As a research scientist who is devoted to ensuring that immigrant nurses have successful U.S. careers, the issue of internationally educated nurses’ (IENs’) cross-culture language competence has recently been both a sensitive and front-and-center issue pervading my work. In my more than 30 years in the health care sphere, the topic is now reaching a fever-pitch as IENs increasingly enter the U.S. health care workforce and play a critical role …
An 18-year-old was admitted to our ICU with a questionable diagnosis. The drug screen did not reveal what he had taken. Our ICU intensivist speculated he ingested bath salts. Bath salts came to the U.S. around the 2010s. It was cheap and, even better, considered a “legal high” as it was not detectable in drug tests. Josh came to the emergency room psychotic, paranoid, and hallucinating, with hypertension and SVT. …
My current feeling as a nurse is more closely related to those of a line cook than to what I imagined nursing would be. Patients arrive with complex medical needs, yet we are forced to see them as checklists to be processed before the next shift arrives. Turnover feels like moving products down a line instead of treating people with care and dignity. This is not a failure of individual …
“Are you going to be wearing a white skirt and a hat from now?”
That was one of the first things I heard when I told relatives I had been accepted into nursing school. It was a joke — at least that’s how it was delivered. But the meaning behind it wasn’t funny.
In my South Asian community, nursing is seen as women’s work — important, but low-status. For a man to …
As nurse practitioners, our professional licenses are more than credentials. They are symbols of trust, responsibility, and commitment. It is vital we never take them for granted, because when they are compromised, not only do we suffer, but our entire profession pays the price.
We must be vigilant: Safeguarding our licenses is on us alone
No one cares about our NP licenses as much as we do. They grant us the privilege …
After 35 years in health care, I thought I’d seen it all—until it happened to me.
We talk about burnout, compassion fatigue, and systemic issues in medicine. But there’s something more silent, more painful, and far more personal happening in hospitals and clinics across the country: Generational warfare.
The young eat the old. And the old? We’re expected to disappear quietly.
In my early years, experience was respected. Elders were mentors. Wisdom mattered.
Now, …
As we near the end of Nurses Week, I can’t help but express my gratitude for our true health care heroes: nurses. Throughout my 20 years in medicine, I have worked with nurses on a daily basis. As an innocent, bumbling medical student, they would teach me how to place an IV or how to supplement potassium. In residency, they would teach the ins and outs of ICU care even …
Since my training days in the Combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency at Ohio State University Medical Center and Columbus Children’s Hospital (1996–2000), to my days in private practice (2000–2008), to my days practicing as a hospitalist physician (2008–present), I’ve had the great fortune of working with, collaborating with, learning from, and befriending many nurses who roam this Earth and, especially, my surrounding community. With those thoughts in mind, I …
Dear new nurse graduate,
Welcome to a world unlike any other—a world brimming with happiness, sadness, confusion, self-doubt, defeat, and heroism. You’ve just stepped onto the first rung of a ladder that reaches into the unknown. Nursing is not easy, and there will be countless moments when you ask yourself, “What was I thinking?” or “Why did I choose this path?”
But nursing isn’t just a job; it’s a lifelong journey, a …
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We discuss the transformative potential of a standardized affiliation agreement (SAA) in nurse practitioner education with Lynn McComas, CEO and founder of PreceptorLink. As a recognized expert in precepting nurse practitioners and advanced …
I was on the phone with my sister when I thought I heard a knock at the door. Then another. My dogs barked, and I told her, “Don’t hang up.” My chest tightened. Nightmares of someone coming for me flashed through my mind—a stranger lurking in the dark.
After more than 40 years as a nurse, transitioning from the chaos of the ER to the intensity of the ICU, I thought …
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A few years ago, my college-age sons utilized the Common App for college applications. It’s a logical and brilliant concept: one online application that students can use to apply to multiple colleges and universities at once. And it’s accepted by thousands of colleges and universities worldwide. I remember thinking, “Why aren’t we doing this for nurse practitioner (NP) programs?” It seemed like a great solution, so I decided to research it.
Anyone …
I have been in health care and worked as a bedside nurse for more than 30 years now. Early in my career a surgeon said to me, “I could have made changes if I had that information sooner. I’ve had 200 people on my operating room table during this time.”
The surgeon was referring to critical data within medical registries, which are used by clinicians to improve care delivery. Registries have …
An excerpt from The Medical Improv Toolkit: 10 Simple Activities to Promote Safe Care, Healthy Workplaces, & Rewarding Careers!
“Were there none who were discontented with what they have,
the world would never reach anything better.”
~Florence Nightingale
The expectation for dedicating time to playful activities can seem like a waste of time, especially with relentless clinical priorities and limited resources. In order to justify the time needed to proceed with this work, …
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Join us for an enlightening conversation with Joseph Lanctot, a nurse practitioner, as he explores the significance of professional identity in healthcare. Joseph shares his personal experiences of being mislabelled as a doctor …
The aging nursing population is one of the underlying conditions contributing to the nursing shortage in the United States. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 1 million nurses are at least 50 years of age, and 60 percent of nurses are over age 40. Furthermore, over 20 percent of nurses plan to retire within the next five years. For reference, there are nearly 4.7 million registered nurses (RNs) …
An excerpt from Healing Healthcare: Evidence-Based Strategies to Mend Our Broken System.
The greatest challenge facing our professional workforce today is creating a healthy work environment in which nurses care for patients. A significant characteristic of a healthy work environment is appropriate staffing. Nurse staffing is a multifaceted issue, and it is extremely difficult to objectively advocate for change. Different members of the health care team have different concepts of …
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