Category: Workplace Issues

I believe that nurses have the answers to the problems in health care, but either they are afraid to speak up or others don’t listen.  So, how can we make change that will really occur? When you want to make change, think about the end result you are seeking.  That is where you start.  That is your intention of what […]

  A completely unscientific review of the nurses who I have represented for licensing issues shows that the vast majority of them worked the night shift. The areas where some nurses seem to get in trouble are: (1)    sleeping on the job – because they haven’t adjusted to the night shift schedule; (2)    taking Ambien for sleep during the day […]

There are more than 3-million nurses in the United States and approximately one-third, about 1-million, are “baby boomers” who are expected to retire soon. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be 1.2-million job openings for nurses by 2020 because of growth and the need for replacements.  Right now, hospitals are concerned and I have noticed more recruitment […]

  A Houston, Texas nurse has filed suit against her employer because she was not given her lunchbreaks.  Even though she worked when she should have been eating her lunch, she was NOT paid for that time.  She was deprived of her break and forced to work for free. This facility had a policy that you only clocked in when […]

As nurses, we see all sides of humanity.  I remember as a student doing my pediatric clinicals, we had a small toddler in an oxygen tent while its mother was smoking in the restroom when the child started to cry.  She handed her belt out from behind the door with the instruction, “Here, use this.” Again … you see all […]

Allnurses.com recently released the results of a 2015 survey of nearly 19,000 nurses across the United States. The survey brought to light several interesting salary discrepancies between nurses of different genders, educational backgrounds, and locations. The annual salary of nurses by gender reveals that male nurses tend to earn slightly more than their female counterparts. The fact that men earn […]

I received an anonymous letter in the mail from one of my readers in response to an article I had written.  She was concerned that nothing was being done about some of the injustices in nursing. At first I felt bad that for whatever reason my article didn’t benefit her.  I know not everyone is going to resonate with my […]

When I was a nursing student, I thought for sure I wanted to be either a labor and delivery nurse or a pediatric nurse.  During my clinicals in obstetrics, I had a patient whose baby died in utero and she delivered the baby knowing that it would not be born alive. That was so emotionally difficult for me that I […]

When we were living in caves thousands of years ago, there was a real fear of becoming an animal’s main dinner entrée.  When faced with that possibility, the fight or flight response kicked in. But today, while we can feel safe in our homes, we still can push the so-called panic button for any fear response any time we want. […]

What is the first thing that a physician orders when you work night shift and have trouble sleeping during the day?  The physician orders Ambien! Maybe you’ve been working long hours; walking the hard floors of a hospital and it’s taking a toll on your back and other joints.  If you have pain, which cannot be controlled by non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, […]