tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62403078428720150182026-04-07T13:22:39.097-07:00Find out the latest perspectives about nurses and nursing from expert voices in the field. Gain valuable insight and join the conversation. <p>Contact E'Louise Ondash,RN, at <a href="mailto:eondash@att.net">eondash@att.net</a></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger318125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-7218329817707673842015-05-03T23:04:00.000-07:002015-05-03T23:04:02.598-07:00

By E’Louise Ondash, RN Someone asked me recently how I would change health care in this country if I could wave a magic wand and make it happen. I had to think a bit, but it didn’t take me long to come up with a list. Admittedly, some of these ideas would face a lot of bureaucracy, red tape and resistance, but remember -- I have a magic wand. Here is my wish list: 1. Make all the tobacco products

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-71253854075267199082015-04-20T07:36:00.001-07:002015-04-20T07:36:29.944-07:00

By E’Louise Ondash, RN Though there is still some debate about whether a nurse should have at minimum a bachelor's degree, the objections are getting fewer and quieter. This debate about nursing education is not new. It’s been ongoing for more than 100years. It began with Florence Nightingale, who argued for a university-educated nurse whose learning would be independent of the hospitals.

E'Louise Ondashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11674115124809974908noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-57387739273660485002015-03-10T10:57:00.000-07:002015-03-10T10:57:04.308-07:00

By E’Louise Ondash, RN I spent a few hours in a local emergency room recently, and with only curtains dividing the cubicles, it was difficult to ignore the doctor–patient conversation happening only a few feet away. An elderly, debilitated woman had come to the ER via ambulance and her caretaker was explaining to the doctor that the woman had been discharged from the hospital only five days

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-48577140692831091082015-03-05T09:59:00.000-08:002015-03-05T11:48:32.907-08:00

By E’Louise Ondash, RN Some in the scientific community have finally said it: There is too much information out there to handle – even for us. I’ve felt overwhelmed more than once when doing internet searches, but I figured it was just me. Therefore, I didn’t expect this pronouncement to come from seasoned researchers. But scientists at Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, charged with

E'Louise Ondashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11674115124809974908noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-48499950533864195092015-01-13T12:04:00.000-08:002015-01-13T12:04:00.265-08:00

By E’Louise Ondash, RN A few decades ago, there weren’t that many job or career options for nurses. There was generally plenty of work – finding a job was not difficult – but the choices were limited to positions in hospitals, schools, physician offices, visiting nurses and private duty – or you could apply to the airlines. At one time, it was mandatory that flight attendants (then called

E'Louise Ondashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11674115124809974908noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-53855420061654531002015-01-13T11:58:00.004-08:002015-01-13T13:36:27.348-08:00

By E’Louise Ondash, RN Here’s a New Year’s resolution: see the film “Still Alice,” starring Julianne Moore as a college professor who faces a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Just writing the phrase “early-onset Alzheimer’s disease“ brings up deep emotions that make me want to stop right here, and the idea of watching a story about a vibrant woman slowly losing her ability to

E'Louise Ondashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11674115124809974908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-35918754909065429142014-11-10T21:57:00.004-08:002014-11-10T21:57:41.963-08:00

By E’Louise Ondash, RN I’ve been thinking about it a long time, and I just don’t see how our health care nonsystem can survive such as it is for the long run. Many have told us this already, but it’s taken me a while to catch up. The costs are absurdly exorbitant and seem to be increasing, and obtaining the right care—never mind for the right price—can be a task that even health care

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-77904519788639381692014-09-04T15:42:00.000-07:002014-09-04T15:46:57.309-07:00

By E’Louise Ondash, RN She talks about how the nursing care she received after a severe trauma was inspirational and never forgotten. He explains that working in home care allows him to know patients much better. She says that her people and organizational skills readily transfer to a nursing career, and he says that his years in a monastery were excellent preparation for helping addicts recover

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-32075385689089721472014-08-11T23:04:00.000-07:002014-08-11T23:09:19.058-07:00

By E’Louise Ondash, RN There are many days when nurses feel like the paperwork never ends, but there is one nurse who makes it her mission to delve into thousands of pages of documents in order to help nurses promote public and individual health. Ruth Malone, RN, PhD, FAAN, professor and chair in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-67856013218674338332014-06-30T17:13:00.000-07:002014-07-24T10:15:42.144-07:00

By E’Louise Ondash, RN There was a time when C-sections were reserved for mostly emergency situations, but today, 1 in 3 pregnant women undergo a C-section to deliver their babies--a 60 percent rise since 1996. This, according to a report from the Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that the C-section rate for any nation not exceed 15

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-53458634228690224402014-06-01T22:11:00.004-07:002014-06-01T22:11:56.795-07:00

By E’Louise Ondash, RN I think social media is wildly out of control. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all about free speech and the ability of anyone to say whatever they want whenever they want, short of yelling “Fire!” in a crowded theater. But just because you CAN disseminate an opinion throughout cyberspace doesn’t mean that you SHOULD.&nbsp; Editorializing via social media can be interesting and

E'Louise Ondashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11674115124809974908noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-33609723646788824002014-05-06T22:34:00.002-07:002014-05-06T22:38:39.546-07:00

By E’Louise Ondash, RNMost of us are well aware that it is National Nurses Week, but did you know that May 7 is National School Nurse Day?&nbsp; It seems fitting to recognize these hard-working colleagues who are continually challenged to do more with less. After all, the days when school nurses were limited to applying Band-Aids and ice packs are pretty much gone.Today’s school nurses are

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-59014334138628623202014-03-31T11:44:00.003-07:002014-04-09T12:55:24.795-07:00

By E’Louise Ondash, RN Why did you become a nurse? I’m a little embarrassed to reveal how I landed in the profession. While some people know from the time they can walk that they want to be a nurse, my decision was quick and, well, a bit frivolous. I was a senior in high school and didn’t have a clue as to what I wanted to do the following year. It was distressing; all of my classmates seemed

E'Louise Ondashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11674115124809974908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-31946180568165245292014-03-07T16:09:00.001-08:002014-03-10T13:49:15.201-07:00

By E’Louise Ondash, RN Are some nurses biased against their obese patients? I have to admit this is an issue that I personally struggle with at times. Intellectually I know that there are multiple reasons for being overweight and that every patient is an individual. But I also know the health risks and problems that come with weighing too much, as well as the costs, which are often shared by

E'Louise Ondashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11674115124809974908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-24633705059848319082014-02-20T13:58:00.000-08:002014-02-20T13:58:00.127-08:00

By E’Louise Ondash, RN Uh oh. Shame on us. According to new research from Columbia University School of Nursing, we are not doing our job and following the rules when it comes to infection control. It’s not that nurses don’t know what to do. We all recognize the problem of health care-associated infections and why they occur, but we aren’t following through with proven preventions, like

E'Louise Ondashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11674115124809974908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-370634140269910342014-01-14T20:57:00.003-08:002014-01-14T20:58:47.757-08:00

By E'Louise Ondash, RN Diabetes type 1 is a monster of a disease. I imagine that it must be like having a baby that will never grow up and be independent. Once you’ve given birth, you are forever responsible and this obligation will never go away. You’ll never be able to take a vacation from this “eternal” baby, and if you make a mistake, forget about your baby or don’t care for him properly,

E'Louise Ondashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11674115124809974908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-75686564548308394152013-12-06T07:35:00.002-08:002013-12-06T08:57:36.437-08:00

By E’Louise Ondash, RNI had the good fortune to visit Beautiful British Columbia recently. They call it that without apology because it is beautiful and has everything -- the ocean, beaches, old-growth forest, mountains, glaciers, rain forests and wine country. In light of the controversy in this country about the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare), I used the opportunity to talk to random

E'Louise Ondashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11674115124809974908noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-87115889858776116002013-10-30T16:36:00.003-07:002013-10-31T07:27:28.395-07:00

By E’Louise Ondash, RNNon-compliant patients are the bane of the health care provider’s existence.My nurse colleagues complain about them all the time.“Why don’t they just do what they are supposed to do?” they chant. “It would make things so much easier and they would be so much healthier.”I agree; in a perfect world, all patients would do exactly as they are told and it would be a whole lot

E'Louise Ondashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11674115124809974908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-16124976998992999752013-09-13T10:54:00.001-07:002013-09-13T10:54:33.034-07:00

By E’Louise Ondash, RN The more I read and learn about medicine of the future and new ways of delivering health care, the more I feel that the number of jobs for nurses is going to go only one way – up. And although there will be some new jobs in acute care, the largest growth in employment opportunities is likely to be in a wide variety of outpatient arenas, in long-term and chronic care

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-83102834104724222952013-08-28T08:39:00.003-07:002013-09-03T12:59:31.885-07:00

By E’Louise Ondash, RN It is said that doctors make the worst patients. Having cared for a few, I’d have to agree that this is mostly true. Physicians are used to running the show; they don’t take easily to taking directions or not being in charge. What about nurses?&nbsp; Although most nurses would also say being in charge is definitely preferable, I think they are probably better patients

E'Louise Ondashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11674115124809974908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-15495847020548609462013-08-13T16:21:00.001-07:002013-08-13T16:21:29.643-07:00

By Laura Webb, BSN-RN, MRP How many times have you had one of those exhausting shifts, or a series of exhausting shifts, when you were too tired to even find the words to describe your fatigue? Clichés like “bone tired” and “totally wiped out” can’t quite describe the depth of a nurse’s exhaustion after 12 hours of running and lifting, communicating and documenting--all while caring for a heavy

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-76540409833588075942013-08-05T20:21:00.002-07:002013-08-13T16:29:02.066-07:00

By E’Louise Ondash, RN It was a sad coincidence recently that while writing a feature on nurses as palliative care specialists, one of my sisters died. She would’ve been the perfect candidate for a palliative care expert. My sister suffered from several chronic diseases, knew that her condition would never improve, had several hospital admissions a year, had a DNR order, but wanted to live as

E'Louise Ondashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11674115124809974908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-57829235512892359232013-07-22T12:33:00.001-07:002013-07-22T12:56:19.571-07:00

By Laura Webb, BSN-RN, MRP It’s hard to believe that only a few years ago, as a nursing student, I wore a starched-white uniform trimmed in deep burgundy tones. The outfit included a white pinafore smock, attached to the front of the bodice with large, white buttons. This smock was designed to serve as a kind of bib, unbuttoning from the uniform at the shoulders and waist for ease of laundering.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-36607503274806919042013-07-06T11:14:00.002-07:002013-07-22T12:52:19.785-07:00

By E'Louise Ondash, RN Calling for accountability from those who provide health care is generally a good thing. After all, if a third party – like the taxpayer – is footing the bill for that care, the third party should have some assurance that funds are being spent properly and effectively. That’s the idea behind the Affordable Care Act’s hospital readmission penalties. This legislation

E'Louise Ondashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11674115124809974908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6240307842872015018.post-51001554650997637642013-07-01T18:32:00.000-07:002013-07-22T12:52:32.783-07:00

By Laura Webb, BSN-RN, MRP It’s one of the first things people notice about me, yet I often forget that fact: I am almost 6 feet tall. There are people who like to argue that I am actually 6 feet tall, but that is not the case. The truth is that I am just under 5 feet 11 inches. After years of living at this height, I am usually oblivious to the fact that I am taller than the average nurse, or

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