In this episode Nurse Alice talks about a time when an employer crossed a work boundary and wanted her to work at home when she was out ill. Have you been in a similar situation? What did you do? Here are some tips on how you can set work boundaries with your employer. 

Now that things have opened up since the pandemic, one area of healthcare that's booming, more than any other, is cosmetic surgery. Everyone wants that summer beach body and many are resorting to surgery to help them get there. And even if that's not you, it's important to remind patients that any surgery, even elective cosmetic surgery, carries risks.

In this episode, Nurse Alice speaks with Dr. Richard Westreich about 7 Cosmetic Surgery Tips everyone should know. He was voted by New York magazine as one of the top doctors in facial plastic surgery. He is an assistant professor at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and is on staff at Lenox Hill and Mount Sinai Hospitals. He is a faculty member and teacher at a fellowship in Facial Plastic Surgery at Mount Sinai. 

It's every nurse or healthcare worker's nightmare: shooting in the hospital. Sadly, violence against healthcare workers has been on the rise. You might feel helpless, if you do, that's normal. Just know- you're not alone, gun violence in hospitals can be prevented.

In this episode, Nurse Alice talks about, 

Alice addresses the emerging gun violence in society today and the recent killing of four people at the Tulsa Medical Center by a disgruntled patient, who was also killed.

Read more nurse advice, news, and resources at nurse.org

Have you ever come to work and got what seemed to be one of the worst reports ever? What do you do? How do you handle the situation so it's a meaningful experience for everyone involved? Do you give feedback to the off-going nurse about how to improve upon their practice? 

The unsafest times for patients are during shift change, transfers and handoffs. Is that a surprise to anyone? This is the time when the baton is passed and important information can be missed and balls dropped. And when the report is crappy, it can delay treatment and interventions because the oncoming nurse is trying to get up to speed on what's happening with the patient. 
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In this episode Nurse Alice shares an example of a half-ass handoff report she got from a staff nurse and discovered the nurse didn't do much for the patient and didn't even understand how sick the patient was. It may seem uncomfortable if you're not used to having an open dialogue with peers but it's okay to hold our peers accountable and provide collegial feedback. Don't be the petty nurse who can't receive feedback. It's not about you, it's about the patient. Listen to how Nurse Alice handled this situation and turned it into a teachable moment. 

While March 19 was Certified Nurses Day, being certified is relevant throughout the year.  In 2020, the American Board of Nursing Specialties (ABNS) conducted a national survey that found 75% of adults thought it was important for all nurses to have a specialty board certification in a relevant field. But why is it important to nurses?

In this episode Nurse Alice speaks with Elizabeth Scruth, the chair-elect of the AACN Certification Corporation to discuss the benefits of nursing certification and how to overcome common obstacles to becoming certified, and the importance of being a part of your professional nursing organization. 

In this episode Nurse Alice speaks with Ryan Ribeira, assistant professor at Stanford and CEO of SimX, an immersive VR medical training company. He explains,
-  What's wrong with the way we train now.
- What prompted him to start SimX
- How virtual reality, augmented reality and XR are safe solutions to training and preparing future medical professionals

Every year nearly 80,000 nursing student applicants get turned away - not because they don't qualify but due to the shortage of nurse educators and training sites and resources. And for those that are in nursing school, it's often a hit or miss with getting the experience you're hoping to get during your clinical rotations. And what about advanced training? How can nurses learn advanced skills in an environment that doesn't put the patient at risk?

Learn more about nursing education, careers, and news at nurse.org 

It's a chronic disease of unknown cause characterized by the enlargement of lymph nodes in many parts of the body and the widespread appearance of granulomas. If you're a nurse you're familiar with it but likely not enough to really explain it to your patient. And that's why we're talking about it now, April is Sarcoidosis awareness month.

In this episode Nurse Alice speaks with Amy Cobb, a long-time FNP, and wellness advocate working in primary care who is also a patient of chronic medical conditions not well understood, including Sarcoidosis and Psoriasis. Amy shares her journey as an NP, her frustrations as a patient, and discusses how being a patient has impacted her practice and how she deals with patients.

Read more at Nurse.org

There is a nursing shortage that we all know about. But did you ever think to realize that in addition to direct patient care, we also have an even more significant shortage of nursing in the world of academia and research? Did you know there's a distinct difference between being a Research Nurse and Nurse Researcher, also known as a Nurse Scientist? 

In this episode Nurse Alice speaks with Dr. Kelly Wierenga of Indiana University and Dr. Timiya Nolan of Ohio State University, both assistant college professors, Jonas Scholars and nurse scientists. They clarify what it means to be a Nurse Scientist; share their nursing journey from bedside to academia and research; discuss the importance of having more Nurse scientists; discuss how the Jonas Scholar Program supported their doctoral journeys and encourage other nurses to pursue the specialty.

Many of us have been inspired to work in healthcare. You wanted to make a difference. You had so many ideas, so much ambition, so much passion then over the years of unanticipated trauma and drama, healthcare took its toll. You got burned out.  You've been spending more time with equipment and documentation than you have with the patient. You don't feel appreciated. You sometimes don't even like being a nurse anymore. You sometimes wonder if you made a mistake in your career choices.

In this episode Nurse Alice speaks with Dr. Emily Silverman, internal medicine physician and Volunteer Assistant Professor of Medicine at UCSF and the creator of The Nocturnists, a vibrant community of healthcare workers who are celebrating their humanity through storytelling. 

By airing clinicians’ stories in a safe and generative public forum, The Nocturnists helps shatter the myths of the invincible healthcare provider and reveal the truth: that healthcare workers are human, just like everyone else, and that our humanity is our strength, not our weakness.

So many times healthcare workers are focused on life-saving interventions for their patients. But what happens when the goals of care shift to providing comfort care only? What does that really mean? Do you clearly understand the difference between palliative care and hospice care? Do you know what a POLST is? This is a topic we don't talk enough about until we're in those situations. 

In this episode Nurse Alice speaks with Beth Cavenaugh, RN, BSN, CHPN who knows all too well what nurses are up against, not only during this overwhelming era but always. With over twenty-five years in internal medicine, short stay surgery, and hospice care, she understands firsthand that compassion in health care can sometimes be elusive. She shares her expertise in palliative care and hospice, as well as her new book, The Power and Pain of Nursing, which aims to arm both new and seasoned nurses with the tools necessary to care for themselves in the face of one of the most demanding professions in the world.