Showing posts with label Nurturing New Nurses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nurturing New Nurses. Show all posts

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Notes of a Student Nurse: A Dose of Reality « Off the Charts

It’s been said before that we are our own worst enemies, our own worst critics. I can’t imagine a time when these phrases are truer than during nursing school. Little more than a year ago, when I was starting my prerequisites for admission to the BSN nursing program, I was giddy with excitement. Images of what life would be like played in my head like episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, or, on a day I was feeling a bit more goofy, reruns of Scrubs.

I took any opportunity I had to share with friends, family—even new apartment neighbors—that I was well on my way to nursing school with the confident smile of a person destined to save the world, one patient at a time. I scoured discussion boards and nursing student forums late into the night, anticipating the day that I, too, would have something profound to contribute.

I laughed off those who warned me that the path was difficult and ridden with challenges. There was no bridge I couldn’t cross, no task I couldn’t do, and no test I couldn’t pass with flying colors. The world was mine. Now, I’m living those moments as a first semester nursing student—but a funny thing happened on the way to the present, a thing I will lovingly refer to as reality.

Click on the "via" link for the rest of the article.

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Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Where are the Nurses Mr. President? Nobody Cares.

To the President of the United States from the Yoga Nurse:

Dear Mr. President,

May I be so bold to tell you in my not-so humble opinion the answer to your question, “Where are the nurses?”  Elementary dear Watson.  Nobody wants the job.  why not? because … “This Job is Killing Me.

As an advocate for nurses, I currently teach meditation, natural stress relief techniques and medical yoga to nurses and nursing organizations through out the country to help them with morale and wellness on the job.  Shockingly, I often hear nurses say these exact words to me: “This job is killing me and I’d kill to get off the floor.” It shocked me because I too said those very words at times in my nursing career, but never out loud, and only to myself.  These words are engraved in my psyche as the global lament of way too many nurses.  Never mind what country, color, religion or background of the nurse, (I have worked in Canada and the USA) it is the same story and not a pretty one.

Why is this job killing me? There are endless reasons why nurses are “dying” from their work and why the job is literally making them sick.  Just a few examples that you can surely relate to: Insufficient staffing, overwork, impossibly long shifts, endless charting, little time for patient care, working with inexperienced nurses, burnt out nurses, slackers, disrespect, conflicts between nurses, nurses and doctors, managers, management, lawsuits and liability, being abused by patients i.e. hitting, biting, scratching, punching, yelling, poor health issues, obesity because the only reward is eating…that is, if you get the chance on any given shift, accusations of improper care, etc. etc. etc… (Your turn, fill in the blanks____. _____. _____.). Enough already, you get the idea.

Click on the "via" link to read the rest of the article.

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Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

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http://www.nursingexperts.com

Make Way for the Millenials on ADVANCE for Nurses

Millions are already in the classroom and workforce, and their reinforcements are marching through the doors in vast numbers. They are the millennials, the latest generation to give the country a facelift as they try to blend in with the traditionalists, baby boomers and Generation Xers to do their part in moving society forward.

The millennials were born between 1982 and 2001.1, 2  The children of baby boomers, their generation was named for coming of age at the turn of the millennium.

Millennials are a symptom of drastic change, according to Paige Shaughnessy, PhD, CCC-SLP, graduate program director in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, School of Allied Health Professions, at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, CA. "The changes in America socially, economically and politically were so drastic around 2000 and 2001 that in many ways it shaped a generation that is very different from the rest of us. We truly have to struggle to understand them."

The older generations can learn to work with the incoming workforce of millennials by making every attempt to understand their characteristics, values and expectations without sacrificing their own integrity.

Millennials have a wealth of defining traits. Thanks to their total immersion in technology from the time they were born, their cognitive characteristics and learning styles are unlike any seen before. They really are wired differently because they grew up using different parts of their brains, Shaughnessy told ADVANCE.

Click on the "via" link to read the rest of the article.

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Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
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Thursday, January 6, 2011

nurses-by-the-numbers.jpg (600×4217)

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******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
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http://www.nursingexperts.com

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Many local nursing grads find local jobs, Utah

A couple of years ago, finding a job as a nurse was a snap.

It's a bit harder now, but thanks to a healthy relationship between the hospitals in Utah County and the local nursing schools, local grads are still doing OK.

Utah had the lowest registered nurse vacancy rate in the country as of May, said David Clark, Intermountain's CEO for the urban south region. Much of that he attributed to the natural feeding system set up because of BYU, UVU, Provo College, Eagle Gate College, Ameritech and other programs that train qualified nurses.

Intermountain Healthcare is the largest health care provider in the state and thus the largest employer of nurses as well.

And he has no problem admitting that Intermountain is a little partial to the nurses who trained "right there in our backyard."

It's not that the process becomes easy, he said.

"They have to earn it based on their own merits," Clark said.

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Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
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Thursday, December 23, 2010

6 Tips to Survive Your First Year as a Hospital RN - Nursing Link

The first year on the job is often the toughest for new nursing graduates, especially those who work in hospitals. In fact, new nurse graduates account for more than half of the turnover rate in some hospitals, according to a study published in 2007 by Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing researchers.

“There really are multiple reasons for [the first-year exodus],” says Patricia Benner, RN, PhD, professor at the University of California, San Francisco and a senior scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. “One is that nursing practice is incredibly complex. Over the past 60 years, the transfer of responsibility to nursing from medicine has been incredible. I think society doesn’t typically recognize that.”

Because the sickest patients are in the hospital, hospital RNs need good clinical judgment and the ability to recognize when a patient needs immediate intervention — challenges that are especially pronounced in a nurse’s first year of employment.

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Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.legalnursingconsultant.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingcasestudy.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Integrating New Nursing Grads, Nursetogether.com

Do you remember what it was like to be a new nursing graduate?  One day you were a student, and ‘poof,’ one day you were a nurse.  Expectations ran high and responsibilities ran even higher.  The cushion of ‘just being a student’ and having your instructor ultimately be responsible is gone in an instant.  Do you remember the anxiety, fear and unsure feelings of those first few months?

When you are well into your own career and overloaded with your own patients, it is easy to forget what it was like in the beginning.  But wait, we need your active participation to help us integrate our new staff, now more than ever!   In a profession that is one of the most trusted and respected in the world, it is embarrassing that we have a phenomenon known as ‘nurses eating their young’ - the well known, but little talked about, epidemic of senior nurses making work life even more challenging for their young counterparts.  I am hopeful that the general public is unaware of this, as it would be rather embarrassing for us!

Why do you think this exists?  Do we feel that new grads must ‘pay their dues,' that because no one supported us, we don’t need to support them?  Is it our own insecurities?  Are we worried they have newer, fresher knowledge, and that they will want our jobs?

Whatever our reasons, whether conscious or not, many of us are hurting, rather than helping, our new nurses integrate into our institutions.  With the shortage of nurses so prevalent, wouldn’t it be in OUR best interest to help these ladies and gentlemen through their first, and possibly most challenging, year in the profession?

Dr. Judy Boychuk Duchscher, RN, PhD, has made her life’s work helping new nurses transition into the workplace.  Beyond this article, her compelling research and tools for integration can be found on www.nursingthefuture.ca.

Follow the link above to read the complete article:

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Any questions, please drop me a line.

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******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.legalnursingconsultant.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingcasestudy.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com