Nursing

• Most Topular Stories

• The Nurse Stands Alone…

  Emergiblog

  Kim

  24 Jan 2012 | 2:15 pm

  No funny, vintage picture today. An Arizona nursing colleague is in danger of losing her license for acting as a patient advocate within her scope of practice. Her hearing, initially scheduled for today, has been delayed for two months so this registered nurse can undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Yes, that is correct. Providing appropriate patient education in the face of a major knowledge deficit, and obtaining information for the patient, at the patient’s request, is now grounds for a sanity check. Especially if you piss off a doctor. <Taking a breath. Centering. Doubling up on BP…

• Why I love my job, part umpty-umpty-ump:

  Head Nurse

  Jo

  26 Jan 2012 | 9:21 pm

  1. Standing around on rounds with the chairman of the department and the United Nations of Neurology (aka the residents), trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with a particular person. "He can't read out loud, but he can read silently and give you a good summary of what he's read." "Do you suppose that guy has edge-sensing and blindsight? That would be really cool. I've never seen a case of blindsight before." "How the heck are we supposed to get her to eat all of her food if she has total extinction of the left side?" (Me, having read Oliver Sacks: "Just tell her to turn her plate to…

• Amanda Trujillo: A Fellow Nurse on the Ropes

  Digital Doorway

  Keith, RN

  24 Jan 2012 | 5:34 pm

  Some readers of Digital Doorway may have already heard the story of Amanda Trujillo, an Arizona nurse who has lost her license based on nursing actions taken that were apparently fully within her scope of practice.In the course of caring for a patient who was facing the potential of a liver transplant, Amanda offered this patient information regarding the availability of hospice as an alternative to this risky surgery with an uncertain outcome. It was clear to Ms. Trujillo that the patient did not understand the risks involved in this procedure, and she saw it as her professional duty to…

• why doctors do not strike very often.

  impactednurse

  impactEDnurse

  27 Jan 2012 | 12:51 am

• Risky Business: Pre-Pour Meds in Jails and Prisons

  Correctional Nurse . Net

  Lorry Schoenly

  23 Jan 2012 | 6:19 am

  The prison is on lock-down due to a suspicious inmate death. Cell searches are underway. The lock-down is expected to last several days and inmate movement is extremely limited. Medications need to be delivered cell-side. This might have been manageable, if not time consuming, if the prison was new enough to have elevators to the upper levels. However, in this case, only narrow stairwells are available and medication carts cannot be pushed up stairs. What’s a responsible nurse to do? Medication administration is one of the riskiest nursing tasks in any clinical situation due to the many…

• 

  Correctional Nurse . Net

• Risky Business: Pre-Pour Meds in Jails and Prisons

  Lorry Schoenly

  23 Jan 2012 | 6:19 am

  The prison is on lock-down due to a suspicious inmate death. Cell searches are underway. The lock-down is expected to last several days and inmate movement is extremely limited. Medications need to be delivered cell-side. This might have been manageable, if not time consuming, if the prison was new enough to have elevators to the upper levels. However, in this case, only narrow stairwells are available and medication carts cannot be pushed up stairs. What’s a responsible nurse to do? Medication administration is one of the riskiest nursing tasks in any clinical situation due to the many…

• Dealing with Inmate Food Allergies

  Lorry Schoenly

  8 Jan 2012 | 2:13 pm

  Food allergies can be a real challenge for correctional nurses. It is important to document these allergies during intake screenings and put safeguards in place to avoid allergic reactions behind bars. However, inmates can report food allergies that are really preferences (I’m allergic to bologna sandwiches) or food intolerances (I’m allergic to onions). How can true allergies be sorted out from among the many reported? I recently interviewed Dr. Jeff Keller, correctional physician from Idaho Falls, ID, about the issue on the Correctional Nursing Today Radio Show. This episode is full of…

• 4 Correctional Healthcare Game Changers from 2011

  Lorry Schoenly

  30 Dec 2011 | 8:58 pm

  This post originally appeared on CorrectionsOne.com Another year is about to roll up and we can look back on plenty of correctional healthcare news from 2011. What top stories from the past year are most memorable to you? Here are my top picks for 2011 game changers along with suggested action to reduce their impact. #1 Legal eagles rule the roost Healthcare is now the most common legal issue raised by inmates according to a Harvard Civil Liberties Law Review article. The legal system has led the way in correctional healthcare reform even before the landmark Estelle v. Gamble Supreme Court…

• Danger Zone – Christmas Week in Jails and Prisons

  Lorry Schoenly

  25 Dec 2011 | 7:55 am

  The week between Christmas and New Year is traditionally one of feasting, family and fun as we celebrate the season and the start of a new year. However, there are many reasons why this time of year is dangerous in our workplace. Correctional nurses need to be on high alert in the days ahead. Here are my three reasons for concern this week. Reason #1: We lose our focus The last month of the year is busy with many things. You and your colleagues are taking that final stretch of vacation time. Kids have holiday and end-of-year school activities. Work sites have holiday parties and extra treats…

• Top 5 Correctional Nurse Posts of 2011

  Lorry Schoenly

  18 Dec 2011 | 6:04 pm

  As the year draws to an end I’m doing a lot of looking back and looking forward. Thank you for being a part of CorrectionalNurse.Net by reading and commenting over this past year. I hope you will be even more active in the year ahead. My first blog post was 2.5 years ago when I asked the questions “Should You Consider Correctional Nursing?”. Since then I’ve written almost a hundred posts on correctional nursing practice. Here are the top five visited posts in 2011: 1. Correctional Nurse Interview Prep Guide: Part I Many nurses visit the blog to find out about this specialty and…

• 

  AANP SmartBrief

• Study rejects connection between Gardasil and autoimmune diseases

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:27 am

  A two-year study funded by Merck & Co., the maker of human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil, found that the HPV vaccine does n -More- 

• Children's health may help determine parents' heart disease risk

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:27 am

  Parents of children who had high blood pressure at age 12 were about twice as likely to develop heart disease or stroke by ag -More- 

• Join the conversation!

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:27 am

  We want to hear from you!  -More- 

• Test may help ID early heart damage in diabetes patients

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:27 am

  Patients with hyperglycemia, but no known coronary artery disease or heart failure, had 25% greater values in a high-sensitiv -More- 

• HHS project will promote mobile computing security in health care

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:27 am

  HHS has announced the launch of the Privacy & Security Mobile Device Project, which will be led by the Office of the National -More- 

• 

  ANA SmartBrief

• AT&T details mobile security services for health care providers

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:15 am

  AT&T will provide a managed security service for tablet PCs as well as a secure messaging service to help health care provide -More- 

• Winners:

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:15 am

  Find the 2011 and past winners of the NDNQI Award for Outstanding Nursing Quality at ANA's website. -More- 

• Career resources for new nursing graduates

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:15 am

  According to research done by the National Student Nurses Association, about 45% of the 2010 nursing graduates still don't ha -More- 

• Cancer screening in U.S. fails to meet targets, CDC reports

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:15 am

  The number of Americans screened for cervical, breast and colorectal cancer was still below goals in 2010, CDC researchers wr -More- 

• CMS center to report on innovation initiative

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:15 am

  The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, created under the health care law, will release a report highlighting progre -More- 

• 

  Nursing News

• Beebe addresses nursing shortage

  28 Jan 2012 | 6:08 am

  At one point in the new season of PBS's "Downton Abbey," the lord of the manor is expressing dismay... Beebe School of Nursing's Nancy Bastholm leads a senior class in Advanced Concepts of Nursing on Jan.

• Mary Jo LaPosta receives nursing award from Maria College

  28 Jan 2012 | 1:48 am

  Mary Jo LaPosta , vice president and chief nursing officer at Saratoga Hospital , recently received the President's Alumni Award for Excellence in Nursing from Maria College of Albany .

• State divvies up 240 new nursing home beds in Wake County

  27 Jan 2012 | 9:34 pm

  Three groups of nursing home services providers received approval on Friday from the state of North Carolina to expand their services in Wake County by a total of 240 beds.

• Nursing Schools Use Smartphones, Tablets

  27 Jan 2012 | 5:24 pm

  Nursing schools are integrating mobile devices into their classes and curriculum, cementing the increasingly important role technology plays in healthcare.

• Insurer WellPoint to revamp primary care pay

  27 Jan 2012 | 1:20 pm

  Health insurer WellPoint Inc. plans to improve primary care doctor payments and start reimbursing for care management it doesn't currently cover as a way boost treatment and save money.

• 

  Nursing / Midwifery News From Medical News Today

• Animal Fat Consumption Before Conception Linked To Gestational Diabetes Risk

  28 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am

  Women who consumed a diet high in animal fat and cholesterol before pregnancy were at higher risk for gestational diabetes than women whose diets were lower in animal fat and cholesterol, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and Harvard University. Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes seen during pregnancy...

• Rise In Home Births In US

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:00 am

  After falling for 14 years, the percentage of home births in the US from 2004 to 2009 rose by 29% to the highest level since data collection on this began in 1989. However, although this looks like a big surge, the overall proportion of American women giving birth at home is still low: in 2004 only 0.56% of births were at home, rising to 0.72% in 2009...

• Improving Maternal And Neonatal Care In Africa Saves Lives

  20 Jan 2012 | 3:00 am

  A large regional hospital in Ghana saw a reduction in maternal and infant deaths after continuous quality improvement (QI) initiatives were put into place through a collaborative partnership. New research from lead author Medge Owen, M.D...

• Study Finds Good Intentions Ease Pain, Add To Pleasure

  20 Jan 2012 | 3:00 am

  A nurse's tender loving care really does ease the pain of a medical procedure, and grandma's cookies really do taste better, if we perceive them to be made with love - suggests newly published research by a University of Maryland psychologist. The findings have many real-world applications, including in medicine, relationships, parenting and business...

• The RN And The EHR - Better Together

  19 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am

  With the prodding of new federal legislation, electronic health records (EHRs) are rapidly becoming part of the daily practice of hospital nurses - the frontline providers of care...

• 

  The Millionaire Nurse Blog

• The Financial Follies: Heart Hits The Dirt Edition!

  Dr.Dean

  27 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am

  The Friday Financial and Health Follies (FFHF)  summarize the important (or just fun) financial and health issues of the week. Share the humor of  the funny Make fun of the stupid. Highlight  and explain new  financial and health news-so you don’t miss it! Friday Financial Follies This has been a busy week here at The Millionaire Nurse.  I attended a conference for us elected municipal officials in our beautiful state capital of Atlanta.  A thousand of my closest friends and I had the opportunity to eat breakfast with and hear the state of the state with the Governor, Lieutenent…

• You wanna be work-happy? or work sad?

  Dr.Dean

  25 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am

  Workplace Stress Imagine this conversation:  ” Hey Joan this is Tammy.” “Tammy where are you, your shift started at 7 this morning and it’s almost 9.  You’re never late, is something wrong?” “Joan, I just can’t do it anymore, I’m sorry to leave you shorthanded, but I had a panic attack when I got up to go to work.  My husband insists I stay home from work ’till I go to the doctor, he thinks I’m killing myself with the stress!” I’m sure this conversation has occurred in many households throughout our country. Not…

• Educate Yourself: Free!

  Dr.Dean

  23 Jan 2012 | 8:56 am

  College education: Costly! by FDL, BSN My object here is not to beat that dead horse. It is instead to trumpet, make the case, testify,  about free courses offered by  famous, ivy league, top ten, world renowned,  (and normally expensive) institutions. Audit or  download free online college courses from the comfort of your easy chair and on your own schedule.  How cool is that? Many of the classes offered will have the same content as the exorbitantly priced variety.  The college credit received with the free classes?  Well, they rarely count toward a degree. Why bother?  What’s…

• Financial Follies: Kalishnikovs For Free Edition

  Dr.Dean

  21 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am

  The Friday Saturday just for today-Financial and Health Follies (FFHF)  summarize the important financial and health issues of the week. Share the humor of  the funny Make fun of the stupid. Highlight  and explain new  financial and health news-so you don’t miss it! Welcome to another rousing edition of Friday – Saturday, this week only-Financial Follies, a full folio of fascinating facts and favorites for your reading pleasure/pain!  (because of an agreement to post the blog swap yesterday, my Friday Follies has moved to today.  If you missed it, I am sooo moved, but wonder…

• The Millionaire Mind And Your Child!

  Dr.Dean

  20 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am

  I am participating in a Yakezie, the world’s largest network of personal finance writers,  blog swap today.  The blog swap is a fun way to introduce our readers to other bloggers in  the world of personal finance.  Each blogger is assigned the same topic.  I will link to the other bloggers efforts next week so you can get others’ take on this interesting subject. (Dr Dean) My post on this subject is at Odd Cents-please check it out too! How to Rear a Millionaire – Developing Your Child’s Entrepreneurial Aptitude by Dannielle from Odd Cents I can’t resist, and I…

• 

  impactednurse

• you are twice as likely to die when flying on this aircraft.

  impactEDnurse

  27 Jan 2012 | 10:36 pm

  The following report is fictional1. A leaked report on a critical fault with the Airbus A380 Auto-Flight System Flight Guidance controls, has found that this aircraft is twice as likely to crash as other commercial aircraft flying today. Corruption of key SID/STAR data files within the system, has been found to produce critical flight errors when calculating the Runway Transition, SID, SID Transition, Top of Descent, STAR Transition, STAR and Instrument Approach Paths. Even when critical flight errors do not eventuate, problems with the fuel management mix system (FMMS) have been found to…

• why doctors do not strike very often.

  impactEDnurse

  27 Jan 2012 | 12:51 am

• Respect our work.

  impactEDnurse

  27 Jan 2012 | 12:12 am

  The Victorian  branch of the Australian Nurses Federation continues its dispute with the local Government over its enterprise agreement. Nurses are committed to improve both their wages and their ability to provide safe, quality care for their patients, clients and residents. Specifically, they are fighting for: Competitive wages comparable to other states. Most Victorian nurses, midwives and mental health nurses are behind their interstate colleagues. Improved nurse patient ratios in areas such as palliative care, emergency department, residential aged care, rehabilitation and geriatric…

• nurses: first on scene.

  impactEDnurse

  24 Jan 2012 | 11:16 pm

  I was just reading about the hot air balloon crash in Auckland, New Zealand that killed 11 people in January this year. The article interviewed Jacqui O’Connor and Annette Tempest, both registered nurses who were amongst the first on scene of the tragedy after watching the balloon burst into flames before dropping from the sky. The nurses spoke of their frustration and feelings of helplessness during the incident: ”No-one had rushed over to it because it was so obvious what had happened. It looked like the remnants of an out-of-control bonfire,” O’Connor says. ”I…

• Increasing drug theft in hospitals?

  impactEDnurse

  24 Jan 2012 | 1:40 am

  The Sydney Morning Herald reports a 20% increase in drug loss and theft in 2010 according to documents it obtained under the freedom of information act. The numbers included in drug loss, may have reflected spilled or spoiled drugs (ie contaminated during drawing up), broken amps etc. But there was also a definite rise in stolen medications: Of the medical practitioners disciplined, morphine was the most abused drug, followed by the synthetic opiate fentanyl and the hypnotic agent propofol. One of the disciplined nurses had been misusing morphine – ”opportunistically…

• 

  Crass-Pollination: An ER blog

• Tooth

  Nurse K

  26 Jan 2012 | 10:59 pm

  A dumpy-looking low-IQ chick from down the street in Hood Epicenter comes in with what could quite possibly be a real emergency. She hadn't been to our ER before (under that name), had a BP of 210/130, had a 10/10 headache,  no history of severe headaches nor hypertension, and was puking uncontrollably all over the place.  Could this chick have a head bleed, I pondered. Then I drifted off into

• FMLA: A Rant

  Nurse K

  20 Jan 2012 | 2:04 pm

  So as a manager back in the day, I had to deal with peoples' Family Medical Leave Acts (FMLA)s.  For the foreign or unindoctrinated, this is a Federal law that allows people time off/job protection for "serious" illnesses of longer than three days in duration or intermittent time off for chronic serious illnesses.  It involves filling out paperwork, having a doctor write something saying you're a

• Come to think of it, it's been awhile since we took Grandpa out for steak

  Nurse K

  18 Jan 2012 | 7:22 pm

  One of the diagnoses that always causes this hardass cynic to grow a touch of empathy is rhabdomyolysis.  Usually, it's as a result of a frail elderly person falling in their house and lying there helpless in a pile of their own urine and feces for many hours and sometimes many days until a family member or UPS man or burglar or someone finds them as their muscle fibers break down and enter the

• Dr. No Bullshit on crocodile tears

  Nurse K

  17 Jan 2012 | 3:56 am

  Me: Just as an FYI, your patient in room 6's fake crying is annoying me enough where I'm feeling compelled to stand here as far away as possible. Dr. No Bullshit: Oh, that's nothing.  [Dead well-known former frequent flyer] was the worst.  Her fake crying sounded like a wounded cow in an echo chamber.  This guy isn't even top 10 annoying.

• Running

  Nurse K

  13 Jan 2012 | 4:30 am

  I had patients with the following acute diagnoses simultaneously: UTIRhabdomyolysisAcute CVAMyocardial ischemia Acute renal failureAcute right-sided heart failureNew-onset ascitesHypoxemiaAcute respiratory failureSeptic shockPneumonia And that was only three patients.  Can I get a little help pretty please? 

• 

  Digital Doorway

• My Letter to the Arizona Board of Nursing in Defense of Amanda Trujillo

  Keith, RN

  25 Jan 2012 | 10:28 am

  Arizona State Board of Nursing4747 North 7th Street, Suite 200Phoenix, AZ 85014-3655602-771-7800 Phone602-771-7888 Faxarizona@azbn.gov Emailhttp://www.azbn.gov/Default.aspxTo the Arizona State Board of Nursing: I am a nurse, coach, nurse blogger and professional writer, and I have been following the case of Amanda Trujillo quite closely. Having read the legal brief, Ms. Trujillo's statements, as well as other facts about the case, it is clear to me that Ms. Trujillo was acting completely within her scope of practice as a nurse when she provided the patient in question with information…

• A Letter to the AZ Board of Nursing Regarding Amanda Trujillo

  Keith, RN

  25 Jan 2012 | 8:54 am

  Here is the text of a letter to the Arizona Board of Nursing posted by Anna Morrison of I Coach Nurses. Please disseminate widely. The original post can be found by clicking here.Arizona State Board of Nursing4747 North 7th Street, Suite 200Phoenix, AZ 85014-3655602-771-7800 Phone602-771-7888 Faxarizona@azbn.gov Emailhttp://www.azbn.gov/Default.aspxTo whom it may concern,In the case of Amanda Trujillo, RN, a profoundly negative and chilling precedent threatens to silence nurses in their efforts to uphold their solemn oaths to protect, educate and advocate for their patients.Additionally, a…

• Amanda Trujillo: A Fellow Nurse on the Ropes

  Keith, RN

  24 Jan 2012 | 5:34 pm

  Some readers of Digital Doorway may have already heard the story of Amanda Trujillo, an Arizona nurse who has lost her license based on nursing actions taken that were apparently fully within her scope of practice.In the course of caring for a patient who was facing the potential of a liver transplant, Amanda offered this patient information regarding the availability of hospice as an alternative to this risky surgery with an uncertain outcome. It was clear to Ms. Trujillo that the patient did not understand the risks involved in this procedure, and she saw it as her professional duty to…

• Book Review: Davis's Drug Guide for Nurses, Twelfth Edition

  Keith, RN

  19 Jan 2012 | 8:03 am

  As always, I begin my book reviews with the disclosure that I did not receive financial compensation of any kind for this review, but did receive a free copy of this drug guide from Majors Books in order to facilitate the review process. Some frequent readers of Digital Doorway will recall that I posted a review of the Nursing 2012 Drug Handbook on November 22nd of last year, and I was quite pleased with the overall layout and presentation of that particular drug guide for nurses. Since I happen to have both the Nursing 2012 Drug Guide and my review of said book in the forefront of my mind,…

• Seven Years of Digital Doorway

  Keith, RN

  18 Jan 2012 | 1:41 pm

  Well, it may seem like a blink of an eye at times, but Digital Doorway has been alive and well for seven years today, born from a simple suggestion by my prescient brother as we sat in front of the woodstove on a snowy New England night. I can hardly believe that so much time has passed since that January day when I dived headfirst into the blogging world with no idea of where I was going or, honestly, what I was doing.When Digital Doorway launched, it was not clear to me that it would be a blog mostly about nursing. Although my online moniker at the time was indeed "Nurse Keith", I had no…

• 

  Emergiblog

• Banner Health Strikes Blow Against Patient Advocacy, Fires RN

  Kim

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:32 am

  Information. So much of what I do as an ER nurse involves information. As an RN, I am responsible for providing patients with information about their illness/injury, their medications and their follow up instructions. Patient education is paramount; I find out what they know, then provide education to fill the gaps. If they cannot access medications or follow up care, I provide information on how to access those needs. That is called patient advocacy. It’s the backbone of nursing, everywhere. Every hospital, every state, every country. So you can imagine how confused I was to find out…

• The Nurse Stands Alone…

  Kim

  24 Jan 2012 | 2:15 pm

  No funny, vintage picture today. An Arizona nursing colleague is in danger of losing her license for acting as a patient advocate within her scope of practice. Her hearing, initially scheduled for today, has been delayed for two months so this registered nurse can undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Yes, that is correct. Providing appropriate patient education in the face of a major knowledge deficit, and obtaining information for the patient, at the patient’s request, is now grounds for a sanity check. Especially if you piss off a doctor. <Taking a breath. Centering. Doubling up on BP…

• Grand Rounds is Up…at USATODAY!

  Kim

  24 Jan 2012 | 11:18 am

  Okay, this is exciting! The host for Grand Rounds this week is none other than USATODAY! Our very own Dr. Val took 100 (!) posts, representing the best of the medical blogosphere, and will roll them out in four sections over the course of the day. The theme: patient-centered topics. The sections are: 1. Health Tips 2. True Stories 3. Mythbusters & Controversies 4. Healthcare Costs Emergiblog is in the Health Tips section! : ) You can find Grand Rounds here: in the “Your Life” section, in the Healthy Perspective blog! Many thanks to USATODAY for hosting Grand Rounds and to Dr.

• Four Ways To De-Stress Your ER Visit

  Kim

  21 Jan 2012 | 2:30 pm

  No one ever wants to go to the emergency department, but unfortunately illness and injuries don’t keep Monday through Friday office hours. Here are four tips that will make your visit go smoother and keep you safer as you enter the world of the emergency department: 1. MAKE A LIST, BRING THE LIST Bring in a copy of your medications, including all vitamins and supplements, and dosages! Of all the things you can do to prepare for a visit to the emergency department, this is the most important! Your safety can depend on the accuracy of this list! Patients often think their medications are…

• Not A Laughing Matter

  Kim

  20 Jan 2012 | 7:04 pm

  Tea time at the nurse’s home! Considering it’s been a full two months since my last post, I’d say I took a rather extended “tea time”! I didn’t intend to take a hiatus, the hiatus just sort of took me! I’ve actually been blogging regularly, both Masters In Nursing.com and All Healthcare Jobs.com, but it’s time to sweep away the cobwebs and spend some time at “home.” This post was originally written for my column at AllHealthcareJobs.com. It’s about emergency nursing, so I thought I’d get back into the swing of things by…

• 

  Head Nurse

• Why I love my job, part umpty-umpty-ump:

  Jo

  26 Jan 2012 | 9:21 pm

  1. Standing around on rounds with the chairman of the department and the United Nations of Neurology (aka the residents), trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with a particular person. "He can't read out loud, but he can read silently and give you a good summary of what he's read." "Do you suppose that guy has edge-sensing and blindsight? That would be really cool. I've never seen a case of blindsight before." "How the heck are we supposed to get her to eat all of her food if she has total extinction of the left side?" (Me, having read Oliver Sacks: "Just tell her to turn her plate to…

• In which Nurse Jo performs an assessment:

  Jo

  25 Jan 2012 | 8:31 pm

  Nobody died over the last four days: good.TPA given to two people who needed it: good.TPA given to one person who has a factitious/psychological disorder: well, no harm done.Intubation of one patient: very, very good call.Extubation of another patient: good. I'm glad her daughters got to be there.Lotioning of a patient: Jeebus grits, why did this woman have to use Johnson's Baby Lotion? I hadn't smelled that smell in better than twenty years. It took me back to watching my grandmother get ready in the morning, in her alcove lined with mirrored closets, and her vanity mirror with Johnson's on…

• So, yeah. Hey. How you doin'?

  Jo

  17 Jan 2012 | 6:31 am

  Well, we're moved. We have a spandy clean new unit with seven (!!!) beds, monitors, a central monitoring station, computers that work, (oh, crap, I just realized I have to call them about the call light system) and beds and so on that actually function and don't have bits broken off of them.So that's what I've been doing for the last couple of weeks. That, and the usual keeping people from falling out of their chairs or having larger strokes or otherwise having complications that would keep them in the hospital for weeks and weeks.The first thing I did in the Spandy New Unit was stretch my…

• While you're waiting for a real new post, kd lang.

  Jo

  11 Jan 2012 | 7:32 pm

• Things They never tell you about having had cancer:

  Jo

  29 Dec 2011 | 6:47 pm

  1. While cancer might be simultaneously boring and terrifying, it beats waiting for the surveillance scans. There's an up-and-down rhythm to getting your lymph nodes biopsied (ow!) that just isn't matched by the four-month drag that is waiting for your first chest CT.2. Growing your hair out after having had cancer sucks just as much as it does when you're well. You still have weird flippy pieces and flat bits, and you still look like hell, but at least nobody says anything snarky. They just look at you and say, "You lookin' good. Whassup with yo' 'fro?" (credit: Friend Lisa from work.)3.

• 

  It shouldn't happen in health care

• Ignorant Feckers.

  Max E Nurse

  26 Jan 2012 | 1:19 pm

  Reblogged from It shouldn’t happen in health care: As I get a tiny bit older (not old, just older), I realise my perception of time isn’t quite right.  I see the patients date of birth and think…oooh they were born in 1994, and I look down the corridor expected some little kid with bunches and a cute smile.  Instead I am grunted at by a spotty, 6ft teenager… My heart sinks…I like seeing cute kids, they are easier to communicate with than teenagers.  I realise the teenager is without parent….my heart sinks further…  I realise the teenager has…

• Alternative Medical Dictionary

  Max E Nurse

  9 Sep 2011 | 8:54 am

  Definitions of words and origins of sayings have always fascinated me. So I think it’s time we compiled a ever growing medical dictionary. Today a post, but I’ll make it a page and keep adding to it if I get some help from you…yes you. Please add a comment and include your own definitions. Go on you might just enjoy it!!! (Why do I bother? I can see that lack of enthusiasm glazing over your face. Go on just think of one!!! They’ve got to be better than some of the corny ones below!!) Amenorrhoea : 1: [Amen-hurray-arr] Meaning: So be it, thank goodness, a celebration of…

• COC, LARC’s and UPSI daisy.

  Max E Nurse

  10 Jun 2011 | 10:12 am

  Part of my daily battle is explaining contraceptive methods to a patient who comes in and simple says “I want to go on the pill!” “OK dear, here we are!”…. Oh if only it was that simple.  First you have to tip toe through the mine fields of contra-indications for the various contraceptive groups: This included the medical twist on the “not tonight dear I have a headache” which is… “You have migraines…No COC for you!” If you unfamiliar with the abbreviations, all will become apparent further down! Even if…

• Post Natal Drip.

  Max E Nurse

  6 Jan 2011 | 10:11 am

  I have a theory… partly based on professional experience and partly based on personal experience.  It’s well excepted that in pregnancy the brain goes “squishy” and a hormonal induced reduction in mental capacity occurs.  My theory is that these raised horror-moan  hormone levels initiate the growth of a new gland: Let’s call it the “Mummery Gland”. During pregnancy the Mummery Gland gets to work at suppressing normal intelligence, but it is after labour that the gland really kicks in. The Mummery gland releases GSH into the blood stream.

• Winter Wonderland.

  Max E Nurse

  17 Dec 2010 | 7:49 am

  It’s that time of year again when I like to destroy a perfectly good seasonal song…. so here we go again… thought with all the snow we’re having it was time to pick on winter wonderland! Chesty coughs, are you listening?  In the waiting room, snot is glistening A hideous sight, We’ve been coughing all night. Sneezing in a winter wonderland. Slipping down,  went the old bird, Fractured Hip… How absurd?, In hospital for too long, Sleeping in the NHS corridor. “Can you make my cold go by Christmas, Man?” This makes the clinician frown…

• 

  Life in the NHS

• Too little too late

  Julie

  19 Jan 2012 | 5:04 pm

  So the RCN and RCM have withdrawn their support for the NHS Health and Social Care Bill. About time too in my opinion, but you have to wonder exactly why it has taken so long. It is 18 months or so since the Government first published their ideas for abolishing PCTs and putting GPs in charge of commissioning as well as a whole range of changes which will apparently increase competition and fix the mess that apparently is our healthcare system. Since then we have paused, given our views, seen some cosmetic changes and started the long weary process to change. The Bill still isn’t law but…

• 2011 in review

  Julie

  13 Jan 2012 | 3:38 pm

  The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 23,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 9 sold-out performances for that many people to see it. Click here to see the complete report.

• Is this the best way to cut the deficit?

  Julie

  11 Jan 2012 | 3:30 pm

  No one doubts the need for deficit reduction. If I think about the difficult decisions I had to make 5 years ago or so, when I realised that my personal debts meant that my monthly payments to creditors practically outstripped my income. Something had to give, and that something was my credit cards and loans. The experience was painful, and sacrifices were needed. But today I have just a small amount of remaining debt (other than the mortgage and every month I have money to spend. Christmas, which used to be a time to dread has come and gone and I owe no more today than I did last month. The…

• Kindle or actual book?

  Julie

  9 Jan 2012 | 3:13 pm

  For Christmas I received a Kindle from hubby, along with a lovely leather cover with light for reading from my son. when these electronic book devices started appearing a couple of years ago I insisted that I would never convert. I love the feel of a real book, I love turning the pages, holding it and also love trawling bookshops for something new. When I go on holiday though, I have been known to take half a dozen books with me. There have been occasions that I have forgone articles of clothing or shoes for books. I have packed them into my hand luggage and bought more at the airport. This…

• Caring for people with learning disabilities when they are sick

  Julie

  3 Jan 2012 | 3:26 pm

  I am an adult nurse who started their training in 1980. We received education and training across many spheres of nursing practice, but nothing specifically about the specific needs of people with learning disabilities. I worked in a long stay mental health facility for 8 weeks during my training, people with severe mental illness were mixed together with people who had learning disabilities and some people who probably started off with little in the way of an illness of any kind. As general nursing students we were able to offer some more general nursing care, after all everyone develops…

• 

  The Nurse Practitioner's Place

• Talking MSN Interview with Kim From Emergiblog

  Nurse Practitioners Save Lives

  21 Jan 2012 | 11:35 pm

  I have been lucky enough to have continued to blog even after graduating from my Master's Program 4 years ago. It has been difficult at times due to burn out. Several bloggers have made comments regarding such on their own sites. Sometimes, it's due to not feeling adequately commented upon. We all love comments which is why I almost always try to leave a small one on every blog I visit. Sometimes, it's due to a little frustration about one's writing style. I envy people who's writings seem to flow well and are witty. Kim at Emergiblog is one of my absolute favorites and is such a prolific…

• Studies prove effectiveness of nurse practitioners - The News Herald

  Nurse Practitioners Save Lives

  31 Dec 2011 | 1:11 pm

  Studies prove effectiveness of nurse practitioners - The News HeraldBeth Guy was one of my adjunct professors as Florida State University and is one of my inspirations. I am very happy to repost this here on my blog for others to enjoy. Please go to the article and click on the urls that show the actual data that supports our claims. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants provide comparable care to our patients all over the country. If you agree, please write to your Congress and Senate and let them know how you feel. It helps to have the support when critical legislation is being voted…

• Parkinson's Disease In The Crossfire Refers To NPs and PAs As Extenders

  Nurse Practitioners Save Lives

  23 Dec 2011 | 2:49 pm

  Thanks to Carla Gibson ARNP for passing along a CME opportunity that refers to NPs and PAs as "physician extenders". I stopped by their website and left them the following response. "I am surprised and disappointed that you are referring to ARNPs as physician extenders in your CME course. We are licensed and many are board certified to provide primary care to our patients. My patients often do not lay eyes on the doctor. If he provides no service to my patients, how can I then be an extension of him? Another term that I find offensive is mid-level provider. In my and my patient's opinions, I…

• Get Yourself A Whole New Perspective With A NP Student!

  Nurse Practitioners Save Lives

  13 Dec 2011 | 10:03 pm

  I was wandering around on some of the Nurse Practitioner message boards and realized just how many students there are that can't seem to find  preceptors in their areas. Most of the students that are working on their RN-MSN degrees live in a larger city than I do. I am really surprised to see that there aren't that many NPs willing to take a student under their wing. I wonder why? The first reason that pops into my head is that we are often so busy with the background work of patient care. Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork! Actually, I am supposed to be working on some now but decided to…

• Nurse Practitioner Loves Students

  Nurse Practitioners Save Lives

  8 Dec 2011 | 9:31 pm

  I am currently working with a FNP student and am really enjoying our interactions. I really get a kick when I see the light come on in a student's eyes as something clicks into place. I remember how nervous I was and hoped that the preceptor wouldn't ask me a question that I didn't know the answer to and that it would make me feel really stupid. It's not all that different that regular nursing school! You guys thought it got easier? Nope. It actually gets a little harder in my opinion. You have to come up with so many differentials in the office setting and it comes from collecting a body of…

• 

  Nurse Ratched's Place

• Standing with Amanda Trujillo

  Mother Jones, RN

  27 Jan 2012 | 10:32 am

  I can’t believe that this is really happening, but maybe again, I can. Banner Health fired an Arizona nurse because she did the right thing, and now the Arizona Board of Nursing is threatening her nursing license because she is an excellent nurse. The whole incident smacks of unbridled greed and hubris. The nurse is Amanda Trujillo. I found out about Amanda’s plight via Vernon Dutton’s twitter feed , and by reading this story that was posted at The Nerdy Nurse. This is Amanda’s story in her own words: My name is Amanda Trujillo. I’m a registered nurse of six years ,…

• The Effect of Health Care Reform to the Nursing Workforce

  Mother Jones, RN

  26 Jan 2012 | 3:00 am

  I received an email the other day from Erika Stewart, an account executive for an onlinemarketing agency. As the propritor of a nursing blog, I get a lot of letters from people like Erika everyday. They want me to write up a blurb about their clients. I hit delete, delete, delete. Erika’s letter was different. Yes, she’s a publicist, but she wrote a compeling article that deserved a second look. Erika sent me a short write-up discussing how the Federal Health Care reform will effect nurses and how we practice bedside care. She asked me to read her article and comment on its contents. She…

• Grand Rounds is at USA Today!

  Mother Jones, RN

  24 Jan 2012 | 11:38 am

  It just seems like yesterday. Blogging was new and we were all learning about blog carnivals like Grand Rounds. Now our carnival is being hosted by USA Today. I want to thank Dr. Val Jones and the editors of Healthy Perspective for making this happen. I hope that USA Today will continue its support of Grand Rounds. Val had so many submissions for this edition of Grand Rounds, so she created four categories to help readers navagate through the entries. They are: Health Tips True Stories Myth busters & controversies Healthcare costs Each will be published through the day as a separate post…

• From Wife to Widow: Living with the Grief

  Mother Jones, RN

  20 Jan 2012 | 3:23 pm

  Cutting our wedding cake in 1998. David died in 2010. I entered a parallel universe two years ago after my husband, David, passed away in his sleep. This new universe looked familiar. I was cleaning the same house, driving the same route to work every morning, and going to sleep in the same bed at night, but everything felt surreal. One day I was a wife and then I was a widow, and that shift came with a new set of circumstances and emotions that I had never faced before. People are keen on giving you advice before you get married, but no one knows what to say to you when your husband dies…

• Wall Street and the ANA

  Mother Jones, RN

  23 Dec 2011 | 8:23 pm

  In the 1976 movie Network, actor Peter Finch, who played the part of Howard Beale, a frustrated newsman, belted out the immortal words, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” Those words pretty much sum up the Occupy Wall Street Movement. People are sick and tired of corporate greed at the expense of the 99%. Not surprisingly, nursing organizations are speaking out against Wall Street, and their members are marching in the streets on behalf of the American public. Well, almost every nursing organization is speaking out against corporate greed. I wanted to know more…

• 

  RehabRN

• The plot thickens

  RehabNurse

  27 Jan 2012 | 7:32 pm

  Lots of craziness going on in the Hotel. Hustle, bustle, and renovating in my world. The painting part is going slowly, so I've been relocated to the office I started out in when I transferred. I don't really mind, since I enjoy my office mates.I may get some new compatriots in the SU, or the ones who are there may stay on permanently. This is a hot topic on the unit, since everyone wants to run away from the boss. They'll do anything to get on day shift so they can take off and run.Very few people are happy right where they are. They think there are too many changes. It would have come to us…

• Merry Christmas to me

  RehabNurse

  26 Jan 2012 | 7:32 pm

  No it's not a mistake. I still have the Christmas tree in my office, but it is put away. I put away a lot of stuff in the office, since I got my Christmas wishes fulfilled recently. The office that's as old as some of my Generation X coworkers, finally is getting painted. Yes, some of the retirement age painters at the Hotel remember painting offices that "Government Beige" (their words about the color of my office) color in their early careers.So Rex and Mike, the two former occupants of my office space will be invited to a "officewarming party" as soon as the painters are done.On top of…

• Still reeling...

  RehabNurse

  25 Jan 2012 | 6:02 pm

  The specialist I've been waiting to see for nearly two months cancelled my appointment. I'm feeling better now, but I'm still nervous about what might be going on. Waiting sucks.However, I don't think I was more unnerved than to read this post on emergiblog. Reading about a nurse doing her job, working to the maximum of her license, a doctoral candidate, a patient educator and compassionate advocate in the face of death could lose her license.For. doing. her. job.Yes, that's right folks, doing her job. Talking to a patient at death's door who had NO FREAKING IDEA of what exactly she got…

• Stories

  RehabNurse

  23 Jan 2012 | 7:12 pm

  I was at work recently when we had a bunch of people talk about their work. I was very surprised at some of the things the non-clinical things people mentioned.One of our housekeepers told a story about how she was totally unprepared when a patient died. H. was one of the last people to talk to Mr. Z. before he did. She said it was the first death that ever hit home at the Hotel. Not the last, because she still talks to patients while doing her job, but one of the ones that really affected her.Another technical guy remembered a request he got while he was fixing some equipment. A nurse pulled…

• I'm special and I know it

  RehabNurse

  22 Jan 2012 | 12:02 pm

  In nursing school I was a fine example in Assessment class of this anatomical trait.I have had these since I was 8 years old, and one of these since 10. Now my ENT tells me I need this.And just to add a little excitement to the mix, I think my cold is turning into this.Okay! (lifting arms into air) I give up. Please stop the onslaught so I can get well and get my sinuses cleaned up before my favorite time of year: allergy season. I'm tired of being special.Stay tuned for more excitement...

• 

  Travel Nursing Blogs

• Featured Travel OR Nursing Job in Wisconsin

  Jeannie

  27 Jan 2012 | 10:22 am

  Click here to share OR RN traveler needed for a 13 week travel assignment near Sheboygan, WI. Need is for the day shift, 06-45a-3-15p Must have recent OR circulating experience in Ortho, General and Gyn surgery. Covering call every 3rd night and every 3rd weekend. For additional information please call Medical Solutions 866-633-3548. Click here to learn more about this Traveling OR Nurse Job in Wisconsin. Click here to see more OR travel nursing jobs. Click here to see more travel nursing jobs from one of the best rated travel nursing companies. Watch this video to see the beauty of…

• Ask a Travel Nurse: Are Consistent Contracts Possible for Travel Nursing?

  David Morrison R.N.

  25 Jan 2012 | 10:04 am

  Click here to shareAsk a Travel Nurse Question: I am an experienced OR Nurse (over 35 years) and also an experienced Traveling Nurse. I have been permanent for the last three years and I am considering traveling again. I would like to know how the travel nurse industry is holding up (in our current economic situation) in terms of getting contracts that will allow the nurse to continue to be employed full-time within a travel nurse setting. In other words, is it realistically possible to get three to four contracts per year which would constitute full-time hours? Ask a Travel Nurse Answer…

• Cooking Solo as a Traveling Nurse

  Jeannie

  23 Jan 2012 | 12:20 pm

  Click here to shareYou’ve just finished the first week at your new location as a travel nurse. You’re starting to get acquainted with your surroundings, new schedule and just getting used to the new routine. To make life a little easier during your transition you probably went out to eat or just grabbed something quick on the way home. Like most, not everyone is afforded the time to cook every day, what with our busy work and social schedules. Sure, dining out can be convenient or a great way to get out there and socialize with people you’re just meeting, but it is not…

• Featured Travel PICU Nursing Job in Arizona

  Jeff

  20 Jan 2012 | 1:45 pm

  Click here to share A reputable facility near Phoenix is looking for a travel nurse to help out in their Pediatrics unit. This is a 40 bed unit. The ideal travel nurse candidate will have a minimum of 2 years of permanent hospital experience in a high acuity unit with at least 1 travel assignment under their belt. This is a high acuity, high volume pediatric unit. Please contact Medical Solutions at 866.633.3548 for additional information. Click here to learn more about this Traveling PICU Nurse Job in Arizona. Click here to see more PICU travel nursing jobs. Click here to see more travel…

• The Decision to Become Travelers

  Keith Bishop

  20 Jan 2012 | 1:01 pm

  Click here to shareNursing, unlike other professions, makes it easy to jump in the water. I believe that once your circumstances and curiosity becomes greater than your fear of the unknown, you will begin looking for a contract. We did and do not regret the decision. 2012 will be a big year for us. We have started a web design business and two travel blogs. Additionally, we are considering the purchase of a large motor home so that we can become permanent travelers. That right there lets you know how we feel about travel nursing, but let’s go back to the beginning. We became full-time…

• 

  Young and Restless Nurse

• Scarlett Johansson Pictures

  sogik

  21 Jan 2012 | 5:54 pm

  Scarlett Johansson PicturesScarlett Johansson PicturesScarlett Johansson PicturesScarlett Johansson PicturesScarlett Johansson PicturesScarlett Johansson PicturesScarlett Johansson PicturesScarlett Johansson PicturesScarlett Johansson PicturesScarlett Johansson PicturesScarlett Johansson PicturesScarlett Johansson Pictures

• elena anaya

  sogik

  21 Jan 2012 | 5:52 pm

  elena anayaelena anayaelena anayaelena anayaelena anayaelena anayaelena anayaelena anayaelena anayaelena anayaelena anayaelena anaya

• Jenny Poussin

  sogik

  9 Jan 2012 | 4:21 am

  Jenny PoussinJenny PoussinJenny PoussinJenny PoussinJenny PoussinJenny PoussinJenny PoussinJenny PoussinJenny PoussinJenny PoussinJenny PoussinJenny Poussin

• kim kardashian body

  sogik

  8 Jan 2012 | 2:34 am

  kim kardashian bodykim kardashian bodykim kardashian bodykim kardashian bodykim kardashian bodykim kardashian bodykim kardashian bodykim kardashian bodykim kardashian bodykim kardashian bodykim kardashian bodykim kardashian body

• Britney Spears Hot

  sogik

  8 Jan 2012 | 2:34 am

  Britney Spears HotBritney Spears HotBritney Spears HotBritney Spears HotBritney Spears HotBritney Spears HotBritney Spears HotBritney Spears HotBritney Spears HotBritney Spears HotBritney Spears HotBritney Spears Hot

• 

  Phil Baumann

• Twitter Chats – Experiences, Value Propositions, Tips and Tricks

  Phil Baumann

  6 Jan 2012 | 10:01 am

  Over the last few years, the premise of the Twitter chat has gone from being perceived as an obscure and useless project to one of the fastest-growing ways to rally around ideas, share experiences and form ambient commons for publics. Since I’ve been running two of them (RNchat being one of the first chats – and the first chat for clinicians), I thought I’d share my experiences and offer tips and recommendations. HISTORY I started RNchat as a way to get nurses to A) get up-to-speed with social media (nursing an medicine is/was really behind here, and I thought Twitter was a…

• Democracy Depends…

  Phil Baumann

  29 Dec 2011 | 4:28 pm

  …on Reason. Social Media propagates Emotion faster than Reason. This is the 21st Century problem. Democracy depends on Reason. Social Media propagates Emotion faster than Reason. This will be the 21st Century problem.— Phil Baumann (@PhilBaumann) December 29, 2011 [Original tweet.]

• Favela Tweets

  Phil Baumann

  21 Oct 2011 | 8:26 am

  Favela Tweets Over the hill, the priest weeps. Under the bridge, the foreman dies. At the station, the lover leaves. The millions march into mace. The cameras whirl into dizzy aim. The bloody stains cake and dry. You can hear the blood beat. You can feel the voices cry. You can watch the horses cringe. The sidelines are elegant. The frontlines are shifting. The storylines are corrupted. The sparrow tweets a symbol And a Call is Answered. The Answer drops into the ears of the mad crowd where it resonates, fades and dies. A child is born into a favela, plays under the guava tree and learns to…

• Steven Paul Jobs

  Phil Baumann

  5 Oct 2011 | 8:47 pm

  “Was”. I went to Wikipedia tonight to look up Steve Jobs’ birthday to write this post. I got to the word “was” and cried. That’s all I can write. It’s all I need to write. Thank you, Steven Paul Jobs. Phil Baumann

• The Straining Edges

  Phil Baumann

  1 Oct 2011 | 9:57 am

  There are people in and around your world who will teach you, who will defeat you, who will pick on you, betray you, lock you up in dark places, slander you… and love you. It doesn’t matter if any of this is intended or random. What matters is your willingness to learn when to submit, when to cut loose and when to look up, rise and assert your presence here. The loneliness you feel is a hurting gift, a nudge that says “you belong here, among the others”, that you are co-writing this world’s enigmatic plot. It’s a reminder that love is just over your…

• 

  Lost on the Floor

• Weather Follies

  Wanderer

  16 Jan 2012 | 12:00 am

  One thing I love about living in Portland is how much people freak out at the thought or forecast of snow. It’s like the outbreak of a zombie apocalypse, hurricane arrival or other weather/Act of God shenanigans. People flock to stores buying supplies like it is the end of the world. They hit local tire shops to put on winter tires and buy chains. It is madness. C’mon people, it is snow. It falls, sometimes it sticks, you slow when you drive, don’t act like an idiot and things turn out OK. But no, people drive like crazy, common sense goes out the window and folks get hurt.

• Don’t Call it a Comeback…

  Wanderer

  7 Jan 2012 | 5:25 pm

  Like LL said,”Don’t call it a comeback, I’ve been here for years.” But really it is a comeback. Back to mine, back to my roots, back to what is important to me. I realized that even if it would mean a pay cut, somethings are more important than money. Call it karma when an offer came through for extended severance in light of looming lay-offs. I’ve been thinking about all of this quite a bit and while I haven’t arrived at a full decision, the beginnings of a plan has emerged. If things go like I hope, big things are transpiring in the next couple of months.

• Exhaustion.

  Wanderer

  20 Dec 2011 | 10:58 pm

  I’m done.  Stick a fork in me.  Cooked.  Tired.  Knackered.  Straight up worn out. Y’know how I know?  Every little bug knocks me down.  I want to sleep but can’t.  I wake up more than I’m asleep it seems.  Even with chemicals. That said, I’m taking the rest of the year off.  I get on a plane tomorrow and head for Arizona hoping to recuperate and recharge and maybe stem the bleeding that is my will to continue as a nurse.  Burnout is a terrible thing.  So I’m going to enjoy a white Christmas in the White Mountains with my family. Hope everyone…

• Every Now and Then, You Win

  Wanderer

  8 Dec 2011 | 4:02 am

  “Hey Wanderer, there’s a guy in 32 that wants to talk to you.” Great, I think to myself. It’s a complaint, or a problem, or something unpleasant. Prejudicial? Probably, but the way things have been lately it’s the reality. Head up, smile plastered on I head over to 32. As I walk in I see a familiar face. He had been with us for about 2 weeks, dealing with the effects of alcoholic cardiomyopathy and most of us only gave him even odds to stay sober and in good shape. I had spent a lot of time educating, reinforcing and generally trying to help him beat the odds so…

• Ah, You’re So Sweet

  Wanderer

  28 Nov 2011 | 9:00 am

  Image by momboleum via Flickr Anyone who reads the news, watches the news, or is involved in healthcare knows that diabetes is a huge and growing epidemic. Sometimes you just know they’ve been brewing things for sometime, in this case it was probably true. Admitted with polydipsia, blurred vision and dehydration and a glucose >600mg/dl. Did I mention that multiple family members on both sides of her family tree had diabetes too? Any guesses to the hemoglobin A1C? >15! So far off that our machines couldn’t process how high it really was. With a little math that works out to…

• 

  Miss-Elaine-ious RN

• A new year, a new beginning

  miss-elaine-ious

  5 Jan 2012 | 8:47 pm

  Happy belated new year to all that read this humble blog. I worked New Years Eve, and it was surprisingly not too bad.   We kept waiting for things to get out of hand, but luckily they did not!  I hear that the next day it was brutal. I've been asked to precept again this semester, this time full time.  I know what I'm getting into this time, and I hope it will be smooth sailing. Every time I think I want to leave and do another job, something keeps bringing me back. We had a guy come in pretty sick and within 5 minutes I had assessed him, started a line, drew bloodwork,…

• I'm still here

  miss-elaine-ious

  2 Dec 2011 | 12:32 am

  Time goes by fast when you're having fun, or when you're burnt out and the last thing you want to think about is work when you are not working. I fully admit it, for about 8 months there I was not happy about my job. I also, however, was not willing to leave it.  It's funny how that happens- you start in a place and you're proud to be there, and make it part of your identity. Then, the job/people change and move on, but you stay on because "it will get better". Well that 'getting better" moment has started to happen- to a point. We've hired more staff, they are young and eager to learn,…

• My least favourite time of year

  miss-elaine-ious

  29 Jun 2011 | 2:51 pm

  It's soon approaching.. the sun is high in the sky, the birds are chirping their summer song... and the newly fresh minted residents start their training. Urrgh and I work July 1st!  A not-so-happy Canada day to me!

• Junior nurse... very interesting

  miss-elaine-ious

  13 Jun 2011 | 11:32 pm

  So nursing bullying is in full swing. A colleague who graduated one year before me told me that I, a 'junior staff member', couldn't dare correct or contradict them.  The colleague was making a sarcastic, inappropriate remark at a critical time in patient care. I told them I dont apologize for advocating for patients, and 1 year more experience does not a "senior" nurse make. ~Miss-elaine-ious

• Condolences, but time to let go.

  miss-elaine-ious

  28 Feb 2011 | 3:14 pm

  Lately this turn of events has been in newspapers all over the province, and apparently in the USA as well. http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/02/28/17440436.html My condolences for the family, but it's time to stop the poor baby's suffering. miss-Elaine-ious RN

• 

  Nursing Ideas

• Bring Case Management to the National Levels

  Robert Fraser

  25 Jan 2012 | 4:52 pm

  Patients come and go, admitted and discharge. Hopefully they are well enough to return home, or at least guided to the appropriate re-entry point into the healthcare system. Unfortunately this is not always the case. Due to various complex issues of coordination, funding, and established healthcare organizations patients are not always at the centre of care. Instead our acute care centres provide highly specialized services and are continually pushing to be more efficient, which means less time with the patient as workloads increase and time to discharge is continued to decrease. One way that…

• Engaging Students

  Robert Fraser

  24 Jan 2012 | 3:03 pm

  Every January the Canadian Nursing Students' Association holds their National Conference. The location changes each year, and is by the bid-winning school in their city. For the past five years I've been fortunate enough to attend this conference, and can't say enough about it. For those of you thinking about getting into nursing, you should come and check it out. If you are student you need to get here, you will meet the most passionate and excited group of nursing students that you have ever seen from across the country. To nurses, even you should come and see it, it should inspire and…

• [Research Challenge]

  Robert Fraser

  26 Nov 2011 | 2:52 pm

  This post is my latest update on for my research challenge. The Article: Cheerio, Laddie! Bidding Farewell to the Glasgow Coma Scale Green, S. M. (2011). Cheerio, Laddie! Bidding Farewell to the Glasgow Coma Scale. Annals of emergency medicine, 58(5), 427-430. Elsevier Inc. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2011.06.009 Big Idea: The Glasgow Coma Scale was not originally intended to be a ubiquitous neurological scoring system. There is evidence to demonstrate the GSC is confusing, unreliable, and unnecessarily complex, and its manner of common clinical use is statistically unsound. Therefore we…

• A promise to continue improving

  Robert Fraser

  20 Nov 2011 | 10:46 am

  When you have an idea there are two things you can do, take action or do nothing. Most people with innovative ideas or thoughts on how to make things better choose the latter, because there are many reasons people come up with to not do anything. One of the things that holds people back is the fact that they can't do things perfectly or they think it won't be good enough. Looking back at the first interview of Nursing Ideas with Doris Grinspun I cringe a little bit. I recorded it with my Macbook at the time and you can hear the laptop fan spin up when it got a bit to hot. The we bite at the…

• Graduation is just the beginning

  Robert Fraser

  9 Nov 2011 | 8:39 am

  Last night I had the extraordinary pleasure of walking up to shake the hand of the Chancellor of the University of Toronto and accept my Masters of Nursing. While the president of the university did invoked a latin pronouncement no magic happened, no spell was cast or special powers were unlocked. A simple change to my name took place, I now will sign Robert Fraser MN RN. Accepting that piece of paper was a great honour, but there were a few parts that to me were more exciting. First, seeing my classmates accept their degrees. I was privileged to sit in class with the leaders of nursing that…

• 

  Nurse.com News

• Caffeine's effects on estrogen levels vary by ethnicity

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:57 pm

  Asian women who consumed an average of 200 milligrams or more of caffeine a day and#8212; the equivalent of roughly two cups of coffee and#8212; had elevated estrogen levels when compared to Asian women who consumed less, according to a study of reproductive-age women by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

• Decorated RN Burnes Bolton joins RJWF board of trustees

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:57 pm

  The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has announced the election of Linda Burnes Bolton, RN, DrPH, FAAN, to its board of trustees. She joins a diverse group of 13 other board members in leading the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and healthcare of all Americans.

• Study: Rate of oral HPV much higher in men

  26 Jan 2012 | 5:05 pm

  The overall prevalence of oral human papillomavirus infection is approximately 7% among U.S. men and women ages 14 to 69, while the prevalence among men is higher than among women, according to a study.

• Study finds cancer screening below target levels

  26 Jan 2012 | 4:41 pm

  The percentage of U.S. citizens screened for cancer remains below national targets, with significant disparities among racial and ethnic populations, according to the first federal study to identify cancer screening disparities among Asian and Hispanic groups.

• Home births rose during recent five-year stretch

  26 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am

  After a decline between 1990 and 2004, the percentage of U.S. births that occurred at home increased by 29% between 2004 and 2009, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• 

  Nurse Practitioners in Business

• 5 Common Marketing Blunders that Health Care Providers Make

  sjw

  18 Jan 2012 | 11:54 am

  Most health care providers who have a clinical practice, or any type of business where they rely on clients, will need to market in order to sustain and grow that practice and business.  While knowing how to market is essential, it’s also just as valuable to know what you should not be doing when you are marketing. It goes without saying that that most common problem is just not marketing, but today let’s focus on the 5 of the most common marketing blunders I see health care providers make.   1. Religion and Politics: It’s often been said that religion and politics don’t mix with…

• Outdated Reference Books

  Barbara C. Phillips, NP

  11 Jan 2012 | 6:45 pm

    Like many health care providers, after years of schooling and continuing education, I have a fairly extensive reference library. So much so that I have been running out of space. My question to all of you is this…what do you do with your outdated reference books? I’m almost embarrassed to say how far back some of this goes (though not as far as the Tabers I posted about earlier). Do you just put the books in the recycle bin? Do you donate them (and to whom)? Do you past them off to your children who are following in your footsteps (though I venture to guess they need NEW…

• Success Leaves Tracks!

  sjw

  4 Jan 2012 | 10:30 am

  By: Johanna Hofmann, MBA, LAc Nurse Practitioners and other health care providers are no different than other individuals who want to succeed in business and in life. True success in life comes in many flavors and certainly is not limited to money alone. However, money is used to measure business success and by default money is used to measure the success of the business owner. With that in mind, what is it that sets truly successful business owners apart from the not so successful? Is it that the successful were born with talents and gifts that others lack? There are scores of talented and…

• Nurse Practitioner Advocate State Award for Excellence

  Barbara C. Phillips, NP

  23 Dec 2011 | 11:56 am

  Every clinician, indeed every person (well almost), wishes to make a difference in the lives of others. As a Nurse  and later as a Nurse Practitioner, I’ve always wanted to make a difference in the lives of my patients and their families. In the past 6 years or so, I’ve expanded my goal to include making a difference in the lives of fellow clinicians. I feel blessed to do the work that I do. And to be honored for it…well, it’s a fantastic feeling.  In my mind, this is recognition for all of us that are business owners or aspiring business owners. For those of you who…

• Your Theme Word for 2012

  Barbara C. Phillips, NP

  21 Dec 2011 | 10:43 pm

    I believe it’s safe to say, that you are someone who wants to achieve success. Your definition of success is personal, but it will likely include goals for professional, financial and personal success. In order to do so, creating SMART goals are essential (we’ve touched on this before).  Consider theme words as an add-on bonus to your goals. They help move you forward more quickly.   So what do I mean by that? Think about setting an intention in the form of a theme word for the year. As you know, intentions can have far reaching effects. Think about it…you had an…

• 

  American Nurse Today - Current Issue

• Study of nurses with disabilities seeks participants

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:10 am

  Take Note - Web Only:

• Number of early elective deliveries fall slightly, but more work needed

  27 Jan 2012 | 7:59 am

  Take Note - Web Only:

• FDA announces new risk factor for PML associated with Tysabri

  27 Jan 2012 | 7:57 am

  Drugs and Devices Today - Web Only:

• Is it Addison’s disease or Cushing syndrome? | Deborah Hunt, PhD, RN

  25 Jan 2012 | 1:41 am

  Features: Both of these complex endocrine disorders involve the adrenal glands and cause abnormal cortisol levels. Based on physical and laboratory findings, could you determine which one your patient has?

• NEJM study assess BMD retesting

  20 Jan 2012 | 8:53 am

  Take Note - Web Only:

• 

  Sunbelt Staffing

• Disclosing Medical Errors: A Nurse’s Role

  Howard Gerber

  26 Jan 2012 | 5:16 am

  Everyone makes mistakes in their personal life and in their professional life. This is true for all people in all professions. However, it is more important when a mistake is made in the field of medicine because it can result in the death of a patient. It can be scary to admit to someone that you have made a mistake, and terrifying if that mistake may have negatively affected their health. However, it is one of the most important parts of a nurse’s job. Follow Procedure If you have never made a mistake on the job, you have been very lucky. As with any run of luck, it won’t last. When it…

• Medicare Therapy Caps

  Howard Gerber

  19 Jan 2012 | 4:18 am

  Congress was in the news quite a bit in December because of the many extensions that were set to expire the first of January if they were not extended. The therapy cap provision was especially concerning for those in speech, physical, and occupational therapy positions. Fortunately, it has been extended until February. However, it could still be eliminated unless Congress makes a more permanent decision. Had the legislation not been extended there would have been a 27.4% reduction in the fee schedule and exceptions for the early $1,880 therapy cap would have been removed. Just how important…

• January is National Mentoring Month

  Howard Gerber

  12 Jan 2012 | 5:21 am

  Working in industries such as health care and education takes a great commitment to helping others. One way to have an even greater impact on our community is to become a mentor or to support a mentoring organization. National Mentoring Month began in 2002 as a joint effort between the Harvard School of Public Health and the National Mentoring Partnership. Since 2006 the Corporation of National and Community Service has been working on the project as well. There are numerous ways for you to become involved in the mentoring initiative. Become a Mentor Mentoring has become increasingly…

• Pros and Cons of Co-Teaching

  Howard Gerber

  9 Jan 2012 | 8:27 am

  There are several reasons why many schools have begun to adopt a co-teaching model in their classrooms. Class size laws in many states require a lower student to teacher ratio as do many individualized education plans. Co-teaching can even result in a better teaching experience for the teachers and the students, as long as the teachers get along. Class Size From an administrative perspective co-teaching is extremely attractive. Many states consider two teachers in one classroom of 40 adequate for a 20 classroom size limit. This is great for schools which don’t have enough the physical space…

• Postpartum Depression

  Howard Gerber

  5 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am

  Postpartum depression (PPD) is not just a little bit of sadness after a baby is born that is the result of hormone levels returning to normal, although that can certainly be the case for some women. For some women, though, it is a debilitating depression that can last for months or years after the birth of the baby, putting both mother and baby in danger.There are three different levels, all of which are related to postpartum depression: baby blues, postpartum depression, and postpartum psychosis. Symptoms The symptoms of postpartum depression vary in intensity and severity. Often, postpartum…

• 

  Soliant Health

• 15 Nursing Conferences for 2013 (and Why you Should Attend)

  Tera Tuten

  24 Jan 2012 | 9:30 am

  Each year, there are thousands of medical conferences and more than a thousand conferences specific or related to nursing of note in the U.S. Whether you get to pick a few, have a limited number you can go to, or get asked to weigh-in on which ones you could get sent to, it’s always good [...]15 Nursing Conferences for 2013 (and Why you Should Attend) is a post from: Soliant Health

• 2012 Job Outlook for Nurses, Nurse Practitioners & Physician Assistants

  Tera Tuten

  19 Jan 2012 | 8:19 am

  Everyone worries about their job prospects, but medical professionals have less to fear. The health industry has continued to do well in terms of job growth even throughout the economic recession. Why is this the case, and will the job outlook continue to look promising in the years to come? This article explores these questions, [...]2012 Job Outlook for Nurses, Nurse Practitioners & Physician Assistants is a post from: Soliant Health

• The Year in Review – 2011′s Top 10 Pharma Stories

  Tera Tuten

  13 Jan 2012 | 10:03 am

  10. The Food Pyramid is history. Since 1992, the Food Pyramid has represented the epitome of healthy eating. It was retired last year, replaced by MyPlate, a visual pie-chart representation that emphasizes controlling portion sizes as well as making healthy choices. 9. Calorie counts on menus Starting in 2012, chain restaurants around the country will [...]The Year in Review – 2011′s Top 10 Pharma Stories is a post from: Soliant Health

• Top 50 Medical Conferences in 2012 by Profession

  Tera Tuten

  10 Jan 2012 | 8:42 am

  Perhaps you’re looking to start out right your first year on the conference circuit. Perhaps you’ve got a yearly budget or allowance for professional development and want to make the most of it. Or maybe you’re looking for a snapshot of what conferences are happening this year in a particular month or specialty. Either way, [...]Top 50 Medical Conferences in 2012 by Profession is a post from: Soliant Health

• 2012…the year of the Olympics is here!

  Keith Moffatt

  6 Jan 2012 | 10:49 am

  Well, it’s 2012…I survived my trip to Las Vegas and Indoor Track and Field is about to kick off! I will have my first three competitions in Czech Republic. I will compete in Ostrava, Hustopece, and Trinec. I had a minor set back in training due to a hamstring sprain, but it is starting to [...]2012…the year of the Olympics is here! is a post from: Soliant Health

• 

  Nursing Homes Abuse Blog

• Study Concludes Nursing Home Patients With Dementia Are Far More Likely To Suffer An Injurious Fall When Taking Common Antidepressants

  Jonathan Rosenfeld

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:12 am

  It's no secret that falls in the elderly nursing home population remain one of the largest threats to patients safety and overall well-being.  Recognizing this threat, nursing homes must assess each patient for their potential fall-risk and create a plan of care to reduce the incidence of falls during their stay at the facility.  While fall precautions may including common sense precautions such as: staff assistance, walkers or modification of bed heights--- new research suggests that nursing homes need to begin evaluate patient's use of common antidepressants known as selective…

• Illinois To Receive Big Bucks To Improve Nursing Home Safety. Will It Help?

  Jonathan Rosenfeld

  27 Jan 2012 | 6:48 am

  Many Illinois Nursing Homes may soon be stepping upon some new wealth under a recently devised tax-plan that that is intended to provide for an increase in the number of state nursing home surveyors and increased staff at troubled facilities.  By taking advantage of a Federal Government matching-fund program, the program is expected to provide $145 million in new funding for nursing homes in Illinois. According to a report on the program in The Republic, Illinois officials have allocated $20 million for purposes of hiring 160 new nursing home surveyors and the balance of the funds will…

• 10 Resources To Help Families Transition Their Loved One To A Nursing Home

  Jonathan Rosenfeld

  26 Jan 2012 | 7:44 am

  The transition to a life in a nursing home or assisted living facility usually a difficult process for both the individual involved as well as their family.  Even the most well laid plans for transition to a skilled nursing facility are usually accompanied by many questions that may never have presented themselves until the family has had time to appreciate the change in circumstance. While transitions such as this will never be easy, there are many different resources to assist with all different aspects as people begin new aspects of their lives.  Below are 10 resources that many…

• Lots Of Information On Nursing Homes Is Out There--- It Frequently Is A Matter Of Knowing Where To Look

  Jonathan Rosenfeld

  25 Jan 2012 | 10:10 am

  One of the most common questions I receive is, 'What do you know about this facility?" While I am familiar with some of the "frequent fliers" and certainly don't mind sharing my experiences, there really is a tremendous amount of information on facilities that can be easily obtained via the internet and via states' department of health websites and through Medicare's Nursing Home Compare site. While much of the information and nursing home survey findings can make for some dull reading, there really is quite a bit of material that can be accessed on individual facilities.  A the Nursing…

• The influx of felons into main-stream nursing homes. It may be legal, but does it pose a threat to granny?

  Jonathan Rosenfeld

  24 Jan 2012 | 7:30 am

  In California, the never ending quest to chop money from state budgets has taken a new turn as state prison officials have initiated a new medical parole program which allows medically incapacitated felons to utilize the services of private nursing homes.  Starting in 2010, the California Correctional system placed 29 inmates--- not parolees or people whom have already served their time--- but real, hardened criminals--- whom have suffered form some type of medical incapacity that they now require medical care; into the hands of skilled nursing facilities throughout the state. Under a…

• 

  Off the Charts

• Clinic Vision

  jm

  26 Jan 2012 | 9:36 am

  By Marcy Phipps, RN, a regular contributor to this blog. Her essay, “The Soul on the Head of a Pin,” was published in the May 2010 issue of AJN By Ctd 2005, via Flickr I’ve begun volunteering at a local free clinic. While it’s been rewarding and satisfying, it’s also been fraught with challenges I didn’t expect; I’ve only worked in an ICU, and the assessment skills specific to critical care don’t translate smoothly to the clinic setting. I’m out of my professional comfort zone, and I feel so inexperienced. Here’s what I’m used to: By the time a patient is admitted to the…

• Magnet Hospitals: It’s About the Process, Not the Designation

  jm

  23 Jan 2012 | 10:59 am

  By Shawn Kennedy, AJN editor-in-chief When I had a recent medical emergency, I went to the local community hospital near my home in northern New Jersey. I had been there before for outpatient testing or to the ER with a child and found the care attentive and efficient and the staff friendly and professional. Besides, it was a Magnet-designated hospital, so I was confident that I’d receive good care. The ancillary staff was wonderful, but I found myself disappointed with the nurses on the acute med/surg unit where I was located. There was no rounding that I was aware of, and they seemed to…

• Remembering the Big Picture, Hypothermia, Nursing Books of the Year

  jm

  20 Jan 2012 | 10:27 am

  From its earliest beginnings, nursing has embraced a holistic view of health. What we eat, the environments in which we work and live, our social relationships—all these influence health. Yet, as nurses, many of us shy away from looking at the big picture; instead we narrow our focus, addressing only the immediate problems of this patient, this family. It’s true that many patients treated in hospitals or outpatient clinics are there only for a short time. But how will such patients and their families fare in the long run if they lack access to public transportation to get to their…

• Poll: What Can We Actually Do About Hospital Room Noise?

  jm

  17 Jan 2012 | 11:50 am

  By ArtsieApsie, via Flickr Fierce Healthcare reports this week on the latest findings about hospital room noise: ”hospital rooms can be as noisy as chainsaws, according to a new study [subscription required] published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine….The average noise level in patient rooms was close to 50 decibels….The noise disruptions mostly come from staff conversation, roommates, alarms, intercoms and pagers….Loud hospital rooms are associated with clinically significant sleep loss among patients and even may hinder recovery.” So, nurses (and…

• Critical Care: Where’s the Evidence for Central Venous Pressure Monitoring?

  jm

  13 Jan 2012 | 11:22 am

  Editor’s note: This post is by Anne Dabrow Woods, MSN, RN, CRNP, who is AJN‘s publisher and chief nurse and publisher of Wolters Kluwer Health Medical Research. It was originally published on the blog of Lippincott’s Evidence-Based Practice Network. I read with interest the article “Central Venous Pressure Monitoring: Where’s the Evidence?” (purchase required for nonsubscribers) in the January issue of AJN. It’s part of a series called Critical Analysis, Critical Care, which will appraise the evidence regarding common critical care practices. So…

• 

  The Nursing Site Blog

• Stop the Bullying Now -- Stand up for Nurses and Patients

  26 Jan 2012 | 4:45 pm

  photo from Flickr Have you heard about the plight of Amanda Trujillo, an RN who was fired by Banner health in Arizona for educating a patient in the process of obtaining informed consent? The... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Defuse Stress: An Insider's Review of Stress and Burnout in Nurses

  23 Jan 2012 | 7:36 pm

  A guest post by Katie Beland... Nurses experience a high level of stress throughout the work day. Information passes from client, receptionist, nurse, doctor and insurance companies in a... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• A First Aid Kit is a MUST

  20 Jan 2012 | 4:59 pm

  One of the things about being a nurse is that it's not a nine-to-five job you can leave behind at the office. You're a nurse 24/7. And many times you're called upon by family and friends for advice... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Online RN to BSN Program Waives Application Fee

  20 Jan 2012 | 1:13 pm

  I received this information yesterday... From now until February 20, 2012, Linfield College is waiving their $100 online RN to BSN degree application fee. Here's a blurb about their... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Stat Gear's Medical Tape Holder Really Works!!!

  9 Jan 2012 | 8:33 pm

  I recently received an item to review. I have to be honest and tell you I don't often care for this process because some of the stuff people send me isn't worth the money they spent to send... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• 

  Scrubs - The Leading Lifestyle Nursing Magazine Featuring Inspirational and Informational Nursing Articles » Scrubs – The Leading Lifestyle Nursing Magazine Featuring Inspiration and Informational Nursing Articles

• The role of nurse practitioners in healthcare

  Sean Dent

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:41 pm

  Mehmet Can | Veer I have one more year left of being a student, and still have a ton of knowledge to consume. But one thing I know for sure: Being a nurse practitioner student is equal parts excitement and aggravation. The excitement is seeded in the information-laden state I’m in. Every day I learn something new and cutting edge, and yet so basic and simple to advanced practice. I’m a nurse learning to dip my feet in the deep, deep waters of medicine. Just when I think I’ve got a hold on a subject, I get that slap in the face from reality. It’s tough being the new kid on the…

• The most unexpected ‘reward’ I’ve ever received for being a nurse

  Nurse Rene

  27 Jan 2012 | 9:36 pm

  iStockphoto | Thinkstock Very often, nurses find that their work seems to follow them–on vacation, to the store, at the kids’ soccer games. After awhile, we begin to accept this as par for the course. Several years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Germany with my husband and a group of his coworkers. THEY had to work while I would get to tour the city of Cologne. Or so I thought. On the plane, about an hour from the coast of Scotland, a flight attendant requested a doctor to the rear of the aircraft. We were seated directly in front of the rear restroom, and the only people…

• NCLEX practice exam XV

  Scrubs

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:37 am

  goldenKB | Veer Do you think you could pass the NCLEX? Take this quiz with these sample exam questions and see how you score! [12 questions] A client visits the clinic after the death of a parent. Which statement made by the client’s sister signifies abnormal grieving?“My sister still has episodes of crying, and it’s been three months since Daddy died.”“Sally seems to have forgotten the bad things that Daddy did in his lifetime.”“She really had a hard time after Daddy’s funeral. She said that she had a sense of longing.”“She has not been saddened at all by Daddy’s death.

• How many personalities do you take on at work?

  Jo, RN

  26 Jan 2012 | 10:19 am

  Have you ever felt like you’ve got a split personality at work? Do you wonder exactly how many jobs you take on during the day? I’ve worked it out: From seven in the morning to seven in the evening, I’m roughly seven people.   1. Nurse: I change dressings, start IVs, reposition patients, make beds and do all the things that we think of as nursing tasks. This takes up about half my day. The other half of the day is spread out between six other personalities and skill sets. 2. MacGyver: If there’s a pump that isn’t working or a monitor that’s busted, I’m the first person to…

• 5 ways to make a professional difference

  Sean Dent

  25 Jan 2012 | 4:52 pm

  leaf | veer I think it’s safe to say not many nurses are 100% happy with their jobs. There are a myriad of idiosyncrasies and challenges we face every day that make our jobs and responsibilities difficult to manage. We encounter everything from staffing or equipment shortages to professional practice barriers and continuing education costs, just to name a few. Nurses are notorious for ineffective complaining. The only way to effect change is to become less reactive and more proactive. It’s one thing to have a new idea or voice, but you need to have that idea and voice heard. Here are just…

• 

  Scrubs - The Leading Lifestyle Nursing Magazine Featuring Inspirational and Informational Nursing Articles » Scrubs – The Leading Lifestyle Nursing Magazine Featuring Inspiration and Informational Nursing Articles

• Forward to the future

  Rebekah Child

  3 Jan 2012 | 9:10 am

  I have always had at least a five-year plan. Think of the person whose job you would absolutely love to have–besides Justin Bieber or Oprah Winfrey. What are his or her qualifications? Now compare those qualifications to yours. What are you missing? What could you do in the next year? The next three years? The next five? I think a lot of nurses fail to acknowledge that they might not want to do the type of nursing they are currently in forever. Take advantage of any educational classes that your institution might offer. For example, if your institution offers free ACLS for everyone,…

• A nurse gives her 5 tips to “never” get sick

  Rebekah Child

  21 Dec 2011 | 10:10 pm

  Hemera + iStockphoto | Thinkstock I hesitate to say I never get sick because whenever you say never, it is the equivalent to shouting out, “Here I am infectious world! Come and get me!” It is the horror movie equivalent to saying, “I’m going to go check this out alone. I’ll be right back.” It is the … well, you get the idea. Never say never. I would say, however, that I rarely get sick. I think part of this is because I spent most of my first year of nursing sick all the time. After a year of coughs, colds, vomiting, and the like, my immune system just got better at the…

• A nurse’s OMG moment

  Rebekah Child

  8 Dec 2011 | 8:29 pm

  Galina Barskaya | Veer Triage is one of the funniest places to work–people tell you things that are usually reserved for therapists and intimate partners. My friend used to work in an ED in the South and encountered a woman who wrote on her triage intake sheet: “I got sprouts coming out of my juju bean.” Apparently she wasn’t embarrassed about the sprout part, but couldn’t bring the proper southern belle in her to call her “juju bean” its proper name—vagina. This woman suffered from a common malady of a prolapsed uterus and had placed a potato in her vaginal canal as a…

• Holidays in the hospital

  Rebekah Child

  7 Dec 2011 | 8:35 am

  Siri Stafford | Photodisc | Thinkstock + Scrubs I know that many of us hate working on the holidays. Chances are, if you are or ever have been a floor nurse, you have worked at least one holiday in your career. One of my favorite “holiday at work” stories took place on Thanksgiving a few years ago. We were all grumbling about working on Turkey Day instead of being at home with our friends and families. Then a patient came in who trumped us all. Not only was he admitted to the hospital on Thanksgiving, but it was his BIRTHDAY as well! As if that wasn’t enough, his entire family…

• Leftover food for the ER staff…

  Rebekah Child

  2 Dec 2011 | 7:14 pm

  Jupiterimages | Polka Dot “Mikey will eat it.” Isn’t that how the Life cereal commercial went? Well, the ER staff are the Mikeys of the hospital. I swear, anytime someone has a meeting and there is food left over it somehow always ends up in the ER break room. It is strange how the hospital always thinks about the ER when it comes to leftover food and not leftover beds! If they truly felt sorry for us it would be the other way around… The strangest food combinations can be brought down and within an hour ALL of it will be consumed. Once, sandwich meat, rice, fruit, and…

• 

  Scrubs - The Leading Lifestyle Nursing Magazine Featuring Inspirational and Informational Nursing Articles » Scrubs – The Leading Lifestyle Nursing Magazine Featuring Inspiration and Informational Nursing Articles

• The role of nurse practitioners in healthcare

  Sean Dent

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:41 pm

  Mehmet Can | Veer I have one more year left of being a student, and still have a ton of knowledge to consume. But one thing I know for sure: Being a nurse practitioner student is equal parts excitement and aggravation. The excitement is seeded in the information-laden state I’m in. Every day I learn something new and cutting edge, and yet so basic and simple to advanced practice. I’m a nurse learning to dip my feet in the deep, deep waters of medicine. Just when I think I’ve got a hold on a subject, I get that slap in the face from reality. It’s tough being the new kid on the…

• 5 ways to make a professional difference

  Sean Dent

  25 Jan 2012 | 4:52 pm

  leaf | veer I think it’s safe to say not many nurses are 100% happy with their jobs. There are a myriad of idiosyncrasies and challenges we face every day that make our jobs and responsibilities difficult to manage. We encounter everything from staffing or equipment shortages to professional practice barriers and continuing education costs, just to name a few. Nurses are notorious for ineffective complaining. The only way to effect change is to become less reactive and more proactive. It’s one thing to have a new idea or voice, but you need to have that idea and voice heard. Here are just…

• The power of touch

  Sean Dent

  22 Jan 2012 | 8:55 am

  Jochen Sands | Digital Vision | Thinkstock The most powerful healing tool gets lost in the background to the buzzing, beeping, clicking and shuffling. The rhythms of a nursing unit set the pace of the day. An alarm sounding, a timer beeping, and a monitor blipping. Rush, rush, rush to the next task at hand, all the while treating our patients like another piece of equipment. I too am guilty of this sin. I get caught up in the moment. I worry about time. I am mindful of the roar. Thankfully, I had the pleasure of getting back to the basics the other day at work. Due to staffing needs / wants…

• Have I become a “pro” at being a nursing student?

  Sean Dent

  19 Jan 2012 | 12:37 pm

  iStockphoto This semester starts the strong wave of clinical hours for my Nurse Practitioner program. I’ll be spending many, many hours in the hospital as a student…again. I’m just a tad bit nervous. Okay, let me re-phrase that. I’m scared outta my mind!! I feel like I’m back in nursing school–learning the ropes, talking the talk. Just when I started to find my own walking pace, I’m back to crawling at the next level. I can’t help but wonder how different things are now from when I was in my diploma program. (I cannot believe it’s been seven years since I became an RN?!)…

• How should MDs treat you…when you’re the PATIENT?

  Sean Dent

  18 Jan 2012 | 12:58 pm

  Comstock | Thinkstock Being on the opposite side of the bedside can be challenging. When you go from being the caregiver to the one being cared for, how do you want to be treated? Better yet, how do you want to be spoken to? It’s a real hot topic for many healthcare professionals, not just nurses. I’ve discovered over the course of my education that physicians have many of the same concerns. When your physician needs to discuss your care, how do you want him or her to speak with you? Do you want him or her to spell everything out? Or can he or she talk to you as if you are colleagues? We…

• 

  Those Emergency Blues

• Friday Night Flicks: The Super List

  torontoemerg

  27 Jan 2012 | 6:38 pm

  A surprisingly creepy little film, if you have twelve minutes and thirty seconds to spare. Filed under: Friday Night Flicks Tagged: short films

• A Small Rant from Your Friendly X-ray Tech

  torontoemerg

  27 Jan 2012 | 9:15 am

  A note sent to me from my favourite MRT (Medical Radiation Technologist). A reminder too, that nurses aren’t the centre of the universe, even if we think we are. Some thoughts from an MRT. . . Now I know we aren’t perfect but I feel like a rant about portable examinations. If a portable examination is requested it’s because the patient is too ill to come to the department, not because they are in the bed nearest the window and it’s a hassle to get them out of the room. Portable exams give less information than a department film so why chose inferior diagnostics? So the…

• The Persecution of Amanda Trujillo

  torontoemerg

  25 Jan 2012 | 9:05 am

  In the ugly, grey world of hospital balance sheets it’s almost a commonplace that physicians generate revenue while nurses represent a cost. Fancy procedures and sub-sub-specialties bring generous income streams, in terms of charging (and profiting) from the provision of a multitude of related services, such as nursing, while nursing itself, because it generates no revenue, is a burden to the bottom line. It’s also commonplace, that in certain health care institutions, the power structure, the hierarchy of heath care, is so rigid (and fragile) that any challenges to that hierarchy…

• Kung Hei Fat Choi

  torontoemerg

  23 Jan 2012 | 10:38 am

  Some Chinese New Year fun. Filed under: Uncategorized

• Karma Sweet Karma

  torontoemerg

  22 Jan 2012 | 9:29 am

  The latest instalment of Nurses Behaving Badly featured the night charge and the day charge (i.e. me) getting a status asthmaticus organized in Resus 1 a few minutes after shift change. It’s probably reasonable to wonder why the two Resus Room nurses weren’t attending (and attentive to) the situation, especially after we paged the physician and the RT in quick succession for a possible intubation, and especially since both of them were less than twenty feet from where we were working. We thought at first they were getting report on the only other patient in Resus, but after 10…

• 

  Nursing Influence

• Have to Pee in the Pool?

  Amy Sellers

  15 Jan 2012 | 5:07 pm

  I can’t believe that it’s been 2.5 months since I’ve posted on Nursing Influence. Although, since I have grad school (my FNP program) to blame, I don’t quite feel as bad. :-P I’ve been spending this gorgeous 70-degree January weekend inside studying fluid, electrolyte, & pH balance. I can definitely say that I’m getting quite a bit done. But, as I was reading I came across the most interesting fact of the week and wanted to share it here!   BNP (brain naturetic peptide) is one of the reasons why people feel the need to urinate after getting in the…

• Nursing and Health Policy

  Amy Sellers

  30 Oct 2011 | 9:43 pm

  I just started a new class in my NP program – Ethics, Policy, & Finance. So far, I’m totally loving it. I’ve always loved aspects of business (which is why I took extra classes in undergrad to get a minor in business), but it’s even more interesting hearing about aspects of business that specifically relate to the field of nursing. Our first section is focused on health policy and changes in healthcare through the last 100 years. Excited :) I’m sure there will be more posts to come on these topics (my last course was nursing research which was very…

• California Prevents San Fran Circumcision Ban

  Amy Sellers

  3 Oct 2011 | 7:34 am

  I heard about the proposed ban earlier this summer and while I can’t say I was shocked (it is San Fran, after all), I was annoyed. I can see their side of the issue… babies unwillingly having a piece of their skin cut off. But where do we draw the line? There are a lot of things that occur within medicine that aren’t pleasant… immunizations, IVs. If I were a boy, I would hope that my parents would have gotten me circumcised when I was an infant. I know that my grandpa was circumcised when he was 19 years old due to an infection… I bet he wished he had it done…

• Cath Lab University

  Amy Sellers

  28 Sep 2011 | 10:00 am

  Our cath lab shared leadership (shared governance) team decided that we’d like to help our hospital staff better understand what goes on in the cardiac catheterization lab which will lead to better patient education and care. So, we have broken the cath lab procedures into 3 basic categories: diagnostic, interventional, and EP studies/device implants. We will be putting on 3 different presentations to cover these topics. Last week, we started with our first of the presentations (on diagnostic caths). We used one of our cath labs and set up a “sterile” tray, brought in a…

• Lacking Education

  Amy Sellers

  24 Sep 2011 | 11:07 pm

  One thing that’s been hard for me while working in the cath lab is the lack of education I’m able to give to my patients. I love educating. I really think that patient education is a highlight of what nurses can do to make a difference in the lives of their patients. Working in a procedural area, it’s not breaking news that we don’t get to spend much time with our patients (while they’re awake anyways). When we roll patients into the cath lab, they are usually nervous, so I focus on small talk to take their mind off of the procedure or do some pre-procedural…

• 

  NurseReview.Org

• Is Oral Sex to Blame for the Surge in Cancer of the Mouth and Throat?

  Myk

  25 Jan 2012 | 3:37 pm

  Earlier this month, the American Cancer Society (ACS) released its annual Cancer Facts & Figures. The 2012 report includes some encouraging facts. Since 1990, the incidence of some common tumors including lung, colon, and prostate cancer has declined. Meanwhile, the rate of seven malignancies, like those of the lower mouth and throat linked to human papillomavirus (HPV), is increasing. The cause of this trend, which many assume is linked to people engaging in more oral sex, is not as straightforward as you might think. Oropharyngeal cancers refer to tumors of the tonsils and rear tongue,…

• Dec 2011 NLE Results - Surname "Z"

  Myk

  21 Jan 2012 | 7:13 pm

  The December 2011 NLE Results have not yet been released by the PRC, we encourage you to subscribed to our DEC 2011 QUICK RESULT to get updated! Article copyright NurseReview.org - #1 source of information to update nurses all over the world. All rights reserved. No part of an article may be reproduced without the prior permission.

• Dec 2011 NLE Results - Surname "Y"

  Myk

  21 Jan 2012 | 7:13 pm

  The December 2011 NLE Results have not yet been released by the PRC, we encourage you to subscribed to our DEC 2011 QUICK RESULT to get updated! Article copyright NurseReview.org - #1 source of information to update nurses all over the world. All rights reserved. No part of an article may be reproduced without the prior permission.

• Dec 2011 NLE Results - Surname "X"

  Myk

  21 Jan 2012 | 7:12 pm

  The December 2011 NLE Results have not yet been released by the PRC, we encourage you to subscribed to our DEC 2011 QUICK RESULT to get updated! Article copyright NurseReview.org - #1 source of information to update nurses all over the world. All rights reserved. No part of an article may be reproduced without the prior permission.

• Dec 2011 NLE Results - Surname "W"

  Myk

  21 Jan 2012 | 7:12 pm

  The December 2011 NLE Results have not yet been released by the PRC, we encourage you to subscribed to our DEC 2011 QUICK RESULT to get updated! Article copyright NurseReview.org - #1 source of information to update nurses all over the world. All rights reserved. No part of an article may be reproduced without the prior permission.

• 

  The Dog Ate My Care Plan...

• She Lives…

  isntshelovlei

  14 Jan 2012 | 1:37 am

  I know, I know…I’ve been a bad blogger—but not without just cause I assure you. So I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I’ve finished my Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing!! Now I’m just up to my eyeballs in NCLEX prep as I impatiently await the arrival of my ATT (authorization to test for those who aren’t fluent in nursingstudentese). The bad news is…I will no longer be blogging at TDAMCP. Somewhere along the way the blog and my identity became intermingled which was never really my intention and I’d really like to…

• GUEST POST: The Warriors Guide to Landing Your First RN Job

  isntshelovlei

  15 Oct 2011 | 11:00 pm

  This is a guest post by Caleb Christenson RN. He is a med-surg nurse living and working in southern California, read more tips from Caleb at RookieNurse.org. A site dedicated to the success of you, the student and new grad nurse. Sign up for his newsletter to get exclusive material and resources. It has been said that “war is hell.” Well, so is hunting for a job, especially your first nursing job. Times are tough for new grad RN’s. Older nurses aren’t retiring and schools are pumping out new grads at an ever increasing rate. Google “nursing schools” and see…

• NCLEX-RN Review Course Compare & Contrast

  isntshelovlei

  6 Sep 2011 | 8:15 am

  Since I’m so close to taking my boards (knock on wood), I figured now would be a good time to look at a couple NCLEX-RN review courses. As studying awaits (and time waits for no nursing student), I am only going to compare two for now—NCSBN’s Learning Extension and Kaplan. The price: Nursing students (well, any students in this economy) are interested in the numbers. How much am I gonna have to rob Peter (or the parentals) to pay Paul? Well NCSBN’s courses will cost you any where from $50 – $160 depending on how many weeks of access you are interested in; whereas…

• Final Semester–Locked and Loaded!

  isntshelovlei

  3 Sep 2011 | 3:22 am

  The last call…the final destination…the season finale… ..is finally here. Can-you-believe-it? I wouldn’t if I didn’t have the battle scars (and the gray hairs) to prove it… So—before classes started I trekked to campus and happily marched into the security office to purchase a parking permit. The parking guy asked me if I wanted a full year permit to which I answered no, it’d be my last semester. I am sure I sported a Cheshire grin. Do you know this guy had the nerve to tell me not to be so cocky about finishing on time—not that he…

• They’re Gonna Git You Sucka…

  isntshelovlei

  19 Aug 2011 | 2:21 am

  So someone made a comment to me that “they’re gonna git you…” in reference to some of the things I say on my blog. I’m not exactly sure who “they” are, but “they” can find me right here at TDAMCP…I’ll be here all day…  I admit that my posts can be a bit snarky. They drizzle with sarcasm at times. But Sarah Good of social media I am not. The things I blog about such as coming to work sick, bedside manner, test taking, CPR, health statistics, professionalism, med math—just to name a few—are very relevant topics. I…

• 

  Find Nursing Degrees Online at FindNursingDegrees.com

• New nursing grad visits Vietnam to help orphans

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am

  Linda Pham's family emigrated from Vietnam to the United States nearly 30 years ago in hopes of finding a better life. Just recently, Pham, who received her registered nurse (RN) diploma this past June, decided to explore her native roots by planning a trip to the country to help orphans and sick children. Two of Pham's friends also joined her.The first placed they stopped on their trip was a rehabilitation center in Hanoi for children who are suffering from the effects of Agent Orange, which was an herbicidal weapon developed by the American government many years ago."We played…

• Recent study finds that nurses' salaries are increasing

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am

  The annual Salary and Compensation Survey by the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) found that nurses' pay increased between 2010 and 2011. The 5,053 nursing professionals who responded to the survey were made up of educators, registered nurses (RNs), nursing managers, hospital nursing directors and clinical nurse specialists, according to Nurse.com.The survey found that nurses working in university/academic ambulatory surgical centers earned more than those in other types of healthcare facilities and that respondents in larger centers often received larger…

• Holidays are a busy time for nurses

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am

  While the holidays can be fun, excessive eating and drinking can sometimes lead to crowded hospitals. However, the emergency rooms (ERs) and care facilities are still open in case of medical emergencies.The winter holidays are a particularly busy time for nurses working in ERs. Jim James, a registered nurse (RN) in Washington, said that because many clinics are closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas, people with medical emergencies head to the ER for treatment instead, whether from over eating or chronic disorders, according to NBC.Highlighting this trend, the Kadlec Regional Medical Center…

• Nurse continues to assist Haiti long after earthquake

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am

  Jan Kass, a registered nurse (RN) at Sharp Coronado Hospital in California, responded to a call for doctors and nurses across the United States to provide disaster relief in Haiti after an earthquake shook the country in January 2010. A year later, the dedicated woman has visited the island nation three times and hopes that her efforts inspire other nurses to "lend a hand," according to the Coronado Eagle and Journal.Kass spent her first two trips to Haiti at the Hopital Adventiste d’Haiti in Port-au-Prince treating survivors of the earthquake, and the third trip leading wound…

• Wesley Medical Center names first ever recipient of nursing award

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am

  Recently, Lore Chambliss was named the winner of the Hattiesburg, Mississippi's Wesley Medical Center's Barbara Hayman Nurse of the Year Award. Chambliss has been working as a nurse in patient care and has been with the Wesley Medical Center for 30 years. She is the first ever recipient of the award.The Board of Trustees at the center inaugurated the aforementioned award to be a presented to a nurse who has demonstrated outstanding work and service in recognition of the late Barbara Hayman. Hayman worked as registered nurse for over 54 years and was inducted into the Mississippi…

• 

  JParadisi RN's Blog

• I Wish I Said It

  JParadisiRN

  24 Jan 2012 | 10:43 pm

  I don’t write for children. I write, and someone says, “That’s for children.” Maurice Sendak Filed under: I Wish I'd Said It Tagged: Art, Children, Maurice Sendak, nurse blogs, Where the Wild Things Are

• Learn and Live

  JParadisiRN

  22 Jan 2012 | 7:03 pm

  Hawthorne Bridge photo: jparadisi 2012 American Heart Association, are you messing with me? I was a wee bambina sitting at the dinner table the first time I heard the acronym CPR. My father, a volunteer firefighter for the small town where we lived, certified that afternoon. I remember him saying, “It’s a terrible thing to need to do, but everyone should know how to do it,” and his words are true. Everyone should know CPR. I got my first CPR card in high school, recerting off and on until becoming a nurse. Now, I recert (renew) every two years. All hospitals I have worked for in two…

• I Wish I’d Said It

  JParadisiRN

  20 Jan 2012 | 10:47 am

  Keep your chin up, No one expected you to save the world, Otherwise, you would have been born wearing a cape and tights. Just do the best you can. Happinessinyourlife.com Filed under: I Wish I'd Said It, Posts About Art & Nursing Tagged: Arts, Facebook, Happiness in your life, nurses, Perspective, rn blog, social media

• AJN’s On the Web

  JParadisiRN

  18 Jan 2012 | 10:54 am

  This morning I’m drinking my first cup of coffee, thumbing through the January 2012 issue of the American Journal of Nursing. A familiar sentence catches my eyes in On the Web, page 22. It’s a line from a post published (and I wrote) on their blog Off the Charts. Thanks AJN! It’s gonna be a good day. Filed under: Posts About Art & Nursing, You Can Find Me Here Too Tagged: American Journal of Nursing, blog, blogging, cup of coffee, health, nursing, rn blog

• Next Career, No Body Fluids

  JParadisiRN

  15 Jan 2012 | 6:57 pm

  XXXL Pajama Pants pencil and pastel by jparadisi 2012 “Next career, no body fluids.” That’s what I tell myself. I admire hospital management their ability to wear cute dresses and pumps to work or, if they are male, slacks and sweaters. Oh, and jewelry: modestly dangling earrings and longish necklaces. I knew the most talented and charming surgeon who got away with it too, mostly because she’s so damn good at what she does. I once saw her come from the OR wearing green surgical scrubs, a string of black pearls around her neck, and pumps covered in paper surgery…

• 

  Health Care & Medical Articles – HealthCareerWeb.com

• Thinking About a Career in Nursing? Get the Facts.

  hhawkins

  23 Jan 2012 | 4:10 pm

  Originally from: Thinking About a Career in Nursing? Get the Facts. If you are thinking about choosing nursing as a career path, then you have quite a few options to consider, both before and after you choose what kind of nurse you want to be. How long do you plan to go to school? Would a certification or a degree be a better option? Perhaps one of the most important aspects to consider is the job market outlook for the foreseeable future. With the answer to these questions, you can formulate your game plan to maximize your chances for success! Here’s a brief list of the places that nursing…

• Acetaminophen Linked With Childhood Asthma

  hhawkins

  17 Jan 2012 | 4:58 pm

  Originally from: Acetaminophen Linked With Childhood Asthma Investigations conducted by the International Study of Allergy and Asthma in Childhood over the past 30 years document a strong relationship between acetaminophen use and the development of asthma in children, in addition to a possible association with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema. The relationship was so strong, in fact, that the epidemic of emerging childhood asthma cases affecting the world’s most developed countries is now thought to be a result of increased acetaminophen use in the countries affected. Although…

• Breakthrough Treatment Cures Terminal Leukemia Patients

  hhawkins

  17 Jan 2012 | 3:56 pm

  Originally from: Breakthrough Treatment Cures Terminal Leukemia Patients By August 2011, persistent chemotherapy-resistant chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) was verified to have been completely cured in 2 out of 3 advanced stage CLL patients. The therapy used to accomplish this feat was only a slight alteration of many previously unsuccessful attempts at genetically modifying a patient’s T cells to enable them to fight leukemia and seek out and destroy tumors. Being diagnosed with CLL is a terrifying thought for anyone, young or old. It is a serious form of cancer that tends to invade the…

• Gateway Regional Medical Center

  bsquare17

  9 Jan 2012 | 2:11 pm

  Originally from: Gateway Regional Medical Center Gateway Regional Medical Center in Granite City, IL was recently named one of the nation’s top performers on key quality measures by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in America. The hospital was recognized by The Joint Commission based on data reported about evidence-based clinical processes that are shown to improve care for certain conditions, including heart attacks, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care, and children’s asthma. Gateway Regional Medical Center is one of only 405 U.S.

• The Leapfrog Group’s Top Performing Hospitals of 2011

  Khoffman

  6 Dec 2011 | 3:04 pm

  Originally from: The Leapfrog Group’s Top Performing Hospitals of 2011 Its the end of 2011, which means that the best of 2011 list are coming out. The Leapfrog Group continued their eleven year tradition and have recognized 65 top performing hospitals of 2011. “The Leapfrog Group survey focuses on three critical areas: (1) how patients fare, (2) resources used to care for patients, and (3) management practices that promote safety and quality. In each of the three areas, Leapfrog asks hospitals to report on nationally standardized measures so healthcare consumers can compare…