How can nurses be involved in decisions that patients make about innovative heart valve interventions for which they may be eligible? In this episode Dr. Sandra Lauck thoughtfully describes her work and that of others in supporting nurses to have opportunities and language that open spaces for patients to question, understand and consider possible therapies. In this way she offers radical possibilities for all nurses to transform patient experience, not only in cardiac care, but in any practice setting.For more information visit: radicalnursetalk.com

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 help patients feel safe in our care. For more information and to access resources visit radicalnursetalk.com

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 us to advocate for a restorative versus punitive lens, so that learning and healing can occur for everyone involved. Jo is a nurse, clinician researcher, qualified human factors professional, and accredited mediator. Her career spans 30 years in critical care, patient safety, and clinical leadership. She currently advises international government agencies, researchers and advocacy groups on restorative initiatives, system safety and human centered design. For more information and to access resources visit radicalnursetalk.com

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 and Nursing. Dr. Wright describes in passionate detail the many ways in which nurses help seriously ill patients and families craft stories in the liminal spaces of care that exist outside of treatments procedures. He invites and inspires us to recognize the great depth and complexity of nursing practice done well, and to name and claim the relational work that's so needed in the intimate spaces of advanced illness and end of life care. For more information and to access resources visit radicalnursetalk.com.

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 ways and practical solutions for helping them to tell their stories while building a base of resilience and support in themselves. In this episode, we explore that work. Janet shares practice tips and language we can use across practice settings to support caregivers of people living with serious life-limiting illnesses.In particular, Janet has facilitated the Life Process Transformation (TM) (LPT) program created by Viola Fodor, M.Ed., that invites caregivers to learn more about how to take care of themselves - in body, mind, and spirit. To that end, she has led a long standing project in Ontario, Canada funded by the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Home and Community Care Support Services and in collaboration with the Alzheimer Society of Brant, Haldimand Norfolk Hamilton Halton chapters.For more information and to access resources visit radicalnursetalk.com.

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 settings. Lianne works fluently in both her Indigenous language, Tłı̨chǫ, and English. In a wide-ranging conversation, Lianne shares her knowledge, reflections, and healthcare experience from her perspective as a nurse and an Indigenous person living in the Northwest Territories. For more information and to access resources, visit radicalnursetalk.com.

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. Kali is also host of the Walking Home from the ICU and Walking You Through the ICU podcasts.For more information visit: radicalnursetalk.com

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 information that also may challenge some of our usual practices. To learn more and to access resources, visit: radicalnursetalk.com

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 Hospital in Ontario, Canada. Her role as part of the perinatal program there is to enhance patient transitions between hospital and home, and aims to reduce hospitalizations and emergency room visits. She is passionate about improving quality of life and comfort for patients and families facing significant health challenges.For more information and for resources visit: radicalnursetalk.com

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 Talk we speak with Dr. Kelli Stajduhar, a Professor in the School of Nursing and Institute on Aging & Lifelong Health at the University of Victoria and Research Chair in Palliative Approaches to Care in Aging and Community Health. Kelli has led the call for change for people who are precariously housed and without resources to access the compassionate end of life care they require. For more information and resources, visit radicalnursetalk.com