Radical Nurse Talk

How can we show up in our relational work with seriously ill patients, and for ourselves as nurses in the moments that are available to us? Grounded in professional and personal experience and yes, even the theoretical, Marie Cooper calls on each of us to stand up, use language and claim the relational work that makes what we do, nursing. Her passionate and articulate commitment to that effort will inspire nurses everywhere and hel...

It is well known that despite our best intentions preventable harm continues to happen to patients in healthcare systems. Further harm to patients, their families and to healthcare professionals, including nurses, can be made worse by the ways we then handle and/or talk about this unintentional harm. How can we talk about it in a way that doesn't incur further harm?

In this episode, Jo Wailling invites u...

What do we mean when we talk about a good death? How can we describe the meaningful communicative work that nurses can do with dying patients and their families?

In this episode, Patricia Strachan welcomes Dr. David Wright, a registered nurse, educator, and researcher. Dr. Wright is an Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa, and academic lead for Palliative Care and Nursing Ethics within its Centre for Research on Health a...

As a practicing Registered Nurse with extensive experience working in acute, critical, and community care settings, Janet Lovegrove has heard many caregivers' stories about feeling alone, overwhelmed, or invisible when providing care to people living with dementia or other progressive life-limiting illnesses. Sensing a real need that what most of them wanted was to be heard, to belong, and to be appreciated, Janet found creative wa...

Context is very important in healthcare. In this episode, we explore the context created at the intersection of geography, history, language, culture, and healthcare resources when Indigenous people in Canada’s far north require care for serious illness.

Our guest, Lianne Mantla-Look, is a Registered Nurse currently living and working in northern Canada. She has worked extensively in clinical roles both in hospital and community se...

Have you ever thought of communication as a vital sign for patients in the intensive care unit? In this episode, you will hear Kali Dayton, DNP AGACNP and critical care outcomes consultant, share her passion for using evidence that promotes what she terms "Awake and Walking ICUs." Communication is key to the ABCDEF bundle – a group of interventions associated with helping patients do better in the ICU and in their lives afterward....

Communicating with people living with advancing dementia and who require care can be challenging and frustrating for everyone. Despite our best intentions, dementia is a serious progressive life limiting illness that has major consequences for the person diagnosed with dementia, their families and family caregivers.

In this episode Mary Buck, an expert in fostering more effective communication practice in dementia, shares important...

Having a baby is supposed to be a very happy event, but when a baby is diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening condition in the perinatal period, families are faced with new realities and require special support and understanding. Jennifer Callen is a Nurse Practitioner with 20 years of experience in neonatal intensive care. She currently works with the Quality of Life and Advanced Care Program at McMaster Children’s Hospita...

Everyone needs access to an inclusive, equitable palliative approach to care. Palliative and end of life care is regarded in the western world as a necessary service to which everyone is entitled, and yet if we look closely, significant inequities exist in people living on the margins of societal norms, such as those who are homeless and without support who do not have equal access to such care.

In this episode of Radical Nurse Tal...

What do you think of when you hear the word “palliative”? In this final episode of season one of Radical Nurse Talk, Kath Murray discusses the importance of words in serious illness. Words such as "palliative" that we use – or avoid using - can invoke fear, "giving up" and also, hope, support and quality of life. Listen while Kath, an exemplary nurse, author, entrepreneur and international educator shares insights and reflections ...

In this episode, Matthieu Payette, Clinical Nurse Specialist at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton and Adjunct Lecturer/Clinical Instructor McMaster University School of Nursing, describes his experiences in various contexts in which people require help in a mental health crisis. He shares some possibilities for others who must respond to people in crisis and step into the moment to make a connection, build trust, maintain safety and...

Has a patient or family member ever asked you about medical assistance in dying (MAiD)? If someone did ask you, what would you say in this conversation? In this episode, I explore that situation with Jane Slemon, a director of care at a hospice in British Columbia. We discuss her work with individuals who are navigating the end of life and who sometimes want to talk with nurses about MAiD. We discuss those dynamics and how nurses ...

What does a trauma-and-violence informed approach mean for communicating in serious health situations? Dr. Susan Jack, a champion of and advocate for the training of health care professionals on trauma-and violence-informed approaches to care, shares the ways we can incorporate this into our communication praxis, and thereby promote health equity and avoid the re-traumatization of individuals with histories of trauma as they acces...

How can we talk with children about grief, about losses of any kind, dying and death?

Drawing from years of experience as a registered nurse and psychotherapist, Andrea Warnick inspires us to learn how best to communicate with grieving children and families. She has inspired, taught and counselled interprofessional audiences from around the world including her work with the Canadian Virtual Hospice.

To learn more about Andrea's wor...

How do nurses build relationships and talk with families when serious illness hits? In this inaugural episode, communication scholar and champion of nurses Elaine Wittenberg shines a light on the essential communication work nurses do with families in the face of serious illness. We explore what works and doesn’t – for nurses and families. She inspires and offers possibilities for making communication with families better understoo...