Ask Nurse Alice

It's time to normalize nurse's feelings. As nurses, we are literally overwhelmed by helping others. Not that we don't enjoy helping our patients. We do. That's the reason we became nurses. However, the return on investment I don't feel is matching up. The time that we are investing of ourselves physically, emotionally, spiritually, our time, and our sacrifices to take care of others is daunting. We’re getting tired of having to exude so much compassion. These feelings have a name, it's called "compassion fatigue" and healthcare worker are experiencing it on a massive scale. 

In this episode, Nurse Alice dives into the issues that have amplified our feelings of compassion fatigue and what we can do to combat compassion fatigue. 

Visit nurse.org for more!

In this episode, Nurse Tori of The Cellfie Podcast (@nurse.tori_)joins Nurse Alice to talk about her journey into nursing, why she chose to be a NICU nurse, and what she loves about her specialty. 

If you're considering a career as a NICU nurse or ever wondered "what do NICU nurses do?", this episode is a MUST listen! 

Check out Nurse.org's Career Guide "How To Become a NICU Nurse" https://nurse.org/resources/neonatal-nicu-nurse/

Floating as a new nurse can feel intimidating. You were hired for a specific job and you are comfortable. But, there are definite benefits of floating. In this episode Nurse Alice discusses how floating can actually benefit your career and skills as a nurse. 

When you work the night shift you have to adjust your life to meet the needs of your schedule. It's equally as important to learn to stand up for yourself. Here are Nurse Alice's best tips for working the night shift. Here's a peak at what I discuss in the podcast, 

1. Not everything has to revolve around work. Let's normalize having a conversation with whoever does the schedule and say, I have an appointment I need to go to and I would really like to move my schedule to accommodate it. My health and wellness are important to me.

2. Don't commit to anything during the day because other people expect you to. My calendar is open during the day because I'm supposed to be asleep. A person who works the day shift wouldn't wake up at 3 am for a delivery. So if you worked a night shift, there's no reason you should wake up at 3 pm when you're expected to sleep. 

Visit nurse.org for more nurse advice and news. 

Alice admits that when the vaccine was first offered to her, she passed. She was hesitant. However, after doing a lot of research she ultimately decided to get the vaccine and so did her family. 

Fast forward several months, many hospitals are now making the COVID vaccines mandatory for healthcare workers. In this episode, Alice shares her thought on vaccine mandates and the future of nursing. 

Visit nurse.org for news, career resources, education guides and more.

Anytime someone dies, other people’s lives are impacted. Most of the time, there is a direct impact on the people with whom they worked. Whether the deceased person worked in your unit or they were a more casual acquaintance,  someone they knew will struggle with the news.

The relationships we develop through our work as nurses are special. Sometimes we are closer to our fellow nurses than we are to our own family.  However, we rarely take the time to think about the huge impact that the loss of a coworker can have on our lives. 

We experience so much grief and loss in the nursing profession - and, it's always challenging. In this episode, Alice offers gentle advice on how to deal with the death of a coworker.

As a nurse, you are your number one patient. Your mental health matters. You have to make yourself a priority. Now more than ever it's important to focus on your mental health. Alice opens up about her own struggles with mental health and burnout. She provides resources, guidance, and advocacy for nurses who are not feeling like their usual selves. 

Nurse Alice reveals the reasons why she quit her job as a Family Nurse Practitioner. After working her way up the nursing ladder from CNA to LPN to RN to BSN to MSN, Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), Alice was ready to get her FNP. Was becoming a nurse practitioner worth it? Does she regret it?

When she started her Nurse Practitioner journey she had so many personal and professional reasons as to why this would be a good idea. But was it really? Find out in this episode.

Visit nurse.org to read my latest article. 

Giving an effective bedside shift report sets the tone for the shift. Nurses might struggle with nursing handoff - maybe they don't know exactly what to say or how to properly communicate everything that needs to be said, where to conduct shift reports, or how to best give the report. In this episode, Alice shares her best advice for giving a shift report that will set up the incoming nurse for success. And, ultimately give the highest level of patient care. 

*FIGS SCRUBS DISCOUNT:  Get 15% OFF your scrubs order at wearfigs.com by using code NURSEALICE at checkout! 

Nurse Alice opens up about a relationship that ended and the strategies she used to work through the overwhelming emotions to learn and grow from that experience. We've all experienced disappointment in life and it always hurts - here are 5 ways to deal with disappointment.