Throughout the year, CNN.com has named everyday, inspiring people CNN Heroes, highlighting those who help others. Faith Coleman, NP, was recently named a hero. In 2003, Coleman was a contract worker with several doctors, receiving no health insurance when she learned she had kidney cancer. After her battle with cancer, Coleman, a mother of six, opened a free clinic with the help of her colleague, John Canakaris, MD. The clinic, called the Flagler Country Free...  Read More »

Many nurses think they don’t have time in their day to think about evidence-based practice (EBP). But EBP helps us provide high-quality patient care based on research and knowledge, rather than on traditions, myths, hunches, advice of colleagues, or outdated textbooks. EBP changes the familiar saying "this is the way we have always done it" to "show me the evidence." Why is EBP important to nursing practice? It: Produces better...  Read More »

Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas has ended its 20-year relationship with McDonald’s, the nation’s leading purveyor of fast food. It’s a move that has many cheering as healthcare professionals have long argued that the presence of fast food restaurants in hospitals undermines the organizations’ efforts to promote healthy eating. The McDonald’s franchise will be replaced by restaurants owned by Puente-Brancato Enterprises Inc.,...  Read More »

Patients can be quite hard to understand, making them difficult to treat. It’s important to look out for certain behaviors, especially obsessive-compulsive behaviors. Remember: Obsessions are thoughts that occur over and over again Compulsions are acts the person performs as a way to deal with obsessive parts Obsessive-compulsive behaviors are most often seen in anxiety disorders, called obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In OCD, anxiety is the root...  Read More »

“Poor Dr. Jones, he’s just received the results from the walk around–now he has to tell the partners. I told him not to take them to the cafeteria.” And the winner is. . . (drum roll, please). . . Vicky! Congratulations, Vicky! 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? In the meantime, we’re going to give...  Read More »

A couple of months ago, we asked you to share your cost-savings ideas for our contest to win one of our Quick-E! clinical reference books. We received dozens of entries and picked what we thought were the best strategies to implement quickly and easily. Congratulations to Terri Johnson, Marfy Yanac, Betty Gregg, Donna Label, and Laura Webb for having the most creative methods for saving your pennies during this tough economic time. So what do they suggest?...  Read More »

“As you may know, we are in the middle of a C. diff. outbreak and…” And the winner is. . . (drum roll, please). . . Doug Barnett! Congratulations, Doug! 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? In the meantime, we’re going to give away a few copies of our Quick-E! Clinical Pocket Guides to some nurses. Have a money-saving...  Read More »

You will find nursing a rewarding profession, but it does have it sources of stress. The key is to get this stress under control from day one. Start out by identifying what areas of your work are causing you the most stress. Is it something you can change? If so, develop a plan and put it into action. There are various ways you can manage on-the-job stressors, such as: Avoiding the stressor (e.g., a nurse who is rude to you) Eliminating the stressor (e.g.,...  Read More »

Clinicals are one of the most important parts of your nursing education. With everything that may be on your mind at the time, it’s important to remember proper communication and etiquette during each one. To practice good etiquette and common courtesy during each of your clinical rotations: Introduce yourself to the nurses on duty Ask if you can help out in any way Respect their territory and time Always be polite At the end, thank them for their time...  Read More »

“By the way, the surveyor from the Joint Commission is here early for your meeting.” And the winner is … (drum roll, please) … Melissa Heflin! Congratulations, Melissa! 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? In the meantime, we’re going to give away a few copies of our Quick-E! Clinical Pocket Guides to some...  Read More »