Nursing

As you all know, I’ve been searching for and following nurses on Twitter and as promised, I have come up with a list of everyone I’ve found. Bear in mind that this list is not specifically nurses, more like nurse-type people. I’d estimate that maybe half of the people on this list are nursing students, with a few EMTs sprinkled in. So have fun with it! If you were previously on the fence about joining Twitter, you might want to use this list as a starting point. All you have to do is create an account, then click on any of these links and hit the “follow” button.

I just wrote that in the comment section of Nurse Sean’s blog, and I want everyone to help prove me right. If you have a few minutes today go and read Sean’s post about ICU orientation. He’s having a tough time of it and I think he could really use some words of encouragement. Personally, I don’t think I could have gotten through my first 2 years of nursing without encouragement from the nurse blogging community. It’s a really tough time, no matter what specialty you choose. Nursing students? I’m sure you don’t need to be reminded that it’s no…

I got this comment the other day from Trish, and I really have mixed feelings about it: I just wanted to let you know I like your blog and you have impacted someone’s life (mine), in an unexpected way. I’m starting college this fall after being out of school many years. I was planning on going into nursing. Deep down I suspected I would suck at being a nurse, especially when I found myself gagging while washing out my pottytraining toddler’s poopy underpants. Your blog, and this post, has pretty much confirmed my suspicions and I’m planning on doing something else now.

I just read this post from Jeremiah Owyang, web strategist extraordinaire, and was inspired to write my own. As many of you know, I have been using Twitter for some time now to talk with other nurses online, and I use OrientedX3.com to actually find other nurses on Twitter. I search the term “nurse” on all tweets and often find people who are nurses. There’s been a lot of talk lately about companies using twitter to start conversations about their products. I think this is an exciting concept for companies that need to get feedback from nurses who use their products. Imagine…

Working in the Recovery Room today. ShareThis

Opioid medications are essential for helping to relieve all types of serious pain.

The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus is on the verge of a growth spurt, with construction expected to start next year on an office building and a skilled nursing facility, in addition to the previously announced ...

A recent study lead by Vanderbilt professor Peter Buerhaus polled registered nurses about two timely issues -- the state of health care and the importance of the issue in the upcoming election.

After a 15-month contract battle, registered nurses at Sutter Health facilities in Burlingame and San Mateo have reached a tentative deal that would increase RNs' pay 13.5 percent over its first 10 months, and ...

People have long prized silver as a precious metal. Now, silver-coated endotracheal tubes are giving critically ill patients another reason to value the lustrous metal.

7000 new nurses take their oathAsianjournal.com, CA - 22 minutes agoCarmelita Divinagracia, of the Association of Deans of Philippine Colleges of Nursing, asked the new nurses, many of whom are expected to work abroad,

Sutter nurses in Burlingame and San Mateo reach tentative Tri Valley Herald, CA - 1 hour agoBy Kyveli Diener After three strikes and more than a year of negotiations, a provisional agreement has been reached by registered nurses at Sutter Health

Niche Marketing Expert: Unfavorable Working Conditions Prime PR-USA.net (press release), Bulgaria - 2 hours agoNurses are prime candidates to start their own niche businesses, according to the niche marketing expert and author of "Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG Niche Marketing Expert: Entrepreneurial Pursuits a Popular Route PR-USA.net (press release)all 2 news articles

Nurses for Newborns names Ohlemiller CEOBizjournals.com, NC - 3 hours agoRohrbach, a former neonatal nurse, founded Nurses for Newborns in 1991 after seeing that newborns in under-insured, low-income families developed

Nurses picket at Boston Medical CenterBizjournals.com, NC - 6 hours agoNurses at Boston Medical Center began picketing outside the hospital’s main entrance early Wednesday. The Massachusetts Nurses Association scheduled the

Harry and Louise, the iconic couple featured in ads to defeat the Clinton health plan in 1993-1994, are back on television. This time they will lend their voice to strongly encourage health care reform.

For the first time in history, nurse practitioners are working to influence U.S. health policy. Mary Beth Bigley, Ph.D., MSN, ANP, and Catherine Wisner, Ph.D., FNP, nurse practitioners (NPs) and recipients of the Nurse Practitioner Healthcare Foundation's (NPHF) Health Fellowship grants, are completing their second year in the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG), helping to provide the best evidence-based science as a reference for public health programs.

A new study published by the American Nurses Association (ANA) and Inviro Medical Devices reveals that despite safety measures and protective devices, the threat of a possible needlestick injury continues to plague nurses and, fearing for their personal safety, affects the type of care they deliver.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a pilot program to test options for beneficiaries with original Medicare to maintain their health records electronically. Under this pilot in Arizona and Utah, a beneficiary may choose one of the selected commercial personal health record (PHR) tools, and Medicare will transfer up to two years of the individual’s claims data into the PHR.

Men age 75 and older should not be screened for prostate cancer, and younger men should discuss the benefits and harms of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test with their clinicians, before being tested, according to a new recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. The recommendation and accompanying evidence summary appear in the August 5 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Florida Memorial University, the state's oldest historically black university, and Florida International University have partnered to develop a joint curriculum that aims to boost the number of minority nurses, the Miami Herald reports.

The RCM Responds to the East of England's NHS consultation "Towards the best, together": Midwives say the best is yet to come - 610 more midwives needed rather than 160 proposed.

A nurse has been struck off the professional register by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for making inappropriate contact with a female patient by leaving text and voicemail messages on her mobile telephone. Dennis Dowle, 61, from Hastings, admitted sending six inappropriate messages while working as a charge nurse in a mental health unit at Woodlands, Sussex, where the woman was being treated. The most serious of these was one which said: "Hi ya, it's me.

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC), and Progressive Democrats of America will hold a reception at the Democratic Convention in honor of the 92 members of the Congressional HR 676 Caucus. What: Reception for Congressional HR 676 Caucus When: Tuesday August 26, 6:30 to 9:00 p.m.

Being catheterized for urodynamics testing can be extremely stressful for children. While sedating children for testing reduces stress, pain and behavior problems, it is not practical or cost-effective to sedate all children. In their article, Heidi Sweeney and co-authors studied characteristics of children who require sedation.

Working 7p-7a, what is on our minds at 6a? Our cozy, warm bed and counting sheep. This was what I was thinking of when a pt, we'll call him John... John Doe, came rolling into CCU. He was a transfer from an outside hospital. Standard chest pain, had some nitro tabs, needed a cardiac cath. We see it all of the time. He was actually smiling and cracking a few jokes as we got him settled into his room (of course we're rushing - he's stable, we need to give report, and get home!). This is common too; pts tend to joke when they're a little scared or nervous. But it has been a long night for us…

As a usual night shift, I was taking handover from my co-worker from previous shift. She continued her patient reporting, and I was being attentive throughout that. She mentioned about a new patient admitted during her shift. After receiving report from her, I headed to see my patients. I happened to know other patients since they were there for a while. When I moved toward the new one I saw a cute little boy caressing his doll in his bed. When I approached him by calling his name, he smiled and said “Hi, I am fine. Are you here to play with me? I smiled back and replied. I was so pleased…

As nurses, we all have those days, weeks, maybe months, that get really stressful. Sometimes, those rough ones may even leave us wondering why we chose such a physically and mentally exhausting profession. Every now and then, though, we get to care of someone who shows us exactly why we do what we do. Those cases, those patients, provide us with the inspiration we need to do our jobs despite how taxing they can be. I had the pleasure of taking care of one of those patients just the other day. I was orienting a new nurse to the floor who, at that point, was ready to be on her own. It was her…

Written Monday, May 29th 2006 after working all night in an inner city Chicago Emergency Department. I entitled it: Did you hear me? Did you hear me? To the man that presented to me dead on arrival. We intubated you, gave you 3 rounds of Epi, followed by 3 rounds of Atropine, continued CPR and the whole time you were in PEA (Pulseless Electrical Activity; This is where the pt. has no pulse but the telemetry monitor shows the heart beating with a rhythm, the pt is dead.) We were unable to bring you out of P.E.A . and after having worked on you for awhile, the doctor pronounced you dead on…

:nurse: "US" and "THEM" :rolleyes: IT COULD MEAN TROUBLE :argue: The more I think about stories about patients… the more this thought comes to mind. I finished my nursing education in Dec. 2004 and since that time I have noticed a major shift in the health care ideologies. :confused: I figure the best way to do something about it is to recognize it, discuss it and find solutions or underlying causes for it. :saint: What I have noticed, is an “us” and “them” mentality, growing between healthcare professionals and the public. My background in ER nursing as a…

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Hello All, I would like to invite any persons who would like a special place to post an opinion or article concerning your experience in nursing education. Please visit: http://yournursingsite.blogspot.com/ If you would like to write an article for my blog please submit your post to: yournursingsite@hotmail.com Thank you and I look forward to your participation.

For all those who are currently nurses and looking for a change, please visit my poll concerning becoming a nurse educator. http://yournursingsite.blogspot.com/

Please visit this blog if you are in Pennsylvania and looking to take the next step in your nursing career by becoming a nurse educator. There is a link to an orgazination that provides financial aid, scholarships and grants for all those who work in Pennsylvania and want to continue their education. http://yournursingsite.blogspot.com/ Also, feel free to write an article or short story with anything that concerns nursing and I will be sure to circulate it in the viral world. The email address to submit your article is: yournursingsite@hotmail.com

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Jack decided to go skiing with his buddy, Bob. So they loaded up Jack's mini van and headed north. After driving for a few hours, they got caught in a terrible blizzard. So they pulled into a nearby farm and asked the attractive lady who answered the door if they could spend the night. 'I realize it's terrible weather out there and I have this huge house all to myself, but I'm recently widowed,' she explained. 'I'm afraid the neighbours will talk if I let you stay in my house.' 'Don't worry,' Jack said. 'We'll be happy to sleep in the barn. And if the weather breaks, we'll be gone at first…

A great edition of Change of Shift is up at Emergiblog.

Nursing.alltop.com has launched over the weekend. It’s a great source of all the top nursing sites, and it might look a little like this site, considering they used our list of feeds! ( :

May asks, Why do nurses blame themselves when things go wrong with a patient, but we never seem to take credit when the patient gets better?

Here is a nurse that really “gets” social media: Phil Baumann. You can follow him on twitter also.

If you read anything at all about nursing today, please make it Brainscramble’s outstanding story about what it’s like to be a student during a code.

How to sum up this summer? Change. It’s a little cliche, I guess, but that’s the first word that comes to mind. Because ten weeks ago, I was a different student nurse, and really, a different person than I am now, standing on the brink of my last shift as a precepted intern (with one semester until graduation, I might add. Holla!) It’s actually hard to verbalize how much I’ve learned; the curve was really steep, and even though I knew it would be a great experience, I never thought I’d end up going as far as I did. I think one tell-tale sign of growth was this:…

All, A few days ago, I logged on to renew my domain and realized that my entire blog had been deleted. Full pooch out mode ensued and after a few minutes of choking sobs, I was able to pull myself together enough to figure out what had happened. I would love to blame someone other than myself, but sadly, it was my fault as I had written down the wrong date for renewal, thus the deletion because I was technically late. Luckily, I was able to retrieve everything. However, I have a little bit of reformatting to take care, which is why the header is missing, and things may look a a little off. I…

How can I make myself stop caring so much? How can I make it stop hurting when we work so hard and want so bad and there’s still nothing that can be done. Today is one of those day that I think I can’t emotionally take this. Because I love my patients, and I especially love their families, and even in their worst states, I still see their humanity and their humor and their will. And even though thet leaving a life behind that was giving nothing back, it’s just breaking me right now. How can I not care so much? The truth is, I will be fine and I will work another day, another…

On Saturday, I had my major meltdown. I expected it to happen sometime during this whole 70-hour week thing, but you can never fully predict a pooch out. In fact, I thought I was doing really well, and had even convinced myself that I might make it through without. Ha! Wrong. I cried not once but twice that day. Most who know me well (and there are only a few) will tell you that crying once is a big deal for me. I’m just not a big crier. I can get pretty worked up and still be dry. Well, not Saturday. I cried while making breakfast, then I pulled myself together for a 12 hour shift.

I’ve just finished day 5 of a 9 day streak. Over half way, baby! I count down the days by the number of premixed saline nasal rinse packets I have on my sink. Each morning I get to throw one away, as well as clear out my sinuses. It works out wonderfully. What a day today. My feet are killing me, although my knees aren’t swollen and my back doesn’t hurt so maybe I should stop complaining, huh? It’s just that I spent all day running. Two very, very ill patients to deal with. I was only assigned to one of them, but they were right next to each other so I frequently got…

Forget H5N1. Forget SARS. Forget the flesh-eating zombie mutants. There are far more contagious viruses out there, just waiting to go pandemic. Its only a matter of time. You have been warned…. ShareThis

Chairman: “Item six on the agenda: the meaning of life. Now, Harry, you’ve had some thoughts on this?” Harry: “That’s right. Yeah, I’ve had a team working on this over the past few weeks, and what we’ve come up with can be reduced to two fundamental concepts. One: people are not wearing enough hats. Two: matter is energy. In the universe, there are many energy fields which we cannot normally perceive. Some energies have a spiritual source which act upon a person’s soul. However, this soul does not exist ab initio. It has to be brought into…

One thing that really frazzles my frenulum is poorly designed instructions. And for an industry that is responsible for providing a complexity of equipment and medications that have a direct impact on peoples lifelines, they are consistently and excellently BAD at letting us know what the heck is in the packet or how the heck to use the equipment. Check out a snip from these instructions on using one of our life support ventilators: The exhalation valve is itself pressure-piloted during the inspiration phase and as the main regulation part during the exhalation phase. The speed of the turbine…

The question is will they still respect us in the morning? ShareThis

Melting cannula: Cannula with rigid sharp trochar (needle) made from material that dissolves shortly after  contact with blood.  No need to remove the sharp. Set and forget. Luer-lock fluid bags: No more spiking bags of fluid. Special self sealing luer lock connections on the bag and the giving set allow you to change fluid bags without spillage. No more sticking the spike into a) your hand or b) the bag or c) your mouth. Rotating ID badge: Name tag that rotates just like James Bond’s numberplate. Full name, telephone number and preference for chocolates for those excellent patients…

... but didn't: Travelers getting requested cancellations are almost unheard of. I know that has not been the case since you joined us, but take it from me - these are usually very rare occurrences. I did not make you join this staff as a traveler and thus inherit all of the injustices that the position comes with. If I remember correctly, though, you are very well compensated. I did not make the policy which dictates that regular staff get cancellations before you do. I just have to follow it. It does not matter that you asked for the cancellation before everyone else. The only thing that…

Kim at Emergiblog has the latest Change of Shift up. CoS has officially started its third year. Kim has done a fantastic job as this Carnival's mama :-)

Not to be confused with "Change of Shift," for which you should head over to Emergiblog to get info on how to submit your entry for the next edition! It's quite easy - all Kim wants is your very first post! We were recently on vacation and on our way to returning the rental car, we stopped to fill it with gas. I thought I'd go in and get the boy some pretzels to munch on until we could get him some real food. I picked out a bag and went up to the counter to pay for them. The clerk informed me that they were doing "shift change" and that I'd have to wait if I planned on buying that bag of…

Maybe you won't be after reading this.

Like the title says, this post has nothing to do with nursing. Or medicine. Ok then! I just read this on Yahoo! news: "His father, Yosef Cavalin, frets about the piano-playing, noting that his only child recently broke his arm pursuing another passion, martial arts. He has won several trophies for his age group. "Finals are coming and everything and he cannot play with both hands. He'll just try to play with the right hand," he says. "I don't know how his grade's going to be in piano. It worries me a bit." Um. Your kid, who 10 and is excelling in college level science courses, broke his arm…

A nursing assistant has called in all of her weekend shifts for the last 5 months straight, starting the week after she got off orientation. Literally every single weekend shift scheduled. The secretary who makes up the assignment sheets just writes her name in the "ill" column, even days in advance of her weekend shifts. Why bother doing it any other way? She can't be fired without a lengthy

Me: Have you had a recent ultrasound to check out your uterus? Patient/Drug seeker: Well, I had one of those ones where they put it up the hoo-hoo, but that was to check my heart. No one will check me for my terrible cramps. No one believes me. Me: Noted. Did they just happen to see anything wrong with your uterus when they were checking your heart with the vaginal ultrasound? Patient/Drug

FYI: Happy Hospitalist has a way wicked mullet (also check out the current blog header for a more detailed view). HH: Can I have a ride in your Camaro? Can I borrow your Billy Ray Cyrus CD?

A new policy in Girlvet's ER makes her wonder if anyone in management knows what it's like to work there. Sad thing is...the people truly getting dicked over in a busy ER are those who are too sick to complain and who have to wait longer while we smooth over the situation with the verbally-abusive drug seeker with a gift certificate and an apology.

So, I'm all up in the lobby triaging my cotillion of crayzees: Rectal pain post-sex (duhr), sneeze x 1 who wants allegra re-filled, s/p ass-whoopings, drunk-n-falls, cough x 1 year, low abdomen pain x 20 minutes, drop of blood x 1 on toilet paper after wiping who want 4th 1st trimester ultrasound---the usual nighttime crew---when I get an expectation slip. "Cops are bringing in a male on a

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the blog Six Until Me, you should take the time to check it out.  Not only is the author, Kerri, a gifted writer, she brings something a bit unique to the world of blogging, a patient’s perspective on diabetes. I have not one, but two friends who use insulin pumps.  One just happens to be a newly graduated pharmacist.  I thought both them and Kerri yesterday whilst discussing back pain with a patient who also uses a pump.  It constantly amazes me how other bits and pieces of my life, like watching J9 (the new pharmacist!) change her pump and…

Right before packing for my 3 days of NP work, I decided to check my blog stats. [Yeah Matt, I'm going.......] 6 people actually found my blog by doing a Google search for “ADOBSO.” That’s awesome. edit: Apparently this blog is no. 1 for that search phrase! *roflmao* Gawd I need a life.

ednurses, 2008 Fall Specialty Guide How many more times are we as a profession going to perpetrate the stereotype that nurses are old, fat, frumpy women? I was so irritated with the most recent cover of the journal “ednurses” I almost cursed my way to the house from my mailbox. The nurse on the cover is highly educated clinical nurse specialist who works at Boston General Hospital. Why in the HELL did they use such an unflattering photograph of her FOR THE COVER? I don’t know a whole lot about photography, but could a more horrendous angle have been used? Why didn’t…

Hey Dale….glad you are with us. Posted at Military Motivator. Some are hilarious, some will get you where it counts.

Okay, I love this time wasting kind of site. (do it Ben . . . I know you want to!) I have to admit. I kind of like this one. I’m now preparing myself for the spam onslaught it is bound to produce. That is the price a girl has to pay, I suppose.

Abuse, neglect, illness and a reported death are some of the findings revealed in a review of homes caring for disabled adults in New York State.Please click here to read the rest of my article on Nurse Linkup.

Please be so kind as to surf on over to Nurse LinkUp to read a new article by my friend and colleague, Rick Baker---The Heart as Electromagnet. Rick's website, Quantum Cafe, is also worthy of your curious perusal.

Last night, I was doing some visits for the visiting nurse agency who recently employed me. On my fourth and final visit, I had a revelation of sorts.I drove about twenty minutes to reach this patient's home, winding through lovely country roads, past old farm houses and pastures. Reaching his neighborhood of middle- and upper middle-class homes, I was struck by how out of the ordinary this situation seemed to me. For the last eight years, almost all of my home visits have been to poor, inner-city neighborhoods, trailer parks, or lower income neighborhoods with modest single family homes. Not…

The newest edition of Grand Rounds, medical blog carnival extraordinaire, is now up over at Medical Humanities Blog. Even yours truly was able to submit a post on time for a change.

Today I had the pleasure of witnessing a joyous birthday celebration.Held at the inner-city senior center where my wife is the director, the party was held outdoors under a threat of rain that was controlled through Caribbean rituals used to ward off foul weather. Despite low-lying clouds almost bursting with moisture, no rain came. The women preparing the festivities had taken time for ritual, drawing crosses of salt on the ground and filling a cup with water, covering the cup with a plate, and then turning the cup and plate upside down and setting it on the table with the food. As we spread…

I don't know why this has been getting on my nerves this week, but all of the people who come in expecting us to get them a free ride home have been really getting on my nerves...Those people who are on Medicaid get free rides to and from the hospital (at the taxpayer's expense) without question. That does bug me a little, but, at least they can take care of arranging their own ride... The ones that get to me are the ones that come in with absolutely no idea how they are getting home. It is MY problem, not theirs...We CAN get cab vouchers for people if we absolutely have to. It is a pain,…

We were talking the other night about this show, I still don't remember why...And I got this theme song stuck in my head... (Its the theme to "Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego))I actually used to be quite a Rockapella fan (the group that sings this theme song) and had actually forgotten about it.. I used to love watching this show with my kids...I even had to go download the song on my Ipod, and I still can't get it out of my head... I've even tried singing "Its a small world" a few times, and that didn't help!!!!

Well, I have been back to the grind for a full week now, and quite a busy week it has been...Not too much exciting to relate, just a lot of work. Ended up working an extra day since we are having a lot of "sick calls" as the summer is ending up. (Why is it when people are too sick to work, they almost always come back to work with either a sun tan or a sun burn? I know... extra vitamin D from the sun must be good for getting over the flu!)I am working as a preceptor again; This person is a very experienced nurse and quite a good worker, so it is a fairly easy precepting experience so far. It…

Well, I am safely back in Arizona after a week-long vacation to Southern California!What a wonderful experience! I feel more relaxed than I have in a long time. I don't have to go back to work until Wednesday night, so I have a few more days to relax. Sadly, my wife has to work tomorrow, and my daughter starts high school (yep, my baby is a freshman!!!... Now I'm feeling old again!) tomorrow as well...First off, I would like to thank California for not having another earthquake while we were there. I have been in one before (a small one while I was visiting CA for work many years ago) and…

Note - Another "pre-written" post...One of the posts I enjoy reading on other blogs is a review of some of the "search terms" that have brought people to their particular blog.I thought it would be fun to go back and look at the last few that have caused people to stop by DisappearingJohnThe highest search term that brings people here is a tie between "lateral violence" and "Nurses eat their young". Darn that topic! I wrote a couple posts about nurses eating their young, and then wrote a post about our discussions in school about it, and ever since then, people stumble by to read them. To…

Ever wonder what we did before the internet? You’re looking at it. The Dewey Decimal System. If you have to look it up, you’re too young to remember it. Let’s put it this way: it gave Kerri at Six Until Me a nightmare. A nightmare that became the theme for this week’s Grand Rounds! Melvil Dewey would be proud! I’d like to thank Scrubs Gallery for their continued support of Emergiblog. You guys rock, and the site gets better and better! The Healthcare Today site is growing fast! I’m proud to be in the company of some pretty heavy hitting bloggers over there,…

Does your medicine cabinet look this neat? Do you even have this many drugs? My “medicine chest” is in my kitchen. Various and sundry medications and supplements share shelf space with Skippy Extra Chunky Peanut Butter, Smucker’s jelly, Starbucks coffee, Splenda, and CoffeeMate. I’m ready for nasal congestion, runny nose, nausea, muscle spasms, inflammation, cough, insomnia, diarrhea, indigestion, allergic reactions, superficial boo-boos and headaches. If I had the appropriate anatomical equipment,  I’d probably be prepared for erectile dysfunction. And those…

Another offering to the god of constipation. Okay, fess up. How many of you snuck Ex-Lax pieces out of your Grandmother’s medicine cabinet because it was “chocolate”? I did. Guess what happened… Nothing. No diarrhea. No abdominal cramping. Nada. Well, something actually did happen. I got caught! And back in the early 60’s, pre-Dr. Spock days of child discipline, one did not sit one’s child in the corner for a “time out” or have a “discussion” with one’s preschooler. If you get my drift. Let’s just say that I never, ever…

Here we see registered nurses working in the laundry room. Whatever they are doing, it’s out of the same material “of which Kotex is made”! So… Kotex is made from hospital towels? Doesn’t this make you wonder what the other 15% of hospitals use? How many “absorbents” are on the market anyway? Reminds me of when I shadowed a nurse who was the head of Central Supply as part of our rotation in nursing school. Not one iota of patient care! She didn’t even put together trays, let alone wrap them. I’m sure it was a big responsibility, keeping a…

This is very exciting news! We have an opportunity to meet as a med-blogging group at this year’s BlogWorld. For those of us who have wanted a chance to have a med-blogger meet up, this is an opportunity to meet under the auspices of BlogWorld . I spoke to Rick Calvert, the CEO and Co-Founder of Blog World and New Media Expo. Here are our opportunities: We can do a panel presentation. Would you be willing to sit on a panel? Here were some of my ideas: a. Navigating HIPAA laws b. Healthcare through the eyes of a doctor, nurse and patient c. Healthcare Blogger Code of Ethics - discussion…

In reverse order.First, for those of you who work in hospitals/clinics/whatever that require uniforms or particular scrub colors: Does your facility provide any sort of scrub allowance for employees? (Nursing students, sorry, but I just want the working RNs/aides/PTs/OTs/secretaries etc. to answer this one.) Do you have particular scrub shops where you can get an extra discount? How about folks coming to the facility itself to sell scrubs? Tell me all about it.Now, for those of you *looking* for scrubs, here's a site which has--hurrah!--coupon codes! One of the very pleasant founders emailed…

So...new nursing students. How y'all feeling right now? Classes start in, what, three weeks? Two?Got your shoes ready? Got your pens and pencils? Paper? Xanax? Good.Following is a list of tips drawn from what I remember of my own school experience, back when the earth was still cooling:1. You are smart enough to get through this. You got in, right? That's no small task in a field where there are anywhere from 30 to 200 applicants for every slot in nursing school. Rest assured that if you were smart enough to get in, you will be smart enough to finish--and finish *well*--provided you remember…

There's a lot of discussion about the OMGWTF Nursing Shortage and of how to get younger, more diverse folks into nursing. What I've seen lately proposed as solutions make sense, but they don't get to the root of the problem: Nurses are seen as handmaidens and helpmeets to doctors rather than as scientific professionals in their own right, who often practice with a surprising degree of autonomy.Two illustrations of that, from the educational angle: I have a colleague who never fails to mention that she finished pre-med school at the top of her class, passed the MCAT, and was accepted to…

MATURE, DIGNIFIED male seeks calm and loving partner for long walks on the beach, quiet evenings at home, and belly rubs. I am h/w proportionate, have a full head of reddish-brown hair (no grey yet!) and keep my nails carefully trimmed. I enjoy soft music, good food, relaxing times together, and the occasional snack. Write MAX, box XXXX.**** **** **** **** **** ****ATHLETIC BLOND seeks energetic friend for adventures! Interests include property destruction, digging in the dirt, scratching my own back, tearing up shit, property destruction, barking, running around in circles, shedding,…

Reading the latest news (360 Degree Care) about Sloan-Kettering’s newly developed ICU, I have one key question to ask -- how high tech must we go to give efficient care to patients today? Is rubberized flooring necessary? Do Web cams interfere in patient privacy? (Would you want to be seen weeping on a Web cam with your dying family member?) The article on Nurse.com describes how “Rooms have Web cams to let nurses monitor patients and beds that turn 360 degrees, perform respiratory percussion and vibration, turn and weigh patients, and elevate them to a chair position.” What happened to…

There is a bill being discussed in Congress, HR 5924, which focuses on providing employment-based visas for foreign-educated nurses. HR 5924 refers to the Emergency Nursing Supply Relief Act. The Act would allocate 60,000 visas for the next 3 years for nurses. I’m not so sure how this will resolve the shortage long-term, as the bill ends in 2011. What then? I know one thing -- I’ll be ready to retire! The bill focuses on solving the current domestic problem of a lack of nurses. Seems to me that all of this is cyclical in nature. Haven’t we done this before? Brought in Irish nurses?

Don't miss the newest edition of Change of Shift. There are plenty of nurses in the blogosphere! See what they are all talking about.

I recently saw a Kings County video online. (Emergency Room Death Sparks Outrage) A Kings County Hospital Center surveillance camera caught a patient writhing on the floor while other patients and staffers ignored her. Esman Green, a 49-year-old Jamaican woman and patient at the Kings County Hospital Center in Brooklyn, died last month, unattended and seemingly ignored, on the floor of the Kings County psychiatric emergency room, according to officials.  The video shows Green slumping out of her chair and going into convulsions as workers and fellow patients walked by her, doing nothing.

New compilation of nurse bloggers has posted. Here is a link for you. Check it out today!

It’s been a typical British summer, the town is full of holiday makers, the clouds are full of rain, and all the kids are getting ready to return to school….Holy carp….  Summers nearly over. Did it leave me wounded??  Well only a little.  The amount of “I’ve come on holiday and forgot my tablets” has been less than usual.  There has been a slight increase in the amount of injured parents and grandparents (mostly dad’s and grandad’s) who thought it was OK to try and do what the kids do: “Well we were playing cricket and little Jimmy…

I haven’t much to tell, which reminds me of the day My mother said “if you have nothing clever to say. Say Nothing”.  She sometimes could be a bit that way! So Max is still here, although perhaps just a little faint. I still have tales to tell, and many of them quaint. The weather here is terrible, the rain has been pouring, It’s made many brains show more than a little flawing. The effect of the dampness is not endearing. A patient last week reported having “Blurred hearing” Another worried about a “Barrow meal”, surely he…

I sit in my room, and simple things bother me…I see patients with simple conditions that just won’t respond to the treatment that works for everyone else…something is missing… Have you ever considered the concept that every member of your family is someones patient?! It’s quite a scary thought when you consider how things are from the other side of the consulting room desk.  Last night I was on the phone to my grandparents - thankfully not registered at the surgery where I work.  We were (as usual) chatting about all there usual health problems and it became…

As I was doing my occasional trawl through the medical news…   I found this article about a new treatment patch to immunise against and decrease the duration of travellers diarrhoea caused by that retched E. Coli.  So basically…it’s an adhesive patch that can reduce or prevent diarrhoea…  Sounds a bit like putting a plaster on a oozing wound….  Now you know I’m only joking, a patch to prevent e-coli is great and yes I really do understand that it isn’t a constipating adhesive!  But patch therapy of any kind makes me a tad nervous. HRT patches…

I’ve been too busy to blog this week…apologies. But just to give you a little humour, I’ve got a case history for you… An Irish woman presented to ask about reviving her husband’s libido. Max: ‘What about trying Viagra?’ Patients wife: ‘Not a chance, he won’t even take an aspirin.’ Max: ‘Not a problem, give him an ‘Irish Viagra’. Drop the Viagra tablet into his coffee. He won’t even taste it.  Give it a try and call me in a week to let me know how things went.’ It wasn’t a week later when she…

We have a sunny start to this morning, but I am no longer fooled. Just when I have to work every day of summer, it seems that summer has taken some kind of a holiday from us. The Brits love to discuss the weather, and boy are we having some weather to discuss. Sadly we are unable to grumble that it is just too hot for work, instead we are constantly dodging showers and what is more, I for one find it too cold for most of my summer clothes. Summer in children’s services  means few meetings, it means many part time staff are off for the whole of the school holidays and it means a time to…

The line between reporting new medical discoveries to the wider world and unnecessarily raising expectations is a fine one. Those of us who work in the world of medicine / nursing understand that the process of developing new drugs is a long and laborious one, we also know that some diseases are far more emotive than others and therefore make good stories in the news papers and on TV news programmes. In the last week there have been two stories which strike such a note, the first was regarding a drug to treat Prostate cancer (but more excitingly for those reporting it, might one day be useful…

I am sure that back in the distant past I made a concious decision that some kind of job where you sat all day in an office was not for me. During the summer I was 18, after a brief episode picking tomatoes which meant getting up at dawn and coming home with your fingers green I took a summer job as a clerk. The work was mundane, but then I was a junior, but it did give me sufficient money for a holiday in Malta before I began my nurse training that autumn. Who would have imagined then that less than 30 years later (well ok that is quite a long time later) I find that I now work in an office…

On the first of this month, I said (no actually rather I claimed) that to make up for my lack of blog posts during June I would write something every day. Here we are 15 days later and this is the first time I have written anything. I can’t quite work out what is wrong with me. I don’t entirely have bloggers block, because most days I come up with ideas about the kinds of stuff to post here (as I always have) but by the time I get a spare half an hour to actually do so, I either decide that there isn’t enough to say or else I get waylaid doing something else. One of the…

Is going back! Well no not really, but when you book time off, arrange that holiday or in my case a few days away, then you know that the days just before hand and those when you return to work are going to be busy and not a little stressful. This time the two days before involved my mum deciding to let her hypertension get the better of her and end up with double vision and numb fingers. An MRI scan showed a number of small infarcts. It could have been worse, much worse and what is more she could have been in Spain where she was due to go 5 days later. Thankfully, having visited and trusting…

09:27 An hour of kickboxing burns ~600 calories? No wonder I feel virtuous! 10:17 Trundling off to FedEx. Page corrections can’t be done online, more’s the pity… 13:59 OK, I’m paying my EFT fair and square, but Sprint is truly a fraudulent nest of snakes. Glad to be quit of ‘em. 14:01 Seriously, the Sprint CS rep I’m on the phone with has a chat system open with ANOTHER rep bec. he can’t use his own system! 14:31 I literally have a twitch in my eye from dealing with Sprint. It can’t be healthy. 15:58 Just really noticed Google Maps street view.

First, for the late adopters still waffling about Twitter (or dragging their feet because they don’t know where to start), start here. PixelRN has made a list of nurses (and nursing students, paramedics, and docs) who Twitter, so there’s your list of folks to follow! There’s just something nice about tweeting regarding financial aid bitterness and immediately getting sympathy tweets… My blood pressure seriously just went up a little because I typed “financial aid.” My classes start tomorrow, and I have clinicals Thursday and Friday (public health). I have…

07:57 Anyone have a workaround for Mobile Me’s lack of subscription calendar syncing? 10:44 BP very high after having to call Financial Aid again. Trying to just be grateful student loans exist. 15:18 Took Hedwig (now "Wiggers" or "Wiggenstein&quot to have her drain pulled. No postop complications! 15:34 Reflecting: only copy editors get truly worked up about "conclusion" vs "conclusions." 17:01 Is the update crashing iPhones? I’m nervous, uncharacteristically, about diving in! 17:03 Why my work has cat hair on it - snaptweet.com/841d3 19:43…

11:05 Dog eating yogurt - snaptweet.com/cfa5d 12:00 Another mono day! Managed a half-fssed workout but have NO energy. Planning a nap after lunch 18:18 At a BBQ with a dozen of my closest friends. And veggie brats! 22:03 Just spent awhile updating my black-and-white Flickr set: www.flickr.com/photos/notratched/sets/72157606740023394/ Follow me on Twitter

09:20 Trying to get energy to work out, but feeling like a mono day. At least I haven’t had one for a few days. Getting slowly better. 09:34 Trying Mobile Me again just because. One-hour poll uses less battery than push and so far no errors. But stay tuned! 12:22 Had lunch and nap; now doing NCLEX review questions and drinking wicked strong coffee. 14:44 Dorms open today at KU. Why did I think errands were a good idea? 17:01 Craigslist rocks. Two sales today on first day of listing! 17:07 I like Borders, but why must they keep it so freaking cold? It must be 50 degrees in here! -…

I am so proud of my youngest son! We just got his FCAT scores from last year (4th grade) and he rocked it! The reading section top score possible was 2638. The average 4th grader scored 1456 and he made a level 5 (2146). In the math section, the top score possible is 2330. The average 4th grader scored 1444 and he made the maximum score of 2330. What Mom couldn't resist bragging just a little?

Check out this week's edition of Change of Shift!

Hello to all! My husband and I had a busy last few days getting our 18 year old ready to join the Navy. We sat in the processing facility from 10:00 until 6:00 pm and he signed on as an Advanced Air Crewman. Now I get to read all of his paperwork and figure out what exactly he will be doing. He has always been one to work with his hands and likes electrical and mechanical things. I figured that the Navy would be the best for him to get some education and learn a trade as well as travel. He'll be going to Illinois for 8 weeks of basic training then back to Pensacola for the rest for up to 32…

A 47 year old female patient came into the office to establish with a history of hyperlipids, Diabetes, and seasonal allergies. The usual kind of patient that I see on a daily basis. Taking her history, asking her the review of systems, and getting a medication list are all the normal routines."Any cancer history in you or any of your family members?""I had cervical cancer and had some treatments. They said they got it all.", she said.Hmmmm. "Are you up to date with your Paps and Mammograms?""No. I haven't had any way to get back and forth to the doctor that I was seeing and just never got…

I try not to use this NP blog for personal pics but I just couldn't resist sharing a few pics of my grandson William who is 3 months old already!

I swear this is true. Like I’ve said before, I can’t make this stuff up. The Greatest Hospital in the World has prepared for JCAHO’s arrival by forming the “JCAHO Readiness Swat Team.” These team members will jump into action when JCAHO walks through the front door. Here’s the plan: The hospital operator will make an overhead announcement, welcoming JCAHO inspectors to the Greatest Hospital in the World. Of course this is code for, “Panic! JCAHO has landed.” Each unit will break open a stack of note cards that are kept at the nursing station. These note…

Stress in the workplace has been plaguing nurses for a long time. This ad is from 1963. Apparently work got overwhelming for at least one nurse. Her nursing cap fell off while she was pulling her hair out at the nurses station. She’ll feel better after she guzzles down her bottle of Coke. Sugar and caffeine always makes my day more manageable while I deal with those unyielding hours. I think hospitals should put a Coke machine in the middle of every nurses station. There’s nothing like a few bottles of Coke to help kick start your shift. Unfortunately, JCAHO made up a stupid rule…

Nurses at the Greatest Hospital in the World are encouraged to treat patients like hotel guests. This mandate from on high has now reached a fever pitch since JC is expected to walk through our doors as we speak. No, I’m not talking about Jesus Christ. I’m talking about JCAHO, an annoying organization that views itself as a deity, hence its new name. Our hotel nurse just left a chocolate on a patient’s pillow and the concierge is making sure that everyone has a filled water pitcher at their bedside. Like the original JC, the hospital staff must walk on water when JCAHO rolls…

It’s moving day, and Nurse Ratched welcomes you to her new place. Nurse Ratched is calling her favorite patients, McMurphy and Chief Bromden, to the nurses station. She’s looking for a couple of strong men to help unload the moving truck. I started Nurse Ratched’s Place two years ago after receiving encouragement from my Blog Mother, Kim, the proprietor of Emergiblog. I told Kim that I wasn’t sure that I could write a blog because I’m a smarty-pants. Kim told me to stop worrying, and to start typing. Entering the blogosphere has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my…

Jail Bird by Kevin Hanna I love this picture. Kevin Hanna is a very talented artists and I really like her work. Her creations are colorful, playful, and very imaginative. I hope to create another jailbird at the end of the week. I’m going to court on August 7th to testify against my attacker. He came after my coworkers and me a few months ago and tried stabbing us with a shank. It’s a toss up whether I’ll have my day in court. The court date has already been postponed twice. I’ll keep you posted. Nurse Ratched's Place is Sponsored by allnurses.com - Where Nurses Come Together

There’s one other thing that has been getting me down in the ICU, more than anything else. That is the shear tragedy of the entire place. Here’s a cross section of patients that I’ve had recently. 1. A 49 year old woman who was fine one day. Then nobody heard from her in many many days. She was found several days later, face down in a pool of her own urine (that she had aspirated on as well). She had had a massive hemorrhage that even bone flaps and drains couldn’t fix. 2. A young fit women who was rock climbing without ropes or a helmet. She fell 100 feet. Very very…

I haven’t been around lately (maybe one or two of my three readers noticed). I went to a dark place in the world of nursing: a long tunnel filled with fears, regrets, and frustration. I really didn’t think I would be able to come out the other side of this darkness, I still haven’t, but at least now I’m 68% positive I will. Let me explain:It happened as quickly as someone flipping a switch. I went from being excited about my career, from engaging and learning, from dreaming of future career paths, to hating every moment of every day that I had to be a registered nurse.

Change of Shift is up over at Parallel Universes. Go check out this great edition. Don’t forget to spread the word and offer some link love. Blogged with the Flock Browser ShareThis

07:00–I’m sitting in the staff lounge with my tea in one hand. The day staff is trickling in. Between smiles, you can tell we are all miserable from being up so early and having to work. Everyone watches the large clock on the wall slowly move toward 07:15 07:15–We are given our bed assignment: just the bed number, the rest we will have to wait until we see our patient and hear report. 07:15–I walk to my assigned bed, curious about the acuity. Because I’m just a month of orientation, my patient assignments alternate between ridiculously easy, and slightly…

I had a pleasant surprise today. Apparently patient census and acuity is extremely low in the ICU tonight. So, because of the large excess of labor recourses (i.e. registered nurses), I was offered the night off. I gladly accepted the offer! That definitely goes under the list of things that would never happen in med/surg nursing! Speaking of that list, another thing that would go there is my experience last night. They did a bedside gastroscopy on the patient next to mine. They hooked up a really neat plasma television-on-wheels to the scope so everyone around can see what they’re…

Yesterday my preceptor told me that I should not have opinions. I have to laugh at this now, because clearly she hasn't really learned who I am. But at the time I couldn't believe that she said this. The context of the conversation was about my own midwifery practice; she felt that only experienced midwives should have opinions about how they practice. I nodded and went along with this

One of the coolest things, in my opinion, is amniotic ferning. Amniotic fluid, when dried, creates a fern leaf like pattern that can be seen microscopically. The presence of ferns are a strong indicator that the bag of waters has broken. Two others are looked for: pooling of water in the vagina seen on speculum exam or visualizing fluid coming from the opening of the cervix and a positive

As it appears right now, there will be no midwifery jobs out there when I graduate. Sure, there are jobs available, but I'm not moving. I live where I want to live for the rest of my life and want to provide midwifery care to the women in this area. Midwifery is limited in my area, mainly because there have been administrative cuts to midwifery practices or physicians do not want to cover CNMs

Did anyone see the segment on GMA this morning about women who didn't know they were pregnant until they were giving birth? I didn't catch much of it, other than a clip of a woman who was explaining how she went to an emergency room with the complaint of terrible stomach cramping from what she contributed to the flu. Let me just start by saying I don't get it at all. I really don't. Now, I

When I started my obstetrical nursing career, I found the beloved Dansko. I bought my first pair in 2000; grey nubuck clogs. The cured my lower back pain. They let my feet breathe. And they worked well with jeans and such. I loved my Dansko clogs so much that my feet would reject any other shoe. So I had to buy more Danskos in various styles. Sandals, sport clogs, dress clogs, you name it.

Here are a few of the interesting topics I've encountered dealing with my patients this week. Links to appropriate resources are also included for more information.Before I headed back to the evening shift, I got to admit a fellow from a far western state. Our unit may be the red-headed stepchild of the SCI system, but we have a reputation for healing people with wounds that can't get healed anywhere else. (It also helps that our boss has friends in a major research hospital in town, too.)The new guy, Mr. C., got a room with a fellow (Mr. W.) who's also had step one of the same type of…

Yes, I'm popping in for a new feature. I'm calling it quick study, since it will give you a good overview of some of the topics this rehab nurse has encountered lately.One of our patients has IBS and is using a different drug to treat it--Elavil. Here are a few links to some articles of interest I've found.http://www.webmd.com/ibs/guide/irritable-bowel-syndrome-ibs-treatment-overviewhttp://www.emedicinehealth.com/irritable_bowel_syndrome/page8_em.htmhttp://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic1210.htmhttp://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/medicalpubs/diseasemanagement/gastro/ibs/ibs.htmAnother patient…

I'm running, running, running. Lots of things going on in my life and I'm still rearranging all the pieces.I'm working on finding the things that make me happy and I've dropped off the blog for a little while to do that. Things are getting clearer for me, so rest assured, I'll be back later. I'm finding that this blog has a lot of potential. Just think of getting into a well-maintained car with a full tank of gas. There are so many places to go and often, with the freedom of travel, comes restraints (such as how much time and gas money you have.)So, for now, I'm consulting the road maps, and…

1. Seeing a patient for the first time and how sick they look when they come to you for rehab.2. Seeing that same patient after discharge and they look so alive they glow.3. Nurse Practictioner's Place talks about those two dirty words that are unforgettable.

Here's how the story goes;At least on my side of the fence.You are assigned to me at the beginning--Name, room, diagnosis.You have a story,On paper...that H&P.It's supposed to tell me everything medically significant about you,But sometimes it doesn't.It tells me your leg is gone,Or it tells me your heart is weak.It tells a story of your family--the mother who died of a stroke,The father who's still climbing hills at 80;The siblings who never see you.It's a story I have to remember,My map to taking care of you...at least, to start.Sometimes, the map starts in Topeka and you're alreadyIn…

I’m sure you are all well aware that the of latest trend these days, “going green” and everyone seems to be jumping on the bandwagon, from automakers to your local businesses. Hopefully it’s not just a fad and that the public actually realizes that they can make a difference, whether it be by the smallest of means, at least they are trying to help. So as a travel nurse, what can you do to help save the planet? As a traveling nurse you are constantly on the move and having to re-establish yourself, but one thing you can do where ever you go and the easiest, is recycle.

If you are new to this blog, you may not realize that it has been around for two years and there are a lot of older posts here that are still very relevant to any nurse interested in a travel nursing career. Just an example of some of the cool posts you can find in the archives are “Keep your house safe while you are away on a travel nursing job” or the series of posts on “Travel nursing photo tips.” To explore these and all the other archives you can visit our new TravelNursingBlogs.com archives page under the Ultimate Travel Nursing Resource Guide link.

Come enjoy beautiful Coastal California for yor next travel nursing assignment. This hospital is looking for Medical-Surgical / Oncology Travel RN’s to work in one of the most beautiful areas in the country. Med-Surg RN Job - CA Just over an hour from Los Angeles. OCM Certification and Chemo preferred but not required. Day and Night positions available! More information about this travel nursing job.

Okay, you’re a Registered Nurse and a traveling nurse at that. You’ve pretty much hit the proverbial ceiling as far as advancement is concerned and you’re looking for a change. You’ve done all you can and there just seems to be nowhere else to go with the degree you hold. Maybe you’re comfortable with where you’re at and taking on more responsibility is not your cup of tea, or maybe it is? In this day and age, healthcare and hospitals are under heavy scrutiny due to the nursing shortage, patient acuity and so forth. Many hospitals are feeling the pressure…

This month we give you some advice about becoming a nationwide resident and look at how national memberships can make your life as a travel nurse easier. Don’t forget to take our new Life on the go poll.

Let's assume you're on a course... it doesn't have to be nursing, and then the powers that be start to 'fiddle' with it. Things that work are switched for things that don't. Leaving anyone with an ounce of common sense wondering how they got positions of power in the first place. Truth is the more of an idiot you are the more likely you are to become a manager. They keep implementing these