Welcome to The Bossy Nurse Podcast, a show about nurse creators, innovators, risk-takers, and the ideas that shape their success.
In this episode, Marsha Battee speaks with Megan McDowell, DNP, MSN, RN-BC, CNE, about the unexpected turn that led her into critical care, the teaching moments that moved her toward nursing education, why nurses need better preparation to recognize and respond to human trafficking, and how an everyday clinical-management challenge became Track My Clinical.
Key takeaways
- A nontraditional path can still lead to the right calling. Megan’s journey from dance and psychology to an associate-degree nursing program, critical care, and academia shows how persistence and hands-on learning can shape a career.
- Support helps new nurses stay grounded. Megan describes mentorship, peer debriefing, and practical education as essential during demanding early-career experiences.
- Human trafficking education needs to run through the nursing curriculum. Megan calls for trauma-informed, survivor-informed preparation that helps clinicians screen safely, respond without judgment, and connect patients with appropriate resources.
- Nurse-led innovation begins with a real workflow problem. Track My Clinical grows from the scheduling, communication, attendance, evaluation, and reporting challenges Megan experiences as an educator.
Show notes / what you’ll hear
- Explore Megan’s early interests in dance, psychology, and business and hear how those experiences continue to influence her creativity and problem-solving.
- Hear why Megan leaves a traditional university setting for a hands-on nursing program and how she learns to value her nonlinear path.
- Learn why peer debriefing, honest support, and meaningful self-care matter after difficult shifts and emotionally intense patient care.
- Trace the patient encounter and DNP work that push Megan to examine gaps in human trafficking awareness and education.
- Challenge common assumptions about human trafficking as Megan explains that exploitation can involve sex or labor and affect people across ages and genders.
- Discover how Track My Clinical brings clinical-management tasks into one platform, including scheduling, attendance, skills tracking, evaluations, clinical assignments, and reporting, while future automation may give educators even more time back.
Resources
Dr. Megan McDowell’s publications and presentations
- Recognizing the Unseen: Empowering Nurses to Recognize and Respond to Victims of Human Trafficking — Georgian Nurse, 48(4), 24–28 (2025).
- Implementing a Validated Screening Tool for Human Trafficking — Georgia Wellness Summit webinar (2026).
- Recognizing the Unseen: Empowering Nurses to Recognize and Respond to Human Trafficking Victims — Megan McDowell and Keith Rischer, Think Like a Nurse (2026).
- Recognizing the Unseen: The Role of Nurse Leaders in Addressing Human Trafficking — Nurse Leader (2026).
Human trafficking research and screening tools
- Nursing Students’ Knowledge of and Exposure to Human Trafficking Content in Undergraduate Curricula — Research referenced during the discussion of trafficking education.
- Rapid Appraisal for Trafficking, or RAFT — A validated four-question screening tool for identifying potential labor or sex trafficking among adult emergency-department patients.
- Quick Youth Indicators for Trafficking, or QYIT — A brief trafficking screening tool developed for young adults experiencing homelessness.
National human trafficking assistance and resources
- National Human Trafficking Hotline — Call 1-888-373-7888, text 233733, or use the website’s confidential chat.
- What to Look for in a Healthcare Setting — Potential indicators healthcare professionals may encounter.
- Polaris Project — Research, education, data, and resources addressing human trafficking.
- Trafficking Map — Human trafficking data and geographic information.
- Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center — Training, technical assistance, and resources for victim-service professionals.
- Office on Trafficking in Persons — Federal programs and resources supporting trafficking prevention and survivor assistance.
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children — Call the 24-hour hotline at 1-800-843-5678.
- National Runaway Safeline — Call 1-800-RUNAWAY (1-800-786-2929) for confidential, 24-hour support.
Education for nurses and healthcare professionals
- Recognizing the Unseen: Empowering Nurses to Recognize and Respond to Human Trafficking Victims
- HEAL Trafficking — Survivor-centered education, advocacy, leadership, and healthcare-response resources.
- Nurses United Against Human Trafficking — Nursing education, training modules, research, and advocacy resources.
- SOAR to Health and Wellness Training — Training that helps healthcare and service professionals Stop, Observe, Ask, and Respond to human trafficking.
Nursing education, innovation, and other references
- Track My Clinical — The nurse-led clinical-management platform discussed in the episode.
- Think Like a Nurse — Keith Rischer’s nursing-education and clinical-judgment resources.
- The AACN Essentials — The professional nursing-education competency framework referenced during the discussion.
- Substack — The platform used for the live episode recording.
- Sliding Doors — The film referenced while discussing decisions that can change the direction of a life.
- Sound of Freedom — The film Megan mentions while discussing public awareness of human trafficking.
Guest Bio: Megan McDowell, DNP, MSN, RN-BC, CNE
Dr. Megan McDowell is a nurse educator, entrepreneur, and Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) with more than 23 years of experience spanning critical care, cardiology, and nursing education. She serves as an Assistant Professor of Nursing at Brenau University and is the co-founder of Track My Clinical, a nurse-led technology company helping nursing programs simplify clinical management and support student success.
Dr. McDowell earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Brenau University after completing her MSN in Nursing Education and BSN at Northern Illinois University. Her work bridges academia, innovation, and advocacy, with a focus on equipping educators with practical solutions to today’s challenges.
Beyond the classroom, Dr. McDowell is a passionate advocate for human trafficking awareness and education. She serves on the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council Human Trafficking Task Force, is an active member of HEAL Trafficking, and works alongside nursing leaders and state legislators to advance initiatives that prepare healthcare professionals to recognize and respond to human trafficking.
Her work has been recognized nationally through publications, conference presentations, and honors including Illinois’ 40 Under 40 Emerging Nurse Leaders. Whether she’s teaching future nurses, developing technology, or advocating for policy change, Dr. McDowell is committed to advancing the nursing profession and improving outcomes for patients, students, and communities.
Timestamps
- 00:01:33 — Megan introduces her work across critical care, nursing education, human trafficking advocacy, and nurse-led technology.
- 00:06:02 — A temporary ICU unit-secretary job changes her career direction.
- 00:14:11 — Megan begins adult critical care as a new graduate.
- 00:18:15 — Teaching clinical concepts opens the door to nursing education.
- 00:22:32 — DNP work and a missed clinical opportunity lead to human trafficking advocacy.
- 00:33:00 — Megan explains screening tools and the need for a safe, nonjudgmental environment.
- 00:37:30 — Track My Clinical grows from a real clinical-management problem.
- 00:48:13 — Megan shares the company’s next steps and ideas for practical AI support.
