Full disclosure: I am a white American and this is from my perspective, written to help other white individuals looking to understand another race. I cannot claim to fully understand the black experience. Over the years, it’s been important to me to understand to the best of my ability. I’ve read, listened, and watched a […]
Patient Care
Patient care is complex and requires many skills including critical thinking, clinical judgment, technical nurse, emotional intelligence, and so much more. These articles focus on strategies to be effective as a bedside nurse working in direct patient care.
Tips for Loved Ones of Healthcare Providers on the Front-lines During COVID-19
Being the spouse of a healthcare worker can be tough. They have odd schedules, are often exposed to secondary trauma at work, and when things like the COVID-19 pandemic occur – they are going straight to the front lines to take care of those patients. Not only is there the general fear from the public […]
Why Proper N95 Removal is Crucial in Preventing Self-Inoculation
wis The current recommendation in personal protective equipment (PPE) for front line health care providers (nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists, and so forth) is to wear the following for suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients: Gowns Gloves Eye protection Surgical masks – except for aerosol-generating procedures N95 or better – for aerosol-generating procedures (CDC source, OSHA source, […]
Bonus, Episode 3: Nurses and the Coronavirus: Current PPE Recommendations Dissected
About the FreshRN® Podcast Kati Kleber, MSN RN CCRN-K is an experienced cardiac med-surg, stepdown, and neurocritical care nurse, American Nurses Association published author, speaker, and nurse educator. The goal of the FreshRN® Podcast is to support newly licensed nurses during the beginning of their career so they not only understand their value, and learn […]
Bonus, Episode 2: Nurses and the Coronavirus: Coping With Fear
About the FreshRN Podcast Kati Kleber, MSN RN CCRN-K is an experienced cardiac med-surg, stepdown, and neurocritical care nurse, American Nurses Association published author, speaker, and nurse educator. The goal of the FreshRN® Podcast is to support newly licensed nurses during the beginning of their career so they not only understand their value, and learn […]
Bonus, Episode 1: Nurses and the Coronavirus – Background, Boundaries, and Fear
About the FreshRN Podcast Kati Kleber, MSN RN CCRN-K is an experienced cardiac med-surg, stepdown, and neurocritical care nurse, American Nurses Association published author, speaker, and nurse educator. The goal of the FreshRN® Podcast is to support newly licensed nurses during the beginning of their career so they not only understand their value, and learn […]
Nurses, PPE, and the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Confused about isolation precautions and PPE needed to safely care for coronavirus patients? In this post, Kati Kleber, MSN RN CCRN-K outlines the latest CDC and WHO recommendations as of March 19, 2020.
Thoughts for Nurses on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
With everything that’s been evolving rapidly around the world, I wanted to reach out specifically to offer my support and thoughts for nurses on coronavirus. Taking care of patients is already a pretty heavy burden, but then when you add on a pandemic, a workforce of people who are on the front lines, who also […]
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!
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 did that the first few times and was really […]
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.
S4E33 – How to Deal with Family Members (Who Are Not Mad At You)
So, how do you deal with the family members… like, normally? How do you meet their expectations and work together as a team? We discuss routine communication points with typical family members who are engaged and want to be part of a patient’s care, and how you as a fresh RN can speak to them with confidence.
What Do Infection Prevention Nurses Do?
What do Infection Prevention nurses not do! There are a variety of titles that cover our job including Infection Control Practitioner, Infection Prevention Coordinator, and most often the Infection Preventionist, or IP. IPs now come from a variety of backgrounds including nurses, medical technologists, and public health professionals, but the profession has historically been dominated by nurses. In fact, Florence Nightingale is not only viewed as a pioneer of nursing, but also a pioneer of infection prevention and control. A day in the life of an IP is never boring.
Top Tips for New Nurses Working With Ventilators – From a CRNA!
Periwinkle is a lovely color. A soft, subtle blue, it looks best as Helen Hunt’s eyeshadow in 1995 or on an Easter egg. It looks worst on your patient’s skin. While waiting for the respiratory therapist to come bail you out, understanding some common sense and troubleshooting will keep your patient pink, or in my case, healthy brown instead of sickly green
What Do NICU Nurses Do?
Being an NICU nurse sounds like a pretty amazing job! I mean you get the word “intense” in your title and there are little babies. While it sounds amazing, many don’t know what NICU Nurses do in a typical shift. What Do NICU Nurses Do?
Discharge Planning Tips for New Nurses
Discharge planning can be a challenge for any nurse, let alone a new nurse. I’ve discharged many patients since I became a nurse in 2010 and would like to give you some discharge planning tips!
Inpatient to Outpatient: Transitioning from the ICU to Primary Care
I am currently two semesters away from graduating with my masters as a family nurse practitioner. I plan to work in family practice in an office setting. It’s a start contrast and it’s reasonable to ask why I made such a big move from ICU to Primary Care.
The Unexpected Patient: Tips for Nurses Caring for the Seriously Ill from the Family Perspective
Tips for Nurses Caring for the Seriously Ill from the Family Perspective I’ve written many posts about how to provide care to patients in various scenarios. However, I have yet to provide any information from a very vital perspective; that of the patient and family. A long-time personal friend had a very lengthy experience deep […]
S2E23: The Patients We Will Never Forget
What You’ll Learn NOTE: This podcast is personal stories so there are no show notes for it. The Patients We Will Never Forget In this episode, we discuss the patients we will never forget. Identifying patient details were changed to protect patient privacy, however the meaning and lessons of the stories remain. More patient resources […]
Nurse Hacks From Experienced Nurses
At the start of the year I asked on Facebook what some of your best Nurse Hacks were. As usual, the responses were amazing. They were all so valuable that they just had to become a blog post! Nurse Hacks From Experienced Nurses When removing tegaderm stretch it and it releases from the skin like […]