Sexual harassment of nurses can be as simple as a patient's unwanted flirtatious winks or as elaborate as a male hospital physician's systematic assaults on female employees. And nurses are likely to encounter this occupational hazard. In a University of Missouri study, 21 of 29 nurses surveyed said patients had sexually harassed them. A 2001 NurseWeek/American Organization of Nurse Executives study ...

One in six Americans was living in poverty in 2008, and that number has risen in 2009. Many of these people have gone without—and continue to go without—health insurance. We asked Jane Dellert, a nurse of 41 years who has treated uninsured children at low-cost clinics since the 1990s, what she thinks about the current healthcare crisis and what nurses can ...

We like to control our surroundings, whether it be at home or at work. We could argue that nurses can’t control their work environment because of the unknown patient or event that may lie right around the corner, but uncertainty and the unknown is nothing compared to a nurse working in a disaster zone. Disasters come in many forms, from those ...

Meetings can be deadly, especially if they feel unproductive. Listening to your nursing supervisor drone on and on about things that don't affect you just isn’t a smart use of your time. So how can you make your boring staff meetings more productive? Research shows that increasing activity and creativity in meetings helps increase brain activity and alertness. Everyone's happier when ...

We don't mean to do it. We don't mean to stop seeing the people behind the patient facade. We know our patients have lives outside of the hospital, beyond their illness or disability. They have interests, hobbies, work, and love. They have friends and family. They may have had a charmed life, or they may have had a tough one. There ...

I’ve written about lateral violence (the act of nurses being bullies) frequently in the past. To be completely honest, I hate that this is something that I even know about, and especially felt the need to write about. Not because I don’t think the issue should be addressed, but its just completely absurd that it exists at all. The jokes and ...

Having been a nurse for over 20 years, I have experienced burnout or compassion fatigue several times during this journey. Wikipedia describes the follow symptoms of compassion fatigue: "Sufferers can exhibit several symptoms including hopelessness, a decrease in experiences of pleasure, constant stress and anxiety, and a pervasive negative attitude. This can have detrimental effects on individuals, both professionally and personally, ...

I must confess: I love being a nurse! I have been a nurse for 21 years now. Funny, I completed nursing school when I was 31 (with three children, a husband, and a very busy life). I remember when contemplating finishing school as a nurse I thought briefly I was too old to go back to school. (I was 28 at ...

An EMT instructed to transport a woman to an abortion clinic declines, citing personal beliefs. A nurse ordered to administer a large dose of morphine to a terminal cancer patient in pain refuses, saying the medication could hasten death. A physician turns away a gay patient, apparently on the basis of his sexual orientation. Are these scenarios examples of healthcare workers ...

Does the idea of working on Friday the 13th make you squirm? Have you banned the "Q" word from ever being uttered on your floor? If you said yes to either of these, you're definitely a superstitious nurse. If you said no, let's see if you're really not superstitious, or if you're just not aware of it yet! 1. The "Q" ...

Over the past several months there have been murmurs of budget problems at your facility. You are not overly concerned, having survived hard times in the past. The department director has requested a meeting with you for this afternoon. Upon entering the conference room, you are greeted by your director and the manager of human resources. There is a stack of ...

Intensive Care nursing with dystonia is not for the faint of heart, but it's really doable. Okay, so how did a wannabe artist/photographer end up working nights surrounded by medical equipment and really sick people? I blame it on my father. Of course, he's not here to defend himself anymore, but take my word for it, there was no way that ...

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: My friend has a written contract with her nursing PRN company for employment, but my hospital does not have written contracts for their nursing employees. Can we both be considered employees?* ...

It was 11:30 p.m. on a rainy Friday night. I had just given in to my scheduler’s pleas and agreed to cover a night shift in Pediatrics. The secretary looked up from her computer as I approached the nursing station. Then: “You’re late,” sneered the charge nurse. Before I could answer, she shoved a packet of papers in my face. My ...

So I know when you read the title all you could think about was ‘what is it??!’ Anyone who is a nurse or on their way to being a nurse can use this piece of advice! We live in the world of life and death. I don’t think anyone will argue with me on that. We can have many levels of ...

Patient teaching and patient education are big topics in nursing. Good preventative health education helps keep people from becoming patients and good patient education helps patients from getting worse or helps them manage their condition or illness. It used to be that nurses had time to sit down and discuss various issues with their patients, answering questions and generally providing support. ...

The nurses at Washington Hospital Center in northwest DC put their employer on notice and staged a walkout on March 4, 2011. National Nurses United, the union representing the hospital’s 1,650 registered nurses, said the one-day strike was a response to many key issues including patient safety issues, unsafe staffing conditions, and violations of federal labor laws resulting in the dismissal ...

Earlier this month, the Institute of Medicine released a report about the role nursing will play in health care in the near future. Because nurses comprise the largest portion of the health care industry in the U.S., they are key players in implementing the directives of the Affordable Care Act. But before they can act effectively, nurses need to take certain ...

Although discussing end of life care is often avoided in the general robust working population, working in the healthcare industry has made me highly aware of the importance of making these difficult decisions before it is too late. Typically, when a patient is admitted to the hospital, options for advanced directives are presented and decisions about said directives are encouraged. As ...

No one goes to work with the idea that they will be sued for malpractice today. However, nurses understand that not all patients will get well, and some patients will believe they were misdiagnosed or mistreated. When you receive court documents, whether by mail, by deputy sheriff, or private process server, your life will change, and you will need expert help ...