my nurse influencers

patient documentation

(Mis)adventures in nursing documentation

Recently, I found myself in a lighthearted social gathering of like-minded strangers sipping colorful drinks (it was after 4 PM). As expected, the conversation turned to, “What do…

#2 of 52 nurse profiles: Mary Breckinridge

In celebration of 2020 The Year of the Nurse and Midwife, author Maria Smilios is dedicating a weekly column about nurses whose stories must be shared.  I am thankful…

#3 of 52 nurse profiles: Salaria Kea

In celebration of 2020 The Year of the Nurse and Midwife, author Maria Smilios is dedicating a weekly column about nurses whose stories must be shared.  I am thankful…

#6 of 52 nurse profiles: Ann Bradford Stokes

In celebration of 2020 The Year of the Nurse and Midwife, author Maria Smilios is dedicating a weekly column about nurses whose stories must be shared.  I am thankful…

#NoMoreEmptyDesks: Art + activism = artivism!

Many of the readers of this blog have followed the evolution of the #NoMoreEmptyDesks project that is currently underway in a Camden, New Jersey high school. The voices…

2020: The Year of the Nurse lifts off

When the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that 2020 would be designated The Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, enthusiasm rippled throughout the global nursing community. Coinciding…
nurses-on-social-media

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…
scarf method

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…
tale of two nurses

A Tale of Two Nurses

Nadine got the vaccine in April. She usually wears a mask whenever she is in public. Every Friday, she goes out to dinner to one of her favorite…

American Nurse Heroes: A Love Letter to Nursing

Late last month, the documentary film American Nurse Heroes, produced by HealthCom Media and Al Roker Entertainment, in collaboration with the American Nurses Association (ANA), premiered on network…

An open letter to my school nursing students

Teaching school nursing during COVID-19 has created challenges that forced me to pivot my course and take a 5-day intensive retreat-style experience and make it remote learning. It…
storytelling, healthcare, registered nurse, nursing, nursing journal

Applying Storytelling to Health and Healthcare

Storytelling is a critical part of healthcare, as well as innovation and design. Stories can be used to communicate a problem, provide context, and present a solution. Storytelling…

Are school nurses OK?

We are certainly in extraordinary times, as exemplified by this “Public Advisory” issued from the Washington Education Association. The message specifically speaks to the well-being of the state’s…
teach-patients

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),…
N95 face masks infographic

COVID has come to school & our cupboards are bare

I recently spoke to Joel Rose of NPR about the on-going struggle for school nurses to get the necessary PPE. The article and the audio clip are available here: Yep, Masks And Protective…
COVID-19 nurses

COVID-19 and The Year of the Nurse and Midwife

In 2019, with the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth pending in May of the following year, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized the invaluable contributions of nurses…

Creating a positive workplace

Countless research studies show that having a positive attitude leads to good health, happiness, and feelings of wellbeing and self-worth. Research also tells us that positivity in the…

Dangers of digital media addiction

The World Health Organization as well as several tech companies are encouraging on-line gaming with discounts and slogans such as, “Play your part, play at home.” With schools…

Dear parents, a health check-in from a school nurse

Dear Parents/Caregivers: These are certainly challenging times filled with uncertainty and concern that are impacting our entire community, and country. The next few weeks will determine if we…

Define nurse (in three words or less)

Saying precisely what a frontline nurse does should be the easiest thing in the world: care coordinator, final check on all orders, medication dispenser, advice giver, patient advocate,…
healthcare, American Nurse, nursing journal

Easy science and health communications strategies

Science and health communication is a big part of research, education, and innovation — being able to clearly communicate the problem and solution is key to many things, including getting…

Facebook Live debunks the myths on COVID-19

The REACH Initiative set out to debunk the myths on COVID-19 through a Facebook Live, where Dr. Jason Farley, Dr. Michelle Patch and Neysa Ernst, MSN, RN (nurse manager at…
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…

Hot off the press!

Have you ever jumped in the deep end of the pool? That’s how I felt when I was invited to co-edit the latest edition of the School Nursing…
Turn ideas into reality

I have an idea! Now what?

Nurses often reach out to me for advice — they have an innovation idea and don’t know what to do next. This is rarely taught in nursing school, which is…
ally in nursing

Inside Nursing: From awareness to… what?

Reflections from an ally in training. Similar to an acute exacerbation of a chronic disease, the racial injustices of the past year stalled our progress towards health equity.…

Introducing the #HopeYouSoap Campaign

#COVID19 has been an innovation springboard for nurses, especially school nurses like Holly David! She has created a hand hygiene campaign that is clever, memorable, and interactive. #HopeYouSoap…
It Should've Been a Nurse

It Should’ve Been a Nurse

Imagine that the messaging from the beginning surrounding the pandemic was delivered by a nurse. Where would we be now if the most trusted profession had taken the…

Join a national conversation on bereavement

The “silent storm” of grief could be the next epidemic that spreads throughout our country. How could it not be, when almost 250,000 Americans have died from COVID-19.…

Let’s rehearse lunchtime at school during COVID-19

Partnering with parents will never be more consequential than this coming school year. The incredible team at FAACT: Food Allergy Anaphylaxis & Connection Team has created guidance for parents to…

Making things possible

From time to time, I receive messages from readers of  The Relentless School Nurse blog. I am always touched and inspired when people reach out to share their…
group

Meetings: Boon or boondoggle?

Benjamin Franklin once said: “nothing is certain except death and taxes.” If he were alive today, he would probably add: “… and going to meetings (or being forced…

Mentor Podcast with Dr. Ali Tayyeb

What a treat to have a one-on-one conversation with Dr. Ali Tayyeb, a Twitter friend and nurse colleague! Thank you Ali for an engaging conversation about my nursing…

Mentoring in the age of new nursing

My first job in nursing was on a medical oncology floor where there was a lot of bullying. I was a new nurse so I didn’t know that…
can you imagine

My experience on American Nurse Heroes

In a clinical encounter, nurses get to interview a patient, asking them the most private of questions, and with the help of a stethoscope (literally and figuratively), listen…

No More “Just a Nurse”

In the time of COVID-19, nurses and nursing are getting much more media attention than is typical. I see this as a very good thing. When I began…
podcast

Nurse-led Podcasting to Amplify Nursing

There has been an influx of nurse-led podcasts over the past couple of years, which is great! I love nothing more than nurses using their expertise and creativity…

Nurses and emotional Teflon

Nurses work hard, and the nature of their labor exposes them to many emotionally-charged situations, strong feelings, moral and ethical dilemmas, and the slings and arrows of being…
Ball Drop

Nurses, please don’t drop the ball

One of the most recognizable rituals in ringing in the new year, at least for New Yorkers, is the famous ball drop in Times Square. The collective countdown…

Nursing fiction?

Imagine the year is 2030… Casey, a Complex Labor and Delivery nurse, notices that her patient, a young mother, rarely makes eye contact while holding her new infant…

On being human during crisis

When we show vulnerability it does not mean we lack resilience – it means we are human. Typically, leaders in nursing pride themselves for being strong, ever knowing,…
male nurse with patient

On Masculinity and Nursing

Not long ago, I was a panelist for an event entitled Building Ourselves: New Paradigms of Masculinity. As can be discerned from the event’s title, the panelists were…
out of the box

Out-of-the-Box Nurses Setting the Pace

If you ask the average American on the street what a nurse does, the answer will most likely involve hospital-based patient care. While that characterization is indeed a…

Own your moment – Heal our nation

Every time you speak your truth and stay in your own power you help to create a society where others can do the same.   You are a…

Purpose in Life During COVID-19

Dr. Martha Abshire is an assistant professor and Dr. Mona Shattell is an associate dean at Johns Hopkins University. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our everyday lives. As…
nursing working together

Remember this number: 1,154

Honoring by action. As of August, the pandemic has taken more than 1,154 nurses’ lives.  It has also taken the energy, health and souls of nurses whose pleas…
design thinking, healthcare, registered nurse, nursing, nursing journal

Requiring design thinking in nursing curriculum

I am a firm believer that exposure to innovation methods and processes leads to innovation itself. I teach a course at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing…

See You Now Podcast explores re-entry

The See You Now Podcast is created in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson and the American Nursing Association. It is hosted by Shawna Butler, a nurse economist, and…
test taking tips

Select all that apply: patient care beyond the test

Multiple choice tests are among nursing education’s most recognizable stressors (or stigmata), up there with nursing care plans, and incessant group projects. Some see exams as the enduring…

Should nurses receive hazard pay?

That was the question I posted online and in only two hours 3,900 nurses from all over the country responded.*  A reporter had asked for my opinion, and…
nurse prayer, healthcare, registered nurse, nursing, nursing journal

Should we pray about it?

Many years ago, I read about an intriguing randomized controlled trial out of Harvard Medical School, looking into the therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer in cardiac bypass patients.…
nurses mental health

Simone Biles: what if nurses followed her lead?

On July 27th, Simone Biles withdrew from an Olympics all-around finals round because of mental health concerns. Sponsors and coaches applauded her decision. I couldn’t help but wonder…

Social Media as a Format for Nursing Activism

Nurses tell your stories! We have a unique perspective, an uncanny ability to simultaneously view the world through both a magnifying glass and a wide-angle lens. This belief…
summer

Summertime… and the patient is uneasy?

A nurse ponders the “July Effect.” American Nurse Journal values your feedback! Follow this link to answer a few short questions about this article: what you learned, how it…

Take Care of Yourself

How many of you hear the phrase “self-care” and roll your eyes? I know. Because that’s my reaction, too. As if nurses’ endless task lists can accommodate one…
Florence Nightingale

Taking the lead from Florence Nightingale

The details of Florence Nightingale’s work are no secret to any nursing professional. It would be unnecessary to recount the well-known details of her legendary, albeit brief, efforts…

Tattooed scars of war

The sounds of helicopters and alarms signaling that we were under attack haunt me to this day.  I completed two tours to Iraq and another tour to Afghanistan…

The challenges of COVID-19 for retirees

Many school nurses who are privileged to know Jeanne Kiefner, lovingly refer to her as our “Head School Nurse.” We look forward to spending time together each year…
safety-culture

The Culture of Safety: Huddle and Muddle

The notion of culture of safety implies not merely the absence harm, injury or preventable death, but also the unmeasurable feeling that one is in good hands, even…
safety first

The Dauntless Nurse: A Beacon for Safety

“Why didn’t Nurse Vaught see that it was the wrong drug? I mean, come on, look at the facts.” While it seems impossible to understand how former nurse…
CNO

The Dauntless Nurse: a tribute to CNOs everywhere

I can’t remember ever seeing an article thanking chief nurses. Seems they’re always the ones thanking their nurses. Recognition is long overdue. Even before the pandemic, chief nursing…
men in nursing

The Growing Narratives of Men in Nursing

Male nurses, at any given point in their interaction with patients, family, colleagues, and strangers, have most likely answered many mundane and sometimes sublime questions about “How did…

The nurse as their own worst critic

Even though nurses are the largest segment of the healthcare workforce and serve as the veritable backbone of the industry, there are many ways in which nurses themselves…
robin FAAN

The Relentless School Nurse: A new honor

At the very end of the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy is surrounded by family and friends who joined her on her journey. She realized how each of them…

The stories that never get told: Belonging

Ruth was admitted to our orthopedic unit with a hip fracture which was repaired uneventfully within a few days. What followed was the epitome of nursing care. Sometimes…

The stories that never get told: Presence

“He isn’t dead yet?” the neuro doctor mumbled as he opened the chart. His 82-year-old patient had been put on comfort care four days earlier.  However, the patient…

Trending jobs | School nurse

School nursing is an independent specialty practice that combines the best of public health and pediatric nursing. School nurses are responsible for the health and safety of their…
tax day 2020

Understanding taxes as a travel nurse

It’s April, which means that tax season is upon us. If you’re like me, filing for taxes has been the last thing on your mind given the impact…
patient refusal

Video: A closer look at patient refusal

In the August issue of American Nurse Journal, Fidel Lim, DNP, CCRN, the author of our Can You Imagine? Nurse Influencer blog collaborated with Gary Sanin Camelo, MPA,…

We Are Nurses!

School nurse Jenna Palmisano posted this YouTube video to comfort her students and other children who may be confused or fearful of personal protective equipment (PPE). Jenna was…
attention, nursing, nursing journal, healthcare, American Nurse

We’re distracted. You can Google it.

Within the Tate Galleries in London hangs one of history’s most evocative paintings depicting patient care—the 1887 painting by Sir Luke Fildes, entitled The Doctor. Considered to be…
When the Teacher Becomes the Lesson

When the Teacher Becomes the Lesson

Whether they are aware of it or not, I think health professions educators like myself teach with the notion that some of our students today will be the…

You are witnessing the death of expertise

Planning for school reopening seems insurmountable, yet, those who are involved in the details continue efforts to keep our students and staff safe. It feels like we are…

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