My Bio

I am Matthew Harless, a bedside nurse; my last shift was Monday, one day ago.? – ?I feel like I am at an AA meeting like it is something to be ashamed of or something to confess. But no, instead, I say it proudly because it is my calling and my purpose, and I am dedicated to the nursing profession and being the best caregiver I can be.

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????????????????? When I was 21, I took my first full-time adult job with benefits at a therapeutic group home. I worked with teenagers who were removed from their families due to abuse, neglect, or exploitation. At the age of 25, my wife and I started a foster home for these same children, and over the years, we provided a loving foster care home for hundreds of children. We adopted two children who are thriving adults now.

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At the age of 30, I became an Adult Protective Services Investigator for the State of Indiana and worked in four counties investigating abuse, neglect, and exploitation of adults. I was close with three county prosecuting attorneys and two judges at the time to help the worst of the worst families and individuals to overcome their current living arrangements. It was during one of these cases that I witnessed firsthand what nurses do.

I am not just a nurse.

I am just, and I am a nurse!

• I was in the emergency room with an actively dying patient we rescued from an abusive home environment.
• I saw the ICU nurses treat this woman with the dignity and respect she was due while her life remained in the balance for weeks.
• I witnessed the med/surg, rehab team, and all the treatment team members give this woman her life back through the training and exercise she needed.
• ? I continued to follow this woman to a rehab center and a skilled nursing center, and then one day, she even transferred to assistive living.

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When I was 32 years old, I started working in the hospital setting, and I have never looked back. ?

The first 10 years were spent in the Psychiatric Hospital at Community North in Indianapolis. I then worked in the emergency department and, finally, the resource team. Concurrently, I worked at Eskenazi Hospital in downtown Indianapolis in the psychiatric ER. Since that time, I have been a resources nurse for Ascension Hospitals all over the state of Indiana. Now, I focus my time at UNAMED HOSPITAL as a resource nurse at three hospitals. I consider that semi-retirement. (LOL)

After my first year as a nurse, I started orienting new hires, mentoring new graduates, and training the next generation of nurses. Now, all I want to do is speak about bedside nursing. I have written a book (waiting for a publisher), and I had a podcast for a while, but I am a nursing advocate for bedside issues with my local, state, and federal representatives.

I represent the collective voice of millions of nurses across the country. I call myself "The Voice of the Bedside"

If you would like me to speak to your group, please reach out to me through this platform.

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