Category: Workplace Issues

When the WHO (World Health Organization) determined that 2020 would be the Year of the Nurse, who knew that nurses would be at the epicenter of a pandemic?  I am concerned that we are putting our nurses and frontline responders at risk. On March 11, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order to boost the respirator mask supply.  Because of […]

The proposed budget cuts which would eliminate Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs could significantly affect nursing education.  These programs provide loans, grants, education and training to help professionals and connect them with underserved areas. From 2016 to 2017, 575,000 future and current healthcare providers were working in 8,400 training sites. This program also could affect the Nurse Corps Program […]

A recent article on Becker’s Clinical Leadership & Infection Control, written by Patti Hart, DNP, MSN, RN, the Chief Nursing Officer of Medical University of South Carolina Health Charleston Division, discussed how taking care of her staff and ensuring quality and safety of care is so vitally important. You can check out the article here. Ms. Hart believes, as do […]

Years ago, my mother was in a coma for several months.  We practically moved to the state where she was hospitalized to be with her. I admit it, we were the family from h—. The SICU nurses and physicians were trying to reign us in as we thought we were going to lose her.  Fortunately, she recovered. Though she does […]

Both Ohio and Kansas have pending legislation to allow advanced practice nurses to treat patients without physician oversight.  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has endorsed this legislation.  The FTC relied on research showing that autonomous advanced practice R.N.s and physicians have comparable prescribing practices and patient outcomes.  Currently there are 22 states that allow full practice authority for advanced practice […]

I don’t think you can be a nurse without having an intuition or sixth sense.  Actually, I think everyone has it, but some have the trait better developed. That sixth sense is when you go into a patient’s room and you know that something is wrong.  You take vitals, do your assessment and everything seems to be fine with the […]

Recently I read an opinion piece in The New York Times magazine, written by a New York Belleview Hospital physician, titled “The Business of Healthcare Depends on Exploiting Doctors and Nurses.”  It discusses how electronic medical records (EMR) are designed to save us time and get documentation that can be easily searchable but, unfortunately, it’s a burden. Data entry is […]

Artificial intelligence (AI) is here and it is impacting health care.  The question will become will the jobs for nursing decrease with the expanding AI? We see it at grocery self-checkouts, being able to sign up online for a checking account leading to banks closing, etc.  And the need for humans to do these jobs has been decreasing at an […]

I’ve always known that your gut plays a huge role in helping you be successful as a nurse. Take the case of a nurse who was working with a patient who had a cervical spine fusion the previous day.  He complained of having a raspy voice and trouble swallowing.  His vital signs were all normal.  The nurse knew in her […]

Maybe you’re frustrated with nursing or maybe you’ve had a dream that you’ve always wanted to turn into a reality.  When is now a good time to start? Nurses are uniquely qualified to start their own businesses because they have excellent organizational skills, they have critical thinking and have great relationships with their patients.  Unfortunately, nurses are used to relying […]