Nursing

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    PixelRN

  • It's really not that bad being snowed in.

    8 Feb 2010 | 11:05 am
    After all, I've been snowed in by the "blizzard" of Anna and Peter since November 6th.   Permalink | Leave a comment  »

  • Snomageddon: The Day After

    7 Feb 2010 | 5:46 am
    Guess we won't be using the grill for a while. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

  • Good luck with that...

    6 Feb 2010 | 2:19 pm
    Permalink | Leave a comment  »

  • "Let's go be nurses."

    24 Jan 2010 | 12:12 pm
    ...is my favorite quote from this video of doctors and nurses from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center preparing to leave for Haiti. I'm so proud to be a part of this profession that will leave their safe world behind to go and take care of total strangers. In fact, I kind of wish I could go as well but I kind of have my hands full right now. via youtube.com Permalink | Leave a comment  »

  • Lego Vessels

    24 Jan 2010 | 9:32 am
    Sent from my iPhone Permalink | Leave a comment  »
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    Correctional Nurse . Net

  • I’m Gonna Hurt Myself

    Lorry Schoenly
    7 Feb 2010 | 4:09 pm
    An inmate arrives at medical with head lacerations from repetitive head banging against a cell wall. Another is found opening an abdominal wound stitched up after the trauma of a car-chase crash. Still another is admitted to the infirmary having sliced arms and chest with a razor in the shower. Self-injury behavior (SIB) is a misunderstood phenomenon that is quite prevalent in the inmate population. A recent report on SIB in prisons estimates 2-4% of the general prison population engage in the activity. The most common forms of self-injury in the correctional setting are cutting, inserting or…

  • Correctional Nursing Webinar

    Lorry Schoenly
    28 Jan 2010 | 10:30 am
    Complimentary Nursing CE Webinar Inmate Healthcare Interactions: Guarding Your License and Safety Tuesday, February 2, 2010 2pm Eastern Presenter: Lorry Schoenly, PhD, RN, CCHP-RN Register Here: http://bit.ly/bhxHeC

  • The History of Correctional Nursing

    Lorry Schoenly
    21 Jan 2010 | 2:35 pm
    Correctional Nursing Today – Radio Talk Show via The History of Correctional Nursing.

  • Help! My Patient is a Psychopath!

    Lorry Schoenly
    21 Jan 2010 | 6:48 am
    Unfortunately, your psychopathic patient is not as easy to identify as the fellow in the pix. He or she will be quite charming and attentive. If you aren’t careful, you will be drawn right into his current scam. Nurses working medical are not always savvy about the ways of the criminally insane. Always be on the alert for the subtle manipulation of the psychopath. There are many of them to be found in corrections. Although an estimated 1% of the general population have this condition, between 15-20% of your inmate-patients could be classified as psychopathic. Become familiar with the…

  • Is My Patient Faking It?

    Lorry Schoenly
    8 Jan 2010 | 7:40 am
    Unfortunately, correctional nurses must be wary of a variety of motives behind inmate-patients seeking medical or mental health treatment. Malingering is defined as the intentional falsification or exaggeration of symptoms for external motives or secondary gain. There is a high incidence of malingering in jails and prisons. A reported 20% of mental illness in corrections is malingering. Reasons to Fake Illness There are many reasons an inmate may fake a mental or medical condition. The first that usually comes to mind is to procure drugs. Separated from preferred mood enhancers such as…
 
 
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    Nursing News

  • Bangladesh Conjoined twins successfully separated

    9 Feb 2010 | 10:19 am
    A team of 24 surgeons and nurses successfully separated a pair of conjoined female infants in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka who were joined at their lower chest.

  • Physician assistants to take growing role in health care across Canada

    9 Feb 2010 | 5:54 am
    Susi Schoeley knew she wanted to work in medicine, but nursing didn't appeal to her and becoming a doctor would require too much of a time commitment, both for earning her credentials and after entering the workforce.

  • Binghamton University to Offer New Doctoral Program in Nursing

    9 Feb 2010 | 1:15 am
    Binghamton University's Decker School of Nursing will introduce a doctor of nursing practice program in the fall semester of 2010, offering advanced practice nurses the opportunity to gain clinical and leadership expertise beyond the master's-degree level.

  • AORN Journal Introduces New Editorial Features And Enhanced Layout

    8 Feb 2010 | 8:42 pm
    Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery Also Included In: IT / Internet / E-mail Article Date: 06 Feb 2010 Elsevier, the leading global publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, is pleased to announce that the AORN Journal , the official journal of the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses , has expanded ...

  • National Article

    8 Feb 2010 | 4:19 pm
    Alberta's Tory government has decided to consult the public on health-care reform.
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    NurseZone.com Nursing News

  • Sebelius, Vilsack Celebrate One Year Anniversary of Children’s Health Insurance Law, Highlight Campaign to Cover Kids

    Feb. 5, 2010 - Exactly one year after President Obama signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that 2.6 million more children were served by Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) at some point over the past year and released “The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act One Year Later: Connecting Kids to Coverage,” a comprehensive review of the past year’s accomplishments in finding and enrolling children in health coverage.

  • How Hospitals Achieved Their '100 Best Companies to Work For' Status

    Feb. 5, 2010 - More than a dozen hospitals or health systems have earned recognition on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list in 2010, thanks to a number of qualities and initiatives that keep nurses and other workers happy on the job.

  • Health Care Reform Stalls, Nurse Leaders React

    Feb. 5, 2010 - When Republican Scott Brown was elected to fill the late Edward Kennedy's seat in the U.S. Senate representing Massachusetts on Jan. 19, it was considered a major upset. Suddenly the Democratic Party no longer had a 60-vote supermajority in the Senate, and the future of health care reform was uncertain.

  • America’s Nursing Schools Face Capacity Issues

    Feb. 5, 2010 - The nursing shortage has been at the forefront of America's health care issues for several years.  An aging, soon-to-retire nursing workforce and an aging baby boomer population with greater health needs are converging to create a situation of less supply and greater demand for qualified nurses. And health insurance reform, if and when it happens, could add millions more patients to the list of those needing services.

  • New Report and Survey Findings Highlight Why More Women Die From Heart Disease Than Men

    Feb. 2, 2010 - The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) launched "WINHeart -- Score a WIN for Women," an initiative that raises awareness surrounding gender-based disparities in the diagnosis, treatment and survival of women with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Simultaneously, Women In Innovations (WIN), a group of interventional cardiologists within SCAI, today released a new report and survey that illustrate why cardiovascular disease is under-recognized and under-treated in women despite the near split in prevalence of heart disease between men and women.
 
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    Nursing / Midwifery News From Medical News Today

  • Abbott Misrepresents Nurses' Union - Australian Nursing Federation

    9 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am
    Assistant Federal Secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF), Lee Thomas said comments by the Federal Opposition Leader made about the union in Federal Parliament yesterday (3:10pm 8 Feb.) were completely false and should be corrected...

  • University Of Chicago RNs Speak Out - Hospital Cuts Endanger Patient Care, Retention Of Experienced RNs

    9 Feb 2010 | 2:00 am
    University of Chicago Medical Center registered nurses will hold a press conference Tuesday to warn that hospital administration demands for sweeping reductions in RN and patient care standards erode safety conditions at the hospital and threaten the retention and recruitment of RNs...

  • RCN Calls For Better Co-ordination Of Trauma Networks

    8 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am
    Commenting on the Major trauma care in England report, published last week by the National Audit Office, Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said: "It is disappointing that trauma care is still not up to scratch in many areas despite numerous calls for improvement...

  • Illinois High Court Rules Medical Malpractice Caps Are Unconstitutional

    8 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am
    The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a medical malpractice law enacted in 2005 that limited monetary damages to $1 million from hospitals and $500,000 from doctors for pain and suffering, the Chicago Tribune reports. "The much-anticipated ruling deals a blow to doctors and hospital officials who say caps on damages are a way to tame rising health care costs. ...

  • AORN Journal Introduces New Editorial Features And Enhanced Layout

    6 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am
    Elsevier, the leading global publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, is pleased to announce that the AORN Journal, the official journal of the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), has expanded its editorial content and redesigned the layout of its print format...
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    ALLNURSES: Nursing Articles

  • On the Edge

    wannabecnl
    26 Jan 2010 | 7:07 am
    This is it. This is what I have been waiting and preparing for during the past five years. This is the day I've dreamed of since I was a small child. This is what I know I have been called to do and am finally going to do. Today is my first day of nursing school. God willing, 16 months from now I will be an RN, and in two sure-to-be-short-despite-feeling-endless-now years, I will be a clinical nurse leader. What the heck am I thinking??? I can't do this! I can't! I'm almost forty, for goodness' sake! I have two little kids, a husband, a messy house, and a clingy dog. How am I supposed to pull…

  • On the other side of the IV

    Sonjailana
    21 Jan 2010 | 7:43 pm
    So I'm sitting here waiting at 4am for my Lortab elixir to kick in and I thought I'd share my experience as a patient today-- First, I'm an RN in Med/Surg/Onc/Tele with 2 years experience. I take care of post ops everyday, but I was still very scared going to OR as I've never had anything done myself. I went and signed in, and the clerk was helpful as I was in the wrong section of our big hospital. My mom and I were walked down to the right room, and I was all checked in. Then they brought me back alone, weighed me, and did a pregnancy test, asked me the most embarrassing questions alone, got…

  • Pregnant in Nursing School....

    proudnurseRN
    17 Jan 2010 | 8:11 pm
    It was my second year of my four year BSN program. My very first set of actual nursing clinicals. The ones where we actually went somewhere, and that was a LTC. I was excited, scared, and every other emotion all combined. I was actually more emotional than I pictured myself. I was so emotional I was nauseated. I was exhausted. On our third clinical day I went to watch a nurse do a dressing change. Wound care, how exciting! I was absorbing information like a sponge. Then, suddenly it all hit me. The nausea, the exhaution, the weakness all came at once. I excused myself, walked out of the room…
 
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    brainscramble.org

  • Thank you, Nurses

    Caroline
    22 Jan 2010 | 10:33 am
    I am so impressed with the outpouring of support from the medical community after the Haiti tragedy. Wow, folks. Even at my dirty little city hospital, nurses are clamoring over each other to get down there with our own disaster relief crew. It seems that we nurses share a very deep desire to help when the need is the greatest. I’m so honored to be a party of this group! Of course, the trouble is that no one can get down there right now. Logistics are still terrible. The airport is a mess, the seaports aren’t open, the roads from the Dominican Republic are nearly impassable. So…

  • Change of Shift is up!

    Caroline
    8 Jan 2010 | 8:21 am
    Friends, Bee-bop on over to http://www.emergiblog.com and check out the lastest edition of Change of Shift! It’s been a long time since I contributed, so I appreciate being included (rather last minute) in this edition. Enjoy!

  • Unsubscribing from nursing negativity

    Caroline
    7 Jan 2010 | 8:28 am
    Nursing is hard. No if’s or ands (however, lots of “butts.) That being said, one of my nursing New Year’s resolutions for 2010 was to “not complain.” Of course, it doesn’t mean that I am never going to say anything about my job. Wrong. However, I’m making a really serious effort to divorce myself from the constant  negativity that this profession seems to breed I’ve had jobs that I hated. In fact, in the years between my first college degree and going back to school full-time to be a nurse, I can’t honestly say I had a single job like I…

  • An open letter to the ICU

    Caroline
    5 Jan 2010 | 4:50 pm
    Dear ICU, There is really nothing quite like you, is there? Today when I got home from work, I tried to describe you to my husband. You’re hard to sum up, that’s for sure. This is what I told him. Nothing breaks you down and tramples on your self-esteem quite like the ICU. In the same breath, nothing builds your confidence quite like it, either. I thank you for that. The confidence part, of course. Aw, what the hell. Thanks for trampling on me, too. Sometimes it takes a hard kick in teeth (or in my case, a hard punch in the sternum) to teach you what’s good about life.

  • 2009 Wrap Up

    Caroline
    31 Dec 2009 | 6:59 pm
    Here are the first posts of each month of 2009: January: Where I’ve Been February: Settling Into My Role March: Nurse to Nurse April: Getting My Nursing On! May: Scrubsgallery.com Deals and Coupons June: Assault July: Busy Taking Care of ME August: Great Experiences on the Night Shift September: The Right Thing October: 6 Months In! November: 27 Going on 50 December: What I was Doing This Time Last Year
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    impactednurse

  • the milk bottles.

    impactEDnurse
    9 Feb 2010 | 2:19 am
    I remember when I was a little kid at school, we used to have to drink this small bottle of milk every day for morning tea. I used to hate it. 
No flavorings back then. Just plain old milk. The short squat bottles of milk used to sit in these brown plastic cartons all stacked up outside the classrooms. Each morning we would hear the delivery man’s trolley clinking tall stacks of milk-bottles past the classroom window. Often they would be left to ferment in the sun for several hours before we would drink them. 
Unless your parents gave a medical reason, drinking the milk was compulsory.

  • you are all of us.

    impactEDnurse
    6 Feb 2010 | 3:35 pm

  • more nursing tips and tricks.

    impactEDnurse
    5 Feb 2010 | 8:33 pm
    Clean up those pesky hairs. Use a length of elastoplast to pick up the residue hairs after shaving/clipping for ECG, suturing, cannulation etc. Bleeding tooth. If a patient presents with persistent bleeding post dental extraction (or knuckle extraction), get them to bite down on a moistened tea bag. The tannic acid in the tea will curb the bleeding. If they present with a tooth that has been knocked out: First try to sit it back in the socket it came from. If that isn’t going to happen, put in in a urine jar filled with milk. And off to see a dentist ASAP. Naso Gastric insertion.

  • organ donation: your best nursing?

    impactEDnurse
    27 Jan 2010 | 12:38 pm
    As I zip around on my trusty Vespa scooter, I hear plenty of people refer to it as a ‘donor cycle’. Fair call. So I guess this…would be my license. Are you on the organ donation register? I think it is a natural extension of our ethical precepts as nurses to at least think seriously about our own views on this. 
And then, once we have made up our own minds, let our friends and family know our views so there is no confusion. After all, nursing is  about improving the quality of life, and empowering positive health outcomes amongst our patients. Nursing is entangled with…

  • and the rest, as they say, is history.

    impactEDnurse
    26 Jan 2010 | 1:07 am
    I was looking for something the other day and stumbled into an old shoebox filled with photos from my training. The boys of 1984. This is a shot of the male nurses I trained with. My mate Jeff (2nd from right) is wearing his 3 star badge, so we must have been in our 3rd year of training by this stage. Our training was hospital based, and making your third star was considered quite an achievement that carried considerable status in the student nurse pecking order. Ergo we are all looking pretty pleased with ourselves. That’s me bottom right, and as you can see I was already beginning to…
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    code blog - tales of a nurse

  • CaringBridge

    When Beth found out that her husband had cancer, a friend suggested that she look into creating a page on CaringBridge.org.  As she puts it, "CaringBridge became a tool to help us communicate with others." I spoke with Sona Mehring last week, who is the owner of CaringBridge.  The site started as a simple webpage for a friend of Sona's who was going through a difficult pregnancy.  Sona and her friends used the site to keep friends and family informed of updates, keeping everyone in the loop without having to make several phone calls each day. Thus, CaringBridge was born.  Anyone with an…

  • A Rambling and Some News and Some Other News

    I took care of an elderly man recently.  He'd been dealing with multiple medical problems for almost 30 years.  Despite being in some very significant pain, he still made eye contact, still said "please" and "thank you." He wasn't faking the pain.  He was very stoic, but I could tell he was hurting.  That tight-lipped grimace, the tachycardia, not moving a muscle unless it was absolutely necessary.  Still, manners prevailed. My colleagues and I went above and beyond for him and his family.  There's just something about being polite to others that makes those others want to help you and…

  • Change of Shift & The Doctor Anonymous Show

    First of all, hightail it over to Reality Rounds for the latest edition of Change of Shift!  She did a splendid job of making it very spooky by renaming our blogs.  (I am Corpseblog!) And tune in tonight at 6pm PST to the Dr. Anonymous show, where he will be interviewing me.  Talk about scary :-)  I am excited to finally be asked (I've waited years!) but also nervous because I am not exactly well-practiced in live interviews!

  • Grand Rounds Volume 6, Number 6

    Welcome to Grand Rounds!  This is volume 6, number 6.... and the 6th time I am hosting... during the week of Halloween.  Does anyone else find that creepy coincidentally satanic fascinating?! (Incidentally, if you are reading this through RSS, I am aware that the formatting is less than optimal.  Very sorry about that and we are trying to fix it!) For this edition, I thought we could go out Trick or Treating on Medblogger Lane.  I'm sure we will find some colorful stories along the way... The first house we come to seems amiable enough.  The porch light is on and when the door is…

  • Blog World Expo 2009

    Last week I attended the Blog World Expo conference in Las Vegas.  This is the first year that medbloggers had a track all to ourselves!  The sessions I attended were interesting, and as part of the audience I was delighted to watch my fellow medbloggers on the panels.  There were lots of thoughtful questions & answers, and many silly antics (how many times DID Doctor Rob get onto the big live Twitter feed anyway?? blogworld blogworld blogworld!) Unfortunately, due to a splitting headache, I was not able to attend the last session, but I had plenty of chances to meet and spend some time…
 
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    Digital Doorway

  • Tax Returns For Nurses

    Keith, RN
    7 Feb 2010 | 8:22 am
    For the nurses who read this blog, there is a new website dedicated to providing tax return help for nurses and caregivers. I have not researched this site, nor is this an endorsement. I am posting this simply as a resource for nurses who might want to check out the site.

  • Change of Shift at RehabRN

    Keith, RN
    7 Feb 2010 | 8:19 am
    The newest edition of Change of Shift is up at RehabRN. Please pay her a visit to read the freshest blog entries by some of the best nurse bloggers around.

  • The Fresh Air Fund...

    Keith, RN
    4 Feb 2010 | 12:51 pm
    Here's a great video for the Fresh Air Fund, an organization that I periodically promote via this blog. Please consider supporting them.....

  • Making a Difference in Haiti

    Keith, RN
    2 Feb 2010 | 7:49 pm
    Nurses and other health professionals from around the world have descended on Haiti to assist in the recovery effort following the recent earthquake. According to National Nurses United, a national nursing union based in California, more than 7,000 nurses have already volunteered to travel to Haiti, and more are signing up each day. These are impressive numbers, and there's no doubt that nurses are playing a major role in the Haitian effort. The California Nurses Association seems to be at the forefront of this undertaking, and it is incredibly heartening to see my chosen profession so well…

  • 50 Best Blogs for New Nurses

    Keith, RN
    31 Jan 2010 | 9:34 am
    Digital Doorway has been named as one of the 50 best blogs for new nurses on the Nurse Practitioner Schools website. It's an honor to be on this list of excellent and interesting nurse bloggers, and I hope that Digital Doorway can continue to live up to such attention.
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    Emergiblog

  • Change of Shift is Up; Next Edition Taking Submissions!

    Kim
    4 Feb 2010 | 3:05 pm
    The new edition of Change of Shift is up at Rehab RN! The next edition will  be hosted at the Blog of the Interdisciplinary Nursing Quality Research Initiative, also known as the INQRI Blog. The Initiative is associated with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The theme for this edition of Change of Shift is nursing education. Submissions can be sent to “INQRIChangeofShift at gmail dot com”. Change of Shift is Up; Next Edition Taking Submissions!

  • The Kids Are Alright

    Kim
    4 Feb 2010 | 5:31 am
    Nurse Jones was impressed with the NeoNatal App on her new iPad, but the device was much larger than she expected. I plan to get an iPad. I wonder if it comes with “wings”. Is the deluxe version called a Max-i-Pad? Sorry, I had to get my feminine hygiene jokes out of the way. I mean, Steve Jobs could hold up a toilet paper roll and I’d go into debt for it. But, this time I’m waiting. I will wait until the iPad runs OS X, supports video and runs more than one app at at time. Don’t make me wait too long, Steve! Speaking of Steve, he figures prominently in this…

  • Grand Rounds – the LOL Edition!

    Kim
    25 Jan 2010 | 6:25 pm
    Welcome to the LOL edition of Grand Rounds! I just adore the I Can Has Cheeseburger – LOL Cat site and the kittehs provide our background theme for the week. This is a great place to announce that the finalists of the 2009 Medical Weblog Awards are now up at Medgadget! This is also a great place to let you know that the Med/health bloggers will be meeting again at BlogWorld/New Media Expo 10 in Las Vegas, October 14 – 16, 2010! Put in those time-off requests, save up the dough because what happened in Vegas is going to happen again in Vegas (okay, maybe not the serenading at…

  • Change of Shift – Volume 4, No. 15

    Kim
    21 Jan 2010 | 1:23 pm
    It’s time again for Change of Shift, the bi-weekly nursing blog carnival! It’s an eclectic selection this week: hospital to office, students and veterans, money and…well, poo-poo, disasters and preparedness. Quick note: I have a “mailing list” that I use to mail out CoS notifications. If you are not on the list and want to be, drop me a line. If you are on the list and do not want to be, *sniff*, drop me a line! Hmmm..it seems that NPs Save Lives has been hearing a few excuses lately! Learn How Not To Choke Your Non-Compliant Patients over at www.npplace.com. The…

  • Anatomy of a Pain Shot

    Kim
    18 Jan 2010 | 12:58 pm
    This has me stumped. What on earth is she doing? She is drawing something up from a spoon, I assume it is a medication. But what? I usually associate this sort of activity with heroin addicts, but obviously this is a clinical environment. Okay, all you nursing historians out there… What medication would need to be drawn up from a spoon instead of a vial or an ampule? It’s carnival time at Emergiblog! Not only is Change of Shift going to be here on Thursday, but I’ll be hosting Grand Rounds next Tuesday! Nurses, get cracking for Change of Shift – I’ll be taking…
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    Head Nurse

  • Live in a swamp and be three-dimensional.

    Jo
    9 Feb 2010 | 6:44 am
    Good advice at any time, but particularly now, when "be oblong and have your knees removed" sounds really, really good.The original title of this post was "*thud* POP! AarghFUCKFUCKFUCKAARGH", but I decided not to go with that, as it didn't get to the real heart of the matter: the fact that I sprained my right knee during my workout with Attila last night.Yeah. Sprained knee. Not badly sprained, as I can walk on it, provided I keep it wrapped up tightly with an ACE bandage, but sprained. It's not exactly painful, but it's a weird feeling, not being sure whether or not the lower half of your…

  • For sale, cheap: (and an addendum to the DMV)

    Jo
    6 Feb 2010 | 4:38 am
    Two feline juvenile delinquents. I returned from the DMV/grocery shopping/etcetera to find that Notamus and Flashes had opened a three-foot by three-foot by eighteen-inch box full of packing peanuts and spread them all over the house. Nine hundred square feet doesn't seem like a lot until it's covered with fine drifts of packing peanuts. I cannot *wait* until the weather stays stable enough that I can build them their outdoor kitty-cat run. (Yes, I am a crazy cat lady. Crazy because that's what they're making me.) With cat-killing dogs in front of and behind us, I don't feel safe letting them…

  • Fear not, America.

    Jo
    5 Feb 2010 | 3:21 pm
    I have been weeding.Spring is not far behind.

  • *#^&$ Seven-Layer Dip. *#$*@ being awake at night...

    Jo
    4 Feb 2010 | 10:55 pm
    Grrrr. Obviously, I have the night off. Also just as obviously, I've not managed to flip days and nights successfully on my nights off. This would not be a problem, except that the DMV opens after my bedtime tomorrow morning, and I have to get my license renewed.*** *** *** *** ***So I'm looking up recipes for Seven-Layer Dip and pondering the breakfast I had this--well, yesterday, now--morning.Fellow Intern Anna and I met up for breakfast at a place where, no kidding and no exaggeration, the pancakes are a foot across and an inch thick. An omelette with all the fixings (potatoes, biscuit…

  • Rainy Thursday Twosome.

    Jo
    4 Feb 2010 | 8:51 am
 
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    It shouldn't happen in health care

  • Crying to the end…

    Max E Nurse
    4 Feb 2010 | 4:17 am
    Since handing in my notice I’ve realised the comic element has evaporated from my blog posts, and actually I make no apology for this. I’ve been here long enough for you to know I am silly so you’ll have to humour my lack of humour for the time being. This week looks like being no exception. I have 1 week left in this job and the word is out that I am off, this morning I have had two old ladies reduce me to tears already and it isn’t even 9am! One was in the form of a lovely email, thanking me for various aspects of help I’d given her and a new lease of life…

  • A goodbye letter to Sickton.

    Max E Nurse
    26 Jan 2010 | 1:53 am
    As you know if you have been paying attention over the past few weeks, I’m off to a new job and I am sad to be leaving the old one. There are lots of patients that I would like to say bye to and I don’t like the idea of them finding out I’ve left without telling them, (there will be a few I’ll be glad to see the back of!) This is obviously impossible to address, however I thought I’d send a letter to the local free paper and see if anyone reads it! This is how it went (details subtly changed to protect the guilty!)… To the people…

  • The flip side…

    Max E Nurse
    19 Jan 2010 | 3:18 am
    This post is a little premature and hopefully unnecessary but I’m going to publish it anyway. If every cloud has a silver lining, does every silver lining have a cloud? Last week I told you about my job interview and how I have accepted the job, I didn’t mention that this may have blog implications. Currently I have time in my working day to scribble out a few words a week and post them. I do this during my lunch break and a little between patients if they are running late, or indeed I am running early.   In my new job I will be having shorter breaks and certainly to start with…

  • Logical Oxymoron!

    Max E Nurse
    12 Jan 2010 | 1:46 am
    OK so I am in my consulting room alone, comfort eating. I am suffering a severe case of being illogically logical. Before this morning I would have said that was an oxymoron, I no longer feel it is, I’ll explain in a bit. Fab Oxymoron example! Last week I went for an job interview, working with a friend of mine, closer to home, more annual leave and a damn lot less time in the car and money going to fill my car. (Currently I commute a 50 mile round trip daily, that’s 250 miles a week, and about £40 a fortnight in diesel, which is nearly a grand a year just on fuel and I spend…

  • Welcome to 2010…

    Max E Nurse
    31 Dec 2009 | 4:45 am
    Thank god for that, pass the axe… Christmas is over and I’m gonna hack down that needle shedding pine and get my carpet back! Ahhh, bliss it’s time to get back to normal and stop all this messing around. One minute it’s crazy busy, then we are all sitting around doing nothing because the patients can’t be bothered to drag their over fed corpses to the surgery. So another decade is decayed and the Noughties are over. (What are we calling this decade…”the ackward teens” or “the Ten-tickles?”) Now I’m not one for picking over…
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    Not Nurse Ratched

  • Complete-ish Guide to Google Voice

    notratched
    7 Feb 2010 | 10:53 am
    I’ve had a Google Voice (GV) number for a while because I figured I’d best grab my invitation while the getting was good (see How do I get it? below), but I have been working on a total transition for about 6 months because I wanted to test it out thoroughly. I’ve almost totally transferred to GV now, and although it’s not for everyone, it might be for you. What is it? Lifehacker has several good articles about what GV is (it used to be Grand Central) and does: see their First Look and Do You Need It? articles for starters. GV gives you a new phone number (porting is…

  • Cynic in Scrubs: Rules of the ER (reblog)

    notratched
    3 Feb 2010 | 6:43 am
    Just because you have a phone and know how to call 911, we are not impressed by your arrival on an ambulance stretcher. You had better be sick. via cynicinscrubs.blogspot.com This made me LOL. From NNR’s Posterous

  • Great article from Sinus Arrythmia (reblog)

    notratched
    23 Jan 2010 | 1:30 pm
    The doc said, “I’m very sorry to have to deliver such bad news.” She nodded. She said Bob never wanted this much STUFF (gesturing to the entire room). This is not how he wants to live; they have a living will that is very clear. “He doesn’t want all this,” said Carol, “I’ve talked to the whole family and we all agree that if he isn’t going to get better, he doesn’t want this.” She wobbled. He pretended not to notice. via magicbulletsaway.blogspot.com This post really captures what it’s like to be a nurse. From NNR’s Posterous

  • Review: Otterbox Defender case for iPhone

    notratched
    16 Jan 2010 | 3:51 pm
    I have a problem with iPhone cases (the problem being that I have too many). Some people buy shoes, some people buy netbooks (sideways glance at my husband), some people buy stamps or coins or miniature porcelain dachshunds…I buy iPhone cases. Why? Because I’m CONVINCED that somewhere out there the perfect one exists. I am embarrassed to round them all up and count them, but I’m sure I have at least a dozen. I have holsters, clips, skins, hard cases, wave cases, leather cases…you name it, I’ve got it. I’ve even got a Mophie Juice Air, which I was convinced…

  • iPhone app review: Momento ($2.99)

    notratched
    10 Jan 2010 | 7:58 am
    I’ve been using Momento, developed by d3i, for a few weeks now: it’s being touted as a “journal-keeping” or “diary-keeping” app, but to me my journal is my Moleskine in which I write volumes of drivel. Therefore, in my world, this app is an innovative cross between that and a sort of private Twitter account or microblog (despite appearances to the contrary, SOME things don’t NEED to be twittered!). The first cool thing about it is that you can enter your Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr credentials and it pulls in your activity from those services.
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    The Nurse Practitioner's Place

  • Nurse Practitioner Ahead Of The Game In Treatment Of MRSA

    Nurse Practitioners Save Lives
    18 Jan 2010 | 8:29 pm
    Nasal carriers of S aureus infection have a high risk for healthcare-associated infection 3 to 6 times that of noncarriers, and more than 80% of healthcare-associated S aureus infections are endogenous. Although intranasal application of mupirocin ointment has been shown to prevent invasive infection in patients receiving dialysis, the results with surgical patients have been controversial. The authors proposed that adding skin cleansing with chlorhexidine gluconate soap would improve outcomes of S aureus infection in hospitalized patients.The above study was conducted recently and printed…

  • Change of Shift is Up at Emergiblog

    Nurse Practitioners Save Lives
    8 Jan 2010 | 6:15 pm
    Change of Shift is up at Emergiblog! Get it while it's hot! Here's a link to the page where you can find the current edition and all of the past!

  • Using Nurse Practitioners To Reduce Emergency Room Waiting TImes

    Nurse Practitioners Save Lives
    2 Jan 2010 | 1:30 pm
    I keep seeing articles regarding the wait times of the Emergency rooms and questions regarding suggestions of solutions for the problem. Nurse practitioners working in the Fast Tracks have sped things up tremendously. Of course, there are things that show up in Fast Tracks that are more critical than they appear, so we don't just see the easy stuff. The idea that Nurse Practitioners should only see colds, diarrhea and sprains irritates the many of us who have the schooling and diagnostic skills to do emergent care. Nurse practitioners are specializing in emergent and critical ICU care, as…

  • Merry Christmas From The Nurse Practitioner's Place

    Nurse Practitioners Save Lives
    24 Dec 2009 | 8:38 pm
    Hello to all who read my blog and thanks for making this year a great one for me through your support over the last year. I want to also thank my great sponsors for making it a profitable year and hope that you will continue to benefit being on my blog site.Thanks for all who left comments on my posts and they are very welcome regardless if you agree with me or not. I welcome the student nurses and student NPs who have stopped by ( I see you on my sitemeter). I just wish that I could visit your boards and see what is being said about my site. Email me a password or something will ya? It's…

  • Cherokee Professional Whites Lab Coat.

    Nurse Practitioners Save Lives
    21 Dec 2009 | 4:56 pm
    Hello to all! I hope you are all about ready for Christmas! I finished my shopping today and am looking forward to seeing the grandchildren. Time is flying by and Michael is also home from the Navy for a two week visit before moving over to Jacksonville for more training. He is doing well and we are so proud.One of the things that I needed this year was a new lab coat. I tend to go through several of them because I can't seem to keep the ink off of them. I recently bought a lab coat from Barry at mynursinguniforms.com and it arrived very quickly. I chose a Cherokee Professional Whites lab…
 
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    Nurse Ratched's Place

  • Racial Profiling: The Ghost of Nurse Aiko Hamaguchi

    Mother Jones, RN
    25 Jan 2010 | 12:59 pm
    Portrait by Ansel Adams, 1943 My mother told me to never talk about religion or politics in public. She said it is impolite, but I have to speak up. The woman in this picture is Nurse Aiko Hamaguchi. Look at her closely. Nurse Hamaguchi is the face of racial profiling. Nurse Hamaguchi was born in Long Beach, California, and lived in Los Angeles and Redondo Beach. She completed two years at Los Angeles City College majoring in pre-nursing. She then completed her nursing education at Los Angeles General Hospital. Her ambition was to become a public health nurse. She told Ansel Adams, the famous…

  • New Year’s Resolutions and Nursing Jobs

    Mother Jones, RN
    5 Jan 2010 | 1:50 pm
    This nurse looks like she’s charting, but she might be fooling you. Perhaps she’s writing down her New Year’s resolutions. I’ve noticed a lot of nurses doing that around this time of the year when they are at work. The number one resolution during a bad shift is “get a new job now!” Too bad this nurse doesn’t have a computer to help her with her job search. My web guy, Shane, gave me a heads up about what’s happening at All Health Jobs and All Nursing Jobs. Shane has created a coupon code just for Nurses Ratched’s Place that anyone can use…

  • Best Video Ever For Breast Cancer Awareness

    Mother Jones, RN
    28 Dec 2009 | 5:32 pm
    I found this video over at Diary of a Trauma Nurse. The video was done at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon. Put your dancing shoes on. It’s time to boogie! Best Video Ever For Breast Cancer Awareness – Nurse Ratched's Place

  • Happy Holidays in the Kitchen

    Mother Jones, RN
    24 Dec 2009 | 11:07 am
    It looks like the girls have been busy cooking Christmas dinner for their patients in the hospital kitchen. Really. Some hospitals will do anything to save a buck. Anyway, it looks like everyone is having fun. Wishing you happy holidays from Nurse Ratched’s Place. Happy Holidays in the Kitchen – Nurse Ratched's Place

  • Al Franken Shuts Down Joe Lieberman on the Senate Floor

    Mother Jones, RN
    17 Dec 2009 | 2:31 pm
    Priceless……… Al Franken Shuts Down Joe Lieberman on the Senate Floor – Nurse Ratched's Place
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    RehabRN

  • By hook or by crook...

    RehabNurse
    5 Feb 2010 | 9:41 pm
    I'm probably going to end up in Vegas this year...maybe for my anniversary! Dahey said we could renew our wedding vows there for fun at one of those chapels. I told him only if he wears an Elvis costume. I was told I have to be Priscilla...not sure if the blonde or brunette one!Anywho...enough of me. The work week ended with much excitement. The docs obviously didn't think we had enough to do, so they gave us a few extras at the last minute, like getting a PICC line and blood cultures for my patient who slept most of the day, because he stayed up watching movies all night and ringing the…

  • I love this job some days

    RehabNurse
    5 Feb 2010 | 5:04 am
    Those are the days that click. I got to have fun recently. At Madison, nurses from Washington, our main hospital, come to the beautiful Hotel Rehab to hang out with us and see how we care for our patients in rehab. Our people sometimes strike the old school nurses as "needy", and some of them are, but some of their needs are not optional--they are necessary. Many of them see them when they're sicker than sick, or just before they come to us.I got the pleasure of being shadowed by a nurse with way more experience than me. She has been a nurse almost as long as I've been alive. M. retired from…

  • Change of Shift, February 4, 2010

    RehabNurse
    4 Feb 2010 | 5:53 am
    Howdy all! I'm just back from a major cross-country road trip in the land of Dead Man's Wash and Bloody Basin. Only slightly saddle, or seat-sore from all the switchbacks, so I'm recuperating from beautiful but dusty environs, cactus pollen and the quirks of roadside hotel beds.Sit on down at the bar, have a beverage of your choice, and enjoy the official, genuine authentic February 4, 2010 edition of change of shift.Aaliyah Williams presents 10 Tips to Help You Take Control of Your Medical Records posted at MPH Degree, saying, "Your medical records, whether paper or electronic, are important…

  • Sick, tired and broken

    RehabNurse
    3 Feb 2010 | 7:21 pm
    Me, me and the major necessities of life. Thank goodness friends will come around when you need them!Another good thing...Change of Shift...here...tomorrow.Don't miss it!

  • Where has RehabRN been?

    RehabNurse
    30 Jan 2010 | 5:59 am
    That crazy late 80s song is reverberating in my head, even if I haven't seen Michael J. Fox anywhere. All those darned signs make me want to look for prospectors or some cowboy to appear on the landscape.We'll begin the drive back to RehabLand soon, so this show will hit the road.Please keep those cards and letters coming...Change of Shift is here on February 4th.
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    Travel Nursing Blogs

  • Our post about our Travel Nurs…

    Jeff
    4 Feb 2010 | 6:42 am
    Our post about our Travel Nursing Cost of Living Calculator (http://ow.ly/13Oqd) made a list of top posts for new nurses. http://ow.ly/13Ooh Related posts:Another benefit of travel nurs… Another benefit of travel nursing: Less stress. A new study... Cutting the ribbon on our travel nursing blog redesign Hello regular readers of TravelNursingBlogs.com. And new ones too. You... Want to shine as a travel nurs… Want to shine as a travel nursing job candidate? Read... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

  • As a travel nurse you will wor…

    Jeff
    4 Feb 2010 | 5:25 am
    As a travel nurse you will work with lots of different personalities, including bullies. Here are tips to deal with them. http://ow.ly/13MEe Related posts:Are you a travel nurse with co… Are you a travel nurse with compassion fatigue? This article... Ask a Travel Nurse: How can I deal with the different personalities I will encounter as a travel nurse? A reader emailed wanting to hear more about “bully nurses”... Being a great travel nurse tak… Being a great travel nurse takes good organizational skills and... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

  • Want to shine as a travel nurs…

    Jeff
    4 Feb 2010 | 5:20 am
    Want to shine as a travel nursing job candidate? Read these tips to help make sure you get the job. http://ow.ly/13Myp Related posts:Our post about our Travel Nurs… Our post about our Travel Nursing Cost of Living Calculator... Another benefit of travel nurs… Another benefit of travel nursing: Less stress. A new study... Here are some easy money tips … Here are some easy money tips for nurses to follow... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

  • Ask a Travel Nurse: How can I do my part in Haiti as a travel nurse?

    David Morrison R.N.
    3 Feb 2010 | 7:56 am
    I’m still trying to finish what will be a three-part posting on transportation options while on assignment. However, I wanted to post a Haiti update this week since so many of you have contacted me wanting information on how to help.  Right after the quake, I was initially sent a mass email from one of the travel companies with which I am signed up. They were advertising a pay rate for any nurses willing to travel to Haiti to assist with the relief effort. It seems they might have jumped the gun a little as they quickly posted a note on their website thanking everyone for an…

  • Your Travel Nursing Job Just Got Easier With the Help of Apple's iPad

    Patrick
    1 Feb 2010 | 8:14 am
    Either you care or you don’t… Apple just announced the release of their latest and greatest invention, the Apple iPad. The latest addition to the long line of innovative products from Apple is poised to change the landscape of healthcare delivery as we know it. Doctors and nurses around the world are salivating over this new gadget which can make both of their jobs easier with the swipe of their fingers and a touch of the screen. Are you ready to be “revolutionized” and see healthcare “transformed” right before your very eyes? This is what doctors and…
 
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    Young and Restless Nurse

  • Physician First, Journalist Second?

    Katie Bee RN
    29 Jan 2010 | 9:04 am
    Ethics.Professionalism.Accountability A sense of duty.Documenting events as they happen.In a disaster zone, these are the traits and skills most needed for… journalists?The catastrophic earthquake in Haiti has everyone’s attention, propelled into hyperspace by the wall-to-wall coverage seen on cable news outlets, as well as the plethora of reporters sent by television networks, newspapers, and radio news agencies. One striking feature has been the presence of physician “medical correspondents” like CNN’s Sanjay Gupta, MD, and ABC’s Richard Besser, MD. Gupta is undoubtedly the most…

  • Do people really believe Jenny McCarthy?

    Katie Bee RN
    7 Jan 2010 | 8:30 am
    Oh goodness. I've said in previous posts that it doesn't matter what type of studies or findings you come up with, if they disprove someone's personal theories/crusade or threatens their financial stake in something, they'll always dismiss it's findings or discredit what it says. Latest example, the study showing that evidence of gastrointestinal issues affecting autistic children don't exist, and that special diets are not shown to improve autistic symptoms. What does Jenny McCarthy, the author of a book touting a special diet for autistic kids and who claims to have cured her son's autistic…

  • Breast Cancer Screeing Fruckus Is a Teachable Moment

    Katie Bee RN
    25 Nov 2009 | 6:34 am
    I can't resist. So God and Country is up in arms about the controversial findings of the US Preventative Service Task Force recommendations on breast cancer. As you can see from their website, this project, funded through an agency in the US Department of Health and Human Services called the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, or AHRQ (pronounced "ARK" in the government/policy lingo), gives oodles of recommendations on lots of different health issues, including all types of cancer. Who are they? The USPSTF is a group of medical researchers, doctors, nurses and others that were…

  • More reasons not to believe anti-vaccine groups

    Katie Bee RN
    23 Oct 2009 | 7:34 am
    A new study finds that the level of mercury (you know, the dangerous methyl-mercury that is in jet/aircraft exhaust, fish, fumes from coal-burning power plants, and not the non-existent mercury in childhood vaccines) is no different in non-autistic children than autistic children. Seems to make sense, and further confirm the fact that the (now non-existent) preservative thimerosal in childhood vaccines cannot cause "autism", which is an extremely complex spectrum of diseases that ranges from mild learning disabilities to seizure disorders to extreme mental retardation. Autism spectrum…

  • More on H1N1 Vaccine - It's a good thing for all

    Katie Bee RN
    16 Oct 2009 | 6:49 am
    I don' think I could have summarized the arguments against the H1N1 vaccine than in this post on Science Based Medicine. Dr. Novella's debunking of the silly and false statements of natural medicine proponents against vaccines is a little more abrasive and in-your-face than I prefer, but it's a good summation with all the concrete evidence to refute these "reasons" to not be vaccinated.I am still stunned, almost appalled, at nurses telling people that vaccines are dangerous, and that they are not going to receive the H1N1 vaccine because it jeopardizes THEIR health, and they shouldn't be…
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    Phil Baumann

  • What Pharma Advertising Should Be Made Out Of

    philbaumann
    6 Feb 2010 | 5:55 pm
    The Pharmaceutical industry has effectively made a mockery of itself with television advertising. In the late 1980s – 30 years after television advertising was figured out – Pharma finally jumped into the game after regulatory constraints were lifted. Some of it worked – but mostly, the efforts just amplified the industry’s public relations comorbidities. I actually believe that the industry could learn a few things in this video I came across. It’s a road safety advertisement and it brilliantly weaves together a simple idea with visual and emotional vigor. See?

  • The Vaporization of Marketing

    philbaumann
    4 Feb 2010 | 10:37 am
    Image via Wikipedia Was your company blogging ten years ago? If not then why? Google made it easy for you and now you’ve lost ten years of priceless link juice. Given the fragmentation of media in the last ten years, it’s clear now just how relatively little work you actually had to do back then. But that’s in the past. Still, I have bad news for you: what you have to do now is far harder than it was ten years ago. Let me explain. CONTENT FRAGMENTATION AND SOCIAL DISTORTION As the Web expands and proliferates novel media, messaging becomes increasingly diffuse and…

  • The ROI of the Tweet

    philbaumann
    1 Feb 2010 | 7:28 am
    Image by TW Collins via Flickr Is Twitter a sales tool? Can it “drive” sales? If so, what’s the return on investment of a tweet? Most executive teams today still view the world through the lens of the assembly-line. They like metrics and clearly defined goals and well-thought decision trees. They prefer straight lines over curves with cloudy distances. They are largely justified in their lines of reasoning. But the Web has opened up a decidedly non-linear fabric of novel media. Consequently, many organizations have been slow to adopt emerging media and technologies because…

  • Twitter – A Villanelle

    philbaumann
    25 Jan 2010 | 10:12 am
    Twitter – A Villanelle Be my friend in real life, more so than on Twitter. A palm on hand binds us together like no single passing tweet. Follow me down to the setting sun – we’ll revel in its glitter. Though the Web may be the Great Transmitter, we’re born to join hand-in-hand, face-to-face, seat-to-seat. Be my friend in real life, more so than on Twitter. The Web of Life is rare with sweet and full with bitter. The human heart works its healing power beat to beat to beat. Follow me down to the setting sun – we’ll revel in its glitter. How can we make the…

  • Do Normal People Follow Big Pharma On Twitter?

    philbaumann
    24 Jan 2010 | 11:51 am
    Do “normal” people – patients, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, life scientists, etc – follow Big Pharma on Twitter? I’ve long had a hunch that most of the followers (and by followers I mean people who are actually paying attention) of Pharma accounts are primarily consultants, marketers, PR pros, social media evangelists and others interested in Pharma’s use of the Web (including myself). So I decided to gather the key words in the profiles of a select group of Pharma companies. I used the service TwitterSheep to generate tag clouds of these profiles. This…
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    Sinus arrhythmia

  • The gold watch theorem.

    JustCallMeJo
    4 Feb 2010 | 5:31 pm
    I had an interview today. I liked them; they appear to like me. We'll see what happens. I called my mom this evening, to update her. My mom worked today, and she's tired. Toward the end of the conversation, she said, "Well, and hopefully, you'll find somethin and settle down there for five, ten, fifteen years." What?"Or, Mom," I say, "I live in a world where nobody gets the gold watch and I'll stay at a place where I'm happy while it works for them and me." "Oh, yeah. I mean. I'm just tired." She is tired, and she's not remembering that my folks and I have very different philosophy in the…

  • I was reminded....

    JustCallMeJo
    27 Jan 2010 | 7:35 pm
    ...that a professor of mine said once that no one should publish a book until they're 40 years old.Until then, they have nothing to say.I just turned 38 in November. I wonder if he's right....what is now called 'blogging', used to be called 'journalling'....it's all the effluence in your brain that you dump out, minimally edited, in one place.And anybody and their dog can read it. (Assuming your dog is talented, and can read.)The heck is this, anyway?

  • Bob Brown in ICU 17

    JustCallMeJo
    22 Jan 2010 | 8:00 pm
    I went to dialyze patient Brown in ICU 17 this afternoon. Dr. R had told me to maximize the fluid off of the patient, but cut the treatment to three hours, because his fluid overload was so severe, and his phosphorous was so very low. I’d called the ICU, and told the patient’s nurse, Nick, when to expect me. From Nick, I learned that the patient was male, had come in with pneumonia and had alcohol-related cirrhosis and subsequent liver failure.It’s a common clinical picture, actually. Have seen it 100 times. I checked in with Nickfirst. He’s a grizzly bear of a man, and from what…

  • Wine, and chocolate

    JustCallMeJo
    19 Jan 2010 | 8:07 pm
    I just finished a BRUTAL two and three-quarter hour staff meeting. Arguments. People telling others that they need to come in and dialyze patients, even if they have 105 degree temps. Every single person on my team got a written warning, to be put in permanent employee record (once signed by us) that we have violated certain policies: i.e. not signing/dating bicarb jugs, not wearing proper personal protective equipment, etc. Every person is cited. (No, I didn't sign it as it; I brought it home and I'll think about it tomorrow.)Huge arguments about how to restructure the call system, what…

  • A customer service vignette, or:

    JustCallMeJo
    18 Jan 2010 | 9:02 pm
    I Really Wish I Didn't Blog In Fear That My Company Will Sue Me.So, imagine yourself in a healthcare never never land....at a hosptial called...NeverNeverLand Hospital, and the hospital administrators are sugar and spice and everything nice. And at this hospital is a contract nurse named Nurse Anne, who is not really a friend of mine at all. I barely even know her. Anne works for a company that is not called The Empire. At NeverNeverLand is a patient, who simply...farts joy. We'll call her Effluent Effulgent Joy.Joy hates dialysis. Joy gets dialysis three times a week outpatient and her…
 
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    Lost on the Floor

  • Keepin’ the Beat

    Wanderer
    8 Feb 2010 | 11:24 pm
    It looks like I’ve broken my streak.  I actually had almost 3 months without a Rapid Response or Code Blue on my shift.  It’s no more.  At least we didn’t have to do CPR on this little 40kg bag of skin and bones, just some airway support and off to the ICU. But it got me thinking.  Thinking led to rooting around in my “book o’ fame” (my morbid collection of EKG strips of “bad things”) which led to me finding a couple of strips related to CPR.  Strange how a mind works. Evidently, per the post-it note, these had been grabbed during a code…

  • That’s Just Wrong

    Wanderer
    3 Feb 2010 | 11:15 pm
    Not too long ago we had a patient on our obs unit who was dealing with some issues of constipation.  Unfortunately, they had 2 things working against them.  First, was being born with a congenital defect requiring surgery and leading them to a life of issues with their bowels.  Second, was being admitted to obs by Dr. Jackass. Dr. Jackass wrote that the patient would be able to discharge after having a bowel movement.    After a phone call by the nurse for some pain medication, he decides to send things into overdrive and orders the following: “continuous soap suds enema with…

  • Totally Inappropriate, But Still Funny

    Wanderer
    1 Feb 2010 | 1:21 am
    Shocking Internal Retirement Home Betting Pool Memo | Top Cultured. First off, it’s a fake.  Second off, betting/wagering on the lives of those you take care of is wrong.  But here’s the thing:  I can understand it. We’ve bet on ETOH levels, BNP levels, how low a hemoglobin and hematocrit is, how much dilaudid a patient will request in a shift, when patients will be discharged and yes, even when patients may die (in a very vague, hoping it’s not tonight way). I almost started a pool this weekend to see when one of our long-term patients will be discharged –…

  • A Nurse’s View on the iPad in Healthcare

    Wanderer
    31 Jan 2010 | 10:43 am
    According to the already gushing reviews, the iPad is a “game changer” and “the device health care has waited for.” Not really. I do believe that there will be areas in health care where it could be very useful and could make a difference.  One example that comes to mind is the typical office visit.  My primary care doc uses the computer in the exam room while in the midst of our visit.  He can look up past visits, lab values, meds and all the ephemera of a medical visit.  Instead of staring at a computer through the visit, he can look at me and be more engaged…

  • Hypotension Causing Nursing Hypertension

    Wanderer
    25 Jan 2010 | 10:52 pm
    Hypotension Causes: Three Cases Of Severe Hypotension and Their Dramatic Response To Treatment. I’m almost going to print this up and drop it in a couple of hospitalist’s mail boxes as they completely buggered their management of the hypotensive patient. So here’s the story… 50-odd year old dude comes in with bilateral foot wounds, both medicine and podiatry are seeing him.  They start antibiotics and aggressive debridement of the said foot wounds.  To complicate matters, dude is “fluffy”.  Y’know, 400+ and we can’t tell if he is edematous or…
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    Miss-Elaine-ious RN

  • 3 Feb 2010 | 9:45 pm

    miss-elaine-ious
    3 Feb 2010 | 9:45 pm
    The pro vaccine people fight back.Enjoy.

  • I'm worn out

    miss-elaine-ious
    27 Jan 2010 | 1:59 pm
    I have done quite a lot of shifts lately, more so then normal do to some switches I've made to accommodate Mr E's and my wedding.So I've been working my butt off.The other day I came home after a day shift, ate dinner, and then sat on the couch for a bit. It was my transition day, where I go from day shift to night shift the following day. Usually I try to stay up as late as I can, usually until midnight, and then sleep in as long as I can the next morning.Well I was exhausted from working multiple day shifts in a row, and as I have already posted on this blog about loving night shifts,…

  • Old man to Emerg

    miss-elaine-ious
    27 Jan 2010 | 1:36 pm
    A man in their 70s comes to emerg yesturday with a vague complaint of slight weakness. Hasn't felt well lately. No chest pain, no diaphoresis, no SOB, no.. anything, except a bit of leg weakness.Also doesn't have a family doctor, and hasn't been to one in over 15 years.First thing I think of is that this guy could be a ticking time bomb. Weakness could be anything from cardiovascular, to endocrine, to neuro, to ... well... anything! Especially if he hasn't been routinely checked for CAD, pulmonary, diabetes, cholesterol, etc.Well his vitals weren't bad P 105, R-18, BP 150/100, SpO2 98 T 36. I…

  • Spammers suck

    miss-elaine-ious
    27 Jan 2010 | 1:35 pm
    I have been getting a lot of spam commenters lately so unfortunately that means I have to close down the open commenting section and pre-approve things. I don't mind but I hate spam and it sucks that my old posts are getting comment spammed.

  • 200+ posts

    miss-elaine-ious
    8 Jan 2010 | 5:26 am
    Only took 2 years. Oh and I missed my blogversary(??) in September. Happy BELATED two year blogday(??) to me! (which one is it called? or is it just a blog anniversary or blog birthday?)I’m back with more frequent posting because I write them away from the blog and come back later. Seems to work so far. That and I think I finished my writing funk that lasted about… 8 months? I guess sometimes when you’re not completely enjoying your job you can’t find the humour in it.Yes it’s true: the honeymoon is definitely over. But on the bright side, I’m still in the trenches in the ED. I…
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    This won't hurt a bit

  • Doom

    31 Jan 2010 | 1:20 pm
    I'm amazing this time around by how much faster I am showing. Baby/uterus is barely above the pubic bone, but I've already had to break out the maternity tops. I avoided stretch marks with Bobby (helps if you only go to 37 weeks), but I think I look about the same as when I was 20 weeks prego with him, so have my doubts about escaping them this time. My body's pre-stretched, I guess. Mostly being pregnant while working on L&D is fun. Being pregnant while working high risk OB though can be kind of scary when all you see is sick, sick women and forget that pregnancy doesn't equal life…

  • How judgemental am I?

    29 Jan 2010 | 10:37 am
    I took Bobby to a museum and to lunch with 2 other friends and their toddlers yesterday. He had a great time. I had a great time watching Bobby play with his friends and chatting with my friends. But there was a serious downer to the day which was watching my one friend's little girl who is completely absolutely out of control. I'm not just talking about spirited toddler running around, laughing and chatting loudly, and getting cranky when it was time to eat behavior. I'm talking about running out into the street, throwing endless tantrums, screaming and hitting. What do you do when your…

  • Oops, I did it again

    25 Jan 2010 | 8:40 am
    Got myself knocked up again. Approaching 15 weeks on Thursday, and due at the end of July. 9 days after Bobby's original due date, and about a month after his actual birth day. Let's see how close I make it this time. We made the decision to have another child during my husband's summer vacation. Bobby was behaving and more importantly, sleeping, and it seemed like a manageable plan. 3 months later when I was staring at the little double blue line, my first thought was "oh hell." I was so tired from balancing work, and an increasingly stubborn toddler that the thought of adding anything else…

  • Sigh

    17 Jan 2010 | 9:47 pm
    Dear Mr Limbo - I am sure that President Obama was just hoping praying for a huge, tragic natural disaster EXACTLY like the earthquake last week in Haiti just to help shore up his public image. He couldn't be providing aid because he actually cares about helping people, could he? Just because you don't seem to have a heart, doesn't mean that the rest of the world lacks one. Even politicians. Dear Mr Robertson - Seriously? A pact with the devil? A PACT WITH THE DEVIL? Why is it that the Haitians had to make a pact with the devil to free themselves from their colonial slavers, while the…

  • At least he didn't try to eat it

    13 Jan 2010 | 8:39 pm
    My poor little guy. First he gets rejected by preschool (though, I'm sure he doesn't care one bit about that), and then today, he got his first vomiting stomach bug. I probably should have seen it coming last night when he couldn't even be tempted to eat a cookie. Yes, Bobby has not had a full force projectile puke since he was about one month old, and I believe became car sick. I suppose this day had to come. Luckily for me, my husband took the brunt of it. What a man I was lucky enough to marry. The funny thing was that he would throw up, and then run around and be fine for about 15…
 
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    RealityRN

  • Precepting in my last semester of nursing school

    admin
    30 Jan 2010 | 11:23 am
    I am in my last semester of nursing school and will be graduating in may 2010. I chose ICU for my speciality rotation and I will be precepting in Ortho/ Neuro for the rest of the semester. I may be mistaken when I say that most of the nurses in ICU are very stressed out and not as accepting and nice as other nurses on other floors. It is my first time experiencing the ICU and It took me a while to get used to the new element. I still have 20 more hrs of specialty in ICU and I am scared to go back there and finish it without the fear I will be picked on and told that I am not doing my job well…

  • How long does it take to hear from enforcement BON

    admin
    27 Jan 2010 | 8:34 am
    I am in Texas. I graduated from nursing school in Dec 09. I am waiting to hear from enforcement. I have a misdemeanor for destructive/removal of writing that occured in july 06. My case was dismissed. I am waiting anxiously to hear from the Bon enforcement about my permit. Without a permit I am not allowed to test for NCLEX. Enforcement received all my court documents, fingerprints, letter describing the incident, etc in OCT 09. Does anyone know how long it takes to hear from enforcement? Sidney

  • Do clinics hire student nurses?

    admin
    25 Jan 2010 | 1:34 pm
    I am new here and I want to become a nurse. I’m in my mid 30s and I hope I’m not too old for it. Anyway, my question is can student nurses, what I mean by that is, students still in school not yet licensed/certified as RN be able to work at a clinic or doctor’s office? Do doctor’s even hire them even if they’re not licensed yet? It’s a nagging question of mine. Also, I am currently working full time and my big concern is will it be an obstacle when I start my nursing degree? I can’t quit work and be a full time student. I can’t afford it.

  • ACLS written test – Right to have a copy for my CE records?

    admin
    22 Jan 2010 | 12:08 am
    I recently passed the written test for ACLS. I, unfortunately, was absent for partII-Megacode skills checkoff, that was scheduled the following morning. I realize that I need to complete that portion of the course in order to obtain my ACLS card. I requested a copy of my written exam, for my records, so that I may have an ACLS educator from our Local American Red Cross go through the Megacode skills portion/skills checkoff, so that I can recieve my ACLS card. The Clinical Educator at the Hospital where I was working at that time (april2009), had stated; ” it wasn’t hospital…

  • NCLEX-ADVICE for retakes

    admin
    20 Jan 2010 | 7:21 pm
    I graduated nursing school in 2007. I have taken the dreaded NCLEX 3 times now and i am completly out of things to do to study or prepare for the test. The first time i took the test i took the full week class for Kaplan Nursing. I was invited back, then took it again in 3 months. This time i studied the book and other material given by the teacher. The 3rd time i took the online review for Kaplan again. Again i got the dreadful news again. So now i feel as though i am out of know hows. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on review classes, new ways of studying, or just any great…
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    Pinoy R.N.

  • New NCLEX-RN Test Plan and Raised Passing Standard Take Effect on April 1, 2010

    Lyle, RN
    7 Feb 2010 | 11:55 am
    In a press release published on its website, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN) announced that effective April 1 this year, the NCLEX-RN examination will have a new passing standard and a revised test plan. After much deliberation, it has been determined by the NCSBN Board of Directors that for entry-level nurses to render safe and effective client care, they should possess a greater level of knowledge, skills, and abilities.  Before voting to raise the passing standard of the NCLEX-RN examination, the Board of Directors assembled a nine-person panel of nurses…

  • Oathtaking Schedule for Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Lucena, Zamboanga, and Other Areas

    Lyle, RN
    4 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm
    The Professional Regulation Commission - Board of Nursing has announced the Regional Oathtaking schedule of new nurses. Please refer to the following table for guidance. Areas Identified BoN Assigned Date Specified/Requested 1. BaguioHon. A. RosalesMar12 2. IlocosHon. L. FaireMar13 3. La UnionHon. L. FaireMar14 4. TuguegaraoHon. A. RosalesMar18 5. LegaspiHon. B. MerrittMar12 6. DavaoHon. M. Sto TomasMar10 7. ZamboangaHon. Y. Arugay 8. BoholHon. B. MerrittMar21 9. CARAGAHon. C. AbaquinMar12 10. BacolodHon. M. Sto TomasMar11  11. CebuHon. P. Po 12. LUCENAHon. B. MerrittMar10 13.

  • PRC Announces Start of Filing of Application for July 2010 Nurse Licensure Examination

    Lyle, RN
    3 Feb 2010 | 7:29 am
     PRC Press Release The Professional Regulation Commission announces that application to the July 3 & 4, 2010 Nurses’ Licensure Examination is now open until April 14, 2010 for Repeaters and May 14, 2010 for First Timers. Applicants are required to submit the following documents: Duly accomplished Nurses’ Application Form (NAF); NSO issued Certificate of Live Birth; NSO issued Certificate of Marriage (for married women); Transcript of Record with scanned picture and remarks: “For Board Examinations Purposes”; Record of OR-DR Cases (for 1st timers only); Summary of Related…

  • Oathtaking and Registration Schedule for New Nurses in Baguio

    Lyle, RN
    3 Feb 2010 | 7:23 am
    The Professional Regulation Commission - Baguio Regional Office has published the Oathtaking and Initial Registration schedules for Baguio examinees who passed the November 2009 Nursing Board Exams. Initial registration in Baguio will start on February 4, 2010 with the oathtaking at the CAP building in Camp John Hay on March 12, 2010. Complete details are posted below. Initial Registration and Oathtaking Schedule for BAGUIO Passers Schedules and announcement for other areas will also be posted here the moment it is made available by PRC regional offices. Visit www.PinoyRN.co.nr now for other…

  • Initial Registration Schedule for New Nurses (MANILA Examinees)

    Lyle, RN
    2 Feb 2010 | 7:47 am
    Successful examinees in the November 2009 Nurse Licensure Examination in Manila may begin registering with the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). Initial registration will begin on February 15, 2010. The rest of the schedule for Manila is posted below. Initial Registration for November 2009 Nurses (MANILA) NOTE: The schedule for oathtaking and registration for all other areas such as Lucena, Baguio, Cebu, Iloilo, and Davao will be posted at Pinoy R.N. once it becomes available. Related Article:Oathtaking Schedule and Registration Instructions for New Nurses Visit www.PinoyRN.co.nr now…
 
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    Nursing Ideas

  • Judith Oulton International Nursing Leadership and Perspectives on Health Human Resources

    rdjfraser
    2 Feb 2010 | 4:19 am
    Judith Oulton Frances Bloomberg International Distinguished Visiting Professor – University of Toronto Sitting down with Judith Oulton, the former CEO of the Internaitonal Council of Nurses. We talk about her experience and how she came to the role and her current work on global health human resources. She is an incredible nursing leader and this interview provides sage advice like on international like taking “the right attidue & an understanding that you gain so much as well.” Resources Mentioned: Judith Oulton’s talk at University of Toronto on Health Human…

  • Researching the Internationally Educated Nursing Work Force in Saudi Arabia – Joan E Mitchell

    rdjfraser
    20 Jan 2010 | 10:43 am
    Joan E Mitchell MSN, EdD jemitchell [at] cbahi.org Nurse Consultant and Surveyor Central Board of Accrediation for Healthcare Institutions – Jeddah [googleMap], Saudi Arabi Sitting down with Joan Mitchell at the Sigma Theta Tau Conference in Indianapolis and discussing her work in patient safety and quality of care was very enlightening. After watching her presentation at the conference about her research on job satisfaction on foreign trained nurses in Saudi Arabia. It was a pleasure to learn about how and why she choose this topic to research. Research Mitchell, JE (2009) Job…

  • Peter Goossens Helping Patients Recognize Bi-Polar Symptoms

    rdjfraser
    30 Nov 2009 | 2:25 pm
    Peter Goossens RN PhD – email: p.j.j.goossens [at] saxion.nl Nurse Expert – Dimence – Map Professor in Mental Health – Saxion Senior Researcher – Radboud University Nijmegen Peter Goossens, a Dutch mental health nurse and researcher, and I sit down to discuss his research that helps bi-polar patients recognize on coming periods of mania and depression. We met at the Sigma Theta Tau 40th Biennial and discussed his fascinating research with mental health patients and their families. He has not only conducted excellent research he is allow a great ambassador for the…

  • Marla Salmon – Nursing an Entire Nation

    rdjfraser
    19 Nov 2009 | 2:07 pm
    Marla E Salmon ScD, RN, FAAN Dean & Professor – University of Washington School of Nursing A conversation with Marla Salmon ScD RN FAAN, current Dean and Professor at the University of Washington and former Chief Nurse of the United States of America. We discuss her experience working with Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, and her career moving from patient to nation care. This interview was a fun and candid conversation that was made possible thanks to the kind introduction by Carla Hall and Jane Palmer from Sigma Theta Tau International, both of whom were the first live audience for…

  • Irmajean Bajnok Sharing Nursing Best Practice Around the World

    rdjfraser
    11 Nov 2009 | 12:19 pm
    Irmajean Bajnok RN PhD Director of International Affairs and Best Practice Guidelines – Registered Nurses Association of Ontario Sitting down with Irmajean Bajnok we discuss her experience and how she came to be Director of the IA-BPG. We talk about how the BPG came to be but also about how she hopes that they are able to support nurses in the workplace and create a health work environment for them to practice in. Recently the RNAO won the an award from Sigma Theta Tau International, for Practice Academe Innovation Collaboration, below I posted a short video I took in Indianapolis of…
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    Nurse.com News

  • Trial by Fire

    American nurses who went to Haiti in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake that struck the island nation last month say they used common sense, basic nursing skills, and whatever equipment and materials were on hand to care for Haitians with minor to life-threatening injuries.

  • Daily News: Nursing Loan Repayment Program Deadline Set for March 4

    The Health Resources and Services Administration is accepting applications for its 2010 Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program until March 4. Under the program, RNs can get assistance in repaying loans in exchange for two years of work in a healthcare facility that has a critical nursing shortage. The HRSA program also offers an optional third year of service.

  • DAISY Spotlights: Meet the Recent RN Recipients

    Thanks to The DAISY Foundation, nurses across the country are celebrated for their extraordinary patient care, spirit, and character. Each quarter, Nurse.com would like to recognize the nation?s DAISY recipients so the celebration of their accomplishments continues. A sample of these nurses' nominations, or "spotlights," will be featured on Nurse.com and DAISYfoundation.org. The following are excerpts from DAISY Award recipients' fourth-quarter nominations.

  • Trend Shows Younger Nursing Workforce

    LITHICUM, Md. ? ?The average age of the registered nurse workforce is getting younger,? Peter Buerhaus, RN, PhD, FAAN, told nurse leaders from Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. While discussing nursing workforce challenges with members of the Maryland Organization of Nurse Executives, he also noted that nursing is still facing a shortage, although it will not be as severe as previously predicted.

  • Mental Healthcare Parity Rules Implemented

    The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 came to fruition today with the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and the Treasury issuing new rules providing parity for consumers enrolled in group health plans who need treatment for mental health or substance use disorders.
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    Nurse Practioners in Business

  • Open Q&A February 8th

    Barbara C. Phillips, NP
    6 Feb 2010 | 11:16 am
    Once a month, members of Nurse Practitioner Business Owner™ (NPBO™ ) have the opportunity to gather together to ask questions (and get answers!), brainstorm and just plain network.  So many ideas come out of these gatherings, that I find it’s one of my favorite activities. Our next Q&A is Monday February 8th at 5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern. Members can check their email or in the forum for call in information. If you’d like to participate and are not yet a member, consider joining us @ www.NursePractitionerBusinessOwner.com™.

  • Medicare Provider Enrollment

    Barbara C. Phillips, NP
    6 Feb 2010 | 6:17 am
    Many Nurse Practitioners find the process of getting credentialed with Medicare to be confusing or downright frustrating.  A few find their dealings with Medicare to be smooth and easy, but most of us are in the confusion camp.  Here’s you chance to clear some of that confusion. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is holding a special open door forum (ODF) on February 17, 2010 at 2:00-3:00 pm Eastern Time via Conference Call Only to discuss Medicare provider enrollment issues.  Staff from CMS will discuss: Internet-based Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership…

  • Nurse Practitioner Practice in Australia

    Barbara C. Phillips, NP
    29 Jan 2010 | 6:36 am
    Health care, delivered by Nurse Practitioners, in NP run clinics and offices is growing around the world. This is a good thing. We know there is a shortage of primary care providers and health care consumers need and want a choice in their providers. However, despite studies showing that NPs are excellent clinicians who provide effective and safe care, opposition remains from physician groups.  We’ve seen this over and over again here in the US, in Canada, the UK and now Australia. Apparently, approval was recently given for a NP run primary healthcare clinic by the Australian…

  • Social Media Survey for Clinicians

    Barbara C. Phillips, NP
    11 Jan 2010 | 2:34 pm
    Social Media is something that health care providers are talking about. So are the medical-legal folks!  We @ NPBO ™  are working on information about how Nurse Practitioners and other clinicans can best use this media for communication and marketing – and do so in a safe and ethical manner for ourselves as well as the health care consumer. As such, we have created a survey for health care providers to give us feedback about their current use, their concerns and their questions. We invite you to participate. You can find the survey at this link: …

  • NPBO(tm) Member Only Q&A

    Barbara C. Phillips, NP
    6 Jan 2010 | 5:03 pm
    Members of Nurse Practitioner Business Owner™ will have a chance to ask any question you have during our next monthly Q&A call which is scheduled for Monday January 11, 2010. This benefit is exclusive to NPBO™ members. This is your chance to ask any question to have about start up and growing your business or practice. Perhaps you have questions about: Marketing Operations Practice management Coding and Billing Credentialing Vendors Collaborators or anything else that has to do with your practice. Even when you don’t have questions, this is a great call to be on. You can learn,…
 
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    NurseConnect.com General Nursing and Career Blog

  • Nurses and the Human Spirit

    At a recent community event, I found myself chatting with a casual acquaintance. Early in our conversation, I mentioned that I’m an RN. Her immediate response was, “Oh, no. I could never do that! Besides, I have heard that nurses burn out easily.” When she realized that I had made this choice after working in two other professions, her words were even more blunt, “Why would you choose to become a nurse when you should be old enough to know better?”I was thinking that this lady could definitely use some tips on social graces. Still, her words stung a bit, and troubled me later that…

  • In Adverse Events: The Nurse as Secondary Victim

    As nurses, we’ve all been there as bystanders. Everyone’s heard at least one alarming anecdote involving an adverse event. How often do nurses and other health care professionals silently suffer in the harsh aftermath of a medical misstep? Are hospitals supportive when these events happen?Nurses sometimes talk about “secondary injuries” suffered from fallout after medical errors or incidents involving their patients. I suspect that many other nurses suffer in silence. How often does fear of repercussion interfere with accurate reporting of errors and near misses? Many studies suggest…

  • Are Nurses Opinion Leaders?

    A recent Gallop poll of “opinion leaders” (insurance, government, corporate, health care and industry) found that the majority of these experts believed that nurses should have more influence in planning and managing health care policies. Of course we should!Nurses represent the largest number of the professionals in the health care arena.  Look around any hospital. There are nurses everywhere!  But, there are also nurses in many other facilities and industries.Nurses who provide direct patient care are commonly referred to as the “eyes and ears” of the health care team.

  • Can Technology Replace the Bedside Nurse?

    Where would we be without our technology?  I cannot imagine such a world. As nurses, our professional lives revolve around this constant companion.  We share much of our workspace with bedside equipment—from patient monitors and complex tools to integrated computer programs.I recently read that an integral element of our role as nurses may someday be replaced by the latest technological trend—providing discharge instructions via DVDs.While the concept of watching a bedside video is hardly new, the idea of video discharge of patients is worthy of discussion. How often have you…

  • A Prudent Nurse is Always Prepared

    The tragic Haitian earthquake has raised international awareness of human vulnerability in times of natural calamity. Major catastrophes are rarely predictable. Most victims have little or no time to prepare before disaster strikes. The Office of Homeland Security and the Red Cross therefore recommend that individuals and families prepare individual disaster survival plans. Do you have one your own? If not, why not start yours now?Think about it. What type of vital supplies do you typically keep on hand in your home? In setting up a disaster survival kit, experts recommend that you consider…
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    NursesPTO

  • Changing your name

    Wendy Kelton
    3 Feb 2010 | 7:41 pm
    When a girl gets married, it is expected that she will take her husband’s name. This may seem romantic to some, like ownership to others. The process though can be quite complicated. The level of complication has a lot to do with where you are in life at the time of your marriage. A young girl just out of high school maybe has to change her driver’s license and social security card and that is it. A woman that is older may have a bit more trouble. My first marriage was right after high school and I had no problem changing my name…7 years later I was divorced and everything I had…

  • Are nursing unions necessary?

    Jennifer Smith
    19 Dec 2009 | 7:45 am
    Are nursing unions really necessary? I am trying to look at this from all angles of medicine. The first point of view I am going to take is that of being a patient. I have been very fortunate in my times as a patient to be surrounded by amazing, educated and capable nurses. A good nurse is worth their weight in gold. Nurses are not only the number one patient advocates but, they are the eyes and ears of the physicians. Most of the nurses I have come across in the past 11 years are great but, there are those few that made me wonder how they kept their license but, they did lose their jobs. So,…

  • Are more nursing degrees too much?

    Rachael Keilin
    8 Dec 2009 | 8:16 pm
    In October, at the Blogworld Expo I had the privilege of hearing “Nurse Ratched” who blogs at her site Nurse Ratched’s Place speak on a panel. The most fascinating thing she discussed (at least to me) was a phenomenon she noted of nurses always undercutting other nurses. She had written a blog post about it entitled “nurses eat their young” and she felt it was the most pressing issue facing the nursing community today. Her main focus was the ever-increasing pressure to further your nursing degree. She remarked that when she started out, a two year plan after…

  • I’ve had 3 colonoscopies. The insurance company was more painful.

    Wendy Kelton
    4 Dec 2009 | 10:52 am
    I have now had two experiences with colonoscopies….I am only almost 32 but I have a very extensive family history of colon cancer and would like to stay healthy. My father died when he was 50, and he had a brother that died at 40 of colon cancer. His other brothers also had cancer and I believe a couple sisters that were diagnosed with different forms of cancer…I never knew this side of my family so I am not that well informed. But I try to stay healthy by exercising, not smoking or drinking (too much) and eating….well a semi balanced diet. Colon cancer has always been a fear for me…

  • 7 reasons I loved being an operating room nurse

    Jennifer Smith
    1 Dec 2009 | 6:37 pm
    1)  I could go to work in my pajamas because the hospital provides the scrubs, so I got to change when I got there. I could take a cute outfit to put on after work for any about town errands or about town bar hopping afterwards. 2)  I did not have to fix my hair because I would be wearing a surgical hat. A ponytail knot and I was out the door. There was an ample supply of hair essentials in my locker such as: hair dryer, curling iron, hairspray etc. 3)  I did not have to put on make up, my patients only saw my eyeballs. I would usually put on mascara but there was no reason to put on my…
 
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    Sunbelt Staffing

  • What Does a Physical Therapy Assistant Do?

    Angela Stevens
    8 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am
    I am what some might call slightly-to-moderately accident prone. Okay, I admit it. I have had to go through numerous bouts of physical therapy for various accidents. It is not like I’m reckless, far from it actually. I am safety girl. I wear my seatbelt, look both ways when I cross the street… heck, I don’t even speed. But I swear I’m an accident magnet. Which brings me back to physical therapy. I’ve never been to the same clinic twice, but I have noticed there are always physical therapy assistants floating around – often helping me, because I obviously need the help. At first I…

  • Cultural Awareness in Special Education

    Angela Stevens
    1 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am
    One of the things that teachers must do, to varying degrees depending on the student population, is encourage cultural awareness and acceptance. Small towns and big cities are both apt to have children from a variety of cultures within a single classroom. When students have a learning disability or have limited proficiency with English, they are often evaluated and assigned a special education teacher to help them meet their educational needs. As a special education teacher, there are several things that can be done to within both inclusion classrooms and special education classrooms. Some of…

  • Speech Therapy for the Elderly

    Angela Stevens
    25 Jan 2010 | 5:00 am
    I first became familiar with speech therapy when a young cousin needed help with her speech impediment. Her mother and the teachers at the school helped develop a plan to help improve her speech, which involved a weekly session with a speech therapist. I never thought much more about it until my great uncle had a stroke and lost much of his ability to speak. A speech therapist was employed by the rehabilitation nursing home he was sent to, and she helped him regain much of his ability to communicate. This made me realize that there is an amazing need for speech therapy in both the younger and…

  • The Difficult Decisions of an ER Nurse

    Angela Stevens
    18 Jan 2010 | 4:00 am
    I’ve known a few ER nurses over the years, and all of them have told me that, no matter how much training they have had, how their teachers and textbooks tried to prepare them, and even how much experience in other fields of nursing…nothing prepared them for the reality of working in an emergency room. When choosing any nursing specialty, it is important to test drive the environment before making a final decision. This can easily be accomplished by taking a position as a traveling nurse and visiting different areas of the country as well as different nursing environments. In fact, one of…

  • When the Customer has Changes in Prescription Coverage

    Angela Stevens
    11 Jan 2010 | 5:00 am
    Recently, my husband informed me that our health insurance coverage was going to be changing. We had four new options, all with benefits different from what we have had for the past several years. Some of these changes are good, but some, like our prescription medication coverage, is not so good. My husband works for a company that employs a large portion of the population where we live, and I knew these changes would be affecting all of their employees to some degree. I was thinking about this, and how much of a headache it was going to be for me when I went to my pharmacy to get my…
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    Soliant Healthcare Job Blog

  • Doctors Who Made a Difference

    Ryan Winter
    3 Feb 2010 | 8:06 am
    More than making house calls and being there for patients, the following doctors spent the last year coming up with discoveries, techniques, treatments, and tales of bravery that changed the lives of the people under their watch and those under the care of many of their colleagues.Doctors Who Made a Difference is a post from: Soliant Health

  • Can Your Religion Influence Your Treatment?

    Ryan Winter
    13 Jan 2010 | 8:12 am
    More than anything else, people who pray, pray for good health. But are religion and spirituality relevant to treatment? If so, do they have a positive or negative effect?Can Your Religion Influence Your Treatment? is a post from: Soliant Health

  • What Does a Pharmacy Technician Do?

    Jennifer Bradford
    7 Jan 2010 | 11:41 am
    Have you ever thought about becoming a pharmacy technician? If so, how did you find out about this career field?What Does a Pharmacy Technician Do? is a post from: Soliant Health

  • Differences in Rural vs Urban Healthcare

    Ryan Winter
    22 Dec 2009 | 5:00 am
    While 20% of Americans live in rural areas, only 9% of America’s doctors practice there. Oddly enough though, patients of urban physicians often have longer wait-times. So which medical environment is better? Rural or urban? Though there’s an urge to discover whether people in cities or the countryside have it better when it comes to access to [...]Differences in Rural vs Urban Healthcare is a post from: Soliant Health

  • Pharmacy Clinics: The Expanding Role of the Pharmacy

    Jennifer Bradford
    15 Dec 2009 | 5:36 am
    Listening to my radio on the way to the grocery store, I heard an advertisement for flu shots being given at one of the local pharmacy clinics. The ad talked about the importance of getting the seasonal flu shot and described who should get the H1N1 flu shot. The hours were listed, and a special [...]Pharmacy Clinics: The Expanding Role of the Pharmacy is a post from: Soliant Health
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    Nursing Show Blog

  • Tuberculosis Nurse Review and Episode 117

    rnproducer
    5 Feb 2010 | 5:05 am
    Welcome to Episode 117 The Nursing Show is a proud member of the ProMed Podcast Network. Subscribe to the show, free! —– Right Click to download (Macs Option Click) Subscribe with iTunes here (need iTunes — it’s free) Read more on Tuberculosis Nurse Review and Episode 117…

  • Upper Respiratory Infections and Episode 116

    rnproducer
    29 Jan 2010 | 5:49 pm
    Welcome to Episode 116 The Nursing Show is a proud member of the ProMed Podcast Network. Subscribe to the show, free! —– Right Click to download (Macs Option Click) Subscribe with iTunes here (need iTunes — it’s free) Read more on Upper Respiratory Infections and Episode 116…

  • Shock Review for Nurses and Students and Episode 115

    rnproducer
    22 Jan 2010 | 3:42 am
    Welcome to Episode 115 The Nursing Show is a proud member of the ProMed Podcast Network. Subscribe to the show, free! —– Right Click to download (Macs Option Click) Subscribe with iTunes here (need iTunes — it’s free) Read more on Shock Review for Nurses and Students and Episode 115…

  • Street Drug Contaminants Review for Nurses and Episode 114

    rnproducer
    15 Jan 2010 | 4:01 am
    Welcome to Episode 114 The Nursing Show is a proud member of the ProMed Podcast Network. Subscribe to the show, free! —– Right Click to download (Macs Option Click) Subscribe with iTunes here (need iTunes — it’s free) Read more on Street Drug Contaminants Review for Nurses and Episode 114…

  • Patient Education Tips for Nurses and Episode 113

    rnproducer
    8 Jan 2010 | 6:00 pm
    Welcome to Episode 113 The Nursing Show is a proud member of the ProMed Podcast Network. Subscribe to the show, free! —– Right Click to download (Macs Option Click) Subscribe with iTunes here (need iTunes — it’s free) Read more on Patient Education Tips for Nurses and Episode 113…
 
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    Nursing Homes Abuse Blog

  • Nursing Home Spotlight: Ballard Nursing Center, Des Plaines, Illinois

    Jonathan Rosenfeld
    9 Feb 2010 | 3:48 am
    Ballard Nursing Center is yet another large nursing home facility located in Des Plaines, Illinois. Ballard can accomedate 231 Medicare / Medicaid patients.  Ballard scored three out of five stars according to the Medicare Nursing Home Compare website, which is an average rating.  Ballard had only five health deficiencies in the past year, which is three less than the average in Illinois and in the United States.  Despite the relatively low number of health deficiencies, some residents failed to receive the necessary care and services to attain or maintain the highest…

  • Thankfully, We Now Have Many Laws To Protect The Elderly From Abuse In A Variety Of Settings. However, Laws Are Worthless, If The People For Whom They Are Intended To Help Are Unaware Of Them

    Jonathan Rosenfeld
    8 Feb 2010 | 4:10 am
    Over the last 20 years, federal and state legislatures have drafted many laws with the intention of protecting the most vulnerable members of our society-- they elderly.  As the laws accumulate, it is important to know what laws apply to particular situations of abuse or mistreatment and how to properly apply them to particular situations. What is elder abuse? Elder abuse is the abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of elderly persons. Older adults are particularly vulnerable to this type of abuse because of their isolation, illness, or fear. In the United States, an estimated 1 to…

  • Professor Devotes New Book To 'Oscar The Cat'-- The Feline With The Ability To Predict Death

    Jonathan Rosenfeld
    7 Feb 2010 | 3:41 am
    Talk about worthless news stories, here's a news-clip about a Brown University professor who will be releasing a new book devoted to.... a cat.  Not just any alley cat, 'Oscar' allegedly has the ability to predict the impending death of nursing home patients.  Oscar has apparently successfully predicted the impending death of more than 50 patients in a Rhode Island nursing home.  Apparently, when Oscar cuddles up with you, your day may be numbered.    

  • Lawsuit Alleges CNA At A Golen Living Center Sexually Abused Paralyzed Patient

    Jonathan Rosenfeld
    5 Feb 2010 | 3:40 am
    A recently filed lawsuit against Golden Living Centers in Merrillville, IN alleges that a CNA at the facility entered the room of a paralyzed stroke patient, took his clothes off and fondled the man against his will.  The CNA identified as, Ismael Golden, also faces criminal charges related to the alleged sexual abuse.  In addition to this incident, Mr. Golden is also accused of sexually assaulting another patient at the Indiana nursing home. Read more about this case of alleged sexual abuse at a Golden Living Center here. Related: Lawsuit Claims That Nursing Home Failed To…

  • Bankruptcy Laws Allow Owners Of Assisted Living Facility To Ignore $1.2M Judgment Against Them

    Jonathan Rosenfeld
    4 Feb 2010 | 3:46 am
    The $1.2 million judgment  North Carolina Superior Court Judge, James Ammons handed down in a 2006 negligence trial will literally amount to nothing after the owners of the Countryside Villa run-for-cover under North Carolina's bankruptcy laws. The large verdict against the assisted living facility was awarded to Joe Cooper, a Marine Corps Veteran, who suffered a concussion, respiratory failure that required a breathing tube and the loss of several teeth in a incident that occurred at the facility in 2003.  In addition to the facilities responsibility for Mr. Cooper's injuries…
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    Off the Charts

  • Want to Achieve the ‘Greatest Good’? Listen to Your Patients

    jm
    9 Feb 2010 | 8:03 am
    Ethical dilemmas abound in nursing practice. Consider these commonplace scenarios: * An angry patient threatens to leave the hospital against medical advice. Should you hold him against his will? * A cancer patient fears chemotherapy. Should you give less detailed information about the effects of anticancer drugs? * An obese home care patient with pressure ulcers refuses to cooperate in turning. Should you turn her anyway? Such conflicts between the patient’s wishes and the nurse’s perception of the patient’s best interests occur regularly. That doesn’t make these…

  • Will Texas Nurse Whistle-blower Case Have Dangerous Ripple Effect?

    jm
    7 Feb 2010 | 2:37 pm
    KERMIT, Tex. — It occurred to Anne Mitchell as she was writing the letter that she might lose her job, which is why she chose not to sign it. But it was beyond her conception that she would be indicted and threatened with 10 years in prison for doing what she knew a nurse must: inform state regulators that a doctor at her rural hospital was practicing bad medicine. That’s from an article in today’s New York Times about a Texas nurse who’s being prosecuted for blowing the whistle on what she asserts were inappropriate medical practices by a doctor she worked with.

  • The Checklist – Taking Finger-Pointing Out of the Equation

    jm
    5 Feb 2010 | 9:59 am
    By Peggy McDaniel, BSN, RN Ok, I will admit right off that I am a huge fan of Atul Gawande’s writing. I have read his books Better and Complications, and I think much of his work should be required reading for all health care students. I haven’t read his newest book, The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right. I plan to soon, but it’s the 3rd book down in the pile on my bedside stand. That confession aside, there has been some recent news around the use of checklists that bears some attention. Dr. Gawande helped develop a two-minute checklist that is to be done prior to…

  • Déjà Vu All Over Again: Internal Uterine Contraction Monitoring Another Case of Practice Without Evidence

    jm
    4 Feb 2010 | 5:38 am
    by mahalie, via Flickr By Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, interim editor-in-chief Last week, the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) reported (abstract available here) on a Dutch multi-center randomized trial comparing internal versus external monitoring of uterine contractions during induced labor on rate of cesarean or instrument delivery. Among secondary outcomes they examined were use of analgesia, oxytocin and antibiotics, adverse neonatal effects, and complications from the intrauterine catheter (hemorrhage, sepsis, among others). What caught my eye was the first sentence of the paper, which…

  • “I often feel anxious and nervous when I care for a dying patient . . .”

    jm
    3 Feb 2010 | 8:50 am
    As a nursing student, I often feel anxious and nervous when I care for a dying patient. My classroom lectures have been similar to those given in medical school—death is an enemy to be conquered. We focus on treating the disease process and give very little attention to death and dying. That’s from a letter to the editor now online in our February issue. The article the letter writer was responding to was “Stopping Eating and Drinking,” which we published back in September. The article is about an end-of-life option that is a choice available to patients who aren’t…
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    Nursing Novellas: Stories from the Human Side of Healthcare

  • GRIN AND BEAR IT: FUN AT WORK

    I had lunch today at one of those delightfully tacky restaurants. Things were a little bit slow at this place, which I’ll just call Joe Schmoe’s.  I think there were, at most, four tables occupied.  How happy the wait staff seemed each time another one of those tables filled up!  Whenever the door opened, all [...]

  • Old Pictures, Old Stories

    My grandfather died around three o’clock on a Friday afternoon.  My grandmother sat at his bedside, clutching his hands as he took his last breath.  My father and uncle stood stoically in opposite corners of the room.  They grieved in their own quiet way.  My aunts sat at the foot of his bed and dried [...]

  • Confessions of a Mean Girl

    (*Names have been changed) Her name was Teresa.*   She hovered in front of the double doors each morning while waiting for the school bell to ring, always alone. Just like me.  As an overweight kid with glasses, frizzy red hair, freckles and an albuterol inhaler permanently attached to my hand, I was the consummate outcast child on [...]

  • Miracle: A short story by Amy Glenn Vega

    MIRACLE A short story by Amy Glenn Vega The morning comes, and I awaken to the sound of heavy panting and the smell of kibble breath.  I turn my head to find a big, black dog lying next to me.  “DOWN!” I shout fiercely. He looks at me with sweet, pleading eyes. “I got you your very own fancy, top-of-the-line [...]

  • Nursing Novellas Review: Mary Holtschneider

    by Mary E. Holtschneider, RN, BSN, BC, MPA, NREMT-P Amy Glenn Vega’s two nursing novellas, “Lions and Tiger and Nurses” and “Broken Heart”, take us through the lives of nurses at the fictional North Carolina Dogwood Regional Medical Center, Med Surg South nursing unit.  Each of the nurses is at a different point in his or her [...]
 
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    Nurse Story

  • Health Assessment Resources on the Web, how to make a podcast, and random thoughts

    Terri Schmitt
    31 Jan 2010 | 11:52 am
    Well, it is time to share some good internet information with all of my nursing friends out there. I had more than one thought this week so I am writing about a few issues…. Read on and Happy Almost February Health Assessment Resources on the WWW Key to the foundational knowledge of any nurse is the ability to perform an exemplary health assessment, whether beginner or returning to school for a graduate nursing degree. The internet has provided a new medium through which to reach students at any geographic location at virtually any time of day. This makes access, comprehension, and…

  • Eating Disorders, Disordered Eating, and Insulin Omission in Type 1 Diabetic Adolescent Females: What’s all the fuss about? (Part 1 of a Series on ED)

    Terri Schmitt
    17 Jan 2010 | 11:07 am
    For those of you out there who routinely care for adolescent females with or without diabetes this next series of posts is for you. We will move through the global nature of eating disorders, body image and females, disordered eating in adolescents, and disordered eating in special populations. I am beginning the series at a place where it should in theory end, because this topic is one of the most critical to anyone who cares for an adolescent female with Type 1 diabetes (T1DM). These girls who have T1DM and DEB begin in pediatrics and end up with adult endocrinology when their complications…

  • Adolescent Health Conference in Springfield Jan 15th: Want to go?

    Terri Schmitt
    6 Jan 2010 | 7:51 am
    I have attached the flier if any of you are interested in going to the Adolescent Health Conference sponsored by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and the Missouri Nurses for Public Health. It looks to be a pretty good offering. http://nursestory.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/adolescenthealthcaretrainingbrochure2010-1.pdf Maybe I will see you there!

  • New Nurse Leader Post: Dr. Maithe Enriquez PhD, RN, ANP

    Terri Schmitt
    13 Dec 2009 | 6:59 am
    There is a great nursing leader you should check out, Dr. Maithe Enriquez. Dr. Enriquez was a pleasure to write about. Check out her mission, leadership and work at http://nursestory.com/nurse-leaders/maithe-eniquez-phd-rn-anp-the-whole-nursing-package/

  • Non-Nursing (well… o.k. maybe it is Nursing related): Movies you should watch over Christmas break

    Terri Schmitt
    10 Dec 2009 | 7:58 am
    Students, faculty, nurses, and all other people…. You may have a day or two of down time this Holiday Season and my advice is. TAKE IT! Take a day off, in your pajamas, and relax. Do not clean the kitchen, do not go visit someone, do not go shopping or to a sale somewhere… just stay home and take a day off. While you do that… watch a movie. These are a few I recommend that deal with one of the following: health care, changing the world, changing your view, or having your eyes opened. These are several of the most moving films I have ever seen, but don’t take my word…
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    Nursing

  • Jones & Bartlett Congratulates 7 AJN Winners

    Rebecca Wasley
    27 Jan 2010 | 6:37 am
    Jones & Bartlett congratulates Book of the Year honorees from the American Journal of Nursing (AJN). The American Journal of Nursing is the oldest and largest circulating, broad-based nursing journal in the world. Peer reviewed and evidence-based, it is considered the profession’s premier journal.  Jones and Bartlett had seven publications awarded honors in a range of categories including community-public health, gerontologic nursing, leadership and management, nursing and continuing education, and public policy and history.  Winners Include:  COMMUNITY–PUBLIC…

  • How to Read an EKG in 3 Easy Steps

    Bill Porter
    19 Jan 2010 | 12:50 pm
    How to Read an EKG in Three EASY Steps Taking the mystery out of EKG Interpretation Here are a few simple things you need to know before we get started:  A. ST-elevation indicates the patient has actual injury to the myocardium, B. You have to have at least 1 mm ST-elevation in 2 consecutive leads to suggest the patient is patient is having an MI,  C. The heart is in the left chest and sits a little sideways. The very bottom of the heart or apex is pointing toward the left. The most inferior aspect of the heart is actually the right ventricle, and D. When you apply electrodes…

  • Surprising Science on What Really Motivates People

    Bill Porter
    17 Jan 2010 | 4:23 pm
    If you think you know what motivates people, think again! This video will surprise you. Daniel Pink on Motivation William Porter, RN Flight Nurse Porter's Pocket Guide to Emergency & Critical CareCritical Care Handbook Marz Teamware

  • Help Support the RNRN

    Rebecca Wasley
    14 Jan 2010 | 10:33 am
    In the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the Registered Nurse Response Network (RNRN) is making an urgent appeal to the public to support the efforts of volunteer nurses with donations to fund travel costs and supplies. Almost 4,000 registered nurses from across the U.S. have responded in less than one day to the call by the nation's largest organization of registered nurses for volunteers. According to the Red Cross, right now "The death toll from Haiti's earthquake could be between 45,000 and 50,000, with a further three million people hurt or homeless..."  …

  • Is Digital Care the Future for Healthcare?

    Rebecca Wasley
    12 Jan 2010 | 7:05 am
    Is digital care the next frontier for health care in the United States? Right now in Denmark patients can look up electronic personal health records, receive paperless prescriptions ordered by their physicians, and video chat and email with their doctors and nurses instead of spending the day waiting in a  hospital.  Denmark has been using electronic health records and other health care information technology for over ten years and today, "virtually all primary care physicians and nearly half of the hospitals use electronic records, and officials are trying…
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    Nurse In Australia

  • Nurse’s Unfair Sacking?

    Ross
    7 Feb 2010 | 10:08 pm
    credit: MissLPS A Melbourne Nursing Home received a stern warning this week by the Fair Work Ombudsman over what has been described as a “heartless and shabby treatment” of one of their longstanding aged-care nurses. The Nursing Home has been placed on notice, and will be monitored closely to ensure that it stays compliant with workplace laws after an incident involving the Nurse. Here’s the lowdown: while at work, an aged-care nurse fell and broke her hip. After seven months of recovery at home, she was basically told not to come back to work, thank you very much.

  • Crazy Maggot Infestation

    Ross
    24 Jan 2010 | 7:08 pm
    credit: Bennett 4 Senate It’s been a while since I dealt with maggots, but an experience I had this week reminded me why maggots feature so highly on the gross-o-meter. Quite a few maggot stories were submitted by readers in our recent Cringeworthy Competition also, so it appears I’m not alone in dealing with this crazy phenomenon. The Scenario: Elderly guy, some social issues, lives alone. Found on the floor out in a shed, unsure exactly how long he had been there. Brought into emergency by the ambulance guys, legs wrapped up in old towels. Prior to my taking over his care, he…

  • New Online Cardiology Resource

    Ross
    18 Jan 2010 | 11:22 pm
    In my quest to build up a better page of Research & Resource links for nurses and allied health professionals, I’d like to mention a recently added and relatively new online resource called TheHeart.org TheHeart.org has a tagline of “10 Years of Online Cardiology”, and appears to be a rather extensive resource platform for all things cardiac related. The Heart is owned & produced by Medscape (one of my favourite online resources), but has a distinct focus on recent articles, trends and research in the world of cardiology. In particular, there is a focus on…

  • Things that make Nurses Cringe!

    Ross
    5 Jan 2010 | 6:55 am
    ** Cringeworthy Competition Winners ** Thanks so much to all who entered our ‘Cringeworthy’ competition! It was a close call with so many great entries. Many of the entries featured faeces and/or maggot related stories, so I guess these rank quite high on the cringe-o-meter! Winners! The five winners are: Di: patient presented to emergency having a sausage stuck in his throat. After removing such sausage the doctor left it on the overway, patient re-ate it Sascha: When opening up a spigated NGT the gastric contents in the tube flicked up and hit me in the face and mouth. Yuck!!

  • Nursing Stories

    Ross
    15 Dec 2009 | 3:34 am
    credit: Katie Tegtmeyer Nurse In Australia is pleased to announce the new Nursing Stories pages! If you have something to share, we’d love to hear from you! Pages will be updated regularly, so check back soon for new additions. Categories: General Stories   |   Funny Stories   |   Cringeworthy Stories Related posts:Things that make Nurses Cringe!
 
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    The Nursing Site Blog

  • Why You Should Become a CNA Before Applying to Nursing School

    8 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am
    You might want to consider taking the time to receive your training to work as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) before applying for nursing school. It might surprise you to know that many nursing... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • 101 Blog Posts for New Nurses

    5 Feb 2010 | 2:18 pm
    Jennifer Johnson at Nurse Practitioners Schools, has another great blog to share. She obviously spent a lot of time researching this and there are some terrific blogs included in the list! Check it... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Medical Professionals of Tomorrow Scholarship Contest

    5 Feb 2010 | 11:02 am
    The first Medical Professionals of Tomorrow Scholarship is being held for the fall 2010 semester. Applicants must submit a 500-word essay along with their online application that explains who or what... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Diploma Nursing Programs are a Dying Breed

    1 Feb 2010 | 4:47 pm
    Diploma nursing programs are a dying breed and in 2011, another one will close. Unfortunately, there aren't more ADN and BSN programs jumping up to take the places and there continues to be... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • 50 Best Blogs for New Nurses

    1 Feb 2010 | 5:38 am
    These are some terrific blogs for nurses at all stages of their careers. Check out the list there's some great choices in there along with The Nursing Site Blog. Thanks Jennifer for the... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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    Scrubs - The Nurse's Guide to Good Living

  • An NP Goes to Washington

    Scrubs
    8 Feb 2010 | 6:06 pm
    Nurses nationwide are hoping for the best when it comes to healthcare reform: the best for their patients and the best for the future of their own profession. Fortunately, those who are drafting healthcare reform legislation are being careful to include as many voices as possible as they make their decisions—especially the voices of those who are interacting with patients every day. That’s why the White House invited primary care providers from various disciplines to converge and share their opinions on the future of primary care. We talked to one lucky nurse who had the unique…

  • Five Things Your Mentor Never Told You

    Rebekah Child
    6 Feb 2010 | 10:18 pm
    If you’re lucky, your mentor will be both a source of information and inspiration. But even the best nurses sometimes leave out what you really wish you’d known on your first months on the job. Here, a reminder that sometimes the lessons we learn can come much, much later. 1) You won’t know when you are in the “Good Ol’ Days” I remember the perfect lunch breaks. But I didn’t know they were perfect when I was in the midst of them. My favorite people were there and we had an hour to tell stories and laugh and laugh and laugh. The lunch hour flew by; it was never enough.

  • Finding a Nurse Mentor

    Rob Cameron
    6 Feb 2010 | 4:24 pm
    One of the best pieces of advice I received when I graduated from nursing school was to find a mentor.  One of my instructors told me to find a nurse that has been around for a while and can help you get through that tough first year and then help you get along when times are tough. I did find a mentor when I was in my final semester of school.  He was my preceptor for one of clinical rotations.  He had only been a nurse for a few years, so he understood what I needed from him in the beginning of my career and he also knew the pitfalls I would find myself in as my career progressed.  When…

  • How Do I Deal with an Unhelpful Charge Nurse?

    Scrubs
    6 Feb 2010 | 9:48 am
    Few things are more frustrating than working with a charge nurse who just doesn’t get it. But before you blow up, take a deep breath. Then ask yourself: What exactly is the problem? Are you frustrated because your charge nurse asks you to do one thing, then complains because you haven’t done something else? Do they refuse to help out on the floor? Decline to talk to staff about performance issues? Micromanage, or provide no direction whatsoever? Once you’ve figured out why they’re bothering you, ask yourself what you’d like them to do. If you feel constricted by micromanaging,…

  • Critical Care Alarms — On Your Phone

    Jennifer Fink, RN, BSN
    6 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am
    Pocket technology is revolutionizing healthcare.  From PDRs on PDAs to almost instantaneous access to EMRs, tech tools place a world of information at clinicians’ fingertips.  Now, a new technology promises to deliver critical care alarms straight to your smartphone. Voalté (short for Voice, Alarm and Text) gives users the ability to send and receive text messages, make phone calls and receive critical care alarms on personal iPhones.  Nurses at Sarasota Memorial Hospital participated in an early trial of the app and found that overhead pages decreased by 78% after implementation…
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    Scrubs - The Nurse's Guide to Good Living » Rebekah Child

  • Five Things Your Mentor Never Told You

    Rebekah Child
    6 Feb 2010 | 10:18 pm
    If you’re lucky, your mentor will be both a source of information and inspiration. But even the best nurses sometimes leave out what you really wish you’d known on your first months on the job. Here, a reminder that sometimes the lessons we learn can come much, much later. 1) You won’t know when you are in the “Good Ol’ Days” I remember the perfect lunch breaks. But I didn’t know they were perfect when I was in the midst of them. My favorite people were there and we had an hour to tell stories and laugh and laugh and laugh. The lunch hour flew by; it was never enough.

  • 10 Best (and worst!) Valentine’s Day Gifts for Nurses

    Rebekah Child
    3 Feb 2010 | 9:35 am
    Almost ten years ago now, my honey and I celebrated our first Valentine’s Day together. I, being the consummate romantic and girly girl, scoured the stores for the perfect gift. I settled on a nice shirt and a nice bottle of cologne. Excited for the gift giving, I wrapped the presents in heart themed wrapping paper and awaited the exchange. I learned a very important lesson that day; my honey is NOT a good Valentine’s Day gift giver. He gave me a heart balloon and a little ceramic nurse frog that was donning latex gloves. Nowadays, we don’t do a big Valentine’s Day exchange, just a…

  • How a Code is like a TV Show…

    Rebekah Child
    29 Jan 2010 | 5:33 pm
    I am one of the few natives here in California that was actually born and raised in Los Angeles. That being said, I am not easily impressed by Hollywood, celebrity or the like. I prefer steady jobs that pay bi-weekly and don’t involve constant critique or disappointment (well, at least the first part of that sentence applies to nursing). I had the unique opportunity the other day to watch a TV talk show being filmed and see the back stage portion of the production. I was so impressed with the coordination of all the people, the uniqueness of their roles, and how they all brought their…

  • Revelation or Revolt? Computers in Health Care

    Rebekah Child
    25 Jan 2010 | 8:44 pm
    The computer age is here. Well, it’s been here for a while but not necessarily in the hospital setting. A big push this year is to get the “EMR” going…the Electronic Medical Record; which makes sense to me. You should be able to go to any doctor and not have to play some version of Groundhog Day reliving all your past medical history over and over. But I wonder, in this push to have computerized physician order entry and medication administration and documentation, etc. etc., are we missing the forest for the trees? We just went to a new computer system at my hospital. Bells,…

  • The Perils of Procrastination

    Rebekah Child
    20 Jan 2010 | 8:44 pm
    Although I should know better, I have procrastinated. Big Time. Like if I don’t fix it by February 15, I’m going to be in, as my nephew says, “mucho trouble.” I have a certification (it may only pertain to California, I am not really sure) that requires a certain amount of CEs that are divided into sub-categories. Well one of these categories is what we call in the biz, “Tape Review.” I need 12 hours by next month. I have currently have under my stethoscope…drum roll please…two hours. What have I done to myself? Some might wonder if perhaps the…
 
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    Scrubs - The Nurse's Guide to Good Living » Rob Cameron

  • Finding a Nurse Mentor

    Rob Cameron
    6 Feb 2010 | 4:24 pm
    One of the best pieces of advice I received when I graduated from nursing school was to find a mentor.  One of my instructors told me to find a nurse that has been around for a while and can help you get through that tough first year and then help you get along when times are tough. I did find a mentor when I was in my final semester of school.  He was my preceptor for one of clinical rotations.  He had only been a nurse for a few years, so he understood what I needed from him in the beginning of my career and he also knew the pitfalls I would find myself in as my career progressed.  When…

  • When Social Media Bites Back

    Rob Cameron
    3 Feb 2010 | 11:41 am
    I have talked several times about not burning your bridges or putting yourself in a position where you may have to defend your reputation as a nurse, but this week I saw the worst example of what I am talking about. I heard rumors going around the hospital about a charge nurse on another unit that was posting negative remarks about his manager and unit on Facebook.  Another nurse came to me to talk about it because she knew that I was friends with this manager.  She even showed me what was posted. Not only did this charge nurse post these remarks about his boss, but even stated these…

  • Healthcare Reform Part II

    Rob Cameron
    30 Jan 2010 | 11:30 am
    Since I dipped my toes in the water of posting political stuff, and it didn’t go too bad, I think I will give it another shot.  Let me tell you where I sit before I stand.  I am a stanch conservative.  I believe in limited government, national security, personal responsibility and fiscal responsibility.  I am not afraid to discuss my beliefs with anyone, outside of work of course.  I will listen with an open mind to whatever anybody else has to say, think about what I have been told, but just know before hand, you are not going to convince me to change my mind.  In fact, I had been…

  • Get Involved

    Rob Cameron
    29 Jan 2010 | 8:13 am
    As I talked about in my previous posts, since this is a new year, I am shifting my focus on to teamwork.  Going along with teamwork is getting the team involved.  This is now my problem.  Asking everybody to speak up and put in their ideas is great.  You give them the feeling of empowerment since they can be a part of the solution or decision making rather than just a follower doing what they are told.  But……getting individuals to actually step up and do what is needed is another thing.  I just had my staff meetings for the month of January.  I asked for volunteers to be on…

  • That was a close one!

    Rob Cameron
    23 Jan 2010 | 11:34 am
    I have purposefully not posted anything about healthcare reform in my blogs.  I have very strong political views and I didn’t feel this was the forum to express them.  But, after the historic election in Massachusetts this week, I needed to say a few things. First thing I want to say is….Thank you to the voters of Massachusetts!  You all spoke loud and clear for so many of us throughout the country that felt that the underhanded, back room decisions being made by congress that would affect all of us was not going to be tolerated.  You gave a voice to those of us that want commonsense…
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    Scrubs - The Nurse's Guide to Good Living » Sean Dent

  • A Lot Of Times It’s How You Eat

    Sean Dent
    4 Feb 2010 | 6:04 pm
    “You are what you eat” I think we have all heard and sang this wonderful little tune when it comes to our state of health. Garbage in = garbage out is the old adage. We all wonder about how and why we are so unhealthy sometimes, well it really does matter WHAT you eat. But, I’m here to shout about HOW you eat your food. More specifically taking the time to eat during work. As an ICU nurse we rarely get to actually step away from the unit and eat, and eating a full-fledged meal is unheard of! OK. I retract that statement, just about any nurse that works within a hospital…

  • Old Skool Medicine Can Be Dangerous To Your Health

    Sean Dent
    2 Feb 2010 | 11:45 am
    So you’re probably wondering what the heck I mean by ‘old skool’. It’s really simple, and I don’t think I’m alone on  this matter. When I was growing up we never saw a doctor unless it was a matter of life or death – and even then it was questioned. “You have to be  bleeding from your eyeballs before we’ll seek medical attention” “You better be puking up blood, otherwise shake it off” These are just some of the ‘medical’ colloquialism’s I grew up with (trust me there’s  a lot more where that…

  • Top New Grad and Student Nurse Questions, Answered!

    Sean Dent
    29 Jan 2010 | 12:17 pm
    Walking in our shoes is not an easy job by any means. Those who need us, know us. And those who know us know the difference between what the public  ‘thinks’ we do, and what the public ‘knows’ we do.  No one ever said this job was easy, first of which is deciding ‘what’ job you want to pursue! Becoming a nurse only begins after you graduate from school. Now you have to chose which direction?! This is why I think being a nurse is THE GREATEST JOB. You get so many choices! As a student we all get our fair share of ‘directional’ advice from our…

  • Three Best Mid-Morning Snacks

    Sean Dent
    26 Jan 2010 | 6:14 pm
    *Grumble* *Grumble* *Grumble* Yes, that’s your stomach talking to you – and anyone around you that can hear! Your body is such a wonderfully amazing machine. Even for the ‘laymen’ it will let you know when it needs fuel. The problem is most of us either don’t have the time to re-fuel, or make poor choices on what to feed your grumbling belly. There are a couple things that come into play when you’re looking for that mid-morning snack. First and foremost, I really hope you had a good breakfast. I know there are people out there that do not eat a…

  • Kickin’ The Caffeine Addiction

    Sean Dent
    22 Jan 2010 | 2:46 am
    Who here consumes caffeine? Anyone? Anyone? (As I raise my hand) OK. Who here admits to being addicted to caffeine? (I’ll just guess that no one is fessing up) Let’s look at caffeine briefly: It is the only LEGAL psychoactive stimulant (drug) sold on the market today It stimulates the central nervous system to temporarily ward off drowsiness and increase awareness American adults­ consume more than 300 mg of caffeine daily (8 oz cup of coffee = 100mg) it operates using the same mechanisms that amphetamines, cocaine, and heroin use to stimulate the brain Almost all of your…
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    St Vincent's Hospital Darlinghurst - Male Nurses

  • FeedBurner Lament

    9 Feb 2010 | 3:18 am
    Rumor has it that the look of excruciating pain on this man’s face was captured at the instant he found out his mother had cancelled her FeedBurner email subscription to his blog. Well, this look certainly crossed my face as I read the FeedBurner email informing me that a reader, my mother, had unsubscribed to my blog. Yes, that was the day you could have knocked me over with a feather. That is until I got her on the phone and sheepishly asked, “Have I done something to offend you as I got this funny email from a mob called FeedBurner telling me you unsubscribed from my blog?” Quick as…

  • The case for compulsory private health insurance in Australia

    1 Feb 2010 | 5:55 am
    For those unfamiliar with Australia’s health insurance system I’ll first go over what’s in place now. There are two covers, one being Medicare, a universal health care system that provides free or low-cost medical, optometrical and public hospital care, and private health insurance. MEDICARE Medicare is funded by the Australian Federal Government by way of a compulsory Medicare levy of 1.5% that is enforced on all taxable income except where circumstances allow an Medicare levy exemption. For individuals without private health insurance and a taxable income greater than $75,000 and no…

  • Australia Day

    25 Jan 2010 | 11:47 am
    Australia Day, the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788 and the official national day of Australia, is commemorated on the 26 January, a public holiday, with mixed feelings - both sad and joyous. Many Indigenous Australians, the traditional land owners, refer to Australia Day as “Invasion Day”, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologising on behalf of the Australian people to all indigenous Australians, particularly the stolen generation on February 13, 2008 for past injustices. (Kevin Rudd's apology transcript) Moving on from there, Australia Day is…

  • Retirement

    20 Jan 2010 | 5:08 am
    As I look down the barrel of retirement two patients have come to mind, oddly enough. One was an slightly anxious lady, a touch over sixty of Caucasian persuasion, whose husband had recently retired. Remarkably her sense of humour was still intact despite the pain. The story goes that after a few short months her husband had managed to drive her up the wall, and, to give her self space and to avoid defending a murder charge came out of retirement; only to end up with chest pain after a long day at work. The next patient was a spritely eighty year old male of Indian ethnicity, a doctor as a…

  • Haiti S.O.S.

    17 Jan 2010 | 9:55 am
    On the 12 January 2010 Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince and its outlying suburbs were devastated by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, Haiti’s most severe earthquake in over 200 years. Prior to this date I had no idea of what went on in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, nor did I know where it was; so this post is just as much for me as it is for you with the emphasis on helping the people of Haiti. A special thanks goes to Blogcatalog’s “Bloggers Unite for Haiti” for prompting me to get this one out. If the estimates are correct, the projected 200,000 deaths will rank this tragedy…
 
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