From the Frontlines of Healthcare to the JUNOS: Muscian & Mental Health Strategist Catherine Harrison on The Cost of Caring In Nursing and Entertainment Industries
Release Date: 04/02/2026
Silence Isn't Safety, It's Strategy: Inside St. Joe's Fight Against Workplace Violence
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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
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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)
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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_outlineNursing and the arts are both built on the raw, unspoken language of the human soul; one heals the body through rhythm and care, the other heals the spirit through melody and expression—but both require a radical empathy that can only be sustained when we protect our own light, because you cannot pour from an empty vessel when you’ve given the very best of yourself away to your work
In this powerhouse episode of The Gritty Nurse, Host Amie Archibald-Varley sits down with Catherine Harrison, the official sponsor for mental health at the JUNOS and a renowned music industry leadership and mental health consultant. With a unique dual background in both healthcare and the arts, Catherine bridge’s the gap between these two high-pressure worlds to reveal striking parallels in burnout, mental health challenges, and the urgent need for systemic change.
As a seasoned mental health strategist, Catherine shares her insights on why community support is the ultimate antidote to professional exhaustion. We dive deep into the evolving landscape of creativity—including the impact of AI on human connection—and discuss how professionals in both healthcare and the music industry can reclaim their voices to advocate for a healthier, more sustainable future.
In this episode, we discuss:
- The Healing Power of Music: How rhythm and melody serve as vital tools for emotional resilience.
- Healthcare vs. The Music Industry: Understanding the shared stressors and the "burnout epidemic."
- Mental Health & Catherine's Work: Catherine’s role in elevating wellness conversations on a national stage.
- Human Connection in a Digital Age: Why AI cannot replace the essential human element in care and creativity.
- Advocacy & Leadership: Strategies for professionals to drive cultural shifts within their organizations.
Whether you are a nurse on the frontlines or a creative navigating the industry, this conversation is a call to action to prioritize your well-being and lead with empathy.
"Superstition" performed by Stevie Wonder. Written by Stevie Wonder. ℗ 1972 Motown Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
"Redemption Song (Orchestral Version)" performed by Bob Marley & The Chineke! Orchestra. Written by Bob Marley. ℗ 2022 Fifty-Six Hope Road Music Ltd., under exclusive license to Island Records.
Keywords
music industry, mental health, burnout, nursing, creativity, AI, community, healing, leadership, professional development
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Catherine's Background
02:43 The Intersection of Music and Mental Health
07:27 Burnout in High-Pressure Professions
12:35 The Calling vs. Profession Debate
18:01 The Value of Music in Society
20:14 The Role of AI in Human Connection
26:19 Navigating Burnout and Mental Health
34:44 Finding Voice and Community in Challenging Times
38:54 The Healing Power of Music
Where to Connect with Catherine Harrison
- Official Website: catherineharrison.com
- Professional Consulting (Revelios): revelios.com
- Soundcheck Collective: soundcheckcollective.ca
- LinkedIn: Catherine Harrison on LinkedIn
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Thank you to Hospital News for being a collaborative partner with the Gritty Nurse!