Nurse Keith on Nursing and Social Media
Nurses use social media in large numbers, and there are certain platforms that seem to be more popular than others. Facebook, Linked In, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook and Google+ seem to be the places where nurses tend to digitally congregate these days. Here's my latest YouTube video about nurses and their interface with social media.) (Source: Digital Doorway)
Source: Digital Doorway - March 12, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: nurse Nurse Keith nurses nurses and social media nursing YouTube Source Type: blogs
Nurses and Our Addictions
When we think of the addicted nurse, we may often think of addiction to prescription drugs, alcohol or illicit drugs. But other types of addictions can also have negative effects on our lives as well.Of course, addiction to alcohol, meth or heroin is indeed an enormous health risk and problem for many individuals---including nurses---but today's post is going to place our focus elsewhere.Technology AddictionI admit it. I can barely live without my laptop. While I continue to avoid buying a smart phone out of a desire to not have such easy access to the constant flow of web-based information that we all seem to rely on, I s...
Source: Digital Doorway - March 11, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: blog carnivals nurse nurses nursing Source Type: blogs
Nurse Keith's Messages For Nurses
Many of you are aware that I'm the resident blogger for LPNtoBSNOnline.org. Recently, I've written a four-week series of "messages" for nurses, and I'm so pleased with the results that I'd like to share them with the readers of Digital Doorway. ~~~~~~~~ "A Message to the Nurse's Heart"This post is all about your heart. Here's an excerpt:Nursing can be a great profession that fulfills our hearts and uplifts our spirits, but it can also be a profession that beats us down and wears us out. Our careers can be a mixed bag, and we have to care for ourselves in order to not burn to a crisp, becoming a cynical, calloused and c...
Source: Digital Doorway - March 7, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: nurse nurses nursing Source Type: blogs
A Nurse Keith Video on The Nurse's Future Self
Based on this week's most recent blog post, here's a new YouTube video with my ruminations on what kind of career that you, my fellow nurses, may want to look back on. I'd love your comments and thoughts! (Source: Digital Doorway)
Source: Digital Doorway - March 4, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: nurse nurse careers Nurse Keith Coaching nurses nursing nursing careers YouTube Source Type: blogs
A Message to the Nurse's Future Self
So nurse, it's twenty years in the future, and you have two more decades of nursing under your belt. You've cared for thousands of patients, held thousands of hands, and looked into thousands of pairs of eyes. What do you remember, and what do your patients recall? What stands out for you? How does your career compare to your expectations, dreams and aspirations? Patients RememberWhat do your patients remember about you? First, they don't remember your name, and that's almost a certainty. Maybe a special one or two will remember, but most of them will instead recall how you cared for them and touched their lives at a ...
Source: Digital Doorway - March 3, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: nurse nurses nursing Source Type: blogs
Nurse Keith on Your Linked In Summary
Since many of you have expressed interest in more videos about Linked In, social media and authentic networking, here's a new short video---along with an explanatory blog post---about your Linked In summary. The summary is the part of your Linked In profile that tells all about who you are and what you do. I see it as the beginning of your "love letter" to those who visit your profile.The summary lives right below your photo and contact information, so it's the first thing people see as they scroll down. Simply click on the image to enlarge it in your browser. The video below will explain more about the summary and ...
Source: Digital Doorway - February 26, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: Linked In nurse nurses nurses and social media nursing social networking YouTube Source Type: blogs
Creating Authentic Linked In Connections
I love Linked In, and I also believe that building an authentic professional network is paramount. So, when you want to connect with someone on Linked In, why send them a generic invitation instead of a personalized one? This video is about my strong feelings regarding how to reach out authentically to the professionals you want to connect with. It's a word to the wise. (Source: Digital Doorway)
Source: Digital Doorway - February 21, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: Linked In networking nurse Nurse Keith Nurse Keith Coaching nurses nursing social media social networking YouTube Source Type: blogs
Nurse Keith on YouTube!
Well folks, I've finally joined the 21st century and hopped on board the video revolution! While I'll still be writing here on Digital Doorway as regularly as always, I'm adding a new dimension to my online presence with video!My inaugural video is embedded here, and I hope this new form of content adds much value to the ongoing conversation about contemporary nursing and healthcare.My thanks to Kevin Ross of Innovative Nurse and RNFM Radio for the inspiration to take this leap! (Source: Digital Doorway)
Source: Digital Doorway - February 19, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: nurse Nurse Keith Nurse Keith Coaching nurses nursing video YouTube Source Type: blogs
Speaking To The Nurse's Heart
On this Valentine's Day, I'd like to speak directly to the nurse's heart, sending my support, compassion and gratitude on this special day that focuses on love. Nurse, has your heart been bruised by the rigors of your profession? Has stress eaten you up inside? Are you struggling to keep your head above water? It's time to be gentle with your heart. Nurse, have you worked hard and served well, yet received no thanks for your labors? It's time to thank yourself for all you do. Nurse, does your work bring you joy and lift your spirits? Does caring for your patients feed your spirit? It's time to give thanks within your...
Source: Digital Doorway - February 14, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: nurse nurse self care nurse wellness nurses nursing self-care Source Type: blogs
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. When bullying occurs between colleagues who are more or less within the same level of the professional hierarchy, it is also referred to as "horizontal violence" or "lateral violence". For example, one nurse bullying another is considered lateral violence, althoug...
Source: Digital Doorway - February 13, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: bullying nurse nurse bullying nurse-nurse relationships nurses nursing Source Type: blogs
Don't Drink The Nursing Kool Aid
For those of you too young to remember, "Drinking the Kool Aid" is an expression dating back from the late 1970s when followers of Reverend Jim Jones blindly and naively drank Kool Aid laced with cyanide, a collective action that resulted in many deaths and great trauma.So, although nurses' experience in no way compares to what happened in Jonestown in 1978, the notion of drinking poison from a particular collective well certainly sounds familiar to me. Having said that, what Kool Aid do nurses drink? Nurses are a hearty and thoughtful bunch, and like any group of human beings, we can at times fall under the spell of the l...
Source: Digital Doorway - February 8, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: nurse nurse identity nurses nursing nursing identity Source Type: blogs
Nursing Innovation in the 21st Century
When the average person thinks of a nurse, he or she may not readily recognize that nurse as an innovator. But in reality, nurses are indeed true innovators, and that power of innovation is our professional birthright. Florence Nightingale, the true mother of our glorious profession, was an innovator of the highest caliber. Her theories and practices of proper hygiene and standards of care and cleanliness saved many lives. Her accomplishments ostensibly launched the profession of nurses, and her innovations in the use of statistics and their graphical representation remain a testament to how the founder of the nursing prof...
Source: Digital Doorway - January 30, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: nurse nurse bloggers nurse entrepreneurs nurse entrepreneurship nurse identity nurses nursing technology Source Type: blogs
Book Review: "Hospice Voices"
Here on Digital Doorway, I've reviewed many books written by healthcare professionals, including doctors and nurses. In contrast, "Hospice Voices: Lessons For Living at the End of Life" is a memoir written by a lay hospice volunteer who shares with us his moving story of spending time with those facing their mortality. It's a beautiful book, deeply instructive to the professional and layperson alike.The author, Eric Lindner, was a hospice novice, with no healthcare experience of any kind to guide him. On his website, he writes:I rediscovered my passion for volunteering quite by accident. In February 2009, I was walking ba...
Source: Digital Doorway - January 20, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: book reviews books death death and dying end of life health care hospice palliative care Source Type: blogs
Digital Doorway is Nine Years Old!
Well folks, time certainly does fly, because today--January 18th, 2014--marks the ninth birthday of Digital Doorway! How did it happen? How have I maintained this blog all these years? I don't rightly know, but I have you, dear Readers, to thank for its success.Whether I can believe it or not, this is my 1,692nd post on Digital Doorway, and the site has received more than 314,000 visits to date. The numbers amaze even me, and I've been here the whole time!Nine years later, I still thank my brother, Ken, for suggesting that I start a blog. We were sitting in front of a roaring wood burning stove on a frigid New England even...
Source: Digital Doorway - January 18, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: blogging Digital Doorway birthday nurse nurse bloggers nurses nursing writing Source Type: blogs
Is The Nurse's Glass Half Full?
It's no secret that there's a multitude of unhappy nurses out there in the world. From mandatory overtime to unhealthy nurse-patient ratios, I admit there are very valid reasons for this seeming epidemic of discontent. So, is the nursing glass half-full or half-empty? I guess it depends on who you're drinking with (and perhaps what you're drinking). Reasons To Be Cheerful---Or NotThis blog post isn't really about the aforementioned multitude of reasons that explain nurses' rampant unhappiness. A new study mentioned recently on Twitter states that a full one-third of nurses are unhappy with either their jobs or their ...
Source: Digital Doorway - January 14, 2014 Category: Nurses Tags: nurse nurse identity nurses nursing nursing careers nursing identity Source Type: blogs
