Meet the New Co-Hosts of Med-Surg Moments

The AMSN Med-Surg Moments Podcast is welcoming three new co-hosts: Sydney Wall, RN, BSN, CMSRN; Samantha Bayne, MSN, RN, CMSRN, NPD-BC; and Eric Torres, ADN, RN, CMSRN. Get to know the pod’s newest voices ahead of their first episode on March 12.

What inspired you to become a medical-surgical nurse? What excites you most about the profession? What career accomplishment are you most proud of?

Sydney: I never really had a distinct moment that I knew I wanted to be a nurse. In high school I knew I was interested in the medical field and sort of just decided to give nursing a try, as crazy as that sounds. Luckily it was the best decision I could have made for myself, because I fell in love with the profession. It makes me feel so proud to be a part of people's lives and hopefully make a positive impact while they’re experiencing one of the most difficult times of their life. My proudest career accomplishment is being a Navy Nurse. I commissioned into the Navy after college and have been in it for over five years now. I’ve been able to serve in all different capacities, from bedside at a military facility to civilian hospitals as part of COVID response to even humanitarian missions overseas. It's a truly rewarding job, and I’m so proud to be a part of this community. 

Samantha: I made it all the way through nursing school without any strong pull to any specific specialty. I liked medical-surgical; I liked obstetrics; I liked emergency and critical care. Back then, there were much fewer open nursing positions, and new grads were definitely not making it into critical care, the ED, or OB. I was happy to go “do my time” in med-surg while I figured it out and ended up loving it so much that I stayed for four years before moving onto an educator role. I loved the development opportunities that I was provided, including precepting students and new hires and training to relief charge. What excites me most about the nursing profession are the endless opportunities that are available, whether they are within an existing role or something completely brand new. I am most proud of presenting at three different nursing conferences, which includes two poster presentations and one podium presentation. My goal is to present at an American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet conference someday.

Eric: I wish I could spin this wonderful and delightful tale of how nursing is in my blood, or how ever since I was a child, being a nurse was all I could ever think about, but sadly neither of these is true. I stumbled into nursing by complete accident. I had zero hospital experience. I had no desire to pursue any medical career. I found out about nursing by reading an article one day that was entitled “Top 10 Careers in California”. Reading that article turned out to be one of the best things I ever did because no matter how I discovered nursing, my love of it was born that day. What excites me most about the profession, personally, is the ability to reinvent myself at a moment's notice. A nurse can change their career projection whenever they please. Done working bedside? Boom, now I work in a private practice! Tired of medical-surgical (as if), pow, now I work in ICU! The ever-changing prospects excite me. Pinpointing a single accomplishment is hard for me because I take pride in all I do. The accomplishment that I am most proud of is when a patient says, “Thank you.”

What made you want to volunteer as a co-host for the AMSN Med-Surg Moments Podcast? What would you say is the most important thing you bring to the podcast as a co-host? What are your goals for the podcast going forward? What most excites you about being a podcast co-host?

Sydney: I am sort of a podcast addict. When I saw my Spotify Wrapped this year, I think I was in the top 1% of listeners for podcasts, which is a little embarrassing. I almost always have one playing — Med-Surg Moments being one of them. When I saw the advertisement about AMSN looking for new co-hosts, I knew I had to try. I think I offer a unique perspective and am excited to share my experiences as a nurse in the military. There are so many different realms that medical-surgical nurses can work in, and I don’t think many people know the roles that nurses can serve within the military. I am also still working bedside, which always comes with plenty of great stories to share. 

Samantha: I saw the communication in my email that AMSN was on the hunt for some new podcast co-hosts, and I thought to myself, “That sounds like a really cool professional development opportunity.” I thought I had enough years of medical-surgical nursing under my belt that I could share my thoughts and stories, and hopefully the listeners could learn from my own experiences. I find that sharing our stories can be such an impactful way for nurses to grow. My goals for the podcast going forward are to hopefully connect our content and conversations with some of the other avenues that AMSN has, such as the monthly webinars. I would also love for listeners to be able to submit their clinical practice questions or interesting case scenarios for the co-hosts to discuss.

Eric: I was so excited to get the chance to even audition for a co-host spot. Thank you for letting me know this is a “volunteer” position (kidding). I decided that 2024 was going to be my “Growth Era”. I wanted to get out there and meet the world. I always knew how great I was; now it's time for the rest of the world to discover that, too. What I bring to the podcast is the everyday bedside nurse voice. I have listened to the podcast in the past, and I have some ideas I would love to see incorporated to make it feel more friendly and welcoming. Having a platform where I could inspire others is the most exciting aspect of this new endeavor.   

Tell us about your interests and hobbies. What is something unique about yourself that most people wouldn’t know?

Sydney: While I am currently living overseas, I’ve been working on learning Spanish. I hope to continue to improve on that when I get back to the states. I enjoy traveling, especially going on walking tours and learning the history behind the cities I visit. What I usually use as an ice breaker/fun fact is that I am a second-degree black belt in Judo. I competed nationally and internationally all through high school and into college. Now it’s more just for fun, but I love teaching and empowering young women to feel strong and confident through the sport that empowered me so much. 

Samantha: My interests and hobbies include reading, playing cribbage, and spending time at my parents’ cabin on the river with friends and family. Something unique about me is that I played some sort of instrument from fourth grade all the way through the end of high school, including the clarinet, tenor saxophone, and percussion instruments. I even went to the state competition (twice!) for music ensembles. And yes, I have been to band camp.

Eric: Is world domination a hobby, or would that be better classified as more of an interest? I can speak six languages, as long as they are all English. The Wall Street Journal once described me as “an enigma shrouded in mystery.”

Join Sydney, Samantha, and Eric for the March 12 episode of Med-Surg Moments at https://medsurgmoments.org.

Sydney Wall, RN, BSN, CMSRN, has been a medical-surgical nurse for five years. After graduating from the University of Rhode Island in 2019, Sydney commissioned into the Navy and began her nursing career working on a cardiac/telemetry unit in Bethesda, Maryland. She currently is stationed overseas, providing care for service members and their families. During her free time, she enjoys martial arts and traveling. 

Samantha Bayne, MSN, RN, CMSRN, NPD-BC, is a nursing professional development practitioner in the inland northwest specializing in medical-surgical nursing. The first four years of her practice were spent bedside on a busy ortho/neuro unit where she found her passion for newly graduated RNs, interdisciplinary collaboration, and professional governance. Sam is an unwavering advocate for medical-surgical nursing as a specialty and enjoys helping nurses prepare for specialty certification. 

Eric Torres, ADN, RN, CMSRN, is a California native who has always dreamed of seeing the world, and when that didn’t work out, he set his sights on nursing. Eric is beyond excited to be joining the AMSN podcast and having a chance to share his stories and experiences of being a bedside medical-surgical nurse.