Bedpan Banter
Welcome to Bedpan Banter | The Human Side of Healthcare -- the podcast that feels like sitting at the nurses’ station swapping stories with your favorite coworkers. Hosted by Nurse Mike, this show goes beyond the textbooks and into the real, raw, and hilarious moments that make up nurse life. Whether it’s unfiltered stories from the floor, emotional patient moments, or those laugh-until-you-cry shifts you’ll never forget... we’re talking about it all. Oh, and don’t worry, we’ll be sneaking in a few knowledge bombs you can actually use on the job. If you're a nursing student, new grad, or seasoned pro who just needs to feel seen (and maybe laugh a little), you’re in the right place.
Episodes
NCLEX Electrolyte Imbalances Review with Nurse Mike
A tiny lab value can be the difference between a stable patient and a rapid crash, and that is exactly why electrolyte imbalances show up nonstop on nursing exams and the NCLEX. We walk through the Fab Five electrolytes in a way that actually sticks: simple ranges, what each electrolyte does in the body, what high looks like, what low looks like, and how to turn symptom clues into the safest next
A Nurse-Friendly Guide To Reading EKG Strips Fast with Nurse Mike
Your patient says, “My chest feels fluttering,” and suddenly that monitor feels louder than your own thoughts. We’re taking the fear out of ECG interpretation by turning EKG strips into a simple, repeatable process you can use on exams and at the bedside. I’m Nurse Mike, and I walk you through the heart’s electrical pathway in plain English, then connect each waveform to what the heart is actually
Anxiety Medications Breakdown using Memory Tricks w/ Nurse Mike
Most nursing pharmacology mistakes happen when a question quietly hints at sedation, and you miss what that means for airway and breathing. We slow anxiety medications down into a simple, test-ready framework built around patient safety, ABCs (airway, breathing, circulation), and the patterns that show up again and again on the NCLEX and in nursing school exams. We walk through the “three big play
You Will Never Mix Up DKA And HHS Again with Nurse Mike
DKA vs HHS can feel like a blur when you’re studying, but the body tells a clear story if you know what to listen for. I’m Nurse Mike, and I’m breaking these two diabetic emergencies into a simple framework you can use under pressure on exams and in real clinical care: speed of onset, what’s happening at the cellular level, and the few “can’t miss” signs and labs that separate them.We start with t
Stop Guessing And Start Nailing ABG Questions w/ Nurse Mike
ABGs have a way of making smart nursing students freeze, not because they’re impossible, but because they’re often taught like a memorization game. We’re flipping that. Once you see arterial blood gases as relationships between pH, PaCO2, and HCO3, the confusion drops fast and the questions start to feel predictable.We walk through the exact ranges you need for nursing school and the NCLEX, then l
Your Hospital Won’t Protect You: How Nursing Unions Protect Nurses and Patients w/ NNU
Your first nursing job can feel like a test you never studied for: short staffing, missed breaks, supply shortages, and that sinking sense that if something goes wrong, your license is on the line. We sit down with Kristine and Monica, RNs and union representatives with National Nurses United, to spell out what a nurse union actually is and why it matters for real bedside nursing, not just politic
Nurse Erica EXPOSES Healthcare Worker Rights | Unions, Strikes & Ending Workplace Violence
Getting hit, threatened, or harassed shouldn’t be a rite of passage in healthcare, yet too many nurses are told to accept violence as “part of the job.” Nurse Erica joins us to draw a clear line: this is a workplace safety crisis, and nurses have more rights and options than most people realize. We dig into what the data says about how often violence happens, why it’s under-reported, and why filin
How To Communicate With Deaf & Hard of Hearing Patients w/ Nurse Mikaela
Someone tells you “just speak louder,” and suddenly you realize they don’t understand the problem at all. That’s the heart of our conversation with Nurse Mikaela, a registered nurse who is deaf, as we dig into what real communication looks like at the bedside and why clarity, not volume, is often the difference between trust and confusion.We get practical fast: how to stop guessing and start askin
You Can Rebuild Confidence After Failing The NCLEX with Murse Kash
Three failed NCLEX attempts can mess with your confidence, your timeline, and your identity. We’re joined by Nurse Kash, a New York City pediatric cardiology nurse and creator, to tell the real story of what it felt like to fail three times, lose momentum, and still find a way back to the career he knew he was meant for. If you’re searching for NCLEX help, an NCLEX retake plan, or simply proof you
The Problem No One Teaches Nurses: Scheduling (ft. EightTenTwelve)
You can learn every drug and every protocol and still feel unprepared for the hardest part of nursing: being human under pressure. Nurse Mike sits down with Haley and Marcelle, two sisters whose childhoods were shaped by congenital heart disease, major surgeries, and the nurses who guided their family through the scariest moments. Now they’re on the other side of the bedside as pediatric periopera
Addison vs. Cushing: The One Lab That Changes Everything with Nurse Mike
A single lab value can flip your entire answer choice, especially when the adrenal glands are involved. We pick up with part two of our Addison’s disease and Cushing syndrome breakdown and focus on what actually helps under pressure: pattern recognition, memory tricks, and the nursing priorities that show up on NCLEX-style questions and real clinical scenarios.First, we walk through Addison’s dise
The Real Difference Between Addison's & Cushing's with Memory Tricks
Addison’s disease vs Cushing syndrome can feel like a maze of arrows, hormones, and “wait, which one is high?” moments. We cut through the noise by building the whole story from the ground up: what the adrenal glands do, which adrenal cortex hormones actually matter for exams and clinical reasoning, and how one simple feedback loop explains most of the lab patterns you’ll see.We walk through aldos
What Nursing School Doesn’t Prepare You For with Nurse Brenden
Nursing school can teach you the steps, but it can’t recreate the moment someone asks you to “boost the patient” and you realize you’ve never done it on a real person. We sit down with Brenden and talk about graduating in the COVID era of online nursing school, the confidence gap that shows up on day one, and how a solid preceptor can make the difference between drowning and growing.Then we get in
Nurse Mike from SimpleNursing Breaking Down the 2026 NCLEX Changes
Two NCLEX answers can look “right” on the surface, but only one protects the patient first. That’s the real skill behind prioritization, and it’s exactly what I’m breaking down here on Bedpan Banter with a clear, test-ready approach built around the updated Next Gen NCLEX mindset.FREE NCLEX Practice Test here: https://simplenursing.com/nclex-practice-questions-review/We start with what changed and
The Nurse that Spoke Up: A Path to Patient Advocacy
A nurse walks into a med room and hears laughter about a “placebo” given to a symptomatic patient. What happens next is a real-time test of ethics: speak up and risk backlash, or stay silent and let a lie stand between a patient and their care. We bring you the full story from a new grad, Nyanaguer, who chose the chain of command, stayed anonymous, and watched a unit obsess over “who told” instead
Beauty that Survives a Double Shift with Diaspi Beauty
What happens when a level-one trauma night shift meets a clean beauty lab? We sit down with clinical scientist and founder Diana Santiago to trace a remarkable path from calibrating analyzers to crafting high‑pigment, vegan, cruelty‑free lip color built for nurses, techs, and anyone chasing endurance over a double shift. This is a story about performance under pressure—on the unit and on your lips
Nurse’s Guide to Neuro & Stroke Patients with Dr. Uddin, Neurologist
You can feel the stakes the moment a patient starts to change. With inpatient neurologist Dr. Uddin at the table, we go straight to the front lines of neurocare—where strokes dominate, seizures confuse, and nursing judgment buys back brain. This conversation is a field guide for bedside pros who want to move faster, document sharper, and advocate louder when seconds matter.We break down the realit
Built for Ports, PICCs, and People | The Port Studio
A cold infusion room, a tangled sleeve, a zipper that sets off a scanner—tiny moments can turn a hard day into a brutal one. Our guests, twin founders of Port Studio Brinlee & Mariela, set out to change that after a stage 4 diagnosis at 21 made chemo, scans, and clinic visits a new reality. What they couldn’t find, they built: a chemo-ready crewneck with 100% cotton fabric and plastic zippers
Seeing Abilities Before Disabilities with Sarah & Emily
Start with a laugh, stay for the truth. We sit down with Sarah, a psych nurse, and her sister Emily to explore what real inclusion in healthcare looks like when you move past labels and meet the person in front of you. Their story arcs from a pandemic-era TikTok experiment to a community of millions who come for the pranks and lunchbox notes, then stay for the hard-earned wisdom on dignity & c
NCLEX 101: Test-Taking Strategies That Actually Work
Your NCLEX doesn’t demand perfect memory. It asks one core question: can you keep patients safe when the stakes are high and the clock is running? We break test stress into simple moves that lower anxiety, sharpen judgment, and turn tricky stems into clear decisions you can trust.Professor Alison joins us to unpack the thinking behind safe answers: how to name what the question really wants (the r
How A Miami CVICU Nurse Builds Confidence & Preps For CRNA School with Sam Del Toro
Ever wonder what it feels like to hold a patient’s life in your hands while learning a new device, managing six drips, and calming a terrified family—in two languages? We invited Sam Del Toro, a Miami CVICU nurse heading to CRNA school, to take us inside the reality of high‑acuity cardiac care and the leadership it demands at the bedside.Sam opens up about choosing nursing over medical school, lev
Turning Students Into Nurses: What Support Really Looks Like at West Coast University
Want a real look at how nurses are shaped—fast—and still come out safe, confident, and patient-centered? Nurse Mike sits down with Professor Katrina Lino from West Coast University to unpack the inner workings of an accelerated BSN: five-hour lectures that actually land, student-centric support that extends past graduation, and a teaching philosophy that treats pathophysiology as the root of every
Staying Grounded Between Bedside & Brand Deals with Natalie Rae
A brick wall, a Jeep duck, and an engagement ring sets the episode scene—but the real story is how a new grad who started on a Covid unit turned humor into healing and built a platform without letting go of the bedside. We sit down with Natalie Ray to unpack modern nursing: the trauma and the laughter, the brand deals and the hourly pay, the praise and the pile‑on that comes with being visible onl
Surviving Nursing School Without Losing Your Social Life with Leanys Capote
Cardiac chaos, clinical goosebumps, and a calendar that plans even the commute—this conversation pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to thrive in nursing school. We sit down with a fourth-semester student who swapped a marketing major for bedside care and found her stride using short, high-yield study videos, sticky music mnemonics, and AI-powered NCLEX practice to turn overwhelm into u
Climbing the Nursing Ladder: CNA → LPN → RN with Kesheen Curtis
Scrubs, scope, and second chances—this conversation with Kesheen is a candid look at how a nursing career really takes shape. We start with a hard detour: walking away from a BSN program that drained his momentum, then rebuilding confidence through an LPN at a community college. From there, pediatrics clicked.We get practical about the move from CNA to LPN and the shift into leadership. Delegation
Part 2 with Hospice Nurse Julie: How Honest Conversations & Science Ease The Fear Of Death
What if the moments that scare us most at the bedside are simply the body doing what it’s designed to do? We sit down with Hospice Nurse Julie, a New York Times bestselling author, to unpack the biology of dying in clear, compassionate terms and show how honest language can calm a room faster than any euphemism. From getting permission to “be candid” with families to explaining why IV fluids can b
Part 1 with Hospice Nurse Julie: What Nurses And Families Should Know About A Good Death
What if the thing we fear most—dying—is often gentler than we think? We sit down with Hospice Nurse Julie to unpack the stark differences between ICU deaths shaped by machines and a natural decline supported by hospice, where bodies often lead the way with less hunger, more sleep, and a surprising absence of pain. Julie shares the moment she learned to raise her hand in rounds and ask for family m
Cleaning Bedpans, Setting Boundaries & Melanie Gomez's Nursing Journey to FNP
PICU nurse and social media personality Melanie shares her journey from med-surg to pediatric critical care, exploring the challenges of transition and her pursuit of becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner.• Started as a med-surg nurse during COVID before transitioning to PICU after two years• Experienced significant learning curve moving to pediatrics, especially managing family dynamics and develo
ER Nightmares: When Objects Go Missing
Nurse Mike shares shocking and hilarious stories from the emergency room and from listener submissions. These unfiltered tales reveal the bizarre reality of healthcare that nursing school never prepares you for & finding things in places they shouldn't be.Please be sure to follow, share and like our episode and if you have any crazy stories, please be sure to comment below or send them in
What You Never Knew About Sonography with Natalie Avni
Natalie Avni shares her journey from failing anatomy class to becoming a department supervisor in sonography, revealing the diverse career paths and opportunities beyond just scanning babies.• Failed her first anatomy course but persevered through sonography school with a newborn• Balanced motherhood and education by studying until 2am while her husband handled bedtime• Specialty certifications ar
Getting Better, Not Bitter: SimpleNursing's Reinvention Story
Nurse Mike reveals how Simple Nursing almost went bankrupt before finding its true purpose and transforming into an evidence-based nursing education platform. Through strategic partnerships, data-driven content creation, and patience the company reinvented itself by analyzing thousands of NCLEX questions to provide what students actually need.Don't be scared, be prepared. Nursing school doesn
Bedpans to Business: The Story Behind SimpleNursing
Nurse Mike shares the origin story of SimpleNursing, from his beginnings as an EMT and paramedic to becoming a nursing educator with a massive online following. He details his unexpected journey into healthcare, nursing school struggles, and how a school dismissal led to creating educational content that would change his life.To submit your stories & comments, visit: https://simplenursing.com/
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