A year ago today I posted to my hardly read blog about nursing. Apparently my feelings were universal as you, my readers, shared the post globally which to date has been read over a million times on this blog and even more by readers of the Huffington Post. In honor of this important milestone for…… Continue reading Nurse
Disclaimer: If you don’t live in a big, hot, humid city like New York this analogy may not completely apply to you. However, I urge you to read on and use that brilliant, colorful, imagination of yours to join me on this journey. You know that feeling in these hot summer months? The temperature is…… Continue reading Burnout
“Thank you for your credibility, Kate” she said, at the moment I had turned to walk out of the room. “You said you would be here, and you were” she had continued, in a tone that made her sincerity clear, and validated the surprise I felt at the compliment, the rarity she experienced in giving…… Continue reading Credibility
I had the honor and privilege last night of being inducted into the Honor Society at Le Moyne College, my alma mater, as a community leader. In addition, I had been invited to give the keynote address for the ceremony which paired both the honor society induction as well as a recognition of the graduates…… Continue reading Honor Society Induction
To My Fellow Nurses, I have struggled for a few days to decide what to write to you all, in celebration of National Nurses Week. It seems silly that the only way most of us know each other is through what I have had to say about our profession, yet when it comes time to…… Continue reading Just a Little Love Note
Apparently I stopped believing in miracles. I’m not sure when it happened, or actually even why. Growing up I never believed in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, and due to a mishap involving my first lost tooth and a furnace vent, the Tooth Fairy and I didn’t coexist in my reality for long either.…… Continue reading Miracles
When I was in fifth grade we were taught a unit on “Virtues.” We had a textbook and all, covering topics from charity and kindness to humility and patience. We learned about each of them; what they meant, what it looked like to embody them, what it looked like when someone lacked them. My best…… Continue reading Patience
A patient’s parent pulled me aside in the middle of a busy and difficult day recently, a day full of contradicting opinions of the plan between the providers and the family. I did my best to stay neutral, to do my part to allow the families’ voices to be heard by the physicians, but to…… Continue reading A Fierce Advocate
Some days I really envy my friends who work in business, in part, because they get to wear real clothes and cute shoes. It is, after all, hard to feel professional, let alone feminine, in compression socks and polyester, with clunky clogs to finish the look. I try my best to treat my work appearance…… Continue reading How Do I Fail Thee? Let Me Count the Ways
There can’t possibly be a nurse in the world who hasn’t at some point laughed, cried, or complained about the concept of the nursing diagnosis. It is one of the uniting factors we as nurses, young and old, regardless of level of training, specialty, or experience have: the nursing care plan. These time consuming, monotonous,…… Continue reading Caregiver Role Strain As Evidenced By…
