Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development

Erik Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development 

These stages always show up a couple of times on NCLEX questions. This post will have an easy to read table to reference for the stages of development and the tasks that correlate with each stage.

7 Killer Tips to Survive Night Shift Nursing

 7 Killer Tips to Survive Night Shift Nursing

Working 12 hour shifts can be difficult on most days. It's even more difficult working those 12 hours at night. Since I'm the low man on the totem pole I know I'll most likely be stuck working night shift again for the first part of my career. I've had a couple clinicals now that were at night. Thankfully my classes at the time were online. 

Here are 7 tips that help me survive night shift nursing.

Diuretics: Everything a Nurse Needs to Know

Know Your Drugs: The Pharmacology of Diuretics

This post will cover the four classes of diuretics: loop diuretics, thiazide diuretics, potassium-sparring diuretics, and osmotic diuretics. In each class I'll point out the mechanism of action, therapeutic uses, and adverse effects. 

Fast Facts on Hyperkalemia

Fast Facts on Hyperkalemia

Potassium is a very important electrolyte. Having too little or too much is a BIG problem. This post is about having too much. I'll discuss the causes, the clinical signs, and the treatments of hyperkalemia.

Quick Guide to Hypokalemia

Hypokalemia at a Glance

This is an electrolyte that is very important. Having too little or too much Potassium is a BIG problem. This post will cover the causes, clinical signs, and treatments of hypokalemia.

Everything You Need to Know About IV Fluids

IV fluids aren't nearly as luxurious as that graphic, but knowing these quick facts will keep you golden.

And no. That wasn't a reference to pee.

Increased Intracranial Pressure

This week I had a patient who had herniated. I know that neuro is a weak topic for me so I decided to do a post on intracranial pressure.

This post will act as a quick guide to increased intracranial pressure. What is it? What causes it? How do we treat it? I've also included a quick table on assessing rising intracranial pressure (ICP). We'll do a slight case study.

The Character of a Nurse: My First Patient Death

I lost my first patient this week. It's something we don't talk about in school.

Death.

{Dirty} Mnemonics to Remember the 12 Cranial Nerves

The healthcare industry is full of mnemonics and abbreviations. If you're anything like me you probably have problems remembering all of these "helpful" mnemonics. I think it's harder sometimes to remember the "helpful" saying verses just learning the material to begin with.

However, the order of the 12 cranial nerves is a bit tough to remember. First, let's look at these 12 cranial nerves.

Renin - Angiotensin - Aldosterone System Explained

I'm not sure why, but it does seem that some systems are easier to understand than others. I've always struggled with the Renin - Angiotensin - Aldosterone System (RAAS). In this post I'll talk about the pathophysiology and pharmacology associated with this system.

Clinical Manifestations of Hypernatremia

In this post I'll discuss hypernatremia's pathophysiology, the causes, the clinical manifestations, and how we treat the imbalance.

Clinical Manifestations of Hyponatremia

In this post on hyponatremia I'll discuss the pathophysiology, what causes it, the clinical manifestations, and how to treat the imbalance. 

Glasgow Coma Score

Here's a quick table to reference for when you are assessing your patient using the Glasgow Coma Score:

Lab Values Every Nurse Needs to Know

Here's a table that you can print and carry with you on lab values that every nurse should know.

13 Test Taking Tips and Strategies

In order to do well on the NCLEX exam you not only need to study content, but you need to think about test taking strategies. These strategies also helped me perform well on my other tests throughout nursing school. Taking tests in nursing school is frustrating because there can be, and often are, more than one correct choice. It's all about choosing the "most" correct choice.

How to Pass Pharmacology

Pharmacology is a tough class guys. Basically, it's like memorizing a dictionary. I have mad props for those pharmacists. This post is about how to study and prepare for your pharmacology tests so you can succeed in that course.

Complete Head to Toe Assessment

Here's a quick reference table to try to help understand what should be assessed under each body system.

How to Not Feel Overwhelmed by Nursing School

Whether this is your first semester of nursing school, or your last, it is most likely going to feel overwhelming. Here are a few of my tips to help ease those feelings:

How to Organize Notes During Nursing School

If this is your first semester in nursing school, CONGRATULATIONS on being accepted. You are about to enter the gates of hell, but it'll be worth it! :) If this isn't your first semester then you probably know how important it is to stay organized if you want to succeed. Here is a quick tutorial on how I organize my notes:

Greetings

Hi!!

Welcome to Nurse Nightingale. I am so glad that you've stumbled upon this blog. No, my last name is not Nightingale. I want to stay anonymous for now because I can see how future employers may see blogging as positive or negative. I don't want to jeopardize my career. So if you have any questions you can call me Nightingale, Flo, Florence, hey you blogger lady..... Basically anything.