Sarah Whitlock has three words to describe her reaction to seeing a hand in a ditch while driving late one August night: “I was petrified.” The 21-year-old nursing student who attends Presentation College in Aberdeen, S.D., was driving along South Fork Road in Cody, WY—her hometown—around 11:30 p.m. on August 12. Despite the darkness, she saw a hand sticking out of a roadside ditch. “It scared me half to death,”...  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...  Read More »

You wouldn’t get accounting advice from a shoe salesman or a zookeeper. Sure, they may have some helpful suggestions for you, but when your neck is on the chopping block with the IRS, you’ll wish you had consulted an accountant, right? The same principle applies to medical and scientific information. You need to know where the information is coming from to decide just how valid it is. Ask yourself these things when finding information: Who...  Read More »

After performing pop rock country tunes on a bright stage surrounded by tens of thousands of screaming fans, Jason Marks should be able to perform clinical rotations with a steady hand. “It was very exciting and more fun than I’ve had in a long time,” says Marks with a slight Southern drawl. Marks, who attends Cape Fear Community College (CFCC) in Wilmington, N.C., has been a practicing musician for several years and has...  Read More »

Imagine having the opportunity to stand in front of a television camera and declare your love for nursing. That’s just what happened to three individuals at tiny Lakeview College of Nursing in Danville, IL. Student Katie Marlatt, recent grad Erica Dixon, RN, and Sarah Rich Wheeler, DNS, RN, PMH, BC, LCPC, the school’s dean of nursing, all shined under the bright lights. “It was neat to think that such a small school would...  Read More »

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...  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 »

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...  Read More »

People enter professions for different reasons. Some do it for money. Some do it because of a natural skill or talent. Some do it because they can’t think of anything better. But sometimes, people enter professions because they seem destined. Erin Nestor, our $500 scholarship winner at StressedOutNurses.com, is one of those people. After a 25-minute conversation with her last week, it was clear she was born to do one thing: be a nurse. Nestor...  Read More »

Several weeks ago, we here at StressedOutNurses.com asked professors from around the country to nominate students for a $500 scholarship. The guidelines we laid out were simple: We want to hear about your students who have a handle on stress—even in the most chaotic situations. And the nominations poured in. And poured in some more. We waded through piles of excellent submissions before selecting Erin Nestor, a third-semester nursing student...  Read More »