The Nurse Keith Show · Keith Carlson, RN, BSN, NC-BC

ENCORE EPISODE: Playing it Forward — From Master’s in Nursing to PhD in Psychology

September 20, 2024·1 hr 9 min·6 clips

Caroline calls herself a 'loving nurse' and questions why nursing school never taught about love.

This encore episode of The Nurse Keith Show features host Keith interviewing his friend and colleague Caroline Karthenas, a nurse who recently earned a PhD in psychology. Karthenas is an oncology nurse and an expert on the science of play, known for her work integrating hula hooping into wellness practices for healthcare professionals. Karthenas completed a six-year PhD program at Meridian University, where her 423-page dissertation focused on the phenomenon of play. Her research specifically examined how guided hula hoop play sessions could impact healthcare professionals exhibiting symptoms of compassion fatigue. Participants in her study included nurses, a dietician, a licensed clinical social worker, and a psychologist. Karthenas's academic journey began with a Master's in Nursing, where her thesis on hula hooping to prevent nurse burnout was published in the *Journal of Emergency Nursing* and the *UCSD Nursing Journal*. She was inspired to study play after personally using hula hooping to combat her own burnout while working in a cancer infusion center. Karthenas notes that less than 2% of the U.S. population holds a PhD, and the percentage is even smaller for Latina women. Her doctoral program utilized imaginal psychology, which defines "psyche" as soul and focuses on depth, value, and personal substance. A key insight from her work is that play is a sacred, intimate process that can help adults locate and realize their sense of self. Karthenas argues that compassion fatigue is a persistent occupational hazard for healthcare workers, and traditional self-care advice often feels like an insufficient to-do list. She observes that nursing education rarely addresses concepts like love, focusing more on clinical compassion. Her personal history, including her mother's death from breast cancer at age 47, deeply influenced her career path toward soothing patient suffering. She is currently a licensed nurse in Hawaii and California and believes her nursing identity informs all her work. The tone is a warm, conversational interview between two colleagues who share a deep respect for the nursing profession. The style is educational and inspirational, blending personal narrative with academic research. Nurses, therapists, social workers, or anyone in helping professions experiencing burnout would find this episode particularly relatable. Listeners interested in unconventional wellness practices or career pivots within healthcare would also enjoy it. Those seeking highly clinical content or skeptical of integrative wellness approaches might choose to skip.

As heard by us

A reflective nursing conversation about compassion fatigue, meaning, and staying human.

This episode follows a nurse's shift toward psychology, and it keeps coming back to the emotional work health care asks of people. It is strongest when it connects compassion fatigue to grief, cancer care, hospice, and the strain of helping without disappearing into the job.

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Why you'd press play

Press play if you want a nurse-led reflection on compassion fatigue, grief, and the psychology of care.

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