Monthly Archives: November 2011
Self Care at the Holidays
Nurses work 365 days a year, and many nurses need to work on holidays when they would rather be home with their families. Long hours and being separated from family at important times can take a toll, and nurses must … Continue reading
Boundaries
Nursing is a profession where we interact with patients and the families on a level that is often personal and intimate. Whether we work in a hospital, home care, or a nursing home, maintaining appropriate boundaries can be a challenge, … Continue reading
Mindfulness and Nursing
Some readers may be familiar with the term “mindfulness“, which is often used to describe various techniques for keeping the mind focused on the present moment, useful not only for meditation but also for more mundane tasks. In fact, mindfulness … Continue reading
“Occupy” Your Career
With the “Occupy Wall Street” movement in the news every day, there have been spin-off sayings cropping up throughout our culture, like “occupy the present moment” and “occupy your heart“. This movement towards recognizing what is wrong—and right—in different aspects … Continue reading
To Med-Surg Or Not Med-Surg, That Is The Question
It is a commonly held belief among nurses, nursing educators and nursing students that a year or two of Med-Surg is essential for the beginning of any nursing career. This initiation into the profession is seen by many as inarguable … Continue reading
Make Your Documentation Count
As we learn in nursing school ad nauseum, documentation is a critical aspect of nursing. Love it or hate it, documenting what we do is essential, since the old adage of “if it’s not documented, it didn’t happen” is always … Continue reading
Paying for a Nursing Education
Many of us who choose to pursue a career in nursing do so for a variety of reasons. We may have a nurse in the family, or perhaps we have been inspired by nurses we have known. We might also … Continue reading

Welcome to our blog! Keith Carlson has worked as a nurse since 1996. He received an Associate Degree in Nursing from Greenfield Community College in 1996, and a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 2001.