1. What first drew you to nursing, and what has kept you in the profession over the years?

I was drawn to nursing because it offered a unique opportunity to combine science, compassion, and service. I’ve always been fascinated about the human body (science) and I wanted to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives during some of their most vulnerable moments. What has kept me in nursing is the people – the patients, families, and especially fellow nurses and our interprofessional colleagues. Over the years, I’ve seen the incredible impact nurses can have, not only on outcomes, but on human experience. That sense of purpose, coupled with a desire to improve the work culture for those who follow, continues to fuel my work.

2. How did workplace culture show up for you as a new nurse?

As a new nurse, workplace culture showed up quickly and not always in positive ways. I learned early that competence alone wasn’t enough; fitting in often depended on who you worked with and how you were treated. There were supportive colleagues who helped me grow, but there were also moments of silence, sarcasm, and dismissive behavior that made learning harder than it needed to be. Those early experiences taught me that culture directly affects confidence, retention, and patient safety, even when no one explicitly names it as “culture.”

3. Can you describe your earliest memory as a nurse when you recognized bullying and incivility in nursing?

I remember feeling terrified when I had to give report to certain nurses, especially after others warned me about them. One nurse openly berated me in front of the entire team for not knowing a detail about a patient. She stormed off, huffing and puffing, shouting, “What’s it going to take to get a decent nurse with a brain around here?” I was humiliated. The following week, she treated one of my colleagues the same way. Instead of concentrating on patient care, my energy went into avoiding giving her report or obsessively making sure I knew every possible detail, yet she always managed to find something to criticize.

4. Was there a specific experience or turning point that led you to focus your work in this area?

16 years ago, I was in a corporate nursing role responsible for the professional development of approximately 10,000 nurses. I spent a lot of time with student and new nurses, preceptors, and experienced nurses assessing their needs. All they wanted to talk about was how horrible the other nurses treated them. It finally hit me – we’ve been talking about bullying and incivility for a century, but what are we doing about it? In that moment, I decided enough was enough and I was going to DO something about it. I quit a job that I really loved and started a company dedicated to eradicating bullying and incivility in healthcare.

5. What stories from nurses have stayed with you the most over the years?

The stories that stay with me most are from nurses who loved patient care but felt emotionally exhausted by their work culture. Nurses who cried in their cars before shifts, questioned their competence because of constant criticism, or left roles they once dreamed of because they were treated badly by their colleagues. What stays with me isn’t just the pain, they often tell these stories quietly, almost apologetically. Those moments reinforce why this work matters and why nurses deserve workplaces that reflect the care and respect they give to others every day.

6. When nurses attend your sessions, what do you hope they feel when they leave?

I hope nurses leave my sessions feeling empowered with the knowledge, tools, and confidence they need to address bullying and incivility. I want them to know they’re not alone and that the challenges they face are real and addressable. Most importantly, I want them to feel hopeful that healthier cultures are possible and that each of them has a role in creating a more respectful, supportive future for nursing.