🖤, Tracey 💙, and Mary 💛

Welcome back to Timeless Topics! Join us for part three of our three-part discussion on how we cultivate hope and honor our shared humanity through moments of connection. We cover everything from succession planning to neonatology’s constant rise to the occasion. (And yes, there’s more quilt references!) We're excited to share this relatively spicy discussion with you and look forward to your thoughts!

Reflection prompts for this episode:

• What are your butterfly effect moments? 

• How do you manage sharing the work load to improve sustainability efforts?

Resources we mentioned during this episode:

• Family Centered Care Taskforce     

• The Butterfly Effect - The Decision Lab       

Do you have feedback or suggestions? You can find us on social media as @TimelessTopicsNICU, and our email address is [email protected]. Please share with your friends and colleagues!

 -Jessi 🖤, Tracey 💙, and Mary 💛

Welcome back to Timeless Topics! Join us for part two of our three-part discussion on how we cultivate hope and honor our shared humanity through moments of connection. We cover everything from Pollyanna thinking to intersectionality to quilting…yes, quilting. We're excited to share this relatively spicy discussion with you and look forward to your thoughts!

Reflection prompts for this episode:

• How do you show up for your fellow humans in times of need?
• What do you bring to the quilt that is your unit or practice area?

Resources we mentioned during this episode:

• Pollyanna Principle: The Psychology of Positivity Bias
• Socio-Ecological Model
• The urgency of intersectionality | Kimberlé Crenshaw | TED
• Addressing the Minority Tax: Perspectives From Two Diversity Leaders on Building Minority Faculty Success in Academic Medicine
• Secondary Traumatic Stress

Do you have feedback or suggestions? You can find us on social media as @TimelessTopicsNICU, and our email address is [email protected]. Please share with your friends and colleagues!

 -Jessi 🖤, Tracey 💙, and Mary 💛

Welcome back to Timeless Topics! Join us for part one of our three-part discussion on how we cultivate hope and honor our shared humanity through moments of connection. We cover everything from the levels of care in neonatology to the concept of nurses eating their young. We're excited to share this relatively spicy discussion with you and look forward to your thoughts!

Reflection prompts for this episode:

• Have you experienced an "eat their young" moment - regardless of role? If so, how did it impact you
• How do you cultivate connection with your patients and colleagues?

Resources we mentioned during this episode:

• Our Own Worst Enemies: The Nurse Bullying Epidemic
• Healthy Workforce Institute

Do you have feedback or suggestions? You can find us on social media as @TimelessTopicsNICU, and our email address is [email protected]. Please share with your friends and colleagues!

 -Jessi 🖤, Tracey 💙, and Mary 💛

Welcome back to Timeless Topics! Join us for part two of our discussion on healing through reciprocity. We cover everything from grief to toddlers to emotional intelligence. We're excited to continue this relatively spicy discussion with you and look forward to your thoughts!

Reflection prompts for this episode:

• How do you deescalate conflict in your professional relationships?
• Reflect on your exposure to trauma and trauma-informed care in your professional training. If given the chance, how would you change it?

Resources we mentioned during this episode:

• About Adverse Childhood Experiences | CDC  

• The prevalence of childhood adversity among healthcare workers and its relationship to adult life events, distress and impairment  

• The Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Burnout in a Regional Sample of Physicians | Academic Psychiatry 

• The Body Keeps The Score | Bessel van der Kolk, MD. 

• Rupture and Repair - PubMed

• Health Worker Burnout | HHS.gov   

• Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood | "Its Okay to Feel Angry but It's Not Okay to Hurt Someone" | Season 3 | Episode 18 | PBS

Do you have feedback or suggestions? You can find us on social media as @TimelessTopicsNICU, and our email address is [email protected]. Please share with your friends and colleagues!

 -Jessi 🖤, Tracey 💙, and Mary 💛

Welcome back to Timeless Topics! Join us for part one of our discussion on healing through reciprocity. We cover everything from emotional labor and allostatic load to curiosity and giving ourselves and each other grace. We're excited to share this relatively spicy discussion with you and look forward to your thoughts!

Reflection prompts for this episode:

• What does reciprocity feel like to you?
• Reflect on your access to community. Are the relationships reciprocal?

Resources we mentioned during this episode:

• Serve and Return: Back and Forth Exchanges
• Allostatic Load and Its Impact on Health: A Systematic Review - PubMed
• 6 Guiding Principles to a Trauma-informed Approach | SAMHSA
• Loretta J. Ross: Don't call people out -- call them in | TED
• About Adverse Childhood Experiences | CDC

Do you have feedback or suggestions? You can find us on social media as @TimelessTopicsNICU, and our email address is [email protected]. Please share with your friends and colleagues!

-Jessi 🖤, Tracey 💙, and Mary 💛