Nurse Blake grew up in a medical family, and knew he would work in health care eventually. He started working in a hospital when he was 17 as a patient transporter. He received his bachelor’s degree in 2017 and has held roles in surgical ICU, liver transplant, pulmonary care and injury prevention.
Nurse Blake loves being a nurse, but like many health care workers, burn out and stress can take their toll. Nurse Blake turned online to try to make sense of how he was feeling, and he ended up creating a huge following of like-minded health care workers.
“I was stressed, burnt out and driving home from work one day, and I had first panic attack,” he said. “I felt alone and stressed and needed to connect with others. I started putting out funny videos, and nurses would comment from all over the world.”
While he’s not completely sure he’s a comedian, Nurse Blake did his first tour of five shows in 2019, and they all sold out. Then he did another 50 shows and then another 100 shows. Like many people in 2020, he pulled back from creating content as the pandemic unfolded.
“I was in a weird place,” he said. " I wasn’t creative. COVID split up some families. Being in health care, it was sad to see people not connecting. So many reached out to me to start making videos, so I got back into it.”
He was back on the road in 2021 and was blown away by how his shows unified nurses. They came to his shows in masks. Nurse Blake said that as awful as COVID-19 was, it definitely brought health care workers together.
“I love seeing the nurses, and the diversity of the crowd,” he said. “20-year-old nursing students are laughing next to a nurse who’s been working for 50 years. One nurse thanked me after a show and said, ‘we needed this.’”
Nurse Blake said that his show is a bit different from how he presents himself in his videos. He describes his show was fast, high-energy and very story-driven. He does quite a bit of improv and loves to play with the audience. And while many audience members will be nurses, most people will be able to relate to something.
“Well, people should come to the show because it’s going to be the safest place to be because of all the nurses that will be there,” he said. “I want health care workers to come because they need the night out, even if they are struggling. But if you’re not a nurse, you probably dated a nurse. If you’re not in health care, you’ve probably been to a hospital.”
Beyond being a nurse and a comedian, he is an advocate for causes in the industry including nursing education and safe staffing. He founded NurseCon at Sea, The Ultimate Nursing Conference. He is also an author and created Nurse Blake Magazine, a magazine that helps health care workers tell their stories.
“Even more than comedy, I love advocacy,” he said. “It’s just fun. It’s not even about me. Just seeing the nurses and the crowds, it keeps me going.”
MORE DETAILS
Tickets for the Nov. 16 show are $47.50-$64.50 and can be purchased by visiting www.daytonlive.org.
About the Author