Q: What do you typically eat before a shift begins to make sure you have energy to last for 12 hours? Are you able to take snack breaks? If so, what do you usually eat? A: Twelve hours—from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.—is a really long day and it’s hard to have enough energy throughout, so I just do my best to eat things that won’t make me crash. I try my best to eat before work—like a bowl of cereal at home or a protein bar in the...  Read More »

Nurses and other clinicians strive to provide the best care possible, and in today’s healthcare environment, evidence-based care is essential. Every patient deserves care that is based on the best current scientific knowledge. Every nurse deserves to work in an environment in which evidence-based practice (EBP) is supported and its results utilized. We ask these questions in EBP: What is the clinical practice question? What evidence...  Read More »

Q: What went through your mind the first time you had to call a physician at home regarding a patient? A: It can be pretty intimidating to approach doctors on the floor or on the phone. But we have to place calls out to them pretty much all day. Patients have multiple doctors collaborating on their care so when we need to address an issue, we have to be sure to contact the right doctor. Talking to doctors isn’t as bad as you think...  Read More »

President Barack Obama’s proposed healthcare workforce development funding for fiscal year 2010 would bring incentives to nurses both in the field and in the classroom. Of the $1 billion in the budget devoted toward strengthening healthcare professions, $125 million is allocated to the Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program (NELPN)—an $88 million increase from the 2009 budget. Funds for the Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) would...  Read More »

Marsha-Gaye Elson-Joseph, BSN, knew her nursing career could take her anywhere. Different facilities. Different units. Different states. The former TV news writer entered the industry because “there are a million different things you can do in nursing.” But she never expected her career would take her to a Kinko’s Copy Center. After a particularly frustrating day at her job as a per diem nurse at Jackson South Community...  Read More »

As a nurse just entering the workforce, she provided insight on the fears, anxieties, and successes of her transition. Now, with a little experience under her nursing belt, our contributor Chelsea is starting a new column where she’ll be providing weekly insight to help new nurses get a glimpse into their futures and to help experienced RNs and managers learn about their newest generation of colleagues. Q: It seems like a lot of new...  Read More »

Florence Nightingale is regarded as the founder of modern nursing. She helped establish the profession in its modern form and became a personal hero to nurses of all ages. Her pioneering work during the Crimean War led her to understand that keeping hospitals clean and free from infections improved patient outcomes. Her lifelong devotion to nursing—and her tireless efforts to reform military hospitals—forever changed patient care. Nightingale...  Read More »

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...  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...  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...  Read More »