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…
Gratitude and Compassion
A word about patients’ psychic experiences: Listen
In her dream, a young pediatric nurse answered the phone at the nurses’ station and was told to go to…
Acts of kindness
Many of us have lasting memories of a few special patients. For me, Joe is one of those patients. The…
An encouraging word
Has a compliment ever made your day? Perhaps it was just what you needed to hear to raise your self-confidence…
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,…
Any nurse can do it: Sustaining change when volunteering overseas
Arriving back in Ethiopia for the third time after having left only four months earlier, I had many questions. Had…
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…
Beasts, gods and FaceTime: The anguish of visitor limitations during the COVID-19 pandemic
For the foreseeable future, efforts to minimize human contact will remain in place as part of the response to the…
Beyond thank you: The powerful reach of meaningful recognition
“I recognize that voice, that voice belongs to someone who is such a dream to me. [My nurse] was a…
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…
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,…
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…
Caring for older lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adults
Current discussions on the unique health issues of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations have prompted the healthcare professions…
Caring under pressure
Compassion is an essential ingredient for great nursing. Without compassion, you might as well come up with another word for…
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…
Combating change fatigue in today’s healthcare environment
Those who work in the healthcare industry are well aware of its constantly changing landscape. Healthcare institutions are challenged to…
Compassion fatigue risk among skilled nursing facility nurses
Self-care combined with organizational support can aid prevention and resilience. Takeaways: Skilled nursing facility (SNF) nurses caring for older adults…
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…
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…
Florence Nightingale: Moments of interface between past and present
During a recent clinical orientation with a group of about 170 nursing students, I projected a slide bearing a well-known…
From our readers: Do we really know who our patients are?
Both nurse leaders and educators need to teach and model not only day-to-day nursing skills but the importance of connecting…
From our readers: Harp song — A journey to remember and embrace the heart of nursing
“The aim of all spiritual paths, no matter their origin or the rigors of their practice, is to help us…
From our readers: How a ‘45-year-old STEMI’ showed me the human side of nursing
I worked as an emergency medical technician-paramedic for almost 8 years in a rural area before I became a registered…
From our readers: On being an oncology nurse, or humble pie by the slice
I came to oncology nursing in 1984 through what I perceived as bad luck; my goal was to get out…
From our readers: One nurse’s journey into patienthood
As I lay on the table staring up at the ceiling tiles and waited for my biopsy to begin, I…
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…
From our readers: Resolving the forces of bias and duty in caring for incarcerated patients
In the nurses’ station of the 39-bed med-surg unit I double-checked my patient’s 2:00 PM medications against the pharmacy sheet…
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…
From our readers: The guilt suicide leaves behind
Dedicated to John, who was loved by so many
From our readers: Two years after the Sandy Hook tragedy, PTSD remains
As my family got through the second anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, I have felt the need…
From our readers: When your parent is the patient
It’s not easy when your parent is the patient. In my 10 years of being a registered nurse, I have…
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…
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…
From our readers…How focusing on spiritual needs benefits the nurse
There is no question that in the complex and fast-paced world of healthcare, high levels of stress and tension are…
From our readers…How my bad experiences with call lights formed my nursing practice
I have been a critical care nurse since 2008. In our unit, patients have call lights, and of course, patients…
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…
From our readers…I remain in nursing because of you
I remain in nursing because of you. We have yet to meet but, if you are my patient someday, this…
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…
From our readers…One nurse’s journey through grief: Loss of a Fort Hood family member
Special reports were on practically every news station during the afternoon of November 5th 2009; a shooting had taken place…
From our readers…Talking to patients about a “weighty” issue: Are you ready?
As the prevalence of obesity in the United States continues to rise, no doubt more of your patients are having…
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…
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…
Frontline nurses and transformational leadership
A key to quality and safety In 2011, the Institute of Medicine called for nurses in all settings and levels…
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…
Harold & Bill: An enduring portrait of another era
In 1971, I was attending nursing school and working as an emergency department (ED) orderly. One day, two elderly men…
Helping Sandwich Generation nurses find a work-life balance
If you have at least one parent age 65 or older and are raising children or financially supporting a child…
How to ease conflict and experience greater harmony at work
Jeanette manages to beat traffic, clock-in on time, and begin her day. Everything is running smoothly. Then she and another nurse…
How to love and care for yourself unconditionally
Are you able to relax, have fun, and enjoy the simple pleasures of life? Or do you: have trouble falling…
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…
Keeping your compassion
Have you ever found yourself in the middle of your shift when you make a mistake in the care you’re…
Laugh, nurse, laugh!
Victor Borge, the famous Danish comedian, pianist, and conductor once said, “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” Infusing laughter…
Leading through loss: Lessons for healthcare leaders
One of the most painful experiences for any parent is the death of a child. The family is deeply affected…
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…
Mindful Appreciation
Tip 6 of 6 Mindfulness Exercises You Can Try Today In this last exercise, all you have to do is…
Mindful Breathing
Tip 1 of 6 Mindfulness Exercises You Can Try Today This exercise can be done standing up or sitting down,…
Mindful Listening
Tip 4 of 6 Mindfulness Exercises You Can Try Today This exercise is designed to open your ears to sound…
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…
Nurse Helps Families Who Lost Homes in Santa Rosa Wildfire
In October, thousands of homes in Santa Rosa, California were lost to wild fires. Payton Walton, a nurse who lives…
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,…
Nurse Keith’s Corner: Overcoming 21st Century Angst
When the 21st century dawned several decades ago, the next one hundred years — and the new millennium — were seen as…
Nursing Story Slams: Creating a Space for Nurses To Tell Their Stories
Storytelling is essential to increasing health literacy, empathy, curiosity, and engagement — and who has better stories than nurses? That is why…
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.…
Practicing emotional intelligence may help reduce lateral violence
It’s been a stressful day at work — nothing new. Your patient fell, an I.V. line became occluded right when…
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.…
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…
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…
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,…
Take time to appreciate the importance of what you do
Lessons learned from 1918 d In 1918, the “Spanish flu” killed most people who were infected. Thanks to the efforts…
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 Difference Between Being Thankful and Being Grateful
In her article on the Odyssey website (a collection of writing from young people), Tessa Masula contemplates what it means…
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…
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…
The Relentless School Nurse: Please SAVE OUR SCHOOLS!
This week my school district announced that four more schools will be closed at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school…
The selflessness and dedication of military nurses
Thirty years ago, Brigadier General Sarah Wells began the tradition of gathering nurses together to place flowers on the graves of…
The Stories That Never Get Told – Compassion
Compassion and caring at the heart of nursing. It was too late. I could never speak to him again. By…
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…
Thinking it through: The path to reflective leadership
Reflective leadership is a way of approaching the work of being a leader by leading one’s life with presence and…
Tired of caring? You may have compassion fatigue
Do you have trouble remembering what drew you to nursing? Do you take alternative paths through the unit to avoid…
Uplifting nurses
Associations respond to member needs in a pandemic. In 2020, what kept me up at night was nurses’ well-being and…
Viewpoint: Adding respect to freedom of speech
The right to freedom of speech is a common topic in the news, but the reporting often doesn’t include a…
Viewpoint: Caring Science meets Heart Science: A guide to authentic caring practice
Editor’s note: Viewpoint highlights the thoughts, opinions, and expertise of well-known nurse leaders. We welcome your comments about these thought-provoking…
Viewpoint: Lessons learned from nurses in rural Uganda
It’s still dark outside our tiny pup tent, and the air feels humid after the sudden torrential downpour the evening…
Volunteering resources
More than 1.3 billion people across the world lack access to basic healthcare services – mostly because the number of…
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 regular basis to help nurses achieve their leadership potential. Rachel is an experienced critical care nurse who prides herself on her
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…
You make a difference
Honoring nurses and our profession in May This Nurses Month, we honor RNs for their skillful, creative, and compassionate care…
