The content of this blog post was retrieved from Shift – What Nurses Care About – Premiere + Live Panel. Thank you to Beth Toner for sharing this important event and to the group at Shift for taking actionable steps to transform nursing.
SHIFT is a community of nurses ready to make a positive change for each other and for our profession.
We’re on a mission to create a kinder, more nurturing culture. A culture where we can share ideas, innovations, and experiences that will shape the future of nursing. And we can only do it side by side. Together.
SHIFT documentary “Who Cares: A Nurse’s Fight for Equity” premieres, followed by a panel talk with film subjects and nurse change-makers.
About this event
Tune in at 12:00pm CT on Friday, April 22, for SHIFT’s premiere of “Who Cares: A Nurse’s Fight for Equity,” followed by a panel discussion with film participants and nurse change-makers.
Hosted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and SHIFT, an online community and resource for nurses, this film premiere and panel talk features subjects from “Who Cares,” as well as nurse change-makers. We have a little fun, answer some “Rapid Fire” questions, and dive into #WhatNursesCareAbout.
Register for this free virtual event by clicking here
The Film
Whitney Fear is someone who cares. But growing up on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, one of the poorest areas in the United States, it could sometimes feel like no one did.
On the reservation, her family and other members of the Oglala Lakota Nation struggled to survive. Limited resources still contribute to the lowest life expectancy nationwide. But it was in her community that Whitney found the care and support she needed to discover a new path. A path to become a nurse.
As a psychiatric nurse practitioner, Whitney Fear extends the compassion, empathy and respect at the foundation of her Lakota culture to the many vulnerable populations she comes across at Family HealthCare, a federally qualified health center in Fargo, North Dakota.
Her story is one of adversity, compassion and the difference it can make when one person cares. Especially when that person is a nurse.
The Panel
Host:
Beth Toner – a senior communications officer for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
A second-career nurse and lifetime storyteller and writer, Beth believes nurses need to get better about telling their own stories and those of their patients. Her day-to-day job is supporting RWJF’s nursing grantmaking with communications. What she cares about: speaking and acting for justice, the patients in the free clinic where she volunteers, reading, writing, trail racing, and her family. Oh, and all things Star Trek.
Documentary guests:
Whitney Fear — a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at Family HealthCare in Fargo, North Dakota.
A member of the Oglala Lakota Nation, Whitney’s firsthand knowledge of the barriers Native Americans face informs the care she provides at Family Healthcare, a federally qualified health center in her area. What she cares about: health equity, social determinants of health, Lakota culture, beadwork, her family, and her corgi puppy named Toast. Oh, and TikTok.
Stacey Hone — a clinical services manager (and Whitney’s SHIFT BFF) at Family HealthCare in Fargo, North Dakota.
A self-described member of the “Overshare Club,” Stacey places a high value on personal connection as part of her nursing philosophy. What she cares about: nurse burnout, new nurse graduates, people experiencing homelessness, refugees, going on adventures with her husband and daughter, and keeping their six pets happy and healthy.
Melissa Kaiser — a social worker and (previously) the first human trafficking navigator for her region of the North Dakota Human Trafficking Task Force.
With her specialization, Melissa trains local and national groups on person-centered, trauma-informed case management of human trafficking victims. What she cares about: providing trauma-informed care, fighting human trafficking, and soaking up the sun since she moved to her new home in Florida.
SHIFT Community guests:
Sarah Warren — ADN, RN, and cofounder of Don’t Clock Out, a mental health initiative for providers
With over 90k Instagram followers @shesinscrubs, Sarah is a passionate advocate in the nurse community and an outspoken influencer on social media. She’s taken her activism one step further by founding Don’t Clock Out, a mental health initiative for providers to bring attention to the support needed for healthcare workers. What she cares about: mental health, nurse burnout, health equity, and her Dominican American culture and family.
Kimberly Ellis — MSN, family nurse practitioner and certified diabetes care and education specialist.
Kim uses her reach of over 485,000 across social media platforms @thediabetesnp to provide education about chronic disease management in marginalized populations. What she cares about: diabetes care, health equity, culturally responsive care, provider-patient relationships, and engaging the black community around health.
SHIFT
SHIFT is a community for nurses to listen, read, laugh, cry, think and talk about big issues — together. We believe in the power of community because we know that you (yes, YOU) can shape the future of nursing. But none of us can do it alone.
“Who Cares” is our first film. We hope it encourages, motivates and inspires this generation of nurses to be advocates for health equity — and see their potential as leaders in the community.
We’re constantly sharing resources to support nurses on our website. Please let us know if you’d like to become more involved in elevating nurses, together.
SHIFT — and the production of this film — is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
