Nursing the System
The Nursing the System Podcast is for nurses who want to change the healthcare system—but are tired of bandaid fixes and ‘just try harder’ advice. This podcast delivers practical tools, real-world case studies, and systems thinking strategies to help you drive meaningful change—without burning out in the process. Brought to you by Nursing the System and your host, Claire Phillips, DNP RN.
62: The systems behind my business (and why it matters for your work)
🎙 Episode Overview
In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain and walking you through how I actually think about my business—strategically, structurally, and operationally. Because from the outside, online businesses can feel vague or even a little magical… and they’re not.
This is a very real system. There are metrics, decisions, trade-offs, and priorities that all ladder up to one vision. And I want to show you how I hold both sides of that: the deep care I have for the people I serve, and the strategic thinking required to actually...
61: When ‘Good Enough’ Becomes a Problem
🎙 Episode Overview
I recorded this episode after a long day at work, which honestly ended up being the perfect setup for what I want to talk about. We’re digging into a concept that shaped how I think about effort and performance—being a satisfier, not an optimizer—and how that idea gets misused inside healthcare systems.
If you’ve ever been told “it’s good enough” when you know it’s not your best work, this episode will hit. We’re talking about the difference between healthy prioritization and shutting down your changemaker inst...
60: The Mistake Nurse Leaders Make When Trying to Grow Their Team
🎙 Episode Overview
In this episode, I’m talking directly to nurse leaders about one of the biggest mistakes I see when it comes to developing their people. And while this one is especially relevant if you’re in a formal leadership role, it absolutely applies if you’re not a leader too. If that’s you, I want you to listen with a critical eye and ask yourself whether your current leader is making these mistakes and what that might mean for your own growth at work.
🔑 In This Episode, You’l...
59: Stop Consuming Content -- and Start Practicing
🎙 Episode Overview
This episode is a bit of a kick in the pants. I’m talking about something I see constantly in my DMs: people asking what leadership books they should read or what systems thinking content they should start with.
And here’s the truth: you probably don’t need more content. What you need is practice. In this episode, I unpack what I call the consumption trap and explain why real leadership growth requires moving beyond passive learning into experiential skill building.
🔑 In This Episode, You’ll Learn...
58: How to know if you’re ready for systems-level leadership (and when you’re not 👀)
🎙 Episode Overview
Tomorrow, Change Maker Essentials opens for our March cohort. And instead of spending this episode convincing you to join, I’m doing something different. I’m walking you through who absolutely should not enroll.
CME is not for everyone. And I take that seriously. In this episode, I break down the types of nurses who would hate the program, why that matters, and what readiness for systems-level leadership actually looks like.
🔑 In This Episode, You’ll Learn
The 6 types of people who should not join Change...57: She Quit. The Organization Closed Two Weeks Later. (Change Maker Check-In)
🎙 Episode Overview
In this episode, I’m checking back in with Katie, a former student inside Changemaker Essentials who is in a full-time job search season after leaving her role at a freestanding birth center.
We barely talk about the course itself. Instead, we walk through what has happened since she graduated, how her last role ended (spoiler: the center closed two weeks after she left), and how she’s navigating months of uncertainty, interviews, and “no’s” without crumbling.
As you listen, pay attention to how Katie thinks...
56: She Manages 197 Nurses. She’s Not Burned Out. (A Change Maker Check-In)
🎙 Episode Overview
In this episode, I’m bringing you a different kind of conversation: a follow-up with one of my former Changemaker Essentials students, Mia.
Mia is a nurse director at a large urban teaching hospital in Boston. She started by leading a single 18-bed medical unit, and was recently asked to take on a second unit, bringing her scope to 42 beds and 197 direct reports… while also working on her PhD and raising three kids.
We talk about what that transition has actually looked like, where it’s stretch...
55: Want to Move Abroad? Here’s What Nurses Need to Know
🎙 Episode Overview
In this episode, I’m talking honestly about what it actually means to move abroad as a nurse, especially in the middle of a very heavy political moment in the United States. This is not a “panic exit” episode and I’m not here to tell you whether you should stay or go.
Instead, I walk you through how I think about moving abroad from a systems-thinking lens: how it restructures your whole life, what tends to surprise people, and what I wish you’d sort through before you make the leap. I a...
54: Why Good Intentions Won’t Change Teams (Structure Does)
🎙 Episode Overview
In this episode, I’m talking about something I see over and over again with nurse leaders: we care deeply, we work hard, we mean well… and yet our teams don’t actually change. I break down why good intentions, effort, and even personal self-care aren’t enough to shift team culture or outcomes if the structure of the team stays the same.
I’ll walk you through three different team structures (polka dot, firework, and spider web), how they show up in real life, and the specific structural changes I’m making wi...
53: Leading when the world is sliding sideways
🎙 Episode Overview
This week’s episode isn’t what I originally planned. After the ICE shooting of a Minneapolis mom, I shifted my focus. Instead of leadership strategies or business updates, I’m sharing something heavier: how we show up as leaders when the world feels deeply wrong. This episode is a reading of my System Sunday email—a message I spent the week crafting, revising, and grounding in real-life experience. If you're a nurse, a leader, or simply someone trying to navigate injustice while staying present at work, this message is for you.
🔑 In...
52: 2025 Reflections
🎙 Episode Overview:
This episode is part reflection, part reality check. I'm sharing how 2025 really played out—what changed in my corporate life, my business, and my personal world—and what those shifts taught me. You’ll hear how I set the foundation for a life that feels more stable and aligned than it has in years, and why I’m not setting huge overhauls for 2026 (even though I still have big goals). If you want to use systems thinking to reflect on your own year, this one’s for you.
🔑 In This Episode, You’ll...
51: How to Catch Burnout Before It Catches You
🎙 Episode Overview
This week’s episode is a vulnerable one. I’m sharing what it looked like when I hit the early warning signs of burnout this fall and what I did to swerve before it turned into a full-blown crash. This isn’t a theoretical lesson. It’s a real-time reflection on what burnout actually feels like, what it taught me, and how I’m doing now. If you're starting to feel that low hum of stress in your own life or work, this episode is for you.
🔑 In This Episode, You’ll Learn
...50: How Perfectionism is F*cking up your Projects
🎙 Episode Overview
In this milestone 50th episode, I’m bringing you a very real-time reflection on a common mindset trap, one I’ve personally wrestled with and one I teach in Changemaker Essentials: the belief that we must get it right the first time. This episode started with me on the couch doing my year-end planning, spiraling into perfectionism, and then remembering, oh right, this is myth #7. Whether you're planning a project, launching a new initiative, or setting goals for the year ahead, this is one you're going to want to unpack.
🔑 In This Ep...
49: The 5 Public Speaking Do’s and Don’t’s
🎙 Episode Overview
Right after watching my team present during a company-wide session, I hit record. I couldn’t help but reflect on how many times I’ve coached others (and myself) through the basics of giving an effective presentation-whether it's on Zoom, in a meeting room, or from a keynote stage. In this episode, I’m sharing the quick, practical mindset shifts and strategies that help presentations actually land, whether you're speaking to staff nurses or hospital execs. I also explain how my corporate and coaching work feed each other in real time and why I wouldn’t trade tha...
48: A Transparent Look at My Team’s Feedback for Me
🎧 Episode Overview:
After receiving upward feedback from my team, I tried something a little meta and surprisingly effective. In this episode, I walk you through exactly how I used ChatGPT to synthesize, share, and build on the feedback my team gave me. You’ll hear the full behind-the-scenes on the activity I created, why I think it’s a must-try for leaders, and how it’s already transforming the way we work together.
🔑 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
A simple but powerful feedback activity any leader can replicateHow I used ChatGPT to pro...47: The Culture Change “Cheat Codes”
🎧 Episode Overview:
This week we’re talking about culture. Not as a vague workplace buzzword, but as something you’re constantly shaping through your behavior, your feedback loops, and your presence. Whether you're a formal leader or not, you're feeding data into your system every single day. This episode is about how to do that more intentionally.
🔑 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
What makes up a workplace culture (hint: it’s not your policies)The three most powerful levers you can pull to shift cultureWhy feedback loops are the lifeblood of a healthy systemHow mode...46: How to make any process less painful (even dating!)
🎧 Episode Overview:
Yep, we’re talking about dating today. Stick with me.
In this very fun (and surprisingly strategic) episode, I’m walking you through a little experiment my friends and I did this summer: we turned dating into a game. From point systems to profile prep nights to tracking rejection resilience, we gamified the entire experience. And it got me thinking about how any unsavory or tedious process, whether it’s finding love, job searching, or leading change can be made better with intentional systems design.
45: Dealing with the Consequences of my own actions- Why yes!
🎧 Episode Overview:
This week’s episode is part confession, part coaching. I recorded this late at night after one of the roughest work weeks I’ve had in a while. I had planned to read you my most recent System Sunday email… but as I was preparing, I realized I was living through the exact lesson I’d written about. So instead, I’m sharing the email and the messy reality of what happens when we don’t follow our own advice.
If you’ve ever found yourself skipping your reset rituals, stacking your cal...
44: Is Taylor Swift Secretly a Systems Thinker 👀
🎧 Episode Overview:
Yes, you read that right- we’re talking about Taylor Swift on the podcast today. Specifically: what we can learn from her about systems thinking, leadership, emotional regulation, and culture change. Whether you’re a full-blown Swiftie or just Swiftie-adjacent, this episode is a creative, thoughtful deep dive into five leadership lessons I pulled from her lyrics, interviews, and approach to impact. This one was just plain fun to make—and I hope it gets you thinking about your own leadership in new ways.
🔑 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
How Taylor...43: When your Ambition becomes the Problem
🎧 Episode Overview:
If you’re a high-achieving, impact-driven nurse who’s juggling ten different projects and wondering why you still feel stuck or overwhelmed, this episode is for you.
Today I’m talking about how ambition (yes, even the well-meaning kind) can quietly sabotage our impact. I’m walking you through the concept of leverage points from systems thinking and how applying this lens to your career, leadership, and daily work can help you stop spinning your wheels and start creating real change.
If you’re tired of doing all...
42: How to Challenge the System Without Getting Burned
🎧 Episode Overview:
There’s a myth in healthcare that speaking up will get you shut down. And while it’s true that how your voice is received depends on power, politics, and identity...what I’ve seen again and again is this: You don’t get burned for speaking up. You get burned for speaking up without understanding your environment.
In this episode, I’m walking you through how to assess your position in your organization, what most workplaces actually value, and how to speak up in a way that aligns with your current...
41: Facing a Career Decision? Choose Wisely with this Alignment Audit
🎧 Episode Overview:
If you’ve ever found yourself paralyzed by indecision, whether it’s about applying for a new job, enrolling in a course, or saying yes to a leadership opportunity—this episode is for you.
I created the Aligned Action Audit after several powerful conversations with nurses on the CME waitlist. Many of them weren’t struggling with motivation, they were struggling with decision clarity. This tool will help you assess professional opportunities (big or small) in a way that’s grounded, strategic, and personal.
By the end of th...
40: What U.S. Gun Violence Reveals About Our Myths of Progress
🎧 Episode Overview:
This episode is a little heavier because I’m talking about something both personal and systemic: how we talk (and think) about big, broken problems like gun violence.
I’m walking you through three common myths that hold change makers back—not just around policy, but in our teams, organizations, and careers. These myths come from the broader Nine Change Myths framework I teach in Change Maker Essentials, and today we’re applying them to a real-world challenge so you can see how these patterns show up and how to think diffe...
39: Evolve or Die-Online Business Version
🎧 Episode Overview:
This week’s episode is a peek behind the scenes. I’m walking you through how I’m rethinking the way we run and grow Nursing the System, especially how we launch Change Maker Essentials. It’s part systems lesson, part business reflection, and fully rooted in the idea that iteration is key to sustainability.
If you’ve ever wanted to launch something of your own, or if you’re just curious how I think about testing, prototyping, and scaling this work, come on in.
🔑 In This Episode, Y...
38: How to be a Follower
🎧 Episode Overview:
This episode was inspired by a DM I got from a nurse named Jessica, who asked about a topic I don’t hear discussed nearly enough: followership. We talk a lot about leadership in nursing—and for good reason—but we rarely explore what it means to be a great follower.
In this episode, I’m diving into how following is actually a critical leadership skill, what it looks like to move between leading and following in real-world changemaking, and how honoring the work that came before us makes us...
37: The Overwhelm Protocol
🎧 Episode Overview:
This episode is a little different. I didn’t plan it. I didn’t prep it. I sat down on my lunch break in the middle of a very real, very messy Tuesday and hit record. Because I was overwhelmed and I remembered that I built a tool inside Changemaker Essentials specifically for moments like this.
So I decided to walk myself through the framework I teach for navigating overwhelm and regaining clarity when your brain feels like it’s short-circuiting. I talk through the mental chatter, the reality of my workload, and what it l...
36: I Want to Change Healthcare… But I Don’t Know Where to Start
🎧 Episode Overview:
This week’s episode is inspired by a DM I received from a nursing faculty member who said, “I want to set the nursing world on fire—but I don’t know where to start.” If that resonates with you, you’re not alone.
Whether you’re a student, an educator, or a practicing nurse, if you know you want to make change but don’t yet know what your contribution will look like—this episode is for you. I’m walking you through why you don’t need a perfectly define...
35: 2025 Reflection- 6 Months In — How is it going 👀
🎧 Episode Overview:
We’re back—and not exactly how I imagined. My summer sabbatical didn’t go the way I planned. I got sick, lost energy, and had to put a lot of things on pause. But the time away gave me unexpected clarity. In this episode, I’m reflecting on a post I shared at the start of the yearand I’m revisiting what’s held true, what’s shifted, and how I’m applying (or re-learning) those lessons now.
This is a vulnerable one. If you’ve been navigating your own version of plans...
34: School’s Out for Summer! (We’re Going on Sabbatical)
🎙 We’re Taking a Summer Sabbatical (But Here’s What’s Coming)
🎧 Episode Overview:
This is a quick update to let you know what’s happening behind the scenes at Nursing the System and what’s coming your way this fall. After 6 months of showing up every week with new episodes, Taylor and I are taking a short sabbatical to rest, realign, and focus on some exciting projects we’re building for you. In this episode, I’m sharing why we’re pressing pause, what we’ll be working on this summer, and how you can stay con...
33: Breaking the Cycle of Disempowerment: Why You Stopped Speaking Up—and How to Start Again
🎙 The Cycle of Disempowerment: Why Nurses Stop Speaking Up (and How to Start Again)
🎧 Episode Overview:
In this episode, I’m walking you through a pattern I’ve seen over and over again—not just in healthcare, but across all kinds of systems: the cycle of disempowerment. It’s what happens when we bring up ideas or try to push for change, and we keep hearing “no” until we eventually stop speaking up. I’ll break down why this cycle happens, how to recognize it, and what you can do to break out of it—both for y...
32: Introducing Nurse Leader HQ: The Program I Wish I’d Had
🎧 Episode Overview:
If you've ever felt like you were handed the keys to a leadership role and left to figure it out on your own—this one's for you. In today’s episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on the making of Nurse Leader HQ, a brand new 6-month mentorship and mastermind for nurse leaders who are done winging it and ready to lead with clarity, strategy, and support. You’ll hear why I built this, what makes it different, and what you can expect inside this high-touch container.
🔑 In This Episode, You’l...
31: Exactly How I Structure My Week (as a Corporate Nurse Leader + Entrepreneur)
🎙 Episode Overview: How I Structure My Week as a Corporate Nurse Leader + Entrepreneur
If you are curious how I juggle a corporate leadership role and run Nursing the System, this episode is for you!
In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain and walking you through exactly how I structure my week—day by day, hour by hour. This is the behind-the-scenes of how I balance strategic leadership, client coaching, content creation, and actual human needs like sleep, fitness, and friendship.
Whether you’re in a h...
30: How to Deal with Bullies at Work
Episode Overview:
Today’s episode is personal and powerful. After a string of frustrating public encounters in my (usually peaceful!) Dutch city, I started thinking about bullies—and how very present they are in nursing and healthcare.
If you’ve ever been bullied, witnessed it, or had to manage someone who bullies others, this episode is for you.
We’re talking about:
Why bullies act the way they doWhat bullying looks like in a professional settingHow to hold the line (without losing yourself)Why root...29: The Power of No: How to Make an Impact without Overcommitting
Welcome back! This week we’re diving into something that high achievers (like me and probably you) struggle with: saying no. If you’ve ever found yourself overcommitted, running on empty, or constantly feeling like the "go-to person," this episode is for you.
We’re unpacking why we struggle to say no, how to filter what you say yes to, and why setting boundaries isn’t selfish—it’s strategic leadership. If you’ve been stuck in overcommitment mode, let’s shift into something more sustainable.
🔑 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
T...28: Losing Yourself in Leadership
Welcome back to the pod! Today’s episode is for nurse leaders who’ve ever felt like they’ve lost themselves in the demands of leadership. Whether you're burning out trying to fill every gap for your team, or you’ve drifted too far from the bedside and feel disconnected from why you started—this is for you.
I’m walking you through why this happens and how to get back to yourself, without stepping away from your role. You’ll learn how to realign your personal priorities with your organization’s mission, so you can lead wit...
27: Rethinking Time Management—A Systems Approach for Nurses and Leaders
🎙 Episode Overview:
This episode started with a Free Advice Friday question about time management—but the real issue? A much deeper systems problem. I take you through a real-world case study of an ICU nurse floated to an ED observation unit with a 1:7 ratio, and use it as a launch point to unpack the real layers behind “not enough time.” This one’s for the nurses doing their best inside broken systems—and for the leaders ready to do better.
🔑 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
Why time management strategies won’t fix a misaligned w...26: Repair, Don’t Avoid. How Nurses Can Build Stronger Teams After Conflict
🎙 Episode Overview:
In this episode, I’m diving into one of my favorite (and most important) topics: workplace conflict. Whether you’re in healthcare or corporate, conflict is inevitable—and yet most of us never learned how to handle it well. I’ll walk you through a simple framework I use to navigate and coach others through conflict, the hidden trap of triangulation, and how leaders can shift from emotional labor to real coaching.
🔑 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
How to recognize the difference between indirect and direct repair—an...25: My Worst Week at Work
🎧 Episode Overview
Hey friends, welcome back to Nursing the System. Today’s episode is a bit different. Instead of my usual deep dive into leadership frameworks or strategies, I’m sharing something more personal—a real talk moment from my System Sunday email series.
This week, I’m reflecting on my worst week at work so far—one where I dropped balls, struggled to communicate clearly, and just didn’t feel like I was on my game. I’ll read you the email I sent to my list, and then share some i...
24: Tired of Bureaucracy? Here’s Where Nurses Can Lead Change, Fast
🎙 Episode Overview
Hey there, changemakers! In this episode, I’m diving into a career path that doesn’t get talked about enough for nurse leaders—working at a scale-up. If you’re feeling stuck in a bureaucratic system or frustrated by the slow pace of change in healthcare, this episode will give you a fresh perspective.
I’ll share insights from my own journey into the scale-up world, how these companies differ from startups and corporations, and why nurses who thrive on innovation can make a huge impact here.
23: The Rest Strategy That Actually Makes You More Impactful
🎙 Episode Overview
Today, we’re talking about one of my favorite strategies for avoiding burnout and sustaining long-term productivity: the Deload Week. Borrowed from the world of weightlifting, this concept has become a core part of how I structure my work and energy throughout the year.
Whether you’re juggling multiple roles, running a business, or just feeling like you never get a true breather—this episode will help you rethink how (and when) to pause without losing momentum.
