To say teamwork enhances nurses' performance and job satisfaction almost sounds too obvious. Teamwork is a requirement in nursing, otherwise nothing would ever get done. Of course that isn't the case for any nurse, especially nurses who work busy shifts in a hectic hospital setting. However, it's a lot easier when it comes to teamwork to look at others who ...

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, is commonly associated with veterans and combat stress; but this anxiety disorder can strike anyone who has experienced a traumatic event. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, approximately 7% to 8% of Americans are expected to have PTSD at some point in their lives, and an estimated 5.2 million adults have PTSD in ...

The Civil War began 150 years ago this year. It was a bloody battle that forever altered the course of our nation. It also forever altered the profession of nursing. Prior to the Civil War, the prevailing ethos was that women belonged at home – and far from the battlefield. But nurses like Clara Barton and Dorothea Dix worked on ...

Everyday as a nurse is an opportunity to experience little victories. These are small moments when you accomplish a task, fix a problem, or even when you complete a standard intervention. There are a few things in nursing that fail to get your endorphins pumping and don't make you feel accomplished. And one of those little victories is a successful IV ...

The Case Description: Mr. James is a 57 year old gentleman admitted to room 224A two days ago for dehydration secondary to nausea and vomiting for three days. His sclera is slightly yellowed and his abdomen is distended and tender to palpation especially in the upper right quadrant. After two days of IV lasix therapy, he has 2+ edema in his ...

Visiting the doctor can be a stressful ordeal, and not just because it's often related to some sort of medical issue. Between all the forms to fill out and spending more time in the waiting room than you do actually interacting with your physician, the amount of time spent can seem like a major hassle. While in reality the vast majority ...

Have you ever found yourself: - Feeling overwhelmed with challenging patients? - Struggling to manage the emotions that arise from patient deaths? - Constantly asked to do more, get patients discharged more quickly and respond to the demands of doctors, family members and supervisors? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you’re not alone. Many nurses find themselves feeling ...

Patients can say the craziest things, and that's not even counting the ones in mental health institutions. Whether it's a fear of hospitals, doctors, or needles, or the vulnerability that comes with health problems and wearing a hospital gown, nurses hear wild statements from patients' mouths on a near-daily basis. Whether inconsiderate, inappropriate, or just plain weird, here are 10 ...

True to the claims of the old TV show "Kids Say the Darndest Things," surround yourself by children each and every workday and that statement becomes not only true but very endearing. It would be an unusual occurrence for me to end my workday without a funny/cute/smile-provoking story about one of my patients, whether it be something they said or did ...

Most of our daily problems, including common annoyances such as arguments with coworkers, are dismissed as not life or death. However, when nurses and doctors are involved, it can be a matter of life or death. Egos need to be left outside the hospital by the professionals entrusted with the health and safety of the patients they care for, which sometimes ...

If you deal with daily staff meetings and interactions with doctors and patients, you know just how important it is to speak assertively and get heard! But what exactly does “assertively” mean and how do you speak your mind without coming across as rude? These are important questions, as communicating effectively — not to mention politely — is pivotal to your ...

Want better patient outcomes, more patient cooperation, fewer errors, greater job satisfaction and more effective use of your time? It's all possible by improving one key skill: Patient communication. "Communication is the most important medical procedure that anyone in healthcare can do," says Maysel Kemp White, PhD, president and CEO of Healthcare Quality and Communication Improvement, an educational and consulting group ...

Did you know that bullying affects at least half of the American workforce? According to a study published in 2010, back in 2007, 35% of workers in the U.S. reported having been bullied, while another 15% witnessed workplace bullying. That’s half the American workforce who admitted to experiencing or witnessing bullying behaviors. Bullying goes beyond the playground; it's more than just ...

As a healthcare provider, you know that a patient’s body language often tells you more than her words do about how she’s feeling. At the same time, you’re sending your patients messages with your own body language. Rarely do we think about what message our body language might be sending. If your body language is relaxed and confident, you can help ...

*Q: How can I be responsible for a bad patient outcome when I barely knew the patient? Am I responsible for a patient's bad outcome when several others also took care of the patient? Why am I being sued when the patient was well and discharged from my floor a week ago? I am only the HMO "Call A Nurse", how ...

One of the first patients I lost was an elderly man who had sent his wife home to get some rest after they shared his meal tray together. His concern was for her health and well-being, but as he began to feel his own death approaching, he called me in to his room and asked if I could sit and hold ...

Your day is already full juggling budget cuts, staffing demands, regulatory requirements and reimbursement issues. Your patients are older and sicker than ever before and their procedures are more complex. The staff needs an in-service on a new piece of equipment that the surgeon wants to use tomorrow. Who has time to plan a career? Is there a trend or event ...

Should nurses have the power to unionize? The question is almost as old as the labor movement itself. Some nurses consider unionization unprofessional; others consider unions an essential tool to help ensure safe practice environments. The question, though, may soon be moot. In Wisconsin, Governor Scott Walker has proposed a Budget Repair Bill that will strip public employees – including nurses ...

Peer review: an evaluation tool that gives you an idea of what your co-workers (peers) think of you as a fellow co-worker (and nurse). The concept of the peer review is a relatively new concept for me. I think I was introduced to peer reviews approximately four years ago. It was used as a monitoring tool during my orientation on a ...

One fact in life is certain; we will all die from something. Simply put, death by natural causes is a death that is not unexpected. It is not from an accident, a natural disaster, a homicide or suicide. It is also one that is not preventable. A disease process that has progressed and caused organ failure is usually the root of ...