044 - Say "Yes, And!" to Improv, Nursing, and Leadership with Dr. Candy Campbell

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Candace "Candy" Campbell - nurse, actor, filmmaker, and international speaker - to talk about improv, healthcare, and what it really takes to communicate courageously in high-stakes environments.

Candy's journey is wild and inspiring. She started with a degree in acting and was headed for New York… until a disturbing "casting couch" moment made her walk away from the profession for over a decade. That detour led her to Pan Am, where she spent years as a flight attendant, discovered how naturally she ran toward people in crisis, and eventually found her way to nursing.

From there, Candy blended her performance background and clinical experience into improv, stand-up, and applied theatre. A chance comment from a tech CEO led to her first applied improv workshop with a room full of skeptical engineers—and that workshop became the seed of decades of work helping professionals communicate better, build trust, and navigate conflict.

We talk about:

• Why listening, presence, and reflection are non-negotiable skills in healthcare and leadership
  
  

• How miscommunication contributes to medical error—and what improv principles can do about it
  
  

• How Candy went back to school for her doctorate to research improv in healthcare communication and build an evidence base for the work she was already doing
  
  

• The story behind her one-woman show, "An Evening with Florence Nightingale: The Reluctant Celebrity," and how art and history can open conversations about today's healthcare challenges
  
  

• Simple exercises leaders can use to help teams connect, build psychological safety, and rediscover their creativity
  
  

If you lead people, work in healthcare, or simply want to become a better communicator, this episode will give you both inspiration and practical ideas you can put into action right away.

Key Takeaways

• How an early "casting couch" experience pushed Candy off the acting path and eventually into nursing, improv, and speaking
  
  

• What she learned about running toward crisis as a flight attendant and how that shaped her identity as a nurse and leader
  
  

• The moment she realized her improv skills could help a room full of feuding engineers communicate and collaborate better
  
  

• Why traditional "top-down" leadership advice (like "shut your office door") damages trust—and what to do instead
  
  

• How miscommunication and poor handoffs contribute to medical errors, and why improv-based communication training matters in healthcare
  
  

• Why Candy went back for a doctoral degree to research improv's impact on healthcare communication and build a solid evidence base
  
  

• How her one-woman show as Florence Nightingale helps audiences explore modern healthcare issues through the lens of history and storytelling 

• Simple exercises like "Sound Ball," the name game, and the "what do we have in common?" drill that help teams connect quickly and practice listening
  
  

• How the arts—music, movement, writing, and theatre—can all be used to unlock creativity and emotional intelligence at work
  
  

• The one small behavior Candy believes would make the world better: adopting a positive mindset, truly listening, and reflecting back what we hear
  
  

 

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Links

• Dr. Candy Campbell's main site (improv, coaching, consulting): CandyCampbell.com CandyCampbell.com 

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