You’ve already learned how to become a successful nurse

If you are in nursing school or newly graduated, you may feel overwhelmed with everything you have to learn to be a successful nurse. You may also be confused by the contradictory advice and behaviors of others. “Be professional” yet you see how nurses sometimes treat each other.

I know how you feel.

Even as a seasoned nurse and business owner, I sometimes question my decisions and advice others give me. One person says, “do this” yet another person says, “no. Don’t do that…do this!” Ugh. It’s a struggle sometimes to make good decisions and always do the right thing…especially when others don’t.

Good news! If you get overwhelmed about what to do or get confused by how to behave, just remember the words of Robert Fulgham.

10 Action Steps to Survive and Thrive Nursing School

I’ve been a nurse for more than 23 years yet I can remember almost every detail from nursing school (mental scars). Getting through my program was probably one of the most stressful and challenging periods of my life! The expectation of mastering a mountain of information, always being “tested” by your instructors, the constant worry that you’re going to make a mistake and the never-ending list of demands from your school – it’s a wonder that anyone graduates!

But we do. We somehow manage to survive.

Nursing school doesn’t have to leave you with mental scars. You and your classmates can do more than just survive school…you can thrive!!

Follow these steps for nursing school success:

Magnesium: Potassium’s Little Sister

Did you ever care for a patient with hypokalemia who despite multiple runs of KCl and countless mixes of Klor, the potassium level hardly moves? If so, check the patient’s magnesium level.

Why?

New Nurse Success Tip: Seeing patients beyond the bed

I recently took care of a 50-year-old woman who suffered a brain injury. The woman in the bed was almost bald, had a spastic left side, severe expressive aphasia, and was incontinent and unable to eat. Initially, I saw her as cognitively impaired, helpless, and requiring a lot of work on my part. 

But then I truly SAW her for who she really was.