Category: Empowered Nurses

What would you do if your supervisor asked you to do something that you think may be questionable? Would you follow the order or would you question it? Let me give you some examples to consider: You work homecare and you never see your supervisor. She tells you to sign her name on your time card so you can get […]

Did you know that your State Board of Nursing not only regulates nursing licenses but also nursing schools as well? I have had the opportunity over the past several months to sit in on the Indiana State of Nursing and listen to their discussions about different schools. Before going on, let me tell you that your Board of Nursing is […]

A nurse, Maria, was working in the ICU. There were 8 patients with 4 nurses. The acuity was very high and for everything that needed to be done for each patient, they needed more staff. One patient coded and 2 nurses were assisting with the code while the other 2 nurses were caring for the remaining 7 patients. One of […]

The definition of “insanity” is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting to get a different result. Sometimes I feel like a hamster on a wheel – I try to escape the wheel but it keeps going round and round. I also am thinking that if I keep going on this wheel, I’m going to get somewhere, […]

What differentiates humans from animals is our ability to think. Animals are programmed perfectly. Their instincts guide them to food and steers them away from danger. As humans, we are unfortunately not programmed so perfectly. Our mind takes over and we think ourselves out of things that we should be doing for our highest good. So, as humans, we are […]

It’s estimated that almost ten percent of all nurses are males. And, for whatever reason, I represent more males in my practice than in the general nursing population. I don’t know whether it is because men more readily hire an attorney than do women. I’m not really sure. But what is interesting is the male perspective on the practice of […]

Recently, I had an experience in confronting a fear by going into a cage with live tigers! I find it very interesting how we are all conditioned for fear. Did you know that we all are born with only two fears? Babies have only the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. That’s it! All the other fears […]

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 […]

Things sure have changed a lot since I graduated from nursing school. When I got my degree, I interviewed at seven places and had seven job offers as a result. Unfortunately, that is not much of a reality anymore. A national survey found that 59% of new BSN graduates had job offers at the time of graduation and 89% had […]

Each year 7,000 nurses have some type of discipline placed on their license. My home State of Indiana has the highest number of nurses on probation. Other top contenders for that dubious title are Texas and Ohio. If you would like to see the discipline imposed in your State, check out the National Council of State Board of Nursing website […]