Hello fellow Nurse, this is your weekly handoff. Some quick and dirty nursing news that’s worth sharing. Enjoy!

Something to absolutely not believe

An Ohio woman accused of posing as both a nurse and a physical therapist — treating roughly 30 patients at facilities across four counties — was finally arrested in Tennessee on August 24, more than a year and a half after her six-count felony indictment went unserved. Investigators say Amanda Maynard-Murphy used another woman's physical therapy license number and a stolen Social Security number to breeze through background checks at six or more facilities, including a stint as an LPN at a nursing home. When she was first caught back in 2024, she was reportedly wearing scrubs and a stethoscope despite not being employed anywhere at the time. She has pleaded not guilty to identity fraud, grand theft, and possessing criminal tools, and faces a pretrial hearing September 1. Meanwhile, the rest of us had to actually pass the NCLEX.

Something to make you furious

Nurses and staff rallied outside St. Joseph's Medical Center in Stockton last week after CommonSpirit Health handed layoff notices to three registered nurses and eight unit secretaries — part of a wave of cuts hitting 17 other CommonSpirit hospitals across California. Hospital brass blamed economic pressures and called the cuts “proactive,” while a unit secretary with 41 years of service said the layoff call left her feeling hung out to dry. Charge nurses warned there is no way to absorb the clerical workload without delaying patient care, because secretaries aren't overhead — they're part of the care team. One 30-year employee now faces an unpaid two-week gap between her eliminated job and her new one, forcing her to put off paying her bills. When the C-suite discovers “efficiency,” it's always the bedside that pays for it.

Something to make us nurses proud

When fire tore through the newborn nursery at a major government hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan, nurse Razia Noreen ran straight into the flames — CCTV footage shows her emerging just eight seconds later with a baby in her arms. The fire spread so fast that the nursery was fully engulfed within about two minutes, and thick smoke kept her from reentering to reach the others, leaving the infant she carried out as the sole survivor of the 15 newborns inside. This week Pakistan announced that Noreen will receive the Sitara-i-Khidmat — the Star of Service, one of the country's highest civil honors — along with a cash award. In tears, she told reporters she didn't do it for any reward: caring for children is simply her passion. Nurses run in when everyone else is running out.

Something from a Subscriber

“Night shift, med-surg, right around 3 a.m. I had a patient in his 80s — a farmer his whole life, hands like leather work gloves — who hadn't said more than five words to anyone all week. His call light goes off, and when I walk in he's just sitting on the edge of the bed, looking lost. He says, 'I can't sleep. My wife always made me warm milk.' She had passed away about a month before. So I went down to the kitchen, warmed up a carton of milk, stirred in a honey packet off the tray cart, and sat with him while he drank it.

He never said thank you. He just patted my hand, laid back down, and slept until morning — first time the whole admission. Two days later at discharge, he stopped his wheelchair at the nurses' station, pointed at me, and announced to the entire desk: 'That one makes warm milk almost as good as my Dorothy.' I walked straight into the supply closet and cried for five minutes. This job takes more from us than anyone knows, but some nights I'd almost do it for free. Almost.”

— Rachel T., Med-Surg RN, Iowa

We want to hear more from you! Submit your funniest or strangest or most heart warming nursing stories and we will pick one to share every week! This will be shared anonymously- so don’t be afraid to add some humor and flare and cursing, just like we love here!

Please submit all stories to: [email protected]

Please be conscious of HIPAA and omit any PPI or detail that may give hints to the people, hospital, and nurses involved in your story. We may slightly alter your story or change names for this reason. Your story may also be shortened and slightly altered to fit the size of the blog. Happy writing!!

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