

Your first year as a registered nurse is challenging. This podcast is hosted by experienced nurses from FreshRN.com, who discuss the basics of that first year. From orientation, code blues, tricks of the trade, and personal experiences, to time management, delegation, patient deaths, and more.
Please note, while patient experiences are discussed, their identifying details have been changed to protect their privacy and uphold HIPAA.
A special thanks to Kiernan McMahon, our sound engineer who handles the technical side of the podcast and also offers a non-nursing perspective once in a while! You can learn more about him here.
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Meet Your Podcast Hosts!

Kati Kleber, MSN RN CCRN-K
Kati is the nurse educator behind the FreshRN® platform. She has been a nurse since 2010 with experience in cardiac med-surg, stepdown, and neurocritical care. She is a national speaker, published author, and recipient of the 2015 Nurse of Year Award from the Charlotte Business Journal.

Elizabeth Mills, BSN RN CCRN
Elizabeth is from Charlotte, North Carolina. She has been in nursing for 15 years, with the past 11 years specializing in critical care. She has experience in neuroscience critical care, intensive care, rapid response/code team, and trauma intensive care. She enjoys hiking, Carolina athletics, southern culture and history. Elizabeth is a preceptor and is a recipient of the DAISY Award.

Melissa Stafford, BSN RN CCRN SCRN
Melissa graduated from nursing school in 2000, and after a short time on a medical surgical floor transitioned to neuro critical care. During her career, she has precepted multiple nurses, taught classes ranging from neurological specific subjects to general critical care medicine, been involved in shared governance and resides as chair for nursing peer review. She has received various recognitions, including the Great 100 Nurses of North Carolina and DAISY Award. Melissa enjoys spending time with family, painting, watching sports, visiting the beach whenever possible, and vacationing at Disney World.
Seasons and Episodes
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Season 1
- What to Expect During Your New Graduate Nursing Orientation
- Central Venous Catheters 101
- What to do During a Code
- Work-Life Balance
- Working With Physicians
- Delegation for New Nurses
- If it Wasn’t Documented, It Wasn’t Done
- Dealing with Difficult Patients and Families
- Diagnostics
- Patient Deaths
- Time Management
- Report
Season 2
- Neuro Nurse Tips Part 1
- Neuro Nurse Tips Part 2
- Neuro Nurse Tips Part 3
- Tips for New Grads in the ICU
- Pain Management Tips
- Nurses Make Mistakes
- Tips for New Grad Nurses on Resumes, Applications, and Interviews
- Dealing with a Negative Unit Culture, Nurse Bullies, and Confrontation
- Code STEMI, Code Stroke, Code Sepsis
- Tips for Working Night Shift
- Patients we will Never Forget
Season 3
- Tips for Cardiac Nurses
- Nursing Certifications- The What, Why, How, and When
- What Nurses Need to Know About Sepsis
- All About Respiratory
- Understanding Nursing Leadership
- What Nurses Need to Know About Palliative Care
- How to Navigate Nursing Conferences
- Intensive Care Devices: Part 1
- Intensive Care Devices: Part 2
Season 4
- How to Deal With Family Members (who are not mad at you)
- Nursing Considerations with Brain Death and Organ Procurement
- Nursing Considerations for Organ Procurement
- Tips for Floating to Another Unit
- What Nursing Teamwork Practically Looks Like at the Bedside
- All Things Urinary Catheters
- Talking to Unconscious Patients
- How to Trust Your Nursing Judgment
Coronavirus Bonus Episodes
- Nurses and the Coronavirus: Background, Boundaries, and Fear
- Nurses and the Coronavirus: Coping With Fear
- Nurses and the Coronavirus: Current PPE Recommendations Dissected
Season 5
- When Nurses Should Call the Rapid Response Team
- Back to Nursing Basics
- Tips for New Nurse Preceptors
- Tips for New Charge Nurses
- Unwritten Rules of Nursing
- Proactively Preventing Nurse Burnout
- Nursing Interview Questions: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
- The Unspoken Nursing Hierarchy and Why It’s Garbage
- What Does a High Performing New Grad Look Like?
- When You Don’t Land Your Dream Job
- How to Prepare for Your First Shift
- I Finally Know What I Am Doing – Now What?