This week, Micheline and Sibyl take a deep dive into nursing stereotypes, focusing primarily on "the mean girl to nurse pipeline" meme and "the mom" stereotypes. How do these stereotypes put nurses in boxes? What challenges exist for nurses to identify outside of said stereotypes? And how do these stereotypes discount the skills, labor, and intellectual aspects of nursing? We talk about all that and more!

April Waddell, the founder of NurseMoneyDate, is back to talk with us about financial boundaries! How do we set them? How can we build self-trust in our decisions? What is the significance of specific financial goals? April answers all these questions and more, offering practical tips, a real understanding of the psychology at play, and excellent resources!

For more from April, she can be found @nursemoneydate on Instagram or on her website nursemoneydate.com

This week, Carley and Micheline discuss the challenges and the joys of the holiday season as nurses. They reflect on what they are grateful for in their personal and professional lives, share stories of finding purpose in nursing, and offer coping strategies for those nurses who are spending the holidays away from family, maybe for the very first time.

We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and a holiday season full of love and cheer!

CW://: Suicide

This week, for a truly great Mental Health Matters episode, Carley and Sarah welcome Hunter Prosper to the pod! Listeners will probably recognize Hunter from TikTok and Instagram, where he has amassed a huge following sharing his life as a nurse and the stories and lives he encounters on and off the job. He's become something of a master storyteller, and that's where we focused our conversation this week. We chat about how he applies lessons and skills from the bedside to his approach in communication, how listening to stories and telling our own rejuvenates and restores us, and how to foster connections across all sorts of lived experiences. Hunter is an incredible guy, a truly captivating person to listen and learn from, so a huge thank you to him for joining us for this conversation!

For more of Hunter, check out @HunterProsper on TikTok and Instagram!

This week on the Self Care Unit, we learn about Hypnosis by speaking with Emilie Leyes! Emilie is a Hypnosis Practitioner, Brain Training Specialist, and an incredible content creator whose work is all about building self worth and confidence and ultimately helping others work towards their biggest goals. We chat about the basics of hypnosis, how it creates real change in our lives, and what sets it apart from meditation and other related practices. We also discuss simple ways to begin with hypnosis to get the most relief from the practice. Thank you to Emilie!

Make sure to check out Emilie's content on TikTok (@emilieleyes.hypnosis) or Instagram (@emilieleyes) and also their exciting new hypnosis app Doddle coming out!

What’s that? It’s the very first episode of Ask A Nurse, as part of the brand new Self Care Unit! To begin our new era, nurses Carley and Josh are joined by Joe! These episodes will feature Joe as the resident non-nurse, asking questions chosen by him or submitted by our listeners to our amazing nurses. The goal is to both learn something and tackle the hottest topics in the nursing world. What you also get is some honest opinions on the realities of being a nurse in the world today. To begin, we get into questions all about motivation, and what drives these nurses in their jobs and lives. Check it out!

CW: Eating Disorders/Disordered Eating

For this week’s Mental Health Matters, Carley and Sarah spoke with NYT Bestselling writer Christie O. Tate. Christie is well known for her profound and moving words, as well as a "startling" hopefulness and honesty. We were so fortunate to experience that on the pod, as she talked with us about shame and confidence, isolation and relationships, our self-image and public personas, and the impact of being truly heard by someone.

For all that Christie has to offer, please follow @christieotate or visit christietate.com for info on upcoming writing workshops or to get your hands on her books!

This week, for Ask A Nurse, we talk about how to cope with making mistakes. Mistakes are a part of life! We like to pretend they’re rare and never happen, but that is not the case. Sometimes, the aftermath of a mistake can cause stress, anxiety, and self-doubt. So, let's dive into the subject!

How comfortable nurses are admitting mistakes? What systems exist to help cope? How can we deal with negative self-talk? What strategies nurses can use to communicate they’ve made a mistake? Carley and Sarah answer all these questions and more!