S4E2: A Safe Place for Those Running on Empty

In this episode, critical care nurse and educator Timothy Osterhaus, RN, MSN reflects on serving in a COVID-19 ICU and the burnout, grief, and spiritual struggles that followed. Guided by Psalm 42:3-8, Tim shares how relentless loss challenged his sense of purpose and faith, yet ultimately revealed God's steady presence in the midst of exhaustion. His story offers encouragement to nurses facing burnout, reminding them to be honest about their struggles, place their hope in God, and trust that difficult seasons can lead to renewed faith and purpose. Psalm 42:3-8: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2042%3A3-8&version=NIV Send us your questions and stories! Please send us your questions and stories about this episode. Send them in writing, audio or video file. Send them to [email protected]  Find encouragement with NCF’s 4 week bible study, Nursing with Strength that Endures:  https://ncf-jcn.org/resources/nursing-strength-endures-4-week-series Produced by InterVarsity Nurses Christian Fellowship USA Hosted by Lara Kay Kaiser Podcase Website: https://followingjesusinnursing.transistor.fm/  Support this Podcast: https://give.intervarsity.org/?g=966,o&v=A082024 ★ Support this podcast ★

In this episode, Armesse Randolph, DNP, RN, NPD-BC, shares her experience as a nursing professional development specialist, nurse leader, and educator with more than 15 years of experience in acute care, professional development, and clinical education. As someone serving in middle management, Armesse knows what it can feel like to be “sandwiched” between organizational nursing leaders and frontline nurses. She opens up about the unique pressures and challenges of leading from the middle and how she navigates those demands while seeking to reflect Jesus through her work, service, and relationships. Armesse reminds us that even in seasons of responsibility, fatigue, and competing expectations, we can find strength and refuge in God. Her story offers encouragement to nurses and nurse leaders who may feel caught in the middle and need a reminder that they don't have to carry it all alone. Psalm 61:1-4: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2061%3A1-4&version=NIV Send us your questions and stories! Please send us your questions and stories about this episode. Send them in writing, audio or video file. Send them to [email protected]  Join or Start a Nurse Group: https://ncf-jcn.org/map/nurse InterVarsity’s Inductive Bible study Method: https://library.intervarsity.org/library/shape-intervarsity-bible-study Produced by InterVarsity Nurses Christian Fellowship USA Hosted by Lara Kay Kaiser Podcast Website: https://followingjesusinnursing.transistor.fm/  Support this Podcast: https://give.intervarsity.org/?g=966,o&v=A082024 ★ Support this podcast ★

In this episode, Julia Wahl, a neuro nurse, shares her passion for caring for the whole person — body, mind, and spirit. Julia believes nursing is more than caring for physical needs; it is also an opportunity to recognize the humanity, dignity, and deeper spiritual needs of each person we encounter. Julia loves having honest conversations about our need for God in the deepest places of our lives and the transformation and wholeness that come through relationship with Him. She shares about her passion for prayer, worship, and following Jesus wholeheartedly, both in her nursing practice and in everyday life. Her story invites us to consider what it means to see our patients as whole people and to depend on God as we care for them. As nurses, we may have opportunities to care for physical needs, but we also encounter people in some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. Julia reminds us that Jesus meets us (and our patients) in those deep places.Psalm 25:1-5: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2025%3A1-5&version=NIV Send us your questions and stories! Please send us your questions and stories about this episode. Send them in writing, audio or video file. Send them to [email protected]  Check out our mentoring program: https://ncf-jcn.org/membership/mentorship InterVarsity’s Inductive Bible study Method: https://library.intervarsity.org/library/shape-intervarsity-bible-study Produced by InterVarsity Nurses Christian Fellowship USA Hosted by Lara Kay Kaiser Podcase Website: https://followingjesusinnursing.transistor.fm/  Support this Podcast: https://give.intervarsity.org/?g=966,o&v=A082024 ★ Support this podcast ★

In this episode, Margaret, a contributing editor for the Journal of Christian Nursing, shares her powerful story of walking through burnout and deep distress. After 22 years of missionary and nursing work in Haiti and Senegal, along with experience in a variety of nursing settings, she found herself in a season where she desperately needed God’s intervention. Through her honest story, listeners will hear how God met her in her brokenness, delivered her from burnout, and reminded her of her identity as His beloved child. Her story offers hope and encouragement to nurses and healthcare professionals who may be running on empty, reminding us that we don’t have to navigate exhaustion alone. .Psalm 107:1-9 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20107%3A1-9&version=NIV Send us your questions and stories! Please send us your questions and stories about this episode. Send them in writing, audio or video file. Send them to [email protected]  Check out JCN: If you’re looking for thoughtful, faith-integrated perspectives on nursing, be sure to check out the Journal of Christian Nursing; our award-winning, peer-reviewed journal. It brings together current nursing research, clinical insights, and biblical perspectives to help you think more deeply about what it means to follow Jesus in nursing. NCF members get access to the journal as part of their membership, so if you’re not a member yet, we’d love to have you join us! https://nurses.events.intervarsity.org/membership Produced by InterVarsity Nurses Christian Fellowship USA Hosted by Lara Kay Kaiser Podcase Website: https://followingjesusinnursing.transistor.fm/  Support this Podcast: https://give.intervarsity.org/?g=966,o&v=A082024 ★ Support this podcast ★

In this episode, Erika (pseudonym), a Campus Staff Minister with Nurses Christian Fellowship, courageously shares her experience navigating a challenging work environment in a conversation entitled "A Safe Place for Those Running on Empty." Through her story, listeners will find encouragement, validation, and the hope that Christ meets us in seasons of exhaustion, offering rest, healing, and the strength to keep following Him. Psalm 62:5-8: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ps.%2062%3A5-8&version=NIV Send us your questions and stories! Please send us your questions and stories about this episode. Send them in writing, audio or video file. Send them to [email protected]  Check out our blog post on incivility: https://ncf-jcn.org/blog/spiritual-answers-incivility Find our blog here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ncf-nurses-christian-fellowship/ Produced by InterVarsity Nurses Christian Fellowship USA Hosted by Lara Kay Kaiser Podcase Website: https://followingjesusinnursing.transistor.fm/  Support this Podcast: https://give.intervarsity.org/?g=966,o&v=A082024 ★ Support this podcast ★

In this episode, NCF National Director Kathy Schoonover-Shoffner introduces our important conversation on burnout and offers hope for finding renewal in Christ. Then, Jen Wojtysiak, Associate National Director of NCF Student Ministry, introduces the OIA (Observation, Interpretation, Application) method of Bible study that we'll use throughout this series.  Psalm 23: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2023&version=NIV Send us your questions and stories! Please send us your questions and stories about this episode. Send them in writing, audio or video file. Send them to [email protected]  For more information and support see: Praying the Psalms Journal Club: https://vimeo.com/911745918?fl=pl&fe=sh InterVarsity’s Inductive Bible study Method: https://library.intervarsity.org/library/shape-intervarsity-bible-study Produced by InterVarsity Nurses Christian Fellowship USA Hosted by Lara Kay Kaiser Podcase Website: https://followingjesusinnursing.transistor.fm/  Support this Podcast: https://give.intervarsity.org/?g=966,o&v=A082024 ★ Support this podcast ★

Listen as Kathy Schoonover-Shoffner shares her story of her husband’s traumatic brain injury and the deep challenges that followed. Kathy reflects on suffering, faith, and how God met her with strength, hope, and presence in the midst of uncertainty.Send us your questions and stories!Please send us your questions and stories about this episode. Send them in writing, audio or video file. Send them to [email protected] and JCN:Get a professional membership, which includes the award-winning Journal of Christian Nursing, continuing education credits, and connections with students and nurses. Use the code “following” to save $10 when you sign up here: https://nurses.events.intervarsity.org/membership  Resource: Bible Studies: https://ncf-jcn.org/resources/bible-studiesProduced by InterVarsity Nurses Christian Fellowship USAHosted by Lara Kay KaiserPodcast Website: https://followingjesusinnursing.transistor.fm/Support this Podcast: https://give.intervarsity.org/?g=966,o&v=A082024 ★ Support this podcast ★

“Sarah” (name changed for protection) shares her story of a medication error and the weight of “When We Make Mistakes.” Listen as she reflects on failure, grace, and how God meets us with mercy even in our hardest moments. Send us your questions and stories!Please send us your questions and stories about this episode. Send them in writing, audio or video file. Send them to [email protected] Membership and JCN:Get a professional membership, which includes the award-winning Journal of Christian Nursing, continuing education credits, and connections with students and nurses. Sign up using the code “following” to save $10.  Resource: Mentorship https://ncf-jcn.org/membership/mentorship Produced by InterVarsity Nurses Christian Fellowship USAHosted by Lara Kay KaiserPodcase Website: https://followingjesusinnursing.transistor.fm/ Support this Podcast: https://give.intervarsity.org/?g=966,o&v=A082024 ★ Support this podcast ★

Katharine, Associate Director for Student Ministry with Nurses Christian Fellowship, shares her journey through cancer and the ways she experienced God’s constant presence. Living in Minnesota, she reflects on how He remained with her through every moment, faithful and near. Send us your questions and stories!Please send us your questions and stories about this episode. Send them in writing, audio or video file. Send them to [email protected] Membership and JCN:Get a professional membership, which includes the award-winning Journal of Christian Nursing, continuing education credits, and connections with students and nurses. Sign up using the code “following” to save $10.  Produced by InterVarsity Nurses Christian Fellowship USAHosted by Lara Kay KaiserPodcase Website: https://followingjesusinnursing.transistor.fm/ Support this Podcast: https://give.intervarsity.org/?g=966,o&v=A082024 ★ Support this podcast ★

Jane, retired NCF National Director, shares her story of navigating nursing school as her mom’s mental health fails. Listen as she discovers God as her refuge and strength (Psalm 46:1). Psalm 112:4: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2046%3A1&version=NIV Send us your questions and stories!Please send us your questions and stories about this episode. Send them in writing, audio or video file. Send them to [email protected] Membership and JCN:Get a professional membership, which includes the award-winning Journal of Christian Nursing, continuing education credits, and connections with students and nurses. Sign up using the code “following” to save $10.  Daily Scripture Resource: https://ncf-jcn.org/resources/youversion-3-minute-challenge Produced by InterVarsity Nurses Christian Fellowship USAHosted by Lara Kay KaiserPodcase Website: https://followingjesusinnursing.transistor.fm/ Support this Podcast: https://give.intervarsity.org/?g=966,o&v=A082024 ★ Support this podcast ★