Nurses and Relationships: Cooperation is Key!

Relationships between nurses are impacted by multiple factors, including stress, workloads, personalities, as well as the "culture" of the institution where those nurses are employed. What can nurses do to enhance their relationships at work, especially when it comes to cooperation?

Board Certified Nurse Coaches: A New Reality

This week, dear Readers, I'm writing this brief post to share with you the exciting news that I am now a Board Certified Nurse Coach (NC-BC)!

Infographic: Family Nurse Practitioners To The Rescue

Thanks to Chamberlain College of Nursing for this very interesting infographic regarding Family Nurse Practitioners (FNPs), Advanced Practice Nurses (APN) that will be needed in increasing numbers as our population ages and healthcare reform comes to fruition.

Book Review: "The Secret Rescue" by Cate Lineberry

"The Secret Rescue: An Untold Story of American Nurses and Medics Behind Nazi Lines", is a brilliant book outlining the harrowing tale of nurses and medics who, after crash-landing in Nazi-occupied Albania in 1943, survived an ordeal that tested the limits of their courage, determination and faith.

Evolving As A Nurse: The Work of the Soul

The evolution of a nurse and his or her career is a very individual experience, and this experience expresses the spirit, nature and personality of the nurse in question. And when soul is infused into that journey, the entire tenor of the journey is deeply and irrevocably changed.

Nurses: Compassion For The Self

Nurses, when you consider the level of compassion with which you treat your patients, do you also consider the possibility that you can treat yourself with that same compassion? Do you feel that you deserve it?

Nurses: Surviving Versus Thriving

Many nurses talk about needing to survive. And what are they surviving? Their shifts? Their home life? Their financial responsibilities and constraints? Their marriages? What does it mean for a nurse to reject simply surviving in exchange for actually thriving?

Nurses and the Scourge of Hostility

My last two posts about nursing and nurses here on Digital Doorway have garnered a great deal of attention and commentary. Nurses indeed want to feel respected, and it appears that the general consensus is that we basically don't respect each other. Where does this hostility originate?

The Obesity of Americans--and Nurses

It appears that the American Medical Association has decided to designate obesity as a disease. So, if one in three Americans is now classified as being obese, does that mean that one in three nurses is obese as well?

A New Nursing Infographic

Please enjoy this infographic on the ways in which nursing is growing, changing and creating opportunity.

Burnout, Recovery and Work-Life Balance for Nurses

This weekend, I'm speaking at a regional nursing conference here in New Mexico, and the subjects of my two talks are burnout (prevention and recovery) and work-life balance. It's a sad reality that nurses need to hear about these particular issues so often, but as long as they do, I'm willing to get on that stage and preach the gospel of self-care. 

An Unexpected Occupational Hazard: The Nurse Gets Rattled

At the rural New Mexican home where I do home-based nursing care, the pace of work and the 360-degree view of the mesas, mountains and sky is quite different from other nursing milieus. While home care may not always seem glamorous to those in the ICU, trauma or other specialties, sometimes things happen that make me realize how interesting this specialty can truly be.

Journey to Joy Launches on June 6th!

On June 6th, a new book about joyful transformation for women will launch worldwide. I'm proud to say that my wife, the coach Mary Rives, is one of 35 fascinating and inspiring contributing authors to what will certainly prove to be an Amazon bestseller.

Nurses As Connective Tissue

Last night on RN.FM Radio, we were graced with three guests, including the editor and two contributing authors from a new book, "I Wasn't Strong Like This When I Started Out: True Stories of Becoming A Nurse". It was a fascinating and inspiring conversation, to say the least.

Nurse Bullying: We Shall Overcome

On May 20th, 2013 on RN.FM Radio, we discussed nurse to nurse bullying with Renee Thompson, a national expert on the subject. In the course of that discussion, we heard that bullying among nurses continues to be a problem nationwide--and most likely worldwide, as well. What will it take to turn the tide on what appears to be a widely acknowledged form of aberrant workplace behavior within the healthcare industry?

Nurses Week--Or Nurses Year?

Last week, we celebrated Nurses Week, and many of us acknowledged our pride in this awesome profession of ours. Some of us were even on the receiving end of others' gratitude in the form of gifts from our employers, colleagues, friends or family members. But why do we only get to acknowledge ourselves once a year?

The Nurse's Personal Dashboard: Tune Up Time?

I recently posted here on Digital Doorway about each of us having our own personal dashboard. While that post made metaphoric mention of the speedometer, tachometer, fuel and lubrication, we didn't talk about the need for a timely tune up. So, let's take that metaphor and run with it, shall we?

Book Review: Nursing 2013 Drug Handbook

I will begin this review with the disclosure that Publisher Wolters Kluwer contacted me through a marketing agent and requested that I post a review of their new Nursing 2013 Drug Handbook here on Digital Doorway. I did not receive financial compensation of any kind for this review, but did receive a free copy of the guide in order to facilitate the review process. I previously reviewed the Nursing 2012 Drug Handbook, and you can find that very popular review here.

Self Care: Between Flood and Drought

When we’re examining our lives and the ways in which we are manifesting--or not manifesting--our optimal life vision, it’s important to be clear, honest and erring on the side of self-love and compassion. Being alive in the 21^st century is no simple task, and we can easily be sidetracked and distracted from living in balance and wholeness.

My friend and visionary colleague Carol Gino has often used the term “soul drought” to more accurately describe the experience of burnout, and this notion of spiritual drought is one that speaks deeply to me.

The Nurse's Personal Dashboard

On a recent episode of RN.FM Radio, we were discussing nurses' wellness--both spiritual and physical--and the concept of one's personal "dashboard" came up in the course of the conversation. Are you aware that you have your own dashboard, and if so, do you heed the warning lights that occasionally light up?

Heroes, Courage, Trauma and Recovery

Yesterday, April 15th, 2013, two explosions rocked the Boston Marathon as runners and their supporters gathered in the afternoon near the finish line. As the race was winding down, the sense of celebration was palpable in the air, only to be replaced by shock and panic as a scene including dozens of injured and three dead emerged through the smoke.

Book Review: "Do No Harm Applies To Nurses Too!"

Renee Thompson, MSN, RN, CMSRN, is a widely recognized national specialist on horizontal violence (also known as bullying) among nurses, and her new book, "Do No Harm Applies to Nurses Too" is a step-by-step guide to confronting this pernicious issue that impacts many aspects of 21st-century healthcare.

The Nurse and The Razor's Edge

When she looks at me and smiles, it’s a small victory.

When she moves her bowels, there's much rejoicing.

When a shower is accomplished, there’s a sense of satisfaction.

When her condition remains stable for weeks on end, we relax.

When things become more tenuous, we’re vigilant. 

And when we're vigilant, we can lose sight of ourselves. 

A Self-Care Extravaganza for Nurses!

Are you a nurse ready for a solid dose of self-care and wellness support? Would you like to learn some applicable strategies for injecting your life with wellness? This month, I'll be taking part in the third Rejuvenation Collaboration, and I implore you to do the same!

"The "Twelve Rooms of the Nile"

Novels featuring nurses are not altogether rare, but a novel depicting the fictional meeting of the French writer Gustave Flaubert and a young Florence Nightingale amidst the ancient ruins of Egypt was unimaginable until author Enid Shomer brought this odd coupling to life. “The Twelve Rooms of the Nile” is a story-telling gem, and the fact that the publisher (Simon and Schuster) sent a review copy to this humble nurse blogger has proven to be a delight.