Being a nurse has its share of wonderful experiences. Saving a life, creating a connection with a patient, and making a difference are quick to put a smile on anyone’s face. But nursing has its share of difficult experiences, too. What happens when a child or an infant you are caring for dies? What then? What do you say? Where do turn? Julie Lindsay, MSN, RN, is helping to answer those difficult questions for nursing students at the University of Texas...  Read More »

Have you ever seen yourself on-screen and thought, “Is that how I really act?” Often, the best teaching tool is self-observation, and using videos in the classroom has become an expert-acclaimed technique in improving staff understanding and their grasp of new skills. “People react to the on-screen and have an emotional response to it,” says Carol Tierney, MSN, RN, educational nurse specialist at Cincinnati (OH) Children’s Hospital...  Read More »

“The applicant for the Director of Recreation is here.” And the winner is . . . (drum roll, please) . . . Kathy Fortier! Congratulations, Kathy! 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?   Read More »

Adverse drug reactions (ADR) and drug interactions affect many clients’ lives each year with unexpected illnesses, hospitalization, and even death. A number of deaths each year are attributed to clients taking new prescription drugs and combining them with existing medications. How would you, as a nurse, know if the client was having an adverse drug reaction? Here are some telltale signs: Sudden change in client’s condition soon after drug administration Change...  Read More »

Let’s face it: Nurses can be pretty tough on physicians. They often paint physicians as self-centered, egotistical, golf-loving know-it-alls who care more about their new toy in the parking lot than the patient down the hall with a cough. Of course, there are two sides to every story. Physicians spend half of their 20s cooped up studying. Physicians work long, hard hours. Physicians hurt, too. Let’s take a closer look. Physician morale has decreased...  Read More »

If you take a severe nursing shortage and combine it with some scary statistics about retention, what are you left with? A bad nursing situation in Nevada. A recent University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) study revealed that 30% of nurses leave their job in the first year and 57% leave in the first two years in the state. To help change the worrying trend, UNLV and Valley Health System are launching a one-year residency program-one of the few in the country-to...  Read More »