Once, when I was a non-clinical department manager, I received a call from administration advising me that the adult son of one of our patients was irate about the fact that his mother was scheduled to be discharged. The man believed his mother was too sick to go home and was making accusations about the care [...]

Do you wake up each workday with a headache or a knot in your stomach? Would you rather do anything than go to work? Do you feel disdain for your coworkers, supervisors and employer? Are you focused on the injustices and inequities of your work environment? Do you no longer get satisfaction from your job? [...]

I was blessed to have Richard Bolles, author of the classic and iconic career book, “What Color is Your Parachute?” write the foreword for my book “The ULTIMATE Career Guide for Nurses.” I want to share what he wrote here because his message is powerful. Of course he makes reference to my book (I didn’t edit [...]

Each of us has our heroes in nursing; someone we admire for their clinical skills, compassionate caring nature, level-headedness, what they’ve done with their careers.  One of my nursing heroes is a gal named Rosemary.  We worked together years ago and stayed in touch over the years.  She has always been one of the most [...]

“The patient was trembling as she told me she was 20 weeks pregnant and her water had broken while flying across the country. She was 3,000 miles from home, scared, and alone. I assured her she was at one of the best obstetric and neonatal facilities in the country. She lost the baby that day [...]

I always marvel at how hung up on age so many of us are — even when we’re still relatively young! I often receive Dear Donna questions such as: “I’m 28 years old. Am I too old to become a nurse?” or “I’m 48 years old and just got out of nursing school. Will anyone [...]

You’re probably aware that many hospitals (and other healthcare facilities) across the country are not hiring new graduate nurses or are hiring very few. This has resulted in the newest members of our profession being forced to work in non-clinical settings right out of school, not finding any employment in health care for over a [...]

I’ve been writing an online advice column as ‘Dear Donna’ at nurse.com for over 10 years.  Nurses (and others) write in their career related questions and I answer them. Here’s one such Q&A. Tell me what you think about the questioner’s observations and my response to her.

Dear Donna,

I work for an insurance carrier. Many of [...]

Regina* had decided to give up on nursing. After 25 years in the profession, she had a “been there, done that” mentality and felt bored to tears. Her experience included multiple traditional and non-traditional specialties and multiple employers from hospitals to insurance companies. “I felt that I had exhausted my options in this profession and [...]

Have you ever wanted to go into law enforcement, heard that people in the computer industry are making good money, or wondered what it would be like to be part of the legal team in a courtroom? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, there is no need to leave your current profession [...]

In case you don’t frequent twitter, the nursing blogosphere, Facebook or other online nursing communities, Amanda Trujillo is a nurse in Arizona who is under investigation by the State Board of Nursing there. In short (you can read her account here) Amanda relates that when she became aware that a patient awaiting a liver transplant [...]

While rummaging through the attic recently, I came upon my nurse’s cap. Now more than 40 years old, it had become a bit yellow and misshapen. As I held it in my hands, I felt a nostalgic smile cross my lips and was flooded with memories of what that cap had meant to me over [...]