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After 19 years of caring for people in the hospital, I decided it was time to leave the bedside. I had been planning to teach nursing classes for years, but this year seemed to be the appropriate time. A friend was teaching clinical classes at a local college and recommended me for their faculty. I have felt a renewed sense of purpose since I started interacting weekly with those just starting their careers. They are still excited about learning, eager to gain the skills they will need to care for patients. Prior to leaving the hospital environment, I was in leadership. Part of my job was listening to patients concerns and complaints. In addition to providing direct patient care, my hospital needed the unit level leadership to bridge the divide between floor nursing duties and administrative responsibilities.
In today's healthcare environment, people seem to feel justified verbally abusing their healthcare team. Perhaps that is not the case everywhere, but it was becoming more commonplace in my experience. When I started in healthcare in 2006, it was rare that a patient or family member raised their voice to me. This year, it was weekly. The repeated moral injury of giving care to people willing to belittle nurses and CNAs is disheartening. This site is a part of my plan to mitigate the emotional and spiritual damage caused to us by those moral injuries. We can come together to celebrate our success, share funny stories, pour the tea and vent about the injustices that exist in our corners of the world.
Nurseclipboard
Periodically, I will add new content. Drop me an email if there is a topic you want covered.
What's on your clipboard?
For years, I've carried my clipboard in the hospital, entrusting it to keep me organized throughout the shift. I'm partial to the bifold that will fit in my pocket. Some of my students carry the trifold variety. Whatever helps to keep reports organized will do. I prefer a clipboard to 37 post-its all over the nurses' station. When I first started nursing, we still had paper charting. Clipboards were ubiquitous, every patient (for charting), every CNA and every nurse had one. Some facilities still have paper report sheets, some nurses prefer a report sheet of their own design. One common thread is a support to keep everything together and organized. I want this site to be analogous to that support. I want to help nursing students and new nurses grow their practice, develop clinical judgement and build community. For experienced nurses, I will soon offer CEUs and modules to learn new topics or review where you are already confident. Please join the community of caregivers or leave a comment.