She didn’t originally set out to be a nurse. Ayla Roberts, MSN, RN, and Managing Editor of The Nursing Beat, dreamed of being a writer… But her family encouraged her to pursue a more stable career, so she had settled on becoming an interpreter.

It wasn’t until her dad was admitted to the ICU with pneumonia that she started rethinking her career choice. 

“I remember being really impressed with how his nurses cared for him and how he was treated while he was in the hospital, and that experience inspired me to want to go to nursing school instead.”

Read on to learn more about how Roberts landed at The Nursing Beat, and what it’s taught her about you, our nursing audience.

Bedside to Bylines

Roberts attended nursing school immediately after high school, earning her BSN. She worked for a year in adult med-surg, but always had her sights set on pediatrics. 

“Pediatrics was always my dream specialty…so as soon as I had the opportunity to transition over, I did.”

Once she started working in a pediatric hospital, she pursued an MSN, finishing at the beginning of the pandemic. Then, she left the hospital to become a nursing instructor in an LPN program and later a simulation specialist—until she became pregnant with her first child.

“After that, my entire life shifted. My priorities shifted. I wanted to stay home with my daughter and see what I could do remotely.” 

Roberts started perusing LinkedIn and discovered nurse writing. She started freelance nurse writing at the end of 2022, writing for various nursing publications until she earned the position of Managing Editor at The Nursing Beat.

Behind the Scenes of the Newsletter

“It’s the best job I’ve ever had,” Roberts says. 

Her Monday through Friday routine, she’s working on the puzzle that is The Nursing Beat’s newsletter. 

“I make sure everything is there. Normal editing tasks, like grammar, punctuation, and flow. But also checking on the work from our contributing writers and their deadlines. I also write a lot of the intros and discharge instructions at the end of the newsletter. And I edit all of our blog posts and get them ready for publication.” 

Roberts also spends time monitoring the news cycles for anything interesting that might come up that the readers could enjoy. 

“I’m always looking for stories that will resonate with nurses. I want the newsletter to be a one-of-a-kind news source for nurses. That’s my goal.”

Giving Nurses What They Want

As someone who’s worked in med-surg, pediatrics, nursing education, and now nursing media, Roberts embodies one of the key messages of The Nursing Beat: Nursing is endlessly versatile. 

“If you had told me in nursing school that I would use my degree to work as the managing editor for a nursing newsletter, I wouldn’t have believed you,” she muses.

Roberts noticed that she, along with TNB readers, is especially drawn to content that:

• Shows the real, raw side of nursing and nursing news. “The audience doesn’t want things to be sugar-coated; they want stories where we keep it real.”  
• Tests your knowledge. “Nurses love to be quizzed and test their knowledge, and learn new and interesting facts.”
• Highlights unique nursing ventures. Nurses who are forging new paths—especially if they aren’t linear with traditional nursing leadership roles. 

What Mainstream Media Misses about Nursing

Roberts notes that traditional media is often limited to what they choose to cover in the nursing space.

“Overall, nurses are overlooked in mainstream media. When we are mentioned, it often focuses on strikes, or nurses who are getting into trouble for diverting drugs or losing their license. You may see an occasional story about a nurse hero, but the focus is often on more negative stories.” 

With so many less-than-favorable approaches to nursing out there, The Nursing Beat takes a holistic approach to nursing coverage: the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

“I always want to cover a variety of stories,” Roberts says. “From mental health, to social media trends, technology advancements, policy and guideline updates…Nurses are invested in what will make them better humans and better nurses.” 

And The Nursing Beat makes that a priority.

Nursing is Non-Linear

What’s next for nursing? Roberts hopes to see more nurses stepping out of survival mode and into possibility. 

“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done in the nursing profession. So many nurses are struggling and the system has been broken in a lot of ways for a long time. Get involved, try to change things, but don’t feel stuck at the expense of your mental health.” 

Roberts advises if you feel stuck, don’t feel like there’s nothing else out there for you in nursing. 

“Whether it’s bedside nursing or something more outside-the-box or entrepreneurial, with the future of nursing, the sky is the limit. Nurses are uniquely qualified for so many different roles. You can leave what’s not working. It doesn’t make you a bad nurse. It doesn’t make you a bad person. And you never know what’s waiting for you on the other side. I’m living proof of that.”

Final Thoughts

Roberts may be writing about nursing now, but she never stopped being one. In fact, her understanding of the broader nursing culture is unmatched as the Managing Editor for The Nursing Beat.

“We’re really trying to build a sense of community and support, so nurses know they have a media outlet that is tailored to what matters most to them. We are one-hundred percent dedicated to nurses.” 

Want nursing news that gives you main character energy? Don’t miss out—Subscribe to The Nursing Beat!