I have recently accepted a new position in a brand new clinic opening in South Denver called Denver CyberKnife. It is exciting as it is a new learning experience for me and will be a challenging new role as CyberKnife Coordinator. This is a disconnect from everything I have been doing up until this point. I will be more managerial and organizational in this role, instead of “nursy”. I will…
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I was lecturing recently, and the students are frantically writing down notes until a student raises their hand and asks this question. I give an answer indicating that it probably won’t be on the test, but it is good information to know, and what do I see? Everyone putting their pencils down…

I see a lot of nursing students wanting to be spoon fed the information, wanting to do very little…
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As a nursing instructor, I always find myself asking my students ‘why’? And I always have a problem with the answer. Because someone told me to do it that way. This is the heart of nursing and also the downfall of many nursing schools. If you can answer the question of why in any situation, chances are you are a good nurse.

Let me further explain this concept. Why do we…
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Finding a job in nursing is different from most of the other job hunts out there. As a new grad, you are just excited to get out there are get working (after you pass your boards of course). Just keep in mind these few things when looking for a job in this expansive field.

If they are offering huge bonuses and large amounts of money for you to work for them…
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I got a viral infection when I was 12 years old that landed me in the hospital for a short time. During that stay, I encountered doctors and nurses at their best, and this experience changed my focus in life. After recovering from my illness, that summer I broke child labor laws and volunteered about 50 hours/week at the hospital. I couldn’t get enough time there, soaking in all the…
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A lot of people ask me whether or not prior medical experience is a prerequisite for nursing school, and I summarize it in a word…no. This is the short answer, however, there is a longer answer. You don’t need formal medical training prior to entering nursing school, but spending some time in a medical facility around patients is a good idea. Why, you ask? Nursing is a highly specialized field…
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Being a nursing instructor, I hear a lot about the specialties that my students want to go into right out of school. I happened to be one of them when I was a student. I wanted to go into Labor and delivery right out of school. It was what I did my senior practicum in and it was what I thought I wanted to do. However, I was told over…
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In nursing school, it can be tough taking tests. Especially questions that are in NCLEX format. These strategies can help you  get through the test and also the anxiety.

1. Read each question carefully and identify and qualifiers. A qualifier is a word that will change the answer to the question. A big qualifier is “except”. For example: All of the following are signs and symptoms of COPD, except? That will…
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As a nursing student, finding an instructor at your school or a preceptor in your clinical setting or both can be extremely helpful.  So if you find an instructor you feel comfortable with in class or a nurse in your clinical setting that you bond with, keep in touch with them and let them know how you are doing from time to time.  They can help guide you through the…
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Before I became a nurse, I was clueless as to how to go about becoming one. It was by pure accident that I got the degree I did. So here are some tips on the steps you can take to become a nurse and maximize your time.

1. Research the degrees

There are a lot of degrees out there that people consider “nursing school”. There are also some certifications with the word…
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