About Keith
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.
In addition to clinical nursing roles, Keith has held the position of Adjunct Professor of Nursing for a small LPN diploma program in Holyoke, Massachusetts, and has served as clinical preceptor for a variety of nursing students pursuing their education.
As a well-known and award-winning nurse blogger, Keith has maintained “Digital Doorway”, a popular nursing blog, since 2005. He currently practices nursing in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Keith also offers expert professional coaching for nurses and nursing students — including health, wellness, career, work-life balance, and burnout prevention and recovery — under the auspices of Nurse Keith Coaching and NurseKeith.com.Perfectionism: A Recipe for Burnout
This coming weekend, I’m speaking at a conference for emergency room nurses here in my home state of New Mexico, and the subjects of my two talks are burnout and work-life balance. And when it comes to burnout, one of … Continue reading
Nurses: Backbone or Connective Tissue?
It’s often said that nurses are the “backbone” of the healthcare system. However, yesterday someone suggested to me that they are actually the “connective tissue” of the system. These are interesting metaphors for the importance of the nursing profession. Let’s … Continue reading
Navigating Boundaries
When relationships with patients and their families deepen over time, it’s easy to step over the line where boundaries are concerned.
Nurses Week Is Over–And How Do You Feel?
When we celebrate Nurses Week, we take a moment to recognize our pride in this profession of ours, and if we’re lucky, perhaps we receive some acknowledgment from our employers, friends, or colleagues. Did you feel recognized this year, or … Continue reading
Happy Nurses Week!
This is the week when we annually celebrate nurses and the nursing profession, a profession with a long history of service, dedication, compassion, and the trustworthy care of millions around the world.
Keeping Your Head: Self-Protection and Equanimity
Last week, we talked about depersonalizing when reacting to others and learning to take things less personally. This is a useful skill and can contribute to our own ability to stay clear, focused and free of the symptoms of burnout. … Continue reading
Keeing Your Head: Depersonalization
When we serve our clients, patients and their families, the relationships can often be stressful and have the tendency to push our emotional buttons. Equally, our relationships with our colleagues–be they other nurses, doctors, physical therapists, or others–can also be … Continue reading
Responding to Crisis and Disaster
In light of the bombings at the Boston Marathon this week, it seems timely to talk about the ways in which we nurses can respond when disaster and crisis strike. Nurses have a broad range of skills that are inherently … Continue reading
The Nurse and the Oxygen Mask
When you get on an airplane, remember how the flight attendant will demonstrate how to put on your oxygen mask in case of a sudden drop in cabin pressure? Do you also remember how she or he will always tell … Continue reading
