By Kathy Garrison, MSN, RN I cannot ever remember a time in my life when I did not want to be a nurse. If forced to think back, I would say that my exposure to the healthcare world through my younger brother’s chronic health conditions is what led me to choose nursing as a career. I have yet to regret the choice. Nursing is one of the career choices you can make that can last a lifetime. Now I find that I’m often on the “other...  Read More »

This lesson will have us consider the medications used to treat cancer. Because this is such a specialized area and is rapidly changing, our conversation will be limited to a review of general cancer disease concepts and an introduction of the broad categories of antineoplastic medications. Considering cancers Let’s be precise for a minute: All cancers are neoplasms, but not all neoplasms are necessarily cancers. For example, the harmless...  Read More »

WOW! What a great week I’ve had since I last wrote! I started working with my preceptor on the maternity floor at a prestigious Boston hospital. I spent three days there last week, and every day it seemed to just get better and better. First, here’s a bit of background on my preceptor: She works twelve-hour shifts, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (I was really happy to be working with someone that does days because I am definitely not a night...  Read More »

By Karen L. Madsen, MSN, APRN-BC Versatile: with many uses; able or meant to be used in many different ways; moving easily between tasks; able to move easily from one subject, task, or skill to another. Synonyms: adaptable, flexible, resourceful, multi-purpose, multi-talented, all around. When you think of a nurse, don’t you think of someone doing several things at once and doing them well? That’s what nurses do because nursing...  Read More »

By Kathy Garrison, MSN, RN Everywhere you turn today in healthcare you see the phrase “patient safety.” The media thrives on being able to spotlight individuals who have suffered bad outcomes at the hands of unsafe practioners or health systems. Numerous public access Web sites report quality data from hospitals for patients and families to examine. It seems like all of what happens in healthcare is under a microscope. As a new...  Read More »

Citizens Medical Center in Victoria, TX, took a creative approach to cut down on medication errors when it created a “no-talk zone.” “Distractions were definitely becoming an issue with medication errors,” says Gail Martin, MBA, RN, quality analyst at Citizens Medical Center. The main problem was that two of the facility’s busiest and most critical floors had Pyxis medication dispensing machines located out...  Read More »