From Surviving Nursing To Thriving In Nursing! Driving Change Through Oppurunity and Impact with Dr. Katie Boston-Leary
Release Date: 02/03/2026
Silence Isn't Safety, It's Strategy: Inside St. Joe's Fight Against Workplace Violence
The Gritty Nurse
Would your hospital admit that staff get assaulted on the job — in public, with real numbers? St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton just did. And it's exposing a crisis most hospitals would rather not talk about. In this episode, I sit down with St. Joe's CEO Mike Heenan to unpack the numbers behind their decision to go public: at least 4 staff members verbally or physically assaulted every day — roughly 1,400 incidents a year, and that's just what gets reported. We dig into what it took to make transparency the policy, not the exception, and what other health systems are still avoiding. We...
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A Battle Cry for Change: Postpartum Psychosis, Systemic Failure, and the Case of Lindsay Clancy
The Gritty Nurse
In this new episode on The Gritty Nurse Podcast with Amie Archibald-Varley, we examine the case of Lindsay Clancy through the lens of postpartum psychosis and the catastrophic gaps in mental health care that allowed it to go unrecognized and untreated. I start with the question that should be asked before every postpartum antidepressant prescription: has this patient been screened for bipolar disorder? It's now considered the gold standard of care — and it only became standard practice because of this case. From there, we talk about what early screening should look like more broadly, what...
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Why Thousands of Nurses Are Walking Out Across North America? (And Who’s Replacing Them)
The Gritty Nurse
Frontline pressures have reached a boiling point. In this swapcast episode, nurses Erica and Amie tackle the wave of nursing strikes across Massachusetts (MNA) and British Columbia (BCNU), exploring what these recent labor actions reveal about the true state of healthcare. Together, they dive into the harsh realities nurses are standing up against—from unsafe staffing ratios and lack of workplace respect to burnout and corporate greed. Erica and Amie also address the elephant in the room: "scab nurses." They break down the ethical, emotional, and financial strain traveling replacement...
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The Handover: What a 40-Year Gap of Experience Can Teach the Nursing Profession
The Gritty Nurse
How do we reclaim the narrative of modern nursing across generations? In this episode of The Gritty Nurse Podcast, host Amie Archibald-Varley sits down with extraordinary nurses, advocates, and authors Tilda Shalof and Lisa Mochrie to discuss their powerful new book, The Handover: A Nurse's Last Shift. Separated by a 40-year career gap, Tilda Shalof and Lisa Mochrie share their inspiring personal journeys through nursing to show that despite a lifetime of different experiences, we have far more in common than what divides us. At its heart, this episode is about the vital importance of nurses...
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7 Years Ago, I Hid Under My Desk--And Seven Years Later, Almost to The Day... She Was Walked Out.
The Gritty Nurse
Content note: this episode discusses workplace violence, suicidal ideation and psychological harm in a clinical/workplace setting. This week, almost seven years to the day since I walked out of a role where I once hid under my desk to escape a leader who ran her unit on fear, that same leader was walked out of hers. This isn't a celebration episode. I don't take pleasure in anyone losing their income or their identity. But I can't stay quiet about what it means that it took seven years — seven years of turnover, burnout, and silence — for accountability to catch up. In this solo episode, I...
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Follow The Legislation, Fix The Insurance! Nurse Psychotherapy Supports Mental Health
The Gritty Nurse
With a growing mental health crisis and a system bogged down by waitlists and rigid silos, a powerful paradigm shift is happening across Canada: the rise of nurse-led psychotherapy. In this educational episode, we sit down with Sheena Howard (BScN, MA, RYT, RN), award-winning Nurse Psychotherapist and the founder of Acceptance Psychotherapy. We dive deep into why Registered Nurses are uniquely positioned to transform mental healthcare. Grounded in a holistic nursing blueprint, nurse psychotherapists don't just treat symptoms in isolation; they integrate biological, psychological, and social...
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From KOBO to Digital Health: Disrupting the Status Quo In Healthcare with Mike Serbinis
The Gritty Nurse
How do we move from a healthcare system that only reacts to illness, to one that actively empowers patients? In this episode of The Gritty Nurse Podcast, host Amie Archibald-Varley sits down with Mike Serbinis, the visionary CEO and founder of League, a leading digital health platform transforming the consumer healthcare experience. A seasoned tech innovator and entrepreneur, Mike has a storied history of disrupting industries—from working alongside Elon Musk on early jet propulsion designs to co-founding Kobo, which challenged the global e-reading market. Now, he’s turning his sights...
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From the ICU to the Page: Nurse Author Tilda Shalof on Why Nurses Must Tell Their Stories
The Gritty Nurse
What happens when a nurse picks up a pen and refuses to stay quiet? She becomes Tilda Shalof — ICU nurse, bestselling author, patient advocate, and one of Canada's most powerful voices for the nursing profession. In this episode of The Gritty Nurse Podcast, host Amie Archibald-Varley sits down with Tilda Shalof, RN, BScN, CNCC(C), a veteran nurse from Toronto General Hospital's Medical-Surgical ICU and the author of six books — including the acclaimed A Nurse's Story, The Making of a Nurse, Camp Nurse, Opening My Heart, Lives in the Balance, and Bringing It Home. Her work has been...
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What Nurses Don't Know About the Law Could Cost Them Everything w/ Dr. Cambria Nwsou DNP, RN, LNC
The Gritty Nurse
Do you actually know your rights as a nurse? What does it take to go from the operating room to the courtroom — and why should every nurse care? In this episode of The Gritty Nurse Podcast, host Amie Archibald-Varley sits down with the remarkable Dr. Cambria Nwosu, RN — a nurse whose career has taken her from high-stakes surgical suites to the frontlines of legal nursing consulting and healthcare policy advocacy. Cambria's story is a masterclass in what's possible when nurses refuse to stay in their lane. Amie and Cambria dig into the real, often unspoken truth that nurses...
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Let’s Talk About Birth, Disparities, and Shifting the System: With Mama Nurse Tina!
The Gritty Nurse
Women’s health needs a ton of work, and it is a hill we are willing to die on. In this powerful episode of The Gritty Nurse Podcast, host Amie Archibald-Varley sits down with Tina Bitangcol—widely known as Mama Nurse Tina—for an urgent, unfiltered conversation about the realities of women’s healthcare, maternal mortality, and systemic disparities. From navigating birth trauma and postpartum complications to addressing the critical gaps in Indigenous health and cultural competence, Amie and Tina shed light on the untold stories of the healthcare system. Together, they discuss how we can...
info_outlineIn this episode of the Gritty Nurse podcast with Amie Archibald-Varley, Dr. Katie Boston-Leary shares her journey from an accidental entry into nursing to becoming the Senior VP of Equity and Engagement at the American Nurses Association. She discusses the importance of equity in nursing, overcoming imposter syndrome, and the systemic barriers that exist within the profession. Dr. Boston-Leary also addresses the current crises in healthcare, the significance of the racial reckoning statement, and the upcoming Opportunity and Impact in Nursing Summit from Feb 12-Feb 14 in Washignton, DC. She offers valuable advice for every nurse on thriving in their careers while balancing personal and professional responsibilities. This is an episode you dont want to miss!
Keywords
nursing, equity, leadership, healthcare, systemic change, imposter syndrome, racial reckoning, nursing summit, workforce diversity, social change, oppourtunity and impact summit 2026, american nurses association, Dr. Katie Boston-Leary, Senior VP of Equity and Engagement
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Dr. Katie Boston-Leary
02:46 Journey into Nursing and Leadership
05:42 Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
08:31 The Role of Equity in Nursing
11:17 Addressing Systemic Barriers in Nursing
14:22 Navigating Current Challenges in Nursing
16:58 The Racial Reckoning Statement
19:41 The Upcoming Summit for Change
21:56 Advice for New Nurses
27:44 Final Thoughts and Reflections
Takeaways
Everything happens for a reason.
Equity in nursing is about leveling the field for everyone.
Imposter syndrome is common, even among leaders.
Nursing is a profession that requires diverse voices.
Systemic barriers in nursing need to be addressed.
Current crises in healthcare are multifaceted.
The racial reckoning statement is a critical step for ANA.
The upcoming summit will focus on solutions and impact.
New nurses should aim to thrive, not just survive.
Self-care is essential for nurses to be effective.
About The Oppourunity and Impact Summit
Join us at the 2026 Opportunity & Impact in Nursing Summit, hosted by the American Nurses Enterprise, where nurse leaders, innovators, and industry partners come together to expand opportunity, advance pathways, and drive real action across the nursing profession.
This Summit is where purpose meets progress; where we unite to remove barriers, amplify key voices, and advance fairness and representation through strategies that strengthen the nursing workforce.
Together, we will accelerate action and deepen the cross-sector collaboration needed to create lasting impact. Secure your seat now.
https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/workforce/nurse-equity-summit/
More About Dr. Boston Leary
Dr. Katie Boston-Leary is the Senior Vice President of Equity and Engagement at the American Nurses Association addressing DEIAB and workforce challenges within the profession. Katie is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing and the School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University. She sits on numerous boards and national committees in nursing and healthcare and is an editorial advisory board member with Nursing Management, Nursing 2025, OADN and ACHE.
Katie leads the National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing Forum an organized ANA’s inaugural Equity Summit in Washington, DC. Katie is a 2024 ICN Global Nurse Leaders Institute Scholar and was previously identified in by Health Leaders Media as “One of Five Chief Nursing Officers Changing Healthcare”. She also won the ICABA TD Bank 2023 Woman of Impact award, the 2024 Spectrum Circle Award for Innovation in Health and won
the 2025 National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) President’s Trailblazer Award. She was inducted as a Distinguished Fellow at the Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing with the NBNA, is a Fellow with American Organization of Nursing Leadership (AONL), the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. She was recently named as an honored listee on Marquis’ Who’s Who in America.
Katie authored two chapters in The Sage Encyclopedia of Multicultural Counseling, Social Justice, and Advocacy, the first encyclopedia focused on racism and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. Katie was also featured in the award-winning documentary film, Everybody’s Work funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She recently co-authored a Sigma published book titled Harmony by Design, Navigating Work and Life in Healthcare.She has conducted research on care delivery models, time allocation, nurses’ well-being, racism and civilized oppression in nursing with Quint Studer, Joslin Insight and McKinsey.
She is a well-known speaker internationally with many publications, podcasts and national outlets namely CNBC, NY Times, Cheddar TV, Axios, Beckers, Forbes, Bloomberg News and on NBC’s Today Show. She completed her PhD at Walden University in Health Services, obtained a dual degree MBA and MHA from the University of Maryland Global Campus and her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Bowie State University in Maryland. She is a board-certified Nurse Executive and obtained a nurse executive leadership certificate from
Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
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