By Karen L. Madsen, MSN, APRN-BC I don’t like this side of the bed. No, I take that back. I loathe this side of the bed. It scares me, it makes me angry, it makes me cry. I have no control over this side of the bed, I have little identity, I don’t have much of a voice. All this and more ran through my mind as I sat at the bedside of my 15-year-old daughter recently. It had been a long time since I had been part of the patient equation of the hospital...  Read More »

The national nursing shortage continues to cast a dark shadow on our healthcare system. Arizona State University’s (ASU) College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation is trying to shine a light for other institutions to follow. Last week, ASU, the largest nursing school in the country with nearly 2,000 students, broke ground on a modern, $30 million addition to its school. The addition will be completed in 2009. In the past six years, the school has...  Read More »

By Karen L. Madsen, MSN, APRN-BC Check out the first part of The other side of the bed. Four hours after our initial check-in, we were admitted to the main emergency room and eventually, things got much better. We had a stellar nurse named Kristi, who came to our room with morphine in her hand for our girl. Kristi was kind, she was efficient, and she was incredibly skilled and competent. The doctor on call was concerned and also very kind. After a CT scan...  Read More »

By Karen L. Madsen, MSN, APRN-BC Author’s note: I hope you’ll indulge me this week as I talk to you about our recent encounter in the healthcare system. In the next column, I will return to talking about nursing issues that are more global in nature. I don’t like this side of the bed. No, I take that back. I loathe this side of the bed. It scares me, it makes me angry, it makes me cry. I have no control over this side of the bed, I have little...  Read More »

The end of last semester is slowly creeping up on our columnist Chelsea. With less than two months to go, the thoughts of walking across a stage and saying goodbye to college (for now) are becoming very real. Last time she wrote, Chelsea talked about her desire to land the nursing job of her dreams near her home in Boston. Today, she shares her thoughts on two more crucial upcoming events: the NCLEX and graduation. So, spring break during my senior year was...  Read More »

The Nintendo Wii, a game system that requires users to act out the game with a motion-sensor controller, has become part of the therapy routine for a growing number of providers around the country. Although its original intent was simply to be a fun way to spend some time, therapists using the system are swearing by its results. “I got interested in it because of my nephew, who played it all the time,” says Lane Blondheim, MSPT, MT, owner and director...  Read More »