New Nurse

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5 tips for a great hand-off report

Tip #1: Have your ducks in a row, have all your information gathered and know what you want to say before you start saying it!

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Speak more assertively as a nurse

Let’s face it: Standing up to colleagues, patients and their families isn’t always easy. Let these simple tips teach you how to speak with confidence.

Choosing between “yes” and “no”

Choosing between “yes” and “no”

Nurses are professional nixers—in other words, we know how to say “No.” Of course, this isn’t how most nurses start out. Get tips on the science and art of NOT saying yes.

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8 true definitions for “RN”

Rescue Ninja? Rockstar Nanny? Whatever people may deem appropriate synonyms to Registered Nurse, I know it encompasses a working group of talented, empathetic, nurturing, important professionals that make a difference in our patients’ lives.

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How to be a good preceptee

What’s a “preceptee mirror check”? What’s the one thing doctors do not want to hear from a nurse? Get the answers to these questions along with many other tips for the new nurse!

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5 embarrassing new nurse mistakes

Nurses make mistakes. Lots of them. Most of the time we catch ’em before they become a big deal. Here are 5 unforgettable scenarios from the files of Jo, RN.

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What’s the difference between a new nurse and a newbie nurse?

Everybody was, at one time, a new nurse. Some of us are still—constantly or intermittently—newbie nurses. It’s a function of stress levels and sleep deprivation rather than length of service. Here is Head Nurse Jo’s handy-dandy guide to new vs. newbie.

Nursing Etiquette: Embarrassing situations

Nursing Etiquette: Embarrassing situations

One thing I never learned in school, and haven’t figured out as a nurse, is how to handle embarrassing situations in the clinical area?

10 ways to lose your nursing license

10 ways to lose your nursing license

The threat of having your license revoked is ever-present, so get to know just what activities threaten your career.

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Welcome to high school, I mean work

Do you ever wonder if the people who surround you at work have grown up in maturity?

How do I deal with a drug error?

How do I deal with a drug error?

Nothing compares to the sinking feeling you get when you realize you’ve administered the wrong medication to the wrong patient.

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The dark side of the shift

Nurses: You can jumpstart your circadian rhythm to allow for easier transitions from the normalcy of day shift to the non-so-routine night shift.

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Tough love for “incivility” in nursing

I’m still trying to understand the uproar here. Incivility in the workplace is as old at time. Do you agree?

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A tribute to men in nursing

Nursing wasn’t always a female-dominated profession. Let’s take a walk through history in this tribute to the men in nursing!

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A modern view of Nurse Ratched

Back in 60s psych wards, there were no counselors who held the group therapy sessions over which Nurse Ratched presided. Shock therapy and/or lobotomy was the usual treatment for extreme depression, suicide attempts, psychoses, and neuroses. The antipsychotics and antidepressants which we now take for granted did not exist.