The Conversing Nurse podcast

Send us Fan Mail Karen Zulkowski is the GOAT of wound care nursing. Her professional journey began with earning a BSN in 1972 and culminated with a Doctorate in Nursing Science. Throughout her career, she has held various roles, including business owner, associate nursing professor, and wound course instructor. Karen has also served on the National Pressure Injury Advisory Board and the World Coun...

Send us Fan Mail The current state of healthcare, especially under the strain of a pandemic, has put immense pressure on those in the field. Nurses are burning out in record numbers and leaving a profession they used to love. My guest this week, emergency room nurse and author, Jennifer Johnson , is on a mission to bring back the love and it all starts with intuition. Jenn is known as the Intuitiv...

Send us Fan Mail Ebony Thyme does not let grass grow under her feet. Whether traveling for her job as a locum tenen family nurse practitioner or for leisure as a travel host , adventure is her game. As a teenager, Ebony was happily working at a Wendy's drive-thru, but her father urged her to aim higher. Perhaps it was her youthful spirit that made her laugh in the face of challenges or maybe...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is a compilation of your responses to my Instagram post asking "Why are Nurses the Most Trusted Profession?"  Thank you for your responses and for being the most trusted profession for 22 years and counting! Thank you to: @coachsheena.johnson @yourrnjourney @honestlyleslie @potassium_iv_push_rn @nursestradeoff Contact The Conversing Nurse podcast Instagram:...

Send us Fan Mail I want you to think outside the box for a moment. What if there was a platform where nurses could connect with other nurses to network, share ideas, build friendships, and support each other with valuable resources? A place where nurses can buy and sell with fellow nurses nationwide, amplify their voices, and advocate for their profession? You might think I’m indulging in fantasy,...

Send us Fan Mail Today's episode is all about project management. I'm sure many of you have heard of this topic, but what exactly is it? My guest today, Kevin Pannell, breaks it down for us. Kevin is a project management professional in addition to having over 25 years of experience in leadership roles, critical care, incident command, military service, homeland security, and information...

Send us Fan Mail Are you an experienced emergency, acute, or critical care nurse who needs a refresher on some of nursing’s most complex conditions? Then you need Annie Fulton in your life. Annie hosts the popular educational podcast, Up My Nursing Game. Through it, she helps nurses level up their learning because, spoiler alert, learning doesn’t end when you graduate from nursing school. She coll...

Send us Fan Mail Wow, can you believe it's my 100th episode already? Before I dive into the details of this episode, I want to express my gratitude to you, the listeners! You listen from around the world, from Germany, the UK, the Philippines, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and many more, and of course to the many of you in the United States. Thank you for listening, sharing my work,...

Send us Fan Mail According to Coachfoundation.com, passion is one of the most important qualities of a good coach. Enter Dr. Ricky Fernandez, a doctor of physical therapy and a burnout coach and I was eager to talk with him for those reasons. We talked about all the things he does as a physical therapist: his schedule (which is kind of sweet), what his patients need, and the importance of collabor...

Send us Fan Mail As a student nurse or a new RN, Dave Dovell is someone you should know. Dave is a registered nurse working on a Progressive Care Unit, with a diverse work history that includes being an executive chef, an educator, working in the 911 system and the emergency room. And his story of why he became a nurse? Let’s just say it will put you in an, “I’m not crying, you're crying” sit...

Send us Fan Mail When I hear the words “flight paramedic” I immediately think of aviator glasses, compact spaces, aircraft propellers, jumpsuits, highly trained professionals, and a general sense of badassery. Enter Samantha Brawley. As a flight paramedic, she cares for the sickest of the sick, and the occasional walking, talking patient, who may just be her favorite, wink, wink. We discussed the...

Send us Fan Mail I recently came across Dora Loun's LinkedIn profile, and her bio as a stem cell transplant nurse piqued my interest. However, when I had a conversation with her, I realized that what I thought she did and what she actually does are vastly different. Dora's experience in critical care nursing provided her with the perfect foundation for caring for some of the most severel...

Send us Fan Mail 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 leader...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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 se...

Send us Fan Mail 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. Throu...

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 s...

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...

Send us Fan Mail When I heard Gaby Morales speak about adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, on the Nine One One Nonsense podcast, I knew I had to bring their message to you. Gaby explained that ACEs are adverse childhood experiences such as physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, as well as other forms of household dysfunction like mental illness or substance use problems, and living with a viol...

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 insti...

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...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

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 abo...

Send us Fan Mail It was great reconnecting this week with my old friend and colleague, Rochelle Caldwell. Now let me rephrase that: we are not old, our friendship has just happened to span 43 years.  Rochelle is a labor and delivery nurse and an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and since that’s a mouthful, let’s just say an IBCLC. She was inspired to pursue this career path by...

Send us Fan Mail This week, I had an informative conversation with the Founder and CEO of the CRNA School Prep Academy, Jenny Finnell. Like a great nurse entrepreneur, Jenny identified a need: CRNA candidates were struggling to get into these highly competitive schools. So she created the Academy, a place where potential students can find resources on how to land the all-important interview, how t...