The first time newly registered nurses are on their own in a patient’s room dealing with a tough situation can be a scary learning experience. Truckee Meadows Community College, in Reno, NV, is trying to eliminate as much stress as possible by creating a specially designed nursing wing in its nursing department that helps prepare students for real-life hospital situations upon graduation. The nursing wing is described as an exact replica...  Read More »

Nurse-to-nurse hostility, nurse bullying, and “nurses eat their young” are all common phrases that new nurses hear when entering the nursing profession. Imagine this scene: You’re a new, 25-year-old nurse and you ask an older, experienced nurse a simple question. The older nurse responds in an angry, know-it-all way, making you feel inferior to her. Later that day, the same nurse gives you a difficult patient to attend to, knowing...  Read More »

Nurses have to deal with all types of stress, whether it’s stress from dealing with difficult patients, nurse-to-nurse hostility, or the long hours. They are also frequently called upon to help relieve their patients’ stress and anxiety. An article in The Topeka Capital-Journal discussed this topic with registered nurse Sharon Anderson, who works in a breast diagnostic center. When patients come to see her, something is either wrong,...  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...  Read More »

By Wendy Leebov I’ve been doing a lot of communication skill training recently and I’m repeatedly impressed by the impact that nonverbal dynamics have between staff and customers on rapport, trust, and mutual respect. I’ve been privileged to observe many people’s nonverbal behavior as they try their hand at various everyday scenarios. And here’s what I see: Some people say the right thing, but their nonverbal...  Read More »

Nurses are well aware of the stress that comes with the job. Taking care of numerous patients atl varying levels of sickness, and dealing with many competing priorities, is enough to make anyone stressed out. Now, with the help of the BREATHE technique, nurses and patients can lower their blood pressure, heart rate, and experience a decrease in stress. The BREATHE technique was developed by John M. Kennedy, medical director of preventative...  Read More »

North Carolina nursing students from Duke University, Western Carolina University, and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte entered a competition earlier this year to produce informative patient education videos. “Get the Picture Patient Video Competition”—conducted by the Innovative Nursing Education Technologies (iNet) organization—required nursing students to create a 10-minute or less and upload the film to YouTube. Each...  Read More »

In a continuing effort to recognize nurses, the Center to Champion Nursing in America (CCNA) is requesting high quality photos that depict nurses’ work and the relationships they form with patients and families. The winning photograph will be featured in an AARP print and/or web publication. CCNA hopes to gather images of nurses across all healthcare settings in professional practice and leadership roles, as well as in recruitment...  Read More »

If you’re visiting this site, chances are you’re a nurse who has had his or her share of stress. Well, it may be time to focus on incorporating anti-stress methods into daily life. In her blog about workplace reviews, New York Times blogger Tara Parker-Pope mentioned a 15-year study of 12,000 nurses that found nurses struggling with “excessive work pressures” had double the risk of heart attack. So stay healthy and...  Read More »

About a month ago, I wrote about the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) AACN Nurse Residency Program,TM which dramatically decreased turnover rates for nurses in their first year on the job. The blog post prompted Daniel McCarthy, a retired airline pilot and flight instructor, as well as an aircraft mechanic, to write a comment. At 53, McCarthy went to nursing school and later became a nurse. Despite his experience in the tough field...  Read More »