PamtheNurse

Asystole RN, Thank you for your reply. The thread has taken on a "life" of its' own I fear, but the segue I am glad to see has given everyone involved an avenue to express their opinion.

I am not sure what you meant by "Since the dawn of mankind every single generation has been whining about the preceding generation." or Since the dawn of mankind every single generation has been whining about the generation following. or Since the dawn of mankind every single generation has been whining about the subsequent generation. I think that is what you meant if I am reading your next sentence in context. Please correct me if I am wrong. In that light, I would agree with you. There is a long history of generations viewing each other through a flawed lens. However, the original article was intended to surpass simply viewing a generation through a lens but to extend understanding via empathy. Did the article not succeed in that goal?

Conference attendance can be career-advantageous, exciting, and exhausting. Planning and preparation are helpful in navigating to a successful outcome. I've attended many conferences. Included below are the considerations, cautions, and tips I accumulated. Prior to Registering · Decide conference goals. o Content: knowledge level, goal appropriate, topic & skill variety o Interpersonal: networking, distancing, mindset, self-care, social, cost (work reimbursable? Income tax deductible?) · Which conference? Best for your goal(s)? · Discuss with mentor and/or supervisor – conference goals & presentation upon return. · Register: consider work and personal obligations, the process for reimbursement · Travel arrangements Are you eager to go to the nursing conference that your colleagues have been raving about? Or is your mailbox (both physical and electronic) full of ads for the greatest-ever conference coming near? First, take a breath, and think about it. What do you want to get out of this conference? Are you hoping to increase your nursing specialty level of knowledge or explore other specialty areas? You may want to distance yourself from your current work situation to gain objectivity and perspective while exploring or creating future career opportunities. Or indulge in some self-care with time away from your home life. Does your employer offer reimbursement for conferences? If not, is it affordable considering childcare, and other associated costs? Does the conference you are considering offer alternate options such as virtual if in-person attendance is not possible? Answering these questions can shed some light on your goals for a nursing conference. If your budget allows for a personal assistant, the use of one to ease preparation is invaluable. Decide which conference is for you. It can be helpful to discuss your goals with a mentor and/or your supervisor. Presentations upon return can be helpful in the justification of the cost for a supervisor. Investigate your chosen conference considering work and personal obligations and if available the process of reimbursement. Only register if it works within your parameters. Then book your travel arrangement(s). · Start lists: o network individuals o packing including comfortable casual & business attire (take this list with you to the conference for use when leaving) o personal countdown (prior to leaving & returning) o work countdown (prior to leaving & returning) o email conference networking contacts, take business cards, work contact(s) o carryon or briefcase: a paper copy of travel arrangement(s) receipt(s) These lists are not exclusive. Personal needs vary. However, from my experience, these items are the most important and easily forgotten. A list of those individuals you plan to meet, compiled ahead of time, will facilitate your networking whether they be session presenters, those presenting their posters, or others. Outfits are dictated by use, of course, comfortable casual for downtime and business attire for conference attendance. Some conference attire suggestions are often in the registration information. Personal and work countdowns keep you on track and less frazzled, particularly as deadlines approach. A rolling carryon or briefcase can be crucial while traveling and during the conference for the keepsake of important documents, organization, and ease of carrying items such as a laptop, tablet, wipes, facial tissue, snacks, charging cords, multiplug/USB strip, and the like. · Set up a personal schedule. o do not over plan do include self-care. o include networking opportunities, distancing, mindset, and social. The conference will have a schedule of sessions. However for the conference to meet your goals as discussed above it will be necessary to compose a personal schedule that includes networking opportunities, distancing, mindset, and social opportunities. A cautionary note, enthusiasm, and excitement can lead to over-planning your personal schedule. Be mindful of rest, relaxation, and self-care possibilities offered by the conference administrators and the conference facility. Conference schedules can include early morning walks, yoga, and coffee klatches available for sign-up at registration. If your budget allows the facility may have a salon, massages, and spa amenities, book ahead you will not be the only one taking advantage of the offferings. Arrival (Before Sessions Begin) · Attend Meet & Greet(s) and personally scheduled events(s) (with your cell silenced, out of sight, and out of mind) take your business cards! · Orient yourself on session(s) locations, restrooms, break and meal areas, poster presentations (take note of networking possibilities) · Organize Session attendance and networking. · Self-care including rest. Networking possibilities are rife at the meet and greet sessions which take place the day before a conference is to start and are generally offered for sign-up at registration. Your employer reimbursement may or may not allow for arrival the day before. It may be advantageous if your budget allows it to cover the difference in cost. If you do attend your attention and presentation of yourself in this initial networking effort are crucial, silence your mobile, keep it out of sight, and out of mind! Have your business cards in hand. In addition, on arrival wander and find session locations, restrooms, break and meal areas, and poster presentations. Often poster presentations can change at the last minute before a conference. Take note of any that not there you may have had on your networking list. And any others newly added for networking possibilities. Organize your networking. Unpack, settle, and rest, traveling can be exhausting. Initially and During Session Attendance · Put away mobile (silenced and pocketed for emailing/posting between sessions) · Attend sessions, network, self-care, meet with friends, and stay organized. · Use your memory aids: pen/paper, laptop, tablet · Spontaneous and planned networking: business cards, introductions, before & after session presentations – schmoozing & lingering are expected. · Balance time and energy needs While you are participating in sessions and networking stay in the moment with your mobile in your pocket or case. Enjoy meeting friends new and familiar. Keep yourself on track with notetaking and the use of your memory aids. Be prepared for networking. Balance time and energy, these opportunities can be daunting. Almost Over & Leaving · Keep your memory aids organized for personal and back-at-work presentation use. · Organize networking collection of business cards, and key takeaways for follow-up. · Begin prepping to leave – use the packing, work, and personal countdown lists you brought with you to double-check you are not forgetting something. · Countdown to return personal and work lists. Any time spent organizing all of the information learned, gathered networking, and acquired skills is time well spent. The leaving and return tasks will be eased with those lists you so carefully prepared. Return - Pay it forward! · tell co-workers, friends, boss, and email, tweet, of experiences, skills, etc. · give the presentation(s) you planned with your mentor or supervisor. · network gratitude to the newly met via email. During your return email, tweet, and when back at work tell co-workers, friends, boss, of your experiences, and acquired skills, etc. Follow through with the presentation. And send out those follow-up emails of thanks to those you met networking. There are many considerations, cautions, and tips I may have missed. Please do reply below with any experiences or thoughts that made a difference for you in nursing conference attendance. Achieving Optimal Results at a Nursing Professional Conference .docx

They thought many things. Being people they applied or misapplied their paradigms as to the how and wherefores of nursing student instruction. Historically that meant using what they saw as successful from experience. There was little else to draw upon, currently, there are many more resources available to instructors. The good ones do their best to limit their paradigms and use reliable resources to enhance instruction. Dr. Pam-the-Nurse

cinlou, My post in 2020 of the emphasis on management and the subsequent pendulum to skills has to be edited. I am hearing from the current "new grads" that the increase in patient load, patient acuity, increased skill complexity, shift/schedule inequity, and inevitable burnout have created an insurmountable challenge of balancing the management of patient care and caregiving skills. And mentors are nonexistent at the med-surg bedside. The stress of the recent COVID pandemic appears to have created havoc. Your thoughts? Dr. Pam-the-Nurse

To clarify, you have been approached in your place of employment by those of "authority" who requested you do a task or skill that you recognized as putting yourself and/or the patient at risk. You, therefore, exercised your self-advocacy and refused to comply. Similarly recently you had an "authoritative" individual request you comply with an action you knew to be incorrect, you exercised your self-advocacy and did not do so. If this interpretation of your actions is correct. My guess would be you advocate for your patients in a similar fashion. This is the frustration as expressed above there are students who do not understand the concept of self-advocacy or advocating for others. Which is a basic precept in nursing care that you have obviously learned and are practicing. My concern is now that you are a person of authority to student nurses how are you communicating this basic precept to them?

I too taught ethics. The older students (Gen-Exers) did show a greater capability to discuss topics that had no definitive answer. If you've done the math, it has been a minute since I taught that class. I always wondered if it was a sign of maturation. Knowing that generally speaking the younger the student the more concrete thinkers they are likely to be. The more recent generations however seem to stay concrete thinking much later than previous ones, has anyone else noticed that?

Melissa, It has been a minute since I last posted in allnurses. Yes, I did finish my doctorate and published it just about 30 days ago in PROQUEST. I have not yet received notification of public access availability, therefore I have no shareable link. Recently, my life has been on hold due to a health challenge, and a synopsis posting of my dissertation in this space is next on my list. So soon! Thanks for your interest and please stay in touch as we have much in common. PamtheNurse

NursLitt, Thank you for your comment. The prevalence of burnout is word-of-mouth known and often studied in nurses and educators. However, little is known of burnout in nursing faculty. Since nursing faculty is unique in its role research is necessary to possibly suggest interventions. I posted the research invitation with the survey link here on allnurses.com. Look for Research: “The Relationship of Self-Efficacy and Perceived Organizational Support to Burnout in Nursing Faculty”. All full-time nursing faculty 10 minutes of your time could make a difference! Please complete the survey more responses are needed! PamtheNurse

Thank you for all of the survey responses there have been so far. More are needed! Please feel free to tell and post to any nurse or nursing faculty that has 10 minutes to help identify burnout interventions for colleagues.

Thank you all, great posts, and ideas for change. I know that nursing faculty is just returning for a stressful new semester start, under our nation's current circumstances. I am as a colleague asking for 10 minutes of nursing faculty member time to complete my research survey https://allnurses.com/research-t736280/ to generate possible intervention suggestions for burned-out nursing faculty. Please send or post the link! More responses are needed to make a difference. PamtheNurse

Thank you for your assistance. I am looking forward to more survey responses. I know that nursing faculty is just returning for a stressful new semester start under our nation's current circumstances. As a fellow nursing faculty, I am asking for 10 minutes of their time to complete my survey and contribute to possible change. PamtheNurse

Kelaaax3, Could you please clarify whether you work only weekend "on-call". Or do you have other hours you must work besides the weekend "on-call"? As a former hospice nurse I have seen and worked in both models, neither is sustainable without support. Regardless your burnout must be addressed appropriately now and in the future. Simply leaving for another position will not resolve burnout it is insidious and will revisit you. I wrote an article about burnout and it has accompanying research (too much info for here) that suggests interventions, the interventions used in the past are not always effective. Article link: https://allnurses.com/are-you-someone-you-know-t736138/ Burnout is serious, difficult, and leads to nurse/patient safety issues I am doing research to hopefully lend to the exploration of interventions https://allnurses.com/research-the-relationship-self-efficacy-perceived-t736280/ My thoughts are with you on this trying leg of your life journey.

BBear2102, I do hear your plea. Yet I must state the replies thus far to your article sum what I have found personally and in reading research. The one reply is of someone who is going into education to make a difference, and ideally, that is possible. However in reality pre-COVID nursing faculty working roughly one-third of the pay to a comparable hospital position and so short that schools did not admit nursing students (ANA, 2019). Now during COVID, they are working as they were in ground classes PLUS virtual with “frozen wages” because of the increased need for nurses. Data pre-COVID revealed average nursing faculty beginner lasted approximately 3 years (ANA, 2019), burnout is possibly a factor. So the common hospital situation of the revolving door exodus and a lack of experienced and knowledgeable staff is extending into nursing education. I do not know of published data yet of the number of nurses leaving the occupation since COVID, however, the reply of the nurse that is taking a break and considering retirement is something I have been seeing and experiencing. The reports of bias and efforts to oust older nurses despite the lack of experienced personnel are symptomatic of hospitals and education being run as businesses. The third reply above is of questions and hope for answers. I too am at that point. I am active in research https://allnurses.com/research-t736280 to explore the relationship between nursing faculty and their organization to burnout so that further intervention may be suggested. There was a reply to my posted article https://allnurses.com/are-you-someone-you-know-t736138/ that discussed the need for increased awareness and political activism associated with legal change. Possibly that could be the direction to lead to the reality of us all working together toward a healthy workplace and safe places of patient healing? Looking forward to other replies, PamtheNurse References American Association of Colleges of Nursing [ANA]. (2019). Nursing faculty shortage [White sheet Fact sheet]. Retrieved from https://www.aacnnursing.org/News-Information/Fact-Sheets/Nursing-Faculty-Shortage American Association of Colleges of Nursing [ANA]. (2019). Special survey on vacant faculty positions for academic year 2018-2019. Retrieved from https://www.aacnnursing.org/ American Association of Colleges of Nursing [ANA]. (2019). The impact of education on nursing practice [White Sheet]. Retrieved from https://www.aacnnursing.org/

I messaged this for approval to go live on allnureses.com for my research data collection to begin. I am disappointed, I have not heard from anyone, nor has there been visible progress toward the goal of data collection. Is there some helpful action I might initiate to facilitate the progress? Thank you. PamtheNurse