In this episode, we dive into the inspiring story of Spencer Jones, a nurse innovator who was recently voted by thousands of nurses as Nurse.org's Nurse Innovator of the Year. Spencer is a nurse entrepreneur and the inventor of SafeBreak Vascular, a patented breakaway device for IV catheters that reduces IV complications and preserves IV catheters. His second vascular access invention called BVAD is a dual-lumen peripheral IV catheter that provides patients a pain-free blood sampling solution...

As a nurse and healthcare provider, how well do you think you take culturally diverse patients? Outside of task-oriented things? In this episode, Nurse Alice speaks with Dr. Raj Sundar, physician and podcast Host of the Healthcare for Humans Podcast about how we can better understand, connect and service our patients of different cultures. The duo encourages you to ask yourself the following questions,  - How else do you measure the quality of care that you provide?  - How often do you...

In this episode, Nurse Alice has the pleasure of interviewing Jonathan Llamas, a nurse practitioner and recipient of the prestigious Nurse Icon Award for 2023. Jonathan shares his inspiring journey of becoming a nurse, the challenges he faced along the way, and his work as a nurse. He also talks about his thoughts on the future of nursing and offers advice for aspiring nurses. Jonathan discusses the following points in this episode,  Jonathan's journey of becoming a nurse and the challenges...

Are you tired of nursing practice and policy being dictated by non-nurses? And I mean, without nursing input or not enough input from nurses? How can we, as nurses, make our voices heard and become drivers on important issues that impact us and the work we do? While rallying together and voting is important, the truth is we also need nurses to run for office and be strategically placed in leadership positions and in politics to drive the agenda and propositions. But I didn't get that type of...

You walk into work and hit the floor running. It's one big emergency after another. You can't catch a break and it feels like nothing is going right. You're PISSED!  But who are you mad at? And what for? And did you take it out on anyone? You may not realize it, but you just may be displacing anger towards others and things that aren't the cause of your frustrations. As professionals who work in high acuity situations and with different personalities, it's key that we learn to identify when...

How many times has a friend or family member asked you as a nurse to provide your opinion on a skin rash or ask advice about a medical condition or medication? While the caregiver in you is usually happy to be of assistance because you've done tons of patient education at work, what about when you're NOT at work? Did you know that could possibly ruin a good family or friendly relationship by causing unnecessary worry or giving erroneous advice that could lead to missed care or a lawsuit,...

Becoming a long-time TV medical contributor as a nurse wasn’t easy. In fact, I learned a lot of hard lessons along the way that I’m so eager to share and wish someone had told me. With the growing number of news stories about nurses recently, it appears that more and more negative stories are emerging. As the largest segment of the healthcare workforce and with the power of social media, nurses have the power to educate, empower, do damage control, and change the narrative.  With sound...

Have you ever gone to work and your patient assignment was straight bananas so you had every intention of walking up to the charge nurse to give them a piece of your mind? In this episode Nurse Alice addresses Beth's question by first advising her that you can't just tell the charge nurse that they suck but instead provides her some insight into the charge nurse role and provides tips for what nurses should do when their assignment seems overwhelming. 

When inclement weather and natural disasters occur, hospitals and other healthcare facilities are expected to remain operating. And we all know without nurses, hospitals would not be able to keep their doors open. So what do you as a nurse do during inclement weather? When is it safe and not safe to travel to/from work? And how does it impact your schedule? In this episode Nurse Alice responds to a caller and explains inclement weather, where that policy should be, and some fundamental things...

In this episode Nurse Alice shares her advice on why working as a CNA before nursing school (or your first nursing job) can be to your advantage. Not only will it look great on your application but it will prime and prepare you for what to expect in clinical and give you tons of insight into the profession you'll be joining. Read the article: 3 Reasons To Become a CNA Before Nurse

Have you ever been asked to pick up an extra shift at work? And even though many of us already have a set schedule - we still pick up, and for a variety of reasons. But what happens when the requests are happening more often and you really don't want to work but feel bad about saying no? Do you feel guilty or pressured to still say yes? And if you do pick up the shift, do you negotiate the deal to make it sweeter for you? In this episode Nurse Alice explains why you may feel bad about saying...

Imagine working a long and hard shift with no breaks or lunch relief and just when it's report time you learn that there's no nurse coming to relieve you. In this episode Nurse Alice shares a recent personal experience of having to stay over past the end of her shift until someone could take her patients. Did she have to stay? If she didn't, would that have been patient abandonment? Tune in to learn more about what constitutes patient abandonment and what options you may have if ever in this...

Imagine being an experienced nurse and being comfortable in a particular specialty and then one day making a decision to pivot into a different one. It can be scary and exciting at the same time because you're not a new nurse but you are new to a specialty. How can you best prepare for the transition? In this episode Nurse Alice answers a caller's question by offering tips on how she can successfully transition from working in telemetry to ICU. Nurse Alice provides insights and shares...

At one point in time, almost every nurse has toyed with the idea of climbing the traditional nursing career ladder of one-day becoming a charge nurse,  unit manager, or nurse director - even if we didn't fully pursue it. Many don't for a variety of reasons but for those that do, the truth is many will try but only a few are chosen. So what would you do if you were trying to advance but were passed up for job promotions in your unit? Would you leave? In this episode Nurse Alice answers a...

As nurses our job is to take care of other people but what happens when we're the ones that don't feel well? Or perhaps your child, parent, or significant other is sick - who takes care of them when you're supposed to be at work? For many of us this is infrequent and episodic so we're able to manage short-term issues but what if the condition is chronic or becoming more frequent in nature and you're having to call out sick from work more often? Is there anything you can do to protect your...

Have you ever felt nervous, sick, tired, or cried on your way to work? Whether a new nurse or a seasoned professional, you may be trying to cope with anxious feelings and thoughts before (or after) your shift.  Many nurses struggle with fears around rejection, inadequacy, making mistakes, and job dissatisfaction, which can manifest into physical symptoms. In this episode Nurse Alice responds to a caller's question as to why his wife cries on her way to work every night as she leaves for her...

Every patient is your patient when it comes to answering call lights. And while the call light system is needed to help us care for patients, it can sometimes feel like it's being overused or not used properly and disrupt us while we're in the middle of patient care... and that's frustrating. So where's the call light for the nurse when this happens? In this episode Nurse Alice talks about how the call light system was intended to use, the different types of call light devices, and provides...

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the podcast guest and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of nurse.org Kelsay Irby is the ER Charge Nurse who made national headlines for calling 911 desperate for help with unsafe staffing at St. Michael Medical Center. Here’s her first-hand story of what really happened on the night of October 8, 2022.  By now you've likely heard of the ER charge nurse who called 911 at St. Michael Medical Center in...

In the most proverbial way, nurses are always fighting for our patients but recently some nurses did literally just that. Recently a man was arrested for assaulting infants at Odessa Regional Medical Hospital in Texas. Fortunately, the nurses there were able to separate the babies from the aggressor’s choking death grip. Selfless yes, but dangerous to themselves? Yes!  Most ERs staff are required to have training for the management of aggressive patients but shouldn’t all nurses? Is calling a...

What do you do when the emergency is in the emergency room? A Charge Nurse in the ER of St. Michael Medical Center in Washington called 911 when she determined she and her team were unsafely staffed for the over 45 patients in their rooms and waiting areas. It was her plea for help.  Many applauded her but many worried for her job. In this episode Nurse Alice talks about what it's like working in the ER AND being short-staffed, what is ESI and EMTALA, what The Whistle Blower Act is, and how...

Have you ever felt guilty about calling in sick to work? So much so that you went to work anyways when you didn’t feel well, or perhaps you procrastinated calling in until the very last minute? Now ask yourself why? In this episode Nurse Alice shares a recent experience about feeling guilty for calling in sick to a new assignment and how it made her feel. But more importantly, she shares how even seasoned nurses can fall victim to “sick call guilt.”  She explains what it is and why we have...

Did you know that Sept 11-17th was Nephrology Nurses Week? In appreciation of all our nephrology nurses, Nurse Alice speaks with ANNA president-elect Jennifer Payton to discuss nephrology nursing as a specialty, what it takes to become a nephrology nurse, and different career opportunities for nephrology nurses.

A recent decision by the NC Supreme Court overturning a 1932 precedent that once protected nurses from liability now has many nurses worried that they can be sued for following doctor's orders as several news outlets have reported. If following doctors' orders is part of everyday practice how concerned should nurses be? In this episode Nurse Alice discusses the court case that prompted the NC Supreme Court to overturn a 1932 precedent; explains the precedent that was overturned; gives a brief...

Getting through nursing school and passing the NCLEX is already hard on its own. Now imagine doing it with a disability and experiencing discrimination every step of the way from nursing faculty, clinical sites, and potential employers. More than 1 billion people in the world openly have disabilities, and still, so many more don't publicly acknowledge them.  In this episode Nurse Alice talks with Andrea Dalzell aka The Seated Nurse, a registered nurse, healthcare advocate, disability rights...

Even when you put your best foot forward and do everything you can to take the best care of patients, every once in a while (or more often) you may encounter difficult family members who don't think you're doing enough or who are rude, verbally abusive and unrealistically demanding with you. So what do you do in those situations?  In this episode Nurse Alice shares some of her own personal experiences and 6 tips for how you can deal with difficult patient family members.  Read the full...