When a Nurse’s Story Changes—Finding a New Path Through Creativity, Resilience & Community
Podcast Episode
If someone had told me five years ago that a little craft room in the corner of our apartment would change the trajectory of my entire life, I would’ve laughed.
Nursing was my dream.
Bedside was my home. 🩺
Creativity was just a hobby.
Then we all know what happened in 2020.
Our world changed.
And so did my story. 🦋💛
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The Pandemic Shifted Everything
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked as a pediatric PRN bedside nurse. Shift cancellations became my norm. While nurses everywhere were overworked and overwhelmed, I felt the complete opposite. I felt helpless, bored, and disconnected from my profession.
So I turned to something that brought me joy and productivity. I started crafting different things and sharing the process on social media as a creative outlet. Once I started returning to work, I designed t-shirts for myself at first—then for my coworkers, and soon for nurses all over my hospital.
That tiny spark lit something in me. I saw the smiles and felt the gratitude. My DMs turned into a constant stream of requests that a notebook alone couldn’t handle.
In May 2020, Mel’s Crafty Corner officially launched online. 🎨🧵💻 This crafting business became more than a distraction. It became a lifeline.
A Back Injury Changed Everything
In January 2021, a back injury took me out of work for six months without any financial support. I felt scared, uncertain, and like I was losing the career I had worked so hard to achieve.
Every day, I would slowly make my way into my little crafty corner. Creating kept me grounded. It kept me connected to nursing and to others who understood the challenges nurses faced.
When I finally returned to the bedside with weight restrictions, everything felt different. I experienced institutional betrayal, bullying, and a constant reminder that my body could no longer keep up with the physical demands of the job.
In September 2021, I made a heartbreaking decision. I left bedside nursing. I didn’t just walk away from a job. I walked away from who I thought I was.
Entrepreneurship Requires Grit, Not Glamor
Going full-time with my business felt exciting. Then reality hit.
In that first year, I lost thousands of dollars on my first major collaboration—a costly lesson that shook my confidence and trust. I questioned everything.
There were days I doubted every decision I’d made. I told myself, “I didn’t go to business school. I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Then I reminded myself that resilience isn’t about never falling. It’s about learning how to rise differently.
Nursing taught me critical thinking, how to advocate fiercely, and how to make something meaningful from nothing. Those weren’t skills I left behind—they were skills I needed to move forward.
The transformation started slowly at first. Late nights were filled with learning marketing and turning failed attempts and tear-streaked Post-it notes into new ideas.
The Awards That Changed My Confidence
Within one year of leaving the bedside, I was nominated for Nurse.org’s Nurse Entrepreneur of the Year… and I won. 🏆😊
I remember sitting there, thinking: “Is this real? They see me? They see what I’m trying to do?”
That moment restored confidence that my injury and burnout had stolen from me.
The next year, I won Best Nurse-Founded Business.
Two-time Best of Nursing honoree. A former pediatric bedside nurse with a crafting table squeezed into the corner of a small apartment. It still feels surreal.
These awards are not just about me.
They’re for the nurses who feel stuck. The nurses who are quietly building something no one else sees yet. The nurses who are burnt out, but still dreaming.
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Nurses can be CEOs
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Creativity is a form of care
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Our impact expands when we do
They show that you can redefine what a “nursing career” looks like.
When one nurse rises, space is created for others to breathe and believe.
And that’s why these recognitions matter so much—not because of the trophies, but because of the doors they open for the next nurse with a dream.
The Identity Shift I Never Expected
For a long time, I thought “being a real nurse” meant having a stethoscope around my neck. But I’ve learned something revolutionary.
Nursing is not defined by where you stand—it’s defined by who you show up for.🤝
Today, I advocate, uplift, and support my fellow nurses using the same knowledge and heart that once powered me at the bedside. My nursing identity didn’t disappear—it evolved into a version of me that shines.
Permission to Choose a New Path
You are allowed to change.
You are allowed to heal.
You are allowed to dream bigger than your scrubs.
You carry resilience into every room you enter. It doesn’t matter if the space is a patient’s room, a business, or a craft studio.
You are more than your role.
You are a whole human being with unlimited potential.
Celebrate a Nurse Who Inspires You 💛
I wouldn’t be where I am today without a community that believed in me before I fully believed in myself.
If you know a nurse making an impact in their own way, nominate them for this year’s Best of Nursing Awards with Nurse.org.
Nominate yourself—because your story matters too. 🫶
No milestone is too small. No dream is too big. Let’s keep celebrating nurses who lead with passion, creativity, courage, and heart.
Thank you, Nurse.org, for reminding us all that nursing doesn’t end when we leave the bedside—it evolves.🦋 🌿
Thank you to every nurse who continues to show up wherever love and resilience are needed.🌈 🥰 💛
Want More of the Story?
Listen to the full episode:
🎧 When a Nurse’s Story Changes—Finding a New Path Through Creativity, Resilience & Community — Nurse Converse Podcast featuring Mel from Mel’s Crafty Corner
🤔Nurses, what’s one thing nursing has taught you that you carry into other parts of your life? Share your thoughts in the discussion forum below!
