National Nurses Week is held each year beginning May 6th and ends 12th, during which Florence Nightingale’s birthday occurs. Nightingale played an instrumental role in shaping the role of the modern-day nurse. Celebrated annually, this event honors nurses around the world who have made contributions to our lives. For the burn survivor, nurses have played a vital role in recovery, and shape the experiences that are faced in the burn unit. In this episode, we honor this special week by speaking with both a burn survivor and burn nurse, Brianna Blackwell. A burn survivor herself, Brianna shares with us her real-life experiences as both a survivor and a nurse, answers commonly asked questions she gets from burn survivors in the unit, and joins Girls with Grafts as we thank and honor nurses around the world. About Brianna BlackwellBrianna Blackwell is a childhood burn survivor who has gleaned passion and purpose from adversity. Her tragedy at the age of three years old has turned into triumph in a life of service. Brianna graduated with honors from Western Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Her servant's heart leads her to travel to Africa twice to volunteer in a variety of healthcare settings. She currently works as a Registered Nurse at Eskenazi Health in Indianapolis, IN, working in Indiana’s only verified adult burn center. With a special focus on holistic and psychosocial concepts, Brianna continues to work in many capacities to advocate for burn survivors. Outside of the healthcare world, Brianna is a former four-time national champion and two-time member of Team USA for the sport of baton twirling. She currently serves as President of the Indiana Baton Twirling Association helping to propel the sport into the next generation. About Brianna: https://www.phoenix-society.org/team/brianna-bolinger About Mallinckrodt PharmaceuticalsMallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals provides medicines to address unmet patient needs and helps improve people’s lives. They also released their “Focused On Burn,” which was created to help continue advancing burn care based on input from healthcare professionals. Learn more at www.focusedonburn.com. Resources from the ShowRead articles about Brianna: Western HeraldDetroit NewsLearn More About National Nurses WeekInformation About Brianna’s Project with Phoenix SocietyDiscovering Confidence As a Burn SurvivorAre you a hospital looking to contact Phoenix Society & Brianna about the psycho-social program discussed on the show? Email info@phoenix-society.org.Phoenix Society’s Resource MarketplacePhoenix Society’s Blog