Category: Employment

Guest post by Cynthia Howard RN, CNC, PhD, CEO Nurses are practical and purposeful. When your job is the well-being of other people it can be tough to put yourself in the schedule. Most nurses I know find caring for everyone else easy and the very thought of taking care of themselves may seem selfish. Yet, to achieve true balance […]

This past week I went before the Nursing Board. Not only do they hear matters against nurses who licenses are being charged but also cases of individuals who have completed their nursing education and now want to sit for the test. Some have skeletons in their closet such as a previous DUI conviction or some such criminal matter. Once you […]

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Is a med error considered malpractice? “Malpractice” is a fancy word for negligence, but involves a professional. There are 4 elements of malpractice: Duty (the standard of care) Breach (you didn’t do what you were supposed to do or did something that you should not have done); Causation; and Harm. So, let’s put it in layman’s terms. You have a […]

I know how difficult it can be to be understaffed on a busy medical surgical unit or for that matter, any unit and I know that hospitals and nursing homes discourage overtime.  Unfortunately, most state laws do not have any minimum staffing requirements.  You’re in between a rock and a hard place because you are required to accept the assignment […]

“Should I carry my own malpractice insurance?” That’s a question I hear quite a lot. As an employee, your employer is responsible for your actions as long as you are acting within the scope of your responsibilities. If you do something that is clearly outside that scope, your employer will not cover you. Some extreme examples are having inappropriate relations […]

This first video is me interviewing Renee about what is bullying and what can be done about it.   This second video is Renee interviewing me about the legal aspects of bullying and what we can do in negative employment situations.

In the time when I was growing up, the goal of my parents’ generation was to get a job and stay there for life. It would be a job for which you could contribute to a retirement so that someday you would be able to retire. So, when I got out of nursing school, it became my goal to find […]

I have heard from many nurses that where they are working is understaffed which is not safe for the patients. Those nurses put in a lot of overtime because they are concerned that if they didn’t, there would be fewer staff available to care for the patients. They also expressed concerns that if the facility is able to get staff […]

With the economy as it is and the nursing job market being tight, many nurses find themselves taking the first offer to have a job. You would be surprised how many nurses get into trouble in their job or with the Board working somewhere that is not a right fit for them. I suggest that if you’re looking for a […]