When Nurses Receive Their Due
Most nurses will readily admit that they didn't choose nursing because of the astronomically high paychecks. Sure, nursing can be a relatively remunerative career, but there are plenty of other professions that are significantly more financially rewarding (and free of some of the challenges that nurses face on a daily basis). So, what if nurses were paid a whole lot more in exchange for saving ---and otherwise improving---the lives of a grateful public? Multimillion Dollar PlayersWe all know that entertainers and athletes make a lot of money, whether it's deserved or not. NFL players sign multimillion dollar contracts in r...
Source: Digital Doorway - August 1, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: nurse nurses nursing Source Type: blogs
Got Soul, Nurses?
Nurses, what does it mean to have soul? Does it mean that you've read "Chicken Soup For The Nurse's Soul"? Does it mean that you listen and dance to James Brown? Does it mean that you cook with spicy food? Well, it could mean those things, but it's a whole lot more.Having soul is allowing your soul to shine through you. It means that your soul---or spirit, if that feels better---isn't crushed by the imperatives, limitations, restrictions and burdens of nursing. Having soul means that you know who you are, what you want, where you're going, and you don't feel that your job is crushing you into oblivion, squeezing your ene...
Source: Digital Doorway - July 26, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: compassion nurse nurse self care nurse wellness nurses nursing self-care Source Type: blogs
Nurse, Whose Shoes Are You Wearing?
As nurses, we're often in the mode of "doing". We hang IVs, check vital signs, give treatments, dole out medications, and tend to multiple tasks, whether in the hospital, nursing home, school, patients' homes, or other venues. And when we're doing those tasks, we're generally wearing our metaphoric---and literal---nursing shoes.In the midst of the tasks to which you need to tend, a patient may voice a complaint, concern, worry or anxiety. Depending on the general trajectory of your day, that patient's need can either draw you into empathic conversation, or, conversely, it can cause you stress, impatience, and exaspe...
Source: Digital Doorway - July 14, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: compassion nurse nurse-patient relationships nurses nursing Source Type: blogs
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? Quite recently, I reviewed the new documentary, "The American Nurse" on this blog, and that post (and our interview with the filmmakers on RNFM Radio) affirms that this film contributes greatly to broadening the view of who nurses are and what they do. From birthing to home care, from hospice to nurses in the military, the film paints...
Source: Digital Doorway - June 30, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: nurse nurses nursing nursing identity Source Type: blogs
Nurse Keith on Local Networking
Those of you who are familiar with me know that I'm a big fan of nurses using social media, and I've published many blog posts and videos about online networking. But what about local networking? Isn't it just as important to have a robust professional network right in your home town?Social media is great, and I've made friends and found business partners on Twitter, Facebook, Linked In and Google+, but I also don't ignore my professional network right here in my little city of Santa Fe, New Mexico.The following video offers my take on local networking and why it's important for you, both personally and professionally.So, ...
Source: Digital Doorway - June 13, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: networking nurse Nurse Keith Nurse Keith Coaching nurses nursing social networking YouTube Source Type: blogs
"The American Nurse"
If you haven't heard already, the new documentary, "The American Nurse", has been taking the country by storm since it's release during Nurses Week. If you haven't yet seen the film, brace yourselves and make sure you do so as soon as possible. It is a testament to our profession. For those of you who are fans of RNFM Radio, you may already know that the director, producer and one of the nurses featured in the film appeared on our show on May 5th in honor of Nurses Week, and that interview dug deep into the dedication and inspiration that underscore this important documentary. Here's an easy way to listen to that interview...
Source: Digital Doorway - May 31, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: nurse nurses nursing RNFM Radio Source Type: blogs
Book Review: "Bellehaven"
"Bellehaven" by Margaret Hawke is an enjoyable novel set in 1960s America. The book drops us directly into the life of Kate Bannion, a homemaker, wife and mother who had previously set aside her career as a nurse but is forced by circumstance to once again don her nursing cap and find work to support her family at a time when women breadwinners are a new phenomenon. Kate faces many challenges at home and on the job, and the novel moves easily along the trajectory of Kate's life, marriage, and professional development.For those interested in the changes that have occurred---and continue to occur---in terms of women's roles ...
Source: Digital Doorway - May 12, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: book book review nurse nurses nursing nursing books Source Type: blogs
Book Review: "The Call of Nursing"
"The Call Of Nursing: Stories From the Front Line of Health Care" by William B. Patrick, is a timely and precious book that highlights the diverse voices of nurses employed in various aspects of an equally diverse profession. Created from a massive undertaking of in-depth interviews with its subjects, this book is a honorable transcription of nurses' spoken narratives onto the page. These stories are a moving testament to the power of nursing, and the continued power of storytelling in the 21st century. In the course of this worthy book, twenty-three nurses describe their work and the place that nursing holds in their pers...
Source: Digital Doorway - May 11, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: book reviews books nurse nurses nursing nursing books Source Type: blogs
Nurse Keith Sends Nurses Week Greetings from Phoenix
During this Nurses Week, I spoke at the Infusion Nurses Society 2014 Annual Convention and Industrial Exhibition in Phoenix, Arizona, and I was thrilled to be in the presence of so many dedicated nurses.It's an honor to have been invited to present on the subject of work-life balance at the convention---especially during the celebration of Nurses Week---and the other presentations that I had the pleasure to attend were all outstanding. Here's a video postcard from my hotel room at the Hyatt just after my presentation.... Attending nursing conferences can be a wonderful opportunity to make new friends, not to mention conn...
Source: Digital Doorway - May 8, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: nurse nurses nursing Source Type: blogs
Nurse Keith on Interviews, Part 2
Job interviews are an important aspect of any professional's life (unless you're a business owner, sole proprietor or entrepreneur, that is!) To view the first video in the series, click here.Meanwhile, here's the second in a series of videos about how to be at your professional best during the interview experience. (Source: Digital Doorway)
Source: Digital Doorway - April 23, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: interviews Nurse Keith Nurse Keith Coaching professionalism YouTube Source Type: blogs
Nurse Keith on Interviews, Part 1
Job interviews are an unfortunate reality that many of us simply have to tolerate, and there are plenty of ways to make interviews more tolerable and successful. Here's a quick video---the first in a series---that discusses a few strategies that I feel are important when navigating the interview landscape. (Source: Digital Doorway)
Source: Digital Doorway - April 14, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: career interviews nurse nurses nursing YouTube Source Type: blogs
The Tapestry of Nurse Collaboration
If you listen at all to RNFM Radio, you'll know that myself and my co-host Kevin Ross are very keen on the promotion of collaboration among nurses and nurse entrepreneurs, not to mention everyone else on the planet.This post is part of the ongoing "Nursing Blog Carnival" that's being hosted this week on the blog over at RNFMRadio.com, so please head over there to read the rest of the submissions on this very worthy topic of collaboration in nursing.What Is Collaboration? According to Merriam Webster's online dictionary, one definition of the word collaborate is "to work jointly with others or together especially in an...
Source: Digital Doorway - April 13, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: blog carnivals Innovative Nurse Kevin Ross nurse bloggers nurse collaboration nurse-doctor relations nurse-nurse relationships nurse-patient relationships nurses nursing nursing blog RNFM Radio Source Type: blogs
"The Art of Nursing" is Coming!
In case you've forgotten, Nurses Week will be here in just over a month, and I'd like you to know about a very special online event in which I'll be participating and that you certainly don't want to miss. The event is entitled "The Art of Nursing", and it will be hosted by my friend and colleague, the wonderful Elizabeth Scala. This four-day online event features stellar nurse speakers, including Donna Cardillo, Beth Boynton, Lorie Brown, Vicki Hess, Renee Thompson and many others, and the evening wrap-up sessions will be co-hosted by myself, Kevin Ross, Phyllis Quinlan and Laurel Lewis.It will be a star-studded week...
Source: Digital Doorway - April 5, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: nurse nurse self care nurse wellness nurses nursing Source Type: blogs
Five Days to Nursing Empowerment
Today is the day when the "Five Days to Nursing Empowerment Telesummit" hosted by Lorie Brown begins, and I encourage nurses everywhere to tune in for five days of inspiration from some of the leading voices in American nursing.I'm thrilled to be one of tonight's featured speakers, and to be in the company of such nursing luminaries as Renee Thompson, Kevin Ross (my venerable co-host at RNFM Radio), Brittney Wilson, Jamie Davis, Elizabeth Scala, Donna Cardillo, Caroline Porter Thomas, and of course, Lorie Brown.Lorie Brown says:Are you frustrated in your nursing practice or maybe you love it but would like to enhance your...
Source: Digital Doorway - March 31, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: nurse nurses nursing Source Type: blogs
Nurse Keith on Emotional Labor
Emotional labor is a concept that's new to me, and potentially new to many nurses, as well. In a nutshell, emotional labor is the emotional regulation that we as nurses and healthcare providers have to practice in order to be present with our patients. Suppressing our emotions can take a toll in the short term and the long term. As a nurse, how do you care for yourself emotionally? Please watch this short video and leave me a comment. I'd love to hear from you! (Source: Digital Doorway)
Source: Digital Doorway - March 19, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: emotional labor nurse Nurse Keith nurse self care nurse-patient relationships nurses nursing patient care YouTube Source Type: blogs
