Nurses Archives - Page 8 of 76

Nurses Don’t Seek Help When They Need It Most

Nurses with suicidal ideation are less likely to seek help. We need to change that.

The original research article in AJN‘s November issue should prompt concern among the nursing and broader health care community. The article, “Suicidal Ideation and Attitudes Toward Help Seeking in US Nurses Relative to the General Population,” describes the results of a survey sent to nearly 87,000 members of the American Nurses Association (ANA) in late 2017. It provides essential pre-pandemic data which can serve as a post-pandemic baseline going forward.

Higher prevalence of suicidal ideation in nurses.

Of the 7,378 nurses who responded (over 47% were hospital based), 5.5% reported suicidal thoughts over the prior year. Over 43% “screened positive for depression symptoms.” When researchers compared nurses with almost 5,200 age-matched other types of workers, the prevalence of suicidal ideation was 5.8% for nurses, compared to 4.3% for other U.S. workers.

Perhaps of greatest concern is that while most nurses (85%) indicated they would seek help for emotional problems, of those reporting having had suicidal ideation, 72.6% said that they would “probably or definitely” seek help. According to the authors, this is similar to results from studies of physicians and medical students.

As caregivers, we often ignore our own needs and focus on those of others. […]

Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, FAAN, editor-in-chief (emerita)2021-11-04T09:35:44-04:00November 4th, 2021|Nursing|0 Comments

Asleep at the Wheel: Night Shift and Drowsy Driving

‘The most exhausting year of my life.’

Photo by Jan Baborák/ Unsplash

In my 25-year-plus nursing career, I’ve had the opportunity to work every shift—days, nights, evenings, 8-hour and 12-hour shifts. Without a doubt, my least favorite was 12-hour night shifts, as I am more of a morning person than night person.

When I was a new graduate, it was hard finding a job on the day shift, since it’s typically more popular and there are fewer openings for inexperienced nurses. Because of this, I accepted a position working from 7 pm to 7 am.

It was the most exhausting year of my life. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t sleep well during the day, and by the end of the 12 hours I was wiped out. Although I was lucky enough to live only a few miles from the hospital, I found it difficult to stay awake for the whole ride home. I would catch myself trying to keep my eyelids from closing, and a few times I briefly fell asleep at red lights.

Close calls on the roads.

I am grateful that nothing bad ever happened during my sleep-deprived journeys. I have a friend who wasn’t as lucky and totaled her car one morning on the way […]

Guest Author2021-10-04T11:15:27-04:00October 4th, 2021|Nursing|0 Comments

Mental Illness and Public Tragedy: Recognizing Critical Warning Signs

In 2020, I was asked to review a submission for AJN’s Viewpoint column. Reviewers are not told who the author of a work is, nor are authors informed who is reviewing their submission. But I hadn’t gone very far when I knew exactly who the author was and what she was writing about.

Photo © Shutterstock

In my career I have read and been moved by many articles and first-person accounts, but this time was different. Each word took me closer into what I realized was a very personal viewpoint on an unimaginable national tragedy.

The author of the article was Arlene Holmes, a nurse and mother who was writing about her son James, who on July 20, 2012, opened fire on movie theater patrons in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 and wounding 70. (Her article, “Why a Nurse (and Mother) Didn’t Know,” was eventually accepted and published in AJN‘s June 2020 issue.)

Asking the same questions over and over.

After completing the review of this article, the questions I asked myself were the same ones I ask each time we hear of such tragic events happening at the hands of someone who has a mental illness:

What could have been done to change the outcome and prevent such […]

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Guest Author2021-09-16T10:05:00-04:00September 16th, 2021|Nursing|0 Comments

If Nurses Aged in Reverse

“No—no!” shrieked my 95-year-old patient with dementia as I turned her to her side with the help of my nursing assistant (now called a patient care tech, 30 years later).

The three daughters sitting at her bedside inhaled deeply, their eyes wide. I looked over at them, calmly explaining that their mom was just frightened, and then in a soft voice said to my patient, “Don’t worry, Mrs. Smith, we won’t let you fall,” as she continued to scream. We positioned pillows against her back, and another between her knees. As we saw the family relax, and the patient’s screams turn to a barely audible whimper, I caressed her back and felt satisfied that all was well.

Fast-forward to my retirement. Having inherited my parents’ degenerative joint disease, at age 72 I have certain specific ways to sleep so that my left shoulder doesn’t hurt, my left hip bursitis doesn’t flare, and my right arm doesn’t get numb and tingly from a pillow that’s too puffy, causing hyperflexion of my cervical vertebrae.

Never assume what the patient’s feeling.

I have flashbacks from the days I thought I was an efficient nurse—I dread having someone, someday, assume that I am just frightened in their attempts to keep me on a turning schedule to prevent pressure ulcers. While it’s […]

Guest Author2021-08-30T14:19:59-04:00August 30th, 2021|patient experience, Patients|1 Comment

Understanding Imposter Syndrome Among Nurses

Photo by Elina Krima/Pexels

The self-doubt began when I applied for nursing school. I’d think, “What makes you think you should have this sort of responsibility?” or “I can’t possibly do this— everyone says nursing school is so hard.” I’d been accepted into two different programs, but this only heightened my suspicion that there had been some mistake. I worried that once I was in school people would realize that I didn’t belong there.

These beliefs were hard to shake. I thought I was the only one with such doubts, but it turns out that I’m not alone and this phenomenon has a name. Imposter syndrome (IS) is the feeling of being a fraud. It often affects women and minorities, and it tends to occur at times of career transitions and in high-achieving individuals. Nurses can be particularly affected.

What is it?

In 1978, Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes published their study on what they called the imposter phenomenon. Now commonly called imposter syndrome, it is described as having deep feelings of unworthiness and doubt of one’s capabilities, coupled with the fear of being “found out” or exposed as a fraud. It’s accompanied by an inability to acknowledge one’s accomplishments.

People with IS are often […]

Guest Author2021-08-14T12:24:25-04:00August 11th, 2021|Nursing|1 Comment