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.
You’ve completed your CNA training program and are preparing for your competency exam. While the written CNA test simply assesses your knowledge base and memory, the skills portion will test your competence. Many test-takers experience anxiety about demonstrating hands-on skills in front of an evaluator. Let’s highlight the expectations, some of the common mistakes that … Read more
Administering IV fluids is a task acute care nurses perform every shift. It may seem like a simple action without much risk, but IV fluids have the potential to affect patients in positive and negative ways. Understanding the different types of solutions, what they are used for, and the intended or adverse outcomes is crucial … 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. As a nursing student, you will learn about the Six Rights of Medication Administration before you ever touch a patient. Implementing … Read more
Pain is treated as the “fifth vital sign” and is a subjective assessment detail that offers additional insight into the patient’s comfort and health status. Nurses often ask patients to rate their pain using a numerical scale to gauge the severity, but inquiring further into the patient’s pain can guide appropriate interventions or alert the … Read more
As a nurse, you may be tasked with performing lab draws. But more importantly, you will be required to review and interpret lab results to recognize when a value requires immediate attention and to anticipate the appropriate actions. One common laboratory test you will encounter is BUN, or blood urea nitrogen. What is Blood Urea … 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