Your Empowering Future in Nursing!

Hello my loves! 

This is a special video where I’m going to introduce you to some awesome people that I work with!  I was invited to join Nurse Bloggers a group hosted by ScrubsMag!  Each person in this group is super excited about their career in nursing and sees limitless potential.

The bottom line is this:  We cannot prevent or avoid a bad day… but there is no reason to stay there.  There are tons of nursing experts who can help you, get and stay excited about your career in nursing.

What is the Blog carnival hosted by Scrubsmag?  Jennifer from RNevolution.com gives us a great introduction to what the blog carnival is and why we participate.  In her article titled:  "Why Nursing is Like Pasta!"  

Erica MacDonald – From the selfemployednurse.com

In her blog titled: “Why You Should be Excited about the Future of Nursing,” she explains many careers that nurses can explore beyond the bedside!

She also offers the advice below on how to start your own business!  Priceless!!

This is from her website:  Want to expand your career options even further than bedside? You can start your own nursing business. If you need some ideas for a nurse owned business visit my Self Employed Nurse’s blog. I have a whole blog category devoted to nurse entrepreneurs interviews that provide a basic overview of many types of nurse owned businesses. Also, valuable nurse entrepreneur advice is included in the interviews. 

RNDEER – A must join for every nursing student.  They have the most comprehensive list of programs designed for nursing students.

They offered a blog that will help you feel empowered, even when dealing with some of the hardest things we have to as nurses!  Here is a link to one of their awesome blogs.

The Gypsy Nurse… thinks that traveling is the sure path way to empowerment!  

This is an area that I know will excite a lot of you and her blog and website are super awesome full of everything you need to know about TRAVEL NURSING! 

Lorie Brown from EmpoweredNurses.org explains that she believes that nurses have the answers to solve the issues in healthcare. They know how to solve problems to improve the flow of patient care, to improve systems in the hospital and provide solutions to patient problems.

With 30 combined years as a registered nurse and attorney. Ms. Brown combines her specialties with a practice of medical legal consulting and representing nurses before the Licensing Board.

Nurse Keith from NurseKeith.com explains: Why “Now” is always the time for Nurse Empowerment… in his super awesome blog post.

He goes into the history of nursing, changing calculations amongst Males & Females and delves deeper on why this matters and why we as nurses are legendary.

Keith offer specialized coaching to help nurses live the healthiest and most satisfying lives possible! He believes that nursing should be something that you do and that you love, not something that does you in! 

Do you prefer reading things in a story format?  Then the nurseables.blogspot.com may be for you!  In this blog post she goes through the ups/ downs and inside outs about the emotional journey each of us can go through… as well as tips to stay healthy, balanced and centered.  View their latest post is called:   

Jekyll and HydeNursing: The Tale of Two Lives Raveled Up into One Nurse.

Scrubsmag in this awesome article writing by Sean Dent  has a great article on “finding your Voice” and gives 5 practical tips on how to deal with “Nurse Bullying.”  Including but not limited too:  Speaking up in School, Clinicals and to the Physicians. An awesome resource for all of us as nurse bullying is almost unavoidable!

Brittney Wilson – Also known as:  The Nerdy Nurse in her blog post Why Nurse Empowerment is important for the future of healthcare.  

This is a scary time because there is so much uncertainty in the future of healthcare and nursing This is especially the case in the United States were the Affordable Care Act and the HITECH Act are causing drastic change in the way healthcare facilities and providers are reimbursed for the care they provide and the requirements linked to documenting patient care.  In this blog post she gives some great reasons we need to take our own empowerment to heart.

You guys know how much I love Yoga right?  That is why I’m super excited to introduce you to: Annette Tersigni.  Who’s Top secret alias is the Yoga Nurse.  She is a passionate rebel ‘with a cause’ and founder of Yoga Nursing. As an RN and yoga therapist, she teach a safe Rx to nurses, yoga teachers, and everyday people, serving experiential, feel good remedies.

Watch her interviewwith Ariel Ford, I promise you will LOVE it!!

True Empowerment is within you.  In his article Jerome Stone a long time practicing nurse practitioner of meditation. Explains why our power as a nurse is not something we have to fight for… quite the opposite actually:  Through the power of meditation we can quite our internal environment and get in touch with the power within… his article moved me to tears and I believe that it is a “must read” for each and every one of you.  On his website www.mindingthebedside.com he offers audios, video’s, pdf documents and even books all for free!  Read his amazing article titled:  "Empowerment is Already Within You" here :).

I hope you all love all these awesome people as much as I do!!  

Special thanks to Scrubsmag.com and Brittney Wilson for the opportunity to be part of this inspiring community.

I love you all!!

- Caroline 

Inspiration for Nursing Students!!

Hello my loves!!

I love listening or should I say reading the overlying tone of comments & emails… and if there is one thing for sure it is this:  Nursing School has started for many of you and it is shocking!  I’m getting a lot of emails from students who are saying that nursing school is completely stressing them out and if I have any tips to deal with this.  Well since I did overcome the stress of nursing school and I also work in a very very stressful environment there are definitely a few tips that I can give you!

Lets focus on the top 5.

1. Tip number one meditate!  All you have to do is go to the top of a mountain, stay in the same position and not think about anything for at least 2 hours :)

ORRRRR – You could do what I do every day and this is call which is called a pause meditation.  All this means is that you take an every day moment, but somehow become fully present in this moment.  Become fully aware of your surroundings, feel every part of your body and send out one huge thank you for the gift of it all… even the things that are stressing you out the most! 

This is a well known type of meditation and if you would like to learn more about it you can watch this video here!!   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-yF9EMkE88

2. Move & Stretch – Stress causes muscles to tense up which slightly decreases the natural flow of blood.  But this can ultimately make you feel really uncomfortable.  Getting up and stretching for 1 minute can have a drastic change in how you feel instantly!  If you’re in class wait for a break and put your booty up against the wall and go to town.  Your classmates will make fun of you…. But secretly they will be wanting to do it as well.

3. Be aware of how foods are making you feel and have “Power Snacks” around you at all times!  I completely stopped eating a “Lunch” or “Meal” during the day in college because all I wanted to do afterwards was “Go to Sleep.”  Instead I always made sure I had  healthy snacks around me including (but not limited to): Nuts, Carrot sticks, sliced grapefruit, a banana, granola or anything else that made me feel good and nourished my body!  Having these foods around all the time helped me relax and focus on my studies.

4. Say NO!!!  The nursing profession attacks the sweetest people in the world; many of us have the hardest time saying no!  But saying YES to something is always saying NO to something else!  You have to be ok with putting yourself first, so that you can be more of an asset to the world later!

5. Put yourself around positive words!  Guys, turn off the TV, Watch limited Youtube videos that are not directly related to your goals, surround yourself with encouraging words!  Limiting distractions could be the number one challenge of our time!!  So take the initiative and do just that!  Just a little gift for you, I have created an audio with the link below which you can download immediately.  This includes good music and quotes from the most amazing people that walked the face of this earth!  They will remind you that hard work, focus and consistency is the key to your success as well as recharge your batteries to keep going strong!

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE AUDIO :):  https://soundcloud.com/empowern/vid00059

I hope you found this helpful!!

If so please share it with your friends, like the video because it makes me happy and subscribe to the channel so that you are updated immediately when I post the next video!!

Cannot wait to see you again next week!!

Lots of love,

- Caroline  Caroline@EmpoweRN.com

www.EmpoweRN.com

How to Study for Anatomy & Physiology: Legal Disclaimer

How to Study for Anatomy & Physiology

By: Caroline Porter Thomas

Legal Disclaimer

The Facts:    

Thank you so much for your interest in this program.  First off I need to let you know that although in my humble opinion that this study process did help me learn thousands of words and develop a photographic memory, I do not have any evidence of this.  Also, I have no way of knowing whether or not this program will help you do so as well. As the program is still in it’s infancy, I do not have any students who have told me whether or not this program has fully worked for them.

            The only thing that I can factually tell you is this: I was held back in the 8^th grade and tested for learning disabilities, I went to summer school almost every year in high school, I graduated High School with a 2.9 gpa, I took a 5 year break from high school to before starting college and then had to take remedial classes to get my skills up to the college level.

            I did take Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) 2 before taking A&P 1, and my first exam score was indeed a 40%. My grades in A&P 2 did not go up immediately and these study tips did take time for me to develop and master.  I ended up with a B in A&P 2 and totally Aced A&P 1 and easily got an A.  I also used much of the same study process with my nursing classes and I did graduate with honors.

            I also have no evidence as to whether or not this program helped me use my subconscious mind, this is only my feeling and should not be taken as fact.  Whether or not it will help you use your subconscious I cannot tell.

This program is NOT for everyone!

            Please note that this program works best for “people like me” who have never known how to study well for intense classes and/or have taken years off from going back to school. I can tell you that I have noticed that many students who seem to benefit from this program so far, most have been out of school for a while and are older students going back to school.

            If you have been a straight A student your entire life and have taken AP classes your whole life, you may not find anything beneficial in this program.

This program is 5%-10% of “What to Do.”

            I want to emphasize that although I do tell you exactly how I studied, this is less than 10% of the entire program.  The rest of the program is designed to help you stay super focused and motivated.

What is required from you?

            An extreme amount of vigilance, focus and following the steps in Video 7 while using the “Track you Study Process” pdf tool repeatedly.  This program will only work for those who “work” it and even then, like I said I still couldn’t guarantee that it will work.  This is simply “how I did it.”

I hope it helps you!
God Bless!
xoxo
- Caroline

Dansko Shoes Giveaway :)

Hello My Loves!!

I'm super excited to share this video and opportunity with you.

I have been a long time supporter of Dansko shoes wearing them my entire nursing career (5 years) and even 3 years prior to becoming a nurse!

There is a reason why Dansko shoes are the number one brand of shoes for nurses for both while “On” & “Off” the clock... because they are simply the best.

I work as almost all nurses do 12... sometimes more like 14 hour days and there is no way I could do that if my feet hurt.  I feel so good when I get home that I work out with my husband and we go for a 1.5 mile jog/walk every night!

You may not know that Dansko also offers “Off the Clock” wear :)

Their fall collection consist of many attractive and “Comfortable” new shoes!

I was super excited when I was once again contacted by Dansko who said that they would love to give one of my subscribers a free pair of shoes in order to celebrate their new “Off the Clock” Fall collection!

And don't worry if you’re not a nurse or even a nursing student, as long as you are a subscriber you have a chance to win ;) Details below:

Dansko’s fall collection information is here:

This collection consist of many attractive and “Comfortable” new shoes!

- Ventura: simple adornments and burnished full grain leather highlight superior craftsmanship in this classic collection.

- Monaco the same ride and construction of the Stapled Clog, but with a more tapered silhouette and pronounced heel profile.

- Havana  featuring hand antiqued full grain leathers with studded and cutout details, this collection blends old world charm with a gritty urban vibe.

- Walden – This is the collection for our gentlemen.

HERE ARE THE STEPS TO ENTER!

1. Subscribe to the Youtube Channel:  EmpoweRN

2. Go to my website and fill out your Name + Email address Link below:

http://www.empowern.com/Contact.html     (copy and past to your browser)

3. If you want a double chance to win, LIKE this video and write a COMMENT.  Doing so will have your name entered twice!!!!!!

This offer expires Sunday Morning September 15th at 11:11am :) and the winner will be announced shortly thereafter!

So you have nothing at all to lose and a new pair of high quality awesome shoes to gain if you do enter! There are a few restrictions below.

I cannot wait to announce the lucky winner on Sunday!

I love you guys!!!!!

- Caroline Porter Thomas

www.EmpoweRN.com

P.S. there are a few restrictions: Please read :)

1. Restrictions : the Giveaways are only open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States (including the District of Columbia but excluding the territory of Puerto Rico) and the provinces and territories of Canada (excluding Québec) (the "Giveaway Territory") who are at least nineteen (19) years of age at the time of entry ("Entrant(s)").  

2. These 2 not available Pear from the Monaco collection and Faith from the Havana collection were not available.