Juli Verkler , MSN , MFS , CEN , CFN , TCRN Trauma Program Manager , Chicago , Illinois @ emergencytraumamama
Mission of my IG account : To educate nursing novices about trauma and emergency nursing . Best advice for a nurse starting out on IG : Keep it simple . Do what you know . The followers will come over time . Content creation tips and hacks : Use an app with templates you can plug your content into , such as Canva , Adobe Spark and PicArt . IG pitfalls to avoid : Something I think we all know but worth repeating : Don ’ t share any patient information . Favorite type of content to share : All trauma stuff all the time . Especially anything related to shock and content that has mnemonics to help people remember certain things . What inspired you to join the BCEN InstaCrew ? I loved being part of it because I believe certification is so important . Cool things that happened through being on IG : An individual reached out to me in need of my professional resume writing services . They got their job after we refurbished their existing resume . That felt great ! Another needed NCLEX tutoring , and we worked together for several weeks , and he later passed with flying colors . Advice I ’ d go back and give my new RN self : Don ’ t listen to naysayers who tell you that you can ’ t be in the ED . Back then , new grads really were not allowed in the ED , but I managed to snag a spot . Top 2 nursing career success tips : # 1 You have two ears and one mouth for a reason . When you ’ re new , make it your mission to learn about the people you work with .” # 2 Once you develop your intuition , listen to your gut . Check , double check , and check again . If a drug that ’ s ordered for a patient doesn ’ t seem right , it ’ s probably not . Do not hesitate to advocate for your patient at all times . How can a new nurse know if emergency nursing might be right for them ? Shadow if you can . Read an emergency nursing journal and see if any of it vibes with you . The emergency nursing “ bug ” either bites you or it doesn ’ t . Self-care go-tos : Even pre-pandemic , I have found that a lot of nurses neglect their mental health . In emergency and trauma nursing , we see the worst of the worst . Now , more than ever , we need to find out what healthy coping mechanisms work for us individually in order to continue to care for others . Mine are swimming and yoga . Professional accomplishment I ’ m excited to be working on right now : Finishing the second half of my DNP . Best ways for new nurses to feel part of the nursing community ? Join a nursing professional group ( or pre-professional group , like NSNA ) where you can find a mentor . Finding a mentor in your specialty is a major key to being successful . I still have at least five mentors , and I ’ ve been doing this for more than 25 years . Bottom line : be a lifelong learner and never stop growing in your practice . You may change direction many times … but don ’ t stop growing .
27