Digital communication is no longer optional for nurse leaders – it is a core leadership skill. In this episode of Nursing Insights, we sit down with Alysia Adams, Director of Education Partnerships at the American Organization of Nursing Leadership, to explore the digital communication competencies now shaping nursing leadership across the country.

Alysia shares what led her to research digital communication, the barriers nurse leaders face online, and how storytelling, ethics, boundaries, and inclusivity play a critical role in effective leadership. She also explains how these competencies were developed through a Delphi study and why they are now being incorporated into national leadership standards.

This conversation offers practical insight for nurse leaders at every level who want to communicate with clarity, confidence, and purpose in the digital era.

Key Takeaways

• Why communication is a foundational skill for effective nurse leadership
• The most common barriers preventing nurse leaders from engaging digitally
• How storytelling strengthens trust, visibility, and influence
• Why ethics and credibility rank highest among digital competencies
• The importance of boundaries and well-being in digital leadership
• How nurse leaders can communicate across generations effectively
• Simple first steps for leaders who want to improve their digital presence

Relevant Links

• American Organization of Nursing Leadership: https://www.aonl.org
• Nurse Leader Journal: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/nurse-leader
• New Jersey Collaborating Center for Nursing: https://www.njccn.org

Nurse fatigue isn’t just uncomfortable – it’s dangerous. In this episode, Dr. Pamela Hinds and crisis nurse Brett Bagshaw from Children’s National Hospital explain how their organization became a national leader in implementing sanctioned night-shift napping. From alarming survey data to cultural barriers, space challenges, HR policy changes, and real nurse stories, this conversation offers a practical roadmap for any hospital looking to prioritize safety and wellness for its night-shift staff.

Key Takeaways

• Night-shift fatigue has real safety consequences, including drowsy driving and impaired clinical performance.
• A small, well-designed pilot project helped Children’s National gain leadership buy-in before expanding napping hospital-wide.
• Clear guidelines, protected spaces, and strong collaboration with security and HR were essential to implementation.
• Not all units adopt napping the same way – autonomy and unit-level decision-making improved success and acceptance.
• Survey data revealed high rates of near-miss incidents related to fatigue, strengthening the case for change.
• Napping is one part of a broader wellness approach that includes sleep hygiene, nutrition, and night-shift–specific support systems.
• A strong safety message helped shift culture: nurses must come to work rested, and naps are not guaranteed.
• Implementing napping can support recruitment, retention, and a perception of organizational care for night-shift workers.

Additional Reading

• Geiger-Brown, Harlow, Bagshaw, Sagherian & Hinds: “One Hospital’s Successful Initiative to Implement Napping for Night Shift Nurses.”https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34528852/
• Napping on the Night Shift: A Two-Hospital Implementation Project (Am J Nurs, 2016) https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/39786

For today’s episode, hosted by Susan Weaver, Nurse Scientist, New Jersey Collaborating Center for Nursing, we have something special for you. We’re coming to you from a committee room at the New Jersey Statehouse in Trenton, where we’ll be speaking with three distinguished panelists about political advocacy and state-level testimony.

Our guests today are:

• Dr. Marcel Kaganovskaya, APN and President of the Society of Psychiatric APNs, and Assistant Professor at Felician University School of Nursing
• Tyla Minniear, Chief Operating Officer of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute
• Rose M. Catton, Executive Director of the New Jersey State School Nurses Association

If you prefer to watch this, you can find the video recordings on our YouTube channel.

In this episode of Nursing Insights, host Stephanie Olaso, MHCI, BSN, RN sits down with Dr. Deeba Siddiqui, Doctor of Nursing Practice with a focus on safety systems.

Deeba’s nursing journey began with a chest tube at age 19 – an experience that inspired her to pivot into nursing. From outpost nursing in rural Newfoundland, to working across the United States, to becoming Patient Safety and Quality Officer at the United Nations, her career has been anything but traditional.

Now serving as Chief Risk Officer at Hackensack Meridian Health, Deeba reflects on her role leading through the COVID-19 pandemic, her passion for public health nursing, and the importance of trust, psychological safety, and compassion in every aspect of care.

Key Takeaways:

• How a personal health crisis inspired Dr. Siddiqui to pursue nursing
• The unique challenges and rewards of outpost nursing in Canada
• Lessons from global patient safety work with the United Nations
• Leading a health system through the COVID-19 pandemic as Chief Risk Officer
• Why psychological safety and trust are essential for healthcare improvement
• Encouragement for nurses to explore non-traditional career paths

Relevant Links:

• New Jersey Collaborating Center for Nursing: https://www.njccn.org
• Hackensack Meridian Health: https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org
• Nominate a nurse to be featured: https://www.njccn.org/nursing-insights-podcast

In this episode of Nursing Insights, host Stephanie Olaso sits down with Frank Crispin (Nursing Director) and Veronica Perez (Nurse Manager) from Inspira Medical Center Vineland to explore how virtual nursing is reshaping patient care and supporting frontline nurses.

They share the story behind Inspira’s pilot program, how virtual nurses handle admissions and discharges, and the surprising impact on nurse burnout, patient experience, and hospital efficiency.

This conversation highlights how innovation and technology can bring relief to nurses while improving outcomes for patients and communities.

Key Takeaways

• What virtual nursing is: A way for nurses to provide admissions, discharges, and patient education remotely through secure technology.
• Why it matters: Addresses staffing shortages, reduces burnout, and supports bedside nurses with time-consuming tasks.
• Pilot results: Nurses gained back 30–45 minutes per admission and 15–30 minutes per discharge.
• Patient impact: Higher satisfaction scores, smoother discharges, and faster turnaround times.
• Future vision: Expanding the program across Inspira Health with advanced technology and centralized operations.

Relevant Links

• Learn more about Inspira Health: https://www.inspirahealthnetwork.org
• Follow the New Jersey Collaborating Center for Nursing: https://nursing.rutgers.edu/njccn
• Listen to more episodes of Nursing Insights: https://nursing.rutgers.edu/nursing-insights

What if a small change in your electronic health record could save lives?

In this episode of Nursing Insights, we dive into a quiet revolution in geriatric care: the Geriatric Prescribing Context (GPC). Host Stephanie Olaso, MHCI, BSN, RN is joined by:

• Dr. Katie Drago, geriatrician and lead researcher behind the GPC
• Jean Stoerger, PharmD and clinical geriatric pharmacist
• Mary Jo Phillips, DNP and geriatric program director

Together, they unpack how the GPC came to life after a tragic medical error, how it functions invisibly within Epic to nudge safer prescribing decisions, and what the real-world results look like – like a 50% reduction in dose-related adverse drug events.

Whether you’re a nurse, pharmacist, or physician, this episode will challenge the way you think about clinical decision support, EHR design, and the hidden power of tiny nudges in patient care.

Key Takeaways:

• A tragic overdose case involving haloperidol in a 90-year-old patient became the catalyst for the GPC.
• The GPC adjusts default medication doses in Epic for patients aged 65+, making them more age-appropriate – without pop-ups or hard stops.
• Implementation led to a 50% reduction in dose-related adverse drug events, with sustained results over 4 years.
• Most clinicians didn’t even realize it was active – meaning no alert fatigue and seamless workflow.
• Nurses play a powerful, often overlooked role in influencing prescribing decisions.
• The GPC is now part of Epic’s foundations package (post-Nov 2023) and available to others via the Community Library.

Relevant Links:

• New Jersey Collaborating Center for Nursing: https://njccn.org
• Safer prescribing for hospitalized older adults with an electronic-health record based prescribing context: https://agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jgs.16640
• Long term impact of a geriatric prescribing context: https://agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jgs.17799
• In pursuit of the quadruple aim: A geriatric prescribing context’s impact on clinician workflows and alert fatigue: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/07334648221079103
• Improving dose related adverse drug events among hospitalized older adults using a geriatric prescribing context: https://agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jgs.18754
• IHI Age Friendly Health Systems, main page, including overview of the movement and how to join: https://www.ihi.org/partner/initiatives/age-friendly-health-systems
• Getting started on an Age Friendly journey:

In this powerful installment of New Jersey Nursing Insights, we delve into the often-overlooked emotional toll on healthcare providers known as the Second Victim Phenomenon. Through a candid conversation with Dr. Marthe Leveille, MSN, RN, CPHQ, we explore the internal struggles nurses experience after adverse patient events – ranging from guilt and anxiety to moral injury and burnout.

In this episode, Dr. Leveille shares the ground-breaking pilot of a peer-support program in adult ICUs, inspired by the Scott Three-Tiered Interventional Model. Learn how 24/7 support lines, monthly debriefing sessions, and structured leadership involvement resulted in meaningful improvements in staff well‑being, retention, and organizational culture. We also discuss how these strategies bolster resilience – not just surviving the trauma, but transforming it into an opportunity for collective growth and stronger patient care.

This conversation is essential for nurses, healthcare leaders, and educators aiming to build sustainable support systems that safeguard both the caregivers and the cared‑for.

You should listen if you’re a nurse or healthcare leader seeking evidence-based ways to support staff emotionally after traumatic events. Or simply just interested in building resilient healthcare teams through structured peer-support and debriefing systems.

Key Takeaways

• Recognizing "Second Victims"
  Understanding how healthcare staff – even those not directly at fault – can suffer deep emotional wounds after clinical events.
• Peer-Support in Action
  Launching a Tier‑1 peer-support system led to measurable improvements in emotional recovery and workforce retention in ICUs.
• The Power of Debriefing
  Monthly, structured group sessions offer a safe space for emotional processing, moral clarity, and team solidarity.
• Leadership Is Crucial
  Nurse leaders play a critical role in embedding a "just culture" and championing emotional resilience infrastructure.
• Evidence-Based Outcomes
  Programs like this not only uplift staff morale but also show real value – enhancing culture, reducing absenteeism, and supporting retention.

Links & Further Reading

• “Implementation of a Second Victim Program”
  Poster by Marthe Leveille et al., illustrating the ICU pilot peer‑support initiative nursing.rutgers.edu
• “Reflective Debriefing to Address Moral Distress among ICU Nurses”
  A study on structured debriefing protocols that align with Dr. Leveille’s approach researchgate.net
• Learn more about the New Jersey Collaborating Center for Nursing
  https://www.njccn.org
• Attend NJNew Virtual Schwartz Rounds
  https://njnew.org/programs/virtual-schwartz-rounds/
• Learn more about Healthy Nurse Healthy Nation.
  https://www.healthynursehealthynation.org/

In this enlightening episode of Nursing Insights, host Stephanie Olaso sits down with Dr. Maryann Alexander, visiting professor at Vanderbilt University and former Chief Officer of Nursing Regulation at the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). Together, they explore the current state, challenges, and future of the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) workforce in the United States.

With a wealth of data and decades of insight, Dr. Alexander discusses the vital role LPNs play in healthcare – particularly in long-term care – and the pressing need to recognize, support, and expand their contributions. From shifting demographics to burnout and barriers to career progression, this episode is a must-listen for anyone invested in the nursing profession and the future of patient care.

Key Takeaways:

• The LPN workforce is aging and shrinking – but more essential than ever.
• LPNs bring diversity and depth to nursing, especially in long-term care.
• Emotional burnout, stress, and inadequate staffing remain significant issues.
• Regulations on assessment vary by state, and in NJ RNs cannot delegate assessment of the patient.
• A new RN–LPN partnership model could revolutionize patient care delivery.
• We must expand and better support educational and career advancement pathways for LPNs.
• If LPNs disappear, many long-term care facilities simply won’t function.

Relevant Links:

• Learn more about the New Jersey Collaborating Center for Nursing. https://www.njccn.org
• National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN): https://www.ncsbn.org
• Journal of Nursing Regulation: https://www.journalofnursingregulation.com
• Vanderbilt University School of Nursing: https://nursing.vanderbilt.edu