Space tourists, floating vomit, CPR in microgravity—this episode goes exactly where you think it won’t.

Marion and Rebecca sit down with Christine Rincon, founder of The Space Nurse™, to explore why the future of space travel urgently needs nurses. From decoding NASA job postings to unpacking “human in the loop” processes, Christine reveals how everyday bedside nursing skills directly translate to mission control and long-duration space missions. The conversation dives into microgravity’s surprising effects on the body, space station livability, and why nurses must help design the next era of space exploration.

If you’ve ever wondered what nursing looks like on the journey to Mars, this episode is your launchpad.

>>The Next Frontier for Nurses? Outer Space.

Jump Ahead to Listen:

[00:01:47] What is The Space Nurse
[00:02:37] Space nursing isn’t “a thing” yet
[00:04:05] Why long-term missions need nurses
[00:05:31] Translating nursing skills to NASA jobs
[00:06:29] “Human in the loop” explained for nurses
[00:08:00] NASA Standard 3001 and human factors
[00:09:48] CPR guidelines for the International Space Station
[00:11:45] NASA’s free training and human research roadmap
[00:13:24] Idea of a Nurses in Space hackathon with NASA
[00:21:35] Webinar to prep nurses for care in microgravity

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In this episode of the Love and Leary Podcast, Rebecca Love and Marion Leary sit down with public health nurse and former USAID leader Jerilyn Hoover to discuss the sweeping impact of recent federal health funding cuts. Jerilyn shares a firsthand account of how the abrupt closure of global health programs disrupted HIV, maternal-child health, and workforce initiatives worldwide—contributing to devastating human consequences and the displacement of thousands of health workers.

The conversation also explores a critical but overlooked issue: the loss of nursing leadership within federal agencies and its long-term implications for healthcare policy and innovation.

>>How Federal Health Funding Cuts Are Reshaping Global Care—and Impacting Nursing Leadership

Jump Ahead to Listen:

[00:01:03] Introducing guest Jerilyn Hoover
[00:02:15] Early interest in public health nursing
[00:04:10] MPH at Johns Hopkins and focus on health policy
[00:04:40] Joining USAID and health workforce work
[00:05:35] Asked about the day the agency was closed
[00:06:00] Inauguration week trip to Ivory Coast
[00:07:00] Seeing news of the 90-day aid freeze
[00:07:20] PEPFAR background and scale of support
[00:08:07] Overnight layoffs and halted services
[00:09:22] Locked clinics and shortages of HIV meds
[00:12:31] Estimated 700,000 deaths from aid cuts
[00:16:09] Federal government as career pathway for nurses
[00:19:23] Why nurses must be in policy roles
[00:22:13] Risk of nursing retreating to only clinical/academic roles
[00:23:31] Calls to action: advocacy, mentorship, support

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Facebook: Marion Leary

On this episode of the Love n’ Leary Nursing Podcast, hosts Marion Leary and Rebecca Love welcome Katie Boston-Leary, Senior Vice President at the American Nurses Association, for a powerful conversation on advocacy, leadership, and the future of nursing. Katie shares why political and social advocacy are core to nursing’s identity and how the ANA is taking bold action in response to national events impacting health, human rights, and democracy. The discussion also explores the Department of Education’s proposed reclassification of nursing degrees and what it means for education access, workforce development, and the profession at large. This episode is a call for nurses at every level to use their voices, engage in policy, and lead meaningful change.

>>From Bedside to SVP of Equity and Engagement at the ANA

Jump Ahead to Listen:

[1:02] Meet guest Katie Boston-Leary (ANA)
[1:27] ANA’s stance: advocacy as core nursing work
[3:04] Alex Pretti case in Minnesota and ANA’s first response
[4:08] Petition to Congress and “nursing founded in struggle”
[6:03] DOE letter: nursing left off the professional degree list
[7:32] Stereotypes about nurses and how they shape policy
[8:12] Nursing roles: bedside, leadership, security, even space
[9:31] Public comment on DOE rule (through March 2) and aid impact
[11:29] “Where nurses go, society goes”: power of advocacy
[12:02] How you can plug into ANA’s advocacy work
[13:38] RNAction.org: quick tools to reach your lawmakers
[14:02] Start local: policy in your workplace and community
[15:21] Political advocacy as nursing’s lane
[16:52] Report for Duty Rally in D.C. (May 7) and next steps

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Instagram: @marionleary
TikTok: @marionleary
Facebook: Marion Leary