The difference between working in a hospital and working home health is night and day. I’m going to be talking about my experience as a home health nurse, what a day in the life looks like. I’m going to touch on some myths about home health nurses, kind of the reputation that they have and if I think that that’s warranted or not. And how it compares to working in the hospital. These are just things to kind of tuck in your back pocket if you’re going through nursing school right now, or if...

Today we're talking about a basic one but a big one. We’re talking about falls. We're gonna get into what constitutes a fall, because it may not be exactly what you think a fall is but it would still count as a fall. We're gonna get into what makes a person more likely to have a fall; we're gonna get into what we as nurses can do to help prevent falls, and we're also going to touch a little bit on the good and bad of placing so much importance on preventing falls. Get 20-30% off Picmonic:...

Let's continue talking about the pros and cons of working night shift vs day shift as a new nurse. Get 20% off a Lecturio Nursing subscription with Discount Code: nursingschoolwbw20 First up, on the day shift, there are more meds to give. So, that can be good if you’re trying to practice your skills, but bad just because it’s more work and it’s going to take longer to do each of your med passes. Especially that first morning med pass. That’s when the patients are getting the bulk of their...

Today I want to talk about the differences between day shift vs night shift for nurses. Maybe you’re on the fence, you don’t know if you want to work day shift or night shift when you graduate, so I want to go over the pros and cons of each to help you make your decision. Check out Lecturio for incredibly helpful videos and so much more! Get 50% off a subscription through August!  http://lectur.io/nursingschoolweekbyweek After August, you can still get 20% off Lecturio with this code:...

You just graduated from nursing school, and now you're working as a nurse in the emergency department. The EMTs bring in a 26 year old female with generalized weakness of the left lower and upper extremities, and a sudden headache. What do you do? Can you complete all 5 critical actions, or will you carry out a dangerous action? Learn the most important things to do for stroke patients as a nurse. Check out TrueLearn for an NCLEX program that perfectly integrates with...

 Today we are focusing on Strokes, or Brain attacks. This is one of those conditions that is so important for us nurses to know the signs and symptoms of, because your patient could have a stroke at any point. They could come into the ER with a suspected stroke, or they could be recovering on the med-surg unit, about to be discharged, and then have a stroke. So it can happen at any time, and we want to make sure we know what to look for. We also want to make sure we know what their baseline...

It’s almost time for a new semester to start and a lot of you will be going to clinicals for the first time, and the rest of you will be going to clinicals again. I am all done with clinicals now, but I know when I was going through it, I packed a lot of things that I really didn’t need at all, and then there were some things that I didn’t pack, that I kept having to bum off my friends. So, we’re gonna go through all the things that you need for nursing school clinicals. Thinking about going...

With a new semester just around the corner, and some of you starting nursing school for the very first time, it is so important to make sure your study system is top-notch and ready to go. As James Clear would say, "You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." In this episode, I'm sharing my insanely effective study system for nursing school, step by step. It is efficient and it works. Take what you like, and leave the rest! This is a study system that...

There are pros for going straight for your RN, there are pros for doing LPN first, or even just doing LPN. Not everyone who gets their LPN degree is planning on becoming an RN.  The first obvious pro for going the LPN route is that it’s faster. You can get your LPN in just 12 months, whereas getting your RN takes about 18 months. So you’re gonna save like half a year, which isn’t a huge deal. I mean, once you’re in nursing school, the time goes by so quickly anyway, that 6 months feels like...

I patient comes into the emergency room with chest pain. What are you, the nurse, going to do about it? Would you recognize it? Go through this case study with us and see what to do when a patient is having a heart attack, or myocardial infarction. Learn the 5 critical actions you must take as a nurse  to prevent lasting damage from a myocardial infarction. Are you looking for an easier way to study for your nursing school classes? Check out Picmonic and get 20% off an already super...

Everything you need to know as a nursing student about Myocardial Infarction, or a heart attack. Know the signs and symptoms of myocardial infarction in patients, know the nursing interventions for a STEMI heart attack. And know what medications to give for a myocardial infarction. Check out Picmonic for an audiovisual learning system with unforgettable stories to help your remember EVERYTHING you need to know for nursing school and the NCLEX. Click here for 20%...

Not all nurses are bedside nurses, and I don’t want you guys to feel like just because you don’t want to work in a hospital, as a bedside nurse, that you’re somehow not a “real” nurse. 61% of nurses work in a hospital setting. So that means almost 40% of nurses work non-bedside nursing jobs. And do not try to tell them they are not “real” nurses. Cause that’s not gonna go over well! In last week’s episode we talked about 5 great options away from the bedside. We talked about Home Health...

Today I want to address the Elephant in the Nursing School room. I want to talk about this myth that’s out there that says you’re not a “real” nurse unless you work as a bedside nurse in a hospital. And that’s just not the case, and in a bit, I’m gonna give you 10 alternative jobs that you can do as a new grade nurse.  Nursing is a big, huge field. There are over 100 specialties in nursing! How many other fields can claim that? That’s one of the great things about nursing. But nursing school...

You are working as a nurse in the emergency department when you get a new patient. A 65 year old female with a chief complaint of altered mental status. Will you be able to use your nursing spidey-senses to figure out what is wrong with this patient before she crashes? Once you recognize signs of Sepsis, don't forget to "CALL IT"! CALL IT = Cultures, Antibiotics, Lactate, Lactate, IV fluids, and Tissue...

With sepsis, or septicemia, it can get real complicated, real fast. But we’re gonna try to just keep it simple today and talk about what you really need to know as nursing students. Sepsis is when the body has an extreme response to an infection. The body tries so hard to fight off the infection, that it can even damage the patient’s own tissues and organs. Sepsis usually starts with a bacterial infection, but we also see it caused by fungal, viral, or even parasitic infections. Acronyms...

Today I'm talking about the reasons why you will fail out of nursing school, if you fail out of nursing school.  I’m rooting for all of you, and I want you all to succeed. I don’t want anyone to fail out of nursing school. But the reality is that according to the National League for Nursing Study, the rate for students that either fail or drop out is 20%. That’s 1/5th. So at orientation, if you look around, every one out of 5 of you will not make it. Will not be there at graduation. And...

You are working in the emergency room when the charge nurse says, "You've got a new patient. It's a 45 year old female complaining of dizziness." Little do you know, things are about to go from bad to worse for this patient before you implement life-saving interventions. Hypoglycemia is a condition that you, as the nurse, will see on a regular basis. Get ready for it with this episode! Check out Picmonic for an audiovisual learning system with unforgettable stories and characters to help...

Knowing how to recognize hypoglycemia, and knowing what to do about it to get their glucose level back up is super important. This is one of those conditions that you will see on a regular basis. Hypoglycemia is when the blood sugar level drops below 70 mg/dL. The normal range for blood glucose is between 70-100. A low blood sugar level is very serious and you, as the nurse, must act quickly to fix it. I mean, think about it, What is the main fuel source for your brain? Glucose. Your brain...

There are so many great reasons to become a nurse. No job is going to be all bad or all good, but a mixture of the two. And nursing definitely has it’s good and it’s bad qualities. But, let’s talk about the good things. The reasons why you should become a nurse. Check out Picmonic for an audiovisual learning system with unforgettable stories and characters to help you remember EVERYTHING you need to know for school. Click here for 20%...

I want you all to go into this nursing field with your eyes wide open. So today I'm talking about some powerful reasons why you might NOT want to become a nurse. Nursing isn't for everyone, and it pays to get all the information you can before making this very important decision. If I had to go back, would I still choose nursing? Find out in this episode. Check out Picmonic for an audiovisual learning system with unforgettable stories and characters to help you remember EVERYTHING you need...

Pharmacology is hands down one of the toughest classes you will take in nursing school. In this episode I'm sharing my personal study system for how to minimize your time studying and maximize the results. One of the main components of this system is the Fundamental Five Flashcards. There are five pieces of information that you need to know for each major drug classification. In this episode, I tell you the most efficient place to find that information and how to lay it all out, so you can...

It's a common question, and if you're asking yourself if you're too old to go to nursing school, you are not alone. If you are a "non-traditional" student, you actually have a few advantages! Some special challenges that I'll address, for sure, but some definite advantages. If you are struggling with this very life-changing decision to go back to school again or not, I have been there. It's not an easy decision. I spent too much time trying to make up my mind. (We're talking years). Let's...

Diabetes is an important topic in nursing school, and a common diagnosis that you’ll help treat in your future patients.  In this podcast, I talk about the: Differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Complications such as Neuropathy, Retinopathy, Peripheral Vascular Disease, and Nephropathy. How it's diagnosed (Hgb A1C test) Diabetic medications Purpose of insulin Triangle of treatment: Medication, exercise, and diet Signs and Symptoms of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia DKA and...

These are the 8 secrets to success I've learned in my year and a half of nursing school. Success is no accident. It takes hard work, but it helps to hear tips from someone who's gone before you on this journey.  #1: Take advantage of the Halo Effect #2: How to choose your study group #3: Build a strong study system #4: Reminder notifications #5: Master assignment list #6: Study group rules #7: Strong support system #8: Prioritize health