Nurses need to determine why patients seem to be unwilling to do what is expected of them. Some people are just plain set against making any changes or adjustments in their lives. But others may be unwilling to cooperate for less obvious reasons. It is very important for you to differentiate between unwillingness and inability. Take a moment and talk with the patient about what is holding him or her back from doing what has been asked. What...  Read More »

By Karen L. Madsen, MSN, APRN-BC If you missed last week’s Ezine, check out the first part of "The other side of the bed." Four hours after our initial check-in, we were admitted to the main emergency room and eventually, things got much better. We had a stellar nurse named Kristi, who came to our room with morphine in her hand for our girl. Kristi was kind, she was efficient, and she was incredibly skilled and competent....  Read More »

The media spotlight found its way to Dennis Quaid late last year after the actor’s newborn twins were victims of an accidental drug overdose. Mistakes such as this are all too common, according to a study released in the April issue of Pediatrics. The study found that drug errors—medicine mix-ups, bad reactions, and accidental overdoses—harm about 1 in 15 or 540,000 hospitalized children annually. The study began in 2002...  Read More »

Critical thinking is vital because it directs us in providing safe, competent care. Nurses who possess critical thinking skills make a difference in decreasing hospitals stays and producing good patient outcomes. The nurse who uses his or her head versus just his or her hands is of value to any organization. For you to become a critical thinker, you must first answer the following questions. Be honest in your evaluation: What have you...  Read More »

By Karen L. Madsen, MSN, APRN-BC I don’t like this side of the bed. No, I take that back. I loathe this side of the bed. It scares me, it makes me angry, it makes me cry. I have no control over this side of the bed, I have little identity, I don’t have much of a voice. All this and more ran through my mind as I sat at the bedside of my 15-year-old daughter recently. It had been a long time since I had been part of the patient...  Read More »

The national nursing shortage continues to cast a dark shadow on our healthcare system. Arizona State University’s (ASU) College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation is trying to shine a light for other institutions to follow. Last week, ASU, the largest nursing school in the country with nearly 2,000 students, broke ground on a modern, $30 million addition to its school. The addition will be completed in 2009. In the past six years,...  Read More »

We can expect many of our patients to be using complementary remedies, including herbs, vitamins, spices, or other “natural” substances. Some of our clients select their own remedies based on word of mouth from friends or relatives. Often people use them because lack of insurance or resources limits access to healthcare. Whatever the motivation, we need to know (to teach our patients): “Natural” isn’t synonymous...  Read More »

As new generations of nurses enter the workforce, questions abound. What influences a new graduate’s job choice? How long do they expect to stay? Why do some of them want to leave? Professors Christine T. Kovner, PhD, RN, FAAN, and Carol S. Brewer, PhD, RN, are spearheading an in-depth study to find answers to some of these critical questions. And thanks to a recent $4.1 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the research...  Read More »

Long, physical days take a toll on a nurse’s body. Difficult patients and dealing with stress take a toll on a nurse’s mind. Combine the two, and it’s easy to see why more than one-third of baby boomer nurses plan to change their jobs in the next one to three years, according to a recent AMN Healthcare survey. The survey of 1,830 nurses ages 45-60 revealed that more than 33% are suffering from career burn out and plan...  Read More »

So you have your first job and are finally making your own money. But you are on the brink of drowning in student-loan and credit-card debt. What happened to the idea of earning money and spending it on fun things? Well, that idea is not completely out of reach-it just requires some planning. Practice the 3 Rs of money: reality, responsibility, and restraint. Reality: Recognize that unless you strike it rich, which is highly unlikely,...  Read More »