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Nurse life is full of highs and lows, no matter what field you’re in. Nursing school was great for book learning, but on-the-job training tells us the nursing tips we really need to know. Whether you’re an ER, ICU, floor nurse, or another specialty, it’s helpful to have some tips to make our lives a little easier. We’ve spent a lot of time in school and even more time in patient care, so it’s only fitting that we’ve come up with some pretty amazing tips and tricks over the years! Obviously there are no shortcuts for excellent nursing care, but these little gems will enhance your knowledge of what you need to know to be a nurse.

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Nursing Tips for Vital Signs and Assessments

There’s no substitute for a thorough nursing assessment, but there are definitely ways to make it more efficient. Check out these nursing hacks for a good assessment:

Cover the bell of your stethoscope with an exam glove. This will decrease chances of transmitting bacteria from patient to patient.

Tell a patient you are checking their pulse when counting respirations. If they think you’re just checking their pulse, they will be more likely to breathe normally. If you tell them you’re watching them, they’ll likely be more self-conscious and may not breathe like they should.

For ticklish patients, palpate abdomen first with your hand on top of theirs. This gets them used to a hand on their stomach and will make them less likely to give you a hard time during your exam.

Check a pulse ox on an earlobe, toe, or forehead. If you are having trouble picking up an oxygen reading on a patient, try alternating placement of the pulse ox sensor. The earlobe and toe are great options, and the forehead may work on some patients as a last resort.

Nursing Hacks for Cleaning Up Messes

Nursing is a messy job, no doubt. While there’s no getting around that, there are ways to make those messes a little easier to deal with! Check these emergency nursing tips out for messy patients:

Use lube or hydrogen peroxide on dried blood for easier cleanup. Dried blood can really get stuck on there – moistening the area with lube or hydrogen peroxide can lift the dried stuff away from the skin, saving your sanity and your patient’s dermal layers.

Double glove with code browns. There’s nothing worse than cleaning up poop and realizing it’s gotten on your gloves and on your brand new changed sheets. If you double glove and notice they’re dirty, simply peel off the outer layer and bam, fresh gloves are right underneath.

Double mask with toothpaste, Vicks, or peppermint oil between the masks to help you with extra stinky smells. Because putting that peppermint oil directly under your nose is certainly not an option! Having a strong scent rubbed on a mask will get you through extended amounts of time in a stinky patient room and will save the skin on your face.

Smelling alcohol pads can help with nausea. This WORKS, especially in patients that are getting chemotherapy. When you see your patient start to get queasy, wave an alcohol pad under their nose for a few seconds, then place it on the bridge of their nose. It messes with the little receptors in your brain that cause you to feel nausea and often will ease it up.

For bad smelling rooms, roll up a 4×4 gauze and put it inside a bottle of peppermint oil. The gauze will act like a wick and the bottle will become a peppermint diffuser that will help with any stinky smells.

Powder the bedpan before placing under the patient for easier retrieval after the deed. Skin on plastic can get sticky and painful, especially after sitting on it for a long time. Putting a little powder on the pan will help it slide right out and save your patient’s skin in the process.

Add lotion to wipes when cleaning up incontinent patients for easier cleanup. This is along the same lines as using lubricant to wipe up dried blood. By using lotion, you are making it easier

Nurse tips for IV Starts

“Bleed” your IV bag. After spiking your IV bag, turn it over and remove the tubing.  Squeeze out excess air and replace the tubing, then prime it as usual. When the bag is empty, the chamber will stay full and your tubing will not dry out, making it easier to hang a second bag without having to prime it.

Clamp your tubing first before priming IV fluids to prevent air bubbles. After spiking your bag, unclamp and allow the tube to prime slowly and watch your bubble-free tubing fill up!

Use heat to find veins. Use a warm washcloth, heat pack or infant heel warmer to get veins to plump up before IV insertion. Place whatever you’re using on the site for at least 5 minutes before you stick. Be sure to put something between the patient’s skin and the heat source to prevent burns.

Use adhesive remover or an alcohol wipe for tape removal. You can also pull a Tegaderm parallel to the skin (kind of like removing a command strip from the wall) for less painful removal.

Place a piece of gauze between the patient’s skin and a tourniquet to prevent hair pulling when removing the tourniquet.  Your patients may not appreciate a free wax job during their hospital stay, so this can be a useful trick.

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A Clean Nurse is a Happy Nurse

Use skin prep on your nose to keep your glasses from sliding down. That way, you’re not reaching up with dirty gloves to make sure they don’t fall off!

Wear an isolation gown over your uniform if eating a messy lunch to keep your scrubs clean. Because no patient wants to know what you had for lunch by seeing it on your uniform.

Keep extra scrubs in your car or locker for emergency changes. You never know what the day will hold, and there’s always the chance you’ll need an extra set of clothes to change into.

Use a glove as a nurse hair tie. Nurses need to have hair out of their faces when doing their job! If you forgot your hair tie, simply cut the elastic band from the cuff of a glove and use it to put your hair up.

Nursing Tips for NG Tubes and Foleys

Soak NG tube in ice water or place in the freezer 15-30 minutes before insertion. Inserting an NG tube is never pleasant for anyone, but doing this will make for a more comfortable, less painful experience for the patient.

Wipe “up” with your last betadine swab on female patients before inserting a Foley catheter. The urethra will “wink,” making accurate placement an easier task.

Aim high when placing catheters in female patients. Also, if you’re not sure what you’re looking at, have female patients cough before placement and look for the “wink.”

Use more than one cath kit. Think you missed when placing a Foley in a female patient?  Leave that catheter in place to mark the incorrect spot, get a new kit and try again.  This prevents you from continually placing the catheter in the wrong spot. Aim higher than the incorrectly placed one and you’ll be in the right area.

These are just a few of the tips and hacks that ER and ICU nurses use to make their lives easier at work. Many of these nurse tips help to maintain the comfort and dignity of your patients, which is incredibly important. Placing IVs, foley catheters, and NG tubes are some of the most uncomfortable procedures that patients go through in the hospital, so you should make every effort that you can to make sure it goes quickly and smoothly. Code browns can be very embarrassing for patients, so using these nursing hacks for those situations can make things a little better for all involved.

With these nursing hacks and tips, your patients will be happy and you will enjoy being the rock star nurse that you are! Happy nursing!

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​Experiences You Need
When it comes to being a great fit for a new job, experiences are king. Every nurse on the floor is doing their job well and at a minimum, maintaining the status quo. In order to set yourself apart for your next job, this shouldn’t be characteristic of you! Rather, you should be going above and beyond on your current unit seeking experiences both big and small that will set you apart and impress the hiring manager on your desired unit. 

What are the experiences you could pursue? Join (or better yet lead) a committee. Get trained as a charge nurse. Fix a problem on the unit. Participate in a quality improvement project. Attend a conference and bring back ideas to implement on the unit. Talk with your manager about opportunities to get involved in projects that you might not be aware of. You might not be able to think of an idea within your specific role right now, but given that you work in healthcare, the opportunities are surely there.  

Certifications to Consider
Getting a certification relevant to your next job is a fantastic way to build your resume as well as to show your commitment to getting that new job. Certifications can cost money and do take a significant amount of preparation time, which might sound less than ideal. Consider how it will feel to be certified when applying for that next job you’ve always wanted. It will give you a strong vote of confidence to know that you already hold a certification relevant to the job you’re applying to. That will be sure to catch the eye of any hiring manager.

Educational Requirements
Large hospital systems will demand a minimum of a master’s degree to be competitive in applying for leadership positions. Master’s degrees will take two years for full-time students and three years for part-time students. Doctorate nursing programs will last three to five years depending on full-time or part-time status. Planning will need to occur for what program to apply to, how to pay for school, and how to manage work and life while going to graduate school. 

What can I do in my Current Role to Prepare for my Next Job?
If you are looking to prepare yourself for a specific new job or you simply want to position yourself for any future job, the quickest and best way to prepare yourself is at your current job. Leveraging your current position is the best thing you can do right now. How is our relationship with your current manager or supervisor? Does it need improvement or do you need to be noticed by them as an exemplary employee? Ensuring that your annual appraisal will be appealing is something that can be leveraged. Are there awards or recognition that you could pursue within your organization? Who from your leadership team could you meet-up with to get advice from or learn more about their role? 

Employees are often unaware of the opportunities around them. Ensure you have taken full advantage of opportunities within your current role in order to prepare yourself for the next job move. That way when other factors align, you’re primed for the interview process!

When the time is right and the opportunity presents itself, you have to be ready for the next steps in pursuing your next job. In order to be prepared, you should have a resume and cover letter put together that require only minor editing.

If you don’t currently have the opportunity to become a charge nurse, join a committee, or fix a problem on your unit, there are other opportunities you can pursue. Although these experiences might not strengthen your resume as much as the aforementioned, the following experiences can be opportunities for you to network, learn, and develop skills that you otherwise wouldn’t.  Here is a list of other valuable experiences to consider:

Attend a nursing conference
Nursing conferences are great for learning about the latest and greatest within a particular field or specialty. Attending relevant conferences shows that you take your career seriously and that you recognize the need for on-going learning. Additionally, you could have opportunities to bring back what you learned to present it to your unit. Hospitals and departments often have funds set aside for staff to attend conferences so you can go for free!

Join a professional organization
Joining a professional organization showcases your commitment to that line of work or specialty. Every specialty has at least one professional organization. For the more general specialties, there are often multiple national organizations to choose from and usually local organizations as well. Organizations often host conferences and allow for valuable networking and information sharing to occur. Learn to speak the language of your specialty on a new level and impress the hiring manager when interviewing for a new position.

Become a preceptor
Given the nature of nursing and the amount of turnover the field experiences, training and educating staff is of utmost importance. Staff are constantly coming in and going out of units. Every time a new position gets filled, the new staff member needs training. A good preceptor is highly valuable to a nurse manager. Becoming a preceptor on your unit will mean that you are experienced in your practice and possess the ability to teach. You will also get additional training on how to be a nurse preceptor, making you more valuable than someone who has never been a nurse preceptor.

Become a unit Wellness Champion
This is an opportunity for any nurse, including relatively new nurses who are passionate about healthy living in the workplace. If you enjoy a healthy lifestyle and excel at it, consider bringing your skills to your unit and helping to improve the health of the staff on your unit. A Wellness Champion will help to coordinate activities and promote healthy habits. This could be having a steps competition or healthy eating challenge. This is a good way to learn how to lead, communicate, and promote health on your unit. Given that nurses often struggle with maintaining their health due to rotating shifts, lack of sleep, work stress, and a multitude of other things, these skills are valuable to a hiring manager.

Have a conversation with your manager
One could not possibly list every opportunity that might be afforded to you as a nurse. Your nurse manager is the person to talk to about what options are available to you. Don’t be afraid to start small and increase as time goes on. It’s not often that a nurse will come to their manager looking for additional opportunities to grow and learn. That in and of itself will set you apart. See what options are on your unit that your manager would support and pick the one that’s a good fit. 

Experiences play an enormous role in deciding whom to hire. Not only are these experiences often enjoyable and challenging but they help to grow you professionally in ways you’d never expect or experience otherwise. Seek out these experiences so that when you’re ready for a career move, you’ll be among the top candidates. ​

About Author
Tyler Faust is a full-time registered nurse and part-time freelance healthcare writer. He has his BSN and Master’s degree and Winona State University and has worked at Mayo Clinic for over 7 years. Currently, he works as a nurse manager. Tyler is a creative thinker, strategist, and passionate about leadership.  

Nurse Types / Considering Travel Nursing

You’ve chosen to enter one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States, and your decision to become a nurse allows you to help others while making a great income. With so many job opportunities at your fingertips, it’s often hard to know which direction to go. After all, options such as becoming a travel nurse are glamorous at first glance, but they also have some drawbacks.
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Having the freedom to choose from different types of positions is one of the perks of being a nurse, and one of the biggest choices you face is whether you want to pursue travel nursing or apply for a permanent position at a hospital. It’s also important to consider, that on average, a nurse only travels for roughly two years and then spends the remaining part of their career in permanent roles. As you weigh your options, you can ask yourself these questions to make sure that you are happy in your new position:

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1. What Are Your Career Goals?

Increasing your income is a common reason why you may be looking for a new position. People often claim that travel nursing offers higher pay. However, this is not always the case. If you are considering this type of nursing job, then you must carefully weigh all of the factors that affect your income.

For example, in California, the take-home pay of a permanent nurse is usually 20 – 30 percent higher than a travel nurse. Travel agencies will also take a 15 – 20 percent fee of what the hospital is paying you. In other words, a lower hourly rate.  As a travel nurse, your travel agency will only offer a limited housing stipend. In areas with a higher cost of living, this could mean studio living or having roommates. 

Your goal may also be to work your way up through the nursing ranks to one day be the head of your department.  Or another goal is having the opportunity to grow your skill set.  Achieving these goals is far easier when you build your reputation by working within the same hospital system for a period of time.

2. Do You Enjoy the Job Search Process?

On average, you can expect a travel nurse position to last anywhere from two to six months. However, you can sometimes file for an extension if there is still currently a demand for someone with your experience and credentials. This means that you can expect to need to re-apply and interview for new nursing positions on a regular basis.

While some people love the job search process, this type of arrangement also gets stressful. When your goal is more permanent employment, Incredible Health flips the script by having employers apply to you. This unique process puts you in the driver’s seat since you can compare multiple permanent offers from different hospitals, and interviewing is so much easier when you know that a potential employer already knows what you bring to the table.

Don’t forget that travel nurse contracts can get canceled with little or no notice. This can happen right before an assignment starts or when you’re working for a hospital or medical center. Also, hours are not guaranteed. Travel nurses are often sent home first in case of low census.

3. Will You Need to Obtain a New License?

You’ve worked hard to earn your credentials, yet you may have more work to do if you pursue travel nursing opportunities in a state where you are not currently licensed to provide services. Although you can obtain a compact license that now allows you to work in 29 states, you may still need to apply for a new license if you work in a state that is not included in the agreement. You will also need to be prepared to comply with all the continuing education and training hours that are required to keep your license active in each state that you obtain one.

4. Do You Need a Positive Company Culture?

There’s no way around it — every company has a unique culture and politics that guide people’s behaviors. While nurses in hospitals develop a team mindset that fosters a positive work environment, many travel nurses come up against negative attitudes from the staff at hospitals where they are assigned.

Unfortunately, many permanent staff members feel as though temporary nurses take hours away from the dedicated members of their team. Other members of the healthcare community believe that temporary nurses compromise patient care. These kinds of negative attitudes make working at a hospital in a permanent role more appealing.

5. Do You Love Where You Live Now?

It’s easy to be enticed by travel nursing when you envision yourself visiting exciting new cities every few months. However, you may need to carefully consider how much you’d like to spend two to six months or so in a location with very little to do. You may also dislike the climate in your assigned location or develop a serious case of homesickness.

When you opt for a permanent position at a hospital, whether full or part-time, you choose where you want to spend your time. Since living in a place such as California gives you plenty of places to explore, whether you love hiking in the mountains or lounging beachside during your time off, staying in one place gives you the opportunity to enjoy new adventures and a sense of stability at work.

There are always times when a career change is just the boost you need to revive your love for nursing. Yet, you may already be in a place that offers you more stable employment in a hospital near where you already live. While you never know what the future holds, taking the time to carefully picture yourself in each type of position helps you make the best decision for your success in nursing.

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Sources:
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm
https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bhw/nchwa/projections/NCHWA_HRSA_Nursing_Report.pdf
https://www.ncsbn.org/11945.htm