How to Become a Nurse:
Your Nursing Career Guide

“Code Blue!” Picture these scenarios:After receiving the change-of-shift handoff, you enter your patient’s room to introduce yourself and do a quick assessment. The patient has been stable since their uncomplicated surgical procedure, but now they aren’t breathing. The wife of another nurse’s assigned patient comes running down the hall and grabs you, yelling, “My husband just ‘fainted’ and I can’t wake him up!” You follow her ...

Your nursing education prepared you for all types of clinical situations. And hiring prospects for a new nurse are very, very promising. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment for nurses is expected to grow 6% a year through 2032—faster than the average for most other occupations.But getting your dream assignment isn’t a guarantee. Even with the ongoing nursing shortage, employers want to select the best possible candidate fo ...

Some of the most dreaded test items on the NCLEX involve pharmacology. Learning hundreds of medications—generic names are used on NCLEX—for a wide range of conditions can seem overwhelming. Remember that the purpose of NCLEX is to ensure you can provide SAFE and efficient care to clients, so pharmacology is going to be a crucial part of your examination.The 2023 NCLEX-RN Test Plan states that 16% (range 13-19%) of the test items cov ...

You did it! After years of education and clinical experience, studying and preparing for the NCLEX, and passing it to obtain your nursing license, you’re ready to find a position that will launch your career AND pay you to participate as a full-fledged member of the healthcare team.Feeling a little (or a lot) nervous and overwhelmed? You’re not alone. Let’s walk through the steps that will result in a successful start as a Pro ...

Do you have a nurse on your holiday gift list? Are you looking for something different that shows you understand what a hardworking nurse really needs. Maybe you’re a nurse who’s tired of receiving items that are meant for on-the-job and want to be ready when someone asks for gifts that you really could use.12 Days of Holiday Gift IdeasWe previously created a post called “Great Gifts for Nurses: No Special Occasion Require ...

Balancing professional and personal life can be a challenge at any time of the year, but when the holiday season begins, stress levels can skyrocket. Depending on your faith and culture, the holidays can occur at various times during the calendar and often last for a month or more.As a nurse, you may already juggle a hectic schedule, working long shifts and weekends, while trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle for yourself and loved ones. Ther ...

Sleep Hygiene for NursesEvery nurse knows the significance of sleep for healing and optimal health. It’s included in the foundation level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, along with air, food, water, and shelter—the elements necessary for survival. Starting with their education, and continuing throughout their careers, nurses learn methods to enable their patients to sleep well. You make every effort to keep noises dow ...

During a typical 12-hour shift, a nurse can easily walk 4-5 miles, about 8,400-10,500 steps. (A study by University of Iowa found that most people take about 2,100 steps to walk a mile.) Compare this to the average American daily count of 5,000-7,000 steps.When you consider the bending, reaching, and lifting necessary during a shift, it’s easy to see that the physical demands of a nurse can compare to that of an athlete in training. N ...

The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is a practical and objective method to determine the level of a patient’s consciousness following a head injury. It’s a simple and reliable measurement tool that every nurse should become familiar with and be able to accurately perform. For nurses, the GCS provides a clear picture of trends in a neurologically compromised patient.The GCS was developed in 1974 at the University of Glasgow (Scotland) b ...