From an early age, Blake Lynch knew he wanted to be a nurse. Little did he know that his chosen career field would make him, according to The New York Times, “a genuine phenomenon” and “an outspoken crusader.”
As a way to de-stress and share his nursing experience in a comedic way, Lynch began to create Facebook videos while in nursing school. His content quickly went viral, and on a deeper level, it connected nurses and nursing students together from around the world. Lynch, who is now simply known as Nurse Blake, is taking his comedy to the stage in hopes of providing humor and inspiration to audiences, and he is currently on his 100-city Shock Advised Tour, the follow up to his The PTO Tour in 2021.
Blake’s remarkable journey of persistence and advocacy has resulted in significant achievements, both personally and professionally. In 2013, he initiated Banned4Life, a campaign aimed at ending the FDA’s permanent ban on gay blood donation, which ultimately contributed to the pivotal role of lifting the ban in 2015. Additionally, in a bid to foster unity within the nursing community, Lynch also established Nurse Con at Sea, a premier nursing conference that offers CNE courses, events, activities, parties, and more.
With two sailings scheduled this year, Nurse Con at Sea stands as one of the largest nursing conferences in the country, attracting over 4,000 participants.
Instinct had the opportunity to catch up with Lynch and talk more about Shock Advised, which will wrap its North American run in late December before heading to New Zealand and Australia in 2024. He also discusses embracing social media fame, as well as using humor to cope with trauma, being on the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic, and other current and upcoming projects.
Check out the full video interview below.
Nurse Blake…
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Thank you for starting a campaign to end the discriminatory ban on gay blood.