★ By Nurses · For Nurses ★

Send Something In

Stories, recognition, questions, photos, tips, and feedback — all in one place.

Anonymous submission is available when you do not provide your name or contact information. Some technical metadata may be processed by the website platform. Submissions are reviewed before publication or follow-up. Do not submit PHI, confidential documents, screenshots, or patient-identifying information.

Wins, struggles, anything you'd tell another nurse.

Tales From the Bedside

Your unit. Your voice. Fully protected.

Read the submission guidelines →

1. Write
2. Preview
3. Received
4. Done

Anonymity & Review

Anonymous submission is available when you do not provide your name or contact information. Some technical metadata may be processed by the website platform. Editors review every submission before publishing.

★ Tales From the Bedside

Submission type

You're sending a story.

★ Tales From the Bedside — Guidelines

Real stories from real nurses.

Nursing is not only staffing grids, policies, and meetings. It is also the stories we carry. Submit a meaningful, funny, difficult, inspiring, or beautifully weird nursing story. No patient names. No MRNs. No room numbers. No dates of care. No rare identifying details. No patient photos. Stories may be edited for clarity, length, tone, and privacy.

✓ Do

•Pick one moment, not a whole career — the cab ride home, not the resume.
•Use sensory detail: the smell of the room, the sound of the monitor, what someone said.
•Refer to coworkers by role ("the charge nurse," "the new grad") — never names.
•Aim for 80–600 words. Short and specific lands harder than long and vague.

✗ Don't

•No patient identifiers — names, room numbers, MRNs, dates of treatment, or rare diagnoses.
•No naming managers or coworkers in a way that could identify them or put them at risk.
•No employer/facility name — describe the unit type instead ("a 24-bed tele floor").
•No live emergencies — if you're in crisis, call 988 or 911. We're not monitored in real time.

What happens after you send

An editor reads every story, usually within a few days.
We may lightly edit for length or clarity. Your meaning stays yours.
It runs in the next bulletin under your pen name (or "Anonymous Nurse").

Example prompts — one click to load

Loads the example into your draft — edit freely before sending.

Your Story *

Min. 20 characters · 0 words0 / 5000

Aim for 80–600 words. Editors trim long pieces — short and specific beats long and vague.

Unit / Floor (optional — published with your story)

Pen Name (optional — never your real name)

🛡 Anonymity & Safety

•Anonymous submission is available when you do not provide your name or contact information. Some technical metadata may be processed by the website platform.
•Submissions are reviewed before publication or follow-up. Do not submit PHI, confidential documents, screenshots, or patient-identifying information.
•If you're in immediate danger or crisis, call 988 or 911. This form is not monitored in real time.

PHI & Privacy Checklist

Confirm each item before sending. All four are required to protect patients, coworkers, and yourself.

0 / 4

No patient names, MRNs, or room numbersI have not included any patient name, initials, medical record number, room number, bed assignment, or chart identifier.
No dates of treatment or pinpoint timingI have not included a date of admission, surgery, or treatment, and I am not describing the shift in a way that singles out one identifiable patient.
No coworkers or managers named in a negative lightI refer to people by role or shift (e.g. "the charge nurse", "a manager") instead of by name when the description could embarrass or harm them.
I reviewed the whole submission for identifying detailsI checked that no combination of unit, diagnosis, age, and timing could re-identify a single patient — even without a name.

If you're unsure whether a detail is identifying — leave it out, or ask a delegate first.

I confirm I did not include PHI, patient names, MRNs, room numbers, screenshots, dates of care, or patient-identifying details. I understand editors may lightly edit my submission for length or clarity before publishing.