Nursing the Nation

HHS calls the third pillar of the MAHA strategy "Increasing Public Awareness and Knowledge"—a plan to empower parents and restore trust in public health. Jamie and Melissa Anne read the fine print and find the bootstraps myth woven throughout: sixteen-plus awareness campaigns built almost entirely on individual behavior change, with the upstream social determinants of health conspicuously missing....

The MAHA Commission's September 2025 Strategy Report laid out four pillars for tackling childhood chronic disease. Today Jamie and Melissa Anne are digging into Pillar 2: "Realigning Incentives" — a sprawling grab-bag of food labeling, sunscreen modernization, dietary guidelines, synthetic dye phase-outs, and the still-undefined "ultra-processed food." What's actually been accomplished? We unpack...

Season 2 is here , and we're opening with a topic that has been a frequent flyer: the MAHA Strategy Report. If you followed our MOCHA series in Season 1, you already know the diagnosis — poor diet, chemical exposures, physical inactivity, and overmedicalization. Now the MAHA Commission is back with their so-called playbook. Today we're putting Pillar One — Advancing Research — under the nursing mi...

The Department of Education just finalized the RISE Rule — and graduate nursing still isn't a "professional degree." What does that mean? It means nursing students starting after July 1, 2026 can borrow less than half of what med students, law students, and even chiropractic students can access in federal loans. The Department says it's just a classification issue. Jamie says it's misogyny in a bu...

The U.S. and Israel have launched massive strikes against Iran. Cable news is debating carrier groups and regime change. We're checking the vitals of the people right here at home. War doesn't just happen "over there." In this bonus episode, Jamie and Melissa Anne apply the nursing lens to the Third Gulf War's homefront realities — from a spike in oil prices and the financial toxicity hitting Amer...

Today's bonus episode features a discussion based on the Department of Education's final proposed rule that will EXCLUDE graduate level nursing education from the professional federal student loan limits. Jamie and Melissa Anne discuss how this impacts nurses, patients, and the healthcare system at large with Dr. Victoria Soltis-Jarrett, while providing context to what exactly graduate level nursi...

Jamie and Melissa Anne address the escalating violence and the tragic loss of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a VA ICU nurse who was killed by ICE agents on Saturday, January 24, 2026, in Minnesota. Speaking not just as nurses, but as witnesses to the "best and worst of humanity," they deliver an urgent message to those who have previously remained silent or supported the current administration’s immigration...

In this episode, Jamie and Melissa Anne unpack reports of a CDC-funded study in Guinea-Bissau that would randomize newborns to receive the Hepatitis B vaccine at birth versus a delayed dose, which is framed by RFK Jr. as “gold standard science.” They break down what decades of evidence say about Hep B transmission and why the birth dose matters, then dig into the ethical red flags of testing delay...

We’re excited to share a special bonus episode today. Jamie and Melissa recently joined host James Hodgson on  Humanism Now , a podcast that explores how compassion, curiosity, equality, and freedom can help us build a fairer and more humane world. The show showcases the values and applications of a Humanist worldview. It's not anti-religion — it’s pro-human — and each week James speaks with...

As Season One of Nursing the Nation wraps up, Jamie and Melissa Anne sit down for a lighter, reflective conversation about the surprises, challenges, and insights that shaped their first year behind the mic. From discovering that both the Senate and House have nursing caucuses (who knew?) to unexpected twists in health policy history, the season taught them just as much as it informed listeners. T...

Our last Shout Out this season is to the esteemed nurse Ann Burgess. Ann Burgess is a doctorally prepared nurse scientist that is internationally recognized for her pioneering work in forensic science. Even if you have not heard her by name, you are likely to have known of her work. Did you watch the Netflix series Mindhunter ? She is depicted as Dr. Wendy Carr (and we explain why). Dr. Burgess al...

In the final installment of our MOCHA REDUX series, Jamie and Melissa Anne break down one of the most contentious sections of the MAHA report: gender-affirming care. This episode explores how the Trump administration and MAHA frame gender-affirming care as “child chemical and surgical mutilation”. This is a phrase echoed in a 2025 CMS press release that warned hospitals about “irreversible” interv...

In this episode, Jamie and Melissa Anne revisit MAHA's claim that American children are dangerously overmedicalized. While acknowledging real problems like antibiotic overuse and chronic illness, we argue that the MAHA report manipulates data and misses the bigger picture. We debunk misleading claims about ear tube surgeries, ADHD treatment, and psychiatric medication use in children and adolescen...

Today's Soapbox, Jamie talks about one of the most misunderstood issues in public health: vaccine exemptions. With vaccination rates slipping below herd-immunity thresholds in several states, and outbreaks making a comeback, we break down what religious, medical, and philosophical exemptions actually mean, and why the “religious objection” argument doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. Despite rising cl...

In this episode, we revisit the MOCHA report and unpack major updates in the U.S. vaccine landscape. Since July, ACIP has begun implementing MAHA’s “risk-benefit recalibration” of the childhood vaccine schedule, while a growing national lawsuit argues the administration is violating federal public-health mandates. Several states warn these changes could destabilize school-entry vaccine laws and ac...

On September 9, 2025, the MAHA commission released their strategic plan as the expected follow up for their initial report Make Our Children Healthy Again back in May of this year. Today, Jamie reminds us that much like the MOCHA report, the MAHA strategy is full of plans that contradict each other when examined under a nursing lens. Whether you want to review the topic with our experienced nurse...

On September 9, 2025 the MAHA commission released their strategic plan as the expected follow up for their initial report Make Our Children Healthy Again back in May of this year. Jamie provides a short intro of this episode's topic in light of the strategic plan and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Jamie and Melissa Anne are working on the nursing analysis of this strategic plan and will have an e...

On September 9, 2025 the MAHA commission released their strategic plan as the expected follow up for their initial report Make Our Children Healthy Again back in May of this year. Jamie and Melissa Anne are working on the nursing analysis of this strategic plan and will have an episode covering this in the near future.  In the meantime, we thought it would be a great opportunity for us to rev...

In this episode, Jamie and Melissa Anne speak with nurse scholar Dr. Donna Perry about the war in Gaza, the resulting famine, and why we must view war as a public health crisis. Dr. Perry shares her peace work with Israelis and Palestinians, reframes the conflict through human dignity, and offers ways everyone can advocate for nonviolence and solidarity. For more information and resources, check o...

In this episode, Jamie and Melissa Anne look beyond the Tylenol–autism headlines to explore how autism is framed in society, from “cure” narratives to the neurodiversity movement. They unpack RFK Jr.’s rhetoric, the history of medical misogyny, and why autistic voices and women’s autonomy must be at the center of the conversation. For more information, please visit Nursingthenation.substack.com

RFK Jr. loves to tout “gold standard science,” but his definition twists real research into dangerous rhetoric. From Jonas Salk’s polio trial to today’s vaccines, true gold-standard studies have already saved millions of lives. Now, political power is being used to dismantle that legacy. It’s up to us to push back. Head over to nursingthenation.substack.com for more info, resources, and more.

In this episode of Nursing the Nation , Jamie and Melissa Anne break down the recent claims about Tylenol use in pregnancy and autism. They explore the history of acetaminophen, the evolution of autism research, and why the difference between correlation and causation matters. The hosts unpack how misleading headlines spread misinformation, highlight the strongest science we have to date, and shar...

This week, we’re spotlighting a nurse who lived out the ANA Nursing Code of Ethics in the most courageous way possible. Carla LeBlanc, a former nurse at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, was fired after speaking publicly about unsafe staffing and its devastating impact on patients—including preventable deaths. Read more at Nursingthenation.substack.com.

The FDA is considering a black box warning on antidepressant use in pregnancy, sparking fierce debate across women’s health and psychiatry. Jamie and Melissa unpack what a black box warning means, the science behind SSRIs in pregnancy, and the dangers of untreated perinatal mental illness, including suicide, the leading cause of postpartum death. With personal reflections, nursing perspectives, an...

Gun violence is now the leading cause of death for children and teens in the U.S. In this episode, Jamie and Melissa Anne examine the devastating impact of shootings on families and communities, share the data behind this uniquely American crisis, and outline common-sense reforms that can save lives. Visit our Nursingthenation.substack.com for more info and resources.