Nurse News: Jamaica’s Urgent Plea for Healthcare Volunteers, Nursing Student Saves Life with Bee Gees, ‘St. Denis Medical’ Returns, and ER Worker Beaten at UPMC

Welcome to Club Nurse. I'm Colton Lord, your host. By you being here today, it shows me that you are someone who wants to learn, grow, laugh, connect, and just let your emotions flow. We are here to share real stories and hear real life experiences from real people. You are not alone in this, and Club Nurse is here to show you that. Don't forget to follow the show and share today's episode with someone you love. Now let's dive into today's conversation.

Hello everybody. Welcome back to the Club Nurse Podcast. My name is Colton Lord, your host, and this is our weekly nurse news. Well, mostly weekly. We do try to get here weekly. We don't always make it, but we sure try to bring you the most up-to-date nursing news, things happening in healthcare, and yeah, just all the things that maybe you need to know. Something's good, something's bad, something's sad, Some things just all over. If you watched Inside Out or Inside Out 2, we are covering all of the emotions. We're a little bit of anxiety, a little bit of joy, a little bit of, what is it, despair. I love those movies. I need to go watch them again. Anyway, let's get to it. First and foremost, this week on the Club Nurse Podcast, it will be Dr. Bonnie Clipper, who we had previously on the NurseConverse Podcast, if you've listened to that on nurse.org. We are having Dr. Bonnie Clipper on to talk about her new collaboration with the Virtual Nursing Academy, which she founded. And she's a nurse, okay? Dr. Bonnie Clipper is a nurse, that she founded the Virtual Nursing Academy, that she's now collaborating with Colette Health. And it's really, it might sound, and if you're listening to this, Dr. Clipper, I'm sorry, it might sound boring when it comes out of my mouth, but it's not. I promise you, it's actually not boring. It's a very intriguing conversation. Her work is very, actually very interesting. I just think to like the common nurse who's listening to something like this, Like, what does that mean? But that's why I encourage you to go listen. She's doing really great work. It's about virtual nursing, their collaboration, and how they're bringing this to these hospitals and these systems to nurse leaders and nurse teams to really implement and be successful with virtual nursing care models. So I really, really, really recommend you listen. Again, follow the show on Apple, Club Nurse on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify. That way you don't miss when the episodes are released. It's also on nurse.org. If you go to nurse.org/clubnurse, all the episodes are there. And now all of these news episodes are being embedded in the news articles that you are reading. So I appreciate you listening, taking the time. I really, really, really do. And yeah, let's jump into it. I'm also trying to incorporate a little bit of like some, you know, like current events as far as like social media with nurses into the podcast. Like if I see anything that's like super cool, groundbreaking on social media, I'll try to incorporate that in. I don't have any this week for social media takeaways. These are just kind of nurse news stories, but let's jump into it. I have rambled enough. So the first thing I wanted to talk about was that Jamaica issued an emergency call for healthcare Volunteers at Black River Hospital, and this is after and during the effects of Hurricane Melissa. Oh my gosh! It's so so sad to see. It's devastating. Jamaica's Ministry of Health and the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association are calling for volunteer healthcare workers to support Black River Hospital. The appeal extends beyond doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals are urgently needed to help provide essential patient care. So if you are in the position to offer any kind of mission work or just go out and help. these people and do whatever you possibly can, go do it. What an amazing thing that we as healthcare workers and nurses can do is offer our expertise, our assistance in these tragedies, in these times of need. So if you're able to, please try to find where you can sign up. It sounds like from a lot of sources, it sounds like it's more focused on needing doctors to kind of go out there and help them, um, as far as like supporting critical services at Black River Hospital, but it's not just doctors. According to the announcement, interested volunteers must apply through Jamaican Red Cross, which The official body coordinating these efforts. This ensures that all volunteers meet the necessary accreditation and licensing requirements before deployment, helping to maintain high standards of care, which is extremely important. So are nurses needed in Jamaica? While there have been recent official appeal from the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association and Medical Association of Jamaica focusing mainly on volunteer doctors, multiple sources do confirm that a national call for nurse volunteers is in the works as well.

Wow.

The Jamaican Nursing Council has received inquiries from US nurse volunteers wanting to assist. Additionally, posts from the Jamaica Ministry of Health and major news reports highlight urgent need for nurses and other healthcare workers to provide patient care following the recent hurricane impact. So again, I really advise you, if you can, if you're able, if you want to try to find those volunteer opportunities, I doubt they're going to turn you away. If you're offering up your, your body, your two hands, your expertise, just anything to go in there and help these people. Um, of Jamaica. Really send them our well wishes. It's, it's devastating. Okay, this story was really one that I really enjoyed reading and learning about. Um, shout out to the nursing students. Um, so nursing student channels the Bee Gees— people are really going to come for me if I say this wrong— Bee Gees to save a life. I know the song, okay? Okay, Stayin' Alive. That's the Bee Gees. Is that how you say it? The Bee Gees? That's the tempo for CPR, okay? 100 to 120 beats per minute. That's what we all learn in school, is you can sing to that song in your head. To make sure you're getting the right amount of compressions in per minute while doing hands-on CPR. But anyways, whatever. Let's really highlight this amazing nursing student from the Bryant and Stratton College. Nursing student Andrea— I'm sorry if I'm saying it wrong— Andrea, Andrea, Aaliyah really stepped in to save the life of a person in a motor vehicle accident. So on October 17th, 2025, 3rd semester nursing student, Aaliyah. And I'm sorry, I hope I'm saying your last name right as well. I really, I need, I need like a class. I need some education on how to pronounce people's names. 'Cause I ain't trying to be that person that's at like a high school graduation or a college graduation who can't enunciate these names correctly. So I am just apologizing in advance to anybody whose name I say. I really hope I'm saying it right. Okay. And you have the right to correct me. You really do. And be mad at me. I'm sorry. Um, but basically she was leaving class and saw a Kawasaki motorcycle speed by and slam into the side of a BMW that was leaving a car wash near Clay, New York. In quotes, Aaliyah says, I looked left, saw the motorcycle, followed it with my eyes, and then boom, he hit a car. I saw his body go flying. Michael Rubino, 30 years old, was the driver of the motorcycle, flew into the air and was lying unconscious on the side of the road. Uh, Aaliyah immediately ran to Rubino and her training just kicked in. She did what every person should do. What's the first thing we learn in CPR? Scene safety, girl. You gotta protect yourself first, especially on a highway that's dangerous. Make sure the scene is safe and that you're not gonna get run over or plowed out by a semi driver coming by. These are very, very, very important. Okay. Scene safety is the number one most important thing in these scenarios. And so with the permission of a nearby state trooper who had helped from what it seems like to kind of stop traffic, the nursing student started the life-saving CPR. Eventually, some help also arrived, but she said that she thinks she was doing compression for about 5 minutes by herself. And again, in her quotes, I was singing Stayin' Alive in my head to keep the rhythm. I didn't know if I was strong enough. I just left class and I hadn't eaten, but I knew this man's life was in my hands. And you know what? This is a testament to really any nurse out there. If you're working in the hospital, whatever you're doing, you could be having a terrible day. You could feel so tired. You didn't sleep. You're feeling sick, whatever it may be. I promise you, when something happens and that adrenaline kicks in, you're gonna know. You're gonna step up to the plate. You're gonna be ready. And that adrenaline really takes over and you forget about everything else in your body that, oh, this ache, or I feel like crap, or whatever is bothering you that day. It all really goes away because you're just like, I'm here. I've got to focus on this. This person's life is actually in my hands. And your training just kicks in. I think a lot of people get really scared. Oh, I'm not gonna know what to do. And it's like, you will.

Yeah.

You will know what to do. You are the most qualified person, especially out in public, to step up and save a life.

Okay?

So trust yourself, girl. Before long, several off-duty nurses and other civilians trained in CPR stopped to assist. The makeshift code team continued to perform high-quality CPR, which led to cracking of Rubino's ribs, which is good. Okay?

It's a good thing.

You're supposed to crack the ribs. Removed his helmet, utilized the ambu bag, and treated his wounds. After several minutes, They saw Rubino's chest move and he moaned. In quotes from Aaliyah, I knew in that moment we got him back. Oh, it's amazing. Like, this is really, really, really so amazing. I love this story. And really to kind of cap off the story, what makes it so heartwarming, even more heartwarming, uh, is that this nurse, Andrea, Andrea, Andrea, Andrea, girl, your name.

Okay.

It's Andrea today. And if it's not, it's Andrea. As a former bank teller, and she decided to switch careers after losing several family members in motor vehicle accidents, helping to validate her reasons for switching careers. This is really amazing. I am so tickled by this story. Is that what people say these days? I'm so tickled. It really warms my heart, and I hope you're okay. And if you need to decompress and oh my God, what's the word we use in in the hospital? Debrief. If you need to debrief, make sure you do that. Make sure you take care of yourself. Go talk to a therapist. Don't hold that into your body. Okay. I'm not going to go into detail about this story, but. The NBC show that everybody loves, St. Denis Medical, is returning. So if you love that show, make sure that you are gearing up to watch. I don't know when the first season is or the first episode of the season is released, but it is coming back. Sounds like they've got a star-studded cast on the way, so be sure to check it out. No shade to really to St. Denis or really any medical show. I just don't watch them. I know, I know, I know. Don't come for me. I just don't watch them. It's not that I. like hate them. I just— I've said this, I just don't love to watch what I do for work when I'm at home. Like, it's— for me, it's just like, no, I don't, I don't want to watch it. But that these shows are out there, I have watched shows like this in the past, but I just, I just choose really not to at this point in my life. Okay, this one we've got to talk about. This, this is some serious stuff, and this is not okay, and this is happening everywhere, and this has got to stop. We have got to somehow put an end to this. Or decrease these kinds of incidents from happening. This is absolutely appalling. There's no words for this. Um, ER nurse brutally beaten by patient at UPMC. UPMC Altoona ER nurse was violently attacked by a patient and needed emergency surgery. The suspect, Bradley Scott Lloyd, was arrested and faces multiple assault charges. UPMC and staff acted quickly to prevent further harm and support the injured nurse. So just before 10:00 AM on a Saturday, police rushed to the ER for a call about a violent patient. I've worked in ERs like this before, believe it or not. Usually these are smaller hospitals that don't have the security personnel, maybe like 1 or 2 people. And if patients get violent and they start acting out, you have to call the local police department. And it's like, okay, great, glad that there's a system in place. But, you know, these things happen in seconds. Like, we don't have time to wait for the police to get there. And, you know, in a trauma center that has resources, And, and security, like a full security staff, even then there's not enough time to call security to get to the bedside before sometimes things really escalate and happen. So I don't know all the details of this medical center. Maybe they did have full security and they just called the police because of the, the level of the violence. But I've worked places where you have to call the police if something's happening. And like I said, at that point, would like, great, thank you for coming, but the damage is done. Unfortunately, this nurse's injuries included a fractured skull. Bleeding in the brain, a broken tooth, nasal obstruction, and several cuts and bruises. The nurse was airlifted to UPMC Presbyterian for emergency surgery, and their condition is not publicly known. It's horrifying. Absolutely horrifying. Uh, of course, the suspect is, you know, facing charges, which is whatever, but that doesn't take back the damage that's been done. Uh, this is not okay. Uh, I just Almost have no words for these things, and it's, it's terrifying. And this, this is actually one of the reasons I have not worked at the bedside in the ER in months, because amongst several other reasons, this is a big one for me. I just have gotten to the point where I'm like, why, why, why am I going to subject myself to that constantly? Uh, I found myself, you know, just in, just in situations that were just highly uncomfortable way too often to where I just— and then you hear these stories and you're like, I don't I don't want to deal with this every day. I don't want this kind of energy. I don't want to have to be fearing for things like this every single day. And it's hard. It really is hard because it's just a part of the job that's really difficult. But there's not enough emphasis on this from the system, in my opinion. And I really hope that this nurse comes out the other side okay and that he recovers, makes a full recovery from his injuries. Yeah, that's all I got to say there.

All right. You know what?

I think that's it for this week's news. Those were the news stories that I saw this week that I wanted to highlight that I thought were intriguing. Or interesting. There's always several more. And honestly, throughout the week, these news stories break and nurse.org will post the articles. So if you ever want to stay up to date, be sure to sign up with their newsletter, but also go to nurse.org/news and all the articles are there. There's literally anything, any headline that you're wanting to look more into. There's a search bar. You can search for the article and it'll come up. And now, like I said, these episodes, these news episodes will be embedded in each of the articles for the news, which is super exciting. Just more visibility. And if you are Someone who likes to more so listen to things, that's what this podcast is great for. You don't have to read. I'm gonna highlight the, the main stories that I feel like are, you know, most important or most affects the nursing and healthcare community. And then like I said, we have a guest on every single week to highlight something in nursing, something cool that they're doing, something groundbreaking, great, innovating, whatever word you wanna insert for nurses just doing really cool and badass things. So thank you so much for being here at Club Nurse. My name is Colton Lord, and we will see you next time.

Bye.

From the bottom of my heart, I wanted to thank you for being here at Club Nurse. I hope you gained something valuable from today's episode.

And if you did, remember to share this episode with someone that you love. Follow me on socials @NurseDaddies or @ColtonLord17, and be sure to follow nurse.org to stay informed with all of the hottest healthcare topics. Until next time, take care of yourself the way you take care of everyone else. Love ya. Bye. Bye.