Mindful Diapering Tips to Enhance Baby's Development (Ask A Nurse)

Mindful Diapering!

A few months ago, AWHONN asked me to do a video on Mindful Diapering in conjunction with Huggies!   This is the video!   Feel free to share it with Mother Baby Nurses and New Parents so they can learn about Mindful Diapering Techniques!

My Advice to New Nurses!

My Advice to New Nurses!

I was recently asked to write a chapter for a book that will be for nursing students at a college near my home in Atlanta.  As part of this I was asked to share my nursing story and to give advice.  I decided to share my advice to nurses in a blog post!

My advice?

Share your story!   Someone someday is going to come up to you and ask you to share your story.  Don’t be afraid to do that.  Write an article.   Give an interview for the news media.  Showcase your work for your school, hospital or department newsletter.   Speak at a conference.   Present a poster.   Many nurses shy away from these opportunities but they are so very important for the nursing profession.  Yes, it can be scary to be filmed the first time, but do it!  It highlights the important things we do on a daily basis, every day, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all over the world.

Teamwork!  Pretty much everything you do in nursing you are doing as part of a team.  Respect everyone on your team.  Everyone has a role to play.  Sometimes you are the most important person on the team.  Sometimes, it is your colleague.  

Get Involved!  Join your professional organization.  For me, that is AWHONN (Association of Women's Health Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses)  I am sorry I waited so long to do so.   Once you join, be active.   Go to meetings.  Find out what is happening.  You will find friends you can call for advice and mentoring on almost any subject.  You can be a mentor! You can have a mentor! Network with others.  Don’t be afraid to walk up to your nursing idol and introduce yourself.  You may find yourself with a new friend and someone to work on a project with.

Never stop learning!  Things are changing in the nursing profession all the time.  Expect to always be challenged with change.  Read professional journals, take a class.  Ask questions!  Share what you learn with others.

Be active in your community!  Find some way to be a volunteer in your community or for another organization.   Vote. Make the world a better place for others.

Follow the Golden Rule.  Treat people (and families) the way you would like to be treated! Everybody has the right to be treated with dignity.   Everyone is not always at their best when they come for nursing care. This is difficult for us to deal with some times.   Before I go in, I take a deep breath, center myself and believe they are the most important at that minute. 

Don’t Burn Bridges!   Every step of your journey builds on the last part! You will need to reach back at some point.   It will become important for you to look into that history from time to time.  You will also be surprised that someone from your past can help you in your future!

Take time for you!  Nursing is a hard job.  Take time to stay healthy yourself.  Eat well.  Exercise. Meditate.  Breathe.  Laugh. Have fun!