Every story, every journey in caregiving is different. The same goes for how someone finds themself becoming a caregiver. Heather shares her long journey in finding herself and her path in caregiving.   Heather Hope Thorne, RN, BSN, NC-BC I love being outdoors,  cooking, and spending time with my man and our boys and dog. I am passionate about health and wellness and offer 1:1 and group coaching for any area of health that is important to you.  I'm pursuing additional certification in energy healing, kundalini yoga, and functional nutrition in the next year or so. Aquarius sun, Pisces moon, and Leo rising.  You can find her on IG at https://instagram.com/Hopeandhealing20 Email: [email protected]

What do you do when you start your new Nurse Practitioner career and in the first year and a half, there is a worldwide pandemic, an active shooter at work, and you're in a major car accident? Bianca shares her story of finding herself through all of the change and chaos.  Bianca Pierre-Louis is a Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner, Entrepreneur, International Travel Retreat Host, Founder & Creator of Spooky Melanin Magic a year round Spooky Blog, and in the process of building her own empowerment brand, Elevate Your Essence. Bianca is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, and a member of Luminous Energy Collective, a group of healers for caregivers, and enjoys world traveling the world, creating new experiences and memories.  You can find Bianca on Instagram at  https://instagram.com/Hey_Nursebee  https://instagram.com/spookymelaninmagic  www.spookymelaninmagic.com

In this episode, we hear an excerpt from David Metzger's book, Nurse Papa, and talk about being a parent and being a pediatric hematology oncology nurse.  David is a nurse, a podcaster, and an author. The Nurse Papa podcast can be found on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere else you go to seek an illuminating and immersive audio experience. You can find more about the book at www.nursepapathebook.com Nurse Papa Amazon Purchase Link Nurse Papa: 16 Meditations On Parenthood From A Pediatric Oncology Nurse In 16 thoughtful meditations, David Metzger, a father, and a pediatric oncology nurse, describes the difficult, beautiful, and profound experience of caring for both his patients and his own young children. Metzger brings in the voices of seasoned nurses, young patients, and his patients' parents, each adding a perspective that helps guide him throughout his career. Equally powerful, he invites readers deep into his days, both the joyful and the painful. These experiences plus the familiar struggles and comic blunders of early parenthood result in a moving, sometimes hysterical, often sad, but always honest look at what it truly means to be a caregiver. A unique perspective on the ins-and-outs of working in the medical field, Nurse Papa is not just a book for parents but for anyone who ponders life's big questions.

Sometimes you need to make big changes externally in order to make big changes internally. In this episode, we hear from Logan who struggled with burnout and eczema and made a big change in order to heal. Logan was a Trauma ICU RN turned burnout reduction specialist and entrepreneur after experiencing burnout himself and hearing about the suicide of his coworker Brian. He is the founder of Healthcare Stress Relief, a company built on the premise of providing support and resources to healthcare professionals currently experiencing compassion fatigue and burnout with the aim of preventing and healing from it. You can learn more about burnout prevention by following him on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/healthcarestressrelief/ youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCti05BMZBjSAhhX0Oy3n1SQ  and you can view his site here: https://mailchi.mp/7c679e7f06d8/bye-bye-burnout-program

Today's story comes from a nurse friend of mine who wished to remain anonymous. She wanted to share her experience of dealing with PTSD after military deployment as a nurse. In this episode, we learn how healing from trauma is a long process.

Have you ever experienced a turning point? A no going back, gonna make a big change moment? Most of us have at some point in our lives, and with a whole pandemic, many of us are experiencing it right now. In this episode, Sarah Gaines shares a turning point in her life. A moment where she was done with her current situation and made a big change. Sarah Gaines, MSN, RNC-OB (also known as the Six Figure Travel Nurse®) is a labor and delivery nurse, mentor, educator, and entrepreneur. Passionate about travel nursing (20 contracts and counting!), she created the Six Figure Travel Nurse Course® to educate and empower nurses ready to take control of their career so that they can gain the freedom and pay they deserve. Follow Sarah on Instagram @sarah_gaines for daily travel nurse tips and visit www.sarahgaines.com for more information about the Six Figure Travel Nurse Course®

Everyone loves an origin story. How did your favorite superhero become who they are today? How did Oprah become Oprah? This episode and a few of the episodes this season look at the road to where we are now. In this episode, Tara shares how her life experiences brought her to where she is now, running a nonprofit to help caregivers debrief. Tara Ryan Kosmas, MSN, RN, CHSE, SOAR  is a burn survivor, registered nurse, educator, and founder of 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Debriefing the Front Lines, Inc. The organizational mission is to deliver psychological first aid and sustained emotional wellness through commUNITY investment, shared values, and collective action as we continue to define what it means to be a modern nurse working in a global pandemic and humanitarian crisis. Tara is certified in the art of debriefing and has devoted her life to creating a psychologically safe space for nurses to discuss and debrief traumatic events, end of life, and difficult conversations in a psychologically safe space. Tara’s teachings are rooted in the theoretical frameworks of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Debriefing for Good Judgement, and Self Exploration. Throughout her own healing journey, Tara has looked to flowers for comfort. She understands the healing power they possess and has combined this passion with her non-profit work. Also, a floral designer, Tara is the owner of Kosmic Garden, a Baltimore-based pop-up floral shop spreading abundance through nature’s own medium and sharing light with the world as she works to Heal the Healers. Website: https://www.kosmicgarden.com/heal-the-healers-project http://www.instagram.com/kosmicgarden Facebook: Debriefing the Front Lines, Inc. Linkedin: Tara Ryan Kosmas Email: [email protected]

Which came first? The Caregiver or the caregiver? So many professional caregivers are and have been caregivers in multiple places in their lives. What does it mean when your job and your familial role are both that of a caregiver? What does it mean to be a first-generation child caring for your immigrant parents? In this episode, we hear from Ketevan as she talks about moving to a new country and becoming a caregiver at a young age. Ketevan is a Registered Nurse and a Family Nurse Practitioner and a first-generation millennial.  She specializes in coaching millennials on how to understand their unique upbringing and support their experience as first-generation immigrants.  She teaches both men and women how to recognize familial and cultural traumas and behaviors that may be blocking you from living your most peaceful and abundant life.    Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/1stgenmillenial https://www.instagram.com/luminousenergycollective

What is the cost of caring through Covid? We recently hit 500,000 lives lost to Covid, a number that is staggering. What does that mean for caregivers?  In this episode, we hear from Laura Wright as she talks about her experiences as a charge nurse in a Covid ICU. Laura is a Trauma ICU nurse at her roots. She’s been in the field since 2004 and currently works as a charge nurse in a Med / Surg / Trauma ICU in a large teaching hospital in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. She is also a 200hr trained yoga teacher who is passionate about bringing a yoga lifestyle into the healthcare world to combat burnout and promote resilience. You can find her on http://zenrnyoga.com and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/zenrnyoga/

For Valentine's day, let's talk about love and healthcare. Are they a good mix? This episode includes stories of professional caregivers who are married to other caregivers. We hear from the host, Lisa, and her husband WIll LaBrie talking about being nurses and raising a family. We also hear from pandemic newlyweds, Steven and Jayhee Kim, who started dating while working in the same department. We will also hear from Erika del Pozo, who talks about being an Occupational therapist married to a Physical therapist in a pandemic. Steven and Jayhee Kim are both Radiation Technologists who work in the cardiac cath lab in Southern California. Erika del Pozo MOT, OTR/L is an Occupational therapist, the founder of Joy Energy Time, a community dedicated to brightening healthcare with strategies and resources to navigate burnout. She is also the creator and co-host of the Burnt Out to Lit Up Podcast, holistic wellness, and lifestyle show https://www.joyenergytime.com/