Nurses need to stay current in the latest nutrional trends, and how they relate to the treatment of GI disorders. With that in mind, here is everything a nurse needs to know about using the low FODMAP Diet for treating IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome.) Read more
There’s been a lot of chatter on twitter as far as whether hospitals are doing enough to protect nurses who come in contact with an Ebola patient. I’ve also seen the sentiment that we shouldn’t be spreading fear, because Ebola isn’t an airborne virus. And the rallying cry that, “Protocols work if we follow them correctly!” There’s no question that these discussions are needed. There seems to be much confusion over what we should be doing. Read more
You’ve tried being a nurse in different care areas. You’ve tried changing your attitude. Meditation, spiritual guides, life coaches, self-help books. And alcohol, lots of alcohol.
Despite all of these interventions, you’ve come to the conclusion that you aren’t really feeling the love anymore. You’re ready to to quit nursing. Read more
I’ve been inconsistent about following nurse blogs lately. But last week the domain name for NurseRiver was up for renewal and I asked myself, is it really worth the money for the 4-5 people who visit it each week? I was leaning towards no, but then I came across Amanda Anderson’s post, “A Nurses Day Present: I Bought My Blog.” Read more
I’ve been thinking about NotNurseRatched’s post about the state of nurses in social media. I’ve definitely retreated from social media for some of the reasons she describes (incivility, name-calling, pitchfork wielding), but the truth is that I want back in. I love blogging. How much sense does it make to give up something you love because of a little unpleasant conversation? Read more
A NYT article today points out some of the current problems with digitizing health records. It focuses on the potential for fraud and abuse by hospitals around coding and billing. But what about the potential for abuse by the companies that sell EMR technology? Read more
This past year I was ready to go back to work after a long (too long!) hiatus. Sadly, after an extensive job search, I was not successful in finding a nursing job. But the good news is that I’m ready to share my 20/20 hindsight perspective! So where are all the jobs? Read more
Back in August this NYT magazine article about the opt out moms wanting back in caught my attention and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. Basically, in the earlier part of the millenium, many successful women decided to opt out of their careers in order to raise children. Now that the economy has changed, they want their jobs back. The only problem is that when you leave the workforce for 5 years, it’s hard to get back into it. This scares me.
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By now many of you have read about Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s new policy requiring nursing staff to perform janitorial tasks.
Many points have been raised including the possibility of cross contamination (scrub a toilet, administer IV meds – what could go wrong?) There’s also the illogical decision to eliminate lower paid employees and reassign their tasks to higher paid employees (staff retention, anyone?) But probably the worst aspect of it, as NotRatched points out, that lately nursing seems to be a dumping ground for extra tasks and responsibilities.
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I wrote this over on my fargo blog about a weblog I made in nursing school in 2004. It was basically the precursor to this blog.
I think my favorite part of the experience was this:
“I came across another professor showing the site to her class. “And look at this – you can click on the link and it shows you more information!!!” She seemed genuinely delighted to discover the concept of hyperlinks. And really – who wouldn’t be?”
It demonstrates how slow my nursing professors were to embrace new technologies. Read more
