When The Nurse Is Stretched Too Thin

In all likelihood, we can all readily agree that nursing is not for the faint of heart. Nurses in many different settings can be pushed to the breaking point, driven to the precipice of burnout, compassion fatigue, and utter defeat. But there is indeed another way.

Your Nursing Career and the Skill of Writing

When we think of the skills that make a nurse a nurse, writing is not the first one that may come to mind. PICC lines, wound care, ventilators, IVs, and physical assessment are the kinds of things we think of, but the power of the pen, as it were, is definitely not in the running (except, of course, for basic nursing documentation). However, I'll posit that writing is a skill that can serve your nursing career in both mundane and powerful ways throughout the years. What's your level of skill as a writer, and do you want to improve?

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Six Reasons to Love Millennial Nurses

The Millennial generation (those born between approximately 1980 and 2000) are the new majority in the 21st-century workforce (see this Pew research study identifying this cohort as 35% of the overall workforce), and Millennial nurses are on their way to dominating the nursing profession.

As one generation wanes and the other rises, power changes hands, and this is happening at this very moment as Generation X and the Baby Boomers reach retirement age and leave the workforce in droves.

Every generation is disparaged and criticized by the generations that came before, and Millennials are no exception. However, I hypothesize that the Millennial generation is going to positively transform nursing, medicine, and healthcare for the better, not to mention society at large.

(Please note: writing about any generation as a whole is potentially problematic due to the fact that generalizations must be made. My apologies in advance for any statements that don't quite apply to everyone -- this is simply an attempt to capture observations of the power and potential that this enormously influential generation holds in its collective hands.)

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10 Steps to Nurse Entrepreneurship

As a nurse entrepreneur for more than a decade, I've been around the block a few times at this point and have seen so much of the ups and downs of this particular professional journey. While I'm not specifically a business coach, my career coaching practice and experience as a nurse business owner have taught me a thing or two about getting a business up and running — and keeping it going. Nurses come to me on a regular basis expressing a desire to work for themselves, and I have cause to believe that this growing wave has yet to crest. So what is a nurse to do if they feel the entrepreneurial itch? 

The 10,000-Foot View of Your Nursing Career

A few weeks ago, I was speaking with a career coaching client, and we were discussing how scary it can be to make a big change. In talking about the minutiae as well as the big picture, I encouraged her to always come back to the 10,000-foot view. "However," I said, "while the 10,000-foot view is a great thing to keep in mind, it can also give you vertigo."
 

Clouds, thousands of feet over Santa Fe, NM by Keith Carlson

Nurses Leaning Into Uncertainty

Throughout history, nurses have provided care to those in need despite the cultural circumstances or political scenarios at hand. Nursing care, like medicine, is a necessary service that simply needs to be provided in a society at all times. No matter that bullets are flying, elections are being disputed, or a pandemic is raging, nurses are there with their patients even as uncertainty rules the day.

Can You Return to Nursing After a Hiatus?

Many nurses come to me for advice and career coaching when they're ready to return to the nursing workforce after a hiatus. For some, it's just been a year or two, and for others it might have been 15 or more years of staying home to do the noble work of raising children. The question is, how do you break back into the nursing and healthcare universe after being gone so long? It's indeed possible, and there's a lot to do to get there. On the other hand, I will also share ideas of how to keep your hand in the game even if you're not fully employed.

A Pandemic "Marshall Plan"​?

When World War II ended, a massive global recovery plan was initiated, and we enjoy the positive reverberations of that plan to this day. The dawning of 2021 and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic call for nothing less than a similar worldwide initiative. Are we truly ready to collectively embrace this humanitarian call to arms?

The Gallup Poll: Nurses Remain at the Top and Still Need Support

As 2020 comes to a close, nurses have done it again: they find themselves at the top of the Gallup Poll for the 19th consecutive year. With 89% of respondents rating them high or very high for honesty and ethical standards — a 4% gain from one year ago — nurses stand tall as the most trusted professionals in the country.

Hope, Fear, and the COVID-19 Pandemic

As I write these words, shipments of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine based on breakthrough mRNA technology have been arriving to hospitals for several days, with the first shots already having been administered. Simultaneously, we've now surpassed an awful milestone of 300,000 Americans lost to the virus, which is akin to the entire population of Pittsburgh being wiped out. With frequently more than 3,000 dead on any given day (the comparison being that we lost approximately 3,000 people on September 11th, 2001), the expected post-Thanksgiving surge is upon us, just as experts forewarned (and the public ignored).

With Christmas and the New Year ahead of us, now is not the time for the doffing of masks and giving up on social distancing and other recommended measures. In fact, it's time for us to double down and work together in order to move us into 2021 with hope for seeing this pandemic in the rearview mirror.

COVID-19: Misaligned Priorities and Missed Opportunities

(Note: this blog post was originally published on LinkedIn.) 

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, information and misinformation travel like wildfire. Meanwhile, as we individually and collectively struggle with aligning our priorities and making good choices, things get overlooked and left in the dust, including people.

Missteps have been the hallmark of the pandemic here in the United States, especially when it comes to the Trump administration's lackluster and criminally misguided response, denial of reality, rejection of science, and the consistent undermining of expertise.

No matter the administration in power, mistakes and missed opportunities will continue to be made, just not as purposefully and cynically as that of the Trump White House and its spineless Republican lackeys.

                                                                                                Photo by Adli Wahid on Unsplash.com

The Universal Impact of Racial Disparities and Systemic Racism: It's Everyone's Responsibility

(Author's note: this article was originally published on LinkedIn on June 30, 2020)

In these days of the globally devastating COVID-19 pandemic and the powerfully burgeoning Black Lives Matter movement, two crucial moments in human history are coalescing on the world stage in a striking overlapping pattern that seems unprecedented in scope.

Racial disparities and the pandemic are hardly mutually exclusive, and the coexisting pandemic of police brutality against communities of color is not at all separate from the socioeconomic inequalities that are, to a large extent, exacerbated and informed by the egregious systemic targeting of non-white people on multiple levels in societies around the world over the course of countless generations.

                                                                                             Photo by Alex Paganelli on Unsplash.com

Nurses, George Floyd, Racial Disparities, and the World We'd Like to See

At this unsettling time in the United States and around the world, racism is being confronted head-on by citizens who've simply had enough of the status quo. The knowledge of deep racial disparities in healthcare are nothing new, and the understanding that people of color are treated more poorly within the American healthcare system is also an old story that never seems to change.

But now, amidst the  COVID-19 pandemic and rampant global fear, economic insecurity, and a population tired of lip service to diversity and inclusion, millions are saying, "No more to endemic racism and police brutality against people of color!"

We nurses are part of the conversation because we're citizens, voters, and those who deliver care, conduct research, and perform myriad other tasks related to public health, acute care, hospice, home health, and beyond. Is our profession up to the task of confronting racism and other societal ills more boldly than ever before? 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

The Profound Meaning of Nurses' Week During a Pandemic: Nurses Show Up

Nurses' Week is upon us, and May 12th, 2020 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Florence Nightingale, the veritable progenitor of the modern profession of nursing. Meanwhile, we also find ourselves in the middle of the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife as declared late in 2019 by the World Health Organization (WHO), the healthcare arm of the United Nations. Add to this the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we have a recipe for a very profound moment when it comes to nurses and the nursing profession in this global context.

Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels.com

Nurse Keith's 4-1-20 COVID-19 Roundup

In these days of the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems like the world is upside down and inside out. We are all reeling from the overwhelming disruption of most every aspect of human life: economics, work, and career; education across the lifespan, from preschool to post-doctoral research; faith communities; migrant workers; the undocumented; the frail, elderly, and vulnerable; transportation; small business; and the actual details of survival, including food, clothing companionship, and shelter.

Other than those still living who experienced World War II, the Holocaust, or even the 1918 so-called "Spanish Flu", none of us have a memory of such a devastating worldwide event. The AIDS epidemic at its awful zenith in the 1980s is the closest we've come since the Second World War, and that was enough to strike fear into the hearts of many and cause massive loss throughout the 80s and 90s until we got a handle on the virus and rendered it mostly a chronic illness that can be survived for decades by most infected individuals.

Photo by Tai's Captures on Unsplash

COVID-19, Nurses, and Staying Informed in Trying Times

Greetings from Nurse Keith Nation HQ here in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where I'm spending the majority of my waking hours monitoring the COVID-19 situation closely in order to inform myself and my online tribe of nurses and healthcare professionals. Like many others, I'm doing my best to stay up-to-date and use my various platforms (as well as good old-fashioned emails and phone calls) to educate and inform as many people as I can about the latest developments regarding this very real pandemic sweeping the globe.

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay 

Seven Traits of Effective Nurse Leaders

Please enjoy this guest post from Samantha Boone of Aspen University:

“Rejoice in your work; never lose sight of the nursing leader you are now and the nursing leader you will become.” – Sue Fitzsimons

Leadership shapes innovation and change, and as more and more baby boomers retire, the baton is being passed down to new generations of nurse leaders. “Senior leaders look to surround themselves with creative and talented individuals to accomplish not only organizational goals but also a shared vision,” says Dr. Marcos Gayol, Assistant Dean of Nursing at Aspen University. “In doing so, they also provide these same individuals with opportunities for growth, involvement, and fellowship with career advancement goals in mind.”

Who's Driving The Bus of Your Nursing Career?

Plenty of people probably have opinions about what your nursing career should look like. However, the person behind the wheel of your nursing career should be you. Are you truly driving the bus of your nursing career?

Nurse Practitioners and Physicians Behind the 8-Ball

On June 8, 2019, an excellent article was published in the New York Times that clearly stated something I've been thinking about for quite some time. The article was titled, "The Business of Health Care Depends on Exploiting Doctors and Nurses", and the subtitle was "One resource seems infinite and free: the professionalism of caregivers". It was written by Dr. Danielle Ofri, a physician at Bellevue Hospital in New York City.

Jump Aboard the Nurse Wellness Express

Once upon a time, I was talking on the phone with a colleague who is not a nurse himself but who interacts with nurses on a regular basis in his professional life. His comments about nurses and their self-care (or lack thereof) were extremely thought-provoking.

Your Nursing Career Database

Throughout your career as a professional nurse and skilled healthcare provider, everything you create, publish, write, communicate, or otherwise put out into the world becomes part of the database of your nursing career. From your LinkedIn profile and resume to your tweets and updates, your personal and professional brand is to a large extent fed and watered by the paper and digital trail of your career. What does your database say about you?

Are You Feeling Spooked by Nursing?

Are you feeling spooked by your nursing career? It's Halloween week, and it seems natural to examine our careers for skeletons in the closet, ghosts that haunt us, and old stories that just don't fit anymore. Are you ready to dive in and see what we can see?

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Nursing Jobs, Cost of Living, & Where to Hang Your Hat

In my work as a career coach for nurses and healthcare professionals, I frequently witness those who work in nursing struggling with decisions related to finding work and the relative cost of living in terms of where they live or where they might move.

Making decisions about your workstyle and lifestyle can be fraught with anxiety and concern about the future -- let's unpack that conundrum.

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Nurse, Throw Your Hat Over the Wall

In your nursing career, have you ever wanted to get something done but never had the gumption to make the commitment and just do it? Well, there's an old Irish proverb that says, "When you come upon a wall, throw your hat over it and then go and get your hat."

In the context of your nursing career, I like to think of this saying in terms of you putting some skin in the game and making a commitment to do what needs to be done, no matter what obstacles may appear to be in your way. What are you avoiding? What are you waiting for? Is there a deep end you just need to dive into?

Are You a Nurse Job Hopper?

Nurses leave jobs for innumerable reasons, and sometimes circumstances cause those of us in healthcare and nursing to only stay at a string of positions for relatively short periods. Job-hopping has generally been frowned upon in human resources circles, but generational changes and new attitudes about work and careers are slowly altering the landscape. However, job-hopping continues to have its ups and downs, and being a nurse job-hopper still comes with significant career liability.

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