In this episode, we’re joined by three exceptional Trauma Certified Nurse Leaders for an in-depth roundtable discussion.

Merideth Gradowski is an experienced nursing leader with over 15 years in the field and a strong focus on trauma care. She holds a BSN from Arizona State University and an MSN in nursing administration from Queens University of Charlotte. Currently serving as a Trauma Program Manager, she leads system development and quality initiatives to improve patient outcomes. She is especially passionate about advancing pediatric trauma care within adult trauma centers.

Ashley Metcalf began her nursing career in the Emergency Department and has spent more than 20 years dedicated to trauma care. She currently serves as a Trauma Program Performance Improvement Coordinator at a Level I Trauma Center, where she focuses on advancing quality and outcomes. Ashley is also the President of the Trauma Association of South Carolina and co-chairs the Advanced Trauma Care for Nurses Committee through the Society of Trauma Nurses. She brings both deep clinical experience and strong leadership to the trauma nursing community.

Jamin Rankin is a dynamic nursing leader with more than a decade of experience spanning emergency, trauma, and air-medical care. He currently serves as Trauma Program Manager and Stroke Program Manager at Ochsner LSU Health, where he leads accreditation, education, and systemwide quality initiatives. His background includes frontline work as a flight nurse and emergency clinician in both rural and Level I trauma settings. Jamin is widely recognized for his leadership and contributions to trauma systems, earning honors such as ENA’s 20 Under 40 and BCEN’s Distinguished TCRN designation.

Trauma nursing lives at the intersection of standards, systems, and bedside decision-making, and in Part One we explore regulatory expectations, performance improvement, trauma program structure, and gaps across the trauma care continuum. This episode is titled “TCRN Roundtable: Code Red Activated (Part One).”

Our TCRN Roundtable guests can be contacted on LinkedIn @MeridethGradowski, @AshleyMetcalf, and @JaminRankin

BCEN & Friends Podcast is presented by the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing. Scan the QR Code to sign up for Learn Updates:

We invite you to visit us online at bcen.org for additional information about emergency nursing certification, education, and much more.

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In this episode, we're joined by Niki Shimko, a national leader in neonatal and pediatric transport and disaster preparedness.

Niki Shimko is a leader in neonatal and pediatric transport with more than 26 years of nursing experience and over 12 years leading a pediatric and neonatal transport team. She serves as President of the Florida Neonatal Pediatric Transport Network Association and holds leadership roles focused on pediatric disaster preparedness at both the state and national levels. Niki played a key role in the evacuation of Golisano Children’s Hospital following Hurricane Ian and continues to advance pediatric disaster response as a Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) instructor and national advocate.

We will explore her 26 year nursing journey and the critical leadership decisions behind evacuating a children’s hospital during Hurricane Ian. Niki shares hard won lessons from transport medicine and offers practical, high impact steps frontline nurses can take today to strengthen pediatric disaster readiness. This episode is called, " On the Move When It Matters Most: Leadership in Pediatric Transport."

Niki can be contacted on LinkedIn @NikiShimko

BCEN & Friends Podcast is presented by the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing. Scan the QR Code to sign up for Learn Updates:

We invite you to visit us online at bcen.org for additional information about emergency nursing certification, education, and much more.

Episode introduction created using elevenlabs.io

In this episode, we're joined by Pam Vanderberg, a nationally respected trauma leader and newly appointed BCEN Board member.

Pam Vanderberg serves as Vice President of Trauma and Burn Services at Grady Memorial Hospital, one of the nation’s busiest Level I trauma and burn centers. Pam oversees comprehensive trauma and burn operations, aligning clinical excellence with operational and financial sustainability. Nationally, she has advanced trauma nursing as an item writer for the TCRN® and as a contributor to the American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program Best Practice Guidelines and the Advanced Practice Trauma Management course. Pam also serves on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Trauma Foundation, supporting statewide trauma system advocacy. Her career reflects a deep commitment to strengthening certification, advancing trauma systems, and elevating standards of care across the continuum.

Pam shares powerful insights drawn from her journey through career disruption, trauma system expansion, violence prevention, and certification—offering a thoughtful perspective on leadership, resilience, and the future of emergency and trauma nursing. This episode is called, "Hope, Grit, and Growth: Blending Science and Soul in Trauma Leadership."

Pam can be contacted on LinkedIn @PamelaVanderberg

BCEN & Friends Podcast is presented by the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing. Scan the QR Code to sign up for Learn Updates:

We invite you to visit us online at bcen.org for additional information about emergency nursing certification, education, and much more.

Episode introduction created using elevenlabs.io