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.
Tag Archives: Health care
Why is Nursing Theory Important to Your Practice?
Although many of us rolled our eyes and otherwise resisted learning about nursing theories when we were in school, nursing theories can be very useful structures from which we can draw inspiration and direction related to our professional practice of … Continue reading
Nurses Are Experts
Back in the day, nurses were viewed as unskilled handmaidens to physicians, doing the bidding of doctors and fulfilling a comfortably subservient role in the health care system. Now, nurses have truly begun to “own” their expertise, and nurses have … Continue reading
The Public’s Confusion About Nurses
“So, what hospital do you work in?” I’ve heard this question more times than I can count in response to my statement that I’m a nurse. It’s painfully obvious that the general public simply doesn’t know that nurses work anywhere … Continue reading
What You Should Receive For National Nurses Week
Every May, when National Nurses Week rolls around, it seems that facilities and employers are quick to offer mugs, candy, pins, and a plethora of trinkets to express gratitude to nurses for their labors. But, aside from the trinkets and … Continue reading
Four Reasons to Support New Nurses
Yes, it’s true. Nurses do sometimes eat their young (even after all these years). However, the tide is turning and more nurses are realizing that supporting our new nurses as they enter the field is really the best thing to … Continue reading
Nurse, Hydrate Thyself
When you’re running around the unit, working in home care, or otherwise working hard as a nurse, staying hydrated is one key to maintaining your health and taking care of yourself at work. Do you hydrate enough?
“High-Touch” Areas and You
In every hospital, there are hundreds of so-called “high-touch” areas that receive the lion’s share of traffic when it comes to human hands. We all know that human hands can carry a plethora of bacteria and viruses, and these bacteria … Continue reading
Networking, Networking, Networking
In my most recent post, I wrote about the dire warnings that are being forecast about the nursing job market. Prognosticators give mixed messages, stating unequivocally that nursing is “the #1 job for 2012” while also telling us that there … Continue reading
Mixed News About Jobs
The recent news about nursing jobs seems mixed. On the one hand, we hear that nursing is the #1 job for 2012, and then we hear that the shortage is over and there won’t be many new jobs until 2020. … Continue reading
Three Ways to Increase Your Engagement With Patients
When we’re busy, we nurses can sometimes forget that there’s a person behind the diagnosis, so to speak. Under duress, the patient becomes just another body with a disease that necessitates a variety of nursing tasks, and we lose touch … Continue reading
