Our Preceptor Place columnist, Sarah Jane, has covered a wide variety of topics during the past few months. As a young nurse (in the Buckeye state!) who is quickly becoming a veteran, her advice and insight have been a welcome addition to our pages. She’s given us a first-hand glimpse at her relationship with a new nurse and provided some fantastic general advice for new graduates. Last time, she gave us an inside look at the roles of preceptors and mentors....  Read More »

To many, the nursing shortage doesn’t seem so short anymore. In certain parts of the country, hiring freezes, low vacancy rates, and low nurse-to-patient ratios are changing the landscape of healthcare. Not in Arizona. A study released last week by the Arizona Healthcare Workforce Data Center, a creation of the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, said the state has 681 nurses per 100,000 people, well below the national average of 825 per 100,000....  Read More »

“The radiologist told her the diamond engagement ring she swallowed is moving along and should be available for her wedding date of June 15 . . .” And the winner is . . . (drum roll, please) . . . Shirley Holliday! Congratulations, Shirley! 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 »

The time has come. The graduation parties and the excitement from the end of college have subsided, and I need to focus on the fact that in about a month, I will be faced with the test that defines my future as a nurse. Even saying the word, NCLEX, runs a shiver down my back. It’s not that I don’t think my college prepared me for this exam; it’s just that I don’t want to have to retake it. So I have started to organize my time and I’m...  Read More »

Medication reconciliation is a crucial process to reduce errors and harm associated with the loss of medication information as patients are transferred between various units and healthcare facilities. Once medication lists have been obtained, verified with patients and other sources if needed, and documented within the medical record, this information can be compared to medication orders to identify unintended discrepancies, potential drug interactions, and/or...  Read More »

Our Preceptor Place columnist, Sarah Jane, has covered a wide variety of topics during the past few months. As a young nurse (in the Buckeye state!) who is quickly becoming a veteran, her advice and insight have been a welcome addition to our pages. She’s given us a first-hand glimpse at her relationship with a new nurse and provided some fantastic general advice for new graduates. Last time, she gave us an inside look at the roles of preceptors and mentors....  Read More »

Both the sender and the receiver have specific responsibilities if communication is to be effective. The sender must ensure that he or she is clear, concise, and to the point, and must also pay attention to background noise. Do not hesitate to move out of the nurse’s station or congested areas if necessary. As the sender, it is also your responsibility to notice if the receiver is receptive to the information you are conveying. The sender should: State...  Read More »

Our Last Semester columnist Chelsea is done with her last semester. She walked across the stage last weekend and can now call herself a college graduate. That doesn’t mean she’s done with us, though. Chelsea’s nursing career is just beginning and she’ll be taking us along on the ride for a while. Just two days after she said sayonara to school, she was headed south on a plane from Boston for a job interview at a hospital in Maryland....  Read More »

Nurses are ecstatic about it. Many business groups are furious about it. But love it or hate it, the reality is that the Massachusetts House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill last week that would direct the state Department of Public Health to establish nursing staff levels in hospitals. The House voted 115-35, siding with the Massachusetts Nurses Association and nurses who are increasingly burnt out from heavy patient loads and long hours....  Read More »