Bella S.

If you're anything like me, you've got seventeen apps on your phone that promised to make your life easier and about three of them you actually use. Between charting, clinicals, exams, and trying to remember to drink water on a 12-hour night shift, the last thing any of us needs is more clutter. So instead of listing every shiny nursing app out there, I want to talk about the ones that actually earn a spot on your home screen, including a few I built myself. If any of these sound interesting...

Starting your first hospital shift as a new graduate nurse can feel overwhelming. I won't sugar-coat that the fast pace, complex patient needs, and teamwork demands create a challenging environment. I remember when I first started on the floor how I felt like nursing school really hadn't prepared me for the real deal, like I was starting from scratch learning everything all over again. As time went by, I realized that nursing school prepares your mind for the type of thinking skills you need...

We've all experienced it. Walking into work and finding your nurse-to-patient ratio maxed out while one of the scheduled nurses was floated or "cancelled". You spend the entire shift running back and forth with ten things to do at all times. It becomes obvious that you aren't going to get around to the Foley care for one of your patients, or you forget to make your other patient NPO after midnight for surgery, or you don't notice the abnormal lab results that snuck in for another. Things slip...