There are three pathways students can select to receive a nursing education. The first is a diploma program, where the student will receive a diploma as a nurse and some college credits but not a college degree. A diploma helps prepare a student to sit for the NLCEX-RN. Diploma programs range in length from 22…
RNs are educated, ethical and engaged, and patients are all the better for it. National Nurses Week is set aside in the U.S. each year to focus on the nursing profession and honor its members for their many contributions to our nation’s healthcare. During the week, nurses are celebrated at their workplaces, featured in stories…
Nurses can be unkind toward each other and sometimes not be as present and attentive as they should be when caring for patients. I believe one reason for this behavior is their attitudes toward themselves. My work on the Theory of Human Caring is founded on the principle that practicing kindness, compassion and equanimity toward…
One of the most important tools needed to manage those emotions is empathy. In this Q&A, we explain how empathy and developing self-compassion have impacted nurses’ career. Q: Is it easy for healthcare providers to confuse empathy and sympathy? A: It is, especially in the moment, but I don’t think most do this intentionally. Our typical…
Did you go back to school? Congratulations on making a great decision. You are either soaring through the research paper-writing portion with flying colors or wondering why you let someone talk you into going back to school. As you advance further into your RN-to-BSN program or graduate school, you will be writing — a lot. Writing…
Know the signs to help some of your most vulnerable patients. What you might imagine human trafficking victims to look like can be a completely different picture than the reality of the patient in front of you. Although human trafficking often brings to mind sex workers, did you know 68% involves the exploitation of forced labor, according…
There are no hard and fast rules on how old is too old when it comes to entering the nursing profession. So, don’t make your age a barrier. When thinking about pursuing nursing as a second career you might think: You are almost age 50.Your daughter is newly married.Your son is away at college.Now it’s…
Barriers to care can have a huge impact on patients’ trust in their healthcare teams and on their recovery. But nurses help eliminate barriers to care by, for instance, assisting a patient who speaks a different language or helping patients gain a better understanding of their treatment plan. In doing so, nurses are preventing re-hospitalizations…
The negative health consequences of using these products has surfaced in recent months, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting a total of more than 2,000 cases of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury, or EVALI, and 39 confirmed deaths as of Nov. 2, 2019. For perspective, as of Oct. 28, 2019, the…
Although death from measles is somewhat rare among adults, the illness is still a leading cause of vaccine-preventable infant mortality globally. Measles outbreaks are also on the rise in the United States, where 1,182 cases have been confirmed in 30 states this year. That is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since the disease…