It’s time for the reality check. America is in a recession and nursing jobs are fewer while competition is greater. It takes even more hustle, dedication, and tenacity to land a job today than it did for your parents. Having a degree isn’t always enough and, sorry to break it to you, but you aren’t likely to get your dream ...

With billions of economic stimulus dollars flowing to healthcare, American workers can expect a burst of job creation in the industry in 2009 and beyond, including new positions for clinicians and professionals in key support areas. The numbers are impressive: More than 200,000 clinical and nonclinical jobs could be created by healthcare stimulus spending, according to government estimates. And that’s in ...

Alzheimer’s doesn’t play favorites. The soccer mom who was president of a neighborhood volunteer organization in years past may now be an angry woman, pacing the floor, trying to “escape” from the facility where she now lives. The professor who held court in front of thousands of students over the years may now be unable to lift the spoon to his ...

For healthcare professionals and aspirants, 2011 will be a building year. Healthcare hiring may pick up a bit after slow growth in 2009 and 2010, but several factors will continue to constrain the creation of jobs and limit career mobility. Still, healthcare continues to be the countercyclical career success story of the great recession. From the start of the downturn ...

If you already have experience as an RN but want to move into another area in nursing, your resume needs to reflect your skills properly. View our sample resume for a nurse career changer below and get a downloadable Word version of the RN resume template here. JENNIFER WILSON, RN 10 Springdale St. Brooklyn, New York 22222 (718) 555-5555 resumepower@somedomain.com OBJECTIVE ...

"May I Please Have Your Attention. The Hospital Will Be Closing Shortly." Ahh… If only this were true. (Insert dream sequence…) The hospital doesn’t function like the local town store with posted ‘Store Hours’. The hospital never closes. It operates in some capacity 365 days a year, 24 hours a day (and yes 366 days a year on leap year). It ...

How does a man survive in a woman’s world? Here are some down-and-dirty survival tips that every ‘male nurse’ needs to know in order to survive in the wilderness of women. Learn the ways of the Venutians Men are truly from Mars, and yes Women are from Venus. We live on two different worlds, but we do occupy the same solar ...

Survival is in our nature. In fact, surviving is not an option, it's an expectation. The difference between surviving and drowning is how well you ride the ‘wave'. Only my fellow nurses will understand what I mean by the ‘wave'. You know – it's that feeling you got when you first decided to become a nurse. It was then that feeling ...

NOTE: The information in this column is not to be construed as legal advice. Please see an attorney if you need legal assistance. This is for informational purposes only. Q: As a nurse, what is the single, most important legal issue I must be aware of as I take care of my patients? A: Today's nurse must manage complex situations both ...

Maybe it’s the whiny colleague who makes your 12-hour nursing shift seem twice as long or the turf war raging between the nurses, physicians and technicians in your department. Or maybe you’re just tired of feeling overworked and underappreciated. Whatever the scenario, you sense that changes are needed before you lose your sanity or start looking for another nursing job. Whether ...

Perhaps you always dreamed of becoming a nurse when you were younger or you may have been attracted to nursing as a second career. At some point you understood the true value that nurses contribute to the lives of patients, the community and humanity. There were many hurdles to stride getting into and surviving nursing school. The competition was intense and ...

Many people are surprised to know that the first nurses throughout the world were actually men. The first nursing school was in India in about 250 BC and only men were felt to be pure enough to be nurses. During the Black Plague in the 1300's, a group of men formed one of the first hospitals to care for the victims. ...

One of the hard parts about being a nurse manager is evaluating another nurse’s performance. Looking another nurse in the eye, who is your co-worker and sometimes even friend, and telling them how well, or bad, they perform can be difficult. I am working on two evaluations right now. One is an excellent nurse. She was hired as a new graduate ...

Many people think of their list of references as an after-thought, something employers only look at after you dazzle them with your killer nursing resume and stunning interview skills. But references can actually help you get your foot in the hospital door, if they carry enough weight. Big names and impressive titles can grab the attention of potential employers. After ...

Any nurse who has been rejected by a nurse clique or has been the victim of another nurse’s malicious gossip wonders, “Weren’t we all supposed to grow out of this?” Unfortunately, no. According to one study, 38 percent of working adults have experienced bullying at work and 42 percent have witnessed bullying behavior. And while most workplace bullies are men, women ...

Imagine finding yourself in an overwhelmingly stressful situation. Then imagine having no control over said situation. I have to keep this in mind each day that I venture to work and am faced with a difficult parent or family member. Working in a pediatric facility, I have the added challenge of not only caring for the ill child, but caring in ...

Ahh, the shaking of hands. It sounds simple enough: Two hands meet and greet and do a little shake. Easy, right? Not so fast. Unfortunately, there are quite a few ways a handshake can go south. From an overly moist hand to a bone-crushing grip, handshakes come in all shapes and sizes — and only the best will hit the ...

One of the most important roles for all nurses is patient education. As we move forward with the healthcare reform, that role is going to continue to expand in action and importance. A big concern plaguing the new reform act is the high cost of medical care. Through education and information, nurses can help patients learn more about their health status ...

Nurse Rebekah Child and Brady Pregerson, MD, good-naturedly debate the claim that nurses are naturally more meticulous by dissecting the medical professional. How? Vis-à-vis an age-old nursery rhyme. Nurse Rebekah: Wanna know my theory about why nurses keep their hands cleaner than doctors? If you do, read on; if you don’t, go and Google, Facebook or Twitter something. It’s because men ...

Critical thinking skills are an important aspect of nursing. The concept can be a nightmare for some nursing students who struggle to understand. It’s a popular topic for many a nursing thesis or publication which many times only serves to further confuse the students. It’s not really that complex of a concept if one takes the time to break it down ...