R.E. Hengsterman
R.E. Hengsterman is a registered nurse, medical writer, Pushcart Prize–nominated, award-winning fiction writer, and educator with more than three decades of experience in healthcare. His writing bridges the clinical and the creative, appearing in more than fifty literary journals and magazines including Across The Margin, Maudlin House, Bluntly Magazine, Eunoia Review, Queen Mob’s Tea House, Barren Magazine, Riggwelter, Phenomenal Literature, Former Cactus, The Airgonaut, and The Blotter Magazine. His work spans the boundaries between storytelling and science—bringing empathy to evidence and narrative to data.
He is the author of The Shift Worker’s Paradox, a work of narrative nonfiction that blends science, lived experience, and practical strategy to explore the hidden costs of life against the clock. His forthcoming second edition of The Paper Boy and The Winter War continues his exploration of memory, resilience, and small-town American life.
R.E. Hengsterman holds master’s degrees in Nursing Education (MSN), Innovation, Leadership & Entrepreneurship (M.E.), and the Arts (MA). Influenced by Denis Johnson, Mohsin Hamid, and Alice Walker, his fiction seeks emotional truth; his nonfiction, intellectual clarity. He lives and writes in North Carolina, dividing his time between research and story—between the night shift and the page.
The Shift Worker’s Paradox: Surviving—and Thriving—When Your Job Breaks the Clock
“Working nights doesn’t just steal your sleep—it rewrites your biology.”
Inside You’ll Discover:
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How night shifts hijack your biology—and ways to outsmart the hidden damage.
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Evidence-based strategies for sleep, nutrition, and exercise tailored to rotating and overnight schedules.
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Mental health tools to fight fatigue, anxiety, and burnout.
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Protocols for long-term protection, from cardiovascular health to hormone balance.
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Actionable hacks you can implement before your next shift.
The Paper Boy & The Winter War
“Each story carries the weight of memory and loss, written with a voice sharp enough to cut and tender enough to bleed.”
“These stories move like smoke through a half-lit room—boys turned men too soon, families split by silence, love and violence braided tight.
The Paper Boy & The Winter War is a book of bruised hearts and broken promises, written in a voice that will follow you long after you set it down.”
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What Early Readers Are Saying
The Power of Story Scholarship
Stories keep us alive. Nurses know this—every chart, every shift, every silence has a pulse. Through the Power of Story Scholarship™, we back nurses who want to write, who want to turn long nights into sentences that matter.
We proudly support Carolina Writing Workshops—not affiliated, just fans—because great craft lifts every storyteller.
The workshops happen in North Carolina, a state wired for words—a hotbed for writers, a place where mountains, coast, and red clay gave rise to voices that cut deep. Now it’s where nurses can claim their place at the table, shaping stories that heal as much as they reveal.
To fuel this vision, 5% of all sales from The Shift Worker’s Paradox are dedicated to funding this scholarship. Each purchase doesn’t just support a book—it invests in the next nurse-writer, in the healing power of story, and in the future of narrative medicine.
Each year, the Power of Story Scholarship™ sponsors one aspiring nurse-writer’s paid attendance at a Carolina Writing Workshop.
These are two special one-day “How to Get Published” writing workshops:
Friday, March 13, 2026, in Charlotte at the Charlotte Marriott SouthPark
Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Raleigh at The McKimmon Conference Center
Please submit your inquiry to request additional details.
Freelance
I am a registered nurse, educator, and medical writer with more than three decades of experience in healthcare and nursing education. I specialize in developing evidence-based content that bridges clinical expertise with clear, accessible communication.
I am currently available for select freelance projects in:
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Continuing Education (CEU) Course Development
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Nursing & Healthcare Curriculum Design
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Medical Writing & Health Communication (articles, reports, patient education)
If your organization needs content that is accurate, engaging, and grounded in clinical practice, let’s connect.