Stress can be around every corner of a hospital. Nurses must care for complicated patients, work side-by-side with difficult coworkers, and comply with complex, ever-changing regulations. And that’s just the start of it. More stress is often waiting for you in your personal life when you step out the front door. The fragile fiscal environment is adding extra pressure and anxiety. A recent national survey conducted by HCPro revealed that 87% of nurses feel...  Read More »

A Dean Health System physician made an incision during a recent routine surgery. A nurse manager, meanwhile, made a cut. It’s the manager’s cut—to layoff a member of nursing staff who was assisting in the surgery—that has healthcare professionals up in arms. The manager called the nurse out of the surgical procedure to be informed that his or her position had just been terminated. Paul Pitas, director of corporate communications at the Madison,...  Read More »

The first step to mastering time management is to assess how you spend your time. One way to do this is to use a time management tracking tool. Thanks to our recently published book, Quick-E! Pro Time Management: A Guide for Nurses, we have a template you can start using today. Check it out here. During the course of several shifts, note how you spend your time. Once you have collected the data, look for patterns. For example: Are you routinely skipping your...  Read More »

The best approach to time management is an organized, proactive approach. Each shift begins the same way: Getting a patient assignment Reviewing the medical record Getting the shift-to-shift handoff report Assessing the patients Documenting your care So when you arrive on shift, you receive a patient assignment. Each patient has a unique diagnosis and specific needs. It is critical you have a mechanism to quickly organize the patient-specific information....  Read More »

Are you in search of the ideal gift to show your gratitude to a fellow nurse? Is it time to reward yourself for all the hard work you’ve been doing? Whether it’s a resource to help save time or to expand knowledge—and whether it’s for you or a colleague—we’re going to make it easier on your wallet. In appreciation of your loyalty to HCPro and in recognition of the upcoming week that celebrates your profession, we would like to offer you 25% off...  Read More »

“Our patient suffers from a rare form of Informaticsitis. She has lost her ability to Google and is now forced to read books.” And the winner is … (drum roll, please) … Sandy Biga! Congratulations, Sandy! Thanks to everyone who submitted a caption. They were all hilarious! And, we’ll be back next week with a brand new cartoon! Will YOU be the next winner?   Read More »

If you’re not battling stress right now, you’re one of the few. As a nurse who has to deal with long hours, a sore back, aching feet, new rules from administration, challenging physicians, moody coworkers, and difficult patients, it’s not easy out there. Throw in a sinking economy and, well, say hello to lots and lots of stress. But there’s hope—in numbers. There’s comfort in solidarity. When you know everyone is in a similar...  Read More »

As HCPro continues its countdown to Nurses’ Week, our focus moves to improving the image of nursing. Bedside caregivers are at the forefront of healthcare every day as they care for patients and families and interact with physicians and peers. So isn’t it time to set high standards and improve the image of nursing? During your Nurses’ Week preparation, put celebrating the profession on your list of activities and empower nurses to take control...  Read More »

Many new graduates have to learn to work with many different personalities and work cultures. To do this successfully, they must understand themselves and how they work so that they can fit in with the rest of the team. Socialization or fitting in on a unit is as important for new grads as increasing their nursing skills. If they do not work at trying to be part of the team, their experience at their facility may not be a happy one, and they may run the risk...  Read More »

Nurses’ Week doesn’t start officially until May 6, but HCPro, Inc. is starting the celebration early! A nurse’s job is far from easy, and we’d like to show our appreciation for all that you do with some free tips, tools, product discounts, and book giveaways. In the next four weeks, be on the lookout for: April 13: A handout featuring pointers about how to present a positive nursing image inside and outside of your organization. April 20: A 25% savings...  Read More »