Ask Nurse Alice

The job-hunting process can be a tedious and daunting process especially when hundreds of other nurses are applying for the same position. After submitting your job application, it's usually a hurry up and wait game as hospitals and health care employers sift through hundreds of resumes. So how can you make your resume stand out and get recognized? And once you get the phone call from the recruite...

Did you secure the bag during the pandemic? Maybe you took a pandemic travel nursing assignment?  Added a couple of extra shifts for OT/DT? Or maybe you cashed in on some bonus pay? Either way, you probably made a little (or a lot of) extra money. So what are you going to do with it? While paying off debt and treating yourself are some of the first few things that come to mind. Have you ever consi...

As healthcare providers and caregivers, we are often encouraging others to take care of their mental health and wellness,  but do we do enough of that for ourselves? Why do we not follow our own instructions? And why do some of us feel bad when we want to leave unhealthy situations? In this episode Nurse Alice talks to psychotherapist, Dr. Michele Finnernan, about common mental issues she's been s...

No one goes to work planning to have a bad day but sometimes things happen - a traffic accident makes you late to work; you have a disagreement with a co-worker or you get busy and forget to complete a task. If this is an unusual occurrence and it didn't cause any harm to a patient then grace is typically provided however if this turns out to be more of a pattern for you then you definitely want t...

In this episode Nurse Alice speaks with Molly Rindt, RN and talent advocate at Incredible Health, a tech company that has changed the way nurses get hired by having hospitals apply to nurses. With the help of technology, Incredible health has flipped the hiring script to match nurses with what they're looking for with what the hospital is looking for and then hospitals apply to the nurse. In addit...

While the fear of dying from Covid has been curbed by vaccines, masks, new treatments, and the most recent and prevalent strain, Omicron appearing to have more mild symptoms than previous strains, it doesn't exclude the fact that 10-20%% of those who survive any covid infection from developing Long Haul Covid. In this episode Nurse Alice speaks with Ashok Gupta, a Chronic Illness, Long Covid, and...

When you're hungry, at work, they already know your food order. When you're talking, s/he can almost always finish your sentences. S/he can read your body language and facial expressions and know exactly what you're thinking without you having to say a word. And when something goes down at work, s/he is down for you like four flat tires.   If you're spending 40 hours or more each week at work with...

It's one thing to be a nurse and knows the patient's experience but it's a whole different experience being the nurse who takes care of the patient who happens to be a nurse.  In this episode Nurse, Alice shares some of her own personal encounters as a patient wherein one situation she had to pull the "I am a nurse card" for the nurse to address her concerns to another instance when staff shortcha...

Nurse.org, the largest website and community of nurses online, announced the winners of its annual Nurse ICON Awards which recognize the best products, entertainment, careers, influencers, and issues that were most important to nurses in 2021. The Nurse.org community nominated and voted for the winners. See the full list of finalists on Nurse.org

 With one in eight women who will experience breast cancer in their lifetime, it's extremely important that we keep screening and early identification and treatment on the top of mind. As a woman, not only do I need to know for myself but also for my patients.  And so what happens when the nurse who cares for patients with breast cancer, gets breast cancer herself? Can we keep the same energy and...

Have you ever received a report from someone who so confidently acts like they know it all, but leaves out fundamental and critical elements in the report? Nurse Alice shares a recent experience of when she was picking up a patient from an ER to transport to an ICU at a different hospital and encountered a handoff report from a nurse whose "know-it all" attitude was rooted in her closed-off person...

In the world of healthcare, many times it's presumed that a patient's code status is full code especially in the absence of any medical documentation or family that says otherwise. Is that okay? Or should you seek this definitive information asap, especially when the patient has a high probability of deteriorating?  In this episode Nurse Alice shares a recent clinical experience when she discovere...

In this episode Nurse Alice breaks down the new and confusing shortened CDC Covid isolation and quarantine guidelines, its potential impact on the health and safety of nurses, and how it's giving the air of more concern for big business and staffing vs safety, and is fueling the real nursing shortage. What nurse wants to go back to work Covid positive while still not feeling well to have to take c...

More and more often we're hearing, "I'm fully vaccinated but tested positive for Covid." Nurse Alice talks about why the Omicron strain is so contagious, why this is happening, and hot off the press, the FDA  first-ever Emergency Use Authorized Covid Pill that can significantly reduce moderate to severe illness progression that results in hospitalizations and death. But here's the catch - just lik...

As a nurse how involved are you with your state nursing association? How involved are you with your state board of registered nursing? Do you know the difference between the two organizations, their roles, and how they work together to advance the nursing profession? And what is your role in working with both of them to make sure your nursing voice is heard? If more nurses aren't present at decisi...

As a nurse, if you heard a colleague say I'm not a nurse, I'm a nurse practitioner - would you be offended? Or are they justified in saying that to clearly identify their role and scope of practice with patients which is different from the registered nurse?  I know, it may sound like a betrayal because you can't be a nurse practitioner without being a nurse first but before you write them off as h...

When was the last time you combed or washed your patient's hair? Is that part of your assessment? How often does a hair make the care plan?   A person's hair provides a lot of information about one's health and blood circulation. Hair also serves a variety of functions, including protection, sensory input, thermoregulation, and communication, for example, hair on the head protects the skull from t...

Through her platform and business, Sarah Gaines aka "The Six-Figure Travel Nurse" coaches RNs making the transition into travel nursing and provides them with tips and training to maximize their earnings, as well educates new travel nurses with all the practical information they need to succeed, from taxes to supplies to take with them on assignment. Read the article on Nurse.org

We know that cultural diversity and health equity are very much issues that plague and negatively impact the quality of healthcare that so many people receive. In this episode, Kimberly Wilson, tech entrepreneur and creator of "Hued," an app that links black and Latinx patients with culturally competent doctors shares what she and her company are doing to fix it.  Birthed from her own frustrations...

Nurse Alice sat down to speak with Neela Sethi Young, M.D, 44, a wife, mother of two, and pediatrician and co-founder of Jaanuu Scrubs, which is the only physician-founded and led scrub brand in the healthcare apparel industry. Read the full article on Nurse.org

Nurse Alice spoke with Rick Nettles, MD, Vice President of Medical Affairs for Janssen Infectious Vaccines underneath Johnson & Johnson on a recent episode of the Ask Nurse Alice podcast. Nurse Alice, who shared that she herself got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, went directly to the source and spoke with Dr. Nettles about how the vaccines work, his own experience, and what all nurses should know...

The FDA hopes to reduce Americans' sodium intake by 12% over 2.5 years. They are asking restaurants to reduce the salt in their products.  In this episode Nurse Alice talks about why you're still probably eating too much salt, even if you consider yourself to be healthy and how to reduce your own sodium intake. 

Until 2021, Forbes had never named a nurse on their 30 under 30 healthcare list, until  Dr. Kristen Choi came along. Dr. Choi is a psychiatric nurse and health services researcher as well as an Assistant Professor of Nursing and public health at UCLA. Choi joined the Ask Nurse Alice podcast to discuss her background, future goals and her participation in the Pfizer clinical trial. 

Ryann Kress BSN, RN, has never let her wheelchair stop her from accomplishing her goals. She spent much of her adolescence in and out of emergency rooms and doctors' appointments managing her disability, Ehlers-Danlos SyndromeEhlers-Danlos Syndrome. When Ryann started her healthcare career as an EMT, and then a registered nurse, she was not using a wheelchair. Her life changed dramatically at age...

“I’m stuck in a job I hate,” “I want a better relationship with my spouse, but don't know where to start,”  “I’m frustrated because I'm stuck in such a boring routine." Can you relate? If the answer is yes, well, you're not the only one. There are times in life where we sometimes feel stuck. Whether you're feeling stuck in a job, stuck in a relationship, can't decide the next goal to pursue, famil...