How to Get Started as a Nurse Advocate Around Key Issues Like Scope of Practice

Have you ever been frustrated by a professional issue and wondered if new legislation could fix it? This happened to me as a nurse practitioner after moving to a new state.

I was young and newly married, wanting to be closer to family. I didn’t realize how drastically different each states’ Nurse Practice Act could be in terms of advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) scope of practice. My work as a psychiatric NP had been focused on child and adolescent psychiatry, but moving to Florida in 2013 hindered my ability to continue this practice. State laws did not allow advanced practice nurses to prescribe controlled substances, and the majority of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder medications are considered Schedule II.

Getting started as an advocate.

Ultimately, this legal restriction led to two things: my transition to adult-only practice, and learning how to be a nurse advocate. This overview was developed as an introduction to the process of impacting legislative change as an advocate for your patients and your profession.

2024-08-23T15:25:02-04:00August 19th, 2024|career, Nursing, nursing roles|0 Comments
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Navigating the Nursing Journey with Purpose

Nurses, what’s next?

As a labor and delivery nurse, I am part of one of life’s biggest moments for families I may never meet again. This calling requires a positive attitude and an ability to instill hope throughout each 12-hour shift. But at a certain point, I found myself feeling exhausted and disconnected from this work, and all my effort to maintain a cheerful demeanor and engagement only exacerbated the burnout. This toxic positivity, or pressure to exude optimism, had a pernicious effect on my well-being and I found myself at the polar opposite state from compassion.

I heard chatter in the break room and hallways from colleagues who were experiencing similar exhaustion, and although I was keenly aware of the tools and resources available from my organization—employee assistance programs, wellness calendars, etcetera—I didn’t know any nurses who used them, and I didn’t know how participating in these activities would alleviate my burnout.

Reconnecting to your purpose.

Photo by Heidi Fin on Unsplash

While pursuing my doctor of nursing practice degree, I began performing research on the impact of recognizing one’s purpose on job satisfaction and work engagement. Defining your purpose can be challenging. Simply saying “I am a labor and delivery nurse” doesn’t describe […]

2023-10-16T14:58:02-04:00October 16th, 2023|career, nursing career, wellness|2 Comments
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The Face of Burnout in Nursing: My Personal Story and Lessons Learned

Woman looking at ocean at sunset Photo by Artem Kovalev on Unsplash

Two-and-a-half years ago, I experienced severe burnout in my role as a night shift charge nurse in a cardiovascular ICU. This blog post shares my personal story, highlighting the common ingredients of burnout and the challenges I faced. Through this experience, I learned valuable lessons that can benefit both nurses and the health care industry as a whole.

Where it All Began

Transitioning from a clinical nurse educator to a night shift charge nurse in a new cardiovascular ICU was an exciting opportunity for me. However, it soon became overwhelming due to various factors. These included a surgeon I didn’t see eye-to-eye with, moral and ethical dilemmas in patient care, staffing challenges, and a hostile work environment created by lateral violence from coworkers.

Strained to the Breaking Point

As my anxiety grew, I struggled to meet expectations each night. While prioritizing patient care and my night shift team, I feared for our patients’ well-being. Frequently, we were overloaded with acute post-cardiothoracic surgery patients. Despite my efforts to manage admissions responsibly, I faced constant pressure. Doubts crept in, and I lost trust in myself and my ability to provide safe care.

The emotional toll […]

2023-07-13T11:32:42-04:00July 13th, 2023|career, Nursing, nursing career, nursing stories, patient safety|3 Comments
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Getting Nurses with Substance Use Disorders the Help They Need

“Nurses have distinctive risk factors associated with the work environment that may increase the probability of developing an SUD.”

In my previous roles as the director of the emergency department and pediatric intensive care unit, I worked with nurses who were enrolled in the Intervention Project for Nurses (IPN), which is a substance use disorder (SUD) assistance program.

My colleagues would often ask me why I’d hire anyone who was enrolled in this program. My response was that these are the ones who are getting help and trying to recover. I feel safe with these nurses because I know they are being monitored and receiving treatment—it’s the other nurses that I worry about. […]

2022-10-12T09:33:38-04:00October 12th, 2022|career, Ethics, Nursing, patient safety|0 Comments
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Looking Beyond Nursing Education Offerings Can Open Doors

In a world where time efficiency is supreme, nurses often seek educational opportunities only within their area of nursing expertise. After all, further expertise in my specialty area will directly apply to work, right? It may seem counterintuitive to look for learning opportunities outside nursing, but the results may surprise you.

I am a nursing PhD student, and the PhD program contains only one “independent study” elective course. One chance for me to choose my own topic. Most students choose to research background literature for their dissertation, but I chose . . . to audit a law course. My future research project involves children with special needs, and I discovered a local special education law course. School education is vitally important for families with special needs children, but the rules surrounding education are poorly understood by parents—and nurses.

Since I don’t have a law degree, I wasn’t certain how much I would understand or use the material covered in the class, but auditing the class turned out to be the best decision I could have made, yielding immediate benefits and opening doors of future opportunity.

Outside the educational comfort zone.

Initially, I felt excitement tinged with trepidation and self-consciousness. To audit a course, I needed to obtain permission […]

2022-07-08T13:00:07-04:00July 8th, 2022|career, Nursing|1 Comment
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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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