As a new nurse, you will come across many experienced nurses who will influence your professional life in different ways. Two of the most important should be your preceptor and a mentor. Today, let’s dive into the difference between a preceptor and a mentor. Preceptors are teachers or tutors while a mentor is a trusted counselor or guide. In my experience as a nurse, the preceptor gets new nurses ready and trained to work on the floor or unit. The preceptor...  Read More »

Graduation is typically a time of joy, relief, and excitement for nursing students. For five students at Herzing College in Madison, WI, it was a time of anger. The students are suing the school, claiming they didn’t get what they paid for because the nursing program has yet to be nationally accredited. The college president was quoted in the Wisconsin State Journal as saying he was under the impression that the accreditation wasn’t that important...  Read More »

Our Last Semester columnist Chelsea is now mere days from graduating and entering—gasp—the real world. During the past several months, she has taken us on an exciting journey through the end of her college life. She’s shared the 10 things she’ll miss most about college, offered her nursing philosophy, explained her difficulties with the job search, and showed us a behind-the-scenes look at her clinical experience as a student. Now, it’s...  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 »

As a new nurse, you will come across many experienced nurses who will influence your professional life in different ways. Two of the most important should be your preceptor and a mentor. Today, let’s dive into the difference between a preceptor and a mentor. Preceptors are teachers or tutors while a mentor is a trusted counselor or guide. In my experience as a nurse, the preceptor gets new nurses ready and trained to work on the floor or unit. The preceptor...  Read More »

“Welcome to our hospital! Now if you could just fill out this paperwork, we can get started on your discharge . . .” And the winner is . . . (drum roll, please) . . . Sara Leikam! Congratulations, Sara! 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 »

How many times have you read a few pages of text, only to discover you have no idea what you just read? Or, equally frustrating, you have no idea what parts of it are important? The keys to good studying—no matter what the topic—are effectiveness, efficiency, and consistency. Studying smarter is the ultimate goal, which will increase your retention and decrease your stress level. Here are some tips for smarter studying: Same place, same time. Get...  Read More »

This excerpt is adapted from Quick-E: Medication Management, a new addition to the Quick-E series. The 12 new editions, with a revamped look and updated information, will roll off the presses next month. 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...  Read More »

Thanks to the largest grant the school has ever received, the University of Pennsylvania Nursing School will investigate better ways of managing sedation for children on life-saving ventilators. The $10 million grant was recently awarded by the National Institutes of Health. The study, which began in April, promises to be one of the most comprehensive ever done in pediatric critical care. Specifically, through a nurse’s clinical judgment, it aims to minimize...  Read More »

After a tough time with the job search, I have an offer in a NICU in a community hospital in MA and another interview for a transplant unit at Johns Hopkins in MD! I am so excited! Part of me wants to move and the other part of me wants to stay close to home. I wake up every morning with a little bit more anxiety about the upcoming days. It is crazy how fast my time here at college has gone by. I never thought that I would be this sad to see the end. Now that...  Read More »