(Editor's note: This guest blog was written by Suzanne LeBeau, BSN, RN, CLNC.) We all know the scenario. You're getting report on your sixth patient and the nurse who is giving report is spent, burnt out and just wants to go home to her cozy bed. As you may imagine, the conversation may go like this: First nurse: ''In room 320 is Mr. Jones, a ...

Exploring the Web for inspirational quotations pertinent to nurses, I tripped across Medi-Smart which listed, instead, ''funny quotes from medical records.'' The site states, ''The following quotes were taken from actual medical records dictated by physicians.'' Wow! Do Leno or Letterman know about these guys? This material is killer. Ah, the ...

It's been all over the news for a week now. Veterans of war no longer have to prove a specific event led to their post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In his announcement of the change in Veterans Administration policy, President Barack Obama said, ''I don't think our troops on the battlefield should have to take notes to keep for a claims ...

I recently edited a compelling article on physician-assisted suicide (PAS) written by Lisa Siminski, BSN, RN, CHPN, staff nurse, St. Luke's Hospice House, Bethlehem, PA.   In her report on PAS, Siminski points out straight away that the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses ''clearly specifies that nurses ...

I just finished reading Finding Frances, a book by Janice M. Van Dyck. Frances is Frances Baldwin, a lifetime heavy smoker who is dying of COPD. After suffering with the condition for some time, she learns there are treatment options for her; she can have several surgeries that will prolong her life, but quality of life will not be optimal. ...

On this week's episode of Showtime's nurse-centric hit Nurse Jackie,  Jackie (Edie Falco) and BFF Dr. O'Hara (Eve Best) take it upon themselves to stitch up little Fiona's cut lip - right in Jackie's kitchen. Hmmm.... And exactly how clean is that kitchen table? Do I hear the siren call of bacteria summoning an infection? Jackie's ...

The other day, while tidying up, I picked up a book, Inspired Nurse by Rich Bluni, RN, and leafed through it. My first reaction: How did I miss this book? My second: Wow, what a great book to tell nurses about, especially in this stressful time and especially because it's almost Nurses Week (May 6-12). And you know how it works, once you hear or ...

Have you ever known a Nurse Jackie in your own life? You know the kind -- full of swagger and bravado, oozing with street smarts and clever comebacks, never one to turn away from conflict. Showtime, which aired the latest episode last night, recently asked that question to its viewers. Online respondents revealed: ''Jackie reminds me ...

I'm anxious to see what nurses think of the May/June ADVANCE Online Book Club selection Josie's Story: A Mother's Inspiring Crusade to Make Medical Care Safe by Sorrel King. While the book is about the strength of human resolve - detailing how one family survived the death of their 18-month-old daughter due to a medical error - it is also about ...

When nurses go on strike, it can be a thankless undertaking. They may be fighting for an ideal of better patient care, while at the same time walking away from the patients for whom they are caring. It's a ''damned if you do, damned if you don't'' situation. At Philadelphia's Temple University Hospital (TUH), that scenario is playing out as some ...