Nurses often cite respect as a key component of retention, job satisfaction, and the delivery of safe patient care. Although as nurses, we want respect, when asked to define the term or describe what respect looks like to us, we are unable to do so.

Several months ago, I invited nurses to participate in the Respect Project’s survey as they work toward developing an operational definition of respect for the profession. You might be interested to know that Dr. Beth Ulrich, one of the...

Although nurse vacancy rates are currently low (due to the economic recession) and nurses are finding it more difficult to find jobs, we are still facing a severe nursing shortage. According to Peter Buerhaus’ projections, we will continue to experience a shortage of registered nurses reaching 260,000 by 2025.

As our schools of nursing strive to produce new graduates to meet the growing demand, they are stretched to capacity and unable to accommodate all qualified applicants. At last...

Representative Joe Wilson’s outburst during President Obama’s address to Congress, Serena William’s explosion of anger on the tennis courts at the US Open, and Kanye West’s interruption of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards have prompted lots of discussions about civility.

Those of us in healthcare have long experienced incivility and even bullying in the workplace. I have experienced my share of (a) being shut out of the clique, (b) being excluded from...

With a year of experience under our belts, a nurse colleague and I relocated to begin a new phase of our professional careers. The year was 1982, nurses were in demand, and we could set our own schedules. Several facilities offered us good positions but we turned them down thinking that we shouldn’t have to rotate shifts. After three months of unemployment we changed our minds.

Working as a staff nurse, I lost count of how many family dinners, holiday gatherings, and other events...

In the early 1990s, I found myself driving an ambulance across the country as part of a promotion organized by Families USA (a Washington, DC based consumer health organization) to promote the need for healthcare reform. As the lead driver of one vehicle in the 12 ambulance caravan, I crossed the nation hosting rallies in metropolitan areas to raise support for the need for health reform. After several weeks, the caravan converged on the US Capitol where our final rally was held.

...