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What if the moments you brushed off as “just being good at your job” were actually something deeper... an inner intelligence quietly guiding you long before you had language for it?

In this powerful episode of Manders Mindset, host Amanda Russo sits down with ER nurse and author Jen Johnson for a raw, honest, and unexpectedly hopeful conversation about intuition, burnout, and survival inside one of the most demanding professions. With over 16 years in emergency medicine, Jen opens up about toxic workplace culture, bullying, and the emotional weight nurses carry, especially in the aftermath of COVID and how these experiences ultimately led her to uncover the role intuition had been playing throughout her career all along.

Together, Amanda and Jen explore why intuition is often dismissed as “instinct” rather than recognized as an evidence-backed skill, how the nervous system quietly gathers information faster than logic, and why learning to trust your gut can be the difference between burnout and sustainability. The conversation also sheds light on what the public often misunderstands about ER wait times, violence toward healthcare workers, and the unseen decisions nurses make every shift. It’s candid, insightful, and deeply human.

💡 In this episode, listeners will discover:

🧠 How intuition shows up in high-pressure environments like emergency medicine
 💔 The lasting impact of workplace bullying and unsupported systems
 🧬 How COVID forced unresolved trauma and burnout to the surface
 🚨 What ER wait times actually mean and why waiting can be a good sign
 🧠 Why nurses rely on intuition long before test results arrive
 📖 How Jen’s stories became the foundation for her book Nursing Intuition
🪞 Everyday ways to recognize and trust your own gut instincts
🕊️ Why listening to inner cues can be a form of self-protection, not fear

⏰ Timeline Summary

[2:00] Jen shares her path into nursing and the moment she knew she was in the right field
 [7:45] A career-redirecting “failure” and why it became a blessing in disguise
 [13:30] The reality of toxic nursing culture and being bullied as a new nurse
 [21:50] Finding healing and support in a larger ER system
 [30:15] COVID, exhaustion, and the emotional breaking point that changed everything
 [38:40] Realizing intuition had been present all along, especially at triage
 [48:55] What the public doesn’t see inside the ER: wait times, staffing, and violence
 [57:30] How anyone can begin paying attention to intuition in daily life

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