Nursing Network for Nurses and Nursing Students - Latest Articles Page 3

Tips for surving the 1st Semester of Nursing School

By man-nurse2b - I can't believe I made it through finals week and my first semester of nursing school is done. I was totally exhausted with several days of 3 hours of sleep and 5 straight exams. Anyways I'm like a straight B student, that's not bad considering I have a family and lots of distractions at home...for me that not where I usually am, so I wanted to offer up some tips on how to survive the first semester of nursing school. 1. READ your books. this is probably the most annoying thing especially for those like me who learn visually or auditory, so I ended up having to rewrite my notes ( because... Read More →

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To The Beginning

By SoldierNurse22 - It was 1998, and as far as I knew, the world was perfect. I was ten years old and the reality I perceived was viewed almost exclusively through the protective eyes of my parents, who deftly maneuvered between telling me enough to allow me to grow up while simultaneously protecting me enough to allow for a safe, peaceful, beautiful childhood. I was born curious according to Mom, asking questions as soon as I could talk, and by the time I was ten, I was starting to realize the world wasn't perhaps as safe and rosy as my parents had allowed me to believe. I was cresting the hill of... Read More →

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Out With It

By wish_me_luck - I sat there in library working on one of my many papers and projects that I had due. I was exhausted--exhausted physically, mentally, emotionally; I was done with it. Suddenly, a thought came to my mind to kill myself. I finished what I was doing and packed my materials up for the day and went home. I grabbed some money, told my mom I was going to study with a friend for a test I had (I put some books in a bag to make it seem realistic), and drove to the store. I picked up some duct tape, wine, beer, and cups. I went to pay for it and the cashier made a comment something to the effect of... Read More →

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Getting back in the saddle again

By dolcebellaluna - After being bitten by a patient with no concern or debriefing from my nurse manager, I made plans to high-tail it out of that unit as fast as I could because my mental health was already a little fragile and there would be no accomodations made for me. I have a 20 credit post-baccalaureate certificate in Nursing Education from my alma mater, so I thought it might be a smart decision to try my hand at teaching. I should have known that it was a bad idea from the fact that I was hired mid-year with no practical teaching experience but I saw a way out and wanted to take it. I was given next... Read More →

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For Whom The Bell Tolls

By VivaLasViejas - As my favorite author, Erma Bombeck, once said: "There is no way that your foot will ever get well as long as there is a horse standing on it." In my case, that means I won't get well until there is less stress in my life, and the only way to have less stress in my life is to get away from its source. Today, I finally came to understand that my once-loved job is that metaphorical beast, and it's not only standing on my foot but grinding it into the dirt, crushing the delicate bones to powder and causing wounds that will take much time and care to heal. Today, I feel less like Erma and... Read More →

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Death is a journey

By jadelpn - It is always a good thought when one decides they would like to die at home. Surrounded by loved ones, in their own beds. But as the time grows near, many decide that they would rather be in a hospital room, surrounded by loved ones, with a nurse who gives the medical care so that the patient and the family can connect, remember, and say all of those things that they ever wanted to say in a focused way. The job of the nurse needs to be non-obtrusive, but consistent. Which is not always an easy task. Often, nurses are the "control" in what is otherwise a non-controlled... Read More →

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My travels down the path of mental illness towards wellness and health.

By dolcebellaluna - Ironically, it was nursing school that made me realize that my symptoms of self-perceived madness weren't just eccentricities. I'm sure we all were self diagnosed hypochondriacs but the shoes actually fit and it clicked that I was the symptoms and cluster of behaviors that I'd wondered about in my high school psychology class. What kind of teenager thinks to themselves, "If I had any sort of mental illness, it would probably be bipolar disorder?" I'd never done much in depth exploring of mental illness prior to being plunged head-first into it while taking my psychiatric nursing class in... Read More →

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Coming out of the darkness

By BCgradnurse - I sat in my hospital bed, cradling my newborn son, with tears streaming down my face. However, these were not tears of joy. I was in despair, afraid and miserable. Wasn’t this supposed to be the happiest day of my life? This child was planned, eagerly anticipated , and very much wanted. At least that’s what I thought. My first pregnancy had been relatively easy, once the morning sickness subsided after the first trimester. I went into labor a few days before my due date, and I hoped for an easy delivery and a wonderful birth experience. Thirty hours later I was undergoing a... Read More →

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Mental Health Awareness Month

By VivaLasViejas - Raise your hands: How many Allnurses.com readers know that in addition to mothers and deceased war veterans, the month of May is dedicated to mental health awareness? Give yourself a gold star for the day if you were able to lift a palm in the affirmative. Most Americans---including healthcare professionals!---don't have a clue. And if you, like me, are someone who cares about mental health, it should alarm you that statistics show as many as one in four Americans is affected, either directly or indirectly, by a diagnosable mental illness. That's a lot of misery. Some of the more... Read More →

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On the verge of deploying as an Army Nurse

By LunahRN - Back in January I looked at my phone and realized that I'd missed a call -- it was from our ER chief, my boss's boss. Uh-oh. Now what? I listened to the voicemail and just about dropped the phone: it was the news that there may be a tasker (deployment assignment) floating around out there with my name on it. I immediately texted my head nurse (my Officer in Charge, OIC), figuring he'd have details. He replied that he didn't really want to say anything because he didn't have much information and thus didn't want to lie to me, but that the assistant deputy commander for nursing (DCN) needed... Read More →

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Nursing: Art vs Science

By jadelpn - If I were to explain the difference between the art and science of nursing, I would say that it is having a patient trust that you are going to take all of the aspects of their process seriously. That you are compassionate, fulfill their emotional needs and wishes, and explain their plan of care in a way that they are going to understand. It is about being responsive, putting one's self in the background and focus solely on how you are going to put a plan of care into action. That if you don't know, you know who to ask or where to find the answer. The expectation is that as a nurse, I... Read More →

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So I have this rash... What do you think?

By steven007 - How many times has one of your friends or family monopolized on the fact that you were a nurse? “Hey Sis, so my poop is green.. what’s wrong with me?”; “Hey best friend! So the other day I was at the club and, well you know me, drinking a bit too much and I blacked out. What could have caused that? You think I could have a brain tumor?! Oh my god, it’s probably a brain tumor, I knew it!”; “Hey Mike! What’s up bro! So, you know that Rebecca chick we met at the bar that one night? Well, I did some things and.. well long story short, I have a rash… down there.” Sound familiar? Well it does to... Read More →

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Types of Relatives We Nurses Love

By cool_nurse - The irony of the title describes something funny or annoying or whatever and true-to-life (not patient-centered though) encounters with relatives whom at their front we smile, but at their back we just want to put a label on their heads. In patients with such, we understand at our highest level of patience. But among the relatives, it just doesn't feel right. Though by being at their shoes, yes, it is very much reasonable to act with such. But hopefully, not beyond what we can't bear. The first label is for the “Toxic Relative”. There are these days when something isn't just right with our... Read More →

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Stopping the Emotional Bleeding Following a Disaster

By tnbutterfly - Last week, our nation experienced two more tragic events. The bombings in Boston and the explosion in West, TX left many people dealing with feelings of anger, anxiety, and fear. There have been several catastrophic events over the past decade and a half, natural disasters as well as man-driven attacks. Katrina, 9-11, Newtown Columbine, Aurora, Virginia Tech..........to name a few. The effects of a disaster, terrorist attack, or other public health emergency can be long lasting, and the resulting trauma can also affect those not directly impacted by the disaster. Exposure to... Read More →

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We are Star Throwers.

By sl703 - Becoming a nurse is not simply that, it is evolving into a full bodied advocate for the health and wellness of all humanity. Since a young age, I developed a keen perception for the care of other people and their surroundings.Whether I was the grounding stone of family conflict, rescuing snails from the desert heat, or saving a fallen flower bud, I had a purpose.Without consciously deciding it, I had already expressed the infant quirks of being a 'nurse' through out childhood. Once I matured into adolescence I soon realized that my personality trait of 'humanitarian' resonated a much... Read More →

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