My 94- year-old grandmother has been in the hospital for a variety of complications. During visits, I’ve been introduced to her physician and her nurse. The funny thing is, the physician was introduced as “Dr. Smith*,” whereas the nurse was introduced as “Nurse Emily*.” (*names changed) Christopher Johnson, MD, a pediatric intensive care physician, remarks on this same issue in a blog post on KevinMD.com. He discusses the issue...  Read More »

On June 10, nurses from 14 Twin Cities hospitals participated in a one-day strike, the effect of which is still unknown. The disagreement is between the Minnesota Nurses Association and Twin Cities hospitals, and no one is sure who has the upper hand, reports the Star Tribune. Nurses want strict nurse-to-patient ratios, while hospitals want to decide those ratios on an as-needed basis. The sides are also disputing whether nurses should...  Read More »

This contest started at the end of last year, and we had so many great submissions I just had to keep it going! All of your nominations for best nurse mentor were incredibly inspiring. Finally, though, we have picked TWO winners: Bev Perry and Lena New! Here is an excerpt from Jessica Perry, who nominated Bev Perry: “Bev Perry is a nurse whose motto has always been to treat every patient and staff member as she would want to be treated...  Read More »

A lot of different reasons bring people to the field of nursing, but for Angela Ronquillo, RN, it was an accident that brought her back to her passion for her career. Ronquillo was already a nurse when an accident left her immobile for months, reports The Times-Picayune, and this accident brought Ronquillo to a place where she was able to discover her true calling. Twelve years ago, Ronquillo suffered a debilitating back injury after a porch...  Read More »

Burnout is a term nobody wants to hear, see, or experience, but it’s real. Burnout happens for a variety of reasons, but ultimately it communicates a situation where “caring for others has become a chore.” The art of nursing becomes a burden of all sorts. Nursing becomes nothing but eight or 12 hours of tasks that, when completed, will allow the nurse to go home. Lots of things cause burnout, but ultimately it happens when...  Read More »