Related: Attitude, Caregiving, Caring, Patient Advocate

I work in a relatively small ER: 24 beds including hall beds. I am a newcomer to this area, and almost everyone has experience in emergency medicine (in one capacity or another) for much longer than I have. Perhaps this is partly why I interact with patients the way I do, as opposed to the way I see many other nurses do.

From my observations, [...]

Related: Caregiving, Compassion, Confidence, Emotions, Failure, Fear, Feelings, Patient Advocate, Problem Solving

I spent last week as a camp nurse in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  For the most part, I spent my days giving kids their meds, removing splinters, putting band-aids on scrapes, and generally being a mom.  It didn't take as much skill as a ready smile and encouraging word.

Then Wednesday night hit.  It was the beginning of a 24-hour period that had my adrenaline [...]

Related: Caregivers; Patient Advocate, Caregiving, Confidentiality, Perception of Nurses

I recently watched Fox News for the first time. I was disgusted by how biased and uninformed their reporting was. Here's the scenario, it painted all nurses in a bad light.

A 14-year-old girl rings up an abortion clinic and says she wants an abortion. She lets slip that her partner is 30 years old. The girl asks the nurse, "Will you tell my parents?" The [...]

Related: Balance, Caregiving, Compassion Fatigue, Critical Care Nursing, Energy, Healthy Living, New Nurse, Night Shift, Nursing Shortage, Stress, Support

I am a nurse on a cardiovascular floor. I have been there for a couple of years and can't help but notice the increasing acuity of the patients.

Our nurse/patient ratio is 1:5/6. I know that doesn't sound like a lot to some people, but most of the patients we take care of have a list 20 miles long of medical conditions, which only adds to [...]

Related: Career, Caregiving, Male Nurse, Motivation, Stereotypes

I'm sure many of you, like me, have been asked this very same question: "So, what made you go into nursing?"

Now there are a bevy of responses you could come up with.  There's the traditional response: "I want to help people!"

Then there is the spiritual response: "I felt called to it!"

I was asked this question at least a billion times during my time in college. [...]

Related: Anger, Assertiveness, Boundaries, Caregiving, Communication, Expectations, Feelings, Patience, Patients, Problem Solving, Professionalism

I have been a nurse for nine months and work in a busy ER outside of Washington DC. I often find myself dealing with "Frequent Flyers" and people who misuse the emergency system (i.e., I'm fairly certain the rash you've had for six months did not just today become an emergency).

I am really struggling with how to deal with some of these difficult patients. I [...]

Related: Caregiving, Embarrassing Moment, Humor

The life of a CNA can be trying at times but it can also be funny. I work as a CNA in long term health care. In the year and 3 months that I have work in my current job I have realized that male CNAs can be hilarious when they are assiting female residents. I was working with a male CNA at my job [...]