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Nurses and nursing

244 articles · Since 2013

Articles, page 8

Conditions and diseases

I won’t sacrifice myself when I can’t get a damn mask

Nurses are responsible for patient care. They are the ones at the bedside 24/7. There is no one who spends more time with individual patients. They are the ones most in danger in the coronavirus pandemic. The news gets grimmer…

Nurses are responsible for patient care. They are the ones at the bedside 24/7. There is no one who spends more time with individual patients. They are the ones most in danger in the coronavirus pandemic.

The news gets grimmer every day about the inevitable surge coming across the country. Forecast of death tolls in the 100,000 to 200,000 range, if not higher, is terrifying.  If the death toll is that …

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I won’t sacrifice myself when I can’t get a damn mask

Conditions and diseases

A great nurse shares their knowledge and does not judge

2

As a new nurse, I was constantly overwhelmed. I had spent four years of my life learning how to become a nurse, and then here I was, being “a nurse” and wondering all the time whether I was even any…

As a new nurse, I was constantly overwhelmed.  I had spent four years of my life learning how to become a nurse, and then here I was, being “a nurse” and wondering all the time whether I was even any good at it. My heart was in it. But every moment of every shift, I felt anxious about my understanding of the information presented to me. I remember conversations with …

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A great nurse shares their knowledge and does not judge

Conditions and diseases

This nurse was hiding the truth behind social media

6

She was new to this ICU. She was young, smart, funny, and considered one of the “cool” nurses. Before we could really get to know her, she exposed her wonderful, fantastic, perfect life all over social media. Their perfect two-story…

She was new to this ICU. She was young, smart, funny, and considered one of the “cool” nurses.

Before we could really get to know her, she exposed her wonderful, fantastic, perfect life all over social media.

Their perfect two-story brick house, their two little, perfect angel daughters — the perfect life in the perfect town.

But what was most important was her perfect, handsome husband. He was bound to be a self-employed …

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This nurse was hiding the truth behind social media

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Health policy

It’s the Year of the Nurse

8

The World Health Organization has designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife in honor of Florence Nightingale’s 200th birthday. We owe a lot to Florence Nightingale, but what about Harriet Tubman or Mary Seacole? Nursing – and…

The World Health Organization has designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife in honor of Florence Nightingale’s 200th birthday.

We owe a lot to Florence Nightingale, but what about Harriet Tubman or Mary Seacole? Nursing – and society – has been changing since the days of these nursing pioneers. It’s way past time to catch up to their timeless insights and fearless activism. We owe to all these …

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It’s the Year of the Nurse

Conditions and diseases

A nurse won’t let this patient die

2

The sun sets a cascade of pink and yellow in the window of an ICU room. The slow hum of ventilation dampens the buzzes and beeps from machines. I stand in a room inundated by equipment. A machine to monitor…

The sun sets a cascade of pink and yellow in the window of an ICU room. The slow hum of ventilation dampens the buzzes and beeps from machines. I stand in a room inundated by equipment. A machine to monitor vital signs with purple, green, blue, and red on a black background displays peaking and rolling waveforms. Two IV poles with twelve pumps click and murmur sounds of fluid migration …

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A nurse won’t let this patient die

Physician voices

Why a new TV show offends physicians

28

Relaxing on the couch, my family already in bed, watching TV to calm my mind before leaving for a busy night shift in my emergency department, I was shocked to see an advertisement that insulted me, my colleagues, and my…

Relaxing on the couch, my family already in bed, watching TV to calm my mind before leaving for a busy night shift in my emergency department, I was shocked to see an advertisement that insulted me, my colleagues, and my profession.

A trailer for a show called “Nurses” is shameful.

The idea behind the show is admirable — nurses do not get recognition from society for the work they do and the …

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Why a new TV show offends physicians

Health policy

The gender imbalance in nursing

7

The gender imbalance in nursing, our nation’s largest profession, is a slow-to-change and complex problem steeped in stereotypes, economics, unconscious bias, power, and privilege in health care and society. Along with other diversity gaps in the nursing workforce, gender imbalance…

The gender imbalance in nursing, our nation’s largest profession, is a slow-to-change and complex problem steeped in stereotypes, economics, unconscious bias, power, and privilege in health care and society. Along with other diversity gaps in the nursing workforce, gender imbalance is another missing piece to achieving the highest quality patient care. Solving the gender imbalance could accelerate the profession in reaching its full potential.

Diversity improves quality

Addressing the gender gap represents …

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The gender imbalance in nursing

Conditions and diseases

My patients teach me, guide me, and remind me that I am here

It’s an odd thing doing what I do sometimes. Dichotomies of highs and lows, life and death, joy and sorrow. In the past 15 years that I have been in health care -- a nurse’s assistant, to registered nurse, to…

It’s an odd thing doing what I do sometimes.  Dichotomies of highs and lows, life and death, joy and sorrow.  In the past 15 years that I have been in health care — a nurse’s assistant, to registered nurse, to now pediatric nurse practitioner — I have had the strange experience of all this emotion.  It wasn’t until recently, maybe because I have a family of my own now, that …

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My patients teach me, guide me, and remind me that I am here

Patient voices

Tips for nurses from a patient who was one

I was an RN for more than 40 years and am now retired. As a recent hospital patient, I documented my experiences. This resulted in a letter to nurses everywhere. *** Dear Nurse, Please be kind to me. I am…

I was an RN for more than 40 years and am now retired. As a recent hospital patient, I documented my experiences. This resulted in a letter to nurses everywhere.

***

Dear Nurse,

Please be kind to me. I am frightened, alone, and in pain. I am way out of my comfort zone and need every bit of encouragement you have to offer.

I arrived at the emergency room a short while ago, was …

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Tips for nurses from a patient who was one

Physician voices

A thank you from doctors to nurses

Earlier this year, I asked a group of nurses what gifts doctors could give that would help them know they are appreciated. There were hundreds of comments that included many I expected: Food (pizza, chocolate, cake, tacos, bourbon, Starbucks, healthy…

Earlier this year, I asked a group of nurses what gifts doctors could give that would help them know they are appreciated. There were hundreds of comments that included many I expected: Food (pizza, chocolate, cake, tacos, bourbon, Starbucks, healthy snacks), pens, cash, and/or gift cards for all shifts.

There were some interesting “high end” ideas: Massages or a massage chair. Trips. Cars. Stethoscopes.

Some still make me shake my head and …

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A thank you from doctors to nurses

Health policy

A nurse’s powerful ER exit letter

26

Dear hospital, The last three years, I have had the pleasure of working in our state's renowned emergency department and level-1 trauma center. My departure closes out a decade of my nursing career as an emergency room and flight nurse.…

Dear hospital,

The last three years, I have had the pleasure of working in our state’s renowned emergency department and level-1 trauma center. My departure closes out a decade of my nursing career as an emergency room and flight nurse. This department — the staff, in particular — will forever hold a very special place in my heart. I leave with a great amount of respect and thanks for this exceptional …

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A nurse’s powerful ER exit letter

Conditions and diseases

Simple suggestions can make such a positive impact

Recently I visited a lady at her home who was a palliative care patient. She was seated on the couch in the living room with a turban on her head and a look of anxiety and depression. Her husband was…

Recently I visited a lady at her home who was a palliative care patient. She was seated on the couch in the living room with a turban on her head and a look of anxiety and depression. Her husband was quiet during the entire visit. He was seated in a chair next to the couch and just looked at his wife and did not participate in the conversation. Her son …

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Simple suggestions can make such a positive impact

Health policy

Define what true resilience means for you

Can you let things roll off your shoulders? Are you the tough, no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is, stand-your-ground type? Do you show up to work no matter what? Has no one ever seen you cry at work? Are these things resilience? We nurses…

Can you let things roll off your shoulders? Are you the tough, no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is, stand-your-ground type? Do you show up to work no matter what? Has no one ever seen you cry at work?

Are these things resilience?

We nurses openly divulge the issues that make us leave the bedside, even amid a vast shortage of nurses. Professional organizations report these issues, and academic, and research institutes aggregate data for a convenient …

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Define what true resilience means for you

Conditions and diseases

A love-hate relationship with nursing

4

If you went to go to a museum in New York City and saw a live heart encased in glass, still pumping and pulsating — it would be my heart, shredded into a thousand pieces all in disarray. But it…

If you went to go to a museum in New York City and saw a live heart encased in glass, still pumping and pulsating — it would be my heart, shredded into a thousand pieces all in disarray. But it still would be pulsating. This describes my life as a nurse.

Nursing was a vacuum that sucked me dry and left me dangling with nothing more to give. Three years left …

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A love-hate relationship with nursing

Health policy

Nursing’s newest problem: The young eating the old

39

In 1976, we couldn't wait to be nurses. Our starched white dresses with the nurse caps and stripes symbolized our graduation status as we were called one by one to receive our diploma and a rose. We took an oath…

In 1976, we couldn’t wait to be nurses. Our starched white dresses with the nurse caps and stripes symbolized our graduation status as we were called one by one to receive our diploma and a rose.

We took an oath to care for the sick, to be professional, to critically think, to respect doctors and to respect patients and family members.

And to respect each other.

It was the age before computers. We …

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Nursing’s newest problem: The young eating the old

Health policy

Protect yourself and your standard of living as a nurse

This article is about learning to protect yourself and your standard of living as a nurse. Now that I am considered a seasoned nurse, I have concluded that there are many essential aspects of the nursing profession that are not…

This article is about learning to protect yourself and your standard of living as a nurse. Now that I am considered a seasoned nurse, I have concluded that there are many essential aspects of the nursing profession that are not discussed during nursing school. It is a shame because many of these topics should be discussed so that new nurses can prepare themselves for issues that may and often occur …

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Protect yourself and your standard of living as a nurse

Health policy

How PTSD is hurting nursing

6

Every time I hear that there is a nursing shortage in America, I feel myself cringe. There is not a shortage of nurses in America. There is a shortage of nurses who choose to work at the bedside. There is…

Every time I hear that there is a nursing shortage in America, I feel myself cringe. There is not a shortage of nurses in America. There is a shortage of nurses who choose to work at the bedside. There is a reason, and it is called post-traumatic stress disorder.

Medically, we have learned that PTSD can occur after a single event or as a result of chronic stressors for a period …

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How PTSD is hurting nursing

Physician voices

Lawmakers should stop trash-talking health care professionals

13

Washington state Sen. Maureen Walsh (R-Walla Walla) became a national headline for alleging that " probably play cards for a considerable amount of the day” during debate on legislation mandating break periods. Many nurses have mailed decks of cards to…

Washington state Sen. Maureen Walsh (R-Walla Walla) became a national headline for alleging that “[nurses] probably play cards for a considerable amount of the day” during debate on legislation mandating break periods. Many nurses have mailed decks of cards to Walsh and posted pictures of blood-spattered emergency department walls in order to call attention to “last night’s card game,” driving home the point that they aren’t “playing” anything …

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Lawmakers should stop trash-talking health care professionals

Patient voices

A nurse willing to forgive others. And to forgive herself.

2

I was 5 years old on a busy New York City street with my mom, dad, and two sisters. A large man in shabby clothes holding a garbage bag in his hand stood on the corner waiting for the light…

I was 5 years old on a busy New York City street with my mom, dad, and two sisters. A large man in shabby clothes holding a garbage bag in his hand stood on the corner waiting for the light to change.

My dad reached into his wallet and handed the stranger a $20 bill, patted him on the shoulder, and said, “Have a good day, my man.”

Dad knew everybody — …

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A nurse willing to forgive others. And to forgive herself.

Physician voices

Senator Walsh: Thank you for uniting us

2

Senator Walsh ... thank you. Because of your flagrant words against some of the hardest-working members of our medical community, we have united to stand against you and rally for our "card-playing" nurses. Like most of my medical family, I…

Senator Walsh … thank you.

Because of your flagrant words against some of the hardest-working members of our medical community, we have united to stand against you and rally for our “card-playing” nurses.

Like most of my medical family, I was astounded and frustrated at the belittling ignorance of Senator Walsh’s recent comments about the amazing nurses throughout our great country. Senator Walsh’s comments were felt not only by our hard-working nurses, …

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Senator Walsh: Thank you for uniting us

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