Following your Path

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…
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…

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…
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…

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…
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…
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…
crib iron bedside nurse care

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.…
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…
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…

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…

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…

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…
emergency department nurse

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…

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…
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…
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…

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…

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…
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 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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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