About Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, FAAN, editor-in-chief (emerita)

Editor-in-chief, (emerita), AJN

Being a Nurse, or When Did You ‘Grok’ Nursing?

How does one “become” a nurse, as opposed to learning nursing skills? What is “being” a nurse as opposed to “doing” nursing?

On our Facebook page last week, we posted this query: “Professional identity is more than what you do—it’s a part of who you are. What does being a nurse mean to you?” One of the responses we received was, “Caring providers that own it, do right, work together and solve problems with innovative methods to improve care methods and optimize outcomes.

The respondent’s use of “own it” resonated with me: from the thesaurus, to own something means “to possess, preserve, maintain, hold, profess, declare, accept, have possession of…” To me, it hints at holding onto something valuable, being mindful of it and not losing sight of it.

This original post came about because I had recently attended a meeting at the University of Kansas School of Nursing, where a group of about 50 invitees were asked to brainstorm how nursing students develop a professional identity—How does one “become” a nurse, as opposed to learning nursing skills? What is “being” a nurse as opposed to “doing” nursing? Most of us say, when asked what we do, “I’m a nurse,” not “I do nursing.” And some of us […]

2018-10-05T10:42:29-04:00October 5th, 2018|Nursing, nursing career, nursing perspective|1 Comment
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Have A Seat—Or Maybe Not

Too much sitting is harmful.

Photo © blue jean images.

In this month’s AJN, author Linda Eanes sounds the alarm about the health risks associated with the way most of us spend much of our waking life: sitting down. Her article, “Too Much Sitting: A Newly Recognized Health Risk,” reviews research on the health effects of prolonged uninterrupted sitting (sitting for 30 minutes or more) and high-volume sitting (sitting for seven hours or more each day).

Studies show an association between high-volume and prolonged uninterrupted sitting and health risks, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and all-cause mortality. Sedentary time is also linked to obesity and an increased risk of certain cancers, including ovarian, endometrial, and colon cancer.

Eanes notes:

“Simply put, too much sitting, with its characteristic reduced energy expenditure and absence of whole body movement, may jeopardize health even in the presence of regular exercise.”

Exercise matters, but we’re still sitting too much.

Unfortunately, Eanes’s statement describes my life (see my September editorial) and that of most people I know: sitting at a desk, sitting while commuting, and doing some exercise a few hours a week. (Or what we like to think of […]

2018-09-10T10:06:16-04:00September 6th, 2018|Public health|0 Comments
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The End of Summer Is Nearly Here: Use Those Vacations

Every July 4th at the end of the day, a friend used to say, “Well, summer is almost over.” And summer did seem to fly by in a blink after that day. Now here we are again, putting the summer of 2018 to bed as we face Labor Day weekend. This last chance at summer always seems a little sad. It’s the marker of so many things—the end of lifeguards at the beach, the last chance to get school supplies, the beginning of another school year. (That includes nursing school. Here’s some good advice for new nursing students that we collected a while back from our readers.)

Like many others, I recently spent a week on vacation with family. It took some doing to get things organized and some working ahead to meet deadlines, but it was worth it. As a manager, there’s no one to keep certain things moving while you’re gone. So the week leading up to vacation is a frenzied time, organizing and working ahead to cover deadlines, and getting ready to leave. Then, once back, there’s another frenzied time to try to catch up. My strategy is to check email once a day while on vacation. It keeps what I have to deal with […]

2018-08-31T07:59:34-04:00August 31st, 2018|Nursing, nursing career, wellness|0 Comments
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In Nursing, Some Things Never Change: Shift Report, 1985

Several days ago, we published “A Day in the Emergency Room for a Nurse Who Loves Her Job.” It gave an engaging, sometimes moving account of one nurse’s experience of a normal/stressful day in the ER. As it happens, colleague Theresa Stephany recently sent me the bare bones report we’re sharing today—an actual shift report from 1985. She received the copy many years ago from a friend who worked the night shift at a local hospital, and who had typed and sent it to her manager at the end of the shift. Stephany wrote to me that she “kept it all these years because it’s so horrible that it’s poignant.”

I’m sure that poor nurse was exhausted. Anyone have a shift story to tell, nightmare or otherwise?

SHIFT REPORT, 1985

TO: DIRECTOR OF NURSES
FROM: HEAD NURSE 2ND MAIN
SUBJECT: ACTIVITY RECORD, 11-7 SHIFT, 9/8/85                

Memorandum:

  1. 12 patients in restraints, 2 in leathers, acquired during the night.
  2. 3 Foley catheters pulled out
  3. 1 chest tube inserted with 1300 cc’s pus out
  4. 2 temperatures over 103°
  5. 3 Temperatures over 102°
  6. 7 Temperatures over 101°
  7. 3 patients having DT’s
  8. 3 Patients having chest pain
  9. 3 patients having respiratory distress
  10. Approximately 50 “now” or “stat” orders during the shift
  11. Several chest x-rays done (staff to deliver to x-ray and return)
  12. 2 beds had to be moved to make room for a sitter patient
  13. […]
2018-08-23T10:49:13-04:00August 23rd, 2018|Nursing, nursing perspective|2 Comments
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Nurses Retiring from Nursing–or Not

Many of my nursing school classmates are retiring. A few said they were “done” with nursing and health care and with working, and stopped as soon as they were able to afford not working. They keep busy traveling, babysitting grandchildren, or just taking it easy. Some are trying their hand at something totally different—becoming a docent in a museum, for example, or taking courses to be a travel agent.

Keeping a connection to nursing.

Retired nurse Diane McCarthy volunteers in the neonatal ICU at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus. Millennial nurses such as Erin Bergmann (left) say they benefit from having more experienced nurses like McCarthy on the unit. Photo by Kyle Robertson.

Most people I know, however, still want to keep a connection with nursing and have transitioned into part-time or consulting roles. After fulfilling and demanding careers, many older nurses still have a lot to offer and are not ready to completely retire from nursing. As one colleague has aptly termed it, “preferment”—doing what you prefer, when you prefer, and […]

2018-08-09T11:10:56-04:00August 9th, 2018|Nursing, nursing career|2 Comments
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Views expressed on the blog are solely those of the authors or persons quoted. They do not necessarily reflect AJN’s views or those of Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
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