Your Nurse Voice Matters

Episode 26 Wendy Trevarthen - The Hidden Cost of Staying Too Long & When Frustration Signals Growth.

In this powerful two-part solo series on Your Nurse Voice Matters, Wendy explores two closely connected themes that many nurses experience but rarely pause to examine: the hidden costs of staying in the same role too long, and how frustration can actually be a signal for growth.

In the first episode, Wendy unpacks five often-overlooked consequences of remaining in one position without intentional career reflection. While longevity can bring expertise and stability, it can also lead to career drift, reduced confidence in transferable skills, chronic stress, missed leadership and income opportunities, and ultimately burnout becoming the exit strategy. Drawing on her decades of nursing experience and insights from her book Dear Nurse Me… Transitions, Wendy challenges nurses to reflect on whether time has quietly replaced growth and whether fatigue has been normalized as “just part of the job.” 🩺

In the second episode, she reframes frustration not as poor performance or negativity, but as data. Frustration, she explains, is a message — not a mood. Wendy helps nurses distinguish between system-based frustrations and personal growth frustrations, recognize when competence has turned into confinement, and identify emotional reactivity as an early warning sign of burnout. Most importantly, she encourages listeners to turn frustration into forward momentum. 🚀

Together, these episodes are a compassionate but direct call to action: don’t wait until burnout forces your hand. Pause, reflect, and consider what growth might be calling you forward. 🌱

If you know a nurse who has a story to tell contact Wendy through www.healthyoptionsnow.org

Episode 25 Toni Hoffman - Her journey with patient advocacy - The Dr. Death/Patel nightmare.

Trigger Warning:

This episode discusses patient harm, medical misconduct, death, and systemic failures within healthcare. Some listeners may find the content distressing. Please take care while listening and seek professional support if needed.

In this powerful and confronting episode of Your Nurse Voice Matters, Wendy speaks with renowned nurse and patient advocate Toni Hoffman about one of the most significant patient safety failures in Australian healthcare history—the Bundaberg Hospital case involving Dr Jayant Patel—and the enduring lessons for nurses today.

Toni shares her extraordinary nursing journey, from ICU and midwifery work in Australia, the UK, and the Middle East, to her leadership role in Bundaberg Hospital. She courageously recounts how she and other clinicians identified serious clinical red flags, escalating patient harm, and the systematic dismantling of safety checks—only to be ignored, discredited, and threatened when they spoke up.

At the heart of this conversation is a critical message: nurses are vital patient advocates, and speaking up—while difficult and often isolating—is essential to community safety. Toni offers practical guidance for nurses at any stage of their career on recognising warning signs, documenting concerns, using internal reporting systems, and seeking external support when internal processes fail.

This episode is not just a reflection on the past; it is a call to action for today’s nurses to support one another, stand firm in ethical practice, and protect patients when they cannot protect themselves.

Contact Toni Hoffman:
Email: toto2@ozemail.com.au

If you know a Registered Nurse that has a story to tell, pass, connect with me www.healthyoptionsnow.org.

Episode 24 Wendy Trevarthen Is this all there is? Let's explore Role Stagnation

 Many nurses reach a point in their career where they quietly ask, “Is this all there is?”

And yet, they often carry guilt for even thinking it.

In this episode of Your Nurse Voice Matters, I continue the nursing application and career mindset series by unpacking career restlessness — particularly for mid-career nurses who’ve invested years into their roles, taken on responsibility, and still feel something is missing.

This conversation normalises that feeling of restlessness and explores what’s really underneath it.

Is it burnout, boredom, or an evolution in your nursing identity? Is it a lack of gratitude — or a lack of alignment with your values, strengths, and sense of purpose?

 

I also dive into the identity trap in nursing, how healthcare system pressures intensify dissatisfaction, and why careers are never linear — they move in cycles of growth, plateaus, and opportunity.

Rather than seeing restlessness as a problem, this episode reframes it as data — a signal pointing to unmet needs or unrealised potential. You’ll hear practical reflections on fear, confidence, income concerns, and how intentional, lateral or temporary moves can create momentum without burning bridges.

This is about giving yourself permission to move — thoughtfully, confidently, and on your terms.

3 key takeaways:

• Restlessness is information, not failure

• Career growth happens in cycles, not straight lines

• Intentional transitions are powerful and valid, and how to recognise the subtle signs that you may need to look for something new

If you are or know a Registered Nurse that has a story to tell, put me in touch with them

www.healthyoptionsnow.org

Episode 23 - Wendy Trevarthen - Part 1 Outgrown your role, Part 2. Bullying or Misalignment/

🎙️ In this solo episode, Wendy brings together two powerful live recordings from the Your Nurse Voice Matters (previously known as Healthy Options Now) Facebook group to explore a question many nurses quietly ask themselves: Is this burnout, or have I outgrown my role?

In the first half, Wendy unpacks the signs that you may have outgrown your nursing role.
Key themes include:

1. Loss of enjoyment — boredom, lack of challenge, and feeling undervalued

2. Misaligned expectations — what you were promised versus reality

3. Limited opportunities — no visible career pathway or growth

In the second half, Wendy clarifies the critical difference between burnout and role misalignment.
Key themes include:

1. The source of the problem — workload and fatigue versus poor role fit

2. How you feel after rest — relief versus persistent dissatisfaction

3. What you fantasise about changing — hours and shifts versus purpose and direction

This episode encourages reflection, self-awareness, and proactive career conversations — before frustration turns into burnout.

If you know a nurse that has a story to tell, put us in touch

www.healthyoptionsnow.org

Episode 22 - Dr. Sue Gledhill - A Nurse's Unstoppable Journey

In this inspiring episode of Your Nurse Voice Matters, host Wendy Trevarthen speaks with Dr. Sue Gledhill, registered nurse, midwife, academic, researcher, community volunteer, and lifelong learner. Sue shares her extraordinary journey, beginning with a turbulent childhood and no high-school education, through to becoming a respected clinician, manager, researcher, and educator.

Sue reflects on her unconventional entry into nursing, her deep connection with Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane and how her early work in respiratory care led to groundbreaking conversations around sexuality and ageing—eventually forming the basis of her PhD research. Her story is a powerful reminder that dedication, curiosity, and vision can overcome even the greatest barriers.

As the conversation unfolds, Sue offers heartfelt encouragement to early-career nurses, emphasising the importance of staying curious, seeking mentors, and holding onto the images of the future you want to create. She also shares how volunteering, community radio, and continuous study have shaped a meaningful, balanced professional life.

Sue closes with a piece of wisdom drawn directly from her life experience—something she says made everything possible—and listeners will feel the impact of that insight long after the episode ends.

Three Key Points:

1. Lifelong learning opens unexpected doors—no matter where you begin.
2. Mentorship and community can change the course of a career.
3. Vision and purpose create momentum when the path ahead isn’t yet visible.

Dr. Sue Gledhill can be contacted via email suegledhill@acu.edu.au

If you know a Registered Nurse with a story to tell, introduce us wendy@healthyoptionsnow.org

Wendy’s website for more information is www.healthyoptionsnow.org

 

Episode 21 - Wendy Trevarthen and Natasa Denman - From Nursing to Sales - It's Not Icky!

After 36 years as a Registered Nurse, I never imagined my path would lead to helping aspiring authors bring their stories to life 📚. My journey with Ultimate 48 Hour Author began back in 2018, when I published my very first book with the amazing Natasa Denman. Since then, I’ve gone on to publish further books — both independently and as part of her team — which has deepened my passion for guiding new authors to start on the right path.

Last week, Nat and I sat down for a Sales Mastery interview, exploring what it’s really like to transition from nursing into a completely different space — one that involves sales conversations (yes, that word we nurses often shy away from!).

In this relaxed, Q&A-style chat, we unpack the mindset shifts that make all the difference, how to bring your natural empathy and communication skills into sales, and how to help clients see the value of what you offer as a genuine solution to their needs.

Whether you’re a nurse considering a new direction or simply curious about how these skills translate beyond the hospital walls, this one’s for you.

🎙️ Tune in and take a listen — it’s a conversation full of insights, laughter, and practical wisdom for anyone ready for their next chapter.

For more information about the Ultimate 48 Hour Author, visit https://www.writeabook.com.au/

If you are a Registered Nurse or know a Registered Nurse who has a story to tell, reach out to me. https://www.healthyoptionsnow.org/

Episode 20 - Kerri Anne Dooley - When nursing experience meets politics, real change happens

In this inspiring episode of Your Nurse Voice Matters, host Wendy Trevarthen sits down with Kerri Anne Dooley, Member of Parliament for Redcliffe and CEO of MyCare Enterprises.

With a career spanning decades in nursing, community care, and palliative services, Kerri Anne shares her remarkable journey, from international volunteer work in West Africa and Asia to founding a 24/7 palliative care service during the CO&%D-19 pandemic.

Kerri Anne reflects on the pivotal moments that led her from the bedside to politics, including her advocacy role in establishing Queensland’s only children’s hospice, Hummingbird House. She also opens up about balancing family, study, and leadership, the lessons of resilience, and how this has shaped her ability to stay true to her community that she serves.

This episode is packed with wisdom, encouragement, and practical advice for nurses who want to amplify their voice—whether in healthcare, policy, or the wider community.

And towards the end of the episode, Kerri Anne leaves us with a golden nugget tip—a piece of advice you won’t want to miss. 🌟

📲 You can connect with Kerri Anne through her social media pages.

📧If you are a Registered Nurse with a story to tell, or know one that has, reach back to me at

www.healthyoptionsnow.org

Episode 19 - Kelli Zakharoff - The MidWife Crisis - Trust to Trauma

In this powerful and deeply personal conversation, I sit down with home birth midwife Kelly Zarkaroff to explore the challenges, heartbreak, and resilience that come with working in one of healthcare’s most demanding roles.

Kelly opens up about a critical moment in her career—losing a baby during a home birth—and the subsequent AHPRA investigation that placed restrictions on her practice. She shares how the process shook her confidence, intensified feelings of burnout, and forced her to confront the often-unspoken struggles midwives face.

Her experiences are also shared in her book, "The Midwife Crisis," and she is touring Australia, speaking to relevant groups about her experiences.

Through her candid reflections, Kelly offers valuable insights into the importance of self-care, professional support, and building resilience to prevent burnout. Her story is one of vulnerability, courage, and hard-earned wisdom. And towards the end of the episode, Kelly leaves us with a golden nugget tip—a piece of advice you won’t want to miss. 🌟

 

📲 You can connect with Kelly through her social media pages. 📧

If you are a Registered Nurse with a story to tell, or know one that has, reach back to me at

www.healthyoptionsnow.org