When my patient’s son pulled up my Instagram account
Nurses on social media can be a wonderful thing. It can help build your brand, connect you with others, and even further your career. But depending on how you use social media, it could harm you. I was working in critical care. It was the day shift and I had just...
Overcoming Anxiety – Top Tips for New Graduate Nurses
Beat the first year nurse anxiety. These top tips for new graduate nurses will help you learn how to become more confident.
Communication Tips for Nurses – How to Kindly Exit Conversations
Something that I was not prepared for as a nurse was how many people would want my attention at every second of the day. Patients, families, physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, housekeeping, receptionists, pharmacists… literally everyone. Combine that with a constantly evolving task-list, dynamic patient conditions, and soon every single second counts. But you don’t want to seem rude and just walk away or ignore them. Here are some realistic communication tips for nurses on how to graciously bring a conversation to a close so you can get back to business!
Top Tips for New Grad Nurses in ICU
If you’re looking for top tips for new grad nurses in ICU, this post is for you. Many graduating nursing students are heading straight into critical care upon graduation, and this blog post will give you an overview of what to expect as you start that first job. This...
HP HC Edition 800 G4 AiO Built with Nurses and Clinicians in Mind
I recently had the opportunity to try out the HP HC Edition 800 G4 AiO (All in One) and am partnering with Hewlett Packard for this post. All opinions expressed are my own. I was especially interested in this because of its interesting safety and security features, specifically from the healthcare perspective. I’ve used many computers while providing patient care in the past, so I have a particularly critical eye when it comes to evaluating if the functionality is truly optimized for the nurse or provider.
The Ultimate List of CCRN Prep Courses and Books
Let’s be honest. There aren’t a ton of CCRN prep courses or CCRN prep books out there. I’d like to save you the time and energy of multiple online searches for review courses or books. I’ve personally checked out all over these, taken a few,...
Why We Freeze When a Patient Codes
I’ve heard so many people mention how they just freeze when a patient codes. Many look back with shame or embarrassment that they didn’t know what to do in an emergency… especially since they’re the nurse and should know what to do. I get it. I...
Critical Care Nursing Certification: How to Pass the CCRN
The Critical Care Nurse Certification, CCRN®, is a national certification a critical care nurse can obtain. Once you pass this test, you get to add CCRN® to your credentials! It’s a pretty awesome thing to have, and many health care organizations support nurses in getting this certification as well as look highly upon job applicants who have it as well. However, to get the certification you must pass the exam. So let’s chat about how to pass the CCRN®.
10 Unwritten Rules for Nurses
You won’t learn this in nursing school, but your life will be so much better once you read (and follow) this list. These 10 unwritten rules for nurses might seem like common sense, but someone had to say them.
5-Lead ECG Interpretation, Electrocardiogram Tips for Nurses
… this is tough, it takes some time to understand what you need to know for your specific role. Naturally, a cardiac acute care nurse will deal with this much more than someone who works inpatient rehab, orthopedics, or on another non-cardiac unit. But just becasue you don’t deal with 5-Lead ECG Interpretation on a daily basis, doesn’t mean it isn’t helpful knowledge.
Monitoring Patients after Ketamine
Do you know what’s really sexy right now in anesthesia? Opioid-free anesthesia. Let’s talk about monitoring patients after ketamine.
Side Businesses for Nurses: Ideas to Supplement Your Income
Have you ever thought of starting a nurse side business? As jobs at the bedside become more and more draining, many nurses are looking for a way to supplement their income so they can work less hours at the hospital. For many, the perfect nurse-balance is split between time with patients in the hospital and time doing something they own and run themselves.