Related: Attitude, Confidence, Expectations, Perfect Nurse

All the patients love her.

She has beautiful handwriting. Her charting is always current. She is never behind on her own work and even helps out her coworkers. She easily communicates with the doctors. Her scrubs are starched and pressed. She never makes an error in judgment. Her clinical technique is flawless. She's liked by everyone--patients [...]

Related: Attitude, Career, Confidence, Nursing Jobs, Success, Travel Nursing

Travel nursing takes a unique skill set as well as a flexible personality.

You know you are cut out to be a travel nurse if you have excellent clinical skills and love to travel. As a travel nurse, you’re constantly on the go, moving from state to state.  This is exciting for individuals who enjoy learning about new cities—their history and culture.

You don’t always know the [...]

Related: Attitude, Doctor-Nurse Relationships, Doctors, Mindset

In the gazillion years I've been a nurse, I'm happy to report that I've learned a lot. Some from nursing school. Some from other nurses. Some from study. Some from patients.

And hard as it may be for you to hear, lots has been from my docs.

I call them "my docs" because I've spent most of my career in a family practice [...]

Related: Embarrassing Moment, Humor, Patients, Student Nurse

Poop and mental confusion: Those are the common denominators in the stories you shared with us.

As I read through all the entries, I realized what a quirky profession we are in. We see people in their rawest form. Sometimes it makes us recoil. Sometimes it makes us sad. Sometimes it makes us pee in our pants in laughter. This [...]

Related: Learning, New Nurse Tips, Research, Technology

As a nurse, technology affects my job.

I am surrounded by PCs, pumps, vein viewers, EKG machines, and other devices. You might think you knew everything there was to know about technology, until you hit the floor. You’ll learn even more. New nurses are surrounded by a variety of unfamiliar devices that you have to master via in-services or on the job-- often in a short [...]

Related: Anxiety, Attitude, Confidence, Gossip, Learning, New Nurse, New Nurse Tips, Nurse Relationships, Nursing Shortage, Professionalism

Building rapport with co-workers is challenging at any age and any stage of your career. For new nurse grads it can be overwhelming. The first day is always the hardest. Your own anticipatory anxiety can make things worse than they are in reality.

One of the most important things to remember is that there will be at least one person who you will annoy no matter [...]

Related: Confidence, NCLEX, New Grad, New Nurse Tips

Want the inside scoop on the NCLEX? As a nursing instructor, I recently interviewed some of my graduates about their experiences taking the exam. Here’s what I found out -- and I offer my advice for facing the one thing standing between you and your license:

Think Critically
Many nursing graduates have a great deal of experience answering NCLEX-like questions. Surprisingly, though, several new grads found the [...]

Related: New Grad, New Nurse, Nurse Relationships, Student Nurse

I am a second degree nursing student.  On August 2, 2008, I will be a new nurse. Fifteen months of full-time school with classes and clinicals Monday through Friday (and at times, Saturday) is intimidating. But I was told over and over by friends, family, and faculty that I could do it!  After all, it’s only 15 months—and a person can do just about anything [...]

Related: Addiction, Anxiety, Drug Addiction, Embarrassing Moment, NCLEX, Stress

Google is a wonderful thing.

I had been having this weird gunk in my mouth for a few weeks and had no idea what it was. Nor did I want to mention it to anyone because it seemed so bizarre and embarrassing.

So I went to Google. I typed in "white stringy mucous in mouth." (Too much information, I know, but hang in there with [...]

Related: Confidence, New Grad, New Nurse

I just got back from a family reunion where I passed out several of my business cards. Sounds tacky, I know. The thing is, I'm related to all these new nurses! Three of them are in their 20's, one is in her 30's, and one is 52. We add to that the three of us who have been doing this for [...]