In this episode, we're joined by Niki Shimko, a national leader in neonatal and pediatric transport and disaster preparedness.

Niki Shimko is a leader in neonatal and pediatric transport with more than 26 years of nursing experience and over 12 years leading a pediatric and neonatal transport team. She serves as President of the Florida Neonatal Pediatric Transport Network Association and holds leadership roles focused on pediatric disaster preparedness at both the state and national levels. Niki played a key role in the evacuation of Golisano Children’s Hospital following Hurricane Ian and continues to advance pediatric disaster response as a Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) instructor and national advocate.

We will explore her 26 year nursing journey and the critical leadership decisions behind evacuating a children’s hospital during Hurricane Ian. Niki shares hard won lessons from transport medicine and offers practical, high impact steps frontline nurses can take today to strengthen pediatric disaster readiness. This episode is called, " On the Move When It Matters Most: Leadership in Pediatric Transport."

Niki can be contacted on LinkedIn @NikiShimko

BCEN & Friends Podcast is presented by the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing. Scan the QR Code to sign up for Learn Updates:

We invite you to visit us online at bcen.org for additional information about emergency nursing certification, education, and much more.

Episode introduction created using elevenlabs.io

In this episode, we're joined by Pam Vanderberg, a nationally respected trauma leader and newly appointed BCEN Board member.

Pam Vanderberg serves as Vice President of Trauma and Burn Services at Grady Memorial Hospital, one of the nation’s busiest Level I trauma and burn centers. Pam oversees comprehensive trauma and burn operations, aligning clinical excellence with operational and financial sustainability. Nationally, she has advanced trauma nursing as an item writer for the TCRN® and as a contributor to the American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program Best Practice Guidelines and the Advanced Practice Trauma Management course. Pam also serves on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Trauma Foundation, supporting statewide trauma system advocacy. Her career reflects a deep commitment to strengthening certification, advancing trauma systems, and elevating standards of care across the continuum.

Pam shares powerful insights drawn from her journey through career disruption, trauma system expansion, violence prevention, and certification—offering a thoughtful perspective on leadership, resilience, and the future of emergency and trauma nursing. This episode is called, "Hope, Grit, and Growth: Blending Science and Soul in Trauma Leadership."

Pam can be contacted on LinkedIn @PamelaVanderberg

BCEN & Friends Podcast is presented by the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing. Scan the QR Code to sign up for Learn Updates:

We invite you to visit us online at bcen.org for additional information about emergency nursing certification, education, and much more.

Episode introduction created using elevenlabs.io

In this episode, Leslie Mollencop shares her unique journey from bedside nursing into legal nursing, offering expert insight into how documentation shapes both patient care and legal outcomes.

Leslie Mollencop is a seasoned emergency department registered nurse with more than 20 years of clinical experience, including trauma, charge nurse, and SANE roles. She is an experienced legal nurse and expert litigation witness whose work focuses on documentation education, empowering nurses to chart with confidence, professionalism, and compassion. Through her roles as a preceptor, shared governance leader, and nurse educator, Leslie is dedicated to supporting nurses at every stage of their practice.

During this recording, Leslie breaks down what confident, effective charting truly looks like, while exploring how documentation practices can either contribute to—or help alleviate—nurse stress and burnout. This episode is called, "The Chart Tells the Story: Where Compassion Meets the Record."

Leslie can be contacted on LinkedIn @LeslieMollencop or by email at lesliemollencop@gmail.com

BCEN & Friends Podcast is presented by the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing. Scan the QR Code to sign up for Learn Updates:

We invite you to visit us online at bcen.org for additional information about emergency nursing certification, education, and much more.

Episode introduction created using elevenlabs.io