See You Now Podcast

Anna Sort, nurse, gamer and digital health entrepreneur, talks with host Shawna Butler about her groundbreaking work that leverages the fun, thrills and science of gamification to create behavioral change, improved health and innovative ways to learn new skills.

Gender equality. Economic development. Greater health outcomes. According to nurse, researcher and policy expert Barbara Stilwell, PhD, RN, FRCN and Executive Director of Nursing Now, a global campaign seeking to elevate the nursing profession, more nurses in leadership and policy roles can result in all those things and more. In this episode, Stilwell speaks with Shawna Butler about the need to raise awareness of the impact nurses have in transforming health systems, the groundbreaking work they have accomplished in devising solutions to patient care and health outcomes and the exciting potential of nurse leadership and innovation.

As an emergency nurse and palliative care liaison, Jonathan Bartels, RN, understands the toll that witnessing a death can have on healthcare worker resiliency. In this episode, Shawna Butler talks with Bartels on designing “The Pause,” a meaningful and effective practice that health systems are rapidly adopting to address the alarming rate of clinician burnout and mental stress.

Pioneer, MacArthur Fellow and Nurse Midwife Ruth Watson Lubic, EdD, RN, CNM, FAAN, FACNM, opened the first freestanding birth center for low-income families in New York City at a time where it was common for women to have very little say in their maternitycare and labor and delivery experience. In this episode, Lubic talks with Shawna Butler about her six decades of experience in nurse-midwifery, how far care delivery in childbirth has come and what the next 60 years of health innovation in this space could be.

In a digitally-driven world where information and misinformation are both readily available, it can be hard to know what sources to trust--particularly when it comes to health decisions about communicable and vaccine-preventable diseases. In this episode, Melody Butler, BSN, RN, CIC, founder of Nurses Who Vaccinate, discusses how and why she's built a global advocacy network, coalition, and movement of nurses to meet people where they are, and ensure they are well-informed with science-based facts to inform their health decisions.

Listen in to hear from nurse practitioner, telehealth consultant, and Founder & CEO of BabyLiveAdvice, Sigi Marmorstein as she shares the clinical realities of working on COVID-19 and explains how telemedicine is putting eyes and ears on patients where they are, while reducing the stress on hospital services.

As the world responds to COVID-19, increasingly and alarmingly the daily headlines include the risks our healthcare teams and essential services personnel confront in efforts to care for patients and keep our communities safe. Behind these headlines are stories of daily experiences and individual lives. Nurse Jennifer Gil shares her diary about being on the frontlines of COVID-19, about contracting the virus and being isolated from loved ones in a time of immense uncertainty. It’s a powerful reminder that we cannot lose focus on the emotional impact of this illness.

Why is it then that nurses are often not screened or provided with mental health support in their workspaces? Nurse scientist Judy Davidson DNP, RN, FCCM, FAAN works to reinforce the mental health needs of nurses while bringing awareness to nurse suicides. She creates programs that provide simple and accessible tools for health systems to adopt throughout their networks to ensure that nurses can stay strong, be supported, and get help when needed.

COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted Black people and people of color in the United States. The pandemic placed a magnifying glass on existing disparities and their underlying causes. And when we look closer into these disparities, we find that youth experiencing homelessness and mental health issues are some of the most adversely affected by the COVID-19 public health measures and Shelter-in-Place orders. In this episode, we hear from psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and researcher, Dawn Bounds, PhD, MPHNP-BC whose research covers juvenile justice and homeless youth. Dawn reflects on the complex challenges these populations face amidst overlapping pandemics.

Every day nurses face difficult decisions and ethical dilemmas. They know how to deal with suffering, are accustomed to participating in life and death decisions, and advocating for human rights. COVID-19 presented circumstances that no one was prepared for including weighing personal risk against an obligation to render care. In this episode, Liz Stokes, JD, MA, RN, Director of the American Nurses Association Center for Ethics and Human Rights provides insight into the ethical and moral dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic.