The Nerdy Nurse

Need to Consult a Trauma Surgeon? There’s an App for That!

The Nerdy Nurse — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 05:01:31 +0000

Technology continually improves healthcare and our daily lives. The video below is a fantastic example of technology saving lives by providing improved access to trauma surgeons in areas that don’t have them on staff. Trauma surgeon Rafael Grossmann MD(@ZGJR) reached out to me on twitter and shared with me the video. In it, he discusses iPod Teletrauma: the $229 130 million sq. ft. Trauma Room.

Expanding and Improving Wireless Broadband: Finally, Something Congress Can Agree On

The Nerdy Nurse — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 03:02:03 +0000

Right now a large portion of the wireless spectrum is reserved for traditional radio and television broadcasting (yep rabbit ears and giant antennas). The government gave these to television stations, years ago, for free so that 100% of Americans would have access of the broadcasts. But now times have changed and the way people receive information has progressed as well. Less than 10% of Americans are watching the television broadcasts over the air for free. Most opt to pay for their television entertainment needs. So this HUGE chunk of airspace is essentially being wasted.

The Effect of an Aging Nurse Workforce on the Nursing Shortage [Infographic]

The Nerdy Nurse — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 05:16:06 +0000

While many new grad nurses are struggling to find their first job, it seems that the nursing population as a whole is aging. Although, the folks at the US Bureau of Labor Statistics need only do a quick google search or browse slightly on linked in to find gobs of young nurses sink their teeth into their first nursing gig. Twitter is filled with many new grads eager to nurse as well. So managers, there are grads, they want to work,and they’d love to hear from you! Use social media for it’s benefits, because based upon this infographic, there are areas that do have shortages of nurses, or will have them soon.

AfterShokz: Bone Conduction Headphones are Healthy for Your Ears

The Nerdy Nurse — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 03:26:50 +0000

There are several advantages that bone conduction technology has over traditional headphones. Bypassing the eardrum decreases the likelihood of potential damage from listing to music at extreme volumes. Reducing the amount of contact with your ear canal with objects that can harbor bacteria can help to decrease the risk of ear infections that you can encounter with earbuds. If you are a runner or a bike rider and like to listen to music while you exercise, you will increase your safety by not having your ears obstructed so that you can hear cars that may be around you. Decreasing the risk of being hit by a car can have a pretty big impact on your health!

Self-Driving Cars: Putting the Auto on Autopilot [Infographic]

The Nerdy Nurse — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 05:05:56 +0000

Movies like Demolition Man, The Fifth Element and iRobot just make my nerdy little heart skip a beat. What’s so GREAT about these Action Flicks? We’ll first of all they AMAZING. Second they feature Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, and Will Smith.And third, they have self-driving cars. I long for a car that drives itself. [...]

How to Pass the NCLEX with 75 Questions in One Attempt

The Nerdy Nurse — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:19:20 +0000

Nursing school is a challenging experience. As if the rigors faced during your nursing education weren’t enough, you then have to take your professional licensure exam. Whether you have completed an RN or LPN program, you still must take your “boards” in order to practice as a nurse. If you’ve stumbled onto this page in a nervous effort to find any tips or advice you possibly can in order to do well on the NCLEX, then you’ve come to right place. If you’re worried about your NCLEX test preparation, you are not alone. You wouldn't be a good nurse if you didn’t think things through. But since you’re already thinking like a nurse, then I’m sure you’ll do fine, but here are a few things that might give you a little extra confidence.

Nursing Management Hates a Squeaky Wheel

The Nerdy Nurse — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 06:35:04 +0000

It’s clear that being and advocate automatically makes you a target, but does it make you un-hirable? Nurse K at Crass Pollination gives an interesting and valid perspective about the Amanda Trujillo case and advocacy. In her opinion, and likely many others, what Amanda has done by advocating for her patient, herself, and all nurses is tantamount to career suicide. She also discusses what happens when nurses within an organization speak up and the measures administration often go through to oil the squeaky wheel.

18 Patient Identifiers HIPAA Defines as Off Limits

The Nerdy Nurse — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 04:40:19 +0000

Hospitals and healthcare providers every start shaking in their boots when they think of social media and healthcare. They freak out about the possibly of a HIPAA violation. But the fear that is struck in many of their hearts is really unneeded. There are 18 patient identifiers that are off limits when it comes to [...]

Looking for a Valentines Day Gift for the Nerd in Your Life? Look No Further

The Nerdy Nurse — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 06:51:26 +0000

If you haven’t already lost yourself in the the retail therapy that is Think Geek, you’ve really been missing out. I myself have spent hours browsing the oddities that exist and pining for some of the cooler items of geekery. To those that are non-nerds, us nerds may be a little difficult to buy for. But I can assure you that if you were to get that special nerd or geek in your life any of the gadgets, gizmos, or trinkets found on Think Geek, they would not be disappointed. What you may think is weird or odd, we think is downright awesome.

Being an Advocate Means Being a Target

The Nerdy Nurse — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:55:14 +0000

Being a nurse involved with social media certainly has its challenges. Once you get over the fear of losing your job for your blog or twitter account, there is a honeymoon period. During this time you feel empowered and exhilarated by your ability to have a voice and make an impact online. You use this voice to make an impact on the issues that matter to you and your profession. True advocacy means making a difference

Managed Hosting By Zippy Kid: How I Got out of the Dashboard and Back to Blogging

The Nerdy Nurse — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:36:53 +0000

There was a time when I my constant tinkering and tweaking broke my blog more often than I’d like to admit. Just as Emergiblog and Nurse Ratched’s Place about how I sat at Blog World Expo for 2 hours fixing my blog after I broke it. Two hours of precious blog world time wasted digging [...]

Child Identity Theft: Protecting Our Kids from Threats

The Nerdy Nurse — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:47:17 +0000

Having a child adds an entirely new dimension to your existence. You now have another life that you are responsible for. Not only are you tasked with ensuring their basic needs are met, but you are also responsible for protecting them from threats both tangible and virtual. We protect our children from so much so [...]

Sams Club Brings You a Heart Health Twitter Party with Awesome Prizes and Me!

The Nerdy Nurse — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:07:43 +0000

What are you doing Wednesday, February 8th at 7pm CST (8pm EST)? Ok, well forget it. Because you just HAVE to come and join me and @SamsClub for a fantastic twitter party with a focus on Hearth Health! Now I know that joining me and @SamsClub would be enough to entice you to spend and hour getting your tweet on, but Sam’s Club is sweetening the deal by giving away some great prizes!

Advances in Technology Improve Nursing: SIMCARE Training

guest — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:03:33 +0000

Technology improves the practices of medicine, and nursing. It will continue to advance year after year. In order to prepare students to handle such changes, nursing education needs to evolve accordingly. Embracing these new technologies enables us to become nursing professionals who are prepared to provide the best possible patient care.

New Grads: Prep for Show Time!

JessicaEllis — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:28:35 +0000

New grads are entering the field during the perfect storm of a bad economy, job shortage, and nurse retirees who are back to work because their retirement portfolios are no longer robust enough to support their retirement. So, the problem becomes how to stand out in the sea of applicants? Let’s face it. Some managers will just toss any new grad’s resume right in the trash, no matter how concise, how detailed, or how well-thought out. Well, if they’re that biased, you didn’t want to work for them anyway, trust me. So don’t worry about the no-callbacks (easy to say, hard to do, I know). DO worry when they call you back, and you’re up for an interview. That’s when the pucker factor can really kick in, because now you can no longer hide behind a piece of paper…it’s show time!

You’ve Figured Me Out: I Blogged About Nurse Amanda Trujillo’s Cause for Personal Gain

The Nerdy Nurse — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:12:21 +0000

I’m ruined. Yep. My blogging career is over. Wordpress is going to corrupt my database. Studio press is going to take away my Genesis theme. ICANN is going to take away my domain name. The Nerdy Nurse will die a bitter death in the nursing blogosphere.

How to Avoid The Social Media Teenage Monster in Healthcare and Any Other Organization

The Nerdy Nurse — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:44:24 +0000

Social media is sort of like a confused teenager at this point. Are you going to create a teenage angel or teenage monster? Just like any juvenile, there are potentials from success and failures. There are potentials for attention seeking behaviors in either the positive or negative light. Depending on the feedback they get, will often determine the type of behavior they express. Our healthcare social media teenager has the potential to go in one of many directions right now. There is such huge potential that exist. There is such a great power and vigor that could be molded and manipulated. You see, there’s something amazing and wonderful hidden. It’s waiting to be guided and lead in the right direction to make a positive impact on the world. You can see a slight glimmer of greatness. A glint of hope and excitement.

Nurse Entrepreneur Spotlight: Avoid Medical Errors, Pat Iyer, MSN, RN, Lncc

The Nerdy Nurse — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:52:22 +0000

On Avoid Medical Errors you can find a wealth of material related to staying healthy and becoming an educated consumer of healthcare. Her time spent working on medical malpractice cases can help you become informed of your rights an standards as a patient. She has a variety of patient education materials available to help you avoid the risk that can be associated with receiving medical care. If you are a nurse and are reading this, lets not forget, we are all patients. Avoid Medical Errors has much information that is available on the blog free of charge. There are also inner circle modules that are specific educational materials. You can sign up as a member and dive into well researched and vetted materials. There are new materials added to these modules every month and include exclusive interviews with medical professionals, inside tips, and special reports to help you better navigate the medical world.

Let’s Pin Arizona Board of Nursing and Banner Health: Support Amanda Trujillo Buttons

The Nerdy Nurse — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 22:51:15 +0000

By now you’ve hopefully heard the buzz among the nursing blogosphere and the social media community about Amanda Trujillo, the registered nurse who was fired by Banner Health after educating her patient on hospice options. Banner Health also took action again Ms. Trujillo’s nursing license and she has been unable to practice nursing for the past 10 minutes. Nurses everywhere are standing with Amanda Trujillo and coming together and putting their money where their blog is…. or something. The point is, the community is supporting Amanda with more than just their words. This is about more that one nurse. This is about more than one patient. This is about a culture of healthcare that has to change.

Nurse Tapes a Patients Mouth Shut

The Nerdy Nurse — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:25:42 +0000

Two Utah nurses allegedly taped a patients mouth shut while under their care. Penny Artalejo was in the ICU after taking 20 pain pills due to extreme anxiety related to pain and nausea from a aggravated neck injury. As if living with chronic pain and anxiety weren’t enough, she was basically tortured when she was in the hospital. This happened about a month ago, but I just noticed in on another bloggers site. Nurse Me | Silence is a Felony