Nurse Keith's Messages For Nurses

Many of you are aware that I'm the resident blogger for LPNtoBSNOnline.org. Recently, I've written a four-week series of "messages" for nurses, and I'm so pleased with the results that I'd like to share them with the readers of Digital Doorway.

A Nurse Keith Video on The Nurse's Future Self

Based on this week's most recent blog post, here's a new YouTube video with my ruminations on what kind of career that you, my fellow nurses, may want to look back on. I'd love your comments and thoughts!

Nurse Keith on Your Linked In Summary

Since many of you have expressed interest in more videos about Linked In, social media and authentic networking, here's a new short video---along with an explanatory blog post---about your Linked In summary.

Creating Authentic Linked In Connections

I love Linked In, and I also believe that building an authentic professional network is paramount. So, when you want to connect with someone on Linked In, why send them a generic invitation instead of a personalized one? This video is about my strong feelings regarding how to reach out authentically to the professionals you want to connect with. It's a word to the wise.

Nurse Keith on YouTube!

Well folks, I've finally joined the 21st century and hopped on board the video revolution! While I'll still be writing here on Digital Doorway as regularly as always, I'm adding a new dimension to my online presence with video!

Speaking To The Nurse's Heart

On this Valentine's Day, I'd like to speak directly to the nurse's heart, sending my support, compassion and gratitude on this special day that focuses on love.

Don't Drink The Nursing Kool Aid

For those of you too young to remember, "Drinking the Kool Aid" is an expression dating back from the late 1970s when followers of Reverend Jim Jones blindly and naively drank Kool Aid laced with cyanide, a collective action that resulted in many deaths and great trauma.

So, although nurses' experience in no way compares to what happened in Jonestown in 1978, the notion of drinking poison from a particular collective well certainly sounds familiar to me. Having said that, what Kool Aid do nurses drink?

Nursing Innovation in the 21st Century

When the average person thinks of a nurse, he or she may not readily recognize that nurse as an innovator. But in reality, nurses are indeed true innovators, and that power of innovation is our professional birthright.

Book Review: "Hospice Voices"

Here on Digital Doorway, I've reviewed many books written by healthcare professionals, including doctors and nurses. In contrast, "Hospice Voices: Lessons For Living at the End of Life" is a memoir written by a lay hospice volunteer who shares with us his moving story of spending time with those facing their mortality. It's a beautiful book, deeply instructive to the professional and layperson alike.

Digital Doorway is Nine Years Old!

Well folks, time certainly does fly, because today--January 18th, 2014--marks the ninth birthday of Digital Doorway! How did it happen? How have I maintained this blog all these years? I don't rightly know, but I have you, dear Readers, to thank for its success.

New Year, New Beginning, New Nurse

While 2014 is still in its infancy, the year has certainly begun in earnest. And for many of us, plans are afoot for what this year could actually look like in the bigger picture. Are you making plans and dreaming dreams?

Your Wild And Precious Nursing Career

As the New Year dawns, it's a time when many of us look backward and forward to assess many aspects of our lives, our careers not least among them. How do you feel as you say goodbye to 2013 and hello to 2014?

Happy Holidays To All

Greetings and happy holidays! What a year it's been!

Of Flu Season and Nurse Martyrs

Nurses are often notorious for being martyrs, caring for others when they really need to be caring for themselves. And when flu season strikes, many nurses may heed the call of duty rather than the call of their own bed.

The Story of Malcolm: Nursing and Grace

I've written a guest post for the blog of Karen Ingalls, a writer and author who is a five year survivor of ovarian cancer. Her book, Outshine: An Ovarian Cancer Memoir, is an inspiring account of the challenge of living with such a diagnosis.

My post is the story of "Malcolm", a patient from early in my nursing career who taught me many lessons of living well in the face of the vicissitudes of life. I hope you enjoy Malcolm: Gratitude and Grace.

I thank Karen for the opportunity to share my story with her community of readers. If you'd like to hear Karen's recent interview on RNFM Radio, please click here.

Of Bowels and Happy Nurses

So nurses, what can make a nurse happier than a constipated patient who finally moves his bowels? Pretty much nothing, I guess. (Be forewarned, the following story is full of sh*t.)

The Natural Inventiveness of Nurses

Nurses are smart. Period. Nurses also have to be inventive, think on their feet, and use critical thinking to solve problems on the fly. Nursing school doesn't prepare us for every possible thing that could happen (and how could it?), so we fly by the seat of our pants and learn as we go. And learn we do.

Giving Thanks

During this week of focusing on the gratitude engendered by the American celebration of Thanksgiving, I'd like to take a moment and give thanks for anyone and everyone connected with this blog, my work in nursing, my new avocation as a Nurse Coach, RN.FM Radio, and my many connections and networks.

Nursing, Technology and Collectivism

Nursing and technology have gone hand in hand since the beginning of our profession. Whether it's the technology of syringes or tablet computers, nursing has been impacted by the development of technology since day one. But what does technology mean when we consider it's impact on nursing vis-a-vis the notion of collectivism?

Of Nurses And Their Self-Esteem

On November 6th, I published a blog post entitled "For Nurses, 'Just" Is A Four-Letter Word". The basic premise was that nurses' use of language that diminishes their expertise and importance has a far-reaching impact. That post has received a great deal of attention, so I believe I struck a nerve that resonates deeply with many nurses out there. (Thank you for all of the wonderful comments, by the way!) So, why is our self-esteem so collectively low?

Scrubs Blog Carnival: Thriving As A Nurse

I am thrilled to be hosting the Scrubs Magazine Blog Carnival for Nurses today, and it's an honor to provide the readers of Digital Doorway with a glimpse into the quality and depth of talent that exists among the nurse blogger community.

Today's theme is "thriving as a nurse", and I have no doubt the entries will inspire and move you in myriad ways. (Note to reader: the bold and italicized title of each blog will lead you to the specific entries for the carnival.)

Enjoy!

Santa Fe Coaching Retreats With Nurse Keith!

I don't often write explicitly about my coaching practice for nurses, health professionals and nurse entrepreneurs here on this blog, but my latest launch is so exciting, I couldn't contain myself and had to tell my Digital Doorway community all about it!

Nurses and Collective Success

Collectivism and collaboration are hot topics in the entrepreneurial spaces where I currently hang out. Just last weekend, my business partner and RN.FM Radio co-host Kevin Ross and I were at the National Nurses in Business Association annual conference in Orlando, and our presentation was entitled "Cross-Pollination: Collaboration on Steroids". This notion was well-received by the audience, and our assertion that competition belongs in the dustbin of history seemed to hit home with most everyone who was present.

Entrepreneurial Compost

This past weekend, I spent four days in Orlando at the National Nurses in Business Association (NNBA) conference with dozens of nurses. It was a great event, and the networking and connecting between nurse entrepreneurs and businesspeople was “epic”, to borrow a term applied so liberally these days.

Nurse Keith at the NNBA

This weekend, I'm in Orlando at the National Nurses in Business Association (NNBA) annual conference, along with many of my nurse entrepreneur colleagues, including my business partner and RN.FM Radio cohost, Kevin Ross.