Sandy Storm whom do I serve?

Sandy storm is en-route I feel it's strength echo in the wind that cautions me vigilance. My husband ,who is a Srgt. in the NYPD , has already been called in and is expected to be on duty for a minimum 48 hrs. I am here with my children and received "that" call, the one where I am sitting here wrestling with whom do I serve? Read

FREE Halloween PDF/Ebook - Download Now!

Happy Halloween! We put together a collection of our BEST Halloween nursing cartoons for your enjoyment! This is a free download! You can download, print, and share with friends, family, co-workers, and even patients. It will put a smile on your face - GUARANTEED. Read

Is your workplace haunted?

In the spirit of Halloween, wondering if anyone else works on a haunted unit?

We have a door that rattles. People try to tell me that it's just air currents going around the hallway that does it, but that story isn't nearly as fun as the thought that ghosts are doing it.

And after a patient died, all the computer hard drives on our floor started going bad one by one. There are theories that his ghost went from computer to computer... Read

The Political Nurse Speaks

Politics is not limited to Presidential campaigns and pie-in-the-sky promises. It is inherent in our jobs as nurses, and it informs our everyday actions on behalf of the patients in our care. And when it does come time to stand up and be counted, our voices must never be assumed to be a chorus singing as one. Read

Different Types Of Coworkers

Let's face it: our colleagues are rather interesting people. Some of these individuals are awesome and, as a result, our workdays flow smoothly whenever we work with them. Other people are, well, not so awesome. I have assembled a list of several types of coworkers, along with their behaviors. Read on! Read.

Full moon syndrome-fact or fiction

For years, we have identified an increase in full moon personality changes among our patients and co-workers. None of them for the better! Yet research does not support our theory that the crazy come out to play during the days before and after a full moon! Read

What makes nursing stressful for you?

The "least stressful unit" got me to thinking, which is, as most people who know me would say, a very dangerous thing.

Anyhoo, for me, it's paperwork. While I'm a work, I keep thinking, "I need to chart!", "I need to fill out the forms for QI," "I need to do the audits," "I need to complete the admission paperwork," etc. etc.

All this while I have the smile on my face as I'm fetching water and a blanket. Or toileting someone. Or cleaning up a patient. It's frustrating, because that's basic patient care, and I'm thinking about the paperwork I'm behind on which takes me literally hours to do, as if the paper work is "something better/more important to do." It's NOT!

That's my beef on the stress I experience in nursing. What's yours? Read

How did you handle your first patient dying?

I thought I'd ask the seasoned nurses this, even though I'm just a student. I had a patient in clinicals 2 weeks ago that was just the most wonderful person. We really connected and I had an amazing day because of her. Yesterday, she was back but on palliative care. I went in to see her and about an hour after that, she died. I did her post mortem care, which was nice to be able to do for her, but I feel really sad. Is it normal to be this emotional when your first patient dies? Any advice? Read

Systematic Pain Management Needed for Children in ER

Steps to manage pain and stress in pediatric emergency medical care are recommended, according to a clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published online Oct. 29 in Pediatrics.

Joel A. Fein, M.D., M.P.H., and colleagues from the AAP's Committee on Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Section on Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, examined pediatric pain management in all emergency medical services (EMS) agencies and provided guidelines for management of a child's distress during illness or after injury. Read

60 days in and looking good

My first true job as an RN is going pretty good. I started my night shift orientation last week and things went pretty well. I am doing pretty well according to both my dayshift preceptor and my night shift preceptor. It's those little detail oriented stuff I need to work on, and no one is sweating to much over that other than me lol. On days I was taking the whole team by my 3rd day and my preceptor was pretty impressed to not have to hold my hand as much as both of us thought. She pretty much was there as resource and comforting presence. I also loved the fact that if she didn't know the answer to something, she didn't hesitate to ask someone more experienced than her or one of the charge nurses. Read

CASH PRIZES - Participate to Win

CASH PRIZES AND allnurses.com MERCHANDISE UP FOR GRABS! To win, all you have to do is participate often on allnurses.com. The more you participate the better your chances of WINNING! All members are automatically entered to win. Read