A Nurse First

Catch up on seasons 1 and 2 while we take a break to work on season 3. See you back here in August 2023! Connect with Sigma: Tweet us at @SigmaNursing Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn Share your A Nurse First story

During the pandemic, Terri Ann Parnell pivoted her career to launch TAP Wellness Coaching, a program designed to specifically address the unique challenges nurses face in taking care of themselves. With the goal of helping nurses create long-lasting healthy habits, Terri's program focuses not on finding work-life balance but on building resilience and instead, achieving work-life harmony.  Co...

Admittedly, Imelda Reyes' path to nursing followed a non-traditional route, joining the Navy and starting in healthcare finance. Now a nurse practitioner and faculty member at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, it was also rather unconventional for her to volunteer as a graduation marshal just a few months after starting her new role. Following the "norm" wasn't what was impo...

Linda Casale spent 25+ years as a psychiatric mental health nurse serving the Veteran's Association. She witnessed the struggles veterans faced, especially once the VA recognized the additive effects of opioids and benzodiazepines and aggressively worked to reduce their use. Despite her understanding, Linda felt like it left her toolbox empty. Though retirement was in sight, she kept hearing...

Throughout her life, Mar'yana Fisher has turned to poetry to express her feelings creatively and fearlessly. Before leaving Ukraine and immigrating to Canada, she even published a short collection. Her muse struck again when she started graduate school in Canada after immigrating from Ukraine. Poetry helped Mar’yana process her fear and anxiety during this time and became a powerful tool for...

Daniel Suárez-Baquero is the person he is today because of his abuela. She inspired his dream to work in women's health, and modeling her courage, he became the first male nurse in birth and labor rooms in Colombia. Now his research focuses on reproductive justice in order to pay tribute and give back to the many women who built him. Connect with Sigma: Tweet us at @SigmaNursing Follow us on...

Cora O'Leary's research study on the challenges faced by nurses caring solo for children with complex healthcare needs led to recommendations for improvements in support and governance. With her study's findings in hand and national policy changes on the horizon, she crafted a new nursing role for herself as Ireland's first Clinical Practice Specialist.  Connect with Sigma: Twe...

Though still very much a new member of Gamma Tau at-Large Chapter, Trish Eusala went all in, volunteering to lead as the chapter's Community Outreach Chair. The outcome? New connections, invaluable experiences, and unshakeable friendships across the nursing continuum. Connect with Sigma: Tweet us at @SigmaNursing Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn Share your A Nurse First story

When Aron King shares that he is an assistant nurse manager, he knows questions are coming. Only 7% of nurses are Black and male so he gets, "How did you get into nursing?" a lot. Most don't mean it to be a microaggression, but regardless, it is. Through his research and community involvement, he's out to change the mold society has formed for healthcare workers. Connect with S...

We hope you've enjoyed the past 10 episodes! We'll be back with more in February 2023. Connect with Sigma: Tweet us at @SigmaNursing Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn Share your A Nurse First story

Melissa Sherman knew that helping her best friend with her end-of-life care would change her. She expected grief, in all its forms, but what she didn't see coming was an opportunity to change life and death for others. Connect with Sigma: Tweet us at @SigmaNursing Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn Share your A Nurse First story

Facing down a certification exam day, Shanan Thode wrestled with self-doubt, fear, and dread. Needing some words of encouragement, she posted on The Circle, Sigma’s professional networking platform. Her anxiety told her no one would respond, but Sigma members showed up to prove her thoughts wrong. Connect with Sigma: Tweet us at @SigmaNursing Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn Share...

Losing both her parents at age 7 left Kathleen Eviza facing an uncertain future with her five siblings. Knowing her strong will and determination would take her to the places she dreamed of, she prioritized her education and career as a means to support her family, but as an adventurer at heart, she grew to realize she'd eventually have to leave them to find a new sense of home. Connect with...

On this special Founders Day episode, a chance encounter at a biennial convention leads to an unexpectedly deep friendship between Nancy Thompson and one of the women who gave life to Sigma 100 years ago. Connect with Sigma: Tweet us at @SigmaNursing Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn Share your A Nurse First story

It should have been a normal trip home up the 15 from the veteran hospital in Las Vegas. Maria VanHart was in vacation mode, excited to road trip to Indiana to see family. But a nurse is never really "off duty," and the scene along the highway brought the emergency room to her.  Connect with Sigma: Tweet us at @SigmaNursing Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn Share your A Nu...

First nursing class: only four Black students. Entire nursing school: only one Black professor. Jamil Norman had big dreams, but they started to feel out of reach without someone who looked like her to model the way. Now an educator herself, she's determined to move past diversity, equity, and inclusion conversations straight toward action. Connect with Sigma: Tweet us at @SigmaNursing Follow...

Growing up in the Philippines, Paul Biluan’s family was tight, religious, and in Paul’s words, dysfunctional. Despite wishing otherwise, his parents decided nursing school was his ticket to the United States, and he couldn’t argue with this plan to escape the abuse, live freely as a gay man, and pursue his ultimate dream—a DNP. Connect with Sigma: Tweet us at @SigmaNursing Follow us on Facebook ,...

Ariella Teater thought she’d buried herself far enough under her grief until a phone call with her dad opened the door to the painful memories of patients she had loved and lost. Connect with Sigma: Tweet us at @SigmaNursing Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn Share your A Nurse First story

She thought her colleagues would be supportive as she neared the end of her master's program. Instead, Amanda Shilo was blindsided with questions like, "Why don't you just go to medical school?" and "You clearly don't want to be a nurse. Why are you here?" Connect with Sigma: Tweet us at @SigmaNursing Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn Share your A...

When chest pain interrupts her vacation, former emergency room nurse Diane Sieg finds herself in an ER bed rather than beside it. She's scared, and she's anxious—but from this experience comes an invaluable validation about compassion. Connect with Sigma: Tweet us at @SigmaNursing Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn Share your A Nurse First story

You may have noticed our podcast has taken a bit of a hiatus the past year. Taking this break gave us an opportunity to look at the podcast world with fresh eyes and make way for—surprise—a new start! We hope you'll come along with us. Connect with Sigma: Tweet us at @SigmaNursing Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn Share your A Nurse First story

In this episode we discuss how Kimberly Acquaviva, PhD, MSW, CWE, uses social media to bring together a large interdisciplinary research team to answer a compelling research question.  Connect with Sigma: Tweet us at @SigmaNursing Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn Share your A Nurse First story

In this episode, we discuss the body of nursing research with Linda S. Franck, PhD, RN, FRCPCH, FAAN, a Sigma International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame inductee (July 2020), Jack and Elaine Koehn Endowed Chair in pediatric nursing, and professor in the Department of Family Health Care Nursing at the University of California San Francisco. Connect with Sigma: Tweet us at @SigmaNursing Follow us o...

In this episode we discuss the body of nursing research with Peggy Compton, PhD, RN, FAAN , a Sigma International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame inductee (July 2020) and  associate professor and van Ameringen Endowed Chair at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Connect with Sigma: Tweet us at @SigmaNursing Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn Share your A Nurse First story

In this episode we discuss the body of nursing research from Jason E. Farley, PhD, MPH, ANP-BC, FAAN, FAANP, AACRN, a Sigma International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame Inductee (July 2020) and a professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. Connect with Sigma: Tweet us at @SigmaNursing Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn Share your A Nurse First story