The Self Care Unit

For this week’s Ask a Nurse, Shannon and Carley are on the pod to talk about the twists and turns of their nursing careers. We drill down on the feeling of being in a different place than expected upon graduating from nursing school. We also talk about how to best weather those bumps in the road. Our journeys may not always look like what we thought they would, and it’s important to talk about!

CW ://: Discussions of mental health that may be sensitive to listeners. Melanie Van Sistine, of Mel’s Crafty Corner fame, joins us this week for Mental Health Matters! An incredible delight of a human being, Mel courageously opens up with us about the challenges she's faced, including physical injury, feelings of failure/negativity, guilt, and bullying. In the end, she speaks to why creating for...

This week, Sarah and Carley talk to fellow nurse Heather Murray about her work to get more organizational support for nurses mental health, specifically presumptive coverage for traumatic psychological injuries . Simply, this would presume that diagnosed trauma happened because of an experience at work, removing onerous barriers and putting nurses and healthcare workers in a similar system as othe...

On this week's episode, we have Jennifer Garcia with us! She is a nurse who is passionate about all things mental health, is the host of the RawTea Podcast, and will be our opening musical act at this year’s nurses week concert! If you can't tell from all that, Jen is incredibly fun and a great conversation! She talks with us about managing anxiety as a nurse, finding balance in life through creat...

This week, we were joined by Micheline Fraser, AKA @the.healthynurse, whose work is all about nursing burnout prevention! We talked with her about her own burnout story, the factors and problems that lead to it in our industry, and what we can all do to take care of ourselves. Micheline is a truly incredible advocate and someone who cares deeply about her fellow nurses and healthcare workers, so w...

This week on the Self Care Unit–we LET. IT. OUT. Carley and Sarah take some time to vent, decompress, share what's happening in hospitals, and discuss solutions to the pressures and burdens nurses face. They also talk about their nurse specialties, the work of fellow nurses to improve emotional intelligence, and the many paths available for nurses who want to make a change.

This week, we learn about ASMR by speaking with Inna, the Sleep Asmrtist! She shares how she got started as an ASMR creator, the thinking behind the phenomenon, how she built her community of listeners, and what they find in her content. Tune in and find out why you should give it a try!  To experience Inna’s ASMR, check out @sleep_asmrtist on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube!

Happy Valentine’s Day! This week, we discuss romance and finding a partner as a nurse! From listener-shared meet-cutes, to what makes relationships work, to nurses dating fellow nurses, we aim to help you find love in this wild world!

This week, we were joined by Tauqilla Manning, the founder of Black Nurses Week. Their mission is to empower and impact the lives of Black nurses by building a thriving community to celebrate Black nursing excellence. In this remarkable conversation, Tauqilla shares the founding story, the meaning of her work, and the challenges black nurses face.  For more on the work Tauqilla is doing, please fo...

CW: Eating Disorders/Disordered Eating For this week’s Mental Health Matters, Carley and Sarah spoke with NYT Bestselling writer Christie O. Tate. Christie is well known for her profound and moving words, as well as a "startling" hopefulness and honesty. We were so fortunate to experience that on the pod, as she talked with us about shame and confidence, isolation and relationships, our self-image...

For this week's Mental Health Matters, we were thrilled to be joined by Darnell Walker! Darnell is a writer, filmmaker, teacher, and a healer. He is also well known for his work as a Death Doula, which is one of the big focuses of this incredible conversation. Darnell talks with us about his mental health journey, his work, end-of-life care, grief, mentors, and so much more. We end up with one of...

On this week episode of the Self Care Unit, Carley and Sarah spoke with Britt Frank. Britt is a clinician, educator, trauma specialist, and the author of The Science of Stuck: Breaking Through Inertia to Find Your Path Forward. We had a fascinating and revelatory conversation, as she talked us through what it means to be stuck and shared her process to find a way out! If you want to learn more abo...

The Self Care Unit rings in 2024 with an episode about financial stability for nurses! To that end, April Waddell joined us as our expert! She is the founder of NurseMoneyDate, a retired pediatric nurse, and a financial coach exclusively for the nursing profession. We discussed the basics of finances, her specific strategies for nurses, how to manage the fears and stresses that can arise, and more...

Happy Holidays from the Self Care Unit! This week our episode is all about holidays in the hospital. When you’re working the holiday shifts, how can you make the most of it for you and your coworkers? Our lovely hosts give their takes on potlucks, fun traditions, gifts, and other classic holiday favorites. We end with affirmations for any nurse struggling during this holiday season. From everyone...

This week, we tackled Hospital Jargon! Is jargon helpful for clarity? What purpose does it serve? What problems can it cause? To find our answers and to have some fun, we had a quiz show! Carley and Sarah asked Joe to give his best guess for what bits of jargon meant and spoiler alert: he didn’t do very well! While we had fun roasting Joe, there are some good lessons here for nursing students on c...

On this week's episode of The Self Care Unit, Shannon, NICU nurse and founder of Operation Happy Nurse, sits down with Sarah and shares journal entries that she recently came across from her first three months as a nurse, her thoughts and fears about nurse burnout then vs. now, and the thought-provoking realizations they've given her nearly eight years later. If you'd like to share you own journal...

The Self Care Unit was thrilled to have Tiera Skovbye return for another Mental Health Matters episode! Besides being an incredible actress, Tiera is a passionate mental health advocate and a lovely human being. She sits down with Carley and Sarah for a vulnerable conversation about careers, family, seeking help, being prescribed antidepressants, and more! Make sure to follow Tiera @tskovbye1 on I...

This week on the Self Care Unit, we learn about Hypnosis by speaking with Emilie Leyes! Emilie is a Hypnosis Practitioner, Brain Training Specialist, and an incredible content creator whose work is all about building self worth and confidence and ultimately helping others work towards their biggest goals. We chat about the basics of hypnosis, how it creates real change in our lives, and what sets...

For this week’s Ask a Nurse, Carley and Sarah get into the specifics of a topic that many nurses cite as their go to for stress and burnout relief. Traveling and taking a vacation! To help us, we are joined by Sarah Gaines! Sarah is an accomplished travel nurse, mentor, and online educator. She talks with us about planning, scheduling, budgeting, and truly relaxing while traveling! We also chat ab...

It’s spooky season, so we have a very haunted episode of Ask a Nurse for you! We talk ghost stories, curses, the paranormal, and all things spooky in the hospital. What really happens on those late night shifts? Are some shifts cursed? Do healthcare workers really believe in ghosts? Let us know what scares you most! Happy Halloween from the Self Care Unit!

This week, for Mental Health Matters, we were joined by Case Kenny @case.kenny, the author behind The New Mindset Journal and That’s Bold of You , as well as the producer of New Mindset, Who Dis podcast. We talked with Case about his approach to his life and his work, and we discussed the power of sharing our feelings to be kinder to ourselves. Case's work resonates with countless people for good...

CW: Eating Disorders/Disordered Eating For this week's Mental Health Matters episode, we are joined by Gracie Collis! Gracie is an athlete and a fitness and fashion influencer with amazing content found on TikTok and Instagram. She has an absolutely infectious energy, and it was such a delight to talk with her about the intersection of fitness and mental health, how to find motivation and confiden...

This week, on the Self Care Unit, we learned more about Autism (ASD) by speaking with Daniel Jones of @theaspieworld! Dan is a content creator, keynote speaker, social advocate, and the author of Autism for Adults: An Approachable Guide to Living Excellently on the Spectrum . We discuss how he has navigated life with ASD, his work, the history behind ASD, and how we can better care for our patient...

This week on the Self Care Unit, our topic is ADHD, and our guest is Brooke Schnittman. Brooke is an expert in the field of ADHD management and support and the founder of Coaching With Brooke. She has dedicated her career to helping thousands of individuals with ADHD who are meeting with chaos, frustration, and shame by providing them the tools and accountability to focus their attention and thriv...

On this week's important episode of Ask a Nurse, we talk about workplace violence. WPV is directly related to decreasing job satisfaction, burnout, humiliation, guilt, emotional stress, intention to quit a job, and increased staff turnover. Carley and Sarah answer questions about the factors that lead to it, discuss the reasons it goes unreported, and tell their own stories of facing it in their c...