When looking to develop a critical-thinking process in a facility, it’s best to start with the basics. “Critical thinking has been around for a couple of decades, but applying it in healthcare is something we’ve been looking at pretty closely for the last 10 years,” says Carole R. Eldridge, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, dean at St. John’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences of Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, MO. Critical thinking...  Read More »

The nursing shortage places a heavy emphasis on the education and development of competent nurses to provide the safest patient care. A Web site is now offering nursing school educators and students some assistance outside the classroom. Liko North America, a supplier of patient lift and transfer products and resources, recently launched a “Nursing Schools” section of its Safe Lifting Portal Web site to help educators develop curriculum and safe...  Read More »

As a nursing student in the United States, it’s sometimes hard to imagine a world where bandages, stethoscopes, and up-to-date books are rare commodities. Students and professors at Mount Carmel College of Nursing (MCCN) in Columbus, OH, took action to bring information and some of those supplies to fellow nursing students in Gambia, Africa. When MCCN graduate Kellie Seelig was finishing up her two-year peace corps duty in Gambia earlier this year, she...  Read More »

Editor’s note: This excerpt is adapted from HCPro’s new book “Nurse Retention Toolkit: Everyday Ways to Recognize and Reward Nurses,” by Lydia Ostermeier, MSN, RN, CHCR and Bonnie Clair, BSN, RN. Leaving nursing school to enter the workforce can be a difficult transitional period for many new nurse graduates. And literature reveals that 57% of new nurse graduates will leave their first position within two years of hire. So, why are they...  Read More »

The reality is that we have operated for years in an environment where people were punished or looked down upon for making errors. Such negative energy around mistakes has decreased our sense of self-esteem. Therefore, many nurses find it hard to receive feedback and even harder to give feedback directly to the person involved. The culture is changing, however, and your response to mistakes in the workplace is critical to creating a safer environment for your...  Read More »

By Richard Freedberg, RN, MSN, MPA I’m not sure I still want to be a nurse. Has this thought ever crossed your mind? Whether you have heard fellow students or new graduates openly disclose it, it’s fairly safe to assume many share the same doubts and apprehensions. Here’s what we all need to agree on: It is never wrong to have doubts since they are an important part of the human experience. They sometimes prevent us from blindly racing down...  Read More »

The reality is that we have operated for years in an environment where people were punished or looked down upon for making errors. Such negative energy around mistakes has decreased our sense of self-esteem. Therefore, many nurses find it hard to receive feedback and even harder to give feedback directly to the person involved. The culture is changing, however, and your response to mistakes in the workplace is critical to creating a safer environment for your...  Read More »

By Richard Freedberg, RN, MSN, MPA I’m not sure I still want to be a nurse. Has this thought ever crossed your mind? Whether you have heard fellow students or new graduates openly disclose it, it’s fairly safe to assume many share the same doubts and apprehensions. Here’s what we all need to agree on: It is never wrong to have doubts since they are an important part of the human experience. They sometimes prevent us from blindly racing down...  Read More »

Can writing really reduce stress? A nursing researcher from the University of Iowa is hoping to find out. Howard Butcher, an associate professor of nursing at the school, is conducting a study to see if adults over the age of 55 can use writing to manage stress. The study, which will take a close look at the effect of writing, will focus on individuals who care for cancer patients in their own families. Participants will be asked to write about their thoughts...  Read More »

Can writing really reduce stress? A nursing researcher from the University of Iowa is hoping to find out. Howard Butcher, an associate professor of nursing at the school, is conducting a study to see if adults over the age of 55 can use writing to manage stress. The study, which will take a close look at the effect of writing, will focus on individuals who care for cancer patients in their own families. Participants will be asked to write about their thoughts...  Read More »