Patients depend on your assessments and opinions, staff members depend on your decisions, and family members depend on you for support in a variety of ways. Though you may be carrying the weight of many, and think of yourself as strong, there comes a point of overload. Turns out the last straw related to burnout for…

Do you remember the Staples ad for back-to-school where the father skips down the aisle singing “It’s the happiest time of the year”? Next week school starts in my town and my daughter goes back to college the following week. There’s something about the end of summer and the start of a new academic year…

Do you remember the Staples ad for back-to-school where the father skips down the aisle singing “It’s the happiest time of the year”? Next week school starts in my town and my daughter goes back to college the following week. There’s something about the end of summer and the start of a new academic year…

Last week I lost a close friend, a wonderful, warm, bright, loving, curious man who died within several weeks of receiving a leukemia diagnosis. The loss is hard and a reminder of the limitations of all the good intentions, knowledge and technology which we bring to the care of our patients.  In this case, it…

One of the things I most enjoyed about my work as a camp nurse was being part of a team. While you may be alone with your patients, most health care professionals work as part of a team. Are you a valued member of your team, or do you feel like a widget? Being acknowledged…

One of the things I most enjoyed about my work as a camp nurse was being part of a team. While you may be alone with your patients, most health care professionals work as part of a team. Are you a valued member of your team, or do you feel like a widget? Being acknowledged…