Ask Nurse Alice

While many of us are aware that the U.S. Supreme Court has officially reversed Roe v. Wade declaring that there is no longer any constitutional right to abortion, did you know that in response to that the federal government established a Reproductive rights task force through the Department of Justice to oversee state abortions laws to ensure they do not violate any federal laws.  In this episode...

Have you ever compared yourself or your situation to someone else's? While most people recommend not doing so because comparison can steal your joy, Nurse Alice shares the upside of comparison and helps you identify when it's okay to do it and when doing so becomes unhealthy. Read the article on nurse.org here https://nurse.org/articles/comparison-as-a-nurse/

Have you ever had to be at work or school while experiencing a personal crisis at home? If you're like most people, you have and it was extremely challenging so don't feel like you're alone.   Nurse Alice shares how she got through work in the ICU and graduate school after discovering her husband was cheating and had an extramarital child which ultimately resulted in their divorce. She was devasta...

Nurse Alice is a medical correspondent for NBC and has also been featured on many national TV shows like Good Morning America, The Doctors, Dr. Phil, Dr. Drew,  and others. Follow your passion they say but will it sustain you until your passion job does? Here are some things you should consider before you jump ship at your current job to chase your dream.  In this episode Nurse Alice shares her ca...

Have you ever dated someone at work? According to some surveys, up to 58% of employees have engaged in a romantic relationship with a colleague. I've thought about it but I've seen it go terribly wrong for others and have decided to avoid it by all means necessary.

So you want to become a nurse but don't know where to start? Maybe you're not sure of which route to take? Or, perhaps you started your journey but got stalled along the way?  Any of those things can be very frustrating, discouraging, and disappointing. But you can't give up. If you feel like you're stalled or stuck in your nursing journey and need some motivation to keep going - this episode is f...

In this episode Nurse Alice talks about a time when an employer crossed a work boundary and wanted her to work at home when she was out ill. Have you been in a similar situation? What did you do? Here are some tips on how you can set work boundaries with your employer. 

Now that things have opened up since the pandemic, one area of healthcare that's booming, more than any other, is cosmetic surgery. Everyone wants that summer beach body and many are resorting to surgery to help them get there. And even if that's not you, it's important to remind patients that any surgery, even elective cosmetic surgery, carries risks. In this episode, Nurse Alice speaks with Dr....

It's every nurse or healthcare worker's nightmare: shooting in the hospital. Sadly, violence against healthcare workers has been on the rise. You might feel helpless, if you do, that's normal. Just know- you're not alone, gun violence in hospitals can be prevented. In this episode, Nurse Alice talks about,  Ways nurses can protect themselves from gun violence and workplace violence How to identify...

Have you ever come to work and got what seemed to be one of the worst reports ever? What do you do? How do you handle the situation so it's a meaningful experience for everyone involved? Do you give feedback to the off-going nurse about how to improve upon their practice? The unsafest times for patients are during shift change, transfers and handoffs. Is that a surprise to anyone? This is the time...

While March 19 was Certified Nurses Day, being certified is relevant throughout the year.  In 2020, the American Board of Nursing Specialties (ABNS) conducted a national survey that found 75% of adults thought it was important for all nurses to have a specialty board certification in a relevant field. But why is it important to nurses? In this episode Nurse Alice speaks with Elizabeth Scruth, the...

In this episode Nurse Alice speaks with Ryan Ribeira, assistant professor at Stanford and CEO of SimX, an immersive VR medical training company. He explains,-  What's wrong with the way we train now. - What prompted him to start SimX- How virtual reality, augmented reality and XR are safe solutions to training and preparing future medical professionalsEvery year nearly 80,000 nursing student appli...

It's a chronic disease of unknown cause characterized by the enlargement of lymph nodes in many parts of the body and the widespread appearance of granulomas. If you're a nurse you're familiar with it but likely not enough to really explain it to your patient. And that's why we're talking about it now, April is Sarcoidosis awareness month. In this episode Nurse Alice speaks with Amy Cobb, a long-t...

There is a nursing shortage that we all know about. But did you ever think to realize that in addition to direct patient care, we also have an even more significant shortage of nursing in the world of academia and research? Did you know there's a distinct difference between being a Research Nurse and Nurse Researcher, also known as a Nurse Scientist?  In this episode Nurse Alice speaks with Dr. Ke...

Many of us have been inspired to work in healthcare. You wanted to make a difference. You had so many ideas, so much ambition, so much passion then over the years of unanticipated trauma and drama, healthcare took its toll. You got burned out.  You've been spending more time with equipment and documentation than you have with the patient. You don't feel appreciated. You sometimes don't even like b...

So many times healthcare workers are focused on life-saving interventions for their patients. But what happens when the goals of care shift to providing comfort care only? What does that really mean? Do you clearly understand the difference between palliative care and hospice care? Do you know what a POLST is? This is a topic we don't talk enough about until we're in those situations.  In this epi...

Have you ever had a poop and looked at it after you wiped? If not, you should! Our colorectal health is not something we should ignore. Why is it so taboo to know what healthy poop should look like? Why does it sometimes float and sometimes sink? What does it mean when it changes colors or consistency? How many times should we be going? Discover the power of pooping. In this episode Nurse Alice sp...

After working tirelessly at the bedside caring for patients and working in high-stress conditions, many nurses have families they must return to and continue to care for. How can I as a nurse protect myself, my time, and energy so I can enjoy my life outside my shift? How does one successfully juggle the stressors and demands of work and still have the energy to take care of our family at home? In...

Nursing is a great career choice due to the high demand for nurses, career stability and growth opportunities, well as a high average salary and work-life flexibility. It's also a profession that has historically been predominately female. And while that's changing - has it changed fast enough considering only 12% of nurses are male? What is it like being a male nurse? And why does it seem like ma...

I know toothaches can sometimes feel like emergencies but are they? The mouth is a major entryway for bacteria and infection and is clearly essential for a patent airway. So how do we as nurses know which dental issues are emergencies that need to be handled right away and which ones can wait for the outpatient dental office? In this episode Nurse Alice speaks with  Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon, D...

A day in the life of a nurse can involve long hours of standing, walking, lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling heavy items from point A to point B, which can cause stress on our legs and feet. To avoid work-related health and feet problems, it's important that nurses take proper care of their feet. And while we're thinking about our own feet, let's not forget those of our patients. They may not...

Have you ever wanted the ability to choose when and where you work and build your own flexible schedule? Maybe you have to work around a busy school or spouse schedule? Perhaps the babysitter isn't always available? Or maybe you work a full-time job and want to add a few shifts elsewhere? Or maybe you want to work when you feel like it and don't want to be bothered by a recruiter or administrative...

Medical marijuana has been a hot topic for several years. First legalized in California in 1996, now more than two-thirds of U.S. states and the District of Columbia have legalized it for medical treatments and more are considering bills to do the same.  Then in 2012 Colorado and Washington became the first two states to legalize it for recreational use, and in a similar fashion, while only 18 sta...

If the past two years have taught the world anything, it's that nurses are not okay. Nurses are burned out, many leaving the profession and for several reasons including having to work short-staffed in stressful, demanding, and hazardous conditions while being underpaid, undervalued, and overworked often at the risk of their own physical and mental health being. So of course the nursing shortage (...

More than 100,000 U.S. women undergo some form of mastectomy each year. It is typically performed to treat breast cancer, but, in some cases, it is performed to prevent the risk of breast cancer. But what about life after the mastectomy?  For some women after breast cancer and mastectomy, it can leave them feeling a void and having a desire to restore their natural-looking breasts. While this is s...