10 Educational Instagram Accounts for Nurses
I credit a lot of my success in nursing school to all the supplementary tools I used while studying. I found ways to incorporate YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram into my study routine. Some of you have figured out these pockets of free, useful content exist, but some of you have not yet been enlightened. Today we’re going to shine a light on Instagram.
I’ve curated my IG over the years, and my feed is overflowing with accounts that are great for reinforcing nursing content and learning new things. While there are probably more educational accounts than I can count, there are some that I keep coming back to because each has a style I connect with and enjoy. There are lots of other accounts I follow in the medical/nursing universe but these are my MVPs, in no particular order.
Rishi Kumar, MD
He’s a cardiothoracic anesthesiologist and ICU doc who has one of the best IG accounts for learning. It’s an educational goldmine! Dr. Kumar breaks down common medications, walks you through reading an X-ray, or explains any number of procedures and pathos. He’s the reason I know that the sodium in a liter bag of NS is equivalent to the sodium in 15 small bags of potato chips. He even has quiz questions for you.
Crystal, MSN FNP-C RN CEN
I can’t get enough content from this account. Watching the videos Crystal makes about starting IVs has made me so much better at it. Her tips, tricks, and processes are easy to understand, execute and have increased my success rates with poking patients. If I lived in her area, I would be taking one of her hands on classes immediately. Even if you’re a boss at starting IVs, you may still learn something from her.
Deena, BSN RN
Deena is a neuro nurse and her account is another that I am constantly gleaning information from. In between snippets of her life, she covers topics like when to call a STAT team, tips for doing ultrasound guided IVs, and how to make it through hard times in school. She’s a great mentor, and speaks out for all those who are told they don’t have what it takes to be a nurse just because they’re struggling. She speaks openly about her own challenges and critics, and how she kept working toward her dream of being a nurse despite them.
Monique Doughty, BSN RN
While her account is mostly flawless selfies, her content is absolutely teaching me how to operate in my day-to-day life. Monique is a retired nurse and now a self-love and mindset coach. I’ve devoured her content all over the web. While her message is meant to speak to and empower women of color, all women (and even men and non-binary folks) can learn from her. From standing up for yourself in a medical setting to protecting your well being in all spaces in your life, she is an influence for good for all nurses.
Brynn O’Donnell, APN
Brynn is an APN and fellow podcaster who started her IG account in early 2020. I love the educational graphics and flow charts she shares with her followers. She covers lots of topics like diabetes, DKA, and other endocrine disorders. It’s always a welcome refresher as I scroll by.
Jannel Gooden, BSN RN
If you need inspiration and empowerment, you need to know Jannel. Jannel is the Insta Auntie for all newbie nurses. She teaches nurses to recognize their power, how to organize a shift - she’ll even text you an affirmation or tip for how to set boundaries. While intended for the novice nurse, we can all learn and grow with her guidance.
Brian, RN VA-BC
This is another account that I can honestly say helped up my IV success rate. Videos followed by clear, concise explanations cover topics from IV catheter flow rates, how to anchor rolley veins, and shockingly, you can even see someone (who I’m guessing volunteered) get an IO drilled into their tibia. Not for the weak of stomach, but cool as hell for the rest of us.
Lacey Magen, BSN RN
Lacey teaches me to deal. She works as a mentor for new nurses and is another podcaster on this list. As a very anxious nurse, she’s given me tips, encouragement and mindset shift suggestions that have made small, but consistent improvements in my life. Oh, and her content on leveraging your menstrual cycle to be more productive blew my mind.
Sonja Schwartzbach, BSN RN CCRN
She’s a nurse, DNP student, and author. While Sonja’s content is completely different from the others on this list, I find myself learning from her all the time. Her humor points out the frustrating, hilarious, and fucked up parts of nursing - leading me to feel less alone and more understood. She makes me want to speak up for myself and to encourage others to do the same. She uses IG as a microblog at times, and her writing is always clear, strong, and never fails to make me think.
Barbara, BSN RN
With a quick scroll of her feed it’s obvious that she is serving up great information in easily digestible bites. There’s a healthy combo of medication snapshots, tips, tricks, and encouragement. She has a ton of content to keep you occupied for a while, and she covers topics helpful to the new grad and experienced nurse alike.
It was incredibly difficult to distill this list down to just ten accounts because there are so many nurses and educators making great content on the ‘Gram. I love to explore, and when I find an account I love I deep dive their content as well as who they happen to be following. I encourage you to do the same.
You can further organize things by bookmarking posts and grouping collections by subject. There’s nothing stopping you from having one for pharm, one for inspiration, one for clinical skills, and so on. I know I’m way more likely to remember something I saw on Insta than something I read in my nursing fundamentals textbook.
If you’re not already searching Instagram for these accounts, what are you waiting for? Just be sure to come back and tell me which accounts resonated with you.
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All content reflects the opinions of Adrianne Behning, BSN, RN unless otherwise credited.
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