Bedpan Banter

Episodi

• You Can Rebuild Confidence After Failing The NCLEX with Murse Kash 02.06.2026 37min

  Three failed NCLEX attempts can mess with your confidence, your timeline, and your identity. We’re joined by Nurse Kash, a New York City pediatric cardiology nurse and creator, to tell the real story of what it felt like to fail three times, lose momentum, and still find a way back to the career he knew he was meant for. If you’re searching for NCLEX help, an NCLEX retake plan, or simply proof you’re not alone, this conversation is for you. We get specific about the two things most people se...
• The Problem No One Teaches Nurses: Scheduling (ft. EightTenTwelve) 18.05.2026 24min

  You can learn every drug and every protocol and still feel unprepared for the hardest part of nursing: being human under pressure. Nurse Mike sits down with Haley and Marcelle, two sisters whose childhoods were shaped by congenital heart disease, major surgeries, and the nurses who guided their family through the scariest moments. Now they’re on the other side of the bedside as pediatric perioperative nurses and founders, and they bring a rare perspective on what dignity, advocacy, and real s...
• Addison vs. Cushing: The One Lab That Changes Everything with Nurse Mike 04.05.2026 12min

  A single lab value can flip your entire answer choice, especially when the adrenal glands are involved. We pick up with part two of our Addison’s disease and Cushing syndrome breakdown and focus on what actually helps under pressure: pattern recognition, memory tricks, and the nursing priorities that show up on NCLEX-style questions and real clinical scenarios. First, we walk through Addison’s disease (adrenal insufficiency) by tying low cortisol and low aldosterone to what you’ll see in fro...
• The Real Difference Between Addison's & Cushing's with Memory Tricks 22.04.2026 8min

  Addison’s disease vs Cushing syndrome can feel like a maze of arrows, hormones, and “wait, which one is high?” moments. We cut through the noise by building the whole story from the ground up: what the adrenal glands do, which adrenal cortex hormones actually matter for exams and clinical reasoning, and how one simple feedback loop explains most of the lab patterns you’ll see. We walk through aldosterone (the salt hormone) and cortisol (the stress hormone) in plain language, then map the HPA...
• What Nursing School Doesn’t Prepare You For with Nurse Brenden 08.04.2026 21min

  Nursing school can teach you the steps, but it can’t recreate the moment someone asks you to “boost the patient” and you realize you’ve never done it on a real person. We sit down with Brenden and talk about graduating in the COVID era of online nursing school, the confidence gap that shows up on day one, and how a solid preceptor can make the difference between drowning and growing. Then we get into med-surg nursing, the specialty people love to hate and secretly need. We unpack why med-sur...
• Nurse Mike from SimpleNursing Breaking Down the 2026 NCLEX Changes 01.04.2026 8min

  Two NCLEX answers can look “right” on the surface, but only one protects the patient first. That’s the real skill behind prioritization, and it’s exactly what I’m breaking down here on Bedpan Banter with a clear, test-ready approach built around the updated Next Gen NCLEX mindset. FREE NCLEX Practice Test here: https://simplenursing.com/nclex-practice-questions-review/ We start with what changed and why the exam now rewards clinical judgment over memorization. I walk you through the NCLEX Cl...
• The Nurse that Spoke Up: A Path to Patient Advocacy 16.03.2026 19min

  A nurse walks into a med room and hears laughter about a “placebo” given to a symptomatic patient. What happens next is a real-time test of ethics: speak up and risk backlash, or stay silent and let a lie stand between a patient and their care. We bring you the full story from a new grad, Nyanaguer, who chose the chain of command, stayed anonymous, and watched a unit obsess over “who told” instead of what was done to the patient. It’s a candid look at power dynamics, moral courage, and why pa...
• Beauty that Survives a Double Shift with Diaspi Beauty 04.03.2026 20min

  What happens when a level-one trauma night shift meets a clean beauty lab? We sit down with clinical scientist and founder Diana Santiago to trace a remarkable path from calibrating analyzers to crafting high‑pigment, vegan, cruelty‑free lip color built for nurses, techs, and anyone chasing endurance over a double shift. This is a story about performance under pressure—on the unit and on your lips—and why affordable, ethical makeup can make a real difference in the chaos of care. Diana share...
• Nurse’s Guide to Neuro & Stroke Patients with Dr. Uddin, Neurologist 18.02.2026 32min

  You can feel the stakes the moment a patient starts to change. With inpatient neurologist Dr. Uddin at the table, we go straight to the front lines of neurocare—where strokes dominate, seizures confuse, and nursing judgment buys back brain. This conversation is a field guide for bedside pros who want to move faster, document sharper, and advocate louder when seconds matter. We break down the reality of inpatient neurology and why nurses often make the decisive difference. You’ll hear exactly...
• Built for Ports, PICCs, and People | The Port Studio 04.02.2026 30min

  A cold infusion room, a tangled sleeve, a zipper that sets off a scanner—tiny moments can turn a hard day into a brutal one. Our guests, twin founders of Port Studio Brinlee & Mariela, set out to change that after a stage 4 diagnosis at 21 made chemo, scans, and clinic visits a new reality. What they couldn’t find, they built: a chemo-ready crewneck with 100% cotton fabric and plastic zippers on both arms and chest for easy, sterile access to ports, PIC lines, blood pressure cuffs, and la...
• Seeing Abilities Before Disabilities with Sarah & Emily 21.01.2026 32min

  Start with a laugh, stay for the truth. We sit down with Sarah, a psych nurse, and her sister Emily to explore what real inclusion in healthcare looks like when you move past labels and meet the person in front of you. Their story arcs from a pandemic-era TikTok experiment to a community of millions who come for the pranks and lunchbox notes, then stay for the hard-earned wisdom on dignity & communication. Sarah opens up about struggling through clinicals until psych finally felt like ho...
• NCLEX 101: Test-Taking Strategies That Actually Work 07.01.2026 44min

  Your NCLEX doesn’t demand perfect memory. It asks one core question: can you keep patients safe when the stakes are high and the clock is running? We break test stress into simple moves that lower anxiety, sharpen judgment, and turn tricky stems into clear decisions you can trust. Professor Alison joins us to unpack the thinking behind safe answers: how to name what the question really wants (the right thing, the wrong thing, or the first thing), how to prioritize beyond ABCs by weighing acu...
• How A Miami CVICU Nurse Builds Confidence & Preps For CRNA School with Sam Del Toro 31.12.2025 34min

  Ever wonder what it feels like to hold a patient’s life in your hands while learning a new device, managing six drips, and calming a terrified family—in two languages? We invited Sam Del Toro, a Miami CVICU nurse heading to CRNA school, to take us inside the reality of high‑acuity cardiac care and the leadership it demands at the bedside. Sam opens up about choosing nursing over medical school, leveraging a tough science background to become a competitive CRNA applicant, and landing an ICU r...
• Turning Students Into Nurses: What Support Really Looks Like at West Coast University 17.12.2025 25min

  Want a real look at how nurses are shaped—fast—and still come out safe, confident, and patient-centered? Nurse Mike sits down with Professor Katrina Lino from West Coast University to unpack the inner workings of an accelerated BSN: five-hour lectures that actually land, student-centric support that extends past graduation, and a teaching philosophy that treats pathophysiology as the root of every smart clinical decision. We walk through how to keep a room engaged, when to pause for brains t...
• Staying Grounded Between Bedside & Brand Deals with Natalie Rae 03.12.2025 32min

  A brick wall, a Jeep duck, and an engagement ring sets the episode scene—but the real story is how a new grad who started on a Covid unit turned humor into healing and built a platform without letting go of the bedside. We sit down with Natalie Ray to unpack modern nursing: the trauma and the laughter, the brand deals and the hourly pay, the praise and the pile‑on that comes with being visible online. Natalie shares how TikTok became a lifeline during lockdowns and the exact guardrails she u...
• Surviving Nursing School Without Losing Your Social Life with Leanys Capote 19.11.2025 35min

  Cardiac chaos, clinical goosebumps, and a calendar that plans even the commute—this conversation pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to thrive in nursing school. We sit down with a fourth-semester student who swapped a marketing major for bedside care and found her stride using short, high-yield study videos, sticky music mnemonics, and AI-powered NCLEX practice to turn overwhelm into understanding. The heart of the story is mindset and method. She walks us through building a livi...
• Climbing the Nursing Ladder: CNA → LPN → RN with Kesheen Curtis 05.11.2025 27min

  Scrubs, scope, and second chances—this conversation with Kesheen is a candid look at how a nursing career really takes shape. We start with a hard detour: walking away from a BSN program that drained his momentum, then rebuilding confidence through an LPN at a community college. From there, pediatrics clicked. We get practical about the move from CNA to LPN and the shift into leadership. Delegation stops being a buzzword when you’ve been the tech who always stepped in. Kesheen breaks down ho...
• Part 2 with Hospice Nurse Julie: How Honest Conversations & Science Ease The Fear Of Death 22.10.2025 25min

  What if the moments that scare us most at the bedside are simply the body doing what it’s designed to do? We sit down with Hospice Nurse Julie, a New York Times bestselling author, to unpack the biology of dying in clear, compassionate terms and show how honest language can calm a room faster than any euphemism. From getting permission to “be candid” with families to explaining why IV fluids can backfire near the end, we focus on practical skills that turn fear into understanding. We explore...
• Part 1 with Hospice Nurse Julie: What Nurses And Families Should Know About A Good Death 22.10.2025 41min

  What if the thing we fear most—dying—is often gentler than we think? We sit down with Hospice Nurse Julie to unpack the stark differences between ICU deaths shaped by machines and a natural decline supported by hospice, where bodies often lead the way with less hunger, more sleep, and a surprising absence of pain. Julie shares the moment she learned to raise her hand in rounds and ask for family meetings, and how clear, direct language can transform care plans from “survival at all costs” to ...
• Cleaning Bedpans, Setting Boundaries & Melanie Gomez's Nursing Journey to FNP 08.10.2025 29min

  PICU nurse and social media personality Melanie shares her journey from med-surg to pediatric critical care, exploring the challenges of transition and her pursuit of becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner. • Started as a med-surg nurse during COVID before transitioning to PICU after two years • Experienced significant learning curve moving to pediatrics, especially managing family dynamics and developing critical thinking skills • Currently pursuing Family Nurse Practitioner degree while work...