Step Into the Light: Why Nurses Need to Be Seen
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
A little while ago, I had one of those conversations that sneaks up on you and rearranges something inside.
I connected with someone on social media to talk about podcasting, business, and finance, the usual. Somewhere along the way, I realized this person was also an actor who'd been part of some genuinely big things. I geeked out, obviously. But what struck me most wasn't her résumé. It was how down-to-earth she was.
Then she asked me a question that's been sitting with me ever since.
I'd mentioned that one of my long-held dreams was to be a voice actor, to work behind the scenes, out of the spotlight. She asked, simply: "Why don't you like to be seen? You could be seen on the screen. You're on camera right now."
I didn't have a quick answer. So, I sat with it.
The Nurse's Instinct to Disappear
Here's what I eventually realized: my instinct to stay behind the scenes didn't come out of nowhere. It came from my training as a psychiatric nurse.
In psych nursing, you learn early not to overshare your personal life. Clients can use it to deflect from their own work in session. In some cases, it can even become dangerous. I've had my share of death threats over the years just for doing my job. So you build a wall. You let people in some of the way (you'll bond over a favorite show or a shared love of anime), but you keep the rest close. I don't work where I eat, as I like to say.
What's funny is that this same instinct, the one built to protect me, is exactly what would make me good at show business. Knowing how to hold a professional boundary while still being warm and human? That's not a limitation. That's a skill. It's one of those quiet superpowers nurses carry without ever realizing it translates into the marketplace, into business, into leadership.
Learning to Take Up Space
When I stepped into entrepreneurship, I hit a wall fast: as a business owner, you are the brand. And nobody does business with someone they can't see, know, or trust.
That was a problem, because everything in my training pointed me toward putting other people first, not myself. Doing the interviews, showing up on podcasts, getting headshots taken, actually talking about my work, it felt uncomfortably close to bragging. I didn't want to seem like I was showing off.
But I had to make peace with something: if I wanted this to work, I had to find my voice. That's a huge part of why I started the podcast in the first place, not just to give other nurses a platform, but to claim one for myself too. I became my own PR director, my own manager. I owned it. And that shift is what let me grow into something bigger: real conversations with people in Hollywood, in government, running major corporations. Twenty years ago, I would've said that's not me. Now, it's exactly me.
We're Not Used to Having a Voice, and That Needs to Change
Nurses are trained to be quiet. We hang the IV, take the vitals, move softly through the room so we don't wake anyone at 2 a.m. Psych nurses in particular absorb some of the heaviest, most traumatic stories a person can carry, and then we're not supposed to talk about any of it, even when it's weighing on us too.
We carry so much. And we say so little.
That conversation cracked something open for me. I started imagining a series of short stories (fiction but drawn from real nursing life) because I realized I love telling stories, and honestly, nurses have incredible stories. Not the kind that break confidentiality, but the kind that carry wisdom: what it's really like on the floor, in a specialty unit, in a crisis. The kind of story that makes a brand-new nurse feel like they've got backup before they even need it.
We Deserve Better Stories, Too
I love that shows like The Pit are getting people talking about how real nursing can look on screen. But there's so much more nuance than television usually gives us credit for. I told the actor I'd been speaking with: if you ever write a show about nurses, write us as the experts we are. Not just the person handing the doctor a chart. (Yes, Grey's Anatomy, I see you.)
Growing up, I loved the old show Emergency. It featured one of the first Black nurses on television, and I remember thinking she was glamorous, capable, seen. Representation like that matters more than we sometimes give it credit for.
And it's wild to think about how far nursing autonomy has come. Nursing actually started as an autonomous profession; nurses once prescribed remedies directly. Then medicine centralized, and that voice got quieter. Now, watching the rise of nurse entrepreneurs, nurse inventors, and nurses reclaiming their expertise publicly, I feel like we're finally coming back around to something we always had.
Come Feel the Sun
So here's what I want to leave you with: stop shrinking yourself.
Stop standing in the way of your own visibility. You have earned the right to be seen, not despite your training, but because of everything it's taught you.
That's the whole heart behind the Nurse Shark Academy tagline: Come feel the sun. I want you to know what it feels like to step out of the background and into the light: the warmth, the possibility, the freedom of a brand new day. Whether you're listening to the show, reading the blog, or showing up in one of our groups, that's the feeling I want waiting for you.
Be visible. Step into the light.
Come feel the sun with the Nurse Shark Academy.
Nursing News
A news outlet recently published the press release of a gentleman completing his nursing degree at age 64. After a career as an electrician, he decided he wanted to help people with a career in healthcare. Here is the link to the article: https://www.kcra.com/article/john-adesoye-father-of-five-graduates-nursing-degree/73258638
Nurse Practitioner Nicole Homan developed an digital platform to assist women with personalized information about their health before, during , and after pregnancy. Find out more here: https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2026/07/how-a-uc-nurse-practitioner-turned-a-clinical-problem-into-digital-innovation.html
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