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?

Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

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.

Photo by Joey Csunyo on Unsplash

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.

Photo by Gary Bendig on Unsplash

APRNs and 21st-Century American Healthcare

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) are an increasingly important fixture within the 21^st-century American healthcare system and nursing profession. Full practice authority is a central key to APRNs’ ability to fulfill the needs of the American public, and it’s time for such authority to be granted nationwide.

Nurses: Come Out of the Woodwork

Although Nurses Week is long over, the public face of nursing still needs a regular shot in the arm so that the public knows what nurses actually do. As nurses, do we describe our work in a way that gets the point across? Does the public know that we're more than the media makes us out to be?

Photo by Dmitry Ratushny on Unsplash

Non-Traditional Nursing Careers: Where There Is No Box

Ask just about anyone what a nurse does and where a nurse works, and the general response is, "Oh, she works in a hospital." Apropos of that statement, when I tell someone I'm a nurse, they generally say, "So, do you work at the hospital?" I have nothing against hospital nursing, but there's more to our profession than meets the eye, and many of us are waking up to the multiplicity of non-traditional opportunities just waiting to be grasped by the savvy nurse.

Nurses, the Best Selfie is Internal

At a time in history when "selfies" are dominant in the depiction of our lives (and the potential measurement of our worth), the most important selfie for a nurse to take is on the inside, not the outside.

Selfies are part of our 21st-century culture, and there's no denying their popularity. In essence, it's our way of presenting a self-portrait to the world just like Van Gogh or Rembrandt would, except we can  effortlessly make dozens per day that can potentially be seen by hundreds or thousands of people. 

We have the habit of posting photos of ourselves having dinner with friends, walking on the beach with our dog, or relaxing on the hammock with a book and a glass of wine. In terms of our personal development and how we see ourselves as nurses and human beings, what if we shifted to taking "selfies" of what's going on inside of us? Rather than focusing on the outward appearances of our lives and careers, what if we delved more deeply into our motivations, fears, and joys? What if that which made us tick -- rather than the brightness of our smile or our curated life -- became the measure of our lives as nurses, human beings, and citizens?

Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

Change, Personal Agency, and Wellness -- Celebrating Nurses Week 2018

As Nurses Week begins, what does the idea of nurses and nursing conjure for the majority of people when they think about nurses? Obviously, the public trusts us immensely (the Gallup Poll confirms that every year), so there's a lot behind who we nurses are and why we're so special.

Photo by Aditya Romansa on Unsplash

Nurses Take DC 2018: Nurses' Voices Matter

On Thursday, April 26th, 2018, I had the distinct privilege and pleasure of speaking in front of the United States Capitol Building at the annual Nurses Take DC Rally for Nurse-Patient Ratios. With the iconic Capitol dome in the background and the Washington Monument directly in front of me as I spoke to hundreds of fired up nurses, it was a powerful moment for me as a nurse and as a motivational public speaker.

Nurse Innovators and Trailblazers: An Embarrassment of Riches

I recently spoke with a nurse career coaching client who's thoughtfully searching for what she should do next with her nursing career in order to more fully reach her potential as a healthcare professional.

As I've previously discussed on both this blog and my podcast, the sky's the limit in terms of what nurses are capable of, even though nursing schools (and by extension many of your nursing colleagues) will lead you to believe that acute care is the only place where "real" nurses choose to make their professional nest.

Photo by Riccardo Annandale on Unsplash

Nurse Bullies: A Plague On Our House

Sadly, there appears to be a desperate need for a continued conversation about bullying within the nursing profession. One would hope that the dawning of the 21st century would have seen a decline in such old school behaviors, but there are obviously those among us who haven't yet learned the lesson that collaboration and cooperation are the true keys to success.

Escape Velocity

There are many of us who desire change during the course of our nursing careers, but change can be hard to manifest for a variety of reasons: boredom, ennui, limiting beliefs, lack of imagination, low self-esteem, difficult life circumstances, finances, burnout, or perhaps a rut so deep that we can't dig ourselves out.

In order to break free of the earth's gravitational field, a rocket must reach 25,020 miles per hour. Is your needed escape velocity equally daunting? If you were to gain the momentum needed to make a change, what is the escape velocity you would need to actually make it happen?

A Soft Landing for New Nurses

In speaking with large numbers of new nurses over the years, I consistently hear that novice nurses are not often given the guidance, nurturing, and mentoring that they truly need to move from surviving to thriving in their new nursing careers. New nurses need a "soft landing" as they enter the field, and it's up to us seasoned nurses to make sure they get it.

Photo by Alex Lehner on Unsplash

Common Questions About Nurse Entrepreneurship

Nurse entrepreneurship is exploding in the 21st century, and many nurses ask me for advice about nursing-based business. So, let's dig into some of the most common questions that nurses have about potentially launching a business or entrepreneurial endeavor.

Photo by Josefa nDiaz on Unsplash.com

Nursing Trends and the ANA, Part 2 of 2

One of the premier nursing organizations gathering information about nurses is the American Nurses Association (ANA). In my previous post, we delved into the results of a 2017 ANA survey based on responses from approximately 6,000 nurses. Today we're going to dive back in for part 2 of our 2-part series.