A Nurse Has Fallen: Emergency Episode on the Killing of Alex Pretti, RN

On January 24, 2026, we lost one of our own. Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, was fatally shot by federal agents during an immigration enforcement operation. This special emergency episode of The Melanin Initiative Podcast processes this tragedy and translates grief into action.

This is an AI-generated podcast using NotebookLM, created from Dr. Kimberly Madison's comprehensive statement (available on the Mahogany Dermatology blog) on why Alex Pretti's death demands immediate political engagement from every nurse in America.

The same love and compassion we're taught to give our patients must be shared between one another. After all, nurses are patients too.

In this episode, we explore:

✓ Who Alex Pretti was and why his death is a loss for the entire nursing profession ✓ How the ANA Code of Ethics (Provisions 1, 3, 7, 8, 9) demands we speak and act ✓ Why advocacy for our patients requires advocacy for safe communities 

✓ What political action looks like for every nursing role—from bedside RNs to retired nurses 

✓ The 7 immediate actions you can take today 

✓ Why nursing school doesn't prepare us for political engagement (and how we fix that) 

✓ How to hold grief and action simultaneously

Political action is not partisan. It is professional. It is the exercise of our collective power to shape the conditions under which we practice, the safety of our communities, and the integrity of our healthcare systems.

Whether you are an RN, MSN, DNP, PhD, nursing executive, student, professor, entrepreneur, or retired nurse, this is your moment to engage politically.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Full statement with action steps and infographic: www.mahoganydermatology.com/news/on-the-killing-of-alex-pretti-rn-a-call-to-the-entire-nursing-profession

• ANA Code of Ethics: https://codeofethics.ana.org/provisions 

• American Nurses Association Advocacy: www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/advocacy/ 

• National Black Nurses Association: www.nbna.org 

• American Association of Nurse Practitioners: www.aanp.org 

• DNPs of Color: https://www.dnpsofcolor.org/

• Society of Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners of Color: https://www.pmhnpsofcolor.org/

• National Black Nurse Practitioner Association: https://nbnpa.enpnetwork.com/

• National Association of Hispanic Nurses: www.nahnnet.org 

• Philippine Nurses Association of America: www.mypnaa.org 

• Network of Black Male Nurse Leaders: https://www.linkedin.com/company/network-of-black-male-nurse-leaders/posts/?feedView=all

IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:

1. Read the ANA Code of Ethics
2. Contact your city council, state legislators, and federal representatives
3. Support nursing advocacy organizations, if they're silent, demand they speak
4. Amplify nurse voices on your platforms
5. Protect your own safety if working in communities experiencing enforcement actions
6. Check on the nurses in your life
7. Vote in every election, local, state, and federal

Alex Pretti showed up for his community. He showed up for veterans. He showed up as a nurse. We show up for him now.

Read the Full Statement: 

Stay Connected with The Melanin Initiative Podcast:

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