Mind/Body/Spirit

A critical Pathway to Excellence® standard

Initiatives promote nurses’ well-being during the pandemic.  Ensuring nurses’ well-being isn’t just a concept for healthcare systems and organizations that have—or want to gain—the Pathway to Excellence® designation.…

A multifaceted gem

Through poetry, Susan Wilcox Stelton, MSN, APRN-BC, CWOCN, reflects on the many facets of nursing.
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A nurse-poet writes what she knows

I started writing poetry in grammar school in Harvey, North Dakota. Our curriculum emphasized writing and poetry—I still have the anthology we used. Throughout college, nursing school, and…
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A Nurse’s Guide to Social Media

Social media can be a tricky business, especially for a profession struggling with how and when to use our voices and one that is held to such a…
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A Pioneering Spirit: The SCARF Model

Healthcare professionals struggle to get their messages about mask-wearing and social distancing out to a skeptical public and even their own family members. Interestingly, it is often said…

A troubled life, a difficult death

Editor’s note: National Homelessness Awareness Week is November 10-18. Like many of our homeless patients, “Sarah” was a bundle of contradictions. She came from money, got a good…

Achieving a work-life balance

Almost everyone agrees that achieving a work-life balance is a good thing. Without it, we risk long-term negative effects on our physical and mental health, our relationships, and…

Acts of kindness

Many of us have lasting memories of a few special patients. For me, Joe is one of those patients. The day he was admitted, Joe was one of…

After the earthquake: Volunteer nursing in Haiti

This month marks the 1-year anniversary of the devastating Haiti earthquake. The author describes her volunteer disaster-relief experience in that country, which changed her perspective on life.
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American Nurse, American Talent

A Registered Nurse since 1982, Steve Price began his healthcare career in the U.S. Navy in 1971 as a hospital corpsman. He spent 15 years in the dialysis…

An algorithm to help you manage your stress

Nurses face tremendous stress in their daily practice. Various environmental and personal factors can exacerbate or mitigate stress. High stress levels impair cognitive and psychomotor functioning, leading to…

An encouraging word

Has a compliment ever made your day? Perhaps it was just what you needed to hear to raise your self-confidence a notch or to encourage you in your…
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An ounce of prevention

Engage in practical training through Project Firstline.  A lifetime of working with patients with serious burn injuries truly ingrained in me the importance of infection prevention and control.…
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ANA advocates for nurses’ health and safety

Collaborating in the new year to address pandemic challenges together As nurses contend with the pandemic and its multi-layered effects into 2021, the American Nurses Association (ANA) continues…
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And the music plays on…

In the mid-1970s, I was a graduate nurse starting my career at a large, urban hospital. One of my patients, an elderly man named Eddie, had just been…
AnimalAssistants

Animal assistants in healthcare

An animal may provide just the benefit patients need. Prepandemic, I had the pleasure of traveling to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a month-long workshop. I…
Balancing

Balancing the wheels of life

Have you ever ridden a bicycle with a wobbly wheel? The ride isn’t smooth, and you notice every bump in the road. As you focus on your discomfort,…

Battlefield nursing at the Boston Marathon

Three yellow balloons danced through the air, hovering over the finish line after being released by the bomb blast that brought the 2013 Boston Marathon to a catastrophic…
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Benefits of feedback for nurse leaders

Viewing feedback as a gift enhances career growth. Takeaways: Without feedback, beginning nurse leaders’ careers can be derailed Constructive feedback can lead to significant performance improvements. Individuals with…

Bonding over body image

For many college students, the ever-present pressure to be thin has trumped the goal of being healthy. Females face body-image issues throughout their life­span. Our society glorifies thinness.…
influence

Boosting your influence

Jessie was excited to be appointed as chair of the professional practice council in her hospital. She envisioned being able to quickly engage staff in the work of…

Bringing nursing orientation back to life

Our hospital systems’ journey to obtain Magnet® recognition led to an excellent opportunity: the chance to revamp and improve our nursing orientation program as part of the effort to…

Building a sense of community on nursing units

Jeff Rawson, a new nurse graduate, works on a behavioral health unit. His manager believes his transition is going well—until Jeff asks to transfer to another unit. When…

Building moral resilience to neutralize moral distress

Moral distress occurs when one recognizes one’s moral responsibility in a situation; evaluates the various courses of action; and identifies, in accordance with one’s beliefs, the morally correct…

Building Your Communication Skills Part 3

Marjorie Lee North, a consultant for political candidates, physicians, and lawyers, presented these ten tips in her blog on the Harvard University Division of Continuing Education Professional Development…
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By your patients you’ll be taught

When I was 20, I got my first job as a public health nurse for the Philippine National Cross. For a monthly salary of $41 (in 1987 dollars),…
career wellness

Career Wellness

Burnout, stress, and dissatisfaction at work should prompt an evaluation of your career wellness. Several on-the-job strategies can help you re-evaluate your career, cope with change and stress,…

Caregiver Resources

Nearly 44 million unpaid caregivers form the backbone of the US chronic and long-term care system. These hard working family members provide care to injured veterans, aging adults,…
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Caring during COVID-19

Editor’s note: This is an early release of a web exclusive article for the April 2021 issue of American Nurse Journal. At the bottom of the article, the…
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Caring for my best friend

Like many of my colleagues, I became a nurse because of my desire to help people. I wanted to relieve suffering, offer comfort, and restore health. I wanted…

Caring under pressure

Compassion is an essential ingredient for great nursing. Without compassion, you might as well come up with another word for nurse. Recently, I visited a local emergency department…

Cartoonist with a cause

The cartoons of Theresa Garnero, APRN, BC-ADM, MSN, CED, help patients cope with diabetes.
_ChangeMaker_Leadership

Change maker

Dori Healey is passionate about patient safety, public service, and volunteering. President-elect for American Nurses Association (ANA)-Idaho, Dori Healey, MSN-RN, MBA-HA, CPPS, takes every opportunity to advance the…
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Choosing the right conversation

It’s 7:10 A.M. Maggie, the night-shift charge nurse, is waiting to give report to Julie, the charge nurse on the next shift. After a long night in the…

Choosing your political battles

Mary*, a new manager in the operating room, prides herself on being a strong advocate for her staff, quickly acting on every issue with which she’s presented. So…
What is civility

Civility starts with you

Over the last decade, civility has become a hot topic. I got involved with it in 2000, when more than 700 nurses told the Maryland Commission on the…
parkinsons man terry practitioner nurse

Clinical experience, poetic expression

A registered nurse since 1982, Terry A. Hess has worked as an Adult Nurse Practitioner at the Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee for 14 years. He is…

Clinical humility: A humbled patient care

There’s a story that goes something like this: An elderly man falls down a flight of stairs at home. In the emergency department, he’s found to have four…
Cognitive rehearsal

Cognitive rehearsal

Unprofessional behavior within healthcare organizations, in the form of incivility and bullying, adds more stress to an already stressful environment and also jeopardizes patient safety. Too often, nurses…
Nursing careers and education

Collaboration: The key to healthcare transformation

Transforming health care is a complex challenge that can best be met through a coordinated response from academia and clinical practice. Working together, chief nursing officers (CNOs) and academic leaders ensure that clinicians…
UofL

Compassion fatigue: Are you at risk?

For many of us, nursing isn’t just what we do; it’s who we are. Most of us became nurses because we care about people and want to make…

Confronting conflict with higher-ups

Conflict in the workplace is a fact of life, and dealing with it is never easy. Sometimes it seems easier to ignore it and hope it will take…

Cultivating personal courage

Do you see yourself as a victim? Are you hesitant to speak up, even with your well-being at stake? Learn how to be braver and overcome everyday challenges…

Dealing with difficult people

Jackie Jacobs is a charge nurse in a busy intensive care unit. She prides herself on being able to get along well with almost everyone on her team.…
Examing nurse comfort eating

Eating better to help manage chronic stress

Like many nurses, you may experience stress frequently, both on and off the job. Chronic stress can alter your equilibrium (homeostasis), activating physiologic reactive pathways that cause your…
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Emotional wellness

A little stress is good for the body and mind to grow and build resilience, but without good stress management techniques and regularly acknowledge emotions, normal stress can…
workplace violence

End workplace violence

Charting a path to zero tolerance April 16, 2021, marked a key milestone in the journey to end workplace violence in healthcare, when the Workplace Violence Prevention for…
self-awareness

Enhance your self-awareness to be an authentic leader

In 2013 alone, U.S. organizations spent more than $15 billion on leadership development activities. Although much of these expenses focus on external programming, including face-to-face workshops, webinars, and…
environmental wellness

Environmental wellness

YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO FAR to experience nature—it can be in your own backyard, a community park, or walking trail. You also can venture miles from home for…
Examing nurse comfort eating

Examining nurse comfort eating

Many years ago I found myself standing in the frozen food section flirting with the prospect of buying a mouth-watering strawberry cheesecake. I rationalized buying it by convincing…

Exercise your right to be fit!

Nearly all of us—especially nurses—know exercise is good for our physical and mental health. But incorporating it into our busy lives can be a challenge. The only types…

Eye of the beholder: Grand rounds at the museum

“What do you see in his eyes?” asks Dr. Rothenberg. After a brief pause, someone replies, “He looks sad.” Another states, “He’s kind of emaciated.” After directing us…
face-fears

Face your fears and forge ahead

Cathleen Wheatley steps up to a challenge. Cathleen Wheatley, DNP, RN, CENP, is president of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston Salem, North Carolina, a position she…

Fighting the effects of nurse fatigue

Have you ever gotten home from a shift and forgotten the journey from the hospital to your house? Are you ever irritable and cranky, but can’t figure out why?…
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Finding meaning after a patient’s death

A common source of stress for nurses in oncology is the death of a patient they’ve cared for over a long time. Relationships develop between the clinical staff…

Five credit card traps that can sink you

Anyone who uses credit cards (and who doesn’t) should read this article to learn about universal default and other credit pitfalls that can endager your financial future.
middleman nurse middle organization power leader

From our readers: Nurses leading from the middle

Nurse leaders are needed at all levels of the organization, especially in “the middle,” which is commonly used to describe mid-level management positions. Middle managers are essential to…
storytelling

From our readers: One patient’s story

Eric’s* storytelling made a difference in my nursing practice. Eric was a 27-year-old African American patient with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), who was admitted to the nursing home…
The art of self-disclosure

From our readers: The art of self-disclosure

One aspect of the “art” of nursing is appropriate self-disclosure. Nurses and other healthcare providers often have an opportunity to share information about their own health to help…
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From our readers…A cycle of caring

It began a long time ago A woman walks through the dark room, with just a candle to light her way The soldiers can sense her presence She…
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From our readers…At the Bedside

As my parents were approaching the age of downsizing their earthly possessions, I became the recipient of the generational family crib. It was the wrought iron crib that…
Fruits and Vegetables are dietary Staples of Caring for patients with metabolic syndrome

From our readers…Hunger advocacy for nurses

Since the mid-1990s, the number of hungry people worldwide has been steadily increasing. Currently about 925 million people worldwide are hungry—about 1 in 7 of the global population.…
nonadherent refuse treatment nurse challenged challenge

From our readers…Nonadherent or compassion challenged?

Over the years nurses have labeled patients who choose (knowingly or unknowingly) to disregard instructions that could potentially alter their health condition toward a “better outcome” as noncompliant,…

From our readers…The Companion

Parkinson’s had taken away almost everything she loved. She, the artist, had spent her younger days in the upper rooms of McGuffey painting watercolors of Piedmont’s rolling hills…
dance nurse progress grad confidence

From our readers…The Dance

Linda Harrington, RNC, works in Labor and Delivery at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, Mission Hills, CA. Below she comments on her experience with writing this poem: When…
nurse grief overcome

From our readers…The nature of grief

A wise person once said, “Grief is not a disease or pathology to be cured. Grief is the tangible evidence that we’ve cared and loved someone.” The author…
self nurture shake off breathe exercise

From our readers…The secrets of self-nurturing

The foremost Secret to nurturing yourself is to practice caring for yourself. This article focuses on self-nurturing techniques for the body and mind. The more you practice these…
slow steady wins safety rush procedure

From our readers…Three elephants for safety

A familiar safety protocol in hospitals is the time-out. Mandated for many invasive procedures, this “work stop” ensures the right site, right procedure, and right patient are verified…
poem nurse future guardian hospital corridor

From our readers…Two Poems

Nursing’s Future & Hospital Corridor by Kristina Ibitayo is clinical assistant professor at University of Texas at Arlington College of Nursing. Nursing’s Future The future of nursing Lies…
value skills nurse career job transition

From our readers…Value all your skills

Anyone who’s been a nurse for more than 10 years will agree with me: you can make big leaps from specialty to specialty and sometimes leave a skill…

Gaining confidence in public speaking

EVA, a professional practice coordinator, and her team of clinical educators are thrilled to learn that their abstract on an iLead in Nursing initiative (Innovation in LEadership and ADministration in Nursing and…
financially fit ant

Getting financially fit

Nursing may have ranked ninth in a study of the 50 highest-paying college majors, but many of us worry about money every day. If you’re feeling stressed about…

Give yourself the gift of self-affirmation

We’ve all had days that push us toward the edge. The chaos likely starts around mid-shift and may go something like this: Radiology calls for bed 3, bed 6…
ANAPres_Diversity

Heavy Reading: Inside Nursing

Diversity, equity, and inclusion can’t be authentically incorporated into curricula when faculty assign textbooks that harm those whose health they seek to protect. For instance, nursing textbooks can…

Helping caregivers cope with death

A one-day retreat called Mindfulness, Meditaion, and Coping with Death helps healthcare professionals deal with patients’ deaths.
design-thinking

How innovation and design thinking can improve care

Empathy and collaboration create opportunities to help vulnerable populations.  Takeaways: Design thinking is a problem-solving tool driven by the needs of the targeted population. The authors used designing…
mourn-dead

How shall we mourn our dead?

Take your time and follow the path that’s right for you. Since May 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have required nursing homes to provide data…

How to avoid biased thinking

Jessica, a Millennial (Generation Y) nurse working on a medical-surgical unit, recently completed her first year of practice. Ralph, her manager, is pleased with her transition and believes…

How to get off the anger-go-round

One of the most complex emotions, anger is a normal response to certain situational triggers. It’s associated with physiologic changes, including increases in heart rate, blood pressure, and…
Maintain Weight Loss

How to maintain weight loss successfully

Suggestions based on a 20-year national study. Body weight is a key factor to protect us from chronic disease. Although obese people can lose weight through healthy diet, exercise…
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How to practice mindful nursing

Do you ever feel panic at the end of a long weekend or vacation, wondering where the time went? Do your days, weeks, and months blend into one…
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How to Rebuild America’s Trust During COVID-19

Start with Nursing The COVID-19 pandemic has sent shock waves across the nation. With devastation all around us, people’s lives and livelihoods have been on the line. They…

How to succeed at floating

If you’ve ever floated,  you know the experience can be challenging at times. Wherever you work, you may sometimes feel you don’t have enough hours in the day to complete all your…

How working nights can work in your favor

Shortly after I completed my master’s degree in nursing, I spoke with my nurse mentor about my career decisions. At the time, I was working as a night-shift…
Informal leaders and cultural change

Informal leaders and cultural change

Informal leaders are crucial to the success of a change involving the nursing team, yet they are often overlooked. A literature search of nursing publications over the past…
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Intellectual wellbeing

As a nurse, you probably already do many things that boost your intellectual wellness. You might work with new patients every day, learn about new procedures and protocols,…

Introverts can be nurse leaders, too

Natalie Sanchez recently was promoted to a nurse manager position. So far, she thinks, things are going well. She is starting to feel comfortable with her new role…

Keeping your compassion

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of your shift when you make a mistake in the care you’re providing—and you wonder, “Am I losing my compassion?”…

Kick the cigarette habit!

A smoking cessation instructor helps you ditch cigarettes forever. Find out which cessation method suits you best, ways to cope with cigarette cravings, and how to get back…

Laugh, nurse, laugh!

Victor Borge, the famous Danish comedian, pianist, and conductor once said, “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” Infusing laughter and humor into your work life is a…

Leading at the bedside and beyond

A typical definition for a leader is one who has the ability to influence. Florence Nightingale, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King readily come to mind for their…

Leading through failure

I have served as a nurse corps officer in the United States Air Force for 27 years. One of my most useful leadership lessons came from understanding the…

Learning from mistakes

Today’s healthcare organizations need to improve patient safety, which includes effectively communicating information to nurses about safety incidents and how to address them. After all, frontline nurses are…

Living a healthy lifestyle

As nurses, we know how to check blood pressure, administer medications, and counsel patients about healthy living. But let’s face it—some of us don’t practice what we preach.…

Look for inspiration in your fellow nurses

In a perfect world, we nurses would be inspired daily by our patient experiences. They would come in such abundance that overtime, computer crashes, and 10-minute meal breaks…
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Make fitness fit into your daily routine

You know exercise should be part of your daily routine. But who has the time or the energy? After all, you can hardly find time for the demands…
spiritual care

Meeting your patients spiritual needs

When a patient says, “I’m afraid I’m going to die,” do you offer empty reassurances? Find an excuse to leave the room? Read this article to learn about…

Memory pegging

Forgetting is frustrating. To make memorizing fun, “peg” each item on your to-do list.
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Mindful Appreciation

Tip 6 of 6 Mindfulness Exercises You Can Try Today In this last exercise, all you have to do is notice 5 things in your day that usually…
what is mindfulness awareness

Mindful Awareness

Tip 3 of 6 Mindfulness Exercises You Can Try Today This exercise is designed to cultivate a heightened awareness and appreciation of simple daily tasks and the results…
mindful breathing exercises

Mindful Breathing

Tip 1 of 6 Mindfulness Exercises You Can Try Today This exercise can be done standing up or sitting down, and pretty much anywhere at any time. If…
mindful nurse immersion meditation

Mindful Immersion

Tip 5 of 6 Mindfulness Exercises You Can Try Today The intention of this exercise is to cultivate contentment in the moment and escape the persistent striving we…
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Mindful Listening

Tip 4 of 6 Mindfulness Exercises You Can Try Today This exercise is designed to open your ears to sound in a non-judgmental way, and indeed to train…
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Mindful Observation

Tip 2 of 6 Mindfulness Exercises You Can Try Today This exercise is simple but incredibly powerful because it helps you notice and appreciate seemingly simple elements of…
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My First Day in the ED

Note: This article was written before Kenneth graduated from nursing school. My first experience in an emergency department (ED) setting happened last week at Frankfort Regional Medical Center…
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My Story: Supporting compassionate connections

Honoring and recognizing patient preferences is an essential component of healthcare delivery. Leverage technology to learn what’s important to your patient across all venues of care. This article…
nurse-suicide

Navigating the loss and grief of a nurse suicide

Nurses are drawn together through shared patient experiences, staffing challenges, stressful situations, and positive patient outcomes. Working long hours together, nurses learn about the lives of their coworkers…
_NurseFatigue

Nurse fatigue: The silent epidemic

Are you getting the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period? According to ANA Enterprise’s new Healthy Nurse Healthy Nation® survey results, 40% of…
nurse-heroes

Nurse heroes of the Pandemic

Nurses share a common theme: Hope. Be prepared, be strong, and don’t panic Crystal Davis Campbell, BSN, RN Staff nurse, medical ICU, Vidant Medical Center Greenville, North Carolina…
nurse-suicide

Nurse suicide attempt survivors

Easing back safely to the work environment Frequently, suicide ideation is a manifestation of mental illness, such as depression or anxiety disorder. However, even without a history or…

Nurses rising

Recognizing, elevating, and caring for RNs during a pandemic As we celebrated the inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman and person of…
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Nurses struggling on the frontline of COVID-19

Innovation is important in maintaining an open-minded perspective on the frontline of healthcare, particularly in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a practicing ICU nurse, I know…

Nurses with disabilities: Know their rights

Registered nurses (RNs) with physical disabilities experience discrimination in the workplace. Researchers have found that nurses with disabilities often leave the nursing profession because they feel discriminated against…

Nurses’ essential role in supporting professionalism

What does it mean to be a professional? Providing care of the highest technical quality, of course. But professionalism also includes communicating clearly, being selfreflective, and consistently modeling responsibility, respect,…

Nursing Apps—For Work and Home

The season of gift-giving is upon us, and don’t you think you should start with a few gifts for yourself? The folks at MAS Medical Staffing have put…

Nurturing the tree of life

In the United States, more than 15,000 families a year make the difficult decision to donate their loved ones’ organs. One day in August 2005, two of these…
Nutrition for night-shift nurses

Nutrition for night-shift nurses

Pam has worked the night shift for more than 30 years. Over the last 3 years, she has lost 100 lb—and kept it off. She describes the challenging…

Online health information and self-diagnosis

To: Ethics Advisory Board    From: Concerned RN  Subject: Self-diagnosis    During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients are asking me about symptoms they’re experiencing and my opinion about information…
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Our future through my review mirror

Turn the troubling events of 2020 into opportunities in 2021. 2020 is finally over! It was a meaningful year because we had the opportunity to celebrate The Year…
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Physical wellness: A must for sustained energy

Nurses are tireless advocates when promoting physical health and well-being for our patients. Yet, in a recent study of 1,790 nurses across the United States published in the…

Poetic expression: Verse 2

In her second appearance on this page, nurse and poet Kristina Ibitayo presents three more poems.

Promoting nurse mental health

Nurses are experiencing an unprecedented amount of burnout, depression, and anxiety. Stressful work environments, workplace bullying, and workplace cultures unsupportive of personal well-being play a role in the…

Recovery lessons from the Sandy Hook trauma

Children are people with small hearts and big emotions that often come from the people around them, particularly family members. As a pediatric nurse and mother of two…

Reducing holiday stress

Limiting the stress that comes with the holidays requires a bit of planning. The Cleveland Clinic offers some suggestions built around the activities that can be the most…
reflection bald hair change

Reflection

Hair, she mused looking at her reflection, What is it really? Just dead cells growing out of one’s head. Yet, she had spent countless hours caring for it,…
vietnam nurse reflections

Reflections on nursing in Vietnam

Mary Jo Rice-Mahoney, RN, MSN, Colonel U.S. Army, Retired, knows what it’s like to practice nursing in a war zone. She began her military career during her junior…
nurse reflection

Reflections on the heart of nursing

In 1995, I toured the Florence Nightingale Museum in London. On the walls were letters that chronicled a lifetime of dedication, spent caring for others—letters that were preserved…

Relax with lavender

We all experience a certain amount of stress and anxiety, and in small doses it may even enhance school or job performance. But chronic stress and anxiety can put…
Attachments

Releasing our attachments to the past

Jake, a critical care nursing director, works for a large healthcare system that has invested heavily in testing the use of robots to support operational tasks and provide…

Resting not regretting

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.” — William Shakespeare As informal mentors, coaches, and preceptors to…
rn-creative-solutions-healthcare-ampaworks

RNs offer creative solutions to healthcare challenges

Creativity reigned at the second annual NursePitch™, a collaboration between the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Inc. (HIMSS) and sponsored by…

Room with a view: Clutter included?

Your “new” room is now ready—hospital room, that is. Architects are finally designing and redesigning hospital rooms that could match the suites at your local Marriott, with the…

Scrapbooks capture nurses career milestones

For nurse graduates, starting their first staff position is an exciting time, but it can also be a time of apprehension. Many have heard stories about how some…
self-management

Self-management = a balanced life

Follow this formula for success. Takeaways: • Self-management coupled with a wellness approach can mitigate the stress associated with nursing and improve individual nurse health. • Procrastination is…

Shaving as a metaphor for nursing

Over the course of history, people have used metaphors to explain, contrive, reflect, and refute human phenomena. Health care (and all its challenges) has stimulated prolific metaphors to…
flame nurse condolence

Silence and Solace

“We think she’s gone,” he said. It was 6:20 p.m. I was walking down the hall on the med-surg unit, and turned to face a middle-aged man with…

Simple steps to improve your retirement readiness

PERHAPS, like many nurses, you’ve become quite business savvy over the past few years. Increasing numbers of nurses are responsible for creating unit budgets, forecasting expenses, and calculating cost effectiveness. Yet…
smart-pumps-smart-management-safe-patients

Smart pumps, smart management, safe patients

When organizations and clinicians team up, patients are protected.  Takeaways: Medication administration errors continue to occur due to mistakes in smart electronic infusion pump setup, programming, and clinical…
social wellness nurture relationships

Social wellness: Nurture your relationships

Social well-being can be defined as our ability to effectively interact with people around us and to create a support system that includes family and friends. Social isolation,…

Soul habits

Your outer circumstances don’t need to control your happiness, even when they may not be the most desirable. Being conscious about your thoughts gives one the choice to…
spiritual wellness journey wholeness

Spiritual wellness: A journey toward wholeness

Have you ever felt like a “human doing” instead of a “human being”? As we fling ourselves from one activity to another, we sometimes find that getting beyond…
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Squashing the communication triangle

In the infamous and deadly Bermuda Triangle, things seem to disappear, never to be seen again. In the communication triangle, the opposite is true: Emotions and unintended messages…

Staying healthy: Advice for telehealth nurses

Telehealth, telemedicine, and home-based telehealth work have grown dramatically in recent years. These programs enable nurses to provide patient care remotely from a medical office or their own home.…

Stress-Reducing Creativity

While art therapy is its own field, you can use the benefits of art to express your creative side and drawing skills to reduce stress and get in…

Taking the first steps to serving on a board

Nurses have a singular perspective on patient care and community health. With our training and experience, we can inform and improve healthcare decisions in ways that complement those…

Tap your way to fast relief

Want to reduce physical and psychological stress? Emotional Freedom Techniques may be able to help.
relief emotional freedom technique tap

Tap your way to fast relief

Can symptomatic relief from fear, stress, anxiety, and a laundry list of other ailments really be at your fingertips? The many people who use Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)…

The Bedpan and its Significance

During the holiday doldrums I came across a 2015 Smithsonian magazine article entitled “The strange saga of George Washington’s bedpan.” The article was a sort of a biography…

The caring-quilting connection

Even if you’re not a quilt connoisseur, you’re sure to appreciate the beauty and handiwork of this nurse’s quilt. Its creator sees profound parallels between quilting and nursing.

The freeing force of laughter

By reciting wacky dialogue from a scene in a Monty Python movie, Mary Delisle, RN, interrupted the negative thought patterns of a patient mired in dread and dispair.
unreasonable reasonable important nice standup

The importance of being unreasonable

Nurses, on the whole, are a darn nice group of people. After all, nurses have a reputation for being caring, self-sacrificing, nurturing, hardworking, and honest. So why don’t…

The joys of journaling and poetic expression

A journalist before becoming a nurse, Kristina Ibitayo has never abandoned her love for writing. Her poems celebrate true friendship and probe life’s possibilities.
nurse story remembering teach

The little things we do

In December 2001, the graduating class of New York University’s College of Nursing asked me to give a speech during their pinning ceremony. As part of nursing education,…
Mindfulness

The mindful nurse

Mindfulness is an increasingly common topic in both popular and professional literature. In clinical populations, evidence suggests mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) can reduce symptoms linked to various conditions, including…
Multi,Ethnic,Group,Of,Nurses.

The pandemic and early career nurses

Find support, shape the profession via input, action. During the peaks and valleys of the now 15-month COVID-19 pandemic, nurses remain the bedrock of competent care, enlightened public…

The Power of Introverts

Are you an introvert? If so, you may think you don’t have the right personality to be a nurse leader. Susan Cain, the author of Quiet: The Power…

The power of Lean Six Sigma

Lean and Six Sigma are well-established quality improvement tools. Combining the two creates a synergistic effect, boosting effectiveness. In the hospital where I work, we used Lean Six…
Positive

The power of the positive

Being positive in a negative situation is not naïve. It’s leadership. — Ralph S. Marston, Jr., author and publisher of The Daily Motivator website Nurses may encounter many challenges and stressors…

The ring

A lesson in loss and love.

The will to live – and living well

Groucho Marx said, “Marriage is the chief cause of divorce.” When we mentioned this to a friend of ours, he retorted, “Yes—and life is the chief cause of death!” In writing…
wisdom renewal sign fear

The wisdom of renewal

We all know people who have become discontent with their careers. And we know people who remain energized, excited, and fully engaged in their profession. So what makes the…

Tips for long-term exercise success

Walking, swimming, cycling, jogging, skiing, aerobic dancing, or any of dozens of other activities can help your heart. They all cause you to feel warm, perspire and breathe…

Too young to be a nurse leader?

Marla Johnson began her career on an oncology unit after graduating from a BSN program 4 years ago. She achieved certification and regularly takes charge on the night…

Touch of kindness

Helping a little victim of sexual assault brings a profound realization.

Unpacking the pounds that weigh you down

How long have you dreamed of losing weight and keeping it off—of what it would feel like to be healthier and have more energy for your nursing job…

Uplifting nurses

Associations respond to member needs in a pandemic. In 2020, what kept me up at night was nurses’ well-being and how they’ve been dealing with the impact of…

Use it or lose it: Physical fitness for nurses

Chronic lifestyle-related diseases account for most deaths today, with cardiovascular disease the leading cause of all deaths. As you know, a sedentary life­style contributes to development of cardiovascular…
Violence should not be part of the job

Violence should not be part of the job

Workplace violence can surprise and overwhelm nurses, leaving them unable to safely provide patient care. A multi-component intervention is needed to effectively prevent and mitigate workplace violence and…

Volunteering resources

More than 1.3 billion people across the world lack access to basic healthcare services – mostly because the number of healthcare workers is not rising fast enough to…
night shift nurse survive sleep tired cancer awake

What do nurses want?

Twenty-two percent: That’s how many frontline RNs in the United States said, in a response to a recent McKinsey survey, that they may leave direct patient care within…

What followers want in their nurse leaders

Why would anyone want you to lead them? That’s a question nurses rarely ask themselves before they take on leadership positions. But it’s an important one, because if…

What the mirror doesn’t tell you

“I hate my body.” “I’m such a fat, worthless cow.” “Where did all these gray hairs and wrinkles come from?” “I have total thunder thighs.” “How could anyone find me attractive when I look like this?”…

What you can learn from failure

Editor’s note: At American Nurse Today, we believe every nurse can be a leader. Rose Sherman, founder of the Emerging RN Leader blog (www.emergingrnleader.com), contributes articles on a…

Who are you?

You probably have many labels—nurse, wife, mother, sister, aunt (or husband, son, father, brother, uncle), neighbor, or volunteer, for instance. But who are you—really? When the day is…

Why disruption can be a good thing

Seventy-two seconds into liftoff, a defective mechanical part set off a string of events that caused the Challenger space shuttle to tear apart as millions watched it vanish…

Why quitting is hard

Kate Sheldon is the director of acute care services in a medical center that’s part of a larger system. She recently completed her doctorate and is ready to…

Why timing is crucial in leadership

For the last 2 years, Karen, the manager of a critical care unit, has been laying the groundwork for her unit to apply for the Beacon Award for…
journaling your health nurses

Writing for good health

If you asked nurses how they reduce job stress, you probably wouldn’t expect them to reply, “By writing.” In fact, a recent research study of nurses’ preferences for…

You can help stop the cycle of teen bullying

Bullying refers to repeated negative activity or aggression intended to harm or bother someone that the aggressor perceives as less powerful. In many cases, bullying victims are harassed…
nurse make difference

You make a difference

Honoring nurses and our profession in May This Nurses Month, we honor RNs for their skillful, creative, and compassionate care during the most significant public health crisis in…

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