Category: Empowered Nurses

  You’ve made it through nursing school, passed the NCLEX, and earned your license—now the real responsibility begins. One of the most high-stakes tasks you perform is administering narcotics. Whether in the ER, med-surg, ICU, or long-term care, passing controlled substances is routine—and it’s also one of the fastest ways to put your license (and livelihood) at risk if you’re […]

They told us it would be hard. But they never told us that in the pursuit of saving everyone else, we might lose ourselves. As nurses, we are hardwired to care (it’s in our DNA)—for our patients, our colleagues, our families, and sometimes even strangers on the street. We are taught to push through exhaustion, set aside our own pain, […]

When your nursing license—your livelihood, your identity, and the career you poured your heart into—is at risk, you don’t just need a good attorney. You need the right one. As a nurse myself, I know the fear, shame, and uncertainty that can overwhelm you when that dreaded envelope or email arrives from the Board. Your stomach drops. You replay everything […]

If no one has told you lately—you are doing an incredible job. Not just at the bedside. Not just in documentation, delegation, or critical thinking. But in showing up, day after day, in a world that is heavier, faster, and more demanding than ever before. I don’t know your exact story, but I know the weight you carry. And today, […]

We know you didn’t go through nursing school, boards, night shifts, and bodily fluids of every variety just to lose your license over something avoidable. But the truth is—even good nurses can get into hot water. So let’s break it down: the Top 10 Ways to Get in Trouble with Your Nursing License—and how to stay far, far away from […]

  Protecting Yourself in the Age of MyChart and Open Notes If you’re a nurse in 2025, chances are you’ve already had a patient quote your charting back to you — word for word — from their phone. Welcome to the age of MyChart, Open Notes, and patient transparency. We’re not in the pre-portal days anymore, friends. Everything you document […]

Let’s be honest — not every day is a Florence Nightingale moment. Sometimes, it’s a patient yelling at you for something out of your control. Sometimes, it’s working short-staffed for the fifth shift in a row. Sometimes, it’s losing a patient — and having to walk into the next room like nothing happened. Bad days in nursing aren’t rare. But that […]

I often receive calls about communications or actions which are taken out of context usually leaving the nurse in trouble because there is no way for her to defend herself. It’s a “he said/she said” situation. Employers are likely going to believe the patients and not the nurse. Unfortunately, the same can be essentially true with the Board which can […]

It was 2:45 a.m. when it happened. I had just sat down for the first time all night. One of my patients, a sweet elderly man with dementia, had been restless and in pain since midnight. I had given him his scheduled pain medication around 1:30 a.m., documented everything, and even noted his verbal response: “Thank you, honey. That’s better.” […]

Nurses see firsthand what works and what doesn’t in healthcare. We’re the ones at the bedside, coordinating care, catching medication errors, and advocating for patients who might otherwise be overlooked. But pushing for change in a system resistant to it? That can be risky. Too many nurses have faced retaliation—being labeled as “difficult,” denied promotions, or even fired—just for speaking […]