Your First Years

Mehmet Can | Veer

The role of nurse practitioners in healthcare

Being mid-level providers, the world of medicine seems to have drawn a line between support and rejection of NPs. Today I was told by a physician that NPs are simply hired to do all the “scut-work” that physicians don’t want or like to do.

Image: Warner Bros.

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.

iStockphoto

Have I become a “pro” at being a nursing student?

Seven years later, this nurse is back in school. How have things changed… and what’s still the same?

The 3 big myths about the dreaded Joint Commission

The 3 big myths about the dreaded Joint Commission

Rumors linger that similar to a college hazing period, if you can get through a Joint Commission visit, you can officially be an RN.

alexraths | Veer

The profession with no excuses

It’s time to quit griping. If you don’t like being a nurse, change what you’re doing. That’s the beauty of the job.

Yuri Arcurs | Veer

How it feels to be a new nurse

I’ve only been a nurse for 3 and a half months, but here are 6 words I would use to describe the start of my career.

Medioimages | Photodisc | Thinkstock

The one thing that has helped me survive NOC

I have a trick for making myself stay awake, avoid snacking, and feel better throughout my whole shift.

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. For example, if my patient ‘lets go of gas,’ he and I both feel uncomfortable.”

Burke/Triolo Productions | Getty Images

A nursing student’s Christmas list

You know you’re a student nurse when your Christmas wish-list asks Santa for some scrubs, pens, and a good night’s sleep before clinical.

Fancy Photography | Veer

Becoming In.De.Pen.Dent

Becoming an independent nurse means so much more than just performing skills. I broke down the word in a way that reminds me what it truly means to be an RN.

Bananastock | Thinkstock

What NOT to do this holiday season

We sometimes forget to separate our personal lives from our work ones. This can make things uncomfortable when we “act like nurses” around civilians!

Siri Stafford | Photodisc | Thinkstock + Scrubs

Holidays in the hospital

I know that working on a holiday can be rough…but just think, you might really be able to help a patient find a little hope or humor in the day.

Stockbyte | Thinkstock

Does this experience make my butt look lazy?

Do seasoned nurses take advantage of CNAs? Do they do less work than the new nurse? I distinctly remember feeling confused and resentful as the more experienced nurses on the floor did crossword puzzles or caught up on other work…

mantonino | Veer + Scrubs

Do nurses really know everything?

Although it sounds as though I’m complaining, I do feel truly honored that my friends, family, and complete strangers trust me and ask my advice.

iStockphoto + Scrubs

If I knew then what I know now: things I wish I’d known my first month on the job

Now that I’ve been a nurse for mrmph years, there are a few things that, looking back, I wish somebody had told me right off the bat.