• Nurses Need to Be the Change!

    I recently had the privilege to attend a Zoom session hosted by Lorie A. Brown RM, MN, JD of Empowered Nurses. The guest speaker was RaDonda Vaught, the former Tennessee nurse who was convicted in 2022 of criminally negligent homicide after injecting the patient with the wrong medication. This was after the Tennessee BON cleared her in 2020 and told her they “had bigger fish to fry.” How and why that changed two years later needs your attention!  You can watch the replay of the Zoom session. I encourage all nurses to watch the replay and to share it with colleagues and co-workers. Learn how Nurses Need to Be the…

  • Navigating the 7 Ethical Dilemmas in Hospice Care

    Introduction Hospice care serves as a unique specialty of nursing by focusing on providing comfort and support to patients nearing the end of their lives. While deeply fulfilling, this field presents nurses with an array of ethical dilemmas that require thoughtful consideration and empathy. In this article, we will explore the 7 ethical dilemmas in hospice care and discuss effective strategies for managing them. Truth-Telling and Patient Autonomy In healthcare ethics, one of the fundamental principles is respecting patient autonomy. However, the dilemma of truth-telling often arises in hospice care. The question of how much to disclose to patients about their prognosis, especially when they prefer not to know, presents…

  • All shift long nurses use critical thinking skills

    Every day, all shift long, nurses are using critical thinking skills in their job no matter where they work. The stronger those skills are, the higher the quality of care they provide to their patients. Even from the start of the shift and prioritizing the tasks at hand, the ability to problem-solve and make decisions on the fly are critical to each of the nurse’s assigned patients and to those s/he will interact with for other nurses throughout the shift. As nurses know, everything can turn on a dime without warning. Some things are never anticipated such as falls and codes and other incidents especially to patients who don’t fit…

  • New Grad Nurse Season

    Although nurses graduate each term, May and June remain known for new grad nurse season. Congratulations to all the new grads whether you be total newbies or seasoned nurses with a higher education degree.  Welcome to the nursing family You are all so very needed! For the newbies, the NCLEX is next for RN’s and LPN/LVNs. Time to hit the books again. My best advice for this has always been to join a study group. It worked well for me and I’ve always encouraged it. Each person picks a topic or specialty and after great research, presents it to the group. There are many great study guides available and if…