The Gritty Nurse

Content note: this episode discusses workplace violence, suicidal ideation and psychological harm in a clinical/workplace setting. This week, almost seven years to the day since I walked out of a role where I once hid under my desk to escape a leader who ran her unit on fear, that same leader was walked out of hers. This isn't a celebration episode. I don't take pleasure in anyone losing their inc...

With a growing mental health crisis and a system bogged down by waitlists and rigid silos, a powerful paradigm shift is happening across Canada: the rise of nurse-led psychotherapy. In this educational episode, we sit down with Sheena Howard (BScN, MA, RYT, RN) , award-winning Nurse Psychotherapist and the founder of Acceptance Psychotherapy. We dive deep into why Registered Nurses are uniquely po...

How do we move from a healthcare system that only reacts to illness, to one that actively empowers patients? In this episode of The Gritty Nurse Podcast , host Amie Archibald-Varley sits down with Mike Serbinis, the visionary CEO and founder of League , a leading digital health platform transforming the consumer healthcare experience. A seasoned tech innovator and entrepreneur, Mike has a storied...

What happens when a nurse picks up a pen and refuses to stay quiet? She becomes Tilda Shalof — ICU nurse, bestselling author, patient advocate, and one of Canada's most powerful voices for the nursing profession. In this episode of The Gritty Nurse Podcast, host Amie Archibald-Varley sits down with Tilda Shalof, RN, BScN, CNCC(C), a veteran nurse from Toronto General Hospital's Medical-Surgical IC...

Do you actually know your rights as a nurse? What does it take to go from the operating room to the courtroom — and why should every nurse care?   In this episode of The Gritty Nurse Podcast, host Amie Archibald-Varley sits down with the remarkable Dr. Cambria Nwosu, RN — a nurse whose career has taken her from high-stakes surgical suites to the frontlines of legal nursing consulting and healthcar...

Women's health needs a ton of work, and it is a hill we are willing to die on. In this powerful episode of The Gritty Nurse Podcast , host Amie Archibald-Varley sits down with Tina Bitangcol—widely known as Mama Nurse Tina—for an urgent, unfiltered conversation about the realities of women's healthcare, maternal mortality, and systemic disparities. From navigating birth trauma and postpartum compl...

In this urgent episode, host Amie Archibald-Varley sits down with Dr. Michelle Acorn , CEO of the Nurse Practitioners' Association of Ontario (NPAO) , to rip the band-aid off a system that refuses to evolve. Dr. Acorn pulls no punches: Nurse Practitioners are trained, capable, and ready — and they're being held back by outdated policy, inadequate funding, and a government content to watch the prim...

What does Florence Nightingale have to do with authoritarianism? More than nursing wants to admit. In this episode of The Gritty Nurse Podcast, host Amie Archibald-Varley and guest Meg  Lambrych, RN tackles one of nursing's most uncomfortable questions: why can't nurses criticize Florence Nightingale? She is nursing's most sacred icon — but what if the "good nurse" myth she built has been grooming...

The healthcare system is flatlining, and it's time for a professional resuscitation. This Nursing Week, join Dr. Danielle McCamey and Gloria E. Barrera for a heavy-hitting breakdown of the HESS framework—Humanity, Ethics, Social Justice, and Science—as the ultimate toolkit for systemic reform. From the grassroots power of Nurses Shift Change to the national Report for Duty call to action, we explo...

This Gritty Nurse episode is my special kick-off to the National Nursing Week 2026, celebrated May 6–12 in the United States  and celebrated May 11-16 in Canada. Nursing week dedicated to honoring the nurses who show up for us at every stage of life. What does it really mean to care for someone — and why has the profession built around that act been so misunderstood for so long? To open the week,...

In this episode on The Gritty Nurse, host Amie Archibald-Varley sits down with Dr. William Berk as he shares his transformative journey from a traditional emergency medicine career to exploring the depths of mental health and emotional well-being. After graduating from Brown University and completing his residency at Mount Sinai, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Berk faced the overwhelming challe...

"Normal is a setting on your dryer—not a standard for your health." In this episode of The Gritty Nurse , we're joined by Shirley Weir , the "Vagina Health Evangelist" and founder of Menopause Chicks . Shirley didn't just start a community of 50,000+ women; she started a revolution against the "Mokita"—the things we all know but refuse to discuss. As nurses, we see patients every day who dismiss t...

Nursing is not a destination; it is a foundation. For too long, we have been told that leaving the bedside is 'leaving nursing,' but the truth is the exact opposite. By stepping into nontraditional roles—in tech, policy, research, and entrepreneurship—we aren't abandoning our profession; we are expanding its power. The future of healthcare depends on nurses who are brave enough to redefine where t...

Nursing and the arts are both built on the raw, unspoken language of the human soul; one heals the body through rhythm and care, the other heals the spirit through melody and expression—but both require a radical empathy that can only be sustained when we protect our own light, because you cannot pour from an empty vessel when you've given the very best of yourself away to your work In this powerh...

In a profession often defined by rigid standards of appearance, Jesse Barmby is rewriting the rules. A Registered Nurse with 15 years of experience, Jesse—widely known as the "Tattooed Nurse" —joins the conversation on the Gritty Nurse Podcast with Host Amie Archibald-Varley, to pull back the curtain on what it really means to be a professional in modern healthcare. Beyond the Ink: Redefining Prof...

What happens when an ER nurse pivots to Labor & Delivery and accidentally becomes the internet's most trusted voice in birth advocacy? In this episode, we're joined by the incredible Jen Hamilton to dive deep into her journey from the bedside to the bestseller list (I am sure it will be)! We're breaking down: The "Birth Vibes" Movement: Jen shares the heart behind her new book, Birth Vibes , a pra...

Does every child in Canada truly have a right to an education? In this powerful episode on The Gritty Nurse with Host Amie Archibald-Varley, she sits down with  Matthew Flagler and Richard Hackett to discuss the systemic failures within Canada's healthcare and education systems. Spurred by the personal struggle to get adequate support for children with learning disabilities, Richard and Matthew ar...

In this episode of The Gritty Nurse Podcast with host Amie Archibald-Varley, she interviews fellow nurse, Danielle Gibbs Koenitzer. Danielle recounts her experience presenting to the Emergency Department at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital—the very institution where she served as a nurse. Despite her clinical background as an emergency room nurse and professional ties to the facility, Danielle's...

Can an algorithm truly care for a patient? As we move further into 2026, the healthcare industry is being flooded with AI tools promising to automate everything from charting to triage. But there's a massive problem: most of these tools are being built by engineers who have never spent a 12-hour shift on a med-surg floor. In this high-stakes conversation, Rebecca Love, RN , joins us to explain why...

A Historic Seat at the Table... In this landmark episode of the Gritty Nurse Podcast , we sit down with a true trailblazer: The Honorable Marjorie Michel , Canada's first Black Minister of Health. The Canadian healthcare system is at a critical crossroads, and Minister Mitchell is leading the charge toward a more modern, equitable, and efficient future. We dive deep into the "gritty" realities of...

In this episode of the Gritty Nurse podcast with Amie Archibald-Varley, Dr. Katie Boston-Leary shares her journey from an accidental entry into nursing to becoming the Senior VP of Equity and Engagement at the American Nurses Association. She discusses the importance of equity in nursing, overcoming imposter syndrome, and the systemic barriers that exist within the profession. Dr. Boston-Leary als...

What happens when high-stakes clinical expertise meets a heart for patient advocacy? Join us as we sit down with Jessi Dressler , a veteran registered OB-GYN sonographer and the founder of New Life Imaging Ultrasound . After years of navigating the high-pressure environment of emergency rooms and hospitals, Jessie recognized a glaring gap in the healthcare system: the need for emotional support an...

Are we diagnosing allergies all wrong? Join pediatric allergist and clinical immunologist Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman as we debunk common myths in allergy management. We dive deep into why patient history matters more than testing, the danger of using Benadryl, and the life-changing impact of early food introduction. Dr. Abdurrahman also discusses the "diversity gap" in Canadian healthcare, explaining...

How long is too long to wait in an emergency room? For 16-year-old Finlay van der Werken, an eight-hour wait for a doctor proved fatal. In this powerful episode of The Gritty Nurse Podcast , host Amie Archibald-Varley sits down with Hazel van der Werken to share the heartbreaking story of her son, Finlay. After being rushed to an Ontario hospital with what began as a migraine, Finlay was triaged a...

In this critical episode of The Gritty Nurse Podcast , Amie Archibald-Varley hosts Kara Yates, RN (WSNA Union Co-Chair) and Therese Hill, BSN, RN (Membership Officer) to discuss a historic turning point for nursing in Washington. This conversation goes beyond the headlines, exploring the dire conditions that led nurses to the negotiation table.  We expose how stalled contract negotiations have end...