As a nurse, compassion is important, although some nurses do not feel that way. To be compassionate, you must feel some sort of sympathy for your patients. Whenever I get a difficult patient, I always think of what the patient is experiencing. I try to put myself in their shoes and always think of how to make them feel better. 

Creighton Abrams said: When eating an elephant, take one bite at a time. When I first started nursing, I was told to assess all my patients in one hour and then start my medication pass.

Many may not agree, but I consider the medication pass to be one of the most important parts of the whole shift! If I fall behind on that, I feel like the walls are closing in on me.

One of my favorite parts of being a nurse is giving reports to the incoming shift. I enjoy telling the story of why the patient was admitted. It is important to give the nurse good reports on the patients they will be receiving.

No matter where you work, there are always difficult people to deal with. This is also true in nursing. Difficult nurses can be stressed, moody, and/or just not helpful.

Let me just clarify that title for anyone who doesn’t know – just because there is an aide on the floor, that doesn’t mean they are always qualified and helpful.

There is a saying that the best leaders are those who don’t want to lead. When I watch the charge nurse, head nurse, or any nurse in charge of the floor, there is an 8 out of 10 chance that these are people who really shouldn’t lead.

One of the most difficult things in nursing to learn is time management. When you don’t have any help passing medications, toileting patients, reading their notes, complete flowsheets, writing notes, or reviewing their lab work,

By constantly striving to be a great nurse, I believe we help not only our patients, but also our co-workers. No matter how busy I am, I always offer to help them.

Being a new nurse is challenging. You are taught to review orders, look up medications, observe labs, and read notes before your shift begins.