Why Nurses Should Start Listening to 10,000 Years of Wisdom (and Stop Ignoring Their Gut)

Let’s be real—modern medicine is great at keeping people alive, but not so great at helping them actually feel human.

You know it. We know it. Your patients know it.

And here’s the kicker: a 10,000-year-old system of medicine has been offering solutions this whole time. It’s called Ayurveda—and it’s not just herbs and vibes. It’s deep, personalized, root-cause-level care that makes “take this and call me if it gets worse” look like a lazy Band-Aid.

In a 🔥 podclass with Dr. Gillian Ehrlich—a nurse practitioner with a doctorate and Ayurvedic street cred—we dig into how this ancient approach to health is flipping the script on what healing actually means.

Let’s get something straight:
Nurses aren’t “just guessing.”
That gut feeling you’ve had about a crashing patient or a treatment plan that doesn’t sit right? That’s intuition—and it’s time we stop brushing it off like a side effect of stress and caffeine.

In our latest RNegade podclass, we sit down with Jen Johnson, a nurse with 17 years of experience and a fierce advocate for recognizing intuition as the undervalued but essential skill it truly is. And spoiler: she’s not just speaking from experience—she’s done the research.

As frontline healthcare professionals, nurses are often the first point of contact for patients navigating the complexities of midlife health—yet many continue to receive limited education on one of the most fundamental physiological transitions in a woman’s life: menopause.

In a recent RNegade Podclass episode, Karen Martel, Certified Hormone Specialist and holistic health leader, unpacks the science, myths, and evolving understanding of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with evidence-informed clarity. For nurses, this conversation isn’t just educational—it’s transformational, challenging outdated narratives and filling critical gaps in knowledge that directly affect patient care and clinical decision-making.

Nursing Informatics: Why You Need to Get in the Tech Game (Before It Leaves You Behind)

Alright, nurse, let’s talk about something that might not be on your radar but should be—nursing informatics. Yeah, yeah, I hear you. You signed up to care for people, not mess around with AI models and data sets. But here’s the hard truth: technology is running full speed ahead in healthcare, and if nurses don’t step up, we’ll be stuck cleaning up the mess instead of shaping the future.

Enter Cheryl Field, a powerhouse in nursing informatics, who just dropped some serious knowledge in our latest RNegade podclass with host Karen. Cheryl isn’t just another tech evangelist—she’s a nurse who’s been in the trenches, knows exactly what doesn’t work in healthcare, and is on a mission to make sure we have a say in what comes next.

At RNegade, we believe that learning should fit into your life, not the other way around. That’s why we’re excited to announce that we’re adding a collection of Mollie Eastman’s Sleep Is A Skill podcasts on sleep health to our podclass library. Mollie and her guests dive deep into the latest research on sleep science, offer practical strategies for better rest, and explains how optimizing your sleep can translate into improved patient outcomes. Check out these podclasses for your nursing CEs.

Hey, you. Yeah, you—the one on the front lines, juggling patient care and evidence-based protocols day in, day out. If you’ve ever felt boxed in by the traditional playbook, then buckle up: our latest podclass with Dawn Westrum is about to drop some serious knowledge bombs that will challenge everything you thought you knew about nutrition, muscle testing, and energy healing.

In this episode, Karen catches up with Dawn, a nutritionist and extreme athlete whose journey from traditional nutrition to embracing muscle testing and energy healing is nothing short of revolutionary. Dawn’s story is raw, real, and a testament to self-discovery and resilience—qualities you already embody as a nurse. But here’s the kicker: she’s taken those traits and applied them in a way that disrupts conventional medical wisdom.

Revolutionizing Nursing with Peptides and Bioregulators: A RNegade Nurse’s Journey

Let’s get real for a minute, fellow nurses: when was the last time you felt like the allopathic medical model was doing everything it could to help your patients heal? If you’re anything like me, you’ve seen the limitations—those moments when treatments just don’t quite cut it, when you’re chasing symptoms instead of addressing the root causes. We’ve all been there. But what if there was a better way? A more holistic approach that empowers both you and your patients to tap into the body’s true potential to heal? Enter peptides and bioregulators.

In this latest RNegade Podclass, Karen DiMarco sits down with Nathalie Niddam to discuss innovative approaches to health and wellness. And trust me, what she has to say could completely flip your perspective on patient care and self-care.

Alright, let’s get one thing straight: Nursing education sometimes feels like an overstuffed burrito—loaded with tons of (questionably) tasty content, but leaving you wondering, “What the hell did I actually learn?” Enter Stephanee Beggs, our latest RNegade podclass guest, who’s calling BS on the status quo and offering a new path forward. We’re talking a total re-think of how nursing students are prepped to kick ass and save lives once they hit those floors.

In this enlightening podcast episode, we delve into the life and career of Sarah Lorenzini, a dedicated nurse and mother of five, who shares her profound insights on nursing, patient care, and the importance of human connection in the medical field. Sarah's journey is a testament to the resilience, compassion, and critical thinking that define exceptional nursing. This blog post will break down the key themes and actionable advice from Sarah's conversation and her Rapid Response RN podcast, providing valuable guidance for nurses and healthcare professionals.

In a recent episode of the RNegade Podcast, we delved into a critical yet often under-discussed topic: hormonal health and menopause. Joined by Karen Martell, a renowned expert in nutrition and female hormones, the conversation aimed to equip nurses with the tools and knowledge to better advocate for and support their patients. Karen's personal journey with hormonal dysfunction and menopause served as a powerful backdrop to this insightful discussion, offering a blend of personal experience, evidence-based recommendations, and actionable strategies.

In this podcast episode, Karen DeMarco, founder of Renegade, and Ed, an expert in breath control and performance coaching, explore ultradian rhythms, the significance of rest, and practical strategies for integrating breath control into daily routines to improve overall patient well-being and nursing resilience.

In healthcare, few things are more essential than understanding the human experience, especially when it comes to caring for patients who have endured trauma. As nurses, we often hear about trauma and resilience from an abstract viewpoint—stories of individuals overcoming extreme hardship and finding ways to thrive. But when it comes to applying trauma-informed care in our own practice, the “how” can feel elusive. How can we genuinely support patients in a way that acknowledges and respects their trauma? And, how do we as healthcare providers handle our own exposure to trauma in ways that promote resilience?

RNegade’s podclass, All Boats Rise with Dr. Amy King, a leading child psychologist and trauma-informed care expert, answers these questions with real-world tools and insights. This course not only equips nurses to improve patient care but also enhances their own resilience and well-being—a crucial element in today’s high-stress healthcare environment.

In the world of nursing and healthcare, few topics are as loaded and often misunderstood as alcohol use. We’re taught a lot about it—moderation, risks, “safe” levels of use—but what if much of what we’ve absorbed has come from marketing rather than science? RNegade’s latest PodClass, Smug Sobriety, dives into the truth behind alcohol and its impact on health, cutting through industry myths with current research and real-world insight.

This PodClass aims to inform nurses about the real effects of alcohol on health, dispel the myths amplified by alcohol marketing, and offer insights on how to help patients and themselves make informed choices. Our guest, Amanda Adams, never set out to be an advocate for sobriety. She simply wanted to stop using alcohol to “smooth out the edges” of her life.

Let’s talk about education evolving from stiff, mandatory slog to something that actually feeds your brain. Turns out, more of us are ditching the lecture hall and tuning in to the voices that truly get us — and yeah, we're talking podcasts. Nurses and healthcare pros alike are dialing in to pods, picking up groundbreaking ideas in health, wellness, and beyond. Now, at RNegade, we’ve taken the hint and turned this trend into something that finally meets you where you already are— in your earbuds.

More Than Just Talk
Let’s face it: traditional CE feels like an obligation, but podcasts? That’s where the real juice is. A 2023 study by Pew Research shows that over 60% of adults in the U.S. listen to podcasts, with health and wellness leading the way. That means more of us are choosing to learn our way. Our favorite podcasters cover everything from biohacking to burnout, from breakthroughs in integrative medicine to straight-up survival tactics. Why shouldn’t your professional education catch up?