Nursing can yield many personal rewards, satisfaction and joy. It can also be the source of many challenges and frustrations. Nurses are vital healthcare professionals and see countless patients through horrendous injuries and severe illnesses that could easily take their lives. Unfortunately, they may experience the death of a patient in any routine workday, and the impact can be extreme. Overcoming the loss of a patient is never easy. Continue reading for guidance and resources for dealing with death as a nurse, including advice from several nurses with firsthand experience.

University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Associate Professor and forensic nurse Dr. Kathleen Thimsen was interviewed on the topic of forced organ harvesting in China by Joe Gaccione of the Vital Views podcast of the UNLV School of Nursing.

One reason why nursing has attracted a lot of fresh talent in recent years (the pandemic notwithstanding) is these jobs tend to pay fairly well, with some nurses fetching salaries in excess of $100,000. What’s more, nursing also presents a plethora of opportunities for people looking for a stable, in-demand, and relatively recession-proof career. And some job classifications in nursing are expected to see job growth of nearly 50% between now and 2031.

UNLV Nursing doctoral student Carrie Jeffrey remembers when she realized how much she loved being an educator. It was during her time as a young practicing nurse, not one specific moment, but a collection of events that gave her a clue. "I found myself staying in rooms, trying to teach patients," Jeffrey recalls. "That's my bucket filler: explaining things to patients, new nurses and students who would come on our floor."

If you’re not familiar with the nursing field, you might assume “wound care” is just an everyday part of the job. While it’s true many nurses are tending to minor cuts and scrapes as part of their day-to-day duties, only a small portion of nurses possess a deep, specialized skill set for treating more advanced wounds and injuries.

For Sarah Lovelace, BSN, RN, pediatric nursing gives her the opportunity to treat a medically fragile population, and she loves coming to work to do that. “It’s that feeling of having a calling, and to know you can make an impact,” she says. “Nursing is the best decision I ever made in my life.”

More than a decade after advocates started pushing for the change, UNLV this month joined more than 2,000 universities nationwide in becoming a smoke-free campus.

Emory University School of Nursing assistant professor Priscilla Hall, PhD contributed to a recent meta-analysis study on water births that is gaining far-reaching recognition. The study shows that water births provide clear benefits for mothers and their babies, with fewer complications than standard care methods. The new research involving Hall is receiving significant attention from medical professionals and media sources such as “Good Morning America.”

The right tools can help nursing students get and stay organized. Consider these nine simple products suggested by nurses for nursing students.

The moment you decide to make a change and pursue a better career is empowering. You take your future into your own hands and make a choice that you hope will improve your life and the lives of your loved ones. Choosing to become a nurse is a big deal. Naturally, you want to make sure you’ve considered every angle possible. Likely one of the biggest considerations on your mind is how to pay for nursing school.

Nursing school can be exciting, both academically and personally. Learning life-saving procedures and patient care techniques allows future nurses to gain the necessary experience to save lives. However, maintaining good mental health in nursing school poses a challenge.

Even before the pandemic, Nevada had the second-largest nursing deficit in the country, and the pandemic has only worsened nurse burnout and retention. According to a 2022 report, nurses are leaving their jobs at “a dramatically higher rate” — Nevada needs to hire 4,000 nurses just to meet the national average.