In our education section we offer helpful articles for graduated nurses, as well as all things related to nursing school and advanced education. You will find study tips, online nursing program recommendations and general advice for students.
As future nurses, interpreting results like Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) is more than just checking for high or low numbers; it’s about understanding the patient’s fluid status, organ function, and potential risk factors. What Does BUN Mean in Laboratory Testing? The BUN test measures the amount of urea nitrogen circulating in the blood. To interpret … Read more
Medication administration is arguably the most frequent and highest-risk task performed by nurses in most clinical settings. With hundreds of thousands of patients hospitalized annually due to medical errors, medication administration demands unwavering focus. The Six Rights of Medication Administration are designed to minimize errors and are often among the first things nursing students learn. … Read more
You walk into a patient’s room and they tell you, “My pain medicine isn’t working anymore.” Relying solely on a simple numeric rating (like “7/10”) is insufficient. To understand the full clinical picture and intervene effectively, you’ll need to ask clarifying questions. A thorough pain assessment is one of the most critical responsibilities a nurse … Read more
As future nurses, safely administering intravenous (IV) fluids is one of your core responsibilities. It’s not enough to know which bag to hang; you must understand why you’re hanging it and, critically, how it will affect your patient. This interaction is governed by tonicity—the concentration of solutes (like sodium, dextrose, or chloride) in a solution … Read more
As future nurses, the words you use to describe a patient’s position, movement, injury, or mobility matter. Anatomical terminology isn’t just theory; it’s the universal language of healthcare. Getting the basics right (like the difference between flexion and extension) is critical for accurate documentation, interprofessional communication, and patient safety. This article will clarify the fundamental … Read more
It is common to encounter ethical dilemmas in nursing practice. Fidelity is a moral principle integrally tied to nursing professional practice due to the importance of maintaining trust and integrity in the nursing profession. Nurses must be familiar with the ethical principles that guide the nursing profession. When ethical dilemmas arise, ethical principles established by … Read more
Although nursing documentation may at times seem overwhelming, it is a key part of nursing practice. Colloquially known as “charting,” nursing documentation provides a record of nursing care provided to a patient, family, or community. Charting and, more specifically, nursing notes, allow nurses to demonstrate that the care they provided was ethical, safe, and informed … Read more
While many acute care settings use electronic pumps to calculate IV flow rates, there are many scenarios in which nurses need to know how to calculate drip rates manually! For example, when working in rural or low-resource environments, electronic intravenous pumps may not be available. Even when electronic pumps are available, nurses should know how … Read more
Places on the body where it is possible to feel the arterial pulse are also commonly called pulse points. You can feel the pulse of the artery at some places on the body where the artery is close enough to the surface of the skin that you can feel the pulse of blood as the … Read more
We prepared a quiz of practice test questions on the fundamentals of nursing, similar to the ones you’ll find in the NCLEX exam. This test bank of 25 multiple choice questions will challenge your knowledge of nursing fundamentals in several categories, including Physiological Adaptation, Pharmacology, Basic Care & Comfort and Safety & Infections. 1. Question … Read more
