In this episode of Central Line, Leah Wuitschik sits down with Kelly Baskerville, a nurse leader with 25 years of experience across frontline care, education, and system-level leadership in continuing care.

Now the Executive Director of the Institute for Continuing Care Education and Research, Kelly shares how her career in gerontology unfolded—and why working with older adults is among the most complex and overlooked work in healthcare.

At the heart of this conversation is a simple but powerful truth: leadership is a long game, and you can’t do it alone.

Together, Leah and Kelly explore what it really takes to sustain yourself over time—why connection matters, how to find your people, and the role community plays in navigating pressure, uncertainty, and change.

They also get practical about what holds people back from reaching out—and how to start building meaningful connections, even when it feels uncomfortable.

This episode is a reminder that the leaders who last aren’t the ones who go it alone—they’re the ones who stay connected.

What happens when you’re 21 years old and suddenly responsible for leading people twice your age?

In this episode, I sit down with Max to explore his journey from the Canadian Armed Forces to senior healthcare leadership. We talk about leading under pressure, navigating imposter syndrome, and the transition from structured military systems to the complexity of civilian healthcare.

We unpack what healthcare can learn from military leadership — especially around communication, closing the loop, and building trust — and why emotional intelligence and coaching are essential, not optional, for today’s leaders.

If you’ve ever questioned whether you belong in the seat you’re in, this conversation will resonate.

This week, we’re revisiting our most-listened-to episode — a powerful conversation with Caroline Brunt, RN, street nurse, educator, and co-creator of the award-winning documentary Bevel Up.

Caroline shares what decades of outreach and harm-reduction work have taught her about leadership, trust, and meeting people where they are. This episode explores the quiet, often invisible skills that matter most in healthcare leadership: presence, humility, non-judgment, and genuine human connection.

It’s a conversation about learning through discomfort, challenging assumptions, and remembering that people are never problems to be fixed — they are human beings shaped by complex systems, trauma, and resilience.

If this episode resonated the first time you heard it, it’s worth returning to. And if you’re listening for the first time, this conversation offers a powerful reminder of what compassionate leadership truly looks like.