American Nurses Association of NCSBN

ANA and NCSBN Unite to Provide Guidelines on Social Media and Networking for Nurses


https://www.ncsbn.org/2927.htm


Great information to keep in mind after a frustrating day at work.

Guidelines for Nurses using Social Media

Happy New Year

This link is a guideline for nurses to use when posting on social media sites.

Written by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing ( NCSBN )


https://www.ncsbn.org/Social_Media.pdf

Endorsed by the ANA

Emotional Energy Boost during Your Nursing Shift

Your Emotions are a gift. Emotions alert you to changes in situations and give you guides. Emotions can be worked with to your benefit. This article teaches you an increase in your emotional state of connection to yourself.
Spend a week doing the following exercise,
Each day, think about one situation that you would like to see improve. Lets use the example of a coworker who is difficult to work with. When you think about this situation,
Feel the emotion of excitement and happiness. Surround yourself with this feeling of excitement, as if going to work is like going on a vacation that you have been planing for months.

Then do imagery with this situation, Picture in your mind how you would like to see a conversation with this co worker going. When you think about this co worker imagine a peaceful, civil maybe even humorous conversation. Continue to vibrate this positive energy around this co-worker. Remember What you focus on with thoughts and feelings can become reality.

Journal what occurred and what changes took place.

Plan your shift mentally before you go to work. Go in with expectation that things will go smoothly, your assignment will be appropriate, or even light, your coworkers will have PMA, you will have PMA and everyone you encounter will be pleasant. Think about the shift in your head, think about accomplishing all of your tasks in an 8 hour / 16 hour or 24 period without (effort) WC, with support and with a smile.

Now here is the key; As you are thinking about your shift and time at work. but emotional positive energy into your thoughts. Identify to yourself exactly what emotion you feel when working on this process. Feel the energy of the emotion.

Positive emotions are: Love, excitement, happiness, joy, hope, (arguably these can be categorized many ways)

Feel the energy of joy and happiness coursing through your respiratory and circulatory systems. (your lungs and heart) connect with that energy and let it offer you protection.

Book: Excuse Me...Your Life is Waiting by Lynn Grabhorn
Create your own style. Nursing is an art form. Nursing is creative problem solving and strategic thinking. Nursing is having presence and mindfulness in the moment to have an increased awareness of any changes in your patients. Have an excellent shift!

RN Entrepreneur Be Your Own Business

Companies that recruit RNs and job boards are making money from locating RN's
How would you like to negotiate your own contract with an employer and pocket the finders fee?
RN's can contract themselves as their own business. This opportunity will help empower RN's and increase RN's ability to experience the potential flexibility in your career.
Here are some interesting web sites with information regarding entrepreneurship or independant contrac to business.  http://www.independentrncontractor.com
OR sign up for a weekly small business tip from
http://www.nurse-entrepreneur-network.com LeeRay Keyes offers weekly advice on running your RN entrepreneur business.
An article in NurseWeek, a free publication for RNs, Stories of Nurses that launched businesses to increase financial gain and independence.
http://www.nurseweek.com/news/features/02-04/business_web.asp

http://www.nurseweek.com/news/features/02-04/business_web.asp

Remember to empower yourself daily.

Ann Warneka  BSN,RN

Managing Test Anxiety, NCLEX

On a crisp Fall day, we decided to take the train from Williams, AZ up to the Grand Canyon. The train ride was full of adventure! There was a Western Cowboy show before boarding the train, defining the good guys from the bad guys.

During the train ride  a great train robbery took place! Lots of Money by that I mean donations from passengers to support the steam engine, and bullets by that I mean cowboys handing bullets to children,were flying everywhere! 

 I watched my son closely as a "bandit" approached to give him a bullet. My sons anxiety was creeping up from the minute the cowboys stepped "boot" on the train. My son stood behind me as his tiny hand reached out for the shiny metal bullet from the smiling Cowboy. A crooked smile crept across my son's face and I watched his body relax.  For my son, it was a pretty real experience being on a train robbed by cowboys. His fear of the unknown increased until he was reassured he was going to be OK.

We all experience fear of the unknown.  Fear can freeze us or guide us to safety. When I think back to my experience of taking the NCLEX,  I was scared to death to take the test. I did everything I could to prepare for the test. Knowing that your nursing career does not start until the passing results are in your hand puts a strain on the right of passage into nursing. 

The experience of test taking for me is like my sons experience watching the train robbers. Test Anxiety, like any other fear can be managed to guide you safely through the NCLEX to your RN license.  Study preparation and practice questions for the NCLEX are a highly valuable part of the process, but the focus of this article is the identifying and protecting yourself from the ambush of the "bandit" Test Anxiety. 

Part II of this article:  5 Steps 2 Managing Test Anxiety during NCLEX.

Here are four things you can do to identify & manage Test Anxiety;

Website supporting student nurses@ nursingcrib.com

http://nursingcrib.com is a website that supports nursing students.  The website covers a wide variety of student nurse information, including the NCLEX preparation, jobs and hospitals and tons of nursing care plans.
Great site!

Nurses deserve low cost or free quality CEUs

Another day in Paradise.  I came home and removed my scrubs as quickly as possible. The demands of heath care can be a strain and yet I still find it rewarding to work with patients.  Nurses that I know don't just have jobs, they have a family and sometimes aging parents to care for. It seems to me my friends who are nurses are always taking care of someone else. I started thinking about how nurses deserve to earn CEUs at minimal or low cost with a quality course and I did some searching on the web.

I found a great gift for you! RN.org offers CEUs for 19.99 a year!! That is almost the cost of 2 CEUs!  The website was started by nurses FOR nurses!  here is a summary:
www.rn.org - Free Nursing CEU Provider offering Free CEUs and Online Nursing Education with Free Nursing CEUs. We provide Nursing Continuing Education with Nursing Contact Hours, RN CE, RN CEU, RN CEUs and RN Contact Hours.

A gem on the web! Enjoy!  ACW

THE EXTINCTION of the REGISTERED NURSE : Zazzle.com

The changes in healthcare are speeding at the professional discipline of nursing at an alarming rate, like a freight train on one track. Are nurses going extinct? We need to work together as nurses to inform people of the importance of our profession, so nurses do not become extinct.
Go to Zazzle.com. Type in  SAVE the RN in the search bar.  Look for bumperstickers, t-shirts and hats with the moto  SAVE THE RN/ REGISTERED NURSE.   5% of the profit will be donated to the CA Nurses Association.

My friend, a CCU registered nurse in MN called me the other day and told me that the nurses in the entire Critical
Care Department had to reapply for their positions. Can you imagine?   SAVE THE RN!
With a strong involvement of the nursing union, it was made clear the nurses with seniority would be considered first for the decreased number of positions.  The rest of the nurses probably have to take 2-3 days of work out of their pay check!  We know, this change does not just affect the take home pay, but the benefits coverage as well.
On the East Coast, I spoke with a colleague of mine who stated her daughter is preparing to graduate from nursing school and is having difficulty finding a job. Especially a full time job.  I don't think these changes mean that the shortage of nurses is over.   We need to SAVE THE RN!!

The AZ State Board of Nursing presented information at a fall conference confirming that even with the in increase of enrollment in nursing schools in the state and the increase in graduates from the nursing programs, there remains a shortage in the field of nursing in 5 years.  So come 2015,  Arizona will have a predicted shortage of 25-29%. Are nurses going extinct?

Nursing, as we know it today, had its roots in American History.  The American Civil War was the coal that fed the steam engine for nursing. We must keep the movement of the progression for the professionalism of nursing. We must keep the train on its track and represent out profession.

Please consider the hospital movements that could change the discipline of nursing and impact the entire health care system. Most importantly the Quality of care for our patients.  What can I do?  Talk to people about nursing! Let them understand your challenges, your rewards.  Create a MEET UP group in your area for nurses to support one another.    Remember, Visit Zazzle.com     ACW

RN Friendly Project

The following article can be located on www.lippincott'snursingcenter.com


Journal of Nursing Care Quality
October/December2008 
Volume 23 Number 4
Pages 305 - 313


This article sites a project for nurse retention and retention of Quality of Care.


Enjoy!

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