Let's learn about Nursing Informatics: An Interview with Shaina Onnagan, MAS, RN-BC, CEN

Shaina Onnagan, MAS, RN-BC, CEN

I have been so lucky in my nursing career to meet some incredible people who become friends and continuous nurse inspiration. One of those people is Shaina Onnagan, MAS, RN-BC, CEN who was kind enough to answer a few questions for the New Thing Nurse Blog. Shaina and I met in the wildest emergency department that I have ever had the pleasure of working in. Since working together at the bedside, Shaina has jumped into the world of Nursing Informatics and is going to share about her experience with us today. Enjoy!

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Sarah @ New Thing Nurse (NTN): Hello and welcome to the New Thing Nurse Blog! I know and LOVE you from having worked with you in the craziest emergency department in the world, but our readers do not know you yet. Please introduce yourself to our #newthingnursetribe!

Shaina Onnagan (SO): Hi there #newthingnursetribe! I’m Shaina Onnagan, and as Sarah mentioned, I had the absolute honor working with her in by far one of the most insane emergency departments. I’m originally from Hawaii, but I’ve called San Francisco home for over 15 years now. Professionally, I’m a board certified nurse informaticist currently working as a clinical informatics RN. In my free time, I like to run around with my puppy, bake lots of yummy desserts, and, honestly, sleep.  

NTN: The New Thing Nurse Blog is all about learning from each other by sharing our professional journeys. How did you fall into nursing? And what area of nursing did you start in?

SO: Funny enough, I started college as an English major. I was sitting in my Intro to British Literature class in a room that was straight out of Harry Potter. It was tiny – it barely held the 12 students and professor– and covered from floor to ceiling with books older than time. I had the sudden realization while listening to the professor talk about the syllabus that I had no idea what I was doing in that class. It didn’t feel right to be there, so I left and started to think about what I really wanted to do. I’ve always liked human physiology; I’ve always been fascinated by how the human body works (um, hello endocrine system??). I was also lucky enough to be attending a university that had a stellar Nursing program, so I almost immediately decided to change majors into something that felt more natural for me: Nursing.

I’ll save you the story (and it is quite the story) of getting into Nursing school. I graduated in 2010 with my BSN, and I was lucky enough to be accepted into a new grad program in the emergency department at a hospital in San Francisco. Although I still work at the same hospital, I now work in a different role as a clinical informatics RN.

NTN: You currently work in an area of nursing that I feel I often hear about but still know so little about. Can you tell us all about nursing informatics? 

SO: And that’s completely ok! I hear that all the time – not many people know about nursing informatics. It’s only been recognized as an official nursing specialty since the 1990s! And to add to that, there are so many TYPES of informatics – medical informatics, nursing informatics, biomedical informatics, clinical informatics, etc. Each specialty has its own focus, and not surprisingly, nursing informatics focuses on nursing.

This is directly from our Nursing Informatics: Scope and Standards or Practice (2015):

“Nursing informatics (NI) is the specialty that integrates nursing science with multiple information management and analytical sciences to identify, define, manage, and communicate data, information, knowledge, and wisdom in nursing practice. “

That definition sounds nice and great and professional, but the quick 15 second elevator pitch I normally use to explain what I do is imagine if you take nursing, information technology, education, project management, and sprinkle in the theory and background of different analytical sciences and combine them all together – you get me, a nursing informaticist.

NTN: What drew you away from the bedside and into a new nursing role?

SO: I think Sarah can attest to this – but that super crazy emergency department we both worked in? It took a toll on me, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I have always been a firm believer in the importance of self-care for nurses, and I did as much self-care as I could. I did the things I loved outside of work. I spent a lot of time with my loved ones. I set my boundaries. I left work at work – or at least I tried. But I learned that I was not the kind of person who could grow skin thick enough to block out the constant physical threat and emotional abuse that came with being an ED nurse.

During one particular shift, I realized that I wasn’t providing the kind of patient care I expected of myself. On top of that, I recognized that I had signs of compassion fatigue. My health was suffering too – I started having migraines, GERD, and physical pain in places I never injured. My body was telling me something that my mind didn’t want to grasp: I was burnt out. I didn’t want to admit it since I was basically a “baby nurse” with only a few years under my belt, but I knew I needed to go.

I took a step back and started asking myself a lot of questions about where I was, what I was doing, and where I wanted to go in my career. There was a moment where I even questioned whether I should still be a nurse at all. I did a lot of soul searching and spent time talking to my mentor because I knew I wasn’t ready to leave the profession, but I knew I needed to do something different.

That’s when the opportunity for a clinical informatics RN role appeared, almost as if as magic, and I took it. I had no idea what “clinical informatics” was at the time, but it sounded like something I could be interested in. I’ve always gravitated towards computers and technology in general, so a role where I could use my nursing experience and knowledge and work with computers? I’m in!

NTN: How did your nurse friends feel about you leaving them for an office? What challenges did you face in your transition to your "new thing"? And how do you feel now that you have been working in it for quite a while? 

SO: A lot of people – co-workers, friends, family – didn’t understand the move. Most thought it was temporary, and to be honest, I thought it was going to be temporary too. Then, something amazing happened. I started my new job and things just started clicking for me. I felt like this was where I was supposed to be all along.

Towards the beginning of my new role, I harbored a lot of doubt in my heart because I had a lot of people asking me when I was going back to the bedside. Someone I knew even once made a joke that I wasn’t a “real nurse” anymore since I didn’t directly take care of patients, and that comment hurt, if I’m being honest.

Because no, what I do now may not affect patients directly. I can’t optimize a part of the electronic health record (EHR) and suddenly see a patient’s disease symptoms improve. But what I do does affect the nurses and all clinicians who take direct care of the patient. In a way, I am an advocate for our nursing staff to help develop health information systems that assist them with providing the best possible care they can. It’s a vital role and one I take lots of pride in.

NTN: Do you have any tips for anyone out there who might be considering jumping into a "new thing" of their own, especially for any of our nurse readers who might be looking for something away from the bedside? 

SO: You will know when you’re ready to leave the bedside. Listen to your instincts. It’s a scary leap, but I can say with complete certainty, it’s one that I don’t regret.

Also, remember that nursing is such a unique profession because there are SO MANY nursing specialties. You can be a Medical/Surgical nurse for 5 years and then go into Pediatric nursing. You can start off as a PACU nurse and move into a nursing administrator role. So if you move away from the bedside and into a nurse educator role or nurse informaticist role, know that you can move back. That’s the beauty of nursing.

NTN: The focus of New Thing Nurse is supporting nurses as they find their "new thing." I know that you recently became a Corgi mommy! How has it been bringing a puppy into your nurse life?

SO: She is a bundle of joy and then some! I think my favorite thing about having a corgi puppy or just a puppy in general, is that no matter how hard your work day was, you can go home to a wiggling little ball of fur who wants nothing more than you love and attention… and maybe some treats.

NTN: Do you have any "new things' on the horizon? New Thing Nurse wants to know!

SO: I do! I’m just a semester away from graduation for my Master’s in Health Informatics. Working full time and going to school full time has been quite the challenge, so I’m glad I’m almost done with that.

NTN: Do you have any other advice for our readers?

SO: Self-care. Self-care. Self-care. Self-care! Remember that you cannot take care of your patients if you don’t take care of yourself first. Don’t be afraid to branch out and try new things, like a new nursing specialty. You never know – you just might find that one role you didn’t even know you wanted.

Shaina and her puppy, Babingka, in beautiful San Francisco, California.

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About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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The Business of Nursing: An Interview with Amelia Roberts

I recently had the opportunity to do an interview with Amelia Roberts, RN for her Business of Nursing podcast, a project that Amelia started to showcase the variety of nursing businesses, what works, and what doesn’t for nurse entrepreneurs. Amelia is a former GI and Endoscopy nurse and digital native who officially became a practitioner of online marketing twelve years ago with a role as a virtual assistant. Student loans from nursing school inspired her to put her marketing experience to use and she started offering social media management support to a variety of purpose-driven organizations.

Shortly after, Amelia had the opportunity to become an online community manager for a health literacy association and later dove into social media data analytics with Stanford University’s MedX project. Along the way she saw a need for other health professionals to start disseminating their expertise and make reliable health content easy to find. One thing lead to another and Amelia now works as a visibility expert and digital marketing consultant, helping under-recognized professionals become thought leaders by skipping the maddening world of Facebook Ads, sales funnels, and algorithm changes. Amelia coaches her clients to engage online collaborative partners such as podcast hosts, bloggers, and social media referral networks who already have the “know, like, and trust” of thousands of supporters.

I asked Amelia a few questions to answer for the New Thing Nurse Blog. Read below to get her perspecive on transitioning from bedside nursing to starting her own business where she helps clients in optimizing their human potential.

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New Thing Nurse (NTN): The New Thing Nurse Blog is all about learning from each other by sharing our professional journeys. How did you fall into nursing? And what area of nursing did you start in?

Amelia Roberts (AR): My upbringing was influenced by women in my family who were either teachers or nurses, a group that has sometimes been called the “Pink Ghetto.” While I loved technology and computers, my mom said she would pay for school if I became a nurse like her, so I did. Yet I never loved working MedSurg, nights, weekends or holidays, so I started my nursing career in the outpatient world with GI/Endoscopy Nursing.  

NTN: Now that we know where you started, tell us about where you are now. What motivated you to make that transition into your "new thing" as you call it on your website - a Human Potential Optimizer? 

AR: Over the course of figuring out what I was born to do as a human, I looked at all of the things I enjoyed and projects that went well. They all had a common thread: I help people survive, thrive and get to their highest potential, at the bedside, in the boardroom or in their business. In short, I help people get visible, be seen and live optimized lives. 

This realization is what moved me into this work being a visibility expert and human potential optimizer.  

NTN: Do you have any tips for anyone out there who might be considering jumping into a "new thing" of their own, especially for any of our nurse readers who might be interested in launching their own business? 

AR: Yes, as nurses our greatest fear is killing someone. Please note that death need not be a concern when it comes to trying your new thing! In short, you will not die nor will you likely kill anyone by choosing a new path that serves you best. 

NTN: What has been the best thing that you have invested in to help with your "new thing"? What was the least helpful? 

AR: Investing in reputable coaching has been the best thing that has helped me with my new thing. There is a lot of information that they do not teach in nursing school, so a good coach can shave YEARS off of a pretty steep learning curve. 

On the other end, some so-called “Experts” have been the least helpful. 

Following the advice of some "Gurus" led me to think that I needed to do #allofthethings just to get my business to take off, yet when in reality is was about having a specific outbound client getting plan and then working that plan to get clients. 

NTN: I love the idea behind your blog and podcast. Can you tell us more about the podcast and what inspired you to start it? 

AR: As I started helping people get visible and grow their audience, other  people seemed to be surprised that as a nurse I had the ability to learn something new. In short others were surprised that a nurse could learn a new skill such as marketing and get people results. 

Because of this knowledge gap, I created The Business of Nursing Blog to show that nurses are capable of learning MANY new things and our skills ARE transferable and VALUABLE in places beyond the bedside and traditional nursing roles. Related, I also wanted to use my blog to bring new resources to the attention of nurses who are thinking about what else is out there for them. 

NTN: Do you have any exciting "new things" in the future? 

AR: Yes, I plan to focus on helping under-recognized professionals grow their visibility by being featured as guest experts on podacasts, in Facebook groups and on virtual summits of their best buyers, clients and referral partners. 

NTN: Do you have any other advice for our readers?

AR: Yes, when it comes to reaching out for something new, dare to believe that it will be easy. 

Sometimes we have fears related to how hard something will be, yet many times people are seeking for someone with just the sort of skills you offer. You just may be the the solution that someone has been dreaming about having in their life!

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Listen to my interview with Amelia on her podcast, The Business of Nursing here:

Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL on The Business of Nursing Podcast

How to find out more about Amelia Roberts, RN and her many projects:

Solutions by Amelia Website

Amelia Roberts, RN on LinkedIn

Amelia Roberts, RN on Facebook

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About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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Guest Post: Finding Balance as a Nurse and Mom with Lindsay Woolf Grainger, MPH, MSN, RN

To me, the most amazing individuals in the world are the #nursemom and #nursedad. Like unicorns, they manage to rock the world of nursing and parenting with a magic that smells like coffee and determination. While I am not a member of the nurse-parent team, I know many of our #newthingnursetribe are and that is why I invited my nursing school friend and esteemed colleague, Lindsay Woolf Grainger, MPH, MSN, RN, to tell us how she has tried to find work-life balance as an almighty #nursemom.

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Hello readers!!

I am delighted to be sharing my experiences with you on the New Thing Nurse Blog!! I am Lindsay Woolf Grainger - a nurse, nurse educator, wife, mom, and friend of Sarah’s from nursing school. Yes, I remember the “good ol’ days” of skills check offs, late-night study sessions with Sarah, and fun ,yet random, hair cutting parties (look - we had to be creative with our budgets as nursing students). I am humbled to have this opportunity to offer my thoughts on the daily quest to balance work and family priorities as a #nursemom.

My husband and I have three daughters - ages 1, 3, and 6. Our days can seem like a blur of feeding, entertaining, refereeing, comforting, and disciplining our kiddos. I love the privilege of being a parent, and with these responsibilities on my plate, my career has had to evolve.

The news of my first pregnancy created some immediate changes in my work as a new grad, nightshift nurse on a transplant unit in a large, urban facility in Georgia. For starters, I actually asked for help when moving patients. I was extra sensitive to smells and took better precautions NOT to inhale. My participation in doing CPR compressions was frowned upon. I also realized that nightshift combined with the fatigue of pregnancy was pretty intense, so I put my name on the list for a transfer to dayshift and was grateful when a position came up within a few months.

Some really groovy things happened during pregnancy too. I discovered a new-found confidence and assertiveness. This led me to schedule a meeting with our CNO to discuss my concerns about the hospital’s then-recent decision to cut the training time for new grad nurses in HALF. I don’t know if I credit the hormones or what, but I felt compelled to advocate for future nurses, and it seemed like my barely emerging “baby bump” was leading the charge.

After the delivery of our daughter, a whole new wave of realities came crashing into my life - the challenges of breastfeeding, the haze of post-partum hormone shifts, and severely truncated sleep. New career questions emerged. I had the luxury to return to work PRN, but even so I was clumsy at maneuvering pumping while on the job (in the bathroom—really people?), and I felt anxious to be away from home yet anxious to maintain my professional pursuits while at home.

So that delicate teeter-tottering of balancing career/family time began quickly for me. Today I work as a full-time nurse educator, and I appreciate the flexible schedule that it affords. I still struggle to manage all of the childcare needs (especially when the kid(s) are sick) and worry that my mind too frequently drifts to work plans or schedules even when I am hanging out with my kids. There are many competing interests to balance between the needs of our family and the demands of my job, but I try my best. And I try to forgive myself for the days of lopsided priorities.

A few things that help redirect me towards balance include:

• Open Communication - I think that effective partner communication is essential (with or without kids). The more my husband and I communicate about our concerns and our needs, the better we seem to be able to work as a team to equilibrate our jobs and family.

• Landing Intentionally - To state the obvious, working in health care can be really stressful. With lots of family responsibilities in the mix, it is important for me to be intentional about where I work. I have decided that on the job I need to land somewhere in between “bored” and “stressed out.” I need a job that remains challenging and engaging without driving me nuts from the stress.

• Being Creative - My entrance into the field of nurse education started with a random phone call one year out of nursing school when I was 3 months post-partum. I was sleep-deprived, unprepared, yet curious. So (naturally?) I said yes. I am so grateful for the opportunities that this career path has afforded me and our family. Being creative and open-minded with career choices and scheduling can make work/family balance easier to achieve.

• Sharing - One of my favorite ways to prioritize my family is to include them in my job! As a new nurse, I invited (ok…begged…) my husband to occasionally visit me at work. I wanted him to understand what I was up to each day on the job. I have taken my children (even as babies) to the hospital to introduce them to co-workers and (hopefully) foster their interest in and appreciation for healthcare. Now as a nurse educator, I look for ways to include my kids in the classroom. My kids have also enjoyed volunteering (alongside nursing students) with Meals on Wheels in our community. (Full disclosure: I *might* be guilty of dressing our girls in child-sized scrubs during these events to max the cuteness factor.)

So, I have mentioned a few things that point me more towards balance, but I should probably mention a few of the pitfalls that distract me in this pursuit:

• Others! I cannot look at the lives of others (the credentials they have achieved, hours they work, activities their kids do, accolades their kids have achieved, relationships they have with their partner, etc…etc…). I don’t live anyone’s life but mine. No one is living anyone’s life but her own. The comparisons that tempt me are unhealthy and unfair and don’t help me figure out how to balance my unique responsibilities and goals.

• Sleep! For the record, I have tried (as probably most of you readers have) to sacrifice sleep for the benefit of my job and my family. Prolonged sleep deprivation has not moved me an inch closer to balance, so I would call this the ultimate “anti-balance” pitfall!

Every day can be viewed as a new opportunity to reassess our work/family balance and to move weight from one end of the teeter totter to the other. If work is suffering, then refocus on work. If family life is suffering, then refocus on family. And always know that no one (not even an acrobat, or your co-worker, or even your distant social media acquaintance) is perfectly balanced or put together. All of you nurses out there who work tirelessly to serve your families and your patients. YOU are heroes!!!

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Photo: Lindsay Woolf Grainger, MPH, MSN, RN

About the Author: Lindsay Grainger, MPH, MSN, RN is a full-time nursing instructor at the Mary Black School of Nursing of the University of South Carolina-Upstate. Her academic interests include community health, public health policy, immigrant health and refugee health. She holds a Masters of Science degree in Nursing (CNL) from Augusta University and a Masters of Public Health degree from Emory University. Lindsay has worked at the bedside in organ transplant nursing and in general surgery. Lindsay has also taught undergraduate and graduate clinical courses at Augusta University.

Outside of the classroom, Lindsay enjoys spending time with her family. (Her three daughters keep life whirling and twirling!) Lindsay's hobbies include learning languages, practicing yoga, and writing music. Lindsay currently serves as a volunteer at the Greenville Free Medical Clinic and previously served as a volunteer for Friends of Refugees in Clarkston, Georgia.

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#MakeItHappEN: The New Thing Nurse & Emergency Nurses Association Partnership to Support Nursing Students & New Nurses

Did you hear the big news?

New Thing Nurse and the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) have teamed up to provide more support to nursing students and new nurses who are interested in pursuing careers in the emergency department!

Repost from the ENA Instagram: 📣 ENA has some exciting news! Whether you're a student nurse or a recent grad, ENA wants to support you during those important early steps of your nursing career. To do that, ENA has combined its resources and partnered with ENA member and popular career coach Sarah Wells!

Together with New Thing Nurse, ENA brings you career tips from an emergency nurse who has gone from student to the front line of an ED. #MakeItHappEN

- Sarah @ New Thing Nurse

Learn more about how ENA and New Thing Nurse can help you: www.ena.org/makeithappen

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About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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Be the Change Agent: An Interview with Lauren Plaine

I met Lauren Plaine at Emergency Nurses Association’s (ENA) national conference Emergency Nursing 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was the 2018 Emerging Professional Liaison to the National ENA Board. This was the first year that this role had been established, and Lauren was the pioneer to first take on the position. Lauren put her incredible energy and poise to work as a representative for ENA’s emerging professional membership to voice their opinions and needs to the Board of Directors.

I have had the chance to get to know Lauren over the last year and was lucky enough to get to ask her about her experience as a voice for new nurses across the county and about her next new things.

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New Thing Nurse (NTN): The New Thing Nurse Blog is all about learning from each other by sharing our professional journeys. How did you fall into nursing? And what area of nursing did you start in?

Lauren Plaine (LP): Well I definitely fell into nursing.  Growing up I always wanted to be a doctor, but that was not in the plans for me.  I completed an EMT class in high school and began running with my local rescue squad my junior year.  My initial major was athletic training until I realized that I really did not want to stand on the side of a high school football field for the rest of my life.  Through running rescue, I had interacted with the nurses in the ER and decided maybe I could be a nurse.  In nursing school, I worked as an ER Tech and my manager picked me up as a new graduate.  Honestly, had she not hired me I’m not sure I would still be a nurse today because I love working in the ER. 

NTN: You are a very active member in the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), the largest professional organization in the world for emergency nurses, and had a very special role with them in 2018. Can you tell us about ENA, why you are so active with them, and about your amazing role within the organization that you held all last year? 

LP: I am someone who will ask you all about “the why” of a decision.  I like to know how you got to your conclusion and after many questions, my manager encouraged me to join ENA to help understand why we do what we do in the ER and how our practice is guided.  From there, I became very involved in my local chapter finding that ENA truly is a resource for education and networking, but even more so a community of like-minded ER nurses who simply want to better our corner of the world.  On a whim, yes a whim (ask my mother), I applied for the Emerging Professional Liaison position for the National Board of Directors.  Stunned when I received my confirmation of appointment, I could not image the level of inclusivity that I was about to experience.  I sat as a non-voting board member, but was treated like any other director.  All of the board members valued my perspective and opinion. Millennials are the largest group in the nursing workforce, and with this role I felt that ENA values our perspective and is placing an emphasis on cultivating the next generation of nurses and leaders.

NTN: How was it being a younger nurse on a board with such experienced nurse leaders? What lessons did you learn from that experience that you have found valuable as a newer nurse and new nurse leader? 

LP: It is very intimidating to be the youngest and least experienced at a board table.  I was not sure I wanted to speak at all the first meeting for fear that I would sound unintelligent and inexperienced.  Let’s be honest, my previous baby nurse experiences in the ER were not always welcoming.  During my first meeting when I was holding back, Jeff Solheim, 2018 ENA President, called me out for my opinion and to offer the emerging professional perspective (insert sweaty palms here).  As I shared, I found everyone listening intently just as they had to other perspectives.  What I learned is that our engaged ENA leaders truly care what everyone has to say.  What I found meeting after meeting is that even as an emerging professional, I have the ability to make change with the help of this organization.     

NTN: What motivated you to make that transition into your "new thing" as the Emerging Professional Liaison?

LP: Everyone complains about their problems and the problems in their department or lives, but you are just as much of the problem if you sit idly by.  Be the change agent.  I was tired of accepting the status quo and decided that it was not enough for me any more.  You are responsible for living every moment.  So, I ask myself frequently - Are you satisfied with your life or is there something you can change to make it and the world a better place?

NTN: Do you have any tips for anyone out there who might be considering jumping into a "new thing" of their own, especially for any of our newer nurse readers? 

LP: I have three suggestions for anyone who is thinking about jumping into their new thing.  First, stop the self-doubt and go after what it is you want.  Only you can change the life you live.  Second, ask yourself what is your why?  What drives you to make this change?  Write it down and post it somewhere you can see it every day.  Third, be aggressive about your ambition.  Stop holding back, because the world could be a very different place if you actively seek to improve yourself and the world around you. 

NTN: The focus of New Thing Nurse is supporting nurses as they find their "new thing." As you have now completed your year as the first ever Emerging Professional Liaison for ENA, what will be your "new thing" for 2019? 

LP: My new thing is my national committee appointment.  I am serving a two-year term for ENA’s Emergency Management & Preparedness Committee.  Emergency and disaster management is something that I am very passionate about and I am perusing my Master’s in this field of study.  My other new thing is public speaking.  I hope to make new opportunities in 2019 for speaking engagements.  

NTN: I happen to know that you are also super passionate about physical fitness. Can you tell our readers about why physical fitness is important to you, and how it helps in your nursing practice? 

LP: I use fitness as an outlet for my stress, but I also think its important for us to be examples of health to our patients.  It’s also nice to work with a different population.  In the hospital we see a lot of people who do not value their health, but at the gym everyone in my classes comes because they actually care. 

NTN: Do you have any other advice for our readers?

LP: Find your why.  Why nursing as a career?  Why you went to the gym? Why you ate that delicious pizza (jk… maybe?).  But in all seriousness, asking yourself to evaluate the why behind the important things in your life will help you with personal development and creating a better future you.

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Aren’t you feeling amazing about the future of nursing? I know that I am.

To see more from Lauren Plaine, you can come to ENA’s National Conference, EN19, in Austin, Texas (I’ll be there too!) this fall where she will be speaking more on how to engage and support the next generation of nurses. YASSS!!!

For more details >> ENA’s National Conference - EN19 in Austin, TX

Lauren was ENA’s first-ever Emerging Professional Liaison to the National Board of Directors.

Lauren and Sarah (ME) at our first ENA rendez-vous in Pittsburgh, PA at EN18 last year.

Lauren rocking some PPE as she prepares to jump into a trauma case.

Lauren Plaine speaking at the Emergency Nurses Association's 2019 State and Chapter Leaders Orientation in Chicago, Illinois.

Perfectly poised for a 2018 ENA Connection photo shoot.

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About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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It's Time to Take the "Us" Out of "Uterus"

Now hear me out – I think it’s time to take the “us” out of “uterus”.

I know this sounds strange, but I think I understand now why there is all this confusion about who gets to manage what goes on inside the apparently troublesome organ currently known as the uterus.

I believe I have found the root of the problem. The problem is there is no “i” in uterus.

The Strength of the Letter “i”

The letter “i’ seems to help with the clarity of ownership related to anatomy. Think about it - there is an “i” in “penis” and “testicles”, and there seems to be no doubt about who gets to manage what happens to those.

During my career as an ED nurse, I have many times tried to tell patients with penises what to do with them with very little success. I have tried to help people with penises stop putting things up them that should not be there, remind them of the often infectious repercussions of placing their penises in holes without protection, and request them to stop touching their penises in front of myself and other ED staff at inopportune times (AKA all the time). Each time I make recommendations or assertions about a penis attached to another person, I have been reminded in strong, colorful language that the owner of the penis can and will do what they want with it. I can always ask, but ultimately, the person that penis is attached to is in charge of what happens to said body part (at least, in some cases, until the cops arrive).

And don’t get me started about trying to get someone with “testicles” to do anything with them. As soon as I ever mention an idea or procedure having to do with the testicles, a hand goes over them like a vice. It is often a moot point before it is can even be verbalized. 

Furthermore, there is an “i” in both “fallopian tubes” and “ovaries”. And while there has been comments from people without either with thoughts on how to manage biological processes that occur in and around fallopian tubes and ovaries, there does not seem to be as much fuss about these organs as with the “uterus”. I really think it has to do with the letter “i”.

The Problem with “us”

The biggest debates right now seem to be around two things with names that contain “us” – the uterus and the fetus.  It seems that certain parties feel entitled to telling humans with a uterus how to manage it and once a fetus is involved, to take ownership of said fetus even if – 1) it is not quite yet a fetus, 2) it is not housed in their bodies, and 3) they do not seem to quite understand how the process of pregnancy works. Their entitlement claims to have been founded in the name of numerous causes – religion, ethics, the law. I feel that the presence of “us” in the name “uterus” makes them feel as if they are a part of that organ, even when they are not. “Us” seems to imply a collective ownership of a uterus to others. And I really think people might be confused because of the “us”.

I cannot otherwise understand why someone else would feel the right to tell me, the person with the body that contains an organ, how to manage it. Organ trafficking is definitely illegal, at least the last time that I checked. Organ donation and procurement is HIGHLY regulated in the United States. Consent dealing with anything having to do with organs in the hospital is a complex system of legal paperwork with signatures and witnesses. And as the uterus is an organ, there must be some big misunderstanding about the ownership situation around it.

(And I want to take a moment to be very clear on a certain point – this is not just an issue for me because I identify as a “woman”. The issue of who gets to dictate what happens to the organ called the uterus will affect all kinds of humans who identify all kinds of ways. I know that this will be confusing for some people, but this is something that I want to emphasize. I am speaking out as a human with a uterus - not just as a woman.)

The Difficulty of Adding an “i" 

I really love languages, but English is a hard one. The letter “i” is often used, strangely to me, to make singular words plural. This is one challenge with my thought of taking away the “us” and adding a letter “i” to the word “uterus”.  “Uteri” does not work for this reason, talk about confusing.  And other variations are just plain bad. “Utire” is terrible as it will make every nurse (and most humans with a uterus) think of infection or a gross outfit. “Iteri” sounds like a snobby word for a place to get lunch (EW). These won’t work, but I have another idea.

The Power of “me”

I have come up with this solution: I think that we should now rename the “uterus” with the new moniker - “uterme”.

A “uterme” definitely makes ME feel that it is an organ in me and when I say “My uterme”, I feel it is doubly stated that the organ is inside of me and MINE. When I say “uterme”, the listener is reminded that me and myself are going to be navigating the events of what goes on inside my organ and most importantly, there is no implied group ownership of my uterme.

It even gets down to an almost primal level of communication that Tarzan enthusiasts might enjoy – “Me human. Me uterme.”

It definitely seems like everyone can understand that – even the most primitive humans.

And as a human with a uterme, I am going to go two steps further in declaring my ownership of this organ that resides inside me:

1. I am first going to say here, in plain words, that I and only I will ever make decisions about my body. No other person, law, or religion will ever dictate what I decide to do with it. And that should apply to ALL humans. Your body is YOUR body.

2. I am personally renaming my own uterus/uterme – my “utermine”.  Other humans should feel free to use this nomenclature if they so wish.  #uterminesunite

For more information on how to support humans with a uterus, uterme, or utermine:

Planned Parenthood

Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, & Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN)

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Source: https://www.acog.org/About-ACOG/News-Room/Statements/2019/ACOG-Statement-on-Abortion-Bans?IsMobileSet=false

These opinions are my own and do not reflect those of my employer or other affiliates

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About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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The Violence Nurses Face

When I tell people that I am a nurse, their response is almost always positive.

They will either say, “That is so wonderful! You get to help people!” or thank me for my work and tell me a story about a kind nurse that made a difference in their life or that of their loved ones. I can see them picturing me in white scrubs, holding patients’ hands, and offering comfort to those that need it most.

But that isn’t really my reality.

I mean, yes, I get to help people. And yes, I often offer comfort for those that are experiencing unimaginable tragedy. But I also am required to take annual Workplace Violence training where I learn to protect myself and escape in the case that I am choked, grabbed, or beaten by someone during my shift. Almost every day that I work, I experience some sort of verbal abuse, intimidation, harassment, or physical threat.

You know, just another day at the office.

If you’re a nurse or other healthcare worker, this isn’t news. But I bet you aren’t surprised if you experience these things during your regular work day. Sadly, many healthcare workers have grown to accept the abuse that we face almost every hour that we are in the clinical environment.

Violence in the workplace has become a massive problem facing healthcare workers across the United States.

In a 2014 study, nearly 80% of nurses surveyed reported being attacked while on the job in the last year. That is nearly 8-0 PERCENT. When I asked my non-healthcare worker husband when he was last attacked at work, he paused, looked at me funny and said, “I can’t recall.” This is not a standard concern for those outside of our industry.

In the eight years that I have been an emergency department nurse, I have been spat on, had my hair pulled, grabbed at, swung on, inappropriately touched, present during an attempted machete-assault, part of more team efforts to restrain violent patients than I can count, had my life threatened, and had the pleasure of once telling my husband that if I go missing to look for a certain person because they will know where my body will be. And all of that does not include the countless verbal abuse, intimidation, and threats that I’ve experienced almost every shift that I have ever  worked. #thisismytruth

And I consider myself lucky.

I have never really been hurt on the job. Luckily, none of the threats have been acted on. I have seen more nurses and healthcare staff than I would care to think about seriously injured on the job or who have had to leave the medical field all together due to the effects of being a victim of violence in the workplace.

The public does sometimes hear about the violence. However, these usually are the most extreme cases, and only the ones that make it to the mass media. You may remember the viral video showing a patient beating on a group of nurses with a pipe pulled off his bed. Or possibly you saw the photo of the ED nurse who was stabbed repeatedly by a patient that she was caring for in the emergency department. Then there is the absolutely tragic story of Carlie Beaudin, a nurse practitioner at the Medical College of Wisconsin, who was violently murdered in the parking garage by the hospital where she worked in January of this year.

Only one word comes to mind when I hear about these kind of events – STOP. This has to stop.  

Nurses are rated one of the most honest and ethical professions in the country almost every year in Gallup Polls.

That’s great. Now it’s time to be the most respected.  

It is time to use our voices to advocate for safer work environments and to share our stories.

There are many groups who have already started these efforts. It is time to organize and unify to get workplace protections in place. I have heard stories about hospitals who do not encourage their staff to report incidents of violence or abuse, about nurses being told not call the police when assaulted, and about cultures of “patient satisfaction first” coming before staff safety. Just writing these words makes my eye start to twitch with rage.

So, what can we do about it? How do I work to make the violence stop?

Below are a list of organizations who have started the work. They are groups that advocate for workplace safety for healthcare workers, provide trainings, support legislation to increase penalties for assailants, gather data to analyze and publish, and provide all sorts of resources from legal to mental health support. Check them out and see which might be helpful for you to get started in your journey to stop the violence against healthcare workers.

I also want to make a plug for a new campaign that I am working with – the Raise Your Hand (RYH) Campaign. This campaign was started by nurses and is being led by emergency department nurses to raise awareness, collect data, and provide insight into solutions regarding violence against healthcare workers that occurs in hospitals. We have a brand new website – CHECK IT OUT – where we are gathering stories from nurses and other healthcare workers who have experienced violence in the workplace so that our Research Committee can start to extract data to help us find evidence-based practices to help us combat this epidemic of violence.

If you have experienced abuse in the workplace, know that you are not alone, and it is NOT acceptable.

We have to work together to create a new nursing reality, really a new healthcare reality, where we can ask each other, “When was the last time that you were attacked at work?” and all respond, “I can’t recall” with a funny look on our face.

Raise Your Hand Campaign - https://www.raiseyourhandcampaign.com/

Silent No More Foundation - https://silentnomorefoundation.com/

Stop Healthcare Violence - https://stophealthcareviolence.org/

American Nurses Association “End Nurse Abuse” Campaign -

https://www.americannursetoday.com/take-pledge-end-nurse-abuse/

 Emergency Nurses Association Workplace Violence Resources -

https://www.ena.org/practice-resources/workplace-violence

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About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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An Ode to Inappropriate Christmas Decor - Nursing Style

I LOVE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!

Especially when they’re put up by nurses! The holidays, like Halloween, are one of my favorite times of year to peruse social media to see what kind of crazy decorations that hospital staff (i.e. usually the nurses) have cooked up.

This year has not disappointed.

Below is a sampling of some of my favorite hospital decorations that I have found on the interwebs this year. Enjoy, chuckle & maybe steal a few ideas (NOT ALL ARE APPROPRIATE - I cannot be held responsible for your choices.) for your own unit.

Caution: Most were gathered from big social media accounts sans credit to the originators, so sourcing is hard. If you know the source of any of these gems, PLEASE LET ME KNOW, and I will happily give credit to the creators of these wacky creations. Also forgive me for grainy picture quality. I do my best.

Category 1 - Urinal & Bedpan Decor

Objects that are meant to contain urine and bowel movements made into art have a deer (PUN) place in my heart. They seem to be typically turned into reindeer and wreaths, a practice that I applaud. I find this practice absolutely golden. #shamelesspun

A classic urinal wreath with colorful Coban for flair.

A darling bedpan reindeer with festive pompoms.

The cardboard bedpan reindeer cousin to our specimen above. #specimenjoke

The Combo - bedpan reindeer with urinal wreath + PUN MESSAGE! A personal favorite.

Category 2 - Christmas Trees Made of Medical Equipment

CHRISTMAS TREES! Who doesn’t love them? Well you may love them more once they are made from random medical equipment!

The IV pump Christmas tree - Where did all the pumps go? This one may look familiar as it was circulating a lot last year, but I still love it.

The Condom Christmas Tree - THIS IS MY FAVORITE!!! I don’t know who thought of this or who blew up the condoms (bless you), but this is pure genius. And the flier next to it!! AMAZING! I would love to see this up in my local health department. Safety first, especially with Christmas decor.

Category 3 - Tortured Elves & Gingerbread Men

I don’t know what the Elf on the Shelf guy did to some of y’all, but you are getting BRUTAL on this poor guy. I have never seen so many elves on life support until the last year or two.

Elf on the Life Support - I think his sedation needs to go up. And what are those other figurines doing to him??

Elf on the Life Support II - This guy has enough sedation, but WHAT DID Y’ALL DO TO HIM?? And the bigger question - what did he do to y’all?

Run, Run As Fast As You…. Wait… - I’m calling it an open fracture and insufficient pain management.

Category 4 - Speculum Reindeer

This may be my absolute favorite category. Someone, somewhere was prepping for a pelvic exam, looked at that speculum, and thought - REINDEER! What a visionary! And what a strange mind. Either way, there are some incredible variations on whatever was the original. BEHOLD!!!

The Glamour Shot - I love everything about this photo. The look of the reindeer, the style of the photo… perfection!

The Speculum Sleigh - What’s better than a speculum reindeer? Why 8 of them of course! And Santa looks so excited about it.

Don’t you love nurses even more after seeing some of these photos? Or fear them? Either way, you have to marvel at their creativity and craftsmanship. May it never stop.

Happy Holidays!

- Sarah @ New Thing Nurse

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About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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FOLLOW NEW THING NURSE ON INSTAGRAM - @NEWTHINGNURSE

A Nurse Reminder – The Importance of Humanity

We are back in the Holiday Season again friends, and the flavor of the month is kindness and giving.

You see it on commercials, billboards, and soda cans. The hospital is full of potlucks and gift exchanges. You may be getting ready for your holiday party and trying to find the right outfit that is not scrubs or yoga pants. It can be a cheery time when looking from the outside of the unit.

But in your department, it is probably a different story.

The census is high. Patients are sick. Staffing is short. There is no time to sit, pee or hardly stuff any of that potluck food in your mouth between call lights and IV pumps sounding off.

We are all busy in the winter. It’s a fact. Nurses wear their fun scrubs and Christmas light necklaces that shine so brightly, but their mood is dark and cold like the weather outside. Your department has run out of everything – no more sandwiches, personal belonging bags or the good, fitted sheets for the beds. Administration is sending out emails thanking you for all your hard work, but also asking you to pick up some extra hours to fill in the staffing holes. It is easy to get resentful and cranky.

These are the days that we see holiday silliness in the emergency department that seems only to arrive in winter – 19 dialysis patients with clotted vascular access in 4 hours, patients with sore throats on a Buy 1 Get 30 Special, and so much epigastric pain (mine included) that it can only be the weeks after Thanksgiving.

And you will get those patients that no one wants to deal with but who take an extraordinary amount of time - the homeless men and women who come for what seems like complete BS. Maybe the EMS call will be for a 67 year-old homeless woman who fell and can’t (did not want to) get up or possibly a 46 year-old transient man who is having a flair up of their chronic thumb pain. I agree, this is not an emergency. This is a waste of an EMS rig. We are receiving a person who does not need emergency medical care services.

However, I want to take a moment to remind us all that while these people do not need emergency medical care, or possibly no medical care at all, they are people who still need care. These are often the forgotten, the hungry, the cold, the mentally ill, and the individuals that our society is failing. They are not getting the medical or mental health care that they need. They are most likely lacking the absolute basics – clean clothes, a place to shower, decent food, and a safe place to sleep.  

**And I hear all of you who are saying that there are lots of people who choose this kind of life and just use and abuse the healthcare system. I agree. There are those people, lots of those people. But let’s just remember that they are still people.**

I had a patient like this yesterday. They needed nothing medically and were definitely taking up a bed that we needed for a sick patient. But as I tried to get them out of the ED, they told me about how much they just wanted a shower and some sleep. They told me how they had been eating out of the trash and scared to sleep because they never know who is around and what they might do.

This is not a person who needed any medical care, but they did need someone to care. We tried to help. We gave them clothes and food. We let them wash up. I led them to the waiting room to eat and rest while the ED continued to provide medical care to those who needed it.

I finished my shift and went home. And I was frustrated and sad. The emergency department should not have to be caring for the basic welfare of our patients. I truly feel that humans all have the right to clean food and safe housing.

And I can’t always make that happen. Shelters are often full. The department doesn’t have enough food to feed everyone a meal. Hospitals can’t be the fixer for all of these problems.

But for what it is worth, I know that I can always try to remember to care – to care enough to give each person the most dignified and respectful interaction that I can and to care enough to keep their humanity in mind even during the busiest time of year.

- Sarah @ New Thing Nurse

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About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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FOLLOW NEW THING NURSE ON INSTAGRAM - @NEWTHINGNURSE

I have a confession.

I have a secret that I want to share with you.

Promise not to judge me?

I am a full-blown Conference Nerd.

Still my friend?

I have, for years, spent a lot of time and money attending nursing conferences. I love them all, no matter the topic - emergency nursing, pediatric care, pre-hospital, nurse wellness, hospice, burns, trauma. I have been to a lot. I have seen many lectures. I loved every minute of it.

Now my conference passion is taking on a new form - I am getting to be a conference speaker!! This conference season, I am SO EXCITED to be presenting at some of my favorite conferences!!!

This month, I have already presented at San Francisco ENA's TraumaCon3 (see ridiculous photo above) and will be heading to PIttsburgh, PA next week to present at the Emergency Nurses Association national conference, ENA18!!

In October, I will be in Walnut Creek, CA at East Bay ENA's For Nurses, By Nurses Conference. And in November, I'll be heading to Orlando, FL to co-present with my collaborator & favorite human, Allison Shuttleworth, at the ENA Fall Regional Symposium.

I am geeking out over here.

At ENA18, I will not only will I getting to share the stage with some of my favorite nurse speakers, I will be getting to brag about all of the amazing work that my emergency department has done to enhance the pediatric care for our littlest patients and their families!

That's a straight win-win.

I love conferences because of the networking, the education and the feeling of camaraderie that you feel among the engaged nurses in attendance. At conferences I'm not a nerd, I'm just one of the gang.

What are your favorite conferences? I would love to learn about them and expand my conference roster for 2019. Drop me a line with your suggestions or invitations (just a hope...) - newthingnurse@newthingnurse.com

- Sarah @ New Thing Nurse

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Want Sarah to speak at your next event?

Contact New Thing Nurse to arrange for Sarah to be your next event’s exciting speaker!

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About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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FOLLOW NEW THING NURSE ON INSTAGRAM - @NEWTHINGNURSE

The Down & Dirty Nursing School Supply List

The semester is starting!

I can hear those alarms going off for 0700 clinicals already. I have seen lots of recommended back-to-school supply lists that have cute, glittery planners plastered with stickers and pens that come in all the colors of the rainbow. These lists are lovely however you’re going to nursing school, not creating a Pinterest board. While it has been awhile since I have been a student, I have crafted a guaranteed list of down and dirty supplies over the years to help you get started on the right foot for the school year and your future shifts at work –

1. Coffee – There is not enough coffee in the world for nursing school. Map out the nearest coffee shop to your classes and clinicals. Time your routes and take into account all possible delays, like if there’s a long line or a zombie outbreak, so that you won’t be late for class. If you’re on a budget, buy a tried and true home set-up and do a practice run with your home kit before your first day of classes. Invest in a good travel mug so that the sweet java stays hot all day long. #coffeeislife
2. Snacks – Once you have coffee, you will need calories. I consumed endless amounts of protein bars while in nursing school. As a nurse, I have switched to straight boiled eggs. Whatever your fancy, pack small meals or snacks to help get you through the day. Your brain needs calories to think.
3.  Water – After caffeine and calories, you next need water. Get a water bottle. Like a camel, you need to be able to survive off your own water stores until your instructors tell you that it’s OK to go to the facilities. During nursing school, you don’t know when you will have a break. Another tip – get one with a good lid. My backpack once had an episode of water bottle incontinence and only by the grace of the Patho Gods, did my laptop not get fried. Get a water bottle with a good lid. Tight seal. Enough said.
4. Pens – Black or blue ink is classic and won’t confuse your schoolwork with an episode of My Little Pony. Do not show up to class without pens. Just like at the hospital if you show up without a writing utensil, your classmates may or may not be able to/willing to bail you out with a loaner. I love cheap pens that come in a box for under $20. If you loose them or someone touches it with their poopy fingers, it’s no big loss. Like everybody, I like all the photos of pretty notes in 34 colors, but I just want a pen that writes in the color of A+.
5. Laptop or Tablet – We live in the digital era. Type your notes. It will save you time. If you want to kick it up a notch, find other people to take notes for different classes and then share to make a hive of mega-notes that will carry you all to glory. Teamwork makes the dream work.
6. Watch – You need to know the time in nursing school. Don’t always rely on your phone. Having your phone out all the time makes it look like you’re not paying attention, even when you are. Get a watch. Learn to sneak glances at it while still maintaining direct eye-contact with your professor. This skill will take you very far in your nursing career.
7. Apps – There are a million medical resources apps. I have no affiliations with any of these (ALTHOUGH I LIKE MONEY! NICE APP COMPANIES - I WILL BE YOUR AFFILIATE!) A few of my favorite medical apps from the old school to today include –
   1. Epocrates - This app helped me with all things pharmacology. It contains dosing infomration (adult & peds), contraindications & administration directions for everything. Remember to always read about the meds before you give them.
   2. Medscape - Medscape is my resource for every random question that I may have while on shift. I use it weekly now in my bedside care. Most hospitals even have Medscape embedded in their intranet. Use it. Learn it. Love it.
   3. WebMD - Another good app for all your random symptom, disease and other medical questions. Patients may use it incorrectly, but it can be a great source of info for clinicians.
   4. Taber’s Medical Dictionary - All those big words... what do they mean? Taber's Medical Dictionary will help you find meaning to all the crazy medical terms.
   5. NurseGrid - Need to figure out when you and your classmates can get together to study amidst your millions of conflicting schedules? NurseGrid is a scheduling app made by nurses for nurses (and nursing students). Create easy-to-read schedules that you can share with your classmates. It's pretty great.
8. Jacket – You need a good jacket that will carry your through class and clinicals. It’s a fact – universities and hospitals cannot seem to regulate their temperature. It’s usually borderline freezing, even in the middle of summer. Get a comfy jacket to avoid hypothermia throughout your studies and clinical rotations.
9.  Bag – You need a nurse bag. It doesn’t have to be crazy or expensive. It just needs to fit your stuff, be comfortable to carry and ideally, waterproof. Why waterproof? Because you never know what funky floor you are going to sit it on in the hospital.
10. Schedule Holder – It is necessary to have somewhere to put your insane school/clinical/study/exam/sleep schedule. But I am not going to use the word “planner” here because I hate paper. I know some people love their paper calendars but WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LOOSE IT?? I like to keep mine in my phone which syncs with my computer. Do as you will. If you need a cutesy, paper planner – DO IT. Just have your schedule somewhere easy to find and hard to lose.
11. Good Attitude – This is essential to get you through school and your nursing career. Nursing school was one of the hardest things that I ever did. It was only because of the members of my cohort that I was able to get through everything. I never would have been able to keep them in my good graces if I didn’t have a good attitude. That will also go for your future colleagues. Healthcare is a team sport and if you are the Debbie Downer or Poophead Paula, no one is going to help you. You cannot nurse alone. Keep a good attitude, and you will be successful.
12. Support Group – I already mentioned my amazing nursing school cohort (SHOUTOUT CNL C/O 2010). But you need more than just nursing school friends to get through nursing because guess what – NURSING SCHOOL ENDS. Your friends will get blown to the four corners of the earth and as much as you will try, you will not be able to depend on them as much as while you’re in school. Set yourself up for success and find a good support system outside of school. Family, friends, partners, pets – it doesn’t matter who as long as you can talk to them and depend on them for support and love.
13. Nurse Mentor – I waited too long to find one of these. A nurse mentor is someone who has been where you are going and can guide you towards success They are there to listen to you vent, get peppered with questions, and received yours texts in the wee hours of the morning (WARNING – there are no promises on their response time). If they do not know the answers, they will help you find them. They are a shoulder to lean on and help you through the hard days, because there will be many, during your nursing school journey.

That’s it! The Down and Dirty Nursing School Supply List from New Thing Nurse! There are many other things that will help you along the way - like scrubs and stethoscopes. However these basics will get you through the hard that is nursing school and set you up for success as you chase that RN dream!

Happy studying!

- Sarah @ New Thing Nurse

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Feel like you might need more help during school than just a supply list?

New Thing Nurse offers Academic Advisement and Career Mentoring services to help provide support and guidance to nursing students as they wade their way through the chaos of class and clinicals.

For more details, see the Services page

or contact New Thing Nurse directly.

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About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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FOLLOW NEW THING NURSE ON INSTAGRAM - @NEWTHINGNURSE

How to be a Successful New Grad Nurse

Author's Note: A New Thing Nurse follower recently asked me what advice I would give to a new nurse starting their first nurse job. This post is inspired by her and all the recently minted, new nurses who are starting their nursing careers! Congratulations to you all!

Are you a new grad nurse starting your first job?  Here are some tips to take with you to work to make things go a little easier.

1.     Be open to learning. – There will be so much to learn, and you can’t learn it all at once. Be open to days where you will learn a lot and other days where you may learn only a little. The important this is just to stay open to learning. If you close your mind to learning, you will never grow into the best nurse that you can be.

2.     Ask all your questions. – There are seriously no bad questions. Lives literally depend on your work, so ask anything that pops in your head.  Off-the-cuff tips and advice that I received from co-workers over the years have saved my behind so many times. Pepper your preceptor and colleagues with your questions and absorb all of their pearls of wisdom that you can.

3.     Document everything that you do. – The old adage is absolutely true. If you didn’t document it, it never happened. If people are rushing you and telling you that you do not have time to document, remind them that it’s part of your job. There will be a time where you have to learn a good pace to balance patient care and documentation, but it’s an essential part of nursing.

4.     Be kind to everyone you work with from the housekeeper to the CEO. – You never know who will save you on a busy day in the future. Frequently it’s the frontline staff that will help you the most in a pinch, so be kind to all.

5.     Remember that healthcare is a team sport. – Always be willing to help, as well as ask for help when you need it. No one can do this job alone. If you have a spare minute, make a bed or clear some trays. The good you put out will always come back to you.

And most importantly – TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. Nursing can be hard. Don’t fall victim to burnout by setting too high of expectations as you start your career. Make time for self-care and find a good support system. You will a need a tribe to thrive.

Good luck! This will be hard, but you are joining the most amazing profession. And know that the #newthingnursetribe will always be here for you every step of the way.

-  Sarah @ New Thing Nurse

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Anxious about getting started at your new job?

Send me an email & we can talk about how New Thing Nurse can make your new job a little less stressful - newthingnurse@newthingnurse.com

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About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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FOLLOW NEW THING NURSE ON INSTAGRAM - @NEWTHINGNURSE

A Vacation from Nursing: I took one & you should too.

I love my job, but it was about to break me.

I have been an ER nurse for almost seven years. For some of you, that may seem like no time at all. I have met many a veteran nurse who has been grinding at the bedside for 20, 30 and 40+ years. I applaud you. You deserve to be knighted. Our healthcare system survives because of your perseverance and expertise. #careergoals

The rest of you might be thinking – “Dang! She’s been an ER nurse for SEVEN YEARS.” Seven years probably seems like a lifetime to those of you still in school or recently starting your nursing career. The truth is that seven years is kind of a long time to be an ER nurse. Emergency department nurses have one of the highest rates of turnover within all of the the nursing specialties – an impressive 21.1%.  Per a study completed by NSI Nursing Solutions, many emergency departments will turnover their ENTIRE RN staff within 5 years.

Why are nurses leaving so quickly?

• Low Salaries - Nurse salaries vary widely across the United States. However I started in rural Georgia at a whopping $20.13 per hour in 2011. Even after a whole lot of overtime, there was no way that I was going to pay off my student loans from nursing school in less than 10 years. While I loved my hospital and my job, I left and moved to California where I found myself making a much more competitive wage. This allowed me to pay off my student loans in less than 3 years and has already set me up better for retirement. While my story is just one example, it is one of many similar stories that I have heard where nurses cannot support their families on their full-time job's earnings. And the situation for LVN- & ADN-prepared nurses is even more difficult in many states. Lives literally depend on our work. It costs a lot to get our education. Nurses should get compensated accordingly.
• Staffing Issues - Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that there is a national shortage of nurses. Many facilities are trying to get creative with staffing, which sometimes leads to unsafe nurse-patient ratios. This increases stress on staff and increases potential for unsafe patient care. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that "Hospitals with low nurse staffing levels tend to have higher rates of poor patient outcomes..". Good staffing is good for nurses and patients alike.
• Stress - Healthcare is becoming more and more concerned with time. Nurses now have to do everything faster, while still ensuring perfection with every task. Medicine does not look favorably on errors. The essence of nursing is fast, efficient care that people's lives depend on. If that's not stressful, what is?
• Abuse - Nurses experience all kinds of abuse. Period. Verbal, emotional and physical, there are few days on-shift where I personally don't get the joy of one of these. This has to stop to keep nurses. The American Nurses Association (ANA) has a campaign called #EndNurseAbuse that is working to decrease the amount of abuse that nurses encounter in the workplace. In addition to the loss of nurses, the ANA cites that the financial cost of workplace abuse of nurses is $4.3 billion annually or about $250,000 per incident. Healthcare has to address this problem if they want to end the nursing shortage and improve patient outcomes.
• Nurse Burnout - Burnout is physical, mental and emotional exhaustion caused by stress, often being suffered by "helping professions", such as nurses.  With all the abuse and stress that nurses are facing in the workplace, is it any wonder that they are experiencing burnout and leaving the bedside?

How my job almost broke me.

Like I said earlier, I love my job. Sometimes, I love it too much. I am a fixer – a person that wants to get in there and find a solution to all the problems. I want to fix my patients. I want to fix my colleagues' problems. I want to fix all the issues in our department. I want to fix all the challenges in healthcare. I want to take it all on and solve the problems, so that everyone can be happy and healthy.

A few years ago, all of that almost crushed me.

All of the things that I was trying to fix led to increased stress and major burnout. I didn't have wa healthy work-life balance. It was all work. All I could think about was work problems at home, when out with friends and family, or laying awake in bed at night. I wasn’t sleeping. My health was poor. Things were not going well for me.

I decided to take a vacation from nursing.

There was a point when my husband and I decided that I needed to take a break from bedside nursing. I needed to be away from patient care. I didn’t need to be going to any meetings. I needed to not be at the hospital. I had to take a big step away.

I made some changes. I started working on that vacation.

Over the course of a few months, I started slowly taking steps to get away from work. Every time the Charge Nurse asked if someone wanted to go home early, I volunteered. I started asking the PRN/Per Diem staff if they wanted to pick up my shifts. I took some personal days. I started looking for a part-time or Per Diem position. When a Per Diem spot finally posted at our other campus, I applied and took it. I started in a new emergency department, not on any councils or committees. Just as a bedside, Per Diem RN.

And then, I took some time off.

I traveled. I hung out with my friends. I took time to explore the world of nursing. I gained some perspective and a new appreciation for my profession. The idea for New Thing Nurse started to cook in my brain. I grew as a person and as a nurse. 

I got my nursing groove back.

This plan won’t work for everyone.

I know that it is not possible for everyone to say BUMP IT to your full-time job and suddenly go rogue as a Per Diem nurse. However if you are feeling the symptoms of burnout, you need to make a change. Untreated stress and burnout will lead to the end of not just your nursing career, but also can manifest as physical and mental health issues. I have talked about my mental health journey before. It is no joke. You should do regular self-assessments of how you are feeling. Take the time to take care of yourself if you want to be successful in all things.

Things that you can do to combat nurse burnout –

• Take a vacation. - This can be anything from a few days off to a several week adventure. The main thing is that you GET AWAY from the clinical environment. Don't check your email. Block the short-staffed text messages. Give your brain some time to forget about patient care and focus on self-care.
• Find some quiet. - Do you dream of alarms going off? Pumps beeping? Your zone phone ringing to deliver another critical lab? You need to get out of that mindset. Find some quiet. Engage in silence. Breathe. Meditate. Take a nap. Just find a place where there is no beeping or buzzing going on that will take your mind back to the bedside.
• Exercise. - The mind-body connection is real. Your brain needs to be well for your body to be well and vice-versa. Exercise helps you manage stress. It helps you feel physically better. It is good for you. I am not saying to jump into an Iron Man, just encouraging gentle exercise. Try to move a little, and see how it makes you feel.
• Eat well. - You body needs to good calories to have the energy to do all the things. Try to avoid processed foods and soda. One of my favorite dietary tips is - "If it wasn't in the kitchen when your great grandmother was cooking dinner, don't eat it." Try to stick to fresh things that look like real food.
• Get enough sleep. - Sleep is foundational to everything. If you are not getting enough, you will be testy and experience increased stress. Everyone has their own sufficient, minimal amount of sleep, but always try to get that amount every night. If things are getting in the way, triage your tasks and find time for rest. It is essential.
• Appreciate yourself and others. - It is time to remember how amazing you and your team are. Take a moment to appreciate yourself and others. My department recently started a Shining Star Award and are picking one person a quarter to give it to. The winner gets a pack of Starbursts and their picture up on the staff fridge. It's not a big deal, but everyone so far has thoroughly enjoyed knowing that their work is appreciated.  

My Current Vacation from Nursing

I am currently on another vacation from nursing. I have been calling it my August sabbatical. While I am still working on New Thing Nurse projects, I am only working three shifts in the ED this month to give myself some time to take care of the projects and myself. I continue to LOVE my job and think that I am a pretty awesome nurse. 

But - I have come to recognize that time away from the hospital is just as important as time at the bedside to ensure that I continue to be the best nurse that I can be.

- Sarah @ New Thing Nurse

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About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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FOLLOW NEW THING NURSE ON INSTAGRAM - @NEWTHINGNURSE

New Thing Nurse visits the Athens Nurses Clinic

“If you don’t get your blood pressure under control, you could die.”

I was in school in 2009 when I met Paige M. Cummings, the Executive Director of the Athens Nurses Clinic. I was volunteering at a homeless resource fair when I overheard these firm, direct words coming from the booth next door.

I craned my neck to look over to see Paige taking a blood pressure cuff off of one of the fair attendees, a gentleman in his 50s. She was looking him in the eye and telling him in plain words that his blood pressure was too high and that he needed to take steps to bring it down.

The gentleman was not looking away or deflecting her words. He was listening intently and seemed to be really absorbing the information. In my short time in nursing school, I had not seen any medical professional speak to a patient so honestly about their condition. And it seemed to be working! I had to meet this woman.

After Paige finished with the gentleman, I not-so-coolly rushed over and introduced myself. I also may have thrown myself at her feet and asked (AKA begged) to work with her. Paige calmly listened and then told me about volunteer opportunities at the Athens Nurses Clinic.

What is the Athens Nurses Clinic?

The Athens Nurses Clinic (ANC) is located in Athens, Georgia and has its roots planted in providing healthcare to the homeless, indigent members of Athens-Clarke County since 1988 as the Georgia Nurses Association Foundation Clinic for the Homeless. In 1993, with the help of many local nurses and volunteers, The Athens Nurses Clinic moved to Reese Street, opening its doors to not just homeless members of Athens-Clarke County, but also to the uninsured, indigent members of Athens-Clarke County and Northeast Georgia.

In 2014, ANC moved to North Avenue and collaborated with three other agencies as a part of the Athens Resource Center for Hope. ANC is now open five days a week providing healthcare services and medications to patients at no cost. Services include the treatment of many chronic conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes, gastric re-flux, asthma, allergies, and arthritis. ANC also accepts walk-in patients Monday-Friday for the treatment of acute conditions, such as colds, flu, UTIs, rashes, or tooth abscesses. ANC also provides laboratory testing, free mammograms, pap smears, vision screening, dental care, and Hepatitis C treatment.

The mission of the Athens Nurses Clinic extends far beyond providing medical treatment to patients, focusing heavily on education and disease prevention. ANC provides a year-long CDC approved Diabetic Prevention Program for the community, encouraging diabetic patients to bring family and friends to tag along. Nutrition, exercise, and smoking cessation classes are offered to patients who want to lose weight, improve their health, and decrease their stress levels. Recently, the clinic has partnered with SNAP educators, UGA, and the Athens Farmers Market to implement what is called the FVRx program. Through this program, enrolled patients attend classes focused on healthy lifestyle choices and receive prescriptions for free fruits and vegetables from the local Farmers Market. Equipping patients with the knowledge needed to improve or prevent acute and chronic disease is a key function to the standard of healthcare ANC provides.

Source: www.athensnursesclinic.org

With over 6,000 individual patient encounters in 2017, ANC is not slowing down anytime soon. The staff and volunteers are making a difference every day and saving lives along the way.

My Experience at the Athens Nurses Clinic

Soon after meeting Paige, I became a regular medical volunteer at the Athens Nurses Clinic. It was overwhelming how much direct-patient care experience and knowledge that I was getting each day that I was there.

I also was so confused because I was the ONLY nursing student volunteering at the Clinic. Where was everyone? Had I  stumbled upon the last, unsaturated volunteer location in the city of Athens, home of over 30,000 students all vying for volunteer experience?

I started talking to my classmates, trying to recruit a few to help out at the Clinic. Then I started talking to the other colleges in town trying to see if there might be other students out there who might want to come volunteer from the pharmacy or public health schools. This work evolved into me being the first Volunteer Coordinator at the Athens Nurses Clinic!

Today the Clinic continues to be a clinical site for dozens of students each semester from multiple local colleges and partners with the educational organizations, like the University of Georgia (my alma mater), to offer free educational programs to the Clinic’s patients. The Athens Nurses Clinic is a holistic center of healing and treatment to its patients and community.

What the Athens Nurses Clinic Taught Me

I continued to work at the Athens Nurses Clinic throughout nursing school and when I became a new nurse. The Clinic is where I learned to be a patient advocate to everyone, regardless of their SES or cultural background.

Annabella Uhde, ANC’s Office Administrator and Interpreter for the many Spanish-only speaking patients that receive care at the clinic, helped teach me how to best address the cultural and language needs of patients from other countries. Her positive energy flowed through each patient interaction. I learned the importance of a smile and kind touch from her.

ANC is also where I learned to be a strong, nurse leader. Paige was (and still is) always juggling a million tasks and wearing too many hats to count. I would watch Paige find the funds to support the clinic, manage the staff and army of volunteers, orchestrate the clinical service lines, sit on a slew of boards/committees and still dabble in patient care when needed. An ex-military nurse, Paige always gets the job done. Paige was one of my first nurse mentors and taught me that you can be a great nurse leader no matter what kind of clinical setting you may find yourself in.

How You Can Support the Athens Nurses Clinic

The Athens Nurses Clinic is able to provide all that it does to its patients because of generous donations and financial support from the community. The world of non-profit healthcare can be brutally hard, but great people every day are out there in the trenches, fighting to increase access to care for many marginalized patient populations.

And YOU can help the Athens Nurses Clinic in their work! There are several ways that you can donate -

Tomatoes at Terrapin

Tomorrow is the 9th Annual Tomatoes at Terrapin fundraiser for the Athens Nurses Clinic. This is the largest fundraising event that ANC puts on each year. It is a great day of outdoor music, tomatoes sandwiches and beer, all held at the Terrapin Beer Co. brewery in Athens, GA.

Check out the details >> http://tomatoesatterrapin.com/

Volunteer

If you want to be more hands-on in your help to the Athens Nurses Clinic, they are always looking for qualified volunteers to help out!

Volunteer at ANC >> http://athensnursesclinic.org/wp/get-involved/volunteer/

Donate

If you have some spare dollars hanging around, you can make an easy, online donation on the Athens Nurses Clinic website. This money goes directly to providing free care to the patients who need it most in the Athens-Clarke County community.

Donate to ANC >> http://athensnursesclinic.org/wp/donate/

I continue to be amazed at the excellent work being done at the Athens Nurses Clinic. If you are in Athens, Georgia, go by and check them out! If you are not nearby, look in your own community to see if there are other non-profit clinics. I guarantee that they are out there, working to provide the same magic to patients in your area.

Go see how you can get involved. You never know what you might learn by helping out.

- Sarah @ New Thing Nurse

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About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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FOLLOW NEW THING NURSE ON INSTAGRAM - @NEWTHINGNURSE

Sloth + Hospital = Slothpital

MY DAY AT THE SLOTH SANCTUARY OF COSTA RICA

In April, I had the opportunity to travel with my sister and New Thing Nurse team member, Anna Wells, down to Costa Rica. This was not my first time to this beautiful country. From 2008 to 2009, I spent nearly a year in Monteverde, Costa Rica where I volunteered as an English teacher in a small, mountain community called Santa Elena. I had an amazing time and made some incredible memories, but nursing school, work and life had since prevented me from returning for nearly eight years (how does that always seem to happen?).

This year, my sister and I decided to make it happen and head down for a Central American adventure. During our trip planning, I knew of one destination that absolutely had to make the trip agenda. The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica is a famous spot known for being on of the few locations where one can see sloths who have been rescued and are in the process of rehabilitation to be released back to the wild in Central America.

If you don’t know this yet, I LOVE SLOTHS. They are my spirit animal. If you are wondering why I feel so much in common with these lethargic tree-dwellers, just ask my husband, family or friends how much I love to sleep, take my sweet time and just hang out. The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica was a natural stop to add to our trip.

I am excited to share with you my day at the Sloth Sanctuary and my time in their Slothpital. How we care for our natural world is a direct reflection of how we are taking care of ourselves and our fellow humans. Environmental health and our own health go hand in hand. The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica can teach us a few things about taking care of ourselves and our planet.

Now – more sloths!!

Photo: A bucket of sloth cuteness.

WHAT IS A SLOTH?

At this point you may be wondering, what exactly is a sloth? Besides being my favorite animalito, sloths are tree-dwelling mammals that are found in the tropical forests throughout Central and South America. Sloths are known for their slow, deliberate movements and equally slow metabolisms. How slow are we are talking? Let’s just say that it can take up to a month to digest consumed nutrients. But staff at the Sloth Sanctuary will tell you that they are not slow, just energy efficient. Sloths are able to move with unexpected speed when threatened, so do not let that slow reputation fool you!

There are two types of sloths that live at the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica – the Bradypus variegatus (three-fingered sloth) and the Choloepus hoffmanni (two-fingered sloth). Buttercup, the Sloth Sanctuary’s longest resident, is the Bradypus variegatus variety for reference. Many resources discuss the types of sloths as being “two- or three-toed”, but the Sanctuary divides them in terms of “two- or three-fingers”. Fun Fact - All sloths have three toes on each hind foot. The number of digits only differ on the front feet, thus making it easier to consider them “fingers”. #themoreyouknow

WHAT IS THE SLOTH SANCTUARY OF COSTA RICA?

Located outside of Cahuita, Costa Rica along the Estrella River, the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica was founded by Judy Avey-Arroyo and Luis Arroyo. Originally purchased as a location for birding tours, the Sloth Sanctuary evolved into a sloth rescue center after their first sloth, named Buttercup, was brought to the property in 1992.

Buttercup is now over 25 years old and still resides at the Sanctuary. The Sloth Sanctuary has been an officially authorized rescue center since 1997 and continues to be a center for conservation work and research. Today, the staff at the Sloth Sanctuary continuously works towards its mission to rescue, rehabilitate and release their sloths back into their natural habitats.

Photo: Buttercup is a three-fingered sloth & the Sloth Sanctuary's first & oldest resident.

A DUSTY ARRIVAL TO THE BUTTERCUP INN

Anna and I arrived at the Sanctuary in the evening after a long day on the bus from San Jose. Dusty and tired, we were welcomed and shown to our room at the Buttercup Inn. Yes, that’s right. Buttercup, the Sanctuary’s longest sloth resident, has her own hotel. After dinner and a shower, we had a nice, long, sloth-like sleep that got us ready for a day in my personal sloth-y heaven.

MY DAY IN SLOTH PARADISE

Keep Calm & Hang On

“Keep Calm & Hang On” is the mantra at the Sloth Sanctuary, and I also think that it would also be a great slogan for any emergency department. While the pace of life at the Sloth Sanctuary did not require me to hang on tight often, I did have to hang in there as our day in sloth paradise started bright and early.

Anna and I started our day with coffee by the water followed by a boat tour of the local waterways that are off-shoots of the Estrella River. The lush landscape is filled with plants and animals everywhere you look. Our guide helped identify all kinds of local flora and fauna as we enjoyed our leisurely ride down the river. It was a truly delightful way to start the day.

Photo: A leisurely ride down the river to start our day at the Sloth Sanctuary.

Next, we met Marco, our Sloth Sanctuary guide, who took us on a tour of the areas where some of the permanent residents of the sloth sanctuary are kept. Unfortunately for many complex reasons, some sloths are unable to be returned to their natural habitats. The Sanctuary has become a permanent residence for many such sloths and is now currently working to expand their capacity to be able to better accommodate their slow but beautiful group of tenants.

The Slothpital

After touring the permanent resident pavilion, Anna and I got to go to the SLOTHPITAL where Sanctuary staff take care of their adult and littlest sloth-lings. To say that I was excited is an understatement. I WAS FREAKING OUT but trying to maintain a cool composure (I mean, I was there as a professional nurse blogger person). Behind the Buttercup Inn, we climbed the stairs to find ourselves in a room full of tiny sloth life. This was the cutest P.I.C.U. that I have ever seen. Please see the photos below to see why I melted for the duration of our Slothpital stay.

Photo: A bucket full of two-fingered sloths in the Sloth Sanctuary P.I.C.U.

Photo: A two-fingered sloth says HELLO!!!

Photo: Anna Wells, New Thing Nurse team member, photographs two-fingered sloth during feeding time at the Slothpital.

Photo: A two-fingered sloth chows down on Beach Almond leaves for lunch.

Photo: The N.I.C.U. department of the Sloth Sanctuary where the littlest sloths stay.

Photo: A three-fingered sloth awaits lunch in the Slothpital N.I.C.U.

On the day that we took our tour, the Slothpital P.I.C.U. was caring for several dozen small patients. Specially trained staff are in charge of these buckets of cuteness and work around the clock to keep them fed and comfortable.

Anna and I next toured the Slothpital clinic where I noted that all of the same resources that my emergency department has is available at the Slothpital – phlebotomy, lab, X-ray and ultrasound. The Sanctuary has a local veterinarian who is available at any time their patients need admission physical evaluations, check-ups or any sort of increased levels of medical care. I was surprised to find out that the Slothpital also has a very busy obstetrics service that was getting ready to deliver a baby sloth the day that we were taking our tour. Like my E.R. colleagues, the Slothpital staff are always on high-alert because they never knew what was going to happen next.

Photo: The Slothpital clinic where new sloth residents are weighed & given a thorough admission physical exam.

Photo: Sloth skeletal diagrams.

While caring for sloths may not seem like it could have anything to do with human healthcare, I beg to differ. The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica is a place where any sloth can go for care and rehabilitation with the goal of returning everyone to their home environment in optimal health. If that isn't the best goal that nurses could also set for their patients, I do not know what is. The way we care for the natural world reflects the values that we have for ourselves. I hope that I get to see a day where everyone in healthcare is as invested in providing the best care possible to their patients just like the staff at the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica.

- Sarah @ New Thing Nurse

Want to learn more about The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica?

The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica Website

Want to be featured on the New Thing Nurse Blog?

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About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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FOLLOW NEW THING NURSE ON INSTAGRAM - @NEWTHINGNURSE

An Interview with the Interviewer: Elizabeth Scala

This week has been very exciting here at New Thing Nurse.

On Wednesday, April 25th, an episode of the nursing podcast "Your Next Shift", hosted by the imitable Elizabeth Scala, MSN, RN, MBA, went live. This episode features an interview with myself, your New Thing Nurse friend and founder, and Elizabeth where we talk about all things nursing, self-care, travel, rugby and of course, New Thing Nurse.

LISTEN TO MY INTERVIEW ON "YOUR NEXT SHIFT" WITH ELIZABETH SCALA HERE!!

I have never been on a podcast before, this again making me a #newthingnurse. I was SO nervous when we recorded the interview last month as I have been a fan of Elizabeth Scala's for quite some time. If you are not already familiar with her work, Elizabeth is a Johns Hopkins-trained Registered Nurse, best-selling author, keynote speaker, and consultant on burnout prevention for nurses in all specialties. She is the CEO of ElizabethScala.com and founder of The Art of Nursing - a Nurse's Week program providing education and inspiration to thousands across the country. Elizabeth also hosts the incredible podcast "Your Next Shift", where she interviews nurses from diverse roles from across the spectrum of nursing.

I mean SWOON, right? #nursecrush

In addition to inviting me to be on her podcast "Your Next Shift", Elizabeth was also game to play a little "Interview the Interviewer". Below is a brief interview between myself, Sarah @ New Thing Nurse, and the "Your Next Shift" hostess with the mostest - Elizabeth Scala, MSN, RN, MBA.

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Sarah @ New Thing Nurse (NTN): I have been a big fan of yours for a long time but for those who aren't familiar with you and your work, can you introduce yourself and tell us about your work?

Elizabeth Scala (ES): Sure, Elizabeth Scala here. Professionally, I work as a Registered Nurse. Personally, I love gardening, jigsaw puzzles, my pup and dancing to jam bands all over the country! I have my dual masters' degree in nursing and business. And even though I am quite the homebody - I do love to travel and teach others.

NTN: I love hearing about other nurses' professional journeys. How did you fall into nursing? And what area of nursing did you start in?

ES: Great question! And totally worded appropriately for me. I definitely am on that "fell" into nursing. It was NOT my agenda;  growing up, hospitals would scare me! So, senior year of college I was moving into my apartment off campus with three other girls. Two of my roommates were in nursing school. One of my roommate's mothers was a nursing faculty. And the three of them, along with my own mother, decided that after I graduated with my psychology degree that I could go straight into the accelerated nursing program. I didn't have concrete plans yet after college so I thought, "Why not!?!" I started out in psychiatric nursing, worked some in the community, and am currently a research program coordinator at a large academic medical center.

NTN: The focus of New Thing Nurse is supporting nurses as they fine their "new thing". What made you step away from the bedside? And what was your first "new thing"?

ES: Gosh - what made me step away from bedside nursing was me. I wasn't taking any care of myself. My health was in the toilet; my emotions were on a roller coaster ride. I felt miserable and one night - since I RARELY slept through a night - I was having another sobbing tantrum. My husband and I both agreed that I could not keep going at the pace I was at. I needed to take a break, and I needed to focus on myself. I left my psychiatric nursing job and made a risky decision to work just part-time at a local wellness center. I was still able to work as a nurse - as they needed a RN to head up a physician referral program - so that was kind of neat! And during that time I had many "new things". To thing about what was the first... hmm. I think it was remembering that I was an athlete growing up. I loved sports, was always in good shape, and highly competitive (smile). Being at the wellness center and around all of the equipment, personal trainers, and healthy bodies - I was like "Ohhhh yeah..." It woke me up first physically to the shape I was in. After that, more and more started to unfold and I started to feel healthy, happy, and whole again.

NTN: What helped you make that transition into your "new thing"?

ES: I would say that many things helped me. My husband being supportive and allowing me to leave my full-time job with all of the perks that went along with it. Boy, I do NOT know how we made it financially - but we did! Then, my own curiosity. My own pause and need to do things that I enjoyed. Being at the wellness center, I was surrounded by resources. I asked for help, hired a trainer myself, and got back into shape. My boss at that job was super helpful. He introduced me to the concept of "coaching" and I went into a certified coaching program. Then, even one of my clients at the wellness center helped! She was a marketing specialist and started to talk to me in between her sessions about social media, blogging, and all sorts of things I never had heard of. I guess the main thing that I believe helped is an open mind and a desire to learn more. Even if I didn't know how something would work out, saying "yes" without hesitation was super productive in taking the next step!

NTN: Do you have any tips for anyone out there who might be considering jumping into a "new thing" of their own?

ES: Hmm, interesting question. I think that it depends on what their "new thing" is. For some new things, you definitely need to wait before jumping. What I mean by that is I have done a TON of things wrong in my online work. And even now, I am at a place where I am assessing and re-assessing decisions and plans. So, if you are considering a new thing that you know nothing about, do your research. Learn more before taking a plunge.

Next, I would say to the person considering a new thing... is it YOUR thing? So often we get wrapped up in what we think we "should" be doing. I think of all the dirty words - SHOULD should be at the top of the list (LOL). That being said, I mean is the new thing something that you desire or something you are going to do for someone else? I have learned along the way that when I get into something new that isn't 100% my true heart's desire... it doesn't work out all that well. Now, other "new things" that are a bit less heavy (like trying a new hobby, such as tango dancing) - for something like that, jump in head first! I do think we need to do more new things that are fun, adventurous, and will fill our spirits!

NTN: You have been a self-proclaimed warrior against nurse burnout for a long time. What drives your work to help the nursing community fight burnout? Did you have a personal experience with nurse burnout?

ES: As shared above, yes. Yes. And, yes again. In fact, to be honest, I am noticing that I may be back in burnout again. I think from everything I have shared above speaks to this questions, but to state it another way... Burnout happens when we are riding on someone else's train. When our values, desired, strengths, and assets are not being actualized. When we are living life along the "should" of what other people want and need. Now, I do agree that we all report to somebody - at work or at home. Sure, there are things that we may not 100% enjoy. And yes, work is work, and there will be stress on a job. However, when we get away from our true heartfelt desires, then we find ourselves in trouble. Couple that with working too hard, not getting a break, or forgetting to do things that are good for your mind, body, and spirit - all of this added up leads to burnout. I do agree that the workplace needs to be supportive and help us be happy and healthy professionals. At the very same time, it is up to us to stand up and take responsibility for our own well-being.

NTN: If you could give our readers your top tip or tips towards avoiding burnout, what would they be?

ES: Do what you enjoy. Set healthy boundaries. Schedule down time, me time, and non-work time. Change it up. If you are stuck in a rut - figure out why and what needs to shift. Focus on the positive. Sure, there is a tone out there that is scary, miserable, and bad. And, even through the greatest of tragedy we can learn, grow, and transform our lives. Live as much as you can in the moment. It is when our mind wanders to the "what if" or the "should, could, would" is when we get into trouble. Stop and breathe. And don't take yourself or your life so seriously. Smiling and laughing - that can be some of the very best medicine!

NTN: Do you have any "new things" on the horizon? New Thing Nurse readers want to know!

ES: I believe that I do, but most I am not even aware of yet. As I honestly (and maybe for the very first time) shared above - I am a bit into burnout right now. And, being someone that knows the signs, causes, and what to do about it - I need to stop. Really stop everything and take pause. What are my next steps? What lights me up? How can I best serve others? I can say that I have a very special course coming out soon. The content is done, and we are working on some of the aspects of how folks will be able to interact with and enjoy the program. I also know that some of my other "new things" involving ending some things that I hae been doing for several years now. In a way, ending things is the first step to the new beginnings, right?

NTN: How can our readers find out more about you and your work?

ES: Sure, well the easiest place to find me is at ElizabethScala.com. I also have a Facebook page and community. I do hang out quite a bit on LinkedIn. And, if you're looking for resources you could check out Nursing from Within or Your Next Shift - two of my very favorite books!

Oh, and I cannot believe I forgot to mention this at all so far... my podcast! Now that I am assessing where I am at and what I enjoy - I can tell you. The podcast is NOT going anywhere. I LOVE to interview other nurses - highlighting their triumphs and lifting the profession of nursing up!! So, definitely check that out. I am sure that you'll see some familiar faces, smile.

NTN: Do you have any other advice for our readers?

ES: Boy, I could go on and on, for sure. I think I shared a lot above. To close it out, just be yourself. And, if you don't know who that is or what that self wants, take the time to figure that out. First off, you will be happy that you did. Things will go so much smoother. It gets easier when you live life as your best you. If you get off course, it's all good. Even the best of us experience burnout! And guess what? We can thank it. It is that gentle reminder that we are not living life as our highest self.

Thanks for the opportunity to hang out with y'all! I hope to "see" you online. Enjoy YOUR new things!!

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ISN'T SHE AMAZING??

Hear the "Your Next Shift" podcast episode featuring the interview between Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL and Elizabeth Scala, MSN, RN, MBA in its entirety below.

A Shift In Perspective with Sarah K. Wells - Your Next Shift with Elizabeth Scala

- Sarah @ New Thing Nurse

About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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FOLLOW NEW THING NURSE ON INSTAGRAM - @NEWTHINGNURSE

Nurse Mental Health - Let's Talk About It.

I have been sitting on this post.

I wrote this post recently, but was not planning on sharing it. I was not sure how I felt about sharing my personal story on the blog. There is a lot of stigma related to mental health in the healthcare community (and world) and while I am pretty open about my own nursing journey, I was not confident yet that I was ready to put my mental health story out in the great, wide world of the interwebs.

However yesterday there were some comments made on the New Thing Nurse social media that reminded me why it is so important to share our stories. There is an expectation that nurses need to have a "thick skin" to be successful in medicine, or it might not be the career for you. That people with anxiety or depression or other mental health diagnoses cannot be strong, capable & amazing nurses.

I THINK THAT IS CRAZY.

Nurses don't need thicker skins. They need better support. They need better coping strategies & stress management techniques. They need better work conditions. They need to know that their job is hard, that what they're feeling is normal, and that it is OK to admit if you're struggling and to talk about it.

Nurses, like all humans, have mental health. We should be concerned about their mental and emotional wellness. Nurses have to take care of themselves, so that they can take care of others.

Now, let me tell you a story.

Let’s start with a story, my story.

I was born a baby ER nurse in 2011, and it seems like only five minutes ago. 

I remember being a newly-minted nurse, hyperventilating on my way to those first night shifts. I had finished nursing school in an accelerated 16-month, master’s-entry program. It was disorganized. It went by way too fast. I did not feel prepared to save lives.  

During nursing school, I was anxious.

I was nervous about classes and tests. I was terrified during my first weeks of clinicals. The first time I went to take vital signs on a patient, I went with my classmate to record a blood pressure, heart rate, SAO2 and respiratory rate. We divided and conquered the tasks, and I almost passed out while trying to put on the patient’s blood pressure cuff. I am sure that the poor patient thought we were completely inept, but she was kind enough not to tell me to buzz off during the encounter.

Most people would say that some academic anxiety is normal. Sure. It probably is, but I have always been a nervous person. My anxiety was magnified by a million in nursing school. Because everyone kept telling me that it would get better, I shook off the fact that I cried constantly when I was alone and stress ate like it was going out of style. I once showed up at my classmate’s house and just ate a whole cheesecake. That isn’t normal.

Then I started my first job.

I was working nights, like everyone does when they start out, and was SO excited about being in the ER. It was my dream, and I was working in a great department with a very supportive staff. Yet I was barely sleeping. I was still stress eating, and sometimes I liked stayed in bed for days at a time when I was not working. When out with a crowd, I was usually fine, but I was frequently tearful at home. My then boyfriend, now husband, dealt with extreme mood swings and many crazy, sleepless days/nights. I thought it was all because I was working night shift, so I made excuses and soldiered on.

I moved to California and worked as a traveler, then as a staff nurse at several ERs. I continued to work nights. I had a terrible time sleeping, continued to be anxious and tearful when home alone and had many days where I could not get out of bed. I blamed everything and everyone for my continued anxiety and down moods. There was no way that I had a problem. It was always situational, at least that is what I continued to tell myself.

Then one day about three years ago, I was at home, an anxious, hot mess.

I was working 4-6 shifts a week at two jobs that I was juggling while trying to pay off my student loans. There had been a string of really brutal patient cases that had made me sad to the core of my being. I had not worked for several days yet at home that day, I was jumpy and crying. My husband was away on a business trip. I started looking for something to blame my mood on, but I could not think of anything - I had stopped working nights. I had gotten married. I had an amazing community of family and friends. I had a job that I loved.

So, I did what any good nurse does. I got a consult.

I found a therapist. She changed my life.

Through a lot of talking, time, exercise, mindfulness work, self-care and medicine (YES – I take medicine for my mental health), I have come to realize and accept that I have problems with depression and anxiety. For most of you reading this, you probably could have told me that years ago just by reading my story. That would have been great! But when you are on a journey of mental health self-assessment, it usually takes a lot of time to come to accept help and realize the deeper causes of your problems.

But I work in healthcare, so why didn’t I figure this out sooner?

Nurses and other healthcare workers historically HATE talking about their own mental health. We will diagnose and treat others ‘til the cows come home, but we will not discuss our own feelings for a million dollars. ER nurses may be some of the worst. We are so cowboy and pride ourselves on our ability to see the saddest, grossest, most traumatic cases and just keep going. That’s why we like to binge eat/drink/exercise/Netflix/craft. Call it what you want, but a lot of that is coping mechanisms in the extreme. I mean, have you ever seen any stress eating like a night shift pot luck? Think about it.

Things are changing.

The healthcare community is starting to talk more and more about the relationship between our work and our mental health. There are many organizations and foundations working to advocate for increased awareness of healthcare workers’ mental health needs (see below). Self-care and stress management is becoming more a part of the conversation, in addition to the need to combat compassion fatigue and burnout. This is a positive evolution for nurses and other healthcare providers everywhere. The world is starting to take note of the toll that our work is taking on us.

What else can we do?

I personally have made stress management and self-care a part of all of my education for both nursing students and veteran nurses. While awareness is the first step, we have to actively engage in self-care to protect ourselves from the negative effects of the stress of our jobs. Humans are incredibly resilient, and nurses are super stars in the resiliency game. However even super stars can burn out. We have to take the steps to not just continue to make nurse mental health a part of the conversation, but also to actively work to making self-care, mindfulness and stress management a part of our daily nursing and personal practice.

So, am I all better?

My anxiety and depression are going to be my forever friends. Sometimes they hang out with me, while other times they go on vacation. I have to continuously work on the things that keep me mentally well so that I do not backslide into the depths of Depression Town. I see my therapist regularly. I take my medicine. I (try to) eat well, sleep enough and exercise. I have started to try to meditate and stretch more.  I surround myself with positive humans. I travel. I read. I stay engaged with my professional and personal community. I continue to do work that I love – ER nursing, ENA volunteering & of course, New Thing Nurse. However, I am human, and I do not always succeed. I love donuts and cookies. I do not like to work out in the cold. I sometimes get too affected by things outside of my control (i.e. politics, family, donuts). But I do my best and most of the time, I feel like a fulfilled and happy person.

Also, I am, and continue to be, a strong and awesome nurse.

Having my own struggles with depression and anxiety have never made me a weak or bad nurse. On the contrary, I feel that I am a better nurse and advocate for both my patients and colleagues because of it. Additionally I have lead a successful ER nursing career, started a business to support the nursing community, lectured at the local, state and international level, and supported nurses and nursing students all along the way. My mental health challenges have never stopped me from being successful or effective in any role. I just have had to work harder and overcome more to achieve my goals.

Final Thoughts.

If you have read all of this, I commend you and thank you for sharing in my story. I want to make nurses everywhere realize that if you are feeling anything on the spectrum of anxious, self-doubting, irritable or sad, YOU ARE SO NOT ALONE. I have been there. I will be there again. There are so many more of us out there than you think. There are lots of other nurses talking about their own mental health journey on social media. Check them out! Let’s not keep how we are feeling a secret anymore.

Let’s keep the conversation going about our nurse mental health.

Let’s talk about it.

- Sarah @ New Thing Nurse

Want to read more about Nurse Mental Health & Wellness?

American Nurses Association - Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation Campaign

Elizabeth Scala - Nursing from Within Blog

Nurse.org - Nurse Wellness: Not an Oxymoron

The Code Green Campaign - A First Responder Mental Health Advocacy Group

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About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.

Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,

New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!

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FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM - @NEWTHINGNURSE

Nurse Gratitude.

The holidays can be rough.

The hospitals are full with patients who need care, & the staffing is short because of co-workers who are not there....

This holiday season is unusual for me. I am currently with family due to illness, so enjoying doing some private duty nursing & family support this holiday season. But traditionally, this is the time of year when I like to look around the ridiculously full hospital (while I'm doing a million things, haven't had a break & may or may not have peed in the last 11 hours) & focus on all the awesome reasons why I have #nursegratitude.

What is "nurse gratitude"? Great question! Nurse gratitude is the thankful feeling that I get for all things nursing. This can be for simple things like coffee & gloves (essential for each & every shift). Or it can be for things like social workers & child life specialists who make terrible situations more manageable with their wizard-like skills (I LOVE ALL YOU SOCIAL WORKERS & CHILD LIFE FOLKS).  Today, I just wanted to focus on the general aspects of nursing that make me so full of nurse gratitude.

Here is the Top 5 on my Nurse Gratitude List  -

1. Flexibility.

This job has allowed me to travel the world, be available for my family in times of crisis, take classes & start a new business. I have worked full-time, part-time & PRN. As an ER nurse, I have worked ALLLLLL the shifts which has freed me up for many educational, personal & professional opportunities. My colleagues have been able to be daytime parents & nighttime workers, full-time students, fulfilling passion projects & a few have been seasonal athletes while still being fully employed three days a week. There are few jobs with greater flexibility than nursing. Cheers to Saturday on a Tuesday.

2. We have the best stories.

When at a party, dinner out or just a gathering of folks, nurses will always have the best stories. I hate the question, "What is the craziest thing you have ever seen?". Normal folks aren't ready for the real crazy. I usually give them a watered-down rectal foreign body story that gets a lot of giggles & then we move on. What I love is hearing that someone else is in the healthcare field & then getting to compare war stories. Healthcare workers, but nurses especially, have the best, most incredibly, "you can't make this sh*t up" stories. They are best not for general consumption, but get a few jaded nurse hearts together with a glass of whiskey or wine & the night will not disappoint.

3. Nurses are the best people.

I cannot stress enough how generally amazing the people are who are drawn to nursing. I don't know why, but they are the most passionate, hard-working & funny individuals. Almost all my friends are nurses for exactly this reason. Nurses love to help. They are driven by a crazy passion to get sh*t done. No one is better suited for a high-stress, multitasking needed situation. That's why so many are balancing kids, school & a side-hustle. And nurses are HILARIOUS. Nurses can literally be facing some of the saddest & hardest situations that life can offer, but they can make light of it all. I love me some nurses. 

4. Variety.

Have you ever seen such a variety of roles that nursing has to offer? When I meet clients who are burnt crispy & telling me that they are thinking of switching careers, I almost yell - "WHY?". There is an almost endless amount of manifestations of nursing out there. Just when I think that I've heard them all, I learn about something new. Did you know that you can be a camp nurse? Or a toxicology nurse? Or a nurse podcaster? Or an organ donation nurse? Or a nurse historian? YES!!! These are all real jobs. The list goes on & on, but I encourage you to think about your passions & do some research. There is probably an amazing fit (or at least some swag) for even your nursing & knitting interests.

5. We get to help.

We get to help people. Our patients are often in their most vulnerable time of need, as are their family, friends & other loved ones. We get to help our colleagues & communities by donating to fundraisers or working at the medic booth at the health fair. We go home & help our own relatives by taking all their calls related to - "I have this spot on my back....". Our kids & their friends come to us to help with the owies. My neighbor comes by to check in after his hip operation with questions. Nurses are helpers. I live for the helping.

This holiday season you do have the option of just dwelling on how there were three sick calls, two Code 3's in the last five minutes & a laboring mother in the waiting room (where's the partridge in the pear tree?). But why? All that would do is stress me out & make my shift that much worse. Let's choose to BUMP THAT NOISE & instead find some positivity by remembering all the reasons that we can have #nursegratitude this year.

- Sarah @ New Thing Nurse

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