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RealityRN
Posts Tagged ‘Time’
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Reality Unscripted

Do you ever feel overwhelmed?

Like you're trying to move forward with something but you're walking through deep, thick mud.  You have some task in front of you (like writing a blog post) and you just can't seem to get it done.

I'm just coming out of a period of time where my whole life felt that way.  I couldn't seem to keep my house clean, couldn't [...]
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Rookie Wit & Wisdom

My first assignment as a travel nurse, I often cried or vented on the phone during my 30-minute drive home. I would often pray before work, "God, please get me and my patients safely through this day..."

I know many nurses love the life and adventure of being a travel nurse: a new city, with a nightlife, restaurants, beaches, or other attractions. Lots of people love [...]
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Seasoned with Sage

I went to work: 14 surgical patients. The nurse assistant called in sick and they couldn't find a replacement for the first four hours of my shift.

The day didn’t start out great—-and soon got worse.

That day I asked the hospital cleaning crew to mop up some fresh vomit. "We don't clean up body fluids," she replied. I tried to borrow her mop to clean it [...]
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Seasoned with Sage

Sticking out that first job as a new nurse even when you feel like quitting can be one of the biggest challenges you’ll ever face.

As a new nurse grad you’re pumped up and ready to change the world. You’ve learned all about treating the whole patient; he’s a person not a room number or medical ID number; her family affects his condition, and her care [...]
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Handling Stress
A new nurse self-care survey can help you identify your blind-spots.

“Take care of yourself!” - Wouldn’t it be nice if your job description included this directive?

Unfortunately, nurses, who pour themselves into caring for others, are notorious for self-neglect. There’s no one around to make sure you make “you” a priority.

It’s a conundrum—you know you ought to take better care of yourself, but you don’t. Maybe you’re too tired to care. Maybe you don’t know [...]
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Seasoned with Sage

I often struggle to remember the good days at work. But the good outweighs the bad, otherwise I wouldn't still be a nurse. One of the more memorable, feel-good stories goes like this:

At 41, Mr. Jones was too young to need vascular surgery, especially since he wasn't diabetic, and as far as he was aware, he didn’t have a family history of circulation problems. But [...]
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Reality Unscripted

I read a blog entry this week from a friend whose son is having a bone marrow transplant today. I could fill a book with all the things I've learned from this family, but I'll just share one thing with you today. This particular entry was about how you can't rush a 10-year-old who doesn't want to do something. Especially if he [...]
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Reality Unscripted

Dearest Friends and Family,

I thought I'd take this opportunity to catch you up on what my life looked like in 2007.

January through May was spent finishing up Nursing School. Clinicals, papers, tests, studying and looking forward to the day I would finally start my new career and the freedom that comes with a paycheck. I couldn't wait for the next step.

May through July [...]
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Rookie Wit & Wisdom

The seasoned nurses on my floor have called me a complaining, spoiled brat.

Okay, maybe I complained.

I guess I felt justified. Just out of nursing school, I suddenly was working nights, weekends, holidays--all the hard shifts. I wasn’t used to not being able to spend “normal” time with my friends and family; it was a difficult transition.

When I expressed my frustration--said something like, “I’m tired,” or [...]
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Reality Unscripted

It was my mom's birthday yesterday. She said I gave her the best present she's ever gotten: me for a day.

We hung out in her apartment organizing old family pictures, reminiscing about people and places in our past. We met my brother for lunch and did some more "Do you remember when...?" Funny thing is, my mother, who has Alzheimer's, can't remember most things. Yet [...]
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