Related: Assertiveness, Attitude, Authority, Boundaries, Doctor-Nurse Relationships, Doctors, Professionalism, Respect

In the OR things can get hairy—real fast. And in those moments of peril, doctors seem to be the most disrespectful of nurses.

I’ve had doctors yell at me for not having what they needed in the room. They bawl, “Hey, nurse, why isn’t such-and-such instrument/med ready? Why isn’t it here? I need it now!”

In those moments, I cover my name badge and say, “Do you [...]

Related: Attitude, Goals, Learning, Morale, Motivation, Prioritizing, Success

I had a birthday a few days ago. My children tell me I'm old. So does my drivers license.

They say that with age comes wisdom. I think they're right, but not because you naturally get smarter. You just have more opportunities to hang out with smart people.

I encountered one of those smart people at a conference 5 years ago. [...]

Related: Assertiveness, Attitude, Caring, Doctor-Nurse Relationships, New Nurse Tips, Patience, Patients

In 2008 I will:

Be more patient with difficult patients.

Be more patient with difficult families.

Be more patient with myself.

Be more assertive with difficult doctors.

Be less difficult to work with.

Be more assertive with anyone who keeps me from giving my patients the best possible care.

Be more accepting of working the crummy shifts.

Be more accepting of being the "new nurse".

Stop spending more than I have so I don't [...]

Related: Attitude, Feelings, Night Shift, Orientee, Patients

Christmas 1983. I was finishing orientation at my first hospital job and had to spend two weeks working pm's before going on permanent nights. I can't say I was looking forward to giving up every evening over the holidays as the rest of the world partied.

On one of my first evenings, a teenager, a senior in high school, was admitted after a sledding [...]

Related: Attitude, Career, Caregivers, Caring, Patients, Quitting, Student Nurse

When my boyfriend told his mother, who's a nurse, that I started a nursing program, I think she thought I was going into it for the money. I'm not going to lie, I was.

The first day of lecture, the instructor said to us, "Walk out of this room if you're getting into nursing for the money." Of course, no one left. Then at midterm, many [...]

Related: Attitude, Caring, Learning, Mindset, Non-Verbal Language, Patients, Student Nurse

As a nursing student, I realize that I have much to learn about dealing with difficult patients. This last semester I was assigned a patient on a med-surg floor who was known to be “contrary." The staff nurse taking care of her was fresh out of school, too (just over a year), and the two of us were trying to take care of this woman--without [...]

Related: Attitude, Expectations, Mindset, New Grad, New Nurse Tips, Night Shift, Nurse Relationships, Seasoned Nurses, Support, Time

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 [...]

Related: Attitude, Humor, Patients, Stress

One of my best friends has been an emergency room nurse for several years and loves her career. One night she was trying to start an IV on a man who was hallucinating and experiencing DTs. While she was patting his hand to find a good vein, he looked at her and said, “It’s okay nurse — I see them too!” Needless to [...]

Related: Attitude, Gossip, New Grad, New Nurse, Nurse Relationships, Professionalism

Nurses need to put a lid on the gossiping: “Did you hear what so-and-so said at happy hour?” “Did you see what she did at that party?” “Did you see those pictures of so-and-so wasted?” “Did you see what happened between that nurse and doctor?” It all might seem like harmless chit-chat, but there’s always a real person at the other end of the [...]

Related: Attitude, Bureaucracy, Career, Conflict, Mindset, Nursing Jobs, Patient Advocate, Public Health Nursing, Service Nursing, Teamwork

Part one of a two-part exclusive interview with Sally Lemke, winner of the 2007 Super Star in Community Nursing award.

It’s a conundrum: How could the recipient of the VNA Foundation’s “SuperStar in Community Nursing Award”—a $25,000 prize—get the axe a mere few days later?

Sally Lemke, who was a nurse practitioner in Chicago’s Cook County healthcare system, became a local celebrity when this unthinkable scenario played [...]