A hospital and clinic nurse for over 30 years, LeAnn Thieman is now a nationally acclaimed Hall of Fame speaker and author...but, "Always a nurse," she declares with pride.

Looking back, she recalls that her career shift actually began when she was "accidentally" caught up in the Vietnam Orphan Airlift in 1975. Her book, This Must Be My Brother, detailed her daring adventure of helping to rescue 300 babies as Saigon was falling to the Communists. An ordinary person, she struggled through extraordinary circumstances and found the courage to succeed. When her nursing colleagues learned of her book, they began asking her to speak at conferences to share lessons she learned from that harrowing life-changing adventure. Her first keynote, Balancing Life in Your "War Zones," launched her, much to her surprise, into a full time speaking career!

For over 16 years she has inspired and educated thousands of nurses and healthcare providers with her powerful message and life-balance tools, and has improved the bottom-line of hundreds of hospitals and clinics across the continent. After witnessing too many great nurses, healthcare professionals and hospital staff burn out and/or quit, she developed the groundbreaking SelfCare for Healthcare™ program to address the urgent issues of recruitment, retention and re-engagement. LeAnn gives healthcare professionals the tools they need to re-energize, recharge and recommit to excellent care, excellent outcomes and excellent scores.

After her story was featured in Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul, LeAnn became one of Chicken Soup's most prolific writers. That's when Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup for the Soul fame called and asked her to co-author Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul. When it hit the New York Times Best Seller list, she went on to coauthor 11 more Chicken Soup titles.

She has also authored Balancing Life in Your "War Zones" and SelfCare for HealthCare, Your Guide to Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Health.

LeAnn has been featured in Newsweek Magazine's Voices of the Century issue, on FOX-TV, BBC, NPR, PBS, PAX-TV's It's A Miracle, and countless radio and TV programs. She also writes a regular column for NurseTogether.com, and Caregiving in America.