The Conversing Nurse podcast
Are you a nurse curious about the experiences of other nurses? For 36 years, I have only known the Peds/NICU realm but I am intrigued by the roles of nurse researchers, educators, and entrepreneurs. Through conversations with nurses from various specialties, I aim to bring you valuable insights into their lives. At the end of each episode we play the five-minute snippet, just five minutes of fun as we peek into the 'off-duty' lives of my guests! Listen as we explore the nursing profession, one conversation at a time.
Episodes
There are people in the hospital who walk into the room when everything is falling apart.
Not to fix it or rush through, but simply to be there.
Today’s guest, Mark Wilson, lives in that space—right in the emergency room, where life can change in a single moment. Where nurses are moving fast, families are trying to make sense of the unthinkable, and patients are meeting some of the hardest moments of their...
I don't know when side hustles became a thing but they are officially a thing. Instead of picking up extra shifts, nurses are picking up side hustles.
Enter Josh Condado, a certified registered nurse anesthesiologist who co-owns a real estate investing company with his sister Jenn and brother-in-law Colin, also, you guessed it, nurses. Now, the current annual salary for a CRNA can be upwards of $250,000. Why do ...
There’s a certain kind of pain a lot of people learn to live with.
It starts as something small—a twinge, a tightness, a bad shift at work. And then, slowly, it becomes part of your normal. You stretch it out, push through it, tell yourself it’s just part of the job… part of getting older… part of life.
And if you work in healthcare, you probably know this story all too well.
You spend y...
Meet Gwen Sledge, a retired nurse and Certified Enneagram Coach. Gwen has a deep understanding of the Enneagram and is passionate about using her healthcare experience to help nurses understand how their personality, communication style, and behavior affect their relationships.
Not sure what the Enneagram is? I wasn’t either but I learned it’s a personality typing tool that categorizes individua...
You’re going to love this one.
Today I’m talking with Seth Radnothy, a fellow nurse whose path into healthcare is anything but typical. Before he ever stepped into a hospital, he was serving as a Reconnaissance Marine—and if that doesn’t tell you something about his ability to stay calm under pressure, just wait.
Seth’s worked as a paramedic and in both emergency and perioperative nursing...
Jennifer is an engaging person with a varied nursing background spanning almost two decades. From L&D, critical care, flight nursing, and now in a Director role, she tells us how her experiences made her a better flight nurse. I especially love our 'Five Minute Snippet' at the end where we get to see Jennifer on a more personal level. Lots of laughs were enjoyed! For Jennifer's book recs, visit: http...
Today’s guest is someone who beautifully bridges two worlds—science and story, medicine and meaning.
Amanda Skenandore is an award-winning author of historical fiction whose novels have been translated into multiple languages and recognized by organizations like the American Library Association, Reader’s Digest, Silicon Valley Reads, and Apple Books. In 2024, she was honored with the Nevada Arts Cou...
Philip Layog is known as the "Work From Home RN" on Instagram, where he helps fellow nurses transition from hospital roles to remote positions. But first, he had to help himself.
Philip started his nursing career in Med-Surg, moved to CVICU, then PACU, but once he started his family, he decided to explore remote nursing opportunities. With a decade of experience, he eventually landed his first remote job.
...
**Hey, before we jump into today's episode, I want to give you a quick heads-up. This conversation includes a personal story about an attempted suicide and some mental health struggles.
If that's something that feels heavy or triggering for you right now, it's completely ok to skip this episode or come back to it another time. Take care of yourself first.
If you're listening and finding that this brings anything up fo...
My guest this week, Irnise Williams, has been a nurse for 16 years. Starting with her eye on medical school, she opted for nursing school, fell in love, and never looked back. Because if you’re looking back, you can’t look forward, and forward was the direction Irnise wanted to go.She could have advanced her degree by becoming a Nurse practitioner or a CRNA, two popular paths over a decade ago. Ins...
Today’s episode is Nicole Cromwell 2.0—and trust me, a lot has happened in the last three years.
What started as a creative outlet has grown into something much bigger. In fact, Nicole’s life as an artist might just be giving her full-time nursing career a run for its money.
Since we last talked in episode 46, she hasn’t just been creating beautiful art—she’s been building pat...
If you're my age and can remember over 50 years ago, you might recall those lazy Saturday mornings spent watching Schoolhouse Rock. There was a clever cartoon skit called, “I’m Just A Bill” where we’d learn how a bill becomes law. This three-minute video was responsible for teaching an entire generation of kids about Civics.
Enter Gilanie De Castro, also known as Citizen Nurse on social me...
Today, we’re talking about something that most nurses have felt — but few organizations are willing to name honestly.
Burnout.
But what if burnout isn’t about resilience?
What if it isn’t about self-care?
What if it’s actually an ethical issue?
My guest today is Aimee Ellis, nurse executive and author of Flatline Ethics. Aimee argues that when nurses are chronically overwhelmed, mora...
I've often said on this podcast that many nurses choose this profession for reasons that aren't noble or lofty. Alisha Sandidge-Renteria changed that for me. As a teenager, she witnessed the economic disparity in healthcare after seeing her mother, who was fighting cancer, be forced to choose a cheaper, experimental, and less effective regimen which ultimately ended her life. Since then, Alisha has embodied th...
If nursing is consistently ranked as the most trusted profession in America…
Why do so many nurses feel unheard inside their own workplaces?
That question has been on my mind.
On this podcast:
We talk about burnout.
We talk about staffing.
We talk about leadership.
But underneath all of it is something deeper — culture.
And culture is hard to change.
Not because nurses don’t c...
Enjoy this short! Sit back and laugh with me and my girl, Jessica, as we have a bit of fun in the closet!
Jessica's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dream.2.b.free/
ICYMI: Conversing with a Flight Nurse: Jennifer Caposella: https://www.buzzsprout.com/Conversing with a Flight Nurse: Jennifer Caposella
Contact The Conversing Nurse podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconversingn...
Heather Vails, MSN Ed. RNC-NIC, is definitely in my badass nurse category. She has lived with the rare genetic disorder Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, or EDS, for decades. She has not only lived, she’s thrived. After a long career as a NICU nurse, she recently left the bedside, a place she loved dearly to venture into teaching our new generation of nurses as a Professor of Pediatrics. Listen as she educates us about ...
Today’s guest has one of those careers that doesn’t follow a straight line—and that’s exactly what makes it powerful.
Julie Smith’s professional path looks a bit like a zig-zag, but every turn adds depth. She began in communications, pivoted into emergency nursing, focused on safety net populations and disaster relief, moved into education, and now serves as a clinical product leader at ...
I really enjoyed talking with Kirby Williams, a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. She gave us the deets on where a PMHNP can work, the training required, the subspecialties, as well as the heaviness of the job, and how she cares for her own mental health. Her students are lucky to have her as a mentor and her patients, as their provider. In the 5-minute snippet, I absolutely love her advice for bab...
This week, my guest is Tracy Hicks, a doctorally-prepared and dual-certified family and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. She also holds an MBA, which is particularly useful in her role as a CEO.
Tracy is the founder of C-Trilogy Comprehensive Clinical Care and C-Trilogy Outreach, a certified community behavioral health clinic that provides mental health services, substance use support, primary care, and ...
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Hey Jonas! The official Jonas Brothers podcast. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas. It’s the Jonas Brothers you know... musicians, actors, and well, yes, brothers. Now, they’re sharing another side of themselves in the playful, intimate, and irreverent way only they can. Spend time with the Jonas Brothers here and stay a little bit longer for deep conversations like never before.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
Building on the belief that a deeper understanding of the natural world enriches all of our lives, host Steven Rinella brings an in-depth and relevant look at all outdoor topics including hunting, fishing, nature, conservation, and wild foods. Filled with humor, irreverence, and things that will surprise the hell out of you, each episode welcomes a diverse group of guests who add their own expertise to the vast world of the outdoors. Part of The MeatEater Podcast Network.
Where the world and America meet, with episodes each weekday. The world is changing. Decisions made in the US and by the second Trump administration are accelerating that change. But they are also a symptom of it. With Asma Khalid in DC, Tristan Redman in London, and the backing of the BBC’s international newsroom, The Global Story brings clarity to politics, business and foreign policy in a time of connection and disruption. Come and join us our live event. You can register for Castfest tickets here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/castfest-2026