I have a couple friends who have graduated with nursing degrees and are on the hunt for a job. They’ve studied for long hours, interned in hospitals and doctors’ offices, and put their knowledge to the test for the NCLEX exam. It never dawned on me that none of these nursing friends are males; they are all female! But according to an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, more male nurses than ever are coming into the nursing world. Duquesne University’s...  Read More »

Under the health section of The New York Times website, there is a column called ‘Well,’ which is an informational column on everything health related. I read a few different blog entries from current nurses who detail their day-to-day activities. One blogger in particular, Theresa Brown, RN, recalls on a lot of situations, both good and bad, that take place in a hospital: To many of us, ‘the patient bolused once this morning for a pressure of 80 over...  Read More »

Coffee and dirty linens all over the floor are two things that patients, family members, and staff do not want to see in a hospital room. However, last week at Oklahoma State University’s Medical Center, a patient’s room had both, part of an exercise known as “Forty Wrong Room.” The goal was to help nurses and other staff members remember patient safety rules. In the exercise, 40 different things were wrong in the mock room and nurses had to find most,...  Read More »

Once again, Rebecca Hendren of HealthLeaders Media has provided a provocative column on nursing. This time, she explores the rash of strikes that are breaking out over the country. Yes, there are many reason for this, but surely, one is nursing stress resulting from the intense demands put on nurses. For example, Hendren writes “New graduate initiation practically stipulates that a requirement of successful floor nurses is a gargantuan bladder.” I’m...  Read More »

Do you notice your patient’s gowns or how they feel in them? Most nurses have plenty of other things to worry about, but a recent article in the Los Angeles Times about one woman who put some effort toward designing new gowns might give more prominence to hospital gowns. The woman, Jeanne Ryan, executive liaison and RN in executive health at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, considers the gown another piece to the patient satisfaction puzzle. It makes sense....  Read More »

Nursing school is tough, and just finding the time for all the classes can be a challenge in itself. Add to that how tough it is to get into nursing school, considering the shortage of nurse faculty, and online nursing programs may seem like a viable solution. Western Governors University in Texas has just enrolled its first dozen or so students, according to the local Fox affiliate in Houston. The theory is taught online, but students must attend labs, clinical...  Read More »