I hope you all had some fun on Halloween and dressed up a bit. As you know, StressedOutNurses.com holds monthly contests for a chance to win free Quick E! Pocket Guides. This month’s winner for best Halloween costume was (drum roll). . . Swine Flew! Karen McCarthy and her office mate teamed up to dress as pigs with wings. Officially, Karen was H1 and her officemate was N1. Unfortunately, we don’t have a picture yet, but hopefully...  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...  Read More »

“Here’s a bill from the plumber. Did you know that the volunteers thought you could get rid of old fruit by flushing it down the toilet?” And the winner is … (drum roll, please) … Deb Francisco! Congratulations, Deb! 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...  Read More »

See Fran on MySpace. See Fran on Facebook. Follow Fran on Twitter. A veteran of social networks, Fran (short for “Frantic”), our Stressed Out Nurses mascot, officially started tweeting on Thursday afternoon. Her first tweet, “The Stressed Out Nurse is on Twitter,” fell on deaf ears, but things are already picking up. Sixteen fellow Twitterers (as of 12:52 p.m. EST ) are already following the colorful character. So,...  Read More »

Are you nervous about your senior year of nursing? Are you busy studying feverishly for the NCLEX exam? Could you use a little refresher on some nursing skills you haven’t used lately? No matter where you are on your nursing journey, our Quick-E clinical pocket guides can help. We just published 12 new editions a couple of weeks ago and we’re already hearing great reviews about the glossy covers, the tabs for easy navigation,...  Read More »

The new editions in our popular Quick-E series are publishing in just a few short days. We couldn’t be more excited, and to give you a little taste of what’s to come, here’s a look inside one of our new titles, Geriatrics. (The other new title is Medication Management.) All 12 new editions are slated to roll off the presses next week! Elderly skin is almost always dry. As we age, our skin begins to thin so it is less able...  Read More »

Medication reconciliation is a crucial process to reduce errors and harm associated with the loss of medication information as patients are transferred between various units and healthcare facilities. Once medication lists have been obtained, verified with patients and other sources if needed, and documented within the medical record, this information can be compared to medication orders to identify unintended discrepancies, potential drug...  Read More »

By defensive charting, we mean protective. Who are you protecting? With proper documentation, you protect your patient and yourself. Chart only what you see, hear, feel, measure, count, and experience; not what you suppose, infer, or assume. Chart as if the words you write reflect the actual and complete record of the care rendered, because they must. Chart as if every word could one day be scrutinized in a court of law, because it can. Be...  Read More »

Polypharmacy can include patients taking dosages that are too high, medications that are incorrectly prescribed or filled, and medications that interact with or duplicate the actions of other medications, herbal supplements, and over-the-counter (OTC) medications. It can often produce detrimental results in a patient, particularly if he or she is elderly. Common signs and symptoms of polypharmacy easily confused with aging include the following: Constipation,...  Read More »

Often medication errors are directly tied to errors in reading, writing, or interpreting charted information. Complications related to medication-related incidents and errors are costly, at best. At worst, drug-related mishaps increase the incidence of hospitalization and death. Medication errors adversely affect quality of life. Medication-related incidents affecting patient safety fall into six general categories: Medication administration...  Read More »