By Richard Freedberg, RN, MSN, MPA My family is already asking me for advice! What should I do? Hmmm, only part of the way through nursing school and you are already being hit up for free healthcare advice. Anyone else out there running into this type of situation? Absolutely! This is a common circumstance. Think about your own experiences. There is a certain nice guy with construction experience in my family who saved me from disaster when I was doing a home...  Read More »

The phones were supposed to fall silent. Dial tones were supposed to replace the comforting voices of nurses. Ask-A-Nurse, the free call-in nurse service run by Centura Health in Colorado, was supposed to shut down due to financial pressure this summer. Not anymore. Calls and emails flooded in from the community since the plan to close was announced on July 9. Leaders from Centura, the largest family of hospitals and healthcare services in Colorado, met to...  Read More »

“Executive council would like your update on going green and how much paper you’ve saved …” And the winner is … (drum roll, please) … Lora Lukasiewicz! Congratulations, Lora! 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 »

Working in healthcare is dangerous for your health, says Daniel Johnson, PhD, a clinical psychologist in Macon, GA. The profession is dangerous because of the enormity of the daily challenges staff face (e.g., the responsibility of caring for seriously ill people, lack of support, shift conflicts, resource constraints). These daily challenges can build up and affect resilience to stress and strain.  Read More »   Read More »

Staff at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, IL, always put the patient care experience first, but they wanted to do more. They wanted to spend more time, pay more attention, and have time for more care. At Loyola, they call this “magis.” Magis is a Latin term meaning “to do more,” which is a perfect description of the new patient care model they developed to reflect the organization’s values. “We needed to manage...  Read More »

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is usually seen in preschool children and those in their early school years. Treatments include medication management and behavioral treatment. Structuring a patient’s environment and being consistent in your approach can be helpful. Here are some hints to use when working with children with ADHD: Provide a schedule and routine in their day. Post the schedule where it can be readily seen. Organize their...  Read More »

Editor’s note: Author Kathleen Bartholomew will be speaking at the 26th annual NSNA MidYear Conference in November in Reno, NV. Until then, we’ll occasionally be featuring excerpts from some of Bartholomew’s captivating and influential publications. Here’s one from Stressed Out About Communication Skills: Of all the professions on the planet, those of us in nursing have the honor of dealing with the most challenging and interesting people....  Read More »

Nurses aim to spend the bulk of their time in direct contact with patients. Other responsibilities, such as paperwork and gathering supplies, often get in the way. To remedy the problem, 21 hospitals across six Rocky Mountain states are joining a Rapid Adoption Network (RAN) that will allow them to share information about clinical practices and seek ways to improve them. The RAN was created in response to a recent Veterans Health Administration survey that...  Read More »