The purpose in my writing is to inform, encourage, and share. I never mean to offend, to criticize, to argue. However, writing is meant to make one think as well. So, if what I have written has caused you to ponder, to wonder, to potentially see another side of an issue, is that a bad thing?

Hopefully as we write and read, we are not only looking for someone to agree with us, however, admittedly that is what we are looking for at times. And that is okay. Yet shouldn’t our reading encourage growth? If something has caused us to research further, isn’t that a positive movement?

I need to turn this missive on myself. Do I read to find like-minded people? Yes, at times I do. Do those like-minded people help me grow, well they can. At times they help me better define what I

Productivity is a measurement, busy is an action. Busy is having things to do, and truly busy is having one or more things that you need to do as soon as you finish what you are working on. To Do lists can certainly look like you are busy and at times they can keep you very busy. However, having a To Do list can also keep one productive.

Productive is the act of using one’s time efficiently and dedicating the appropriate amount of time to each task that needs to be completed. When used in the workplace, productivity can also speak to the number of people who are assigned to complete each task. If several people are completing the same task, none of them executing a unique aspect of the task or adding quality by having the second person involved, that does not lead to productivi

In nursing, most of my work was completed in a specialty care department, usually in an ICU or high risk, high stress environment. Because of that, I had to learn to think on my feet, moving quickly, responding decisively with confidence. At the same time, I needed to be very aware of what was happening around me, being prepared for the potential outcomes and need for change in directions depending on the patient response to the care. The type of nursing I was doing, whether at the bedside, in leadership, or mentoring and teaching, can best be compared to a sprint. Sometimes that sprint might last 12 hours, so it was important to stay engaged and sharp, with an awareness of what was critical to notice and shutting out the extra noise in the background that did not affect the incident at

As a nurse, I have education, both formal and earned through time at the bedside, in rounds, in the conference room, and in the office. As a young nurse, I felt like I had to know all things, or at least act like I did. That was not all bad, I had the bravado to speak with confidence in front of the patient, until I could step away to explore if I really knew what I thought I knew. This could have been dangerous if I was confident enough to act before checking. Luckily, I was too cautious to go there. In time I gained enough knowledge and courage to be able to say, I don’t know what that means, I am not sure how to do that, I have not heard of that, can you explain that to me?

So, what does it mean to write with authority as a nurse? Well, taking the experience and growth that