American Institute of Health Care Professionals, Inc.

10 Tips for Nurse Practitioners to Avoid Burnout from Nurse Together

2012-03-20T10:01:00.002-07:00

How can taking care of one's self have anything to do with business? As a business owner, you work hard; most likely you work harder than you ever did as an employed person. This is especially true during your first years in business. As such, it's important to take the time to recharge your batteries. Here are some suggestions for you:

Vacation. There is no question, getting away is the best way to recharge. While many of us may not be able to get away for 2-3 weeks, consider several mini-vacations or even a staycation.

Read a book that has nothing to do with medicine, nursing, health or business. Totally get away from your everyday work and immerse yourself in something completely unrelated.

For the full article please go here.

10 Ways to Reduce “No Shows” for your Nurse Practitioner Business from Nurse Together

2012-03-20T09:59:00.002-07:00

There is no doubt about it; having patients no show on your schedule is lost revenue for your practice.

Some practices will charge a no-show fee, but others don't, or they feel it is impossible to collect on them. And with some insurers, you are prohibited by contract to charge your patient (DSHS for example).

Regardless of your office policy, minimizing or even eliminating "no-shows" on your schedule will increase your revenues.

For the full article please go here.

Retail Healthcare: An Evolving Field for Nurse Practitioners from Nurse Together

2012-03-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

I work in a new area for nursing: Nurse Practitioner in a Convenient Care Clinic providing minor care in a retail setting. That is, I diagnose and treat sore throats in a grocery store. My practice involves sore throats, ear aches, URI, Influenza, Dermatitis, and UTIs for adult women. I am a Family Nurse Practitioner and we do episodic care for anyone one year and older. My oldest patient, thus far, was a one hundred-year-old lady who received her flu shot in my clinic.

Working in a retail clinic requires a lot more than the ability to diagnose and treat minor ailments. To be good at this position, one needs to be able to triage simple, routine care from more serious conditions that require a higher level of care and greater follow-up. If you don’t want to miss heart failure from bronchitis, you need to be aware that things may not be as clear cut as they look. At the same time, the famous saying, “look for horses before zebras”, is the general rule.

For the full article please go here.

7 Heart-Healthy Behaviors That Could Help You Live Longer from Huffington Post

2012-03-20T08:07:00.002-07:00

Despite the fact that we are all generally aware of heart-healthy behaviors -- things like not smoking, eating well and exercising -- just a little more than 1 percent of the U.S. population abides by the seven key behaviors linked with a longer life, according to a new study.

The study examined the behaviors of 44,959 adults in the U.S. (ages 20 and older) who were part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1988 and 1994, 1999 and 2004, and 2005 and 2010, and the NHANES III Linked Mortality File.

The researchers found that just 2 percent of people who were in the study between 1988 and 1994 and 1.2 percent of people in the study between 2005 and 2010 abided by the seven metrics deemed optimal for heart health.

For the full article please go here.

Catch your breath at these yoga retreats from MSNBC

2012-03-19T10:20:00.000-07:00

By Jordan Kisner, Departures.com

Few forms of escapism are as wholesome as yoga. As its millions of acolytes attest, regular yoga practice not only alleviates stress and improves strength and flexibility (recent reports even credit it for enhanced sexual health), it’s also an activity that can be done just about anywhere. Just taking a smartphone-free hour to practice sun salutations can feel like a mini-vacation.

Slideshow: See these and more top yoga retreats

But even for the yogically inclined, more than an hourlong getaway is sometimes necessary. It’s certainly alluring, especially since there are so many options for rolling up your sticky mat and dashing off to an exotic locale.

For the full article please go here.

An RN Asks: Why Should I Have to Go Back to School? from Nurse Together

2012-03-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

You’re an accomplished RN, a nurse with years of experience helping patients in every circumstance imaginable. So when you hear your manager, employer, fellow nurses, nursing associations, and trade journals harping on and on about the need to go back to school, you may be asking yourself, "Why? I know my stuff! What’s the point now of going back to school now?"

An even more pressing question in your mind might be, "What will a degree really do for me at this point in my career?"

These are valid questions. After all, like most every RN, you’ve picked up knowledge and experience about how to do your job by learning it on the fly. So what difference will a degree make, exactly?

For the full article please go here.

5 Things I Have Learned from My Patients from Nurse Together

2012-03-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

I have been in nursing for many years now and every day still brings a new opportunity for me to learn something from my patients. Even the ones who are difficult, argue with me and even call me a few names I will not repeat here, still taught me a lesson or two about life, how to communicate and what empathy really means.

Here are my top five things I learned from my patients:

For the full article please go here.

Could Stress Make Your Memory Worse? from Huffington Post

2012-03-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

Uh oh.

A new study shows that stress may do more than make you frazzled -- it could actually affect memory, according to a new study in mice.

Researchers from the State University of New York at Buffalo published a study in the journal Neuron showing that repeat exposure to stress in mice led to impairments in a part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, Everyday Health reported.

The prefrontal cortex is known as the "CEO of the brain," according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, because it's in charge of abstract thoughts and cognitive analysis, not to mention the sense of how to act "correctly" in situations.

MedPage Today reported that the memory problems could come from interference with the signaling of glutamate -- glutamate signaling is very important for proper functioning of the prefrontal cortex of the brain. Researchers reported that when the mice were under stress, there was a loss of receptors for glutamate, which in turn had a negative effect on the brain's processes.

For the full article please go here.

Does Stress Accelerate Aging? Fact or Fiction from Huffington Post

2012-03-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

Many of us see President Obama's graying hair and think, "it must be all the stress he's under." We view Hillary Clinton's furrowed brow and assume, "the weight of the world is adding years to her face." But do stress and anxiety actually accelerate the aging process? Is there scientific evidence to back this perception?

The fact is, the results from research are themselves pretty gray. Some studies studies suggest that stress has direct negative effects on our physical and emotional health, but its exact relationship is complex and not yet fully understood.

Here is what we know. Acute anxiety is our natural response to a real or perceived threat -- what we call the fight/flight reaction. It involves a two-way communication between our brain and body, resulting in activation of our cardiovascular, immune and other biological systems. It's our survival instinct at work.

For the full article please go here.

10 No-Cost Strategies to Fight Depression from Health.com

2012-03-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

Feeling depressed?

With the economy stuck in neutral, people have more reasons to be depressed—and less money to treat their depression—than in the past.

The cost of medication and talk therapy add up even if you have health insurance—and more than 46 million people in the U.S. (and counting) do not.

If you’re depressed, and especially if you have bipolar disorder, lifestyle changes and other do-it-yourself strategies are not a substitute for professional help. But even if you are already taking antidepressants or seeing a therapist, there are many things you can do to help yourself feel better—and they don’t cost a dime.

For the full article please go here.

9 Things to Stop Worrying About from Health.com

2012-03-15T09:31:00.000-07:00

Stress myths

By Dorothy Foltz-Gray

In the old days, health misinformation would spread slowly. Not today. "The Internet has given people the ability to send everyone on their email lists wild stories that end up mushrooming around the world in a matter of hours," says Rich Buhler, creator of Truthorfiction.com, a website devoted to debunking false email rumors. But relax: Most of those health scares hitting your in-box are a misreading of facts or a deliberate twisting of the truth.

For the full article please go here.

Walking Could Lower Effect Of Genetic Predisposition For Obesity, Study Suggests from Huffington Post

2012-03-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

Walking briskly for just an hour a day is enough to cut the effect of genetic tendencies toward obesity, according to new research.

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health also found that staying sedentary -- measured in the study by how long a person watched TV per day -- worsened the effects of the "obesity genes."

"In our study, a brisk one-hour daily walk reduced the genetic influence towards obesity, measured by differences in BMI by half," study researcher Qibin Qi, Ph.D., a post doctorate research fellow at Harvard, said in a statement. "On the other hand, a sedentary lifestyle marked by watching television four hours a day increased the genetic influence by 50 percent."

The research was presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism 2012 Scientific Sessions.

Qi and colleagues analyzed data from 7,740 women and 4,564 men who were part of the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. They looked at the study participants' physical activity and TV watching habits two years before they looked at their body mass indexes (BMI, a ratio of weight to height that tells whether a person is obese or overweight).

For the full article please go here.

4 Ways Pets Improve Your Health from Men's Health Via Yahoo News

2012-03-14T08:50:00.000-07:00

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I’ve always loved animals. I should clarify: I’ve always loved other people’s animals. Those I didn’t have to feed, walk, or clean up after. Anytime I dreamed about throwing the Frisbee with my hypothetical yellow lab at the park, my next vision was of me walking Wilson (his codename!) on snowy, windy, miserable January mornings. Or of me holding a plastic bag filled with Wilson’s poop.

I much prefer sleeping in on cold mornings. And not carrying dog poop. Not to mention the barking. Shut up already, Wilson!

So I remained pet-less. That changed last fall when I met 5-week-old Pixie, a stray kitten my kids fell in love with. Pix is everything cats aren’t supposed to be: social, affectionate, and whip smart. In other words, she’s the dog I never thought I’d have. After a long day at work, she inevitable jumps in my lap and starts purring. I find myself confiding in her. At first, this felt crazy. Now it feels good.

For the full article please go here.

Cocoa: A Surprising Superfood from Yahoo News

2012-03-14T08:46:00.000-07:00

Amazing but true: Eating chocolate could actually save your life, by dramatically reducing risk for heart attacks and stroke, new research shows. Dark chocolate and cocoa powder actually contain more disease-fighting antioxidants than do blueberries, cranberries, acai, and other “superfruits,” according to a peer-reviewed study published in Chemistry Central Journal.

People who eat the most chocolate are 37 percent less likely to develop cardiovascular disease (CVD)—the leading killer of Americans—and 29 percent less likely to suffer a stroke, compared to those who eat the least, according to an analysis of seven earlier studies involving 114,009 participants. One of the most surprising findings was that indulging in the sweet treat also trims diabetes risk by 31 percent, an international team of researchers reported in British Medical Journal.

Used as currency by ancient Aztecs and dubbed “food of the gods” by 18th century naturalist Carl Linneaus, the beans of the tropical cacao tree contain powerful disease-fighting compounds called flavonols--antioxidants also found in tea, wine, fruits and vegetables. To find out about cocoa’s cardiometabolic benefits, I talked to Amy Doneen, MSN, ARNP, medical director of the Heart Attack and Stroke Prevention Center in Spokane, Washington.

For the full article please go here.

Using Music To Evoke Positive Emotions from Medical News Today

2012-03-14T08:42:00.000-07:00

Music can evoke positive emotions, which in turn can lower the listener's stress levels. Everyday music listening is therefore a simple and effective way to enhance well-being and health, according to a new doctoral thesis in psychology from the University of Gothenburg.

The thesis is based partly on a survey study involving 207 individuals, partly on an intervention study where an experiment group consisting of 21 persons listened to self-chosen music for 30 minutes per day for two weeks while an equally sized control group got to relax without music.

The results of the studies show that positive emotions were experienced both more often and more intensively in connection with music listening. The experiment group did also perceive less stress and had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. The more the participants in the survey study liked the music, the less stress they experienced.

For the full article please go here.

Meditation: The Pearl in the Oyster from Huffington Post

2012-03-14T08:11:00.002-07:00

An oyster may not like that irritating grain of sand in its shell, but it manages to transform it into a precious pearl. That's quite a feat. Just like beautiful roses growing out of smelly manure, a delicate butterfly emerging out of a caterpillar or muddy water turning into sweet coconut milk.

It's a process of transformation and, luckily, meditation does exactly the same thing for us, as through it we awaken to the exquisiteness of our own true nature. By sitting quietly with awareness of whatever is going on in our life, however irritating or challenging it may be, we gain a greater insight by seeing round it, through it, and beyond it. In this way annoyance is transformed into acceptance, challenges into clarity, and shit into gold. Adversity is as much a stimulus for change as it forms the compost from which we grow.

For the full article please go here.

Yoga For Caregivers: Meditation May Lower Depression, Improve Brain Functioning In Dementia Caregivers from Huffington Post

2012-03-14T08:06:00.000-07:00

Yoga has been shown in research to help people with a multitude of health problems, including relieving back pain and lowering stress -- it may even help to lower blood pressure.

But now, it turns out yoga doesn't just help the person with the ailment -- it could also help the person taking care of the person with the ailment.

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles found that meditation from yoga can help lower depression in caregivers, and may also improve their cognitive functioning.

The researchers even found that the meditation was associated with a decrease in cellular aging from stress.

"To a varying degree, many psychosocial interventions like this have been shown to enhance mental health for caregivers," study researcher Dr. Helen Lavretsky, a professor of psychiatry at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, said in a statement. "Yet given the magnitude of the caregiver burden, it is surprising that very few interventions translate into clinical practice. The cost of instruction and offering classes may be one factor. Our study suggests a simple, low-cost yoga program can enhance coping and quality of life for the caregivers."

For the full article please go here.

5 Ways to Make Meditation Less Mysterious from Huffington Post

2012-03-14T07:55:00.002-07:00

A few weeks ago, I went to a concert of traditional Indian chanting music by the wonderful performer Krishna Das. "Let's start with a few oms," Das casually began, referring to the sound said to underlie all energy, which people often use to start a meditation. Suddenly, this crowd of several hundred slouchers bolted upright. "I didn't say, 'Sit up straight,'" Das laughed. "You can say om while relaxing."

To me, this moment perfectly captured the rituals and rigamarole we have unnecessarily placed around the practice of meditation, which I believe makes some people apprehensive to do it. Would-be meditators who approach me invariably focus more on the ceremony than the mental centering: Do you have to wear special clothing? Are there specific words to chant? Does it demand a set amount of time? Require a special cushion on the floor? I always answer, "no." Although some traditions do impose certain requirements on their practitioners, most of us are better off avoiding the preparation and props of a Broadway production.

For the full article please go here.

The Farley-Kluger Amendment

2012-03-13T09:08:00.000-07:00

The Farley-Kluger Amendment (www.farleykluger.com)
Just go to www.farleykluger.com to sign the petition
There is no loss greater than the loss of a child. Words cannot express the depth of sorrow you feel. Some companies allow 3 days bereavement, some companies are more generous in this situation, but most, unfortunately, are not. Expecting parents to come back to work within a week and "be normal" not only shows a lack of compassion, but a lack of empathy.
–Brenda S. from Alexandria, VA
As a bereaved parent I cannot believe this isn't already in place. Losing a child, toddler, teen or adult makes no difference to the trauma the parents go through. There is no loss like it. We are kinder to animals than to our fellow man.
–Michele H. from Alden, NY
These are just a few of the many comments that have been made by parents who have suffered the tragic loss of a child and then not been given adequate time off of work to mourn their loss.
Currently the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) permits workers, in companies with 50 or more employees, to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to help care for a sick immediate family member. Surprisingly, the FMLA does not cover the death of a child. As a result, some bereaved moms and dads have had to make the difficult decision as to whether to spend time away from their companies and risk losing their jobs or return to work long before they are ready.
Two grieving fathers, Barry Kluger and Kelly Farley, have started a petition to get the law changed and in just one year, went from 1,000 to 34,000 petitions to Congress and in Fall 2011, Sen. Jon Tester, inspired by The Farley-Kluger Amendment (www.farleykluger.com), introduced the Parental Bereavement Act of 2011 which is currently in a U.S. Senate Committee. The week of March 19, Messrs. Kluger and Farley travel to DC for over 20 Hill meetings with various Senators and Congresspersons, in their effort to get a companion House Bill introduced. We are asking you to join with us in supporting a proposed amendment to FMLA that would allow unpaid leave time of up to 12 weeks for families who have lost a child.
You can help! It’s simple and will only take a few minutes of your time. Just go to www.farleykluger.com to sign the petition. It would also help if you make a comment about this amendment being particularly as parents and health care professionals. After you sign the petition, you will be given the option to send an email to your representatives in Congress to support the Farley-Kluger Amendment and this change to FMLA.
Perhaps these words from Kathleen, a Gold Star military mother from Mashpee, MA say it best:
My son’s re-deployment to Heaven on Sept. 24th 2010 was and still is the hardest thing I have ever gone through in my life. The pain never goes away but through time we as parents figure out what our new normal is going to be. Life as we knew it will forever be changed. I support this bill 100%....

10 Secret Stressors from Yahoo News

2012-03-13T07:21:00.000-07:00

By Sarah Jio

Got stress? Most of us do. And you're probably already aware of the usual suspects, like money, kids, work, rocky relationships and your health. But maybe you haven't considered the lesser-known stressors in your life. Without us even knowing it, there are plenty of unexpected causes of day-to-day worry and anxiety. Here, our experts discuss some sneaky sources of stress and exactly how to deal with them.

1. Your Doctor
You go to visit the doctor to feel better, right? But many women may find that certain doctors' interpersonal skills and lack of "bedside manner" can leave them feeling agitated and anxious. In fact, many women may leave the doctor's office feeling more stressed out than when they arrived. If this sounds familiar, it's time to find a new physician, says Phyllis Goldberg, PhD, a family and relationship expert practicing in Marina Del Ray, California. "This is a partnership, and the relationship has to work for you," she says. "So get in the driver's seat-talk to your friends, look online, make a list of what you want and interview until you find the doctor that you know is right for you."
Learn how to choose the best doctor.

For the full list please go here.

The Benefits of Reiki in Nursing from Nurse Together

2012-03-13T07:01:00.000-07:00

I walk onto my unit and can cut the air with a knife. The patients are milling around the day room, looking bored, tired, and irritated. As I enter the nurses’ station I am greeted with grunts, grimaces, or not at all. Staff from evening shift looks exhausted and drained, as if they were ready to leave four hours ago. I enter the back room, where we give report, and have a sense of what lies ahead of me for my impending night shift.

We have a woman who has bipolar disorder, substance abuse problems, and is delirious from her medications. She yells and screams for hours on end. Everyone is tired. The patients want rest. Because of the noise, they can’t sleep. The staff wants a break. They cannot focus on their work because sometimes it takes all hands to help calm this woman down.

For the full article please go here.

5 Qualities of a Great Nurse Educator from Nurse Together

2012-03-13T06:53:00.000-07:00

Being an RN for the past 32 years and continuing my education in hopes of becoming a nurse educator, I have always thought about the qualities that make a great educator. Since 2004, when I returned to school to obtain my BSN, and then again in 2008 to obtain my MHA (and soon will be completing my MSN) I have dealt with many educators thus compiling the traits of a quality educator from a student’s perspective.

I believe there are more than five qualities needed to be a great educator, however I will address five of the most critical, in my opinion.

For the full article please go here.

Soul-Talk: You Don't Have to Be an Addict to Recover from Huffington Post

2012-03-13T06:14:00.000-07:00

Do you know anyone suffering from some kind of addiction or addictive behavior? While most of us think about addiction in the more common uses of the term, such as alcohol or drug addiction, people can also become addicted to emotional patterns, food abuse, or simply to their own self-appointed sense of righteous indignation and intellectual superiority (Rush Limbaugh, anyone?).

If you or someone you know is struggling with addictive behaviors, then you might want to pay close attention to a few of the concepts contained within this post. To be clear, I am not holding myself out to be an expert on addiction or recovery in the clinical sense; however, I do wish to point out some relatively small issues that, if addressed properly, can make a world of difference.

For the full article please go here.

Momentary Mindfulness from Huffington Post

2012-03-13T06:11:00.000-07:00

For years I believed that the only way I could manage stress and stay spiritually grounded was to run three miles a day and meditate for an hour in the morning and an hour at night. That's about three hours a day -- more if you count getting dressed to run, showering, organizing the kids and the household so I could disappear to meditate. I've never had that much time to focus on personal activities -- not when my kids were young, and not now.

At best I can do one thing a day, and I'll almost always choose running. That's because I like to run more than I like to meditate. It's not easy to admit that, because a lot of people seem to think it's cool to talk about meditation -- whom your teacher is, how long you meditate every day, which meditation retreats you've signed up for. Actually, that's what really drove me away from the temples I frequented for a while, complete with "masters" who thought they were really quite special. I don't like that stuff. Gurus and guru-seekers bother me, and bragging about your meditation practice just seems wrong. It all turns me off, and then I even use that as an excuse not to meditate. I could find a million more reasons without much trouble.

For the full article please go here.

Lead by Example, for Your Patients and Your Children from Nurse Together

2012-03-12T09:11:00.002-07:00

It is true, “that without your health, you have nothing.” When we were young, most of us did not understand or care even about this quote. Some even went as far as to take our health for granted into our 50’s. In the last few weeks I have had re-occurring discussions with patients and community members about how the people that exercise through their 20-40’s have a direct positive effect on their health in their 60-80’s.

What some of you may not know is that the one common solution for all the top 10 killers of Americans is EXERCISE. It is that simple. For example, those that exercise are half as likely not to develop Type 2 Diabetes than those that do not exercise, regardless of diet. We all know that exercise reduces blood pressure, cholesterol, stress, weight and increases energy, brain activity and our quality of sleep. So why aren’t more of us, especially in our 30-50’s, exercising? As a physician it is frustrating because to me it is such a no-brainer. A good friend of mine at ACAC, Dawne Jacoby, is in charge of The Physician’s Referred Exercise Program or P.R.E.P. Dawne forwarded me a research article from the Wall Street Journal of May 25, 2010. The message of this article was, as healthcare professionals, we must lead by example. Not only do I agree with this but I would like to take it one step further. I think as adults, we should all lead by example for the children of this community.

For the full article please go here.