Myth: Seeing a Nurse Practitioner instead of a Doctor is Second-Class Care

MythBusters is a series of essays giving the research evidence behind Canadian healthcare debates.
Click on the title to read this essay.

~ brought to you by the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation.

Nurse Entrepreneurs: Turning Initiative into Independence

Are you thinking of becoming self-employed but wondering if you have got what it takes? Not sure where to begin? Setting up your own business takes a lot of careful consideration and planning. To help you with this decision and process, albeit from a British standpoint, The Royal College of Nursing in the UK has published this valuable 56 page online guide. Click on the title to access the .pdf.

Registered nurses have lower overall mortality risk

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Nurses have a lower risk of dying from several different conditions compared with individuals in the general population,... [Jan 4, 2008]

Your New Role as Experienced Nurse: One Year into Your Career

By Karen Siroky RN MSN & NurseZone.com

"Now that you have reached that magical one-year mark, you may feel you have learned more than you ever thought you could. You may also recognize that the knowledge base for nursing in general—and your specialty in particular—is incredibly large and complex. Additionally, since health care is changing so rapidly, what you need to know today is different than what you need to know tomorrow.
So how do you stay on top of it all?" Read on...

Nursing Without Borders: Values, Wisdom, Success Markers

New publication from the Sigma Theta Tau International Honors Society of Nursing.

"This book is for all the nurses who have crossed their own borders, or might like to. It provides both visionary lessons and practical advice. It is part history, part business textbook, part travelogue, part how-to, and part inspiration.

Divided into three sections—“Values,” “Wisdom,” and “Success Markers”— Nursing Without Borders reflects the international nursing experiences of a host of nurse leaders representing diverse cultures. These leaders, pioneers in global nursing, paved a path of international partnerships and documented their stories for those considering international work."
Click on the title link for more information.

Mary Seacole's Autobiography

The autobiography of Mary Seacole is now freely available to download from the Gutenberg Project:
"The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole
in Many Lands" by Mary Seacole, 1857.
Also in the Library we have a lending copy on display of the 2004 book
"Mary Seacole: The most famous black woman of the Victorian Age" by Jane Robinson.

Check out the excellent website of the Mary Seacole Centre
to learn even more about this amazing, couragous, Jamaican born nurse,
called by some "the greatest black Briton in history"!

Experienced Stressors and Coping Strategies Among Iranian Nursing Students

Research Article: Open Source
by Naiemeh Seyedfatemi, Maryam Tafreshi and Hamid Hagani
BMC Nursing 2007, 6:11doi:10.1186/1472-6955-6-11
Published: 13 November 2007

Background:
College students are prone to stress due to the transitional nature of college life. High levels of stress are believed to affect students' health and academic functions. If the stress is not dealt with effectively, feelings of loneliness, nervousness, sleeplessness and worrying may result. Effective coping strategies facilitate the return to a balanced state, reducing the negative effects of stress.

Conclusions:
First year nursing students are exposed to a variety of stressors. Establishing a student support system during the first year and improving it throughout nursing school is necessary to equip nursing students with effective coping skills. Efforts should include counseling helpers and their teachers, strategies that can be called upon in these students' future nursing careers.

International Research Internship for Nurse Researchers

Multiple Interventions for Community Health:

Are you a graduate-prepared nurse with a research focus on community health?
Looking for a training opportunity to take your research career to the next level?
Want to develop research networks that extend to Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean?
READ more ...
Application deadline: January 7, 2008

We're Bringing Nursing Back

A 'just for fun' nursing promotional video created by
some nursing students and first posted on
You Tube ~ Nov 14, 2006!.
Enjoy!

Be Prepared for your New Responsibilities

"There is a nasty rumor that abounds throughout the nursing community that "nurses eat their young" or "their own." The truth is, in any field and even in life in general, you will find those who will step on anyone including their own mother or children to get ahead. Some nurses do this, and others are intimidated by new nurses and their enthusiasm. They will do anything to keep them down.
Nurses are thought of as loving, caring, compassionate individuals who probably wouldn't hurt a flea. So to think of nurses as being competitive and back stabbing is unnerving. Like any other field however, there are leaders and followers. There have to be managers and worker bees to get the job done..."
click on title to read more [from About.com: Nursing]

Senate bill aids recruitment of overseas RNs

October 29, 2007 ~ AHANews Now
The Senate last week approved legislation designed to reopen the supply of foreign-born registered nurses (RN) and physical therapists (PT) to U.S. hospitals.

The measure, part of H.R. 3043, the Senate-passed fiscal year 2008 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, authorizes the government to claim 61,000 unused employment-based (EB) visas from past years and make them available to RNs and PTs from the Philippines – the primary source of overseas RNs for American hospitals – and other countries. The legislation also imposes a $1,500 fee for each nurse visa issued. Funds raised by the fee will educate more U.S. nurse faculty and enable nursing programs to enroll more nursing students....
Click title to access full report.

Quick Facts on Registered Nurses (RN's)

from the US Dept of Labour, Women's Bureau.

...Job opportunities for RNs in all specialties are expected to be excellent. Between the 2004-2014 period, employment of RNs is expected to grow at 29.4 percent--much faster than the 13.0 percent average for all occupations.

BLS also projects that there will be 1.2 million total job openings for RNs due to growth and net replacements between the 2004-2014 period....

ANA Nurse's Career Center

The ANA Nurses Career Center - run by Healthecareers, provides RN's with useful tools such as the 'career assessment tool' to learn more about their personal work style. Whether you are actively looking or just keeping yourself up-to-date in your field, you will find this a useful resource!

Improve your job search with advanced features and benefits:

Personal Profile Page
– Create your own secure site complete with URL
Résumé Wizard
– Upload or create multiple résumés and make them visible to top employers
Free Job Search
- Fast, confidential access to a credible selection of targeted employment opportunities

Search and fill nursing jobs in your neighborhood or across the US at this one stop resource for registered nurses.

The Salary Calculator

Keep in mind that salaries and cost-of-living in the US varies considerable depending in the city and state.
Here is a handy "Salary Calculator" which can help you compare the average salaries for RN's across the country.
Here are a few examples of average annual incomes from around the country:
Naples, Florida = $53,000
Ann Arbor, Michigan = $65,000
Las Vegas, Nevada = $61,000
Boise, Idaho = $55,000

BMJ Careers Fair: London UK

The eighth BMJ Careers Fair in London
will take place 5 – 6 October 2007
at the Business Design Centre in Islington.

Register now for seminar booking and free entry to the exhibition.

Whatever your grade and specialty, the BMJ Careers Fair has a lot to offer.

As well as more than 25 seminars covering interview skills, CV writing, MMC updates, application forms, working abroad, working outside of the NHS, GP seminars and more; you can visit the exhibition stands to receive careers advice, find a new job and identify alternative career pathways. Healthcare recruiters from across UK and Ireland will be in attendance.