Ethan Bryant: Pediatric ICU Leadership, COVID’s Lasting Impact, and the Future of Nursing with AI

Ethan Bryant is an assistant nurse manager at a major academic hospital, leading a 130-person team in a 28-bed Pediatric ICU at a Level 1 trauma and burn center. He also teaches pediatric clinicals at Towson University and still works bedside in a pediatric ER, keeping one foot in leadership and one foot on the front lines.In this episode, Ethan breaks down what great nurses have in common: relentless learning, curiosity, teamwork, and patient and family advocacy. He shares the real challenges of managing nurses in an understaffed system and how leaders can maintain morale when the work involves loss, grief, and constant pressure.Ryan and Ethan also dig into COVID’s lasting effects on nursing culture, including the loss of “legacy nurses,” the staffing crisis, and the pediatric “triple pandemic” wave of RSV, flu, and COVID that overwhelmed hospitals after the initial surge.Ethan shares highlights from his DNP in Healthcare Systems Leadership, including a “buddy system” project pairing senior nurses with new interns and residents to improve confidence, collaboration, and support in high-stress clinical environments. They also explore how AI may reduce charting and documentation burdens, and why bedside nursing will always require the human touch.The episode wraps with a lightning round featuring Ethan’s love of escape rooms, DC museums, theater trips with his partner, and two dream meetups: Walt Disney and Dolly Parton.Topics CoveredLeading a pediatric ICU team of 130 in a Level 1 trauma and burn centerWhat makes a nurse truly greatThe hardest parts of nurse management: staffing, morale, and engagementCOVID’s long shadow on nursing culture and workforce retentionThe pediatric “triple pandemic” and why hospitals weren’t readyCommunicating with families as “the patient in the bed” and “the patient outside the bed.”Ethan’s DNP “buddy system” project to support new residents and internsAI in healthcare: charting, scribes, virtual nursing, and what won’t be replacedLeadership lessons: fairness, avoiding favoritism, and learning hospital financeLife outside the hospital: theater, museums, Broadway trips, and pets (Piper + Lilo)For more inspiring conversations with distinguished leaders and innovators, explore the Marquis Masters Podcast and visit marquiswhoswho.com. If you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to subscribe, share, and leave a review to help more listeners discover stories from leaders shaping industries and improving lives.