Questions about becoming a Nurse Practitioner?

I am thinking about going back to school to become a Nurse Practitioner after I get my BSN in Nursing, but I have a few questions. 1) Is being a Nurse Practitioner totally different from being an RN? 2) Can a Nurse practitioner work 3 twelve hour days, 4 days off like a RN can or do they work a completely different schedule? 3) If I don't like it can I go back to being an RN? Read

Everyone wants to be a nurse...

There's a high demand in nurses. Everyone wants to become one! Do you think this is part of the economic recession and people just needing a job that is in high demand? Or, do you think people are genuinely interested in becoming a nurse, helping others, caring for others? Read

Meditech and ICU Assessments

How often and how are you documenting your pt assessments? Full head to toe "shift" assessments as well as "focus" assessments?

We have always done Q6 "Shift" assessments, and added in any additional focus or task list issues along with narrative notes as needed. Now, we are being asked to do a "Shift Assessment" at the beginning of the shift and Q2 "focus" assessments regardless of whether there is a change. Read

Writing & publishing a literature review

This has been on my mind for a while. I want to try and write a literature review and hopefully get it published. Which, then, is a better source to source for more articles --- uptodate or the sigma Theta tau website (of which I am a member but my subscription has just expired)? I'm on a tight budget now and I can only pick one. If you have any other suggestions I would appreciate it. Read

The Power of Being Empathetic Towards Those in Need

A nurse reaches out to a patient during a time of need. This patient had experienced a traumatic loss and desperately needed to talk to someone. The nurse saw this urgent need and watched how others never gave this patient the time. This precious time gave the patient the ability to share the story, thus allowing the nurse to show emotions and be empathetic towards the patient. Later, this small moment of time, resulted in a small return favor that showed a great appreciation for the nurse and proved the nurses theory. Read

Care Teams vs Primary Nurse? What do you do?

I work in a small (18 bed) NICU that is mostly single rooms except for 2 3 bed rooms. Our staff is about 56 nurses and that is a mix of full and part time nurses. For as the past 20 plus years the staff has self scheduled in 6 week blocks with a few rules regarding nights and weekends and we also signed up to be part of a primary team. The problem is last year when my nurse manager complained that no one was signing up for teams so she wanted to make preassigned teams. We tried it out on one baby and it worked but when we had 6 teams it was terrible... Read

I think I committed career suicide

I started in the ER in May after leaving a tele floor for 8 months. I needed a change and wanted to advance and challenge myself. I'm having a tough time transitioning. I have even thought about asking for my old job back. I was really good and comfortable at my old job but it wasn't much growth where I was. Now I'm ready to jump ship. I feel like I don't fit it in where I work, I'm slow, having a tough to time moving with the pace and prioritizing. Does it look bad on my resume to look for another job? Read

Is this common? The new face of the ED

I have worked in the ED for 4 years. Anyone who works in an ED knows the current situation with ED care. Too many patients (esp with non-urgent complaints) and we are incredibly understaffed. The turnover is so high, like I said I have been there 4 years and I figure I am in the group of 10% of RNs who have been there the longest. I have seen waves of nurses come and go. Recently it has gotten even worse... Read

Substance in Human Breast Milk Protects Against HIV Transmission

High concentrations of specific human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) appear to be protective against postnatal HIV transmission, according to research published online Aug. 15 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Read

Being called "ignorant" by your boss- am I over-reacting?

This morning, me and about 10 other people are at the nurse's station giving/getting report. A call bell is going off. (Call bells are always going off; that's what happens when you staff 3 CNA's for 60 medicare patients!). The manager in question approaches me and only me, to ask 'where my CNA's are". I tell her I don't know, but given the time they're probably in rooms finishing rounds. The other nurse for the majority of floor does not get questioned. She keeps ranting about the call light and I tell her I'll find someone to get it- all the while knowing since I'm in report, why can't she get it? She ignores the CNA's standing at the desk, who could have very well answered the damn light. Later on, she pulls me into the office to tell me 'I'm ignorant'... Read

Dialysis Compliance Buy-In...

Noncompliance for chronic hemodialysis patients is multi-factorial. Improving compliance is the responsibility of everyone but the end result, either positive or negative lies with the patient. As providers, we owe it to our patients to work with them as to reasons and reasonable solutions. Read