Topics About 'Life Of A Nurse'.

Not a bad day today... started back per diem today. 6 cases, all in the same township. Not my usual zip codes though, so I did waste some time and scheduled visits akimbo, instead of in a line like I usually try to do. 8:00 am:6 pt's, one n...

I do a lot of personal care towards my patients and usually do long days instead of nights as my manager allowed my request because I have small kids at home and I assured her that I do better during the day than night. Fast forward since I started ...

How much of life is occupied by the vain pursuit of excellence in areas of no value? Let's consider, for instance, pop culture. Few things are done with such fervor and finesse, but what is it really? Is it" dust in the wind", as a famous rock philos...

I started out full time as a new grad in the ER department and casually on a nephrology unit. The completion of a long time goal was finally there and I was awestruck, contemplating what my next goals would be. I loved the experience, meeting new peo...

"She just cut her neck with a broken light bulb!" said the aide. I told the nurse to call a code blue but the pager system was down. So another aide ran down the hallway yelling for help from another unit. A few aides came running over. The other pat...

During my time working in long term care, one of my lady patients who was very demanding and "by the rule" used to frustrate me to tears, until one day I noticed the pictures on the wall by her side of the room. In one of the photos, three beautiful ...

Dear Patients and Friends: You are likely seeing stories of people who went to urgent cares or physician's offices and were turned away from being seen. I read one of a man that ended up in the hospital due to COVID-19 with pneumonia. He was upset be...

Today was a really hard day for everyone at work. One of our employees died at the hospital. He was just 24 years old, married with kids. Earlier today I was in a meeting and was called by one of my locally employed staff supervisors and informed tha...

So one year, I ruined Thanksgiving. Not on purpose. It's just that I worked Thanksgiving Eve, which means my work shift rolled into Thanksgiving day. And there we are at the end of our shift, smiling, Snapchatting turkey messages, talking about how l...

I remember in Nursing School learning about Florence Nightingale’s role in the Crimean War - what she did to help establish safe sanitation practices, and that she was a tremendous advocate who worked tirelessly for her patients. However, it was not...

How We Can Use the Nursing Process to Help Ourselves Survive (and Thrive?) in these Tumultuous Times As a working nurse, I know I don’t need to go into the details of what’s happening for nurses right now. For nearly every nurse the past few yea...

Let’s go back to the beginning All of that crying started right out of nursing school. That first year of nursing was hard, but those first few months were incredibly tough. Three months of orientation and I would cry and/or throw up before each ...

I took a seat on the kitchen chair that the daughter brought in. Pulling it up to the double bed, I tried to get close to my patient, a woman nearing the end of her battle with gastric cancer. She tried to return my smile, and I squeezed her hand as ...

Tips On The Transition from Studentnursewold to Realnurseworld Almost thirty years following the nerve wracking September morning I entered nursing school, I am often reminded of the first lecture and introduction. That's because it was the day I...

Wyckoff Hospital is in Brooklyn, New York, and Amy has had a busy week after being named as one of the 100 Influential People in 2020 by Time Magazine. Her image graces the cover, representing the heroism of nurses and other frontline workers. Time c...

You don't get to be a nurse for almost 20 years and not learn a few tricks of the trade to survive. Gallows, irreverent humor runs rampant; despite all the teachings contrary, you often end up referring to a patient by bed number instead of a name; y...

Hospice also has a role in serving the community through educational speeches and work shops. Our liaison educates staff in Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Facilities, Doctors offices, and hospitals about the services Hospice provides. Hospice is...

You occasionally park in the space with the 'Physicians Only' sign, and knock it over. You've ever told a patient to 'move toward the light.' You believe that all the patient needs is some vitamin A (ativan). You've ever run out of lin...

In an effort to save my sanity, I took a long walk around the base every day. One day a stack of shiny caskets appeared, the glare from their metal surface blinding in the hot sun. Their appearance was a stark reminder of the reality of the situatio...

So I've been at my new job for almost 3 weeks. I won't say that I like it. Truth be told, I hate it. I don't know anyone, so I can't be myself. I just show up and try to do my best for my patients for my shift. 90% of the time, I question whether I r...

I've wanted to be a nurse for as long as I can remember. I don't know why - I wasn't classified as a sickly child to have the aura of nursing invade my young mind. I remember being very little (about 5) and having my tonsils out, and tossing my "pink...

I would do the "morning shift" in the summer. My dad worked 3-11 so he liked to sleep in. I'd get up, make Nana some scrambled eggs (with a little water because she said they'd be fluffier), help her wash up and change into a clean nightgown. We'd wa...

The concept of travel nursing began as a solution to provide additional nurses to areas/hospitals experiencing a nursing shortage. Over the years this has become a very popular option for those wanting to change locations and assignments regularly an...

No matter which discipline you chose to be a part of, there is a wealth of learning opportunity awaiting you. Listen to those nurses (old and new) around you. Don't assume you have all the answers. If you have questions...ask! Asking someone else for...

The night started out a bit rough. Of course, we were short-staffed, and my patients were high acuity. It seemed like every patient had a new med order that needed to be faxed to the pharmacy. I had one patient who weighed close to 500 pounds, and wh...