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, 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: Caring, Death, Emotions, Feelings, Patients, Spirituality

When I was a little girl, I always was attracted to the "injury of the day" on the playground. The more traumatic, the better. It didn't have to be bloody, it just had to be dramatic. I was literally drawn to the banged-up child, crying on the blacktop. I couldn't stay away.

Even as a child, I had the heart of a [...]

Related: Abuse, Boundaries, Patients, Violence

I work in a small ICU setting, and we have problems with confused patients who try to leave and become violent when you try to block the hallway and redirect them.

I've had a patient's husband swing his walker at a coworker who told him visiting hours were over. I've been scratched, bit, have bruises on my arms right now from patients. I've had [...]

Related: Caregivers, Caring, Patient Advocate, Patients, Time

It was my mom's birthday yesterday. She said I gave her the best present she's ever gotten: me for a day.

We hung out in her apartment organizing old family pictures, reminiscing about people and places in our past. We met my brother for lunch and did some more "Do you remember when...?" Funny thing is, my mother, who has Alzheimer's, can't remember most things. Yet [...]

Related: Caregivers, Communication, Confidentiality, New Grad, New Nurse, New Nurse Tips, Non-Verbal Language, Patient Advocate, Patients, Professionalism

You can’t meet each patient’s emotional needs. You’d never be able to leave your work behind. Or get anything done. But there are times when some patients need a little extra support and will drop hints to get you to respond.

What are those hints and how do you sensibly help? Read this interview with RealityRN Senior Advisor CeCe Grindel, PhD, RN, CMSRN, FAAN, to learn [...]

Related: Caring, Feelings, Humor, Mentor, Morale, Patients

Many of us have been hurt by destructive forms of humor. As a fourth- and fifth-grader, I was very overweight and other children often would ridicule me. As adults, we know that being “tricked”--or being the brunt of a joke--is not healthy humor.

I learned at an early age—from a wonderful mentor—that the secret to dealing with destructive humor is this: “If you can [...]

Related: Attitude, Patience, Patients

Let’s face it: Even though we got into the profession because we want to help people, there are times when you just don’t like a certain patient.

The one who smells bad; the one who has an irritating spouse; the one who drones on about how nurses don’t treat her well; the one who constantly buzzes you; the one who complains and complains and complains about [...]

Related: Attitude, Caring, Emotions, Mindset, Patience, Patients

Life is not static. For anyone. The good does not last forever. Neither does the bad. Neither does the status quo. Some events, like college, marriage, moves, are anticipated and planned for. Others are not. Just ask one of your patients.

My guess is you have had contact with someone in the last couple of days whose world has been turned upside down by an accident, [...]

Related: Caregivers, Caring, Communication, Embarrassing Moment, Humor, Morale, New Nurse Tips, Patient Advocate, Patients

Leslie Gibson’s patient had gotten the boot from her nursing home. The 96-year-old crotchety woman commonly assailed nurses with bare-knuckled blows. Once home, neighbors witnessed the elderly woman’s emotional crash—and called in Leslie, a visiting nurse at the time, for support.

When Leslie first met her cranky patient, she saw that pain, anger, and confusion shrouded any vivacity that might have once been present.

Leslie had a [...]