After the rest of the care team leaves, patients often share their true concerns with nurses: “I’m scared.” “I’m tired.” “I just want to go home.” Dr. Sheila Pierre-Louis explains why these moments are important clinical information, not side conversations. Through a powerful patient story, she shows how curiosity can create space for the patient’s voice in complex treatment decisions. Listen to the podcast and rethink palliative care, its differences from hospice and the influence you have at the bedside.

This episode is sponsored by AACN’s Beacon Award for Excellence, offering unit-level recognition for exceptional units, with information available at www.aacn.org/unitrecognition

Nurse educator Sarah Warner takes listeners inside a Halloween-themed learning experience where zombies, skeletons and hands-on stations bring pressure injury prevention to life. She shares how her community hospital doubled voluntary participation, built immersive activities on a modest budget and used learner feedback and quality data to strengthen the program. Listen for practical ways to bring creativity, joy and clinical rigor to your own nurse education.

This episode is sponsored by AACN’s award-winning, online leadership course, Fundamental Skills for Nurse Managers, with information available at www.aacn.org/managerskills

When disaster strikes, nurses may have to build a field hospital and make high-stakes decisions far from familiar systems. Critical care nurse Mary Jo Kelly takes listeners inside a Disaster Medical Assistance Team, revealing what deployment really demands when resources are limited. She explains how ICU skills translate in the field, what nurses should prepare before answering the call and how they recover after serving communities on their worst days. It is nursing beyond routine.

This episode is sponsored by AACN’s Career Center, offering career resources, free resume reviews, and personalized job alerts, with information available at www.aacn.org/careercenter