Author Archives: Amy Bozeman

Amy Bozeman

About Amy Bozeman

Amy is many things: a blogger, a nurse, a wife, a mom, a childbirth educator. She started her journey towards a career in nursing when she got pregnant with her first child. After nursing school and studying "like she has never studied before" she entered the nursing profession eager to get her feet wet. The first years provided her with much exposure to sadness, joy and other complex human emotions. She feels that blogging is a wonderful outlet and a way for nurse bloggers to further build their community. Traditionally, midwives have handed down their skill set from midwife to apprentice midwife. She believes nurses have this same opportunity: to pass from nurse to new nurse the rich traditions of this profession.
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Nursing: Rarely black and white

Gray areas are hard to navigate in nursing. Here’s what happened: I had the opportunity to get myself out of an inconvenient situation by being dishonest. It was no biggie, as far as everyone else was concerned.

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Don’t leave your wingman?

Not too long ago, during a particularly rowdy delivery, the attending almost left me during a critical moment…

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Support: nurses need it, too

Would you agree with me when I say that lack of support outside of the work environment may be a major contributing factor to burn-out?

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Bad Shoes!

Like many nurses, the search for the “perfect” shoe has been an ongoing adventure for me. Most of the time, I try new shoes, they end up hurting and I switch with little or no fallout…except for the time my shoes completely embarrassed me AND hindered my nursing.

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Lucky Nurse

The longer I’m a nurse, the more superstitious I’ve become. And I’ve noticed I’m not alone; my coworkers are just as guilty. Plus we nurses LOVE to share our superstitions.

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Intentional de-stressing

For nurses, relaxation can seem like work itself. We have to be very intentional — plan and make an effort — to reduce stress in our lives.

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The two “B” words

I’ve been working in my own life on boundaries, and my lack of, with friends and family members.

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Why at-work relationships fall apart

I haven’t seen many co-worker romances actually work. I have seen marriages end, friendships end and people get fired—and this is after patient safety has been compromised while people were messing around in a call room somewhere. I’ve seen lawsuits come out of this romance stuff as well.

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Because of you! (a “thank you” to experienced nurses)

At work last night, while I was demonstrating how to place a catheter for a less experienced nurse who couldn’t quite get it, I started thinking about how many of my skills I can attribute to my coworkers. I owe so much of who I am as a nurse to the amazing nurses that have surrounded me thus far and shared their wisdom.

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Survival mode time!

I had a rough shift the other night—you know, the one where you start off with a BIG assignment, run behind on everything the minute you take report, and end up spending an additional 2 hours charting after 12 crazy hours.

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Shhhh.

Nurses are trained talkers. We use our words to express SBAR, to educate our patients, to report off to other nurses, etc. Yet I am noticing there are times we need to just shut up.

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The other side of the bed

I went to my grandmother’s bedside and experienced something new: I was the family member on the “other side” of being a healthcare professional. And I had no control over the situation.

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Activism or not?

As nurses we never really leave our “jobs” at the work place–we are always nurses outside the hospital as evidenced by the deference paid to us by those around us. Nurses are well-respected for a reason–we have a voice because we are trusted by our public.

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Were you scared when you first started all this nursing stuff?

It takes a brave person to walk into a patient’s room for the first time and offer to help.

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Charge ain’t so easy!

As a nurse who is newly “in charge” I have been really struggling with how to make the most of my position without acting out.