The Gritty Nurse

The Gritty Nurse is back, and NO TOPIC is off-limits! Launching in September 2025 with host Amie Archibald Varley, this podcast is dedicated to amplifying the voices of nurses and others who work in healthcare to explore the most pressing issues they face. Join Amie as she continues to take a deep dive into powerful and often uncomfortable topics. Though shared experriences, storytelling and the discussions surrounding the intersection of power, we will navigate the challenges facing healthcare nationally and internationally--as of course--challenge the status quo. The show's core belief remains unwavering: that compassion is the through understanding diverse narratives and perspectives is KEY. Amie will continue to explore hot-button issues like mental health, social justice, women's health, and the daily challenges within the nursing profession. The Gritty Nurse is more than just a podcast—it's a community where nurses and healthcare workers can feel heard, empowered, and recognized as the community leaders they truly are. Change is HERE.

The Messy Truth: Nursing and Resident Physicians Relationships in Healthcare: Breaking down barriers and building bridges with MacEmerge Residents

May 27, 2021

In this episode, Amie and Sara discuss the funny and ugly truths related to relationship dynamic between nursing and residents physicians on the unit. We ask the residents 3 questions:

1. 80 hr work week, are you for real?

2. Do nurses eat their residents too?

3. Will the real doctor please stand up?

The residents ask...

Un-Sexy and I know it: Talking Sex, Nursing and Healthcare

May 20, 2021

In this short but quickie (lol) episode, Amie and Sara talk about how “unsexy “nursing and healthcare actually is. We debunk the myths related to the “sexy nurse” and discuss the history behind the idea of a sexy nurse. We discuss how we can change the narrative of what the nursing profession image should...

Nurses on Strike! When you're worth less than 22 cents...

May 13, 2021

In this episode, Amie and Sara speak with Brittany Glazier, a nurse at the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) in Sarnia. Nurses there work with high-needs patients in their homes and support disabled students attending public schools. May 1st they walked off the job.

VON has refused to provide them all with paid sick...

None of us are protected unless ALL of us are protected- Discussing Public Health, Health Equity and Unity with Dr. Lawrence Loh

May 6, 2021

In this episode, our guest Dr. Lawrence Loh, Medical Officer of Health for Peel Region (in Ontario) discuss leadership, making difficult decisions and what unity looks like in the face of a global pandemic. We discuss why the region of Peel needed a different solution, the intersection of individual health and public...