Category: Employment

  I don’t think any nurse wakes up in the morning and says I want to do drugs or get drunk today.  I believe substance abuse is a disease.  The part of the brain affected creates such a craving that the person will lie or do things uncharacteristically to get their drug of choice.  Many nurses say “well I don’t […]

Since the onset of the pandemic, the pay rates for travel nurses have doubled.  However, federal money for COVID-19 has dried up because there are far fewer hospitalizations for the disease.  As a result, the need for travel nurses has decreased by one third. In addition, some travel nurses are starting new contracts to only find out that the arrangement […]

It is no surprise that if you have been to a gas station lately, the price for a gallon of gasoline has skyrocketed.  Of course, you noticed that your groceries are also costing more. According to the Social Security Administration, they gave all its recipients (70 million people) a record breaking 5.9% increase. When I look at employment records for […]

Lorie Brown, RN, MN, JD, discusses the amount of stress that nurses are under and ways to relieve some of the stress in order to protect your nursing license. Lorie also talks about the importance of relieving stress and taking time for yourself so you can be there for your patients and not make mistakes. She also talks about different […]

What was known as the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists has changed its name to the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) because the new designation will more accurately convey the profession. Anesthetists sometimes can relate to a trade or a technician.  It’s interesting that the AANA name came about after it was revealed that Nurse Anesthetists in New Hampshire […]

In our society, there is a mentality that rich people are evil.  When I was growing up, all the rich people on TV programs were not nice.  There was J.R. of DALLAS, George Jefferson of THE JEFFERSONS and the Howells of GILLIGAN’S ISLAND along with many others.  The television shows normalized people who don’t have money and are always trying to make it.  Just look at the shows like ALICE as well […]

Florence Rigney, who goes by “SeeSee”, started her career as a nurse in the same era that penicillin was being developed. Graduating from nursing school in 1946, if you do the math, you’ll realize that she has been a nurse for 75 years, three-fourths of a century! And all but those first 5 years were at MultiCare Tacoma General in […]

  The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) conducted a survey that found that 80,407 qualified applicants were denied spots in the nation’s nursing schools.  The reason?  The survey cited that it is due to difficulty in obtaining qualified faculty members.  Faculty salaries are much lower than those in clinical nursing practice and, therefore, many nursing schools are just unable to attract qualified faculty.  The faculty shortage greatly contributes to the shortage of nurses for the simple […]

Can you believe that mandatory minimum staffing in nursing homes is now a law in New York?  Interestingly, last year Governor Cuomo was exposed for requiring nursing homes to accept COVID-19 positive patients when New York hospitals were overflowing and then not being truthful about the number of deaths of nursing home residents.  However, New York recently passed laws and Governor Cuomo […]

  Not too long ago I wrote about a nurse, Cliff Willmeng, R.N., who was terminated from his emergency room position for refusing to wear his own personal scrubs while working. Instead, he insisted on wearing hospital issued scrubs which he could leave at the facility to disinfect and clean rather than risking his family’s health by bringing home possibly […]