How do you effectively communicate with people who require prolonged mechanical ventilation and thus cannot vocalize? How can we better connect with people who cannot speak for themselves? What assumptions do we have that need to be challenged? What practical tips and tools could improve and humanize communication and therefore patient safety - for you, the nurse and for patients and their families?

In this episode we hear how curiosity about these questions and others compelled Dr. Laura Istanboulian to explore interventions to support adult patient communication in the intensive care unit during and beyond. She eloquently describes patient, family and nursing perspectives that can deepen our understanding and praxis in important ways.

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For generations, people have been judged, shamed, and blamed for their weight-by families, friends, healthcare practitioners, and society at large. These messages become so deeply internalized that many of us don’t even recognize when we’re turning that judgment inward. Why do so many patients describe themselves as “bad” for what they eat? How did food choices become a moral issue?

In this episode of Radical Nurse Talk, Nurse Practitioner Heather Watson, an expert in obesity medicine, invites us to rethink the language we use about body size, health, and care. Heather explores how terms like “obesity” are often misunderstood and misused, and how negative stereotypes and moral judgments can do real harm, especially for those living with serious illnesses like cancer or organ failure alongside obesity.

Drawing from her clinical experience and her passion for advocacy, Heather challenges listeners to consider: How does our language, intended to care, sometimes cause harm? What would it mean to communicate with patients about weight in ways that are truly supportive, evidence-based, and free from stigma?

Join us as we unpack the complexities of weight, health, and communication, and discover how nurses and healthcare professionals can lead the way in creating more compassionate, equitable care for all.

For more information and to access resources, visit radicalnursetalk.com.

Although much of the conversation around health focuses on illness, this episode takes a different path—delving into the complex realities faced by pregnant individuals navigating socioeconomic vulnerabilities. We explore how precarious housing, mental health crises, substance use, past trauma, and intimate partner violence can intersect to put both mother and baby at risk before and after birth.

Our guest, Lindsay Croswell, Nursing Practice Lead for the Nurse-Family Partnership ® (NFP) Program in Ontario, Canada, shares her extensive experience working with first-time parents in challenging circumstances. Lindsay was among the first public health nurses to implement NFP in Canada 17 years ago and has since played a pivotal role in shaping the program nationally and internationally.

Listeners will hear how nurses, through skilled therapeutic communication, provide vital antenatal and postnatal care in the community—building trusting relationships that transform lives and outcomes for vulnerable families. Lindsay discusses the evidence-based NFP model, where the nurse is the intervention, and how this approach supports young, first-time parents to achieve healthier pregnancies, stronger parenting skills, and brighter futures for their children.

Tune in to discover how compassionate, evidence-informed nursing can make a profound difference when pregnancy and parenting are complicated by social and economic adversity.

For more information and to access resources, visit radicalnursetalk.com.