THE
EVERYTHING
NEW
NURSE
BOOK
Gain confidence, manage your schedule,
and deal with the unexpected
Kathy Quan, R.N., B.S.N., P.H.N.
Copyright 2006, F+W Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced
in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions
are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.
An Everything Series Book.
Everything and everything.com are registered trademarks of F+W Media, Inc.
Published by Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com
ISBN 13: 978-1-59337-532-4
eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-2369-4
ISBN 10: 1-59337-532-8
Printed in the United States of America.
10 9 8 7 6 5
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Quan, Kathy.
The everything new nurse book: gain confidence, manage your schedule,
and deal with the unexpected / Kathy Quan.
p. cm. (An everything series book)
Includes index.
ISBN 1-59337-532-8
1. Nursing Vocational guidance. 2. Nursing.
[DNLM: 1. Nursing. 2. Nurse's Role. 3. Nursing Process. WY 16 Q15e 2006] I. Title. II. Series: Everything series.
RT82.Q83 2006
610.730629 dc22
2005033328
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From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the
American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations
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THE EVERYTHING NEW NURSE BOOK
Dear Reader,
You have chosen a fine and noble profession. It will bring you great joy and satisfaction, and you'll experience your fair share of frustration as well. Nursing is a demanding and rewarding profession that is facing, many challenges. There is a tremendous shortage of nurses and it is only going to get worse before it gets better. This will make your job harder and pose many difficulties for you, but it's nothing that you cannot weather.
This book is about all the things you didn't learn in school. There is only a little bit of theory to show you how to put it to use and make it work for you. I have drawn on my own experiences and those of many wonderful colleagues whom I have had the pleasure to know to provide you with some tips and helpful hints to survive your first year as a nurse.
I wish you all the best in your new career, and I hope that you find great success and happiness along the way.
Welcome to the EVERYTHINGSeries!
These handy, accessible books give you all you need to tackle a difficult project, gain a new hobby, comprehend a fascinating topic, prepare for an exam, or even brush up on something you learned back in school but have since forgotten.
You can choose to read an Everything book from cover to cover or just pick out the information you want from our four useful boxes: e-questions, e-facts, e-alerts, and e-ssentials. We give you everything you need to know on the subject, but throw in a lot of fun stuff along the way, too.
We now have more than 400 Everything books in print, spanning such wide-ranging categories as weddings, pregnancy, cooking, music instruction, foreign language, crafts, pets, New Age, and so much more. When you're done reading them all, you can finally say you know Everything!
Answers to common questions
Important snippets of information
Urgent warnings
Quick handy tips
PUBLISHER Karen Cooper
DIRECTOR OF ACQUISITIONS AND INNOVATION Paula Munier
MANAGING EDITOR, EVERYTHING SERIES Lisa Laing
COPY CHIEF Casey Ebert
ACQUISITIONS EDITOR Lisa Laing
DEVELOPMENT EDITOR Elizabeth Kassab
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Hillary Thompson
Visit the entire Everything series atwww.everything.com
To the loves of my life: my husband Tim and my children Amy, Rob, and Becky!
Acknowledgments
I have many people to thank. First, I want to thank my family my husband Tim and my children Amy, Rob, and Becky, and our extended family of children Heather, Dana, and Chase for their love, devotion, and help throughout the writing of this book. Many thanks to my mother, who has always been my biggest fan and most honest critic. And to the girls who have encouraged me to reach beyond my comfort zone and follow my dreams.
Thanks to all the many wonderful nurses I have known and worked with over the years. You are all part of this book and part of who I am as a nurse. Thanks so much to the rest of my family and friends who have encouraged me and supported me in this effort in so many ways. And to Barb Doyen, my agent, who sought me out and helped me all along the way even through emergencies and craziness. Thanks so very much to all of you!!
Top Ten Things for New Nurses to Know
Nursing is one of the noblest professions.
Nursing involves a process of lifelong learning.
Once a Nurse; Always a Nurse.
Nursing is a profession and not a gender.
Nursing combines the art of caring with the skills and technology of math and science.
Nursing is one of the most physically and emotionally demanding jobs.
Always set the bar high; expect professionalism.
If you've burned out, you just need to find another niche as a nurse.
The present nursing shortage isn't going to be solved entirely by recruiting more nurses.
Nurses make a difference in someone's life everyday and are masters at the fine art of caring!
Introduction
Welcome to the world of nursing. As you embark on your new career, know that you have made a wise and wonderful choice to give of yourself to help make a difference in someone's life every day. Nursing is one of the most rewarding and yet challenging careers. It can be a thankless job and at the same time, nursing can bring you countless hours of joy and some of the most heart-felt love.
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