Student Nurse Teacher

A few days ago a new grad reached out to me with the question: "Do you have any tips on how to survive/thrive on night shift?" I sure do! I have worked over 2,300 hours of night shift, including time in home health and hospital nursing. There are things I love about night shift and things I...don't love. But, through those hours, I learned what worked for me. I hope these tips are helpful! 1. Recognize that night shift isn't for everyone. Night shift is a great place for new grads to start out. The pace is typically slower than during the days (though night shift nurses work incredibly hard, and some nights will be c.r.a.z.y). However, you don't have as many discharges and admissions, and your patients do not have physical therapy, occupational therapy, multiple doctors rounding on them, etc. There is time for you to sit down, look through the patient's chart, ask questions, get feedback, and LEARN. Take advantage of that! Ask the other nurses questions, ...

Throughout the past several months, we have met nurses in various specialties, including the PICU , public health , telemetry , and more. Today's interview is with a former classmate of mine, Heather. Heather currently works in uro-vascular nursing, and she is in school to be a nurse practitioner. Yeah, she's cool 😊 What type of nursing do you do? I work on a med-surg floor that specializes in Urology and Vascular patients. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and why you chose that specialty? I have wanted to be a nurse since I was 14 years old. When I was 15, my neighbor was diagnosed with cancer and so I would sit with her every day until she passed away. That experience really reinforced my love for nursing because I saw how much of an impact a nurse could make on a situation that wasn’t ideal. I thought I wanted to do Hospice nursing when I got out of college, but I was able to get a day shift position on the unit I’m currently working on right out o...

Is your path looking a little uncertain? Are you second guessing your decision to go to nursing school or wondering if you should change careers entirely? I've been there! And I want to share a few things that helped me.  1. Realize you are not alone. If you haven't read my nursing story yet, check it out  here.  I struggled throughout college and several years after wondering if I had a made a mistake and why I seemed to be the only one struggling. You are NOT alone. 2. Shadow other nurses. If you are in high school or college, find a nurse that you can spend a shift with. I shadowed in a private school, an ER, and a radiation oncology unit, and talked to many other nurses, to understand more what types of nursing were available. If you are already a nurse, talk to nurses on other floors to get an accurate picture of their job. 3. Branch out to other interests. Your life doesn't have to be 100% nursing. I do copywriting and editing, play the piano, am very involved...

As the school year draws to an end, many college students look forward to graduation. Finally, classes are over, no more projects, no more clinicals, no more tests--well, unless you are a nursing major. In that case graduation is only one step on the path to being a nurse. The final step still looms: the NCLEX. One of my nursing friends demonstrating the proper way to study The day I graduated from college was an exciting day, but I didn't feel the sense of finality because I knew that dreaded NCLEX was still ahead. I had turned in my application and all the needed paperwork to my state. My school would send my final transcript to the nursing board, the board would send me my att (authorization to test), and I could finally schedule the NCLEX. So I went off to my summer job at a camp and waited for that att. And I waited, and waited. I continued to study through the Kaplan material and take practice tests, but I wanted to spread it out and leave the long practice tes...

Senator Walsh: I'm sure your email and voicemail have blown up over the past few days with responses to your comments regarding nurses, mandatory breaks, shift limits, and playing cards. I would like to add my voice to the cacophony you are experiencing. You see, I am a nurse. And I am proud to be a member of this community. As a nurse, I have spent hours at the bedside of patient who had been improving and suddenly became confused and combative due to an infection. I have stood at the bedside of a dying patient, pushing medication through his IV and listened to his family talk about they had taken care of him at home for as long as they could, but now they were realizing that there was nothing more to do. I have woken the doctor in the middle of the night because my patients blood pressure was plummeting and I needed to get him transferred to the ICU so he could get the stronger medication he needed. I have watched my patient wake up from a surgery and realize that his heart wa...

Do your nursing classes make you feel like you're trying to drink from a fire hose? Do you leave class wondering if and how you will remember everything you heard? One of the secrets to long-term retention is taking quality notes while in class. Here are my top 5 tips for doing just that. 1. Get the PowerPoint ahead of time if possible. If your teacher uses PowerPoint, see if you can get a copy of the presentation before class and print it out. I usually print mine out with two slides per page and room for notes. This allows you to focus on what the teacher is teaching, rather than copying down every word from the slide. You can also simply work from the PowerPoint on your computer and take notes directly in PowerPoint. 2. Don't write down every word the teacher says. Listen for key ideas and summarize in your mind as you take notes. This helps you to process the information rather than simply recording it. Pay attention for phrases like "in summary, most...

You've made it through all your prerequisites and have finally been officially accepted into clinicals. Congratulations! Nursing school provides a unique opportunity to see first hand the day-to-day responsibilities of a nurse. Whether you are placed in the ER, a clinic, or a med-surg floor, your clinical experience is an invaluable part of your nursing training. So, how can you take full advantage of your time in clinicals? 1. Be prepared Several days before your clinical rotation, take time to read through any paperwork your teacher has given you. Some sites will have different requirements for what to bring, what time to arrive, etc. Make sure you know ahead of time what you need. For suggestions of what to bring for clinicals, check out my post  here ! Lay out your clothes the night before. Don't forget your badge! Wake up early--set several alarms if necessary. Eat a good breakfast with some protein and take a deep breath. You are ready to enter the hospital as a stu...