wellcoachRN

The facility that I work for moved from smoke free to nicotine free several years ago. We have a clear no e-cig policy. I do remember nurses telling me over the years that the nurses used to be allowed to smoke at the nurses station years ago.

Just for clarification, a vocal/voice coach is different from a speech therapist as they will give you exercises to overcome anxiety. They often work with actors with stage fright. I worked with an amazing coach to help me with public speaking since ...

I think now is the time for your son to start to take 100% responsibility for his life and find out what he wants to do. Does he love nursing or is he perusing it because he thinks he "should"? Most schools have counseling services and vocational tes...

A voice/vocal coach could also give you wonderful techniques that would help you. They generally are not that expensive. To find a good one, contact a local actors group or speakers bureau. Wishing you success in your career!

I am certain that management would eventually take notice. One hospital I worked for took care of the problem by creating a time management for nurses class for nurses who had this problem. I never had that issue. I value my time off too much!

When you are sick the best thing to do is take care of yourself early so that it doesn't snowball into something worse. You will also be protecting your patients and coworkers. Working night shift automatically lowers your immunity. Do not feel guilt...

I once heard "your purpose is your passion". If you couldn't do nursing, what would you want to do? If you are questioning continuing on the nursing path, at least explore a few others. You may discover that you do truly want to pursue nursing or you...

TOS is Top of Scale. Sorry for the confusion! I also forgot to add the wear and tear on my body.

My decision to leave the bedside included all of the above in addition to the hours. Years ago, I received great advice to always have a backup plan for when you hit TOS when there is a nursing surplus. I am seeing benefits cut as well as TOS nurses...

One of the most important lesson I have learned is that your life is going to go on. You can choose to live your life in fear or in trust. You only need one job. Have someone you trust go over your resume, do some CEUs (you can add them to your resum...

I would not have been offended since it is most likely in the best interest of the patient. However, I do take issues with the nurses in the past who "helped me out" by giving the patient a suppository so they did not have to clean up the mess. That ...

You have to find out what works got you. I found that working out before going to work helped me. I found that I didn't sleep as well after I worked out. I also had a better workout after I slept. I also highly recommend quality black out curtains! G...

I am so sorry that you had to go through this. I highly recommend contacting your EAP to see if you can get a few counseling sessions to help you through your grief. The other thing I want you to know is that we are never responsible to another adult...

Years ago I took a 2 year contract at a facility I found to be exceptionally toxic. One of the important lessons I learned was that I did not have to "absorb" my coworker's bad mood. It helped me to realize that their bad mood is their problem not mi...

I encourage you to tap into your education department offerings. Start taking an EKG class then see if you can take ACLS. Lippincott has a lot of great easy to understand books on critical care nursing. Classes, CEUs and ACLS are great things to add...

The good news is being an introvert has many positive qualities. There is an amazing book entitled "Quiet:The Power of Introvert in a World That Can't Stop Talking". It will help you to se and embrace your many gifts. Since you want to become more c...

I am glad that you taking proactive steps to do something that you love! A few years back, I attended an essential oils class with a botanist. She was amazing and had a very profitable side business of selling the oils as well as signing people up to...

I agree with the advice on the breaks. Also consider rewarding yourself for doing x amount of studying. Wishing you great success!

I used to work at a hospital that allowed an outside vendor who happened to be a nurse who left nursing to come in with a food cart and offer fresh soups and paninis, wraps, oatmeal, coffee and cookies. It was a huge success. It was often staffed by ...

Being a new grad is stressful, so please give yourself time to adjust to your new job. We have all been in your shoes. It is so important to separate nursing from your time off. Create a stress management program that supports your relaxation. Find a...

When I was a newbie nurse, I had the same fears as you. As for the fear of causing harm to a patient, I would advise you that knowledge is your biggest ally. If you don't know something, look it up or ask someone reputable on your unit. As far as the...

I have worked in several hospitals as well as two cath labs and each handled this situation differently. The sheath pulls generally did not go to the cardiac step down unit with the exception that the patient had a closure device such as an angiosea...

A option that you may be able to pursue is contacting local business and offering classes. Also, offering community classes at local colleges and schools for teachers would also be another option. Best of luck to you!

I am sorry that you were put in that position. I would advise having a discussion with your clinical instructor. Do not ever feel bad about asking questions, you are in nursing school to learn. Even when you are a new nurse, you will have questions f...

One of my instructors was a Kaplan prep instructor who told my class the number one piece of advice is to do a few mock tests consisting of 250-300 question sessions. She said the number one reason people do not pass is due to test fatigue. I found t...