Send us Fan Mail Surgical nursing can be daunting, whether you're a student exploring specialties or an experienced nurse seeking a new position. The role demands efficient teamwork in a fast-paced setting to achieve optimal patient outcomes. But it’s also incredibly satisfying. “I've seen patients who have been turned away from another institute, come here, have a successful surgery, and go home to their family, and that is just so rewarding to me,” says Shanon Schady, MSN, RN, CNOR, lead perio...
Apr 15, 2026•25 min
Send us Fan Mail On the third anniversary of the Nurse Essentials podcast, Cleveland Clinic’s Chief Caregiver Officer Kelly Hancock, DNP, RN, NE-BC, FAAN, discusses the health system’s power of purpose movement. She shares the importance of understanding why caregivers choose their professions, how the ‘why’ changes over time and the connection between individual purpose and an organization’s mission, vision and values.
Apr 01, 2026•32 min
Send us Fan Mail Tim Tibbitts, BSN, RN, became a clinical nurse at age 55 after spending time as an English teacher, freelance writer and stay-at-home parent. During the COVID pandemic he thought, “There’s got to be something more I can contribute.” He enrolled in an 18-month accelerated BSN program, then joined the inpatient solid tumor oncology unit at Cleveland Clinic main campus after graduation. In this episode of Nurse Essentials, Tibbitts shares his experience of starting a nursing career...
Mar 18, 2026•26 min
Send us Fan Mail Healthcare is inundated with new technologies, from workflow and documentation tools to virtual patient companions and AI-enabled medical devices. “We’re seeing technology evolve faster than ever, and nurses are right at the center of that change,” says Matthew Shesko, MSN, NI-BC, NE-BC, Nurse Manager for Nursing Informatics at Cleveland Clinic. In this episode of Nurse Essentials, Shesko discusses how nurses can continue to provide compassionate patient care while embracing tec...
Mar 04, 2026•27 min
Send us Fan Mail Nurses are devoted to caring for others, but they often neglect their own wellbeing. In the latest episode of Nurse Essentials, Holli Blazey, CNP, APRN, shares advice for prioritizing self-care and making good decisions about nutrition, sleep and exercise. “We have to learn to take care of ourselves,” says Blazey, APRN/PA Manager in Occupational Health at Cleveland Clinic.
Feb 18, 2026•32 min
Send us Fan Mail The Cleveland Clinic Neurological Institute is constructing a 1 million square foot building set to open in January 2027. “The building is very much designed with the patient in mind,” says Andre Machado, MD, PhD, Chair of the Neurological Institute. “And our nursing colleagues were really instrumental in being the voices of the patient in the design, not only from the patient experience perspective, but from the patient safety perspective.” In this episode of Nurse Essentials, ...
Feb 04, 2026•42 min
Send us Fan Mail Before Cleveland Clinic Executive Chief Nursing Officer Meredith Foxx, MSN, MBA, APRN, NEA-BC, became a nurse leader, she cared for children with cancer. In this episode of Nurse Essentials, Foxx shares her experiences in pediatric oncology, as well as advice for nurses on selecting a specialty that’s right for them.
Feb 03, 2026•22 min
Send us Fan Mail With several generations working in healthcare today, it’s easy for misunderstandings to occur as we stereotype co-workers based on age. In this episode of Nurse Essentials, a senior director from Cleveland Clinic’s Mandel Global Leadership and Learning Institute shares thoughts on how to embrace generational differences and create strong teams.
Jan 21, 2026•29 min
Send us Fan Mail When nursing veteran Myra King, DNP, APRN-CNS, ACNS-BC, CCRN-CCS, was hospitalized following emergency surgery, she gained first-hand insight into what it feels like to be a patient. In the latest episode of Nurse Essentials, Dr. King shares the lessons she learned and insight into becoming a better caregiver.
Jan 07, 2026•39 min
Send us Fan Mail Earlier this year, the American Nurses Association revised The Code of Ethics for Nurses, the standard for ethical nursing practice. In this episode of Nurse Essentials, Julie Gorecki, MBA, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital, shares how nurses and leaders can weave ethics into the fabric of their units and hospital culture.
Dec 17, 2025•31 min
Send us Fan Mail Leading through change can be challenging, but it’s inevitable. “Change is ongoing, it’s continuous, and we have to be constantly reevaluating, measuring and understanding its impact so that we can make sure we are moving in the right direction,” says Kerry Major, DNP, RN, NE-BC, Regional Chief Nursing Officer, Cleveland Clinic Florida and Chief Nursing Officer, Cleveland Clinic Weston. In the latest episode of Nurse Essentials, Major discusses leading through change, whether it...
Dec 03, 2025•28 min
Send us Fan Mail Nursing retention begins before caregivers even accept an offer to join your team. It starts with how the organization presents itself in the community and on social media and continues through the interview process, into the first year of employment and beyond. In this episode of Nurse Essentials, Clinical Nursing Director Josalyn Meyer, MSN, RN, NE-BC, shares advice for retaining caregivers based on her 20-year nursing career and experience on Cleveland Clinic’s Enterprise Ret...
Nov 19, 2025•29 min
Send us Fan Mail Reviewing a patient’s allergies is a cornerstone of providing effective care across the healthcare continuum. Allergies can affect everything from the food and medications patients receive while in the hospital to the devices and implants used in surgery. In this episode of Nurse Essentials, Jeanette Kubicki, CNS, a clinical nurse specialist in Allergy and Immunology at Cleveland Clinic, shares her expertise on managing patient allergies....
Nov 05, 2025•27 min
Send us Fan Mail Care management is a vital nursing specialty. “Our objectives are always to assess patients immediately when they come into the door, and then try to align what their discharge might look like,” says Mark Torok, MBA, BSN, RN, CCMC, Senior Nursing Director for Care Management at Cleveland Clinic Main Campus. In the latest episode of Nurse Essentials , Torok discusses the role of care managers, key components of a discharge plan, the importance of evaluating a patient’s support sy...
Oct 22, 2025•31 min
Send us Fan Mail Nurses don’t just care for patients. They also care for families, which may include patients’ children, grandchildren and siblings. Nurses need to be mindful of the needs of those children. In the latest episode of Nurse Essentials, Molly Gleydura, a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) at Cleveland Clinic Main Campus, shares advice on how to connect with children, ease their fears and anxiety, and help them understand what’s happening to their hospitalized loved ones....
Oct 08, 2025•28 min
Send us Fan Mail In this compelling episode of Nurse Essentials, Cleveland Clinic's Associate Chief Nursing Officer, Carol Pehotsky, sits down with Danielle Crow, Nurse Manager of the Hospital Care at Home program, to explore a groundbreaking model of healthcare delivery. Danielle shares her inspiring journey from a 20+ year career in emergency nursing to leading an innovative program that provides hospital-level care in the comfort of patients' homes. Together, they delve into the program's tra...
Sep 24, 2025•28 min
Send us Fan Mail An innovative immersion program at Cleveland Clinic introduces high school students to the nursing profession. As the Howley ASPIRE Program nears its 10th anniversary, its director and a program graduate share what makes it so successful.
Sep 10, 2025•28 min
Send us Fan Mail Rita Pappas, MD, FAAP, FHM, was a clinical nurse for 10 years before becoming a pediatric physician. “I really believe being a nurse makes me a better physician,” says Dr. Pappas. In the latest episode of Nurse Essentials, she discusses the transition and shares advice for enhancing collaboration among caregiving colleagues.
Aug 27, 2025•24 min
Send us Fan Mail Simulation extends beyond working with manikins. Cleveland Clinic has used simulation-based learning to train caregivers on the sepsis response process, hone procedural skills, perform mock operations using virtual reality and more. In the latest episode of Nurse Essentials, Senior Simulation Education Specialist Nichole Brown, PhD, MSN, RN, CHSE-A, discusses simulation and its applications in nursing.
Aug 13, 2025•34 min
Send us Fan Mail Working the night shift can be challenging, particularly when it comes to getting enough quality sleep. But it offers unique advantages for clinical nurses, including the opportunity to truly work to the top of license and build bonds with other multidisciplinary providers on the team. In the latest episode of Nurse Essentials, an experienced night shift nurse shares advice for making the most of working at night....
Jul 30, 2025•26 min
Send us Fan Mail Licensed practical nurses (LPNs) often work in long-term care facilities, but they can be valuable team members in hospitals, too. Cleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital partners RNs with LPNs on a medical-surgical unit to provide quality care to patients.
Jul 17, 2025•24 min
Send us Fan Mail With ongoing demand for nurses, attracting people to the profession is important. In the latest episode of Nurse Essentials, Linda Gardner, DNP, MEd, RN, CNOR, shares how Cleveland Clinic Center for Nursing Career Exploration provides programming for school-aged students to adults learners who are interested in the profession.
Jul 02, 2025•34 min
Send us Fan Mail More than 6.7 million Americans over the age of 20 have heart failure, and that number is expected to rise to 8.7 million by 2030, according to the Heart Failure Society of America. Maureen Schaupp, MSN, APRN-CNP, Executive Director, Associate Chief Nursing Officer for Advanced Practice Nursing and Nursing Quality and Practice at Cleveland Clinic, shares how nurses can help patients manage the chronic disease....
Jun 18, 2025•39 min
Send us Fan Mail Shannon Pengel, MSN, RN, NE-BC, Vice President, Chief Nursing Officer for Cleveland Clinic Main Campus, meets representatives from every hospital unit at a monthly meeting to hear their concerns and ideas. It’s led to improvements in areas ranging from patient care to workplace safety, as well as provided clinical nurses with a venue to learn and hone their leadership skills.
Jun 04, 2025•30 min
Send us Fan Mail Nursing is all about relationships. But how do you manage the transition and maintain appropriate relationships with peers when you accept a leadership role? In this episode of Nurse Essentials, Kristen Vargo, DNP, RN, NE-BC, Director of Nursing for the Neurological Institute and Orthopaedics & Rheumatology at Cleveland Clinic’s main campus, shares insight on the topic.
May 21, 2025•30 min
Send us Fan Mail Healthcare and nursing look quite different around the globe. In this episode of Health Essentials, Margee Pagnucco, MSN, RN, CPHQ, discusses how the Cleveland Clinic Connected global affiliation program shares expertise to enhance patient care, safety and outcomes at international and domestic health organizations.
May 07, 2025•30 min
Send us Fan Mail The journey back to health is often long for patients in the neurological ICU being treated for a variety of conditions, ranging from stroke and seizures to rare disorders, such as myasthenia gravis and Guillain-Barré syndrome. A nurse in the neurological ICU at Cleveland Clinic main campus shares what it’s like to work on the unit and why he loves the specialty – one he never imagined landing in as a nursing student....
Apr 23, 2025•27 min
Send us Fan Mail Endoscopy procedures include much more than colorectal cancer screenings, and nurses are key members of teams that provide advanced endoscopies. In the latest episode of Nurse Essentials, Teresita Foliacci, MSN-Ed, RN, CGRN, Endoscopy Nurse Manager at Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital, talks about the responsibilities, skills and training of endoscopy nurses.
Apr 09, 2025•27 min
Send us Fan Mail Handwashing is a simple task, yet the hands remain the most common source of transmission in healthcare. Two infection preventionists at Cleveland Clinic discuss why hand hygiene is important and how to improve compliance.
Mar 26, 2025•30 min
Send us Fan Mail Nurses may not be experts in financial spreadsheets or accounting principles, but they can contribute to the fiscal stability of their organizations. In the latest episode of Nurse Essentials, Matt Slife, Executive Director of Nursing Operations at Cleveland Clinic, discusses healthcare finances and their impact on nursing practice.
Mar 12, 2025•23 min
