Category: Empowered Nurses

Erin Marie Olszewski is an Army combat veteran who served our country on the front lines in Iraq during Desert Storm.   Earlier this year, as a nurse, she traveled from her Florida home to work at Elmhurst Hospital in New York to work on the COVID unit. Having worked in an ICU COVID unit in the Sunshine State, she was […]

Can you imagine being in nursing school while a pandemic flourishes all around you?  I remember how scared I was when I first graduated, wondering if I was going to remember anything, if I was going to get it right and/or whether a patient was going to die.  To also worry about the effects of an ongoing virus outbreak would […]

As our society continues to become more technologically oriented, there is less and less time to have interaction with others, especially during this trying time.  In addition, in nursing, we rely so heavily on technology and are usually “knee deep” in watching monitors, taking vitals, performing assessments, doing treatments, passing out meds and charting on the computer that we can’t […]

Years ago, when I first realized that I wanted to be a nurse, my parents thought that was great and told me, “Oh, you will always have a job.” At the outset of my career, I had 7 interviews and 7 job offers.  Unfortunately, with COVID, that is not the case at this time.  As hospitals continue to lose revenue, […]

This is National Nurses Week although the World Health Organization has declared 2020 as the Year of the Nurse.  The American Nurses Association has made this the month to celebrate nurses with May being nurses’ month. Regardless, every day should be Nurses Day and nurses should be celebrated for all they do. This pandemic has spotlighted nursing and has thrust […]

Whether or not we are on the front lines, many are experiencing what used to be called “shell shock” or “combat fatigue.”  The American Psychological Association calls it post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) “that can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, serious accident, a terrorist act, war/combat, rape or other violent […]

The New York State Health Department and 2 hospitals were served with 3 lawsuits alleging they failed to protect healthcare workers and the public. The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) is a union and advocates for nurses for safe staffing, professional pay and benefits and a voice in patient care. The lawsuits claim that the Department of Health and […]

I find it incredulous that many nurses in New York and London have been wearing garbage bags because of the lack of protective garb.  It is beyond appalling that nurses are having to resort to this questionable protection. Click here on NEW YORK CITY and LONDON to read more. The United States is a wealthy nation and should be able […]

In this international pandemic, can we fathom how many of our professional sisters and brothers we are going to lose? I am appalled at hospitals which are requiring nurses to work without personal protective equipment (PPE).  Prior to this outbreak, the CDC regulatory requirement was for a healthcare provider to wear an N95 mask which would be disposed every time […]

The COVID-19 Global Pandemic has everyone, including Nurses, fearful. I want you to remember that it is ok to feel the fear and that you can manage your mind to manage the fear. I am creating a video series “COVID-19 Survival Guide for Nurses and Health Care Practitioners”, as a way to say Thank You and provide you with tools […]