Clipboard Chronicles
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Dying with Dignity
Lessons from My Nursing Journey The path to nursing isn’t always straight or smooth—it can be winding, full of detours, and sometimes riddled with potholes. Mine started in an unexpected place: medical transcription school. It was there, at a small community health clinic, that I met someone who saw potential in me that I didn’t…
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Accountability Isn’t Optional: Owning Your Mistakes as a Leader
So, I Goofed… Yesterday I dropped the ball.One of my team members was going to be late for their shift, and I forgot to pass the message along. That one slip added stress to my charge nurse, who was suddenly juggling coverage, patients, and frustration that could have been avoided with a quick heads-up from…
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September Is Deaf Awareness Month: Everyone Deserves to Be Understood
Communication: The Cornerstone of Care In healthcare, communication is everything. It can make or break patient safety, trust, and outcomes. But let’s be real—it’s not always easy. Language barriers, blindness, deafness, or even just the fast-paced chaos of a unit can get in the way of truly connecting with patients and families. September is Deaf…
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Clipboard Confessions: Labor Day Isn’t Always a Holiday in Healthcare
When “Labor Day” Means Actually… Laboring While the rest of the country is firing up the grill, soaking in three-day weekends, and flooding Instagram with lake day selfies, healthcare workers are clocking in. Again. Labor Day for us isn’t always hot dogs and cold drinks—it’s call bells and crash carts. Patients don’t take holidays off,…
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Manage Up or Manage Out: When Coaching Isn’t Enough
The Leadership Struggle Nobody Talks About Let’s be real—one of the hardest parts of leadership isn’t the scheduling headaches, the budget, or even compliance. Nope. The real struggle? People. Not the rockstars who show up, lean in, and make your team better. I’m talking about the ones who just… don’t. The ones who shrug off…
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The Power of a Right Hand Woman
I’ll admit it—I’ve been staring at my screen with a serious case of writer’s block. Nothing, nada, zilch. Then it hit me: why not just write about what’s right in front of me? So here we are. Let’s talk about something that has changed my work life in a big way: hiring the right second-in-command.…
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Typical?!
Was today typical? I woke to the muffled sounds of a threenage that was risen from a deep slumber, woken by something that triggered big feelings. Whining, growling, half-asleep toddlerisms penetrate the darkness. No stranger to problem solving, I began my day trying to determine the cause of the foul mood that the toddler is…
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As a nurse, I know all about stress, but I have to tell you, creating and managing this blog has blown my mind!
Let me shout it louder to the people in the breakroom!! I am out here juggling vitals, staff shortages, family life and trying to build a whole blog? That’s not just stress—that’s Olympic-level multitasking. Blogging sounds cute until you’re knee-deep in menus that won’t save, posts that disappear, and plugins that act like moody patients.…
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Show Me Yours and I will Show You Mine-Stethoscopes
The Stethoscope: From Chest Trumpets to Clinical Icons Welcome back to Scrubs & Shift Notes—where coffee is strong, shifts are long, and nursing stories never get old. Today, we’re diving into something you probably have around your neck right now: the humble stethoscope. But did you know this essential tool has been around for over…
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Is Nursing a Calling? Or Just the Best Damn Job I Ever Chose?
When people ask why someone becomes a nurse, the answer is almost always the same:“I just want to help people.” And while that’s beautiful… it’s also vague. The guy at the drive-thru helps people get fed.The cashier at the bank helps people manage their money.Your hairstylist helps you feel like your best self (shoutout to…