Related: Boundaries, Caregivers, Caring, Communication, Compassion, Confidentiality, Doctor-Nurse Relationships, New Nurse Tips, Patient Advocate, Patients, Prioritizing

“I don’t think we should continue heroic measures.”
“I want a third opinion!”
“That’s not the way the last nurse did it.”
“My sister needs more water, more pain medication, and clean sheets…now!”
“How long does my son have to live?”

Questions. Capricious emotions. Absurd demands. More questions. And plain cold criticism. Often serving families of patients is more taxing than treating the patients. Kathy Quan, a veteran nurse [...]

Related: Expectations, New Nurse, New Nurse Tips, Organizational Skills, Seasoned Nurses, Stress, Time

It takes time to look like you have it all together.

“I’m frustrated as I watch the more seasoned nurses find time to take breaks and read magazines,” writes a new nurse, “while I can’t even find time to take a bathroom break. They appear to have it all together, but I never seem to get all my charts and reports updated before the next [...]

Related: Communication, Delegation, Management, New Grad, New Nurse, New Nurse Tips, Problem Solving, Seasoned Nurses, Success, Teamwork

Don’t complain—problem-solve. That’s only one of several bits of advice on how new nurses can counter some of the surprises of real world nursing:

Surprise #1: Presenting problems to your supervisor

New nurses often say, “I’m overworked. I don’t have this, and I don’t have that.” Instead they should be more straightforward: “Here’s the problem, and here are some of the resources I might need.” Or “Can [...]

Related: Attitude, Caregivers, Caring, Communication, Compassion, Complaints, New Nurse Tips, Non-Verbal Language, Patient Advocate, Patients, Professionalism

On the day of his surgery, Mr. Grumpafagus, the quintessential grouchy old man, was wickedly crabby. He griped about the cold food, the stiff bed, the spin on television, government conspiracies, and the overpaid doctors.

Most nurses avoided him, busying themselves with pre-op. Even the anesthesiologist warned Mallory, a second year surgical nurse, “Watch out for this one.”

Earlier, Mallory had picked up that he was in [...]

Related: Communication, Confidence, Delegation, Doctor-Nurse Relationships, Fear, Leadership, Learning, New Grad, New Nurse, New Nurse Tips, Nurse Support, Patient Advocate, Problem Solving

“No, these results are not normal. We know what’s normal.”
The words of Tommy’s parents dripped with condescension.
A second-year nurse on the peds floor, Anna was gaining confidence every day. But this was a blow. Her patient Tommy, who suffered from Nephrotic Syndrome, had been tested. Anna assessed that the results fell within a normal range. Years of dealing with the chronic illness, however, had made [...]

Related: Anxiety, Boundaries, Caregivers, Caring, Compassion, Compassion Fatigue, Emotions, Healthy Living, Mindset, New Nurse, New Nurse Tips, Nurse Support, Nursing Jobs, Patient Advocate, Patients, Quitting, Stress

It was one of those days in the pediatric intensive care unit you’d love to forget.

One child, a 6-month-old girl, was in a vegetative state, both blind and deaf.  Her mother decided it was too painful to have any contact with her and had stopped visiting. The little girl’s father wanted everything done to save her.

One morning, five minutes after Jana, a second year nurse, [...]

Related: Career, Confidence, Education, Feedback, Leadership, Management, New Grad, New Nurse Tips, Nurse Educator, Nursing Organizations, Seasoned Nurses

The thought of being a leader when you first become an RN may be unimaginable. But leadership is learned, even if at first you don't feel all that confident.

Choose Your Leadership Style
You can learn a lot about the leader you want to become by watching how people work. In your unit, there are positive and negative leaders. Positive leaders are those who are patient advocates, [...]