Empathy sets great nurses apart. Learn real-world strategies for new nurses to connect deeply with patients, even on the busiest shifts.

The 2-Minute Rule helps new nurses manage tasks, reduce stress, and build confidence by tackling small jobs immediately to stay in control.

Discover the top 10 nursing schools in New Jersey for 2025. Compare NCLEX pass rates, clinical training, and student support to launch your

Starting your nursing career is like stepping into a whole new world. It’s exciting, overwhelming, and sometimes downright confusing. I remember those first few weeks vividly, feeling like I was juggling flaming torches while walking a tightrope. If you’re new to nursing or still in school, I’ve got some essential tips that will help you not just survive but thrive. Let’s dive in! Practical Tips for Beginner Nurses That Make a Difference Nursing school teaches you a lot, but

Understanding Ethical Principles Principles of Bioethics Bioethics, the study of ethical issues arising from advances in biology and medicine, is guided by four core principles: autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. Autonomy respects patients' rights to make their own healthcare decisions. Beneficence emphasizes acting in their best interest. Non-maleficence underscores the obligation to "do no harm," and justice involves fairness in resource allocation and tre

There’s a lot of talk about nursing being hard (and it is). But what nursing school doesn’t always prepare you for is how a toxic nursing culture can wear you down, leading to burnout in nursing faster than you expect. If you’re a new nurse stepping onto your first unit, full of hope and energy, only to face tension, gossip, or outright hostility, this article is for you. Recognizing toxic workplaces early can be your best defense against the silent strain of emotional exhaus

By learning under the guidance of an experienced preceptor nurse, you're laying the foundation for a successful career in nursing.

Unlocking the Secrets of Renal Lab Values: A Practical Guide for New Nurses to Enhance Patient Care

Writing a resume as a brand new nurse can be daunting. Follow these 11 tips to create a stellar, stand-out resume!

The ribbon had a strange sort of chemical smell to it, yet something about the odor was inviting. At 5 years old, I wasn’t able to lift the giant manual typewriter my pop pop had given me, so I would ask my parents to bring it down from the shelf any time I was feeling inspired to write. Now, I might not have been composing the next literary masterpiece (or even typing actual words), but I struck the keys one by one and my letters were appearing like magic on the paper. Not s

In every job there is always that one thing that throws off the balance of the day. When I was a teacher, it was fire drills. As a chef, it was when a piece of kitchen equipment broke in the middle of service. But for nurses and staff working in an emergency room, our proverbial wrench in the gears was something tiny. Super tiny. And gross. Crawly. Nothing messes up the flow of our ER worse than the moment someone would pause, squint their eyes, peer a bit closer, and

Regardless of what field of nursing you work in or plan on working in once you complete nursing school, you will absolutely encounter diabetic patients and participate in the management of their diabetes. Over 10% of all Americans have diabetes and many of these patients are insulin-dependent. Identifying when your patient has critically high or low blood sugar quickly will help you to provide the proper treatments to reverse the issue. “Cool and clammy, give ‘em candy.” Ty

Memorizing the Blood Flow Around the Heart One of the toughest exams for many student nurses is the Cardiology exam. There is so much knowledge and terminology that many nursing students find the topic overwhelming. I’d like to share with you my way of studying the function and flow of blood through the heart. My recommendation is to read through this article out loud several times as a means of studying and memorizing. Once you have reviewed this material so you can reci

When you specialize in an area of nursing, you will typically become familiar with the most common lab values you encounter and work with on a daily basis. Most often this is through constant exposure more so than intentional memorization. Still, when working on an unfamiliar unit with patients whose maladies are outside of your comfort zone, or if you are still a student studying for your exams and possibly the NCLEX, some basic lab values simply must be committed to memory

Free Online Games to Help Nurses Practice Our Craft As nurses, I believe we are all life-long learners. The medical environment is ever-changing and we have a responsibility to keep up with the latest knowledge, equipment, and skills. One of the easiest and most fun ways I find I can keep my skills sharp is by putting them to the test with a few well-designed and medically accurate games. No, I don’t sit around with my tweezers and play Operation all day (although I own an

It isn’t often that I write about a peeve of mine, but I’d like any nurse or other care provider to listen up. Your patient is NOT a diabetic. He is not an asthmatic. She is not a leper. He is not an amputee. Don’t get confused...I’m not implying your patients do not have disease processes such as diabetes or asthma. In fact, over 10% of your patients will have diabetes and 8% will have asthma. They have been diagnosed with a disease and must manage this disease on a da

I have been called ridiculous. I have been called obsessive. I have even been called a lunatic. When I tell people the way I use strict checklists along with a timer as though my very life depends on it, most scoff at the micromanagement of my time. Fortunately, I couldn’t care less. With self-diagnosed ADD and a mind always brimming with new time-consuming projects and a family, I constantly battle against myself to spend my time wisely and actually accomplish what I se

Mise en Place is French for “putting everything in place.” Every chef in the world is familiar with the term, as it is the mantra used in restaurants around the world to ensure all ingredients are sliced, diced, and prepared so they are ready to quickly put into the pan as dinners are ordered. Towels are folded and stacked in a familiar place and knives, spoons, and whisks are lined up ready to use. The chef can then function quickly, almost robotically, to allow his hands

Alternate Title: Sticky Notes: Organizing the Nurse’s Morning Routine since 1980 Well, I can’t speak for sure that nurses flocked to the shelves of office supply stores in 1980 to grab stacks of the newly-released Post-it notes from 3M, but I also can’t imagine that it took long for healthcare workers to realize their worth. The gold standard (or in most cases, Canary Yellow) for quick jotting and note-leaving, I owe a great deal of my success through career and educational