First Best Nurse

Advocate Health has a thoughtful structure to support nursing innovation. In this episode, hear from Tanya Sherman, our Advocate avatar for ambient listening, and Marquina Watts, Chair of one of our Nursing Informatics Councils. Curious? Tune in to learn more!

DNP student and Advocate Health nursing director Stacy Marcocci joins Dr. Stephanie McDonald for a reflection on the value of executive fellowships. Stacy recently completed her DNP fellowship with Stephanie, so these two have a lot to discuss!

Hear from some of our Advocate Health Nurses who participated in Advocacy Day in DC this year! Dr. Carmen Shaw facilitates this conversation with Jessica Yates, Heath Earley, Yushunda Whitehurst and Beverly Queen.

How do we drive strategy and achieve goals in such a large, complex health system? At Advocate Health, it's simple math. Meet our force multipliers: Our divisional chief nurses Tami, Annmarie and Dre.

Dr. Carmen Shaw and Dr. Stephanie McDonald welcomed behavioral health nurses to the show for a rich conversation around behavioral health nursing and why this matters to you. As it turns out, every nurse is a behavioral health nurse.

Host Stephanie McDonald welcomes Dr. Luci New, a seasonednurse and educator, to discuss the critical topics of second victim phenomenon, workplace violence, bullying, and the power of peer support in healthcare.  Dr. New shared her journey from the OR to academia, her research on peer support programs, and actionable strategies for supporting colleagues after adverse events. Special thanks to Dr. New for her insights and dedication toadvancing nurse well-being.  If you’re passionate about creating ahealthier, more supportive workplace, this episode is a must-listen!

Meet Tracy Breece, RN and VP of Innovation, AI and Emerging Technology at Advocate Health. She is pure inspiration and motivation. In this episode, Carmen and Stephanie dig into who she is, how she got here, and what she is focused on. It is a great episode for all.We would also like to thank our editor for the past year, Marcus Booth. Marcus is moving on in his career journey, but left his fingerprints on this show. Thank you, Marcus!

A first impression is usually formed within the first 7 secondsof an interaction (Harvard Study of Communication); it takes as little as 56 seconds to make a meaningful connection (Christina Dempsey, the former Chief Nursing Officer of Press Ganey); providers usually interrupt a patient within11-30 seconds of when they start speaking (2018 study published in the Journalof General Internal Medicine).In this episode, Dr. Stephanie McDonald meets with Michelle Lundy, a nurse practitioner at Atrium Health Wake Forest Brenner Children's Emergency Department, about her sit and hear project.

This engaging episode features a conversation with Renee Thompson, Founder of the Healthy Workforce Institute.

Amy Peterson and Leeann Smith won the blue ribbon at the 2025 ANCC Magnet and Pathways Conference for the work they presented - hear all about it here!