NurseZone Blog: Nursing Diary

A Phone Call Brought Good News to Me, but not to Everyone

2009-08-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

In a previous post I revealed that I had been identified as part of an at-risk group made up of patients who had surgery at a big city hospital during a six-month span of time. Within that time frame a surgical tech, who is infected with hepatitis C, took multiple syringes of Phentanyl from anesthesia carts and replaced them with her used needles and syringes filled with saline. The tainted

Are Passion and a Calling Pre-requisites for Being a Good Nurse?

2009-07-24T15:03:00.000-07:00

Several years of news about the nursing shortage, and now the recession, has made nursing a popular career choice. And, it is a popular choice for those seeking a second career because, in part, it is viewed as offering job security. For decades it was assumed that those entering the profession had a calling and a passion for the work before they’d even set foot in a nursing school classroom—in

Question for Nurses: Will You be an Organ Donor?

2009-07-17T10:43:00.000-07:00

Today I noticed a question on a nursing forum asking how nurses feel about organ transplantation. The questioner wants to know if nurses would be donors and would they donate organs of family members if the decision fell to them.For me, that is an easy question to answer. There is a young woman in my small town who received a heart transplant as an infant, due to hypoplastic heart syndrome. It

The Possibility of Hepatitis C Through No Fault of My Own

2009-07-10T14:22:00.000-07:00

Back in December I was scheduled for surgery at a big-city hospital and doing a lot of hand wringing in this blog as I worried about the possibility that C. diff, a nasty little bug prevalent in hospitals, might complicate my recovery. Everything is relative, as they say, and now, more than six months post-op, I’m wishing I could broker a deal to contract C. diff in place of what is hanging over

Nurse Dramas---Helping or Hurting?

2009-06-30T23:50:00.000-07:00

I’m surprised by my interest in and excitement about the new nurse-centered TV dramas, Nurse Jackie and HawthoRNe (and Mercy projected to debut in the fall lineup). I suppose that some of my reaction is in response to the efforts of Sandy Summers who, as the former voice of The Center for Nursing Advocacy and presently that of The Truth About Nursing, has kept a close eye on TV medical dramas

From Military Medic to Mainstream Nurse: A Few Changes Could Ease Nurse Shortage

2009-06-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

A large aging population coupled with too few nurses being educated equals a massive shortage of nurses. There’s nothing new about that equation. Possible solutions for a fix are regularly bandied about but I recently read of one that is new to me and one that makes perfect sense.Edward J. Halloran, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, associate professor in the School of Nursing at the University of North

Will Health Care Reform Exacerbate the Nursing Shortage?

2009-06-12T13:28:00.000-07:00

The subject of health care reform is talked about in every sort of media outlet. Newspapers and TV news programs are rife with reports of what is or isn’t happening in the crusade to provide better health care in our country. It is my opinion that everyone should have access to health care but I certainly don’t have the answers as to how it should be accomplished. It is a massive and complicated

What Happens when the Economy Turns Around

2009-06-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

The ramifications of the projected nursing shortage have been looming over us for quite awhile. Now, the recession has created an unexpected hitch that, while a boon for the present, could exacerbate a certain facet of the problem in the future. The new problematic aspect concerns the retirement of older nurses.That retirement is expected to significantly deplete the nursing workforce in the

Life Lessons from the Mouths of Patients

2009-05-29T00:06:00.000-07:00

Although nursing school graduations happen two or three times in the span of a year these days, traditionally it is May or June that one thinks of as graduation time. So, right about now a slew of brand spankin’ new nurses are crossing over from classrooms and clinicals to the workaday world where careers are forged. You new grads have likely been bombarded from every direction with advice on

Will New TV Nursing Dramas Portray Nurses Accurately?

2009-05-25T23:51:00.000-07:00

When it comes to medical dramas on TV, nurses haven’t been getting a lot of respect recently. Popular series such as House and Grey’s Anatomy mainly portray physicians. More often than not, nurses serve as secondary characters in these television series, and are seen lurking about on the fringes of the action. Small wonder, then, that despite the fact that nurses are highly skilled and saving

Should Nurses Have a Personal Mission Statement?

2009-05-22T23:26:00.000-07:00

Every business, profession and organization seems to have a mission statement. That’s a good thing—it’s always good to know where we’re going, how we’re going to get there and why we are going in the first place. I view that sort of mission statement as a big umbrella under which employees collectively operate. But, what about the individual employee? Should each one have a personal mission

In This Job Market, Interview Skills Make All the Difference

2009-05-19T23:08:00.000-07:00

I don’t know how many student nurse readers of this blog there are, but I know there are at least a few. If you’re out there, I have some helpful advice to share with you.The word is out that, in some parts of the country, newly graduated nurses are having a hard time finding jobs. Actually, there are jobs to be had but new grads’ dream jobs may be scarce. The recession is causing nurses who’re

Did Anyone Notice National Nurses Week?

2009-05-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

I get pumped up over National Nurses’ Week. No one is sending me gifts, treating me to a spa day or honoring me at a special dinner but I like that there are nurses who are being recognized with these gestures. I also like that there is a focus on and publicity for the nursing profession—not nearly enough, mind you, but more than usual. I hope a lot of people noticed. I was pleasantly surprised

Is This School Perpetuating an Unprofessional Nursing Image?

2009-04-29T15:41:00.000-07:00

Recently, I read a comment on an online nursing forum regarding the female writer’s newly issued student uniform and her displeasure with it. She included a photo of the uniform, apparently from a catalogue and worn by a professional model, slender and smiling. The student described the uniform as a dress constructed of poor quality thin white fabric, the hem of which falls about two inches above

Television, Nurses and the Media

2009-04-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

I have always admired dedication. The kind of dedication to a cause that is like a pit bull that lunges for your ankle, gets a mouthful of your jeans instead, but won’t let go because the prospect of achieving his original goal—sinking his teeth into your ankle—is too compelling.With or without lipstick, Sandy Summers, RN, MSN, MPH, is just such a pit bull. In 2001, she and six graduate school

Are Nurses in White Making a Comeback?

2009-04-14T16:17:00.000-07:00

There are still many nurses of, shall we say, a certain age who remember the era of white uniforms—and it doesn’t seem all that long ago. Speaking from a female’s experience, those uniforms were white dresses, never pants, always starched and crisp because Perma-press hadn’t yet found its way into uniform shops. Then, ever so surreptitiously, white pants suits began to replace the dresses.

Childhood Constipation can be Painful, Costly and Dangerous

2009-04-07T16:08:00.000-07:00

I am writing as a mother, not a nurse, about a personal failure I experienced in my dual role as a mother and a nurse. By the time I became a mom, I’d had some pediatric nursing experience, but not much. Never, while in nursing school or on the job, was I made aware of the potentially serious ramifications of something that seems so innocuous—pediatric constipation.So, what’s the big deal you may

Cherokee Inspired Comfort Awards Honor Exceptional Nurses

2009-04-03T15:45:00.000-07:00

Nurses don’t get enough recognition—agreed? There are precious few opportunities to showcase nurses who have gone above and beyond what is expected of them in their workaday world. I am sure many of you know a nurse who has earned your admiration because of an exceptional caring act and here is your chance to put the spotlight on that nurse.Since 2003 Cherokee Uniforms, a leading supplier of

How and When Will More Nursing School Applicants be Accommodated?

2009-03-31T15:20:00.000-07:00

Once again, a painful truth hurts more because it has become personal. What now? It’s the shortage of places in nursing programs for qualified applicants. My friend, Sue, has been a middle school teacher for over 20 years. About 8 years ago she was diagnosed with a life threatening medical condition that required vigorous and debilitating treatments. The treatments did their job and Sue is now

New Administration Conducts Summit Addressing Health Reform

2009-03-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

Things might be looking up for the nursing profession, thanks to the new administration in Washington. On March 5, 2009, American Nurses Association (ANA) president, Rebecca M. Patton, RN, MSN, CNOR was among 100-plus invitees in attendance at the first White House Forum on Health Reform.Health care professionals, lawmakers and other stakeholders were brought together at the forum to express

Back Injuries Affect Nurse Workforce Numbers, Patient Safety, Health Care Costs

2009-03-17T16:34:00.000-07:00

Are there nurses out there somewhere who’ve managed to avoid a back injury over the course of their career? I know that during my nursing education proper body mechanics and safe methods for lifting/moving almost anybody and anything were stressed over and over. Our instructors kept a close eye on us and we were summarily called to task if we were seen putting our musculoskeletal systems at risk

Shortage of Faculty Exacerbates the General Nursing Shortfall

2009-03-10T16:23:00.000-07:00

I would be willing to say that discussions of the nursing shortage have been overdone if there were evidence of progress in solving the problem or if I weren’t so concerned that there won’t be a nurse to care for me when I need one. Problems always seem more monumental when one is affected personally and that’s where I find myself. My health is good—for now. I have the dubious distinction,

Nurses Play Critical Role in Identifying Victims of Human Trafficking

2009-03-06T17:22:00.000-08:00

In the same way health care personnel have been educated to look for and report suspected cases of child abuse and domestic abuse, attention is now being focused on recognizing signs that a patient may be a victim of human trafficking.A rather obscure problem, you say? No. A rarely talked about situation, perhaps, but not rare. Worldwide, human trafficking ranks as the third largest business

Using H.E.A.R.T. to Address Patient Issues

2009-02-27T20:40:00.000-08:00

If nurses would only show a little heart when dealing with difficult situations involving patients and families, it is likely that ruffled feathers could quickly be smoothed. The heart to which I’m referring is Respond with H.E.A.R.T., a practical, common sense approach for addressing patients’ frustrations and complaints that is being used at the Cleveland Clinic (the Clinic) in Cleveland,

Protecting Privacy Involves More than Safegurading Information

2009-02-20T16:10:00.000-08:00

Nurses and physicians have been charged with the nearly sacred duty of protecting patient privacy for as long as I’ve been a nurse and for decades before that. For the past several years, the importance of privacy has been elevated to a very serious, protect-it-at-all-costs-or-you-could-be-dragged-into-court status. In the role of patient, we’re signing papers right and left every time we visit a