What are nurses blogging about this week?
  • Unsettling Hospital Settings
    Long before I became a nurse, I recall having a conversation with a friend about her sister’s hospital experience. I was surprised when she shared with me an unanticipated and positive outcome of her sister’s ordeal.
  • Fall Harvest on a Hospital Floor Near You.
    DHave you noticed the variety of fruits and vegetables showing up in your workplace locker rooms? You always know when fall arrives and backyard harvests begin. Without notice, tomatoes, squash and cucumbers appear on the conference room table, lining the floor are boxes pleading “free-please take” overflowing with apples, pears and plums. I love this time of year, sharing food from my back yard with friends and neighbors brings back fond memories.
  • Where are you on the stress continuum?
    What stresses you out? Stress is a subjective human phenomenon based on individual perceptions producing positive or negative perspectives. The complexity of nursing provides multiple sources of stress. How can a profession embodied in compassion, care and clinical expertise be fraught with stress?
  • Resourceful Nurses? The Problem with Workarounds
    Nurses are a savvy, resourceful group. I’m not sure if this is an innate or acquired trait. But it is definitely a common one in our profession. Perhaps necessity really is the mother of invention. Whether or not they call it by name, most nurses are familiar with the concept of a “workaround.”
  • Medical Supply Madness: Should We Standardize?
    How many times have you walked into your work area’s supply closet only to find yourself staring at empty bins? Do you sometimes feel confused and frustrated by your supply closet’s wide array of similar supplies? This can be especially frustrating – and time-consuming – when nurses are new to a work area, or are visiting the area (as travel or float nurses).
  • Positively Adapting to the Nursing Environment
    Perhaps it’s due to my background in city planning. Maybe I took one too many courses in environmental psychology. At any rate, I firmly believe that our environment plays a key role in our lives. Whether we are at busy at work or resting at home, we are affected by our environment.