10 Tips for Nurse Practitioners to Avoid Burnout from Nurse Together

How can taking care of one's self have anything to do with business? As a business owner, you work hard; most likely you work harder than you ever did as an employed person. This is especially true during your first years in business. As such, it's important to take the time to recharge your batteries. Here are some suggestions for you:

Vacation. There is no question, getting away is the best way to recharge. While many of us may not be able to get away for 2-3 weeks, consider several mini-vacations or even a staycation.

Read a book that has nothing to do with medicine, nursing, health or business. Totally get away from your everyday work and immerse yourself in something completely unrelated.

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10 Ways to Reduce “No Shows” for your Nurse Practitioner Business from Nurse Together

There is no doubt about it; having patients no show on your schedule is lost revenue for your practice.



Some practices will charge a no-show fee, but others don't, or they feel it is impossible to collect on them. And with some insurers, you are prohibited by contract to charge your patient (DSHS for example).



Regardless of your office policy, minimizing or even eliminating "no-shows" on your schedule will increase your revenues.

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Retail Healthcare: An Evolving Field for Nurse Practitioners from Nurse Together

I work in a new area for nursing: Nurse Practitioner in a Convenient Care Clinic providing minor care in a retail setting. That is, I diagnose and treat sore throats in a grocery store. My practice involves sore throats, ear aches, URI, Influenza, Dermatitis, and UTIs for adult women. I am a Family Nurse Practitioner and we do episodic care for anyone one year and older. My oldest patient, thus far, was a one hundred-year-old lady who received her flu shot in my clinic.

Working in a retail clinic requires a lot more than the ability to diagnose and treat minor ailments. To be good at this position, one needs to be able to triage simple, routine care from more serious conditions that require a higher level of care and greater follow-up. If you don’t want to miss heart failure from bronchitis, you need to be aware that things may not be as clear cut as they look. At the same time, the famous saying, “look for horses before zebras”, is the general rule.

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An RN Asks: Why Should I Have to Go Back to School? from Nurse Together

You’re an accomplished RN, a nurse with years of experience helping patients in every circumstance imaginable. So when you hear your manager, employer, fellow nurses, nursing associations, and trade journals harping on and on about the need to go back to school, you may be asking yourself, "Why? I know my stuff! What’s the point now of going back to school now?"

An even more pressing question in your mind might be, "What will a degree really do for me at this point in my career?"

These are valid questions. After all, like most every RN, you’ve picked up knowledge and experience about how to do your job by learning it on the fly. So what difference will a degree make, exactly?

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5 Qualities of a Great Nurse Educator from Nurse Together

Being an RN for the past 32 years and continuing my education in hopes of becoming a nurse educator, I have always thought about the qualities that make a great educator. Since 2004, when I returned to school to obtain my BSN, and then again in 2008 to obtain my MHA (and soon will be completing my MSN) I have dealt with many educators thus compiling the traits of a quality educator from a student’s perspective.

I believe there are more than five qualities needed to be a great educator, however I will address five of the most critical, in my opinion.

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Lead by Example, for Your Patients and Your Children from Nurse Together

It is true, “that without your health, you have nothing.” When we were young, most of us did not understand or care even about this quote. Some even went as far as to take our health for granted into our 50’s. In the last few weeks I have had re-occurring discussions with patients and community members about how the people that exercise through their 20-40’s have a direct positive effect on their health in their 60-80’s.

What some of you may not know is that the one common solution for all the top 10 killers of Americans is EXERCISE. It is that simple. For example, those that exercise are half as likely not to develop Type 2 Diabetes than those that do not exercise, regardless of diet. We all know that exercise reduces blood pressure, cholesterol, stress, weight and increases energy, brain activity and our quality of sleep. So why aren’t more of us, especially in our 30-50’s, exercising? As a physician it is frustrating because to me it is such a no-brainer. A good friend of mine at ACAC, Dawne Jacoby, is in charge of The Physician’s Referred Exercise Program or P.R.E.P. Dawne forwarded me a research article from the Wall Street Journal of May 25, 2010. The message of this article was, as healthcare professionals, we must lead by example. Not only do I agree with this but I would like to take it one step further. I think as adults, we should all lead by example for the children of this community.

For the full article please go here.

Communication in Nursing: It’s All about Vibes from Nurse Together

Recently, a colleague told me a story of submitting a form for a survey to her employer on the last day it was due. Her priority was patient care and so the survey was done after all of her patients were treated and documentation was completed. That seems like good judgment. As she recounted the day’s events, she said to me, “I really see how powerful communication is and I felt so differently with the responses I received when I turned in my survey today...I truly understand the importance of feelings and how using different words and body language have an impact on how you feel.” She continued to tell me how one supervisor said to her, “I knew you would come through, you always do.” This statement reinforced that supervisor’s confidence in her work and her value. That is truly significant and she felt good. A few seconds later, another supervisor said, “Wow, you really waited until the last minute to get this submitted.” Just after feeling good about her accomplishment and value, another person 'burst her bubble', so to speak. I am sure as you are reading this you could feel the difference in the two responses my friend received. Since my friend knows how important it is to mind her vibe (mood and feeling) she chose to focus on the response of the first supervisor and focus on the fact that she is proud of her work.

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Nurse Practitioner Business Owners: Two Tax Dates You Must Know from Nurse Together

April 15th, the deadline to file your personal income tax, will be here before you know it. As a small business owner however, you will have filed tax reports and paid all sorts of taxes already.

Most small businesses operate on a calendar year. And even though tax events happen throughout the year, they are reported at the end of the business year and quarter, when they get submitted to different taxing authorities.

Paying attention to those timelines is critical. Countless business owners have lost their business by ignoring the IRS and other taxing authorities.

For the full article please go here.

The Roles and Scope of Advanced Practice Nurses from Nurse Together

Advanced Practice Nurses are licensed registered nurses prepared at the graduate degree level as either a Nurse-Midwife, Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Specialist, or Nurse Anesthetist. Advanced Practice Nurses should hold a graduate degree and be certified in their specialty. This certification is important because it validates and standardizes the practice competencies of the Advanced Practice Nurses. Nurses prepared at the graduate level function in a variety of roles as advanced practice nurses in specialty areas of practice. The following will list and detail the roles and scope of Advanced Practice Nurses:

For the full article please go here.

The Fastest Way for Nurses to Monitor Cell Phone Usage from Nurse Together

When I talk to non-nurses about nurses and their work, I almost always get the same two responses. The first is, “Wow, a 12-hour shift has to be incredibly exhausting!” The second is, “But think of all that free time on all those days off!” Nurses acknowledge the exhaustion, but I don’t hear them talk much about the free time.



That’s because nurses are busy people. All the nurses I have met pack an enormous amount of activity into their off-duty hours. A nurse may be a full-time college instructor who also works several shifts a month to keep her skills current. Or she may be a busy mom working nights in an acute-care unit in order to be able attend her kid’s school events during the day. Whatever the particular situation, chances are she/he is interested in finding the fastest and easiest way get through the administrivia of modern life.

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Nursing Certification Has Many Rewards from Nurse Together

There are a myriad of advantages to becoming certified in your field of nursing. I am a Certified Occupational Health Nurse Specialist (COHN-S) and find that certification has many rewards! Here are a few reasons to consider:

Benefits your patients. According to the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), nursing certification has been linked to better patient outcomes. Certification is credited with a reduction in medical errors, among other benefits. If I listed no other reasons to become certified, this one should be enough!

Accomplishment. Becoming certified in your field is both a professional and a personal accomplishment. Most certifications require extensive studying and experience to initially attain the certification. Once earned, you carry with you a keen sense of accomplishment as a certified nurse. You are seen by uncertified peers and management as a level above.

For the full article please go here.

The Expanding Role of the Nurse Educator from Nurse Together

A Clinical Nurse Educator is a registered professional nurse with an advanced education, including advanced clinical and educational training coupled with many years of expertise in a healthcare specialty. Nurse educators serve in a variety of roles that often range from nursing college dean to a clinical trainer for a medical device or pharmaceutical company.

A combination of clinical expertise and a passion for teaching are two of the core skills that strengthen the nursing workforce while providing peer mentorship. These specialized skill sets help to set apart the nurse educator from the rest of the clinical team.

For the full article please go here.

Nurse Practitioner Business Owners: Two Tax Dates You Must Know from Nurse Together

April 15th, the deadline to file your personal income tax, will be here before you know it. As a small business owner however, you will have filed tax reports and paid all sorts of taxes already.

Most small businesses operate on a calendar year. And even though tax events happen throughout the year, they are reported at the end of the business year and quarter, when they get submitted to different taxing authorities.

Paying attention to those timelines is critical. Countless business owners have lost their business by ignoring the IRS and other taxing authorities.

For the full article please go here.

Study Tips for Nursing Students from Nurse Together

Being a nurse and teaching college in an allied health program, I am intimately aware of the large volume of information and new terms nursing students are faced with. It is necessary to learn this material to be both successful in your college career and to give the best patient care upon graduation. At times the amount of information fed to you each semester may seem insurmountable. But it's not – you'll make it! There are many different learning styles, but I am certain some of the following tips will apply to you and make your student life a bit easier!

For the full article please go here.

NurseTogether.com Offers Free Job Postings for Nurse Educators from Nursing Together

With its goal of empowering the nursing community, NurseTogether.com is now opening its job board to nursing educational institutions and organizations’ “Nurse Educator” needs for FREE.

The critical lack of nurse educators today has affected the nursing profession in its ability to train enough candidates and post-graduates to ease the nursing shortage. NurseTogether.com, being one of the fastest-growing free online communities for nursing professionals, wants to give back by allowing nursing institutions to post nursing educator jobs at no charge.

“As NurseTogether.com continues to support educational clients, I wanted to make sure we give back and offer support not only to organizations hiring nurse educators, but to also offer a valuable resource for those searching for nurse educator positions,” said Jenny SolCruz, Vice President of Community for NurseTogether.com. “It is a part of our ongoing commitment in supporting the advancement of nurses.”

For the full article please go here.