Nurse News: Meet the Nurses Running for Congress in 2026, Reused Laryngoscope Blades, and More News For Nurses!

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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 today we are going to go over a few News topics, some breaking news, some things that I and nurse.org are finding interesting in the world of nursing and healthcare, and I hope that you find them interesting or helpful or educational or informative as well. If you're new to the Club Nurse Podcast, we typically focus on news around here, bringing you stories that are happening around healthcare and nursing, and sometimes every now and then we have a guest on to bring their expertise, their stories, and whatever they have to. To bring to the nursing community. But today it is just me and you and the news of what is happening around— I was going to say the world, but I mean, typically we kind of just focus on nursing in America, usually, not always. We've definitely covered some, some international nursing news as well. But let's just dive into it. Again, my name is Colton Lord. Thank you so much for being here. I just have a few stories to go over to today. There's not too many to cover, but these ones I really found super interesting, so I wanted to dive into it. This first headline, I remember seeing this on social media. If any of you follow Nurse Erica, she did post a video that went pretty viral on this, and I think that's probably where I heard of this first. But this is just— this story just goes to prove that being a nurse really just serves you so well in your life. Uh, I think that if— before we even get into this, if any of you have ever been in public or been anywhere where an emergency has happened on an airplane, coming up on a car accident, being at the beach, literally whatever it is, it's amazing how fast your nurse brain just like goes into autopilot. You just start going through your assessment, you start going through your, your, you know, airway, breathing, circulation, like what's the priority here. It's just this training that just kicks in. And I think what I've learned from being a nurse in the emergency department especially is That training really, it really kicks in. It's in our, it's ingrained in you. It becomes a part of your DNA. And even if you've been away from the bedside or away from patient care for a certain amount of time, it always kind of lives in there. It may be a little bit rusty, but that basic, just like what, you know, let's save somebody's life. What needs to happen right now? That stuff always, always just lives inside your DNA. Once you have it, it just, it can't go anywhere. So I just want to preface that this story with that. It's an amazing story. The headline is a Montana Montana nurse impaled by trekking pole, hiked 10 miles to safety using his nursing instinct. So David Caffaldi is a Montana wound care nurse, former ER nurse, was impaled. I'm telling you, if you want to see these images, it is a little bit graphic. I mean, there's no— there's really no blood. Didn't look like he was honestly really bleeding, but it is, you know, a little bit graphic to see anything impaling somebody. But he was impaled through the torso by his own trekking pole on Granite Peak on July 20th, 2026. He then hiked Roughly 10 miles out with the pole still in place. Caffaldi credited his clinical training for the calm self-assessment and told him the injury was not immediately life-threatening. So he was up there with, if I'm not mistaken, he was up there with 2 friends. And basically when he had like lost his balance, he had slipped on some rocks or something and his, one of his trekking poles literally impaled his side, like in one, in the front, out the back. But he just got lucky. It just didn't, it didn't hit any of his vital organs from the sound of it. He noticed there was no blood. He did his own self-assessment. He kind of got up, walked around, took some deep breaths to make sure he wasn't getting dizzy, wasn't getting lightheaded, wasn't bleeding. So, you know, when he did that self-assessment, he was able to tell like, okay, this doesn't seem to have hit my lung. You know, it doesn't— wasn't really, you know, based on what I'm seeing on the picture, like kind of obviously didn't go through his heart. I mean, hello, he probably would have been passed out. But anyway, didn't hit his lung, didn't seem to hit anything, any major organs because he wasn't bleeding. And they were just— they were up there. I guess this Granite Peak is just like very rough terrain. It's rugged. It's hard to get in and out of there. And so they just were like, you know, he's— his friends said he stayed very calm, which helped them stay calm because that's what you got to do in these situations. Even if you're internally screaming, it's really important how you're looking on the outside to other people and being able to keep the situation calm and under control. And that's what he did, which again is crazy because I think about this myself. Like if I see something impaling my body, like that has got to be so hard to stay calm. Kudos to That is just the ER nurse that will forever live inside of him. And like I said, he doesn't even seem to be working in the ER right now. He's a wound care nurse. But that former ER training really honestly could have saved his life. Anyway, so his friends Brad and Jesse stayed with him throughout the whole descent. They used a Garmin satellite to communicate with search and rescue, and they just made their way down. One of their friends would go up ahead, kind of warn other hikers that way if there were children or anything, that nobody was like freaking out seeing this man walk with a pole, coming out of his body. And this also just goes to show how really important it is to just be prepared as well. I think about these things, you know, having first aid kit, having, you know, a way to communicate with search and rescue such as the satellite communicator, which was the Garmin that they had. This also says to bring bear spray, which I don't know, I've never encountered a bear. I've never— I've actually never hiked with bear spray. Not that I'm hiking much in my life anymore, but I used to. I used to hike when I lived— when I lived back in Arizona. I never had any kind of bear spray, but it sounds like that is something that you should have. A basic first aid kit, I feel like, is always a must. And then also people back home that know where you're going. That way, if you go missing, they're able to kind of send out the that search and rescue, the 911 call. Water is always important. Layers of clothing, and just the yeah the willingness to set your ego aside and turn around if if things are looking rough. I'm sure that these guys were you know obviously not happy to have to turn around and go back at that point. But hello, safety is most important in getting getting their friend. Back to safety was the most important. But if you want to watch this video, go to Nurse Erica's page or go to nurse.org/news. Look at this article, and there is a YouTube video embedded from the— it looks like it was like the local news up in Montana, probably, who had just shared a little interview with, with 3 guys, pictures of the— with pictures of the pole impaling his torso. It is crazy, but I love the story. I just, I think that when we can highlight nurses and just how amazing we are, this is a true testament So I love that. I love starting— this is a good news story. A lot of news, as you know, is not great. There are a lot of negativity, negative stories that come out in the news because that's what gets attention. And that's just what, you know, people are drawn to. It's just like you hear something negative and you want to know more. You want to know why things happen. We're not as drawn to good news. Just what do they call that? Like the negativity bias. But this one I love, and I love that he's okay. They were able to transfer him to a center that was able to remove the pole because he left it in place. It's another thing to note. He left it in place the whole time because if you go ripping things out, that's when you hit arteries or organs and start bleeding. So he just knew his his training kicked in. He saved his own life, and obviously it was great that he had his friends there for support and help to monitor him as well. All right, this next story. Oh my gosh! This is not a good news story. A CRNA. This is not a good look for nurses, girl. But a CRNA took laryngoscope blades home, modified them, and reused them on patients. Oh my God! This is disgusting. First of all, but a former CRNA. Hear how I say former now. Jeffrey Dale Watson took home packaged single-use laryngoscope blades, modified them, and returned them to Johnson City Medical Center and reused them on multiple surgical patients after cleaning them but not sterilizing them. And for anybody who doesn't know, which I'm sure most of you listening are nurses or in healthcare and probably know, but if you don't and if you're listening to this just because you're interested, thank you. But a laryngoscope blade contacts the mucous membranes of the airway. And so reusing that and not having that sterilized really is just a concern for contamination, raises bloodborne pathogen exposure. So affected patients were sent letters and offered testing. One patient told News Channel 11 that she felt that the system failed. Watson resigned from Paragon Anesthesia and left his Tennessee RN— let his Tennessee RN license and APRN certificate expire, but the Board of Nursing revoked both credentials anyway, along with his privileges to practice from another state. Paragon says It has added training and oversight, and no patient injury has been identified. Still crazy and disgusting. I guess he was taking them home and modifying them. Like from what I read, he was saying that this just made it easier for him to do what he needed to do. But still, like dude, you can't do stuff like that. Yeah, he said it made intubations easier for him, which. Oh my God, I guess he was unsure exactly when he first modified a blade, believed to be spring of 2025. So it happened for a little while before somebody had noticed, and that's kind of what, uh, how this all unfolded was that, uh, somebody— they didn't say who— had noticed this and reported it, and that's how he was first interviewed and these observations were made. But it's just gross. And again, anybody out there working in healthcare, if you see something, you have to say something, especially if it's bringing harm to patients. I think a lot of healthcare workers, a lot of nurses, there are things that happen on a daily basis that maybe aren't totally in line with policy and, you know, like best, best practice. I say that in quotes. But if you're seeing something that's harmful to a patient or it could potentially be harmful to a patient or multiple patients, you just have to say something. I think it's— it can be very hard to speak up, but again, these kinds of things are very dangerous. And not only like the bloodborne pathogen issue and contamination issue, like if you're modifying something? Like, what, girl, what are you modifying? Like, at what point could that be dangerous to— like, you know, those things are manufactured in a specific way for a specific reason. If you're modifying something, like, are you like now gonna have— like, is it gonna like cut somebody? Is that gonna be like— is it gonna malfunction? I don't know. I just feel like this is just— this case is really crazy. But no worries, this person is no longer practicing. Um, it does not seem like he will be probably in the near future or the future Hey nurses, looking for exclusive discounts?

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Moving on to some violence that we deal with in healthcare. Man pulls gun on hospital staff accusing them of killing his mom and what nurses should know. And this is a great time for me to say, if you are interested more in any of these stories and I did not give you enough detail or you have questions or anything, you go to nurse.org/news and you can find any of these articles there. You can search for them. I know a lot of people listen to these podcast episodes through nurse.org, like the actual website. So you probably already know that. But if for whatever reason you're hearing this somewhere else, you can always go to nurse.org/news. All these articles are there. There are several links that you can use to— that nurse.org uses as resources from news stations or wherever this information is coming from. So if you want to do more deep dives, you can always do that. There's usually social media clips that are embedded in these articles so that you can see more about what people are saying on social media, what journalists and reporters are saying. And it's super helpful for more information if I'm not giving you enough in this little recap news article or podcast. But Mark Anthony Bernard, 29, was arrested on July 20th, 2026, after deputies say he punched 2 employees at HCA Florida Woodmont Hospital in Tamarac. And pointed a handgun at one of them inside the second floor ICU, then fled the building. The case is a stark example of a risk nurses face daily. He was a grieving family member and escalated to violence at the bedside in a year when 84.8% of surveyed nurses reported experiencing at least one form of workplace violence. Of course we have. I'm sure that number is 100%. Oh my God, it's insane. And I have heard several stories of this. I know cases where people have been retaliated against and lost their lives. Because of grieving family members or people who are upset with the care they received or blame the doctors and the nurses and the healthcare system for the death of a family member. And it is scary. And I just hope that this— these kinds of stories just continue to increase the level of security and metal detectors and just cracking down on people coming into the hospital and not allowing it to just be a free-for-all on who comes in and out. I will say places that I've been going to recently as far as jobs, In hospitals, I am seeing—I don't know if it's just my location—but I am seeing a little bit more security on getting in, just even getting inside the building, and not even just that, but getting into other parts of the building, getting into the ER, getting into the units, going up the elevators. There seems to be a level of security that is increasing again. That is just my experience right now. I am certain that there are places that there are still just. Open door policy, come in whenever you want. And I think that those definitely need to be addressed because of situations like this. I even saw a clip this week on social media of a patient. I think it was either a patient or a family member of a patient. I don't know for sure, but had just like walked up and was attacking a nurse behind the nursing station. Another nurse had tried to go help this patient then, or this person then started assaulting that nurse, and it became just like multiple staff members having to come in. Like contain the situation and it's just so dangerous. And being a nurse can be very dangerous. We're very vulnerable. So I really hope that many of these hospital systems are taking action and protecting the staff because that should be the number one priority. Very important though to know, just, you know, know who to escalate to. Like what are you gonna do in these kinds of situations? Where are your exits? And just, yeah, know your resources within your hospital. I don't know what else to say about that. Safety needs, needs to be prioritized a lot more because we all have families to go home to. And while being a nurse is important to most of us, it is not our entire life. And I think that is important to remember. And to round out this week of nurse news, let's talk about the 17 nurses who are running for Congress. That's great. You know what? Nurses' voices need to be elevated, need to be highlighted. Yeah. What better way to do that than to get nurses in Congress? So there are 17 who are running. Let's see, 15 for the House, 2 for the Senate, 10 Democrats, 4 Republicans, 1 Libertarian, 1 Independent American Party candidate, and 1 Independent. So this is awesome. Again, if you want to look more into this and see where these nurses are running and if these are people that you are able to vote for, go to nurse.org/news. So this— so actually, this article initially came out in September that identified 10 verified nurse candidates. But seven more have been verified and added, and that is why this this article is being updated and pushed out again because we have seven more, which is super awesome. I think that there are a lot of people who make policies and who have things to say who have never even stepped foot at the bedside in a hospital and even know what it's like to be a nurse or be a doctor or be a tech or respiratory therapist. So this is important. I think nurses are guilty, and I will be the first to admit, are guilty of complaining, which we have right and reason to. To complain. But then there are a lot of nurses who are not willing to step up and be the voice and make the change and be a part of the conversation. And I get it, we're tired, we're— we don't want to do any more. I want to sit there, I want to complain because there's things that should be way better than they are, and I don't want to go home and then have to do more and figure out solutions to all these problems. So girl, I get it, but I love that people are stepping up and wanting to make change. So the— where the nurse candidates stand on nursing issues. So there are 7 issues that it looks like are being highlighted here. As always, nursing pay, staffing, workplace violence— yes, we were just talking about that, yes girl, clock it— retention, burnout, education funding, and scope of practice. So these are all things that are super important to have nurses at the forefront of using their voices Using their experience to be like, this is what we need. This is how we make this profession better. And I'm here for it. So we'll be keeping our eye on these candidates. I wish them all the best in their race. All right. That is it this week for nurse news. Thank you so much for listening to the Club Nurse podcast. Again, my name is Colton. All of these can be found at nurse.org/news. And yeah, stay tuned for more amazing guests that will come on. And people with just really good information that if you're a nurse and you have questions that hopefully we can answer for you. Otherwise, I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week and take care of yourself, and we will see you soon. 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 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.