1. If you didn't chart it...IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. Chart and chart some more.
2. Patients are your number one priority...always. Be their advocate.
3. Never act like you know something when you don't. Admit you don't know, but you will find someone that does.
4. Always keep your word. If you can't trust a nurse, who can you trust?
5. You should never be afraid to ask for help.
6. Mistakes are normal. "To err is human". Just make sure you admit you've made them and learn from them.
7. Your shift will eventually end, no matter how horrible it may be.
8. Be the warm blanket fairy and never underestimate how important a kind word and gentle touch can be.
9. Always have plenty of pens. There's a pen monster in every healthcare facility. He will steal all your pens with no shame.
10. Nurses need to have pretty strong bladders. You're bathroom breaks don't always happen.
11. Learn how to multi-task. It's a nurses' job in a nut shell.
12. Always respect others beliefs, even if you don't agree with them
13. Have patience with your patients. Remember they are usually not medical professionals and they don't understand medical things like you do. Often we see them at their worst and sometimes very fearful. Be kind to them, they need you.
14 .Nurses do eat their young. Unfortunately most new nurses do experience this unpleasantness, but it will and does pass. Try to learn from the more seasoned nurses. You're out in the real world now and some of the things you see may not be what you learned in nursing school, but you can learn a lot from nurses who've been practicing for a while. They know what really works.
15. Don't ever let anyone distract you when you are passing medications...period.
16. Yes, good shoes are worth the money, as is a great stethoscope. You won't regret paying a little more and they will last much longer.
17. If you don’t know or understand something, look it up.
18. Take care of yourself. If you don't you're not much help to anyone else.
19. Be a good listener. It's a dying skill.
20. Never take your frustrations out on your patients, co-workers or family. Learn how to relieve stress in more positive ways, like yoga and meditation.
21. I remember when I graduated from nursing school many moons ago, I was so scared because I really didn't feel like a real "nurse". Yes, I had the RN behind my name, but I felt insecure, almost like a fake.
What I didn't realize at the time was that those feelings were normal. No one expects you to know everything, right when you start your first job. They know you're a newbie. You don't learn to be a nurse in nursing school. You learn how to critically think. It's only when you start working your first job that the critical thinking skills and practical skills combine to make you a "real nurse" and hopefully, in time you'll be a "real awesome nurse".
22. Although your days will be stressful sometimes,...okay most of the time, but it's the little things that will make your day, or even your week. When your patient says something kind, or another nurse gives you a pat on the back. Those are the moments that will keep you going through the stressful times.
23. Study your patient's chart before you even enter their room.
24.You'll come across some nasty doctors in your career. Remember that no matter how nasty that doctor is, you both have the same goal...to help the patient. It's a multi-disciplinary approach and he needs you as bad as you need him. Be nice, but be firm when dealing with nasty docs.
You might be a School Nurse if...
1) You provide a free daycare for kids that have no parents between the hours of 8am to 3pm
A patient, who was undergoing a procedure on her cervix at Toyko Medical Hospital last Friday passed gas on the operating table while her surgeon was utilizing a laser instrument.
Nurses are pretty self-sufficient. We're trained that way. But there are a few things we just can't live without. Here are 10 of them:
Last week I had the opportunity to interview a critical care nurse who's been in the profession for thirty years, so I really couldn't pass that up. I had so many questions for her and couldn't wait to get started.
If you've been a nurse for a while you know that nursing has its unfair share of challenges. But, unfortunately, life ain't fair and the sooner you learn this the better. Whether you're a nurse or a garbage man, a job is work and work can be difficult. I guess that's why we get paid to do it and why it's called "work."
1. I didn't know that nurses had so much to do with a patient's treatment and care. I thought the doctor was the only one who really knew what was going on. But in reality, nurses spend a much more time with patients and they're the eyes and ears for physicians.
Most nurses have a lot of patience with their patients, but let's face it we are human and we have our pet peeves just like everyone else. If you really want to piss a nurse off remember that most work 12-hour shifts so starting to wind them up early in their shift is key. These tips can be used on several nurses so when one goes home you can begin to annoy the next one. here are 11 ways to irritate the crap out of a nurse, it'll make your hospital stay much more entertaining:
I've been a surgical nurse for longer than many people have been alive. Before I became a surgical nurse I worked in the ICU and the ED. But I found my calling when I began my orientation in the operating room. That was when I realized that I'd always be an operating room nurse because I fell in love with the OR. There are some really cool
Ah, the good ole days in nursing that many of us old nurses still remember. For several reasons many of the nursing skills we practiced in days gone by are a distant memory. Some of them were darn right scary, but others are still favored by many
Nurses are people too and sometimes they are forced to sit on the other side of the fence, when illness arises and we're no longer in the role of a nurse, but instead, we're the grumpy patient.
If you're trying to figure out what career path you want to take and your head is spinning as you try to decide whether to be a nurse, doctor, teacher, lawyer or fly by the seat of your pants and see what kind of hell you can raise, (the latter is just a joke, don't get any stupid ideas), but this article can help you out.
I'd Rather Be A Nurse. Poem for nurses
Year after year nurses are voted the most trusted professionals, so it's no surprise that nurses have a higher standard than others. It's not that we think we're better than anyone else, but we're on the forefront of life and death situations on a daily basis, so there are certain things that you'd never catch a nurse doing.
I'm on my second decade of night shift nursing and in the wee hours of the morning night nurses are working to save lives, clean butts, suction trachs and everything in between.
1. We know that just as in any other profession there are bad doctors and good ones, and we are aware of the scoop about all the good, bad and ugly ones. (Man, there are a lot of ugly doctors).
Nasty patients are unfortunately par-for-the-course when you're a nurse. There's good and bad in everything, and that includes nursing. Good patients make the job of a nurse so much easier and reiterate the reason you became a nurse. But every nurse has their limit and some patients know exactly how to get right under your skin with lightening speed and effectiveness.
I've been an ER nurse longer than most people have been alive. We are a special kind of crazy in the ER, and we have to be to work there. You might be an ER nurse if:
Nurses carry a lot of things in their scrub pockets. In fact, I really don't know what I'd do without my pockets. If a lay person was to look in my pockets on any given day, I'm sure they'd be confused, surprised and horrified all at the same time.
I love my patients. but some of them can be a real pain. Nurses don't really like to admit that, believing that somehow it makes them bad nurses if they do. But the reality is patients are human and, well, all people can be a pain.
If you're a surgical nurse, you know that we are a special breed, unlike any other specialty. We are very territorial and have a lot of weird little quirks that others just don't get.
Here are ten thinks you didn't know about surgical nurses:
If you've ever been a nursing student, or you are are one right now you'll surely relate to these signs of a student nurse:
You find yourself surfing the internet, playing on Facebook and reading articles like this one instead of studying. Don't worry we won't tell anyone.
Salutations! Florence Nightingale, here. Through the wonders of technology, I am able to speak to you from the past and learn about future cultures. Allow me to invest my limited time today to speak with you about stewardship of our glorious planet.
Here is a funny article about the misconceptions in nursing. Hilarious article about the silly stereotypes of nurses. A must see!
We are all familiar with Black Friday by now, but for some of us, (present company included), the thought of waking up at 3:00 am on my day off to wait in humongous lines and be trampled by a 400lb woman who is trying to grab the last Barbie, makes my skin crawl.
Apparently I'm not alone in my sentiments because Black Friday sales are down, and Cyber Monday sales are already through the roof.
The flu season is upon us, and many nurses are forced to get the flu vaccination or face termination by their employer. The flu vaccine is not a guarantee that we won't get the flu. Scientists must be diligent every year to track down the mutations that the virus has made, to get the strain for the vaccine correct.
I have to work this Thanksgiving holiday, but it's okay with me because I am thankful I'm a nurse. I can eat turkey later tomorrow and spend time with my family then too. What I can't do every Thanksgiving is spend time with people who are sick and in need of my care.
Every nurse has been there before. You diligently pushed through all the red-tape also known as nursing school. You wonder if you should become a nurse.