Banter At The Bedside

Send us Fan Mail Healthcare runs on caffeine....or at least, sometimes it feels that way. In this episode of Banter at the Bedside , we're back with another Reel vs. Real , reacting to social media's take on healthcare workers and our complicated relationship with coffee, energy drinks, Diet Coke, and anything else promising to get us through a 12-hour shift. But beneath the jokes is a b...

Send us Fan Mail Coffee. Cold brew. Diet Coke. Energy drinks. And, occasionally…water. How much caffeine does it actually take to get a healthcare worker through a 12-hour shift? For the first time ever, Banter at the Bedside is recording fully in person! Abby, Kaleigh, and Amanda are putting their caffeine habits on the table (literally) and taste-testing the drinks that get each of them through...

Send us Fan Mail Why are healthcare workers so tired — even when we “only work three days a week”? This week on Banter at the Bedside , Abby and Kaleigh are talking about the kind of exhaustion that doesn’t disappear after one good night of sleep. It’s the 12-hour shifts that are really 13+ hours. The constant alarms, questions, interruptions, and decisions. The charting. The physical wear and tea...

Send us Fan Mail Are expensive scrubs really worth it? Are joggers actually professional? Why did nurses used to wear white dresses, and why has healthcare fashion changed so much? In this hilarious episode of Banter at the Bedside , Abby, Kaleigh, Amanda, Ava, and Ashley react to viral healthcare Reels about scrubs, uniforms, hospital fashion, and healthcare stereotypes. From the evolution of nur...

Send us Fan Mail Should hospitals really ban messy buns? Are Figs worth the hype? Do tattoos, piercings, and colorful hair actually affect patient care? This week on Banter at the Bedside , Abby, Kaleigh, and returning guest Kyle (critical care pharmacist) dive into one of healthcare's most unexpectedly controversial topics: what we wear to work. From scrub fashion trends and color-coded unif...

Send us Fan Mail Why do so many healthcare workers earn good salaries but still feel financially behind? In this episode of Banter at the Bedside , Abby and Kaleigh are joined by returning guest Michael, an experienced critical care nurse practitioner, along with Certified Financial Planner Nick to break down personal finance specifically for nurses. From student loans and retirement planning to 4...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you put more than 130 years of nursing experience around one table? In this special episode of Banter at the Bedside , Abby is joined by her Nana, who has over 70 years connected to the nursing profession, and her Aunt Jennifer, a pediatric nurse turned healthcare attorney and risk manager. Together with Kaleigh, they explore how nursing has evolved across three...

Send us Fan Mail Why does it sometimes take hours—or even days—to get a hospital bed? In this episode of Banter at the Bedside , we pull back the curtain on one of the biggest challenges facing modern healthcare: there simply isn't enough room. From ICU beds and emergency department boarding to staffing shortages, difficult discharge decisions, and rural healthcare challenges, we discuss what...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when three seasoned ICU nurses and a Nurse Practitioner sit down to react to healthcare TikToks, viral nurse songs, and the realities behind social media healthcare content? In this episode of Banter at the Bedside , Abby and Kaleigh are joined by Amanda, and returning fan-favorite Ava for another installment of Real vs. Real . Together, they break down healthcare-the...

Send us Fan Mail Septic shock treatment has evolved dramatically, but why do we give fluids, start vasopressors, and use steroids? In Part 2 of our septic shock series, Dr. Michael joins Banter at the Bedside to break down the physiology behind modern sepsis care. Rather than memorizing guidelines, we explore the "why" behind them. From cytokines and nitric oxide to vascular leak, venous...

Send us Fan Mail Sepsis remains one of the most common and deadly conditions healthcare providers encounter, but do how much of the evidence do you know? In Part 1 of our sepsis series, critical care physician Dr. Michael joins Abby and Kaleigh to break down the history of sepsis management, the rise of Early Goal Directed Therapy, and how decades of research have shaped modern septic shock treatm...

Send us Fan Mail Some patients never leave you. Some coworkers, mentors, and moments quietly change the way you practice medicine forever. In this episode of Banter at the Bedside , the Shift Talkers share the stories that shaped them as healthcare workers — from unforgettable patients and life-changing preceptors to heartbreaking COVID moments, difficult lessons, and the small acts of kindness th...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever left a doctor’s appointment or hospital stay feeling unheard, brushed off, or dismissed? In this episode of Banter at the Bedside , Abby, Kaleigh, and Amanda have an honest conversation about what happens when patients, families, and even healthcare workers feel ignored or misunderstood. From being told “it’s just anxiety” to struggling to get answers for a loved one...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when caring for others starts to quietly wear you down? In this episode of Banter at the Bedside , the Shift Talkers sit down again with trauma and emergency medicine chaplain Linda Moore to talk about compassion fatigue in healthcare — what it is, how it differs from burnout, and why so many healthcare workers are feeling emotionally exhausted after years of repeated...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Banter at the Bedside , Abby, Kaleigh, and Amanda react to healthcare TikToks, nursing memes, and viral medical reels — and the conversation quickly turns into a deeper discussion about ICU culture, dark humor in healthcare, burnout, social media, patient care, and the moments that make nurses say, “wait… was that about me?”  From hilarious charge nurse assignme...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when healthcare stops waiting for patients to come to the clinic — and starts meeting them where they are? In this episode of Banter at the Bedside, Abby (NP) and Kaleigh (RN) sit down with Dr. Ivy Bagley, family nurse practitioner, psychiatric nurse practitioner, and lactation consultant, to talk about building a mobile healthcare practice serving rural North Carolin...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when healthcare workers are sick—but still come to work anyway? In this episode of Banter at the Bedside , Abby (NP), Kaleigh (RN), Cody (RN), and Dr. Jeff talk honestly about the past pressures to show up when you're sick, recovering, caring for a sick child, or simply exhausted. From working through COVID policies to navigating childcare challenges, staffing sh...

Send us Fan Mail Cardiogenic shock management doesn’t stop with recognizing preload, afterload, and contractility. The hardest decisions often come next: when to escalate care and when to activate advanced support. In Part 2 of this cardiogenic shock education series, Abby (NP) and Kaleigh (RN) continue their conversation with Dr. Michael to explore how clinicians decide when medical therapy isn’t...

Send us Fan Mail Cardiogenic shock remains a high-mortality emergency in critical care—but survival is improving as clinicians better understand shock physiology and adopt cardiogenic shock team models. In this episode of Banter at the Bedside , Abby and Kaleigh are joined by returning guest Dr. Michael for a practical bedside breakdown of cardiogenic shock recognition and management. Together the...

Send us Fan Mail In healthcare, when a code ends and time of death is called, the room usually moves on fast. But what if we didn’t? In this episode of Banter at the Bedside , we sit down with a hospital chaplain to talk about “The Pause” — a simple 45-second moment of silence after a patient dies that helps teams honor the patient, recognize the effort of the staff, and begin processing what just...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Banter at the Bedside , we dive into what it really means to be the “town healer” — the nurse, doctor, or healthcare worker everyone turns to for medical advice outside the hospital. From group chats and family texts to strangers at restaurants and TikTok DMs, we share real stories about the pressure of being “on” all the time, the awkward situations that come w...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Banter at the Bedside , Abby and Kaleigh kick off a new mini-series on patient advocacy — inspired by a listener question. As healthcare professionals who have also been patients themselves, they break down why so many people hesitate to speak up during medical visits and hospital stays. From feeling like you might be “difficult” to worrying that providers are t...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Banter at the Bedside , we dive into one of the most relatable topics in healthcare: relationships. Healthcare workers spend 12+ hours together in high-stress environments, forming friendships that can feel deeper than most relationships outside the hospital. But what happens when those trauma-bonded friendships struggle to exist outside of work? We talk about:...

Send us Fan Mail In this inaugural episode of 'Banter at the Bedside', hosts Abby, Kaitlyn, Kaleigh, and Hass introduce their podcast, emphasizing the importance of healthy disagreement in healthcare. They discuss their goals of fostering a community where diverse perspectives are welcomed and explored. The hosts share their backgrounds and the unique dynamics they bring to the conversat...

Send us Fan Mail In this laugh-out-loud episode, the Shift Talkers dive into one of the most universal yet unspoken parts of healthcare — poop (or as we call it, “Code Brown”). From code brown emergencies to unforgettable GI mishaps, the team shares hilarious, honest stories that every healthcare worker — and anyone who’s ever been human — can relate to. Between bowel regimens, bedside disasters,...