I have been missing for a few weeks now. My hometown was pillaged by a mass murder followed less than 12 hours by fires on both sides that devastated an acreage larger than the city of Denver. The fires are finally 100% contained and the healing and rebuilding begins. My home was safe and my family unharmed. Others were not so blessed. We had no time to grieve for the 12 people senselessly murdered on November 7 at 11:19 PM. But our community is STRONG and we began almost immediately to come together to support each other and the families who suffered such devastating loss. Six degrees of separation holds…
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You Never Learn it All in Nursing School
In glancing through my emails this morning I discovered something new I didn’t know and it serves to support my position that you never learn everything in nursing school because technology and patient care are constantly evolving. According to a blog post on Lippincott’s NursingCenter Blog, the Trendelenburg position is no longer considered a safe mechanism for treating hypotension, shock and other emergency aspects of care especially for head injuries, right ventricle ejection fraction, and pulmonary disorders. There is apparently research showing controversy and possible detrimental effects of using this posturing treatment. The practice is being removed from ER and ICU care until further research can be conducted. Are you…
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Can a Nurse Do That?
Advances in technology provide practitioners many new and alternative avenues for patient care and treatment. Nurses never learn everything in nursing school, there simply isn’t enough time for one thing, and advances in care and treatment continue to evolve everyday. There are many more procedures nurses are allowed to do, but they must be adequately trained and judged competent to perform them. So how do we know what can nurses do? First off, nurses need to know and follow their state’s Nurse Practice Act which defines the nurse’s scope of practice. These vary from state to state and some are updated more frequently than others. And second, the nurse needs…
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Please VOTE
There is much at stake in any election, but this one has a whole LOT at stake. Health care is one of the main issues and what happens to it in the next 2 years is up to us now. What happens to our health care affects our jobs, our practice, our patients, our loved ones and all of our LIVES. Take a LONG hard look at your candidates and how they will vote on critical health care issues. VOTE on Nov. 6 like your life depends on it, BECAUSE IT DOES!!! Encourage a friend to vote, and if you can, help drive those who have no transportation to the…