Nursing Superstitions and the Nurse CEUs That Banish Them

• Every industry has its superstitions, including nursing. But nurses can banish negative thoughts & actions through the power of nurse CEUs.
• Consider five of the most common nursing superstitions and Nursing CE Central’s continuing education courses that can help you address the uneasiness that they bring.
• Regardless of whether or not you subscribe to superstitious beliefs, the nurse CEUs outlined will improve your skills and the quality of care you provide to patients. 

Every industry has its quirks, sayings, and superstitions. Nursing is no different.

Where the difference lies, however, is the practitioner’s ability to banish negative thoughts and actions through the power of nurse CEUs. Follow this breakdown of five commonly known superstitions and learn which nurse CEUs can put them to rest for good. 

1. Never Say It’s Quiet.

Suggesting that the shift has been “slow,” “quiet,” or “calm” is believed to spur a busy period. To manage an unanticipated uptick in patients or healthcare chaos, take an effective communication in nursing course. When any link in the communication chain fails — even if it’s as simple as uttering a superstitious phrase — poor outcomes are evident, alongside wasted resources, reductions in patient and staff satisfaction, and a decline in the quality of patient care. The course will teach you about communication types and help you overcome potential barriers to communication. 

2. Always Leave a Dying Person’s Window Open.

The idea here, for those who believe, is that the deceased person’s soul is able to leave the room through the cracked window. To better prepare yourself and your patient for this moment, consider enrolling in an end-of-life process course. The process of dying varies from person to person, but there’s typically a recognizable pattern of decline. To provide the best care and prepare both the hospice patient and their family members for the inevitable, the nurse and caregiver need to distinguish the phases of the end-of-life process: transitioning, actively dying, and final moments. 

3. Never Order Food During Your Shift.

It’s all but guaranteed that as soon as your food arrives, so too will chaos. We all know that chaos leads to burnout, so take steps to prevent it. A nurse burnout course will help you identify signs and symptoms of burnout, enabling you to implement self-care practices to lessen its effects. 

4. Never Say a Patient Is An Easy Stick.

No sooner than these words leave your mouth will you have a hard time drawing that patient’s blood. You can (hopefully) avoid that outcome through an administration of blood products course. Millions of blood components are transfused annually with a potential for harm. Staying up to date on blood administration is the best way to avoid potentially deadly consequences of transfusion errors.

5. Never Say a Frequent Patient’s Name.

Say their name and they’ll appear. We believe in courses for dealing with difficult patients. Being in the business of caring for people at their worst often means we come face-to-face with patients amid outbursts of anger. Learning to navigate the patient’s emotions (and yours) will inject calm into any situation and give you the tools you need to treat these patients with the same care and compassion as anyone else.  

The Bottom Line

Regardless of whether or not you subscribe to superstitious beliefs, the nurse CEUs outlined here will help you continue to improve your own skills and the quality of care you provide to patients.

Enroll in Nursing CE Central’s nurse CEUs today. 

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