To get the scoop on what nursing school and the nursing career actually are like, you’ll need to listen to nurses. This page compiles some of the best and most engaging blogs on nursing and by nurses. Whether you’re having trouble picturing “Future You, RN”, or need to build up your resume to go into your dream specialty, or fear getting stuck on the next quiz, you can rely on the experience of those before you.
So on your next long weekend, grab a cup of hot cocoa and start collecting the hidden tips and wisdom in these blogs.
Student Nurse Experiences and Tips
These blogs are targeted directly at nursing students and offer study tips, materials, and funny class anecdotes.
Fresh RN
FreshRN is the brainchild of Kati Kebler, an ICU nurse who once dealt with the same confusion and ongoing impostor syndrome that we all do.
She created her blog to help soon-to-be graduates find footing in their new profession. She started by posting a few study guides and NCLEX tips. However, over the past ten years, she wrote about her experiences in different departments and shifts, dealing with hospital administration, and coping with anxiety and workplace bullying. Then, she launched a podcast, which has been running for over five seasons.
Whether she’s dishing out career advice or commenting on current events, Kati Kebler always manages to tiptoe the fine line between freshness and professionalism. Her language is clear and friendly, but she doesn’t feel like a PR rep.
Finally, if you’re looking for a more immersive reading binge, check out her “Books” section – she’s published five so far!
Blog homepage: https://www.freshrn.com
Nurse Code
Nurse Beth Hawkes, the creator of Nurse Code, defines herself as a “part-time photographer and a full-time nurse.” Somehow, this also leaves her enough time to be a prolific writer!
Most of her content falls under the “career advice” spectrum, ranging from salary comparisons across specialties to recommendations on post-graduate certifications and skills to pursue. So if you’re already freezing when you’re asked about your plans after graduation, this is the blog to check out.
Every once in a while, she also posts her views on some of the hot debates that will shape the lives of future nurses – such as toxic HR practices she’s witnessed, accreditation scandals, and even hospital ghost stories. However, most of her articles offer actionable tips and links to additional resources or related articles. As a result, Nurse Code works great as a late-night reading binge.
Blog homepage: https://nursecode.com/
The Nerdy Nurse
Georgia-based Brittney Wilson doesn’t shy away from her defining features or overachieving tendencies – in fact, she has managed to turn her bookishness into a successful side career as a community leader. In addition to an up-and-coming career as a nursing informatics specialist, she has also published a book and built an active community around her advice blog.
So what kind of help can she give you? For students, a little bit of everything. In addition to basic study tips and advice on nursing care plans (we can never get enough of those), she also covers many lesser-known jobs in the informatics specialty.
In addition, her “Lifestyle” section covers a lot of the topics that older nurses don’t usually tell us about, such as the impact of back injuries or the best ways to remain healthy while working on a hospital floor.
Blog homepage: https://thenerdynurse.com/
Specialty Blogs
The blogs in this section go beyond the general advice and focus more on the everyday experiences of specialized nurses. Live vicariously through them, or start getting ready for a new career path!
The Correctional Nurse
Yes, there’s a lot of room for nurses outside the traditional hospital environment – but many of these settings are far from cozy. If you want to explore some of the least talked-about aspects of nursing, head to Lori Roscoe’s The Correctional Nurse.
Nurse Roscoe is a Nurse Practitioner who owns a healthcare consultancy service specializing in correctional facilities. She’s been working in prisons and detention centers for over ten years. This means she has not only dealt with extreme injuries and unusual limitations but also gained a first-row view of one of the hottest political issues in the country.
Her blog handles an ample variety of challenging topics. Ever wondered how to adapt clinical guidelines when you don’t have access to standard diagnostics? Or how to provide compassionate care from within a system that often lacks compassion? You’ll find those answers here.
Blog homepage: https://correctionalnurse.net/about/
The Emergency Nurse
The Emergency Nurse is an excellent blog for anyone considering the Emergency field upon graduation. This fast-paced field will demand you to adapt your book knowledge to less-than-ideal scenarios. The learning curve is sharp, but it also includes a lot of self-care – even when it feels like you don’t have any energy left.
Creator Nurse Kirsten works at a level-one trauma center, and her workdays are full of code browns, unruly patients, and a permanent need for coffee and extra time. Once her shift is done, she transforms back into a stylish, successful woman who enjoys experimenting with new sensations and skills.
She explores both sides of her personality at The Emergency Nurse. Here, she offers her personally- ested tips for enduring long hours and exhaustion, gear and equipment recommendations, and even the recipes that keep her healthy and comfortable on her days off. She also comments on triage charts and talks about the skills she needed to perfect at first.
Blog homepage: https://theemergencynurse.blog/
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The Travelling Nurse
Over the past two years, travel nursing has made many headlines thanks to their high salaries, urgent deployment tactics, and a couple of highly-publicized emergency flights. However, it can be hard to picture how it works from the outside, especially as most agencies require you to have at least a few years of bedside experience before applying.
Is this a path worth pursuing? According to Nurse Chandler, it is! In The Travelling Nurse, she describes her trajectory as a travel nurse specializing in Pediatric Hematology. She offers tips for students, new grads, and experienced nurses who are eager to live on the road and explore the world through nursing.
She also narrates her experiences as a health mission worker in Kenya, India, and Costa Rica alongside Cure International. Head to her blog to learn more about interview tactics for travel nursing jobs, gear recommendations, and funny (but touching!) anecdotes.
Blog homepage: https://thetravelingnurse.blog/about/
Nursing Stories
Nursing Stories steers clear from the practical tips and Instagrammable reviews and instead delves deeper into the everyday anecdotes that fill a nurse’s life. It was founded by Marianna Crane, a Nurse Practitioner with over 40 years of hospice and home care experience.
In her highly-literary posts, she collects lessons and reflections based on her own experiences, as well as those of her interviewed colleagues. There are riveting anecdotes of stressful house calls, heartfelt patient conversations, and guest posts from old-School Navy nurses and public health nurses.
By constantly seeking the stories behind each nurse’s resume, Nurse Crane offers a well-balanced view of many different specialties. She never forgets the human side behind each tale, making this a compelling read.
Blog homepage: https://nursingstories.org/
“A Little Bit of Everything”-Blogs
Here we go beyond standard nursing advice. These online magazines are written by healthcare workers, for healthcare workers – a great way to immerse yourself in the culture with writers who get you!
Gomerblog
“Earth’s finest medical new source” is a hilarious satirical website that pokes fun at all the wonderfully dark side of hospital work. They release weekly faux-news pieces that poke fun at the latest public health scandals and the personas that we all work with.
Most pieces will take two minutes to read, but if the shoe falls close to your court, you’ll be laughing for twice as long. You can browse “news” by category, and they have an entire section devoted to nursing students.
Blog homepage: https://gomerblog.com/
Nursetopia
Nursetopia began as Joni Watson’s personal blog back when she first became an oncology nurse. However, it eventually grew as as her interests grew. Now, it combines quirky anecdotes about her work with articles on cancer prevention, commentary on screening guidelines and the occasional art review.
Some unique features? Approximately once per season, Nursetopia releases a small “postcard” art collection with memeable slogans and beautiful backgrounds. This quirky combination of art and science offers a deep window into a compassionate soul with relatable struggles.
Blog homepage: http://nursetopia.net
Scrubs Mag
Completely separate from the cherished early-millennium sitcom, Scrubs Magazine targets all healthcare professions with a curated combination of news, tech reviews, and opinion pieces.
Not everything is about nursing: according to the founders, they aim to provide a sympathetic ear for “doctors, nurses, students, veterinarians or dentists”. Nonetheless, every post will help you reflect on one of the pressing issues that will shape our workplaces in the coming years. Hidden in their archives, you’ll find the occasional listicle to make you chuckle and some longform pieces about inclusivity and healthcare reform.
Blog homepage: https://scrubsmag.com/
Honorary Mention: Lecturio Student Blog
Allow us to be slightly biased here – but if you are looking for the perfect balance between professional advice and personal experience, make sure to check out our blog archive! We have strived to recruit a diverse group of nursing students and graduates, each one with their own set of experiences and outlook. And of course, if there’s another topic that you think we should cover, we’d love to know.
