Related: Anger, Assertiveness, Attitude, Communication, Complaints, Doctor-Nurse Relationships, Doctors, Emotions, Expectations, Feedback, Feelings, Hostility, Non-Verbal Language, Respect, Student Nurse, Support

I am a 4th-year BSN student , and part of our OB clinical experience was to follow an OB/GYN last week.  It was a horrible experience.

First, I was put in a room with 3rd-year med students, which was great because I introduced myself and got to chat with them about their program.

Then I waited over an hour for someone to acknowledge me.  (I was escorted [...]

Related: Attitude, Caring, Charting, Learning, Mindset, New Nurse, Patient Advocate, Seasoned Nurses, Success

Nursing is all about learning.  If you think it's all about the patient, then you're missing the big picture.

I remember one of my clinical instructors praising me for a care plan I had written; it received the highest grade that particular week.  Her caveat: listen and learn during clinical so I could improve.

Laziness prevailed.

The next week, I wrote essentially the same care plan. This time [...]

Related: Attitude, Career, Charting, Expectations, Mindset, Nursing Jobs, Stress

Have you taken a job that sounded perfect only to find out you were sadly mistaken?

I have often talked about how much I love my job.  I work in a family practice office and have worked there for nine years.  I love the staff and the docs.  I love (most of) the patients.  In fact, even the patients I don't like that much I have [...]

Related: Attitude, Career, Emotions, Gossip, Learning, New Nurse Tips, Nurse Relationships, Professionalism, Professionalism Sabotage, Sabotage, Success

You may be in a job you love.  You may be in a job you hate.  No matter where you're currently at, you have the potential to make the job worse.  Here are a few ways to do it:

1) Always be the needy one. If you're always the one needing help with getting everything done and never offer to help someone else, the other nurses [...]

Related: Attitude, Complaints, Mindset, Night Shift, Nurse Relationships, Professionalism

Bad days. Everyone has them. Coming from an emotional female, I would know! I have had MANY nights at work when I just didn't want to be there!

It wasn't until I worked all night with any EXTREMELY agitated RN that I realized how MY bad mood affects everyone I work with.

It was so contagious! I came in to work in the ICU that night in [...]

Related: Attitude, New Grad, New Nurse, New Nurse Tips, Non-Verbal Language, Orientation, Orientee, Preceptor

Understanding your preceptor's non-verbal cues can make or break your precepting experience. Kim Rapper, RN, BSN, shares how a preceptor's attitudes can influence the way they interact with the orientee—and offers advice on what an orientee can do about it.

Related: Assertiveness, Attitude, Caring, Conflict, Doctor-Nurse Relationships, Patient Advocate, Patients, Power, Prioritizing, Respect

As Doctor Pru stood there reading the file her mouth turned down into a frown.

"Who triaged this patient?" She called out across the room to anyone who would pay her attention. Everyone ignored her except me. I knew whose file she had and I knew she'd make a fuss, not because there was a problem, but because she loved to pick faults and seemed to [...]

Related: Attitude, Confidence, Fear, New Grad, New Nurse, New Nurse Tips, Orientation, Orientee, Preceptor

Kim Rapper, RN, BSN, has years of precepting experience; she understands that preceptors have fears, too. In this video, she shares common fears that every preceptor experiences--and strategies for matching preceptors with orientees.

Related: Abuse, Attitude, Career, Caring, Stress, Success, Teamwork, Truth

I'm a school nurse; I left the ER behind: the stress, the shift work, the adrenaline. Now I work in an exclusive private boarding school in the European Alps. Naturally, like most affluent kids, they don't know how lucky they are.

One of the students told me the other day she wants to be a nurse. I asked her why, and she said she thought I [...]

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 [...]