tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454062478082722592023-12-18T01:54:29.711-08:00Nursing and Medical StuffsType your topic of interest in the search box below. Visit the links for more presentations. Don't hesitate to leave your comments.RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.comBlogger136125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-204236045171615552011-09-03T15:48:00.000-07:002011-09-03T15:48:09.546-07:0012 Tips for a Rewarding Nursing Career<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">12 Tips for a Rewarding Nursing Career</span></h1>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><img alt="" class="articleViewThumb" height="150" src="http://www.nursetogether.com/Portals/0/PublishThumbnails/200x150rewarding1.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; float: left; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px;" width="200" /></span></strong></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Every once in a while it's a good idea to take stock of your life and your career, and take steps to get yourself back on track, or even change direction if that is what is needed. </span><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /><br />Here are 12 things you can do for yourself, as a nurse, to <strong>make your career more fulfilling</strong> and to <strong>avoid nurse burnout</strong>:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Nurse stress management is a must. Learn techniques that work well for you and use them routinely.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Managing your time efficiently and effectively is vital. Become organized, stay on top of things, and do not procrastinate!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Replenish yourself. Make time for yourself and do it often! Nursing is a demanding/giving profession. If you have given all you have to give, then you have nothing left for yourself, and you can't continue to give - you'll have nurse burnout.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Nursing is a lifelong learning process. Use your continuing education opportunities to stay up to date with your selected field and to learn and hone new skills. Secondly, make sure to learn something about other fields of nursing whenever you can. Know your options and keep them open. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Nurses are overachievers. Strive for excellence and set the bar high. Do not settle for mediocrity. Encourage others to do the same. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Be a <strong>nurse mentor</strong>. Help those around you to strive for and achieve excellence as well. Always being a nurse mentor throughout your career is the key to providing excellent quality care with the best possible outcomes. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Be a sponge. Learn from others. Pick up on their tips and tricks and then share them with others.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Always be a part of the solution and not part of the problem. Get involved in strategic planning for your workplace and help to make it a better place.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Be a good TEAM player. Be a <strong>nurse leader</strong> when you need to be and a nurse supporter always. There is no “I” in TEAM. Be good role model to others who “just don’t get it,” and help them to become team players too. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Learn your limitations and how and when to say "No." Respect yourself and always set a good example for others. It’s simply not possible to say “yes” every time and not get burned out!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Remind yourself often WHY you became a nurse.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Encourage others to become nurses and to strive for excellence. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Nursing is one of the most rewarding careers you can find, but it is also physically and emotionally demanding and draining. Take time for yourself so that you have something more to give when it is needed. And when you find yourself stressed and burning out, remind yourself why you became a nurse.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><strong>About the Author:</strong> Kathy Quan, RN, BSN, PHN is an accomplished writer and author of four books including: The Everything New Nurse Book and 150 Tips and Tricks for New Nurses. Kathy has been in the nursing profession for over thirty years, and is very passionate about patient education and mentoring new nurses. </span></em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><em><a href="http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/Career-Article/itemId/1208/12-Tips-for-a-Rewarding-Nursing-Career.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/Career-Article/itemId/1208/12-Tips-for-a-Rewarding-Nursing-Career.aspx</span></a></em></span></div>
RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-48376091515669427332011-08-28T05:19:00.000-07:002011-08-28T05:19:48.578-07:00Nurses Heal Thyself: A Culture of Silence<div id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_divArticleTitle" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><h1 class="Head" id="publishTitle" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Nurses Heal Thyself: A Culture of Silence</span></h1></div><div id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_pnlEmailAFriend" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div id="divEmailAFriend" style="float: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_lblAuthorInfo">By:</span> Kathleen Bartholomew</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><br />
</span></div><div id="articleThumbnails" style="float: right; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"></div><div class="Normal" id="divArticleContent" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal;"><img align="left" alt="" class="articleViewThumb" height="200" hspace="7" src="http://www.nursetogether.com/Portals/0/PublishThumbnails/150x200secret1.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; float: left;" width="150" /><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">When Shelli was a new scrub nurse with only six months experience, she failed to anticipate that the surgeon would need a particular scalpel. Immediately, her preceptor deftly slapped the correct blade into the impatient surgeon’s outstretched hand with a glare in Shelli’s direction. The surgeon said nothing, but a look of disappointment briefly flashed across his face. At that moment, Shelli learned that if she was not on top of the surgeon’s needs, she would end up feeling embarrassed and looking incompetent. Shelli did not find this information in her orientation manual. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">We learn these unspoken rules very quickly in order to survive. We know which physician not to ever call in the middle of the night, which nurse talks about us behind our back when we ask a question, and whether we should even bother to write up an incident report or approach a coworker with a concern we have about ‘<i>their’ </i>patient. This knowledge is vital to our survival because it determines whether or not we will be accepted by the group. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">It’s called culture.</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Human beings rarely, if ever, succeed at accurately perceiving their own culture. Anthropologists say, “It’s like a fish talking about water. It’s the last thing the fish ‘sees’ because it constantly surrounds him.” Yet nothing is more powerful than this unseen force. So deeply entrenched is culture that no one talks about it: the unspoken rules and behaviors (called ‘norms’) are never written down, and yet everyone knows them. We learn these norms the hard way by the process of assimilation – like Shelli’s story above.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">When individuals merge and form a group, there are always things they can do, things they must do and things they can never do. For example, healthcare workers do not typically share their feelings in high-tech, high-pressure environments because feelings are perceived by the general culture to be ‘soft stuff’. Ironically, this belief couldn’t be further from the truth. Feelings not only matter, but are conveyed unconsciously because 93% of all communication is non-verbal. In a study of collaboration among residents, nurses and physicians the single most important factor to producing positive collaborative outcomes turned out to be <i>affect </i>– our bodies consistently express what we feel (McGrail). For example, think of your own workplace. Is there someone you work with who you think doesn’t like you?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">They don’t. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">The feeling you are getting that someone doesn’t like you –even if they’ve never said anything- is dead on correct. Herein lays the problem and the biggest contributor to nurse to nurse hostility – a culture of silence. We don’t check out the intended message in the non-verbal interaction. Nurses rarely if ever confront each other because their main style of communication is passive-aggressive and nurses are known to be conflict avoidant. When over 4,000 nurses were asked why they don’t speak their truth, the answers were consistent (Bartholomew):<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Fear of retaliation: someone refusing to help me, a bad assignment, denied a vacation day, a bad schedule<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Fear of hurting someone else’s feelings or making the situation worse<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Why bother? Nothing is going to change anyway<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Fear of isolation, rejection, gossip<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">They’ll turn it around and it will be my fault; it’s not worth it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">First, we have to admit that having some conversations requires courage – especially if the conversation should have happened a long time ago. And then, we need to learn a new communication model – like the “Juice Pull Conversations” -which allows us to confidently speak our truth. Remember starting your first IV? Remember the nervous fear of hurting someone unnecessarily, of puncturing the vein? But after starting a hundred IV’s, you feel skilled and competent. The same is true for the skill of engaging in difficult conversations – the first one is always the hardest. But the damage of not having the conversation is far worse - like gangrene for our profession because we don’t sense the urgency or see the damage.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">This is what Ghandi meant when he said, “You must be the change you want to see in the world”. We could complain for years about staffing grids, missed meals or stressful work conditions. Or we could start a tsunami of change for our profession and our patients. If every nurse spoke their truth, we would heal ourselves; and thereby become a blazing beacon of healing for a wounded world.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;"><a href="http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/Career-Article/itemId/2714/Nurses-Heal-Thyself-A-Culture-of-Silence.aspx">http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/Career-Article/itemId/2714/Nurses-Heal-Thyself-A-Culture-of-Silence.aspx</a></span></span></div></div>RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-56204562627448030022011-08-13T18:29:00.001-07:002011-08-13T18:29:38.306-07:00Lateral Violence in Nursing: Breaking the Spell<br />
<div id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_divArticleTitle" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><h1 class="Head" id="publishTitle" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Lateral Violence in Nursing: Breaking the Spell</span></h1></div><div id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_pnlAuthor" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_lblAuthorInfo"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><img align="left" alt="nurse bullying" height="225" hspace="7" src="http://www.nursetogether.com/Portals/0/175x225nurse.bully1.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial;" width="175" /></span>By:</span> Kathleen Bartholomew</span></div><div id="articleThumbnails" style="float: right; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"></div><div class="Normal" id="divArticleContent" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">A nurse rolls her eyes at a co-worker as she picks up the assignment sheet that was created by a younger charge nurse. An ICU nurse pretends not to see her co-worker is drowning and ignores her request for help saying she is ‘too busy’. A newly hired RN who was previously a scrub tech finds she is now shunned by both groups. Is this just life as a nurse - or a nurse’s right of passage? Or is it something more insidious?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">These behaviors go by several names: lateral or horizontal violence, incivility, nurse-to-nurse bullying, sabotage - “nurses eating their young.” In general, bullying in the United States is a term used to describe uncivil behavior from someone who has power over you – vertical aggression. Rude behaviors from peers are referred to as horizontal or lateral hostility and are defined as: “A consistent pattern of behavior designed to control, diminish or devalue a peer (or group) which creates a risk to health or safety” (Farrell, 2005). Some specific examples are:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Overt:</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> name calling, bickering, fault finding, criticism, intimidation, gossip, shouting, blaming, put-downs, raised eye brows</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Covert</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">: unfair assignments, refusing to help someone, ignoring, making faces behind someone’s back, refusing to only work with certain people – or not work with others, whining, sabotage, exclusion, fabrication</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Estimates of lateral violence in the nursing workplace ranges from 46–100% (Stanley et al. 2007). Nursing literature abounds with examples of prevalence. In one study, </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">one-third of nurses perceived emotional abuse during their last five shifts worked (Roche). In another survey, 30% of respondents (n= 2,100) said disruptive behavior happened weekly, and 25% said monthly (Advisory.com).</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> And a study of emergency room nurses found that 27.3% had experienced workplace bullying in the last six months with many staff bullied by their managers, charge nurses or directors as well as physicians and peers (Johnson, Rea). Bullying behaviors are like gangrene – when tolerated from a few physicians or nurses with strong personalities, the behaviors spread and infect the entire team – and eventually, the patient.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Lateral violence needs to stop. Bullying behaviors create a toxic work environment which not only harms nurses, but also our patients. Experts agree communication breakdowns and lack of teamwork are a root cause of errors. If nurses are afraid to speak up because they are intimidated by fellow nurses and physicians, patients can be harmed. Research also shows that simply witnessing rude behavior ‘significantly impacts our ability to perform cognitive tasks’ (Porath). From a very ethical perspective, tolerating bullying behaviors is wrong and violates our basic oath to keep patients safe.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">But maybe we need another oath? Maybe it’s time we promise to keep each other safe; to nurture, support and protect each other because we understand and recognize how vulnerable we all are and the critical role we play in healthcare. In April, after accidentally drawing up the wrong medication which resulted in a child’s death, an experienced nurse took her own life. Her suicide is a result of our failure as a system, and as a profession, to provide a safe harbor for the delivery of care. Who knows what else was going on in her mind, or the details of the situation? All I know is that it could just as easily have been me who made the error.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Where do we start? A Chinese magician once said, “If you want to take power away from anything, call it by its name”. The overt and covert behaviors listed above are not ‘normal’. They are examples of lateral violence that cause serious and long lasting damage to our patients and to each other. They are wrong. Work your magic - say so!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Bibliography</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Farrell, G. (2005). From tall poppies to squashed weeds: why don’t nurses pull together more? Journal of Advanced Nursing 35 (1): 26-33.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Johnson, S., Rea, R. (2009) Workplace bullying: concerns for nurse leaders. Journal of Nursing Administration Vol. 39, Nov. 2, pp. 84-90.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Pearson, C., Porath, C. (2009) The cost of bad behavior. Penguin Books</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Roche, M. et al. (2009). Violence toward nurses, the work environment, and patient outcomes. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, Vol. 42:1, 13-22.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Stanley K., Martin M., Michel Y., Welton M. & Nemeth S. (2007) Examining lateral violence in the nursing workplace. Issues in Mental Health Nursing 28, 1247–1265.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Have you seen or experienced nurse bullying in the workplace? What was done about it?</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">About the Author:</span></b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Kathleen has been a national speaker for the nursing profession for the past nine years. Her strong background in Sociology laid the foundation for correctly identifying the norms particular to the healthcare culture. For her Master’s Thesis she authored <i>“Speak Your Truth: Proven Strategies for Effective Nurse-Physician Communication”</i>which is the only book to date on physician-nurse communication.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/Career-Article/itemId/2621/Lateral-Violence-in-Nursing-Breaking-the-Spell.aspx">http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/Career-Article/itemId/2621/Lateral-Violence-in-Nursing-Breaking-the-Spell.aspx</a></span></span></div></div>RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-59261097000376885402011-08-06T19:56:00.001-07:002011-08-06T19:56:48.189-07:005 Tips for Working with a Difficult Physician<div id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_divArticleTitle" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><h1 class="Head" id="publishTitle" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">5 Tips for Working with a Difficult Physician</span></h1></div><div id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_pnlEmailAFriend" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div id="divEmailAFriend" style="float: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="left" alt="" class="articleViewThumb" height="150" hspace="7" src="http://www.nursetogether.com/Portals/0/PublishThumbnails/200x150nurse.doctor.discussion1.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; float: left;" width="200" /></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div id="articleThumbnails" style="float: right; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"></div><div class="Normal" id="divArticleContent" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal;"><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Working with a difficult colleague is tough enough – but when the colleague is a physician, it can be all that much harder. </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">For the most part, doctors are great colleagues, and when doctors and nurses work well as a team, the best of care can result. But, as much as some doctors are fantastic both personally and professionally, others, well, they can leave a lot to be desired.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-size: x-small;">First, we need to define what we mean by “difficult.” If we’re talking about a physician with a rough bedside manner, but who is still doing his or her job and isn’t causing too much uproar in the nursing station or on the floor, I don’t think I’d call that difficult. If the patients are happy with the care, and you’re getting what you need in terms of orders and support when you need it, I’d probably let that pass.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-size: x-small;">Second, we need to separate “difficult” from difficult for us as colleagues or difficult with the patients. When a physician is difficult with the patients, then we have an obligation to step in; we are the patients’ advocates, and we can’t allow less than professional behavior from the physicians towards our patients. When we have a physician who is difficult to work with, we have to decide how and when to deal with the situation.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">5 Tips for working with a difficult physician:</span></span></strong></span><br />
<strong><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">1. Own your reaction:</span></span></strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> How you react to the physician is your own action. You can choose to react calmly or angrily; you can choose to walk away or confront. Which ever you do choose, it is your choice.<br />
<strong><br />
2. Examine why the actions of the physician are difficult for you:</strong> Is it because he or she reminds you of something; is he or she being difficult to just you or to the whole floor?<br />
<strong><br />
3. Refuse to accept bad treatment: </strong> You can choose to do this in a few different ways:<br />
<br />
• Say calmly, “I don’t appreciate you speaking to me like that."<br />
<br />
• Walk away without saying a word.<br />
<br />
• Walk away while saying, “Please come speak to me when you can speak to me respectfully.”<br />
<br />
• Stand there and don’t say a word.<br />
<br />
<strong>4. Document:</strong> You have to document bad behavior. If you have a paper trail of the behavior, you can back up your claims if you choose to go on to the next step.<br />
<strong><br />
5. Report the behavior:</strong> Often, a physician with a bad attitude or who behaves badly gets away with it because he or she is not reported. When someone does get fed up and does report it, the administration says that they can’t do anything because there haven’t been any previous complaints.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-size: x-small;">None of the above tips may be easy; there are lot of work dynamics that differ from institution to institution, and even from floor to floor. But a work environment has to be comfortable for everyone, and if you work with a bully, be it a fellow nurse or a physician, it must be dealt with before it goes too far. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/Career-Article/itemId/74/5-Tips-for-Working-with-a-Difficult-Physician.aspx">http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/Career-Article/itemId/74/5-Tips-for-Working-with-a-Difficult-Physician.aspx</a></span></span></div></div>RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-67321122363349564362011-07-31T03:46:00.000-07:002011-07-31T03:46:49.777-07:00Should There Be a Dress Code in Nursing?<div id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_divArticleTitle" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><h1 class="Head" id="publishTitle" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Should There Be a Dress Code in Nursing?</span></h1></div><div id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_pnlAuthor" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_lblAuthorInfo">By:</span> Rachel Clements</span></div><div id="articleThumbnails" style="float: right; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"></div><div class="Normal" id="divArticleContent" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal;"><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img align="left" alt="" class="articleViewThumb" height="150" hspace="7" src="http://www.nursetogether.com/Portals/0/PublishThumbnails/200x150dresscode1.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; float: left;" width="200" /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">I have the distinction of being nicknamed “Rapunzel” by one of my previous nursing supervisors. The reason is really straightforward: I have waist-length blonde hair that I often wear down. Fortunately, no one has climbed into it and it has only been pulled once, by a little boy who told me I looked like an angel. Knowing all of this, you should conclude that I am a violator of one of the many laws, written and unwritten, of the nursing dress codes: nurses must always wear their hair up.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Now, let me qualify this: the hair goes up before I do procedures, assess patients, complete cares, and even chart. Sometimes I even do it unconsciously when work gets particularly intense, like when dealing with difficult families or trying physicians. A couple of co-workers have observed that I am getting down to, and mean business, when I pull my hair up into a bun or a pony tail.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">I am a firm believer in form following function, and am something of a pragmatist. Here are my thoughts on some of the more controversial aspects of the nursing dress code:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><img align="right" alt="" height="150" hspace="7" src="http://www.nursetogether.com/Portals/0/PublishThumbnails/200x150dresscode2.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial;" width="200" />Nails:</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> I honestly don’t believe that long acrylic nails have a place in nursing if you are a staff nurse. Why? Because germs hide out under your nails, you could scratch someone (including yourself), and if they get torn off, those puppies seem to hurt even more than breaking a regular nail. That being said, I think that nurses should have nice nails. There is something out there called a nurse’s manicure that will remedy this, but the basic idea is to have neatly trimmed nails with healthy cuticles. As for color, some facilities insist that nails be free and clear of this. Nurses need to be aware of what their hospital policy is for this. My opinion is that your nails should reflect how you want to be perceived. I was told long ago that pink is a good color for professionals, but it’s really up to you. To be on the safe side, leave the flashy stuff for your toes. I myself have purple sparkly ones.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Scrubs:</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> The controversy rages on about going back to a standard uniform for nurses, namely whites. Being a self-proclaimed pragmatist, I’d like to point out that white is very difficult to keep clean. This is an argument I have made since nursing school, when I was required to wear whites. Many of us can’t keep a white t-shirt free of ketchup; how will we keep a white uniform free of blood stains? Whites may represent nursing from the not-too-distant past, but we are a different group of people from back then. We care for more critically ill people, we deal with more diseases, and we are responsible for completing more tasks and procedures. With that comes quite a bit of messiness… As for scrubs themselves, I think that these should be tasteful to ourselves and the groups of people we work with. You’ve got to know who you are working with. There are some people, young and old alike, who totally dig the Marvel and DC Comic characters. They are the start of some great icebreakers, also with young and old alike. But, above all, try to avoid being provocative with low cut tops or bottoms; if you don’t want people looking down your shirt or at your butt, wear something else or cover it up.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Tattoos and Piercings:</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> I really love tats…on other people. They have yet to create the Mood Tattoo, something that will change shape to match how I feel. When they come up with this, I will be the first in line for one, something alternating between angel wings and dragon wings. As for wearing body art and piercings, I think you need to consider who you are caring for. Some people are ok with it, and others only see the stud in your nose or the ink on your arm and not that you are the most skilled nurse on the floor. Most importantly, can you cover it up if needed? If you have a patient who is afraid that the Terminator is hunting him down, it would be good to cover your cybernetic arm that was so meticulously inked before becoming a nurse in order to keep them calm. Along those lines, you might have a patient who is trying to remove the little bug from your nose and is leaping from the gurney to get to you. Covering these up will prevent a lot of paperwork, administering prns, and even injury.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><img align="left" alt="" height="225" hspace="7" src="http://www.nursetogether.com/Portals/0/PublishThumbnails/175x225dresscode1.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial;" width="175" />Hair:</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> At last we come full circle. I can tell you now that I will not cut my hair, but I am more than willing to wear it up in a ponytail or bun, or back in a braid. If you can pull off a perfectly bald, shaved head I say go for it, whether you are a man or a woman. My scalp is envious because of all its bumps and scars; there are always nice “do rags” out there if you get cold or funny looks. But, as I’ve said before, how you present yourself to the world is how most people perceive you. Once I had an ER doctor who wore dreadlocks and immediately I made the assumption that she wasn’t cut from the same cloth as many of her colleagues. I was right, and as it turned out, she could also tap dance and sing goofy songs as well as provide me with the best medical care I had ever received. I have never had problems with dreadlocks, but I know that this might not be the case for others. If you want people to think you are the kindest, gentlest, most approachable nurse in the hospital, the day glo green Mohawk probably won’t reinforce this image. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">So, it all comes down to this: awareness of hospital policy regarding dress code, awareness of how you are perceived by other people, and awareness of society’s norms regarding what is “proper” for nurses. There are variations within these, as some hospitals have psych units that do not require nurses to wear scrubs, some people may be used to seeing you without your hair down, and patients may have grown up with the nurse in the white uniform but like your mauve scrubs much better (“that is definitely your color, sweetie”). All the same, just be aware and consider that you may have to make some changes. Whatever happens, let people see you as an individual, a professional, and as a nurse.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Should there be a dress code in nursing? What do you think? </span></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">About the Author:</span></strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rachel E. Clements is one of those "second winders" who began training in one career field and chose nursing instead; she has been a nurse for 5 years in May. Rachel lives and works in Boise, Idaho, and is currently enrolled in Montana State University's online Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program. In her spare time, Rachel enjoys hiking, savoring the sunshine with her two kitties, and tending to the yard of her relatively new house!</span></em></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><em><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></em></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><em><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/Career-Article/itemId/2660/Should-There-Be-a-Dress-Code-in-Nursing-.aspx">http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/Career-Article/itemId/2660/Should-There-Be-a-Dress-Code-in-Nursing-.aspx</a></span></em></span></div></div>RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-31660627695386814042011-07-02T18:46:00.001-07:002011-07-02T18:46:58.276-07:00Nurses, Who Says You Have to Smile?<div class="Head" id="divArticleTitle" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold;"><span id="lblArticleTitle" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Nurses, Who Says You Have to Smile?</span></div><div class="Normal" id="divArticleContent" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span id="lblArticleText" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img align="left" alt="" class="articleViewThumb" hspace="7" src="http://www.nursetogether.com/Portals/0/PublishThumbnails/miserable.jpg" /><br />
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">I do not think of myself as a smiler. It’s not that I am unhappy all the time, or that I dislike smiling, I just don’t make a conscious effort to do so. I have other things which I consider to be a priority, but I do laugh easily and quickly. Even at work. Apparently the fact that I don’t have a smile or any variation thereof plastered on my face all of the time earned me the nickname “Nurse Frowny Face” from one of my patients, who was offended by my lack of smiling. Well, that wasn’t the only problem, as I had asked her to please keep her voice down in a hallway that has acoustics better suited for a concert hall than a psychiatric unit, when she wanted to know if everyone had gone out to smoke without her. Sigh. This earned me a meeting with a supervisor about being rude…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">I am all for maintaining a professional demeanor but I absolutely refuse to put a smile on constantly for anyone, including the patients. I believe that if you maintain such a demeanor all the time and without variation, you come across as superficial, annoying and insensitive to patients, among others. It is ok to cry with them, to feel anger and annoyance for (and even with) them, and definitely ok to laugh with them. However, to insist that a nurse be smiling and sweet all the time to “cheer up” the patients, especially depressed ones, is asinine. We are not robots who are programmed by those around us to function at what they perceive to be an optimal level; we are only human. Having been a patient, I would not want a bubbly nurse when I am in physical or emotional agony. I want one who can introduce him or herself, look into my eyes, and empathize with me without being swallowed up by my pain. If he or she can “mirror” my emotions, I am convinced that he or she is following how I feel without taking on my problem. I believe that, above all, being genuine and kind facilitates the healing process, not the expression on my face.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">Being a good nurse requires excellent psychosocial skills, in particular mastery of your interpersonal skills. “Enhancing your calm” is essential. It is also important to not be a doormat, as you are an individual just as worthy of kindness and respect as the next person. You have the right to ask to be treated as such. But, there are also going to be times when you slip, times when you let ‘er rip and say something which you may regret later. All you can really do then is apologize and acknowledge that you were out of line. In the meantime, and hopefully prolonging this event until your very last working day before retirement, I believe it is important to spend some time reflecting on what or who pushes your buttons. Come up with some strategies for coping with these. It might be a matter of taking a course in assertiveness to help you communicate in a way that is both pleasant toward others and protective of your feelings. It might also be a matter of knowing when to stop trying to be Super Nurse on the Unit, asking for help, and/or taking a break when things are particularly rough. Sometimes you should just let things slide, as we have a lot to worry about as it is. Either way, setting limits with patients, co-workers, physicians, and families is important. I find that when I can strike a balance with this, the expression on my face doesn’t matter. My eyes sparkle, my voice is warm and pleasant, and I am able to remain </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">totally enthralled with the growth I witness within my patients because I can help nurture it.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText"><span style="color: black;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">About the Author:</span></strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rachel E. Clements is one of those "second winders" who began training in one career field and chose nursing instead; she has been a nurse for 5 years in May. Rachel lives and works in Boise, Idaho, and is currently enrolled in Montana State University's online Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program. In her spare time, Rachel enjoys hiking, savoring the sunshine with her two kitties, and tending to the yard of her relatively new house!</span></em></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></em></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></em></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/CareerArticles/CareerArticle/tabid/102/itemId/2455/Nurses-Who-Says-You-Have-to-Smile-.aspx">http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/CareerArticles/CareerArticle/tabid/102/itemId/2455/Nurses-Who-Says-You-Have-to-Smile-.aspx</a></span></em></span></span></span></div><div style="color: #333333;"></div></div>RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-14212139855970509332011-06-18T20:57:00.001-07:002011-06-18T20:58:05.126-07:00Nursing. It’s Not Just a Career – It’s a Calling<div id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_divArticleTitle" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><h1 class="Head" id="publishTitle" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Nursing. It’s Not Just a Career – It’s a Calling</span></h1></div><div align="right" class="divLastUpdated" id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_divLastUpdated" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></div><div id="articleThumbnails" style="float: right; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></div><div class="Normal" id="divArticleContent" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;"><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" class="articleViewThumb" hspace="7" src="http://www.nursetogether.com/Portals/0/PublishThumbnails/pride[0].jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; float: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Nursing. It’s not just a career – it’s a calling.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">My hospital used that as an advertising campaign a few years back. Effective, yes, but is it true?<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">We think of nursing as a job, our work, a profession (which it is). It’s what we do – a choice we’ve made. Nurses can live comfortably on our incomes and even in hard times, there are usually jobs to be had.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">And the variety! E.R. and flight nursing for adrenaline junkies, floor nursing for those gifted in multi-tasking, Intensive Care for techies, hospice, school nursing, home and public health – the list goes on and on.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">I went around the unit last week asking random colleagues why they’d become nurses. Had they pro-and-conned their way into the field, decided they needed something to “fall back on” (as my mother used to say), or heard a voice from Heaven?<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">As to the last, no one had.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Their faces softened, though, as they considered how they’d ended up in this place, caring for a living.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Megan, a Gen Y nurse, didn’t feel called. “It was just what I always wanted to be,” she said. We discovered we shared a fondness for those little plastic nurses’ kits when we were little girls thirty years apart. Neither of us wanted to be the doctor.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Denise couldn’t come up with a reason. Yet, here she is with a bright shiny Master’s Degree, beginning a preceptorship as a Nurse Practitioner, after many years at the bedside. Called? She couldn’t say so.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Being a nurse is a privilege. And a calling.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Like many nurses, I shy away from saying such a thing out loud, but, here’s the truth: I am called to nursing.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Not by an audible voice or a sign from God. Rather, I have been drawn gradually and steadily to this work, my vocation.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Vocation.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">No less than the Oxford American Dictionary uses nursing as an example of a vocation – a word that literally means a calling. Novices in religious orders want to know if they have a vocation. Nurses do too; my best friend quit nursing school because she didn’t feel enough compassion for the patients. My hospital’s nurse residency program gives new graduates the opportunity to try out different specialties to find a good fit.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Some of us pray.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">I didn’t originally see myself as called. I needed a better-than-minimum-wage job. Then I remembered my childhood love of nursing. I moved near a university with a good nursing program. I got my paperwork together and registered just in time for the Fall Quarter. I thought all of this was good luck.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">I surprised myself by doing well in the sciences (I hadn’t in high school). Our class quickly tired of books, longing to see real patients. I loved it.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">I found I was suited for this. I had a shirt that said “Nurses Make It All Better”, and for a while, I believed it.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Then discovered it wasn’t true. I saw death. And worse.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">But kept coming back.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">And started to see beyond the sadness and secretions, the chaos and complaining, to the secret that this work is so much more than a succession of tasks to be done. We nurses are in the unique position of being able to act as instruments of healing – listening, touching, validating, soothing.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">My sister called me one day and said, “I wish I could do something important like you. Your work matters.”<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">These things drew me. I wanted to be good at this, to gain new skills, and I did. I learned that listening was as much a skill as starting an I.V. Doing nursing well became less like gaining competence and more like participating in an intricate dance, relating and responding to my patients and co-workers with humility and (I hope) patience.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Like hearing the sound of a voice without understanding the words, I turned to the call and followed it. I moved toward what was beautiful and sacred in nursing, occasionally catching a glimpse of what lies just below the surface of our ordinary days of tending to and attending to our patients.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">We may not be aware of our call or maybe we just don’t want to speak of something so holy. But, oh yes, we have a vocation.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">We are called. And we’re answering.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/CareerArticles/CareerArticle/tabid/102/itemid/1646/Default.aspx">http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/CareerArticles/CareerArticle/tabid/102/itemid/1646/Default.aspx</a></div></div>RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-55289877672120115972011-06-09T04:38:00.001-07:002011-06-09T04:38:54.207-07:0010 Pioneering Male Nurses<h1 style="border-bottom-color: rgb(195, 225, 242); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 3px; color: #004d81; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">10 Pioneering Male Nurses</h1><div class="bookmarkify" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br />
</span><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><img align="right" alt="" height="272" hspace="30" src="http://www.nursingschools.net/wp-content/uploads/male.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial;" vspace="10" width="349" />In the largely female-dominated field of nursing, men make up only 6 percent of the 2.6 million registered nurses working in the United States. Although it's somewhat rare to see a male nurse today, that wasn't always the case hundreds of years ago when men were called upon to heal the sick and <a href="http://www.nursingschools.net/profiles/" style="color: #0070bb; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">save lives</a> on and off the battlefield. Men have played a vital role in shaping and advancing the nursing profession into the respectable field it is today. Here are 10 pioneering male nurses:</div><ol style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 35px; padding-right: 35px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><a href="http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=265" style="color: #0070bb; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><b>Camillus de Lellis</b></a>: Camillus de Lellis entered the field of healthcare after he struggled with excessive gambling and aggression as a soldier. He became the director of a hospital that once treated him and eventually established his own congregation called the Ministers of the Sick (Camellians). The Camellians tended to the sick, specifically alcoholics and those stricken with the plague, as well as wounded soldiers on the battlefield. St. Camillus created the first ambulance service and was the first person to use the sign of the red cross that is still seen today.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><a href="http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/james-durnham-pioneering-physician-and-skilled-healer" style="color: #0070bb; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><b>James Derham</b></a>: James Derham was the first African-American man to practice medicine in the United States. Derham became interested in medicine because he was owned by several doctors. Although never formally taught, Derham began working as a nurse in order to buy his freedom from slavery in 1783. Once freed, he started his own medical practice and specialized in throat disorders and climate-sensitive diseases.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><a href="http://www.oh.org.au/" style="color: #0070bb; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><b>Juan Ciudad</b></a>: Juan Ciudad, also known as St. John of God, was a saint and important figure in nursing. After serving as a soldier in the Spanish Army, Ciudad became devoted to religion and helping the needy. He became the founder of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God and operated it all by himself for some time. Ciudad was honored for his heroic death, in which he tried to save a boy from drowning.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><a href="http://www.whitmanarchive.org/criticism/current/encyclopedia/entry_7.html" style="color: #0070bb; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><b>Walt Whitman</b></a>: Walt Whitman may be best known for his acclaimed poetry, but the humanist was also a volunteer nurse during the American Civil War. Whitman worked in crowded hospital wards in Washington, such as the Armory Square, the Judiciary Square and the Patent Office, where he kindly wrote letters for injured soldiers and read poetry aloud. Whitman's experience as a nurse had a significant impact on his life and certainly on his poetry.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><a href="http://www.catholic-saints.info/patron-saints/saint-alexis.htm" style="color: #0070bb; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><b>St. Alexius</b></a>: This fifth-century Roman was an influential caretaker for the sick. He was the patron of pilgrims and beggars, devoted to the service of God. St. Alexius later became a patron of the Alexian Brothers ministry's first chapel, which had small groups of men and women who treated the sick, fed the hungry and buried the dead. The Alexian Brothers healthcare organizations can be found all around the world, where they continue to treat patients through healing ministry and patient care.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><a href="http://history.amedd.army.mil/ancwebsite/articles/malenurses.html" style="color: #0070bb; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><b>Edward Lyon</b></a>: Edward Lyon made history as the first man to be commissioned in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in 1955. He was named second lieutenant and broke the mold for all male nurses, who play a very important role in nursing military services.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_of_Nursia" style="color: #0070bb; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><b>St. Benedict</b></a>: St. Benedict, also known as Benedict of Nursia, is the patron saint for Europe and students, as well as dying people, fever, gallstones, kidney disease and inflammatory disease. St. Benedict became the founder of western monasticism and was known for his miracle work. His holiness and humility are still admired to this day, and his message lives on through the many hospitals and care units named after him.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><a href="http://allnurses.com/men-nursing-forum/friar-juan-de-96321.html" style="color: #0070bb; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><b>Friar Juan de Mena</b></a>: Friar Juan de Mena is considered the first nurse to land on what would later become the United States of America. Friar de Mena was a notable Mexican nurse, who administered care to the sick as a lay brother of the Santo Domingo of Mexico. Nearly seventy years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, de Mena and other Spaniards were killed while shipwrecked off the south Texas Coast.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><a href="http://www.cdispatch.com/opinions/article.asp?aid=678" style="color: #0070bb; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><b>Joe Hogan</b></a>: Joe Hogan made history when he sued the Mississippi University for Women for denying Hogan admission because of his gender. Hogan was already a registered nurse who was working full time at Golden Triangle Regional Hospital in Columbus, Mississippi, but wanted to earn his bachelor's degree in nursing from the all-women's institution because it was the only local college offering this degree. Joe Hogan won his landmark case, and it forever banned gender discrimination at publicly funded schools for nursing.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_Thom" style="color: #0070bb; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><b>Brother Gerard</b></a>: Brother Gerard, also known as Gerard Thom, was the founder of the Knights Hospitaller and the two major Orders of Chivalry that evolved from the group in Jerusalem. The Hospitallers were dedicated to treating sick and wounded patients in hospitals. Over time, the Hospitallers eventually opened their own hospitals and expanded to Europe and Jerusalem. The Hospitaller's Knights of Malta is the only original military nursing order still operating today.</li>
</ol><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://www.nursingschools.net/blog/2011/06/10-pioneering-male-nurses/">http://www.nursingschools.net/blog/2011/06/10-pioneering-male-nurses/</a></span></span></div>RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-68174068848482927932011-05-28T17:38:00.001-07:002011-05-28T17:39:13.303-07:00Nurse Wellness: Keeping Your Sanity On and Off Duty<div class="Head" id="divArticleTitle" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold;"><span id="lblArticleTitle" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Nurse Wellness: Keeping Your Sanity On and Off Duty</span></div><div class="Normal" id="divArticleContent" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span id="lblArticleText" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><img align="left" alt="" class="articleViewThumb" hspace="7" src="http://www.nursetogether.com/Portals/0/PublishThumbnails/burned%20out%20woman.jpg" /><span style="font-size: 10pt;">As the world becomes more complex and challenging, it is virtually impossible to completely insulate yourself from the worries and activities that arise as a result. The economy and the effects of looming healthcare reform also add to the workload at the bedside, due to the hospital’s inability to fund much needed nursing and support positions. There are ways, however, to help keep your sanity through all of this if you take a calculated, objective approach to your life. Here are my tips:</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="section1" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Live in the now: </span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">One of my great idols was Scarlett O’Hara. When the world was falling apart around her, she gave herself permission to move on by delaying her worries with permission when she said, “I guess I will just worry about that tomorrow. Tomorrow is another day.” I don’t suggest that we all get in the habit of procrastinating, but in relation to stress, we need to remember that 99% of our stress are fears that are never realized. This fear is what invokes the stress reflex and causes the wear and tear on our bodies. When we are faced with a stressor, take a moment to analyze the stressor, develop a plan to address it and then dismiss it. Give yourself permission to think about it at another time if it is appropriate to do that. If we live in the wreckage of the future, we lose those moments of life. Remember, life is nothing but a cascade of moments. Don’t lose them because we can never get them back.</span></span></div><div class="section1" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="section1" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="section1" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="section1" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Learn to say no: </span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Especially as nurses, we want to help everyone and oftentimes can burden ourselves with many tasks, both in and out of work. It is important to critically evaluate your time, and if you cannot take on more responsibility, you need to respectfully decline. I found that this was one of my problems and due to my willingness to help everyone, I was buried with tasks that were adding tremendously to my stress level. I have learned to thank people for thinking of me but will tell them that, at this time, I don’t have the ability to help. I always invite them to ask me later when things lighten up. In the work environment, when you are over burdened, you need to ask for help. If you are not getting help from your colleagues or assistants, you need to ask your manager or supervisor. Most of the time they don’t appreciate how busy you are, but when you alert them, usually adjustments can be made in the schedule or they can help you themselves.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="section1" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="section1" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Make a list: </span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">I find that this is a tremendous help with organizing my day and my life. When you make lists it becomes a contract with yourself for what you wish to accomplish. It also feels so good to cross off the task when completed. The list also gives you a visual representation of all that you have completed. You will be amazed at your capacity for completing tasks and work.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="section1" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="section1" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Exercise daily: </span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The advantages of exercise are irrefutable but many of us continue to ignore the importance. Remember that exercise strengthens our bodies and mind and helps improve our endurance. This strength and endurance translates into everything you do, whether it is the work environment, lifting and taking care of your kids or performing you activities of daily living. It also helps us feel in control and healthy, and reduces stress. You can also increase your activity incrementally by taking stairs rather than elevators, parking further distances from your destination, and taking 10 minutes on and off through the day to just march in place. You will be amazed how many pounds you can shed with these little bursts.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="section1" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="section1" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Schedule time for yourself: </span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Even if it is only for 30 minutes, schedule some renewal time for yourself (no your daily shower does not count). Watch a television show, take a nap, meditate, read, soak in a tub, do crafts or a hobby, but do something that you feel is relaxing and enjoyable to you. This is called creating space. I find that when I take a few minutes for myself, it feels that I have more time for other things.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="section1" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="section1" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Be grateful: </span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The world is a wonderful place and we have been given many gifts. As nurses, we have been given the ability to help others in need. We have been given the intellect to critically think and to learn. We are the most trusted profession in the world and we will always be able to find jobs. We all have been given many other gifts that we may not appreciate as well. I have set my expectations pretty low for myself. I now feel that every day I wake up is another gift and that everything that follows throughout the day becomes a bonus. Look at the sky, smell the flowers, gaze into the eyes of your beautiful children, appreciate your significant others. Even during trying or sad times, remember that “you don’t realize the strength of the anchor without the fury of the storm.” Also, in hindsight, every bad experience eventually becomes a valuable experience if we learn from it and move on.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="section1" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="section1" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Don’t take yourself too seriously: </span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">I will leave you with this last idea to infuse humor in your life and not to take yourself too seriously. We all have egos that get in the way of our feelings because we don’t ever want to look bad or be misjudged by those around us. When we lose our egos, we liberate ourselves. Life is for learning and for growing; there are no such things as mistakes but rather learning opportunities. Laugh at yourself and then move on and remember…</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="section1" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="section1" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-size: 10pt;">“Tomorrow is another day!”</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="section1" style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText"><strong><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></o:p></span></strong><o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></o:p> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><strong>About the Author:</strong></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> Dr. Val Gokenbach has a true passion for leadership and has been in administrative healthcare positions for over thirty years. As a professional dancer and fitness instructor for over 40 years, Val has led a dual life as a fitness presenter, consultant and dance instructor. She has been featured as a health consultant and guest host on multiple TV shows and QVC. As an international speaker and author, her goal is to share her life's philosophy with all nurses and help them realize their value to the world.</span></em></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br />
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</span></em></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span id="lblArticleText"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.nursetogether.com/Life/LifestyleArticles/LifestyleArticle/tabid/100/itemId/1822/Nurse-Wellness-Keeping-Your-Sanity-On-and-Off-Dut.aspx">http://www.nursetogether.com/Life/LifestyleArticles/LifestyleArticle/tabid/100/itemId/1822/Nurse-Wellness-Keeping-Your-Sanity-On-and-Off-Dut.aspx</a></span></em></span></span></div><div style="color: #333333;"></div></div>RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-66885545708249403982011-05-21T16:45:00.000-07:002011-05-21T16:45:25.317-07:00A Nurses' Value to Society<div id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_divArticleTitle" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><h1 class="Head" id="publishTitle" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">A Nurses' Value to Society</span></h1></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<div align="right" class="divLastUpdated" id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_divLastUpdated" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></div><div id="articleThumbnails" style="float: right; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></div><div class="Normal" id="divArticleContent" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;"><img align="left" alt="" class="articleViewThumb" hspace="7" src="http://www.nursetogether.com/Portals/0/PublishThumbnails/nurse%20with%20male%20patient[0].jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; float: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">As I was leaving the hospital recently after a late day of meetings, crossing the parking deck coming in my direction was an elderly man with a very tired look on his face. Under his right arm was a long cardboard box with the words 1-800-flowers on the side. In that moment, I was struck by the humanity and personal challenges that all of our patients and their loved ones face when in our organizations across the country. This gentleman was visiting someone he loved, perhaps a wife, perhaps an older child, perhaps a sibling, but regardless, the look on his face was one of concern and sorrow. As I passed him, I said hello and wished him a good day, and he gave me a little smile which quickly dissolved as he headed toward the front entrance of the hospital.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">I realized at that point how much of our work becomes just our routine work, how much of the pain and sorrow becomes routine. I felt somewhat guilty that I was leaving the hospital to teach an aerobic class and then spend the rest of my evening with my family, while others suffered so much. I also realized that nurses are the human component in the healthcare delivery system, uniquely prepared to reach out to those in need and fill the void of human caring created by clinical environments. We, as nurses, can never let go of that awesome responsibility that we share. As the most trusted profession in the world, it is our calling to be there for those in pain and suffering, those in fear and those that are moving on to worlds beyond us. It struck me that it is also critically important that we, as nurses, never allow ourselves to become hardened to those who need us so much, for what a waste it would be to miss an opportunity to emotionally be in the moment and reach out and help those we serve.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Take a moment to reflect on your role as a nurse and the importance you play in the lives of others. Relive those special moments when you realized a difference and the satisfaction that you felt knowing you were able to help. It is an honor and a privilege to serve in the capacity that we do and to possess the skills that are so uniquely nursing. We may have times that we are tired, drained, frustrated and disillusioned with our profession, but the greater good of what we do and who we serve far outweighs the episodic challenges. I am grateful every day that I am a nurse and, despite the challenges, I would never want to go through life as anything else.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><strong>About the Author:</strong> Dr. Val Gokenbach has a true passion for leadership and has been in administrative healthcare positions for over thirty years. As a professional dancer and fitness instructor for over 40 years, Val has led a dual life as a fitness presenter, consultant and dance instructor. She has been featured as a health consultant and guest host on multiple TV shows and QVC. As an international speaker and author, her goal is to share her life's philosophy with all nurses and help them realize their value to the world.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/CareerArticles/CareerArticle/tabid/102/itemId/1869/A-Nurses-Value-to-Society.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/CareerArticles/CareerArticle/tabid/102/itemId/1869/A-Nurses-Value-to-Society.aspx</span></a></div>RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-55499525319805423222011-05-15T05:21:00.000-07:002011-05-15T05:22:03.416-07:0010 Ways to Rekindle Your Nursing Passion<div id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_divArticleTitle" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><h1 class="Head" id="publishTitle" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">10 Ways to Rekindle Your Nursing Passion</span></h1></div><div id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_pnlEmailAFriend" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><br />
</span></div><div id="articleThumbnails" style="float: right; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></div><div class="Normal" id="divArticleContent" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;"><img align="left" alt="" class="articleViewThumb" hspace="7" src="http://www.nursetogether.com/Portals/0/PublishThumbnails/nurse%20and%20old%20lady[0].jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; float: left;" /><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Have the fires of your nursing passion fizzled out? Has your work become a job –someplace you exchange a certain set of skills for a paycheck?<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">What happened to your inner caregiver (maybe even your outer one)?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="body" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Did the changes do it in – you know, computerized charting, the pyxis, whatever else is new this week?<o:p></o:p></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
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<div class="body" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Do you feel alone at the bedside doing things administration can’t understand or imagine? Are you stretched thinner and thinner but doing more?<o:p></o:p></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
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<div class="body" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Or was it the personal cost – the emotional investment, the endless giving – that made you pull back?<o:p></o:p></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
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<div class="body" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">You may have a hard time remembering the nurse you started out to be, but it’s not too late. You can get your nursing passion back.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
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<div class="body" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Try these ten suggestions to rekindle the flame.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<div class="body" style="margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; position: relative; top: 1pt;"><u1:p><o:p></o:p></u1:p></span></div><div class="body" style="margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Try not to think of your patients as their diseases, procedures or room numbers. Make the extra effort to learn (and use) their names. Hospitals can be dehumanizing enough without our adding to the problem.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<div class="body" style="margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Remember your roots. Last week I heard a nursing student say, “I had the best day! I gave a shot and I cleaned up the same gentleman eight times.” When asked how this made for a great day, she said, “Well, he was pretty embarrassed about his medicine giving him diarrhea but I told him that happens to lots of people and convinced him not to feel bad about it.” She’s got the makings of a great nurse.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<div class="body" style="margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Offer grace. Nurses see people at their worst during very difficult circumstances. Overlooking grumpiness, showing patience with the confused – in general, cutting our patients a little slack – helps them enter the healing state and saves us aggravation too.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<div class="body" style="margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Don’t mouth empty words. It’s unfair to your patients and bad for your conscience. Yes, I know it’s hard to say the same things to different patients day after day. Be inventive – practice finding new ways to get information across.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<div class="body" style="margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Treat everyone with respect. And, yes, I mean everyone. You may be the only one who does and it may make all the difference. The Bible says, “Dignify those who are down on their luck; you'll feel good—that's what GOD does” (Psalm 41:1, MSG).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<div class="body" style="margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Nurses do have the best stories, but don’t use your patients as fodder for gossip or entertainment, even among yourselves. First, it’s illegal, what with HIPAA and all; second, it’s disrespectful to tell stories that show them at a disadvantage. Even though it’s hard, keep your lips sealed as a secret gift to the people you care for.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<div class="body" style="margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">See – really see – your patients. Look at their faces; notice their expressions and their demeanor. That slightly confused elderly gentleman giving the call button a workout may be a World War II veteran, once handsome and brave; while the well-dressed but jumpy Junior Leaguer may be fighting battles at home that you can’t imagine. You may never know their stories, but you can be sure they have one.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<div class="body" style="margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Be present to your patients. Don’t hurry into their rooms on autopilot with a mental to-do list. Pay attention. Forget yourself. Take time to get “in the zone.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<div class="body" style="margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Listen. To what your patients are and <em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">aren’t</span></em> saying. Imagine yourself with “antennae quivering.” It’s rare for people to feel heard. Think of it as another gift you can give them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<div class="body" style="margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Support life in your patients. Work to put them in a place where healing happens. Be sensitive to their emotional state and try to match it, offering hope, kindness and, above all, truthfulness. When physical life wanes, offer comfort and support their spiritual life and loved ones.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<div class="body" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">We, as nurses, are privileged to be instruments of healing. But, like in doing the “Hokey-Pokey,” we have to put our whole selves in.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
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<div class="body" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">That’s what it’s all about.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 16pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">About the Author: </span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Suzanne Davenport Tietjen, RN, NNP-BC is a Nurse Practitioner, writer and shepherd. She takes care of tiny sick babies in the Neonatal ICU and a flock of natural-colored sheep at her family's century-old farm. Suzanne has written for nursing journals and Christian magazines, and has published two books, <u>40 Days to your Best Life for Nurses</u> and <u>The Sheep of His Hand.</u> </span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 16pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 16pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/CareerArticles/CareerArticle/tabid/102/VersionId/26189/modid/599/Default.aspx">http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/CareerArticles/CareerArticle/tabid/102/VersionId/26189/modid/599/Default.aspx</a></span></i></div></div>RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-32781347473587961122011-05-07T19:06:00.000-07:002011-05-07T19:06:51.171-07:00No smoking signs 'encourage habit'<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
<h1 style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, Georgia, serif; font-size: 2.769em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 38px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">No smoking signs 'encourage habit'</span></h1><div class="section_twocolumn" style="zoom: 1;"><div class="section_column1" style="float: left; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; width: 384px;"><div class="standfirst" style="font-weight: bold;"><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Signs intended to enforce smoking bans may have a counter-intuitive effect on people addicted to tobacco, according to psychologists.</span></div></div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">And no smoking signs may have an “ironic effect” and actually be driving more people to light up, a study suggested.</span></div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">It found the cumulative effect of messages related to smoking could ultimately increase the recipient’s craving for tobacco.</span></div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Researcher Brian Earp, from Oxford University, presented the findings at the British Psychological Society’s annual meeting in Glasgow.</span></div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">He said: “You get ironic effects when you couple information that people perceive with negation. When I say don’t think of a pink elephant, I’ve just put the thought of a pink elephant in your head.</span></div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">“A lot of public health messages are framed in a negative way: say no to drugs, don’t drink and drive, no smoking.</span></div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">“No smoking signs in particular are everywhere. If you’re a smoker walking down a street you’re likely to pass five or six of these signs in windows or on doors. If you have a chronically positive attitude to smoking this could boost your craving.”</span></div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Some smokers, without being aware of it, react to the signs by thinking of and wanting cigarettes.</span></div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">A group of smoking volunteers from a town in New England, US, were shown several photographs, some of which included a no smoking sign in the background or on the periphery, while others had the signs edited out.</span></div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Mr Earp’s team found that participants who had earlier been shown no smoking signs were more drawn to smoking-related images such as ash trays and cigarettes. “It’s a significant effect which we think would have real life implications,” he added.</span></div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.nursingtimes.net/5029472.article?referrer=e26"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">http://www.nursingtimes.net/5029472.article?referrer=e26</span></a></div></div></div>RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-26073846172603712602011-04-27T19:45:00.000-07:002011-04-27T19:45:55.437-07:00Facts About Florence Nightingale<div class="articleTitle" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; top: -4px;"><h1 class="articleTitleText pubColor" id="ctl01_cphContent_PagedEditorialViewer1_articleDates_lblArticleTitle" style="color: #208187; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 2em; font-weight: 800; line-height: 1.2em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Facts About Florence</h1><h2 class="articleSubheadText" id="ctl01_cphContent_PagedEditorialViewer1_articleDates_lblSubHead" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 800; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">How much do you know about the lady with the lamp?</h2></div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="content_manager_table" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; clear: both; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; width: 595px;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="content" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 595px;"><div style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><img align="right" alt="" src="http://nursing.advanceweb.com/SharedResources/Images/2011/040411/FlorenceNightingale_225x.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: 297px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 12px; padding-right: 12px; padding-top: 12px; width: 225px;" />Test your knowledge about the founder of modern day nursing with some of these lesser known facts: </div><ul><li>Nightingale's father was a pioneer in epidemiology and tutored <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Florence</st1:place></st1:city> in mathematics/statistics, an area she excelled in later in her career.</li>
<li>A gifted statistician in her own right, Nightingale was fond of using pie charts when presenting her statistics.</li>
<li>Among many studies, Nightingale did a statistical analysis of sanitation in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>.</li>
<li>Nightingale was the first female to be elected to Royal Statistical Society.</li>
<li>Florence Nightingale defied her extremely wealthy family and upper class conventions in choosing to become a nurse in 1845.</li>
<li>Nightingale not only fought for better medical care, but also championed social issues such as reform of the British Poor Laws.</li>
<li>Nightingale's first published work was on a German Lutheran religious community in 1851.</li>
<li>Most famous for her care of soldiers during the Crimean War, Nightingale entered <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region> in 1854 with 38 nurses she personally trained.</li>
<li>In Nightingale's first winter at Scutari in the <st1:place w:st="on">Crimea</st1:place>, the death toll rose with more than 4,077 soldiers dying.</li>
<li>Nightingale's first evidence-based practice research involved collecting evidence that poor living conditions were the cause of most soldier deaths during the Crimean War.</li>
<li><i>The Times </i>of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city> is widely considered responsible for labeling Nightingale "the lady with the lamp."</li>
<li>The <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> government consulted Nightingale on setting up military hospitals during the Civil War.</li>
<li>As a woman, Nightingale could not serve on the British Royal Commission on the Health of the Army even though she played a critical role in its formation.</li>
<li>What is now the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, part of King's College London, was established by her to train nurses in 1860.</li>
<li><i>Notes on Nursing </i>also sold well as a popular book in the 1860s.</li>
<li>In 1867, poet Henry Longfellow's poem "Santa Filomena" further ensured Nightingale's image with the lines, "Lo! In that hour of misery A lady with a lamp I see Pass through the glimmering gloom."</li>
<li>In the 1870s, Nightingale trained Linda Richards, the first formally trained American nurse.</li>
<li>Nightingale died in 1910, but her family declined to have her buried in Westminster Abbey with kings, queens and other English nobility. She is buried in the churchyard at St. Margaret's Church, East Wellow, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Hampshire</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region></st1:place>.</li>
<li>Nightingale's maternal grandfather was the British abolitionist Will Smith. </li>
<li>Nightingale is named after her birthplace, <st1:city w:st="on">Florence</st1:city>, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>).</li>
</ul><div><a href="http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Web-Extras/Online-Extras/Facts-About-Florence.aspx">http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Web-Extras/Online-Extras/Facts-About-Florence.aspx</a></div><div><br />
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</tbody></table>RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-25058016870957312852011-04-24T19:14:00.001-07:002011-04-24T19:15:01.150-07:00Teenagers in hospital want to discuss sex with nurses<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
<h1 style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, Georgia, serif; font-size: 2.769em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 38px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Teenagers in hospital want to discuss sex with nurses</span></h1><div class="byline" style="color: #666666; font-size: 0.846em; margin-bottom: 11px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="date" style="font-size: 1em;">24 April, 2011</span></div><div class="section_twocolumn" style="zoom: 1;"><div class="section_column1" style="float: left; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; width: 384px;"><div class="standfirst" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold;"><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Young people want the choice of discussing sexual health issues with nurses while in hospital, according to researchers in Liverpool.</div></div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">They surveyed 100 young people attending an outpatient appointment or being discharged following an inpatient episode.</div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Writing online in the Journal of Clinical Nursing, the authors said: “Although young people infrequently sought advice when in acute settings, they wanted to know there was a choice to discuss these issues with healthcare professionals.</div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Healthcare professionals need to be mindful of opportunities to engage.”</div><ul style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 20px; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://www.nursingtimes.net/magazine/graphics/breadcrumb-bg.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 7px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; display: block; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 9px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2010.03610.x/abstract" style="color: #00549f; text-decoration: none;">Sanders C, et al. Exploring young people’s expectations and experiences of discussing sexual and relationship health with professionals in a children’s hospital. Journal of Clinical Nursing 2011; Advance online publication</a></li>
</ul><div><a href="http://www.nursingtimes.net/5029027.article?referrer=e26">http://www.nursingtimes.net/5029027.article?referrer=e26</a></div><div><br />
</div></div></div>RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-13442172579575089112011-04-24T18:49:00.001-07:002011-04-24T18:50:24.286-07:00Night shift napping boosts nurses' performance and personal health<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
<h1 style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, Georgia, serif; font-size: 2.769em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 38px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Night shift napping boosts nurses' performance and personal health</span></h1><div class="byline" style="color: #666666; font-size: 0.846em; margin-bottom: 11px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="date" style="font-size: 1em;">21 April, 2011</span> | <span class="author">By The Press Association</span></div><div class="section_twocolumn" style="zoom: 1;"><div class="section_column1" style="float: left; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; width: 384px;"><div class="standfirst" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold;"><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Napping during night shifts benefits nurses and their ability to care for patients, according to a study carried out in Canada.</div></div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Restorative napping - defined as a purposeful, brief sleep period - was identified by nurses as a potential strategy to improve performance, safety and personal health.</div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">A total of 13 <a class="intextlink" href="http://www.nursingtimes.net/section2.aspx?navCode=1364" style="color: #00549f; text-decoration: none;">critical care</a> nurses with an average 17 years’ experience were involved in the study, which was undertaken in response to concerns that nurses on night shifts are risking sleep deprivation and increased stress levels, which in turn can threaten patient safety.</div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Ten of the nurses stated that they nap regularly during night shifts, although the ability to nap depended on the demands of patient care and staffing needs.</div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">It was suggested that managers of health care facilities provide a safe and comfortable resting place for nurses working night shift, and ensure that nurses do not miss breaks.</div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-size: 0.923em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.nursingtimes.net/5029013.article?referrer=e26">http://www.nursingtimes.net/5029013.article?referrer=e26</a></div></div></div>RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-78734849974873015302011-04-22T02:07:00.000-07:002011-04-22T02:07:05.600-07:00Nurse's Prayer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFl37jx1_Oj_EpbmOp5cQfzh5muL4gFAgqU_M0Eyx0RNLaxrdtpBY1Ivfk4crpn3mmQ3Dstjq8shm_kr43EDOLPd-MxTMXr5hoLl2YKJBD_wxgGnfSU1LopTL8oyxHVPJIpsJ0vnIjIgM/s1600/DSC02321B9.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFl37jx1_Oj_EpbmOp5cQfzh5muL4gFAgqU_M0Eyx0RNLaxrdtpBY1Ivfk4crpn3mmQ3Dstjq8shm_kr43EDOLPd-MxTMXr5hoLl2YKJBD_wxgGnfSU1LopTL8oyxHVPJIpsJ0vnIjIgM/s320/DSC02321B9.gif" width="240" /></a></div>RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-59182236582292453022011-04-09T18:04:00.000-07:002011-04-09T18:05:18.332-07:00Should You Pray for Your Patients? This Nurse Says Yes! 5 Evidence-Based Reasons<div id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_pnlAuthor" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><div style="color: #444444;"><span id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_lblAuthorInfo"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: 13px;"></span></span></div><h1 class="Head" id="publishTitle" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px;"><span id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_lblAuthorInfo"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: 13px;">Should You Pray for Your Patients? This Nurse Says Yes! 5 Evidence-Based Reasons</span></span></h1></div><div id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_pnlAuthor" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span id="dnn_ctr599_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_lblAuthorInfo">By:</span> LeAnn Thieman</span></div><div id="articleThumbnails" style="float: right; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"></div><div class="Normal" id="divArticleContent" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;"><img align="left" alt="" class="articleViewThumb" hspace="7" src="http://www.nursetogether.com/Portals/0/PublishThumbnails/praying%20patient.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; float: left;" /><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Since we nurses are proud to deliver evidence-based care, we cannot neglect the proven benefits of prayer in healing our patients.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Gallup polls show that 95% of Americans believe in God. 90% pray. With these statistics, how can we not offer prayer as an adjunct to their healing? Consider this research proving the health benefits:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><br />
</span></div><ol style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Patients affiliated with a religious community had 50% shorter hospital stays than those with none. Those who attend church, temple, or mosque regularly have half the levels of the blood protein interleukin-6, which, in high levels, is associated with AIDS, cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. (Duke University’s Center for the Study of Religion, Spirituality, and Health)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Prayer and religious rituals can relieve stress. Praying 10-20 minutes a day can decrease blood pressure, heart rate, breathing and metabolic rates. (Harvard’s Mind/Body Institute)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Patients who were prayed for but didn’t know it had fewer life-threatening complications and needed less medication. (San Francisco Medical Center)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">There is now convincing evidence that people who have strong spiritual beliefs do better, even in serious illness. (St Luke’s Heart Institute, Kansas City, MO..<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Over half of America’s medical schools now teach courses in religion and spirituality and the important impact on patient health. 99% of doctors believe there is an important relationship between the spirit and the flesh. (Associated Press.)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Perhaps nurses don’t introduce the idea of prayer because we feel uncertain or awkward. Sometimes saying, (if applicable), “I said a prayer for you today” is a simple way to bring up the topic. Their reaction usually dictates further discussion. If they indicate they are grateful, you can say something fun and non-threatening like, “There’s a lot more where that came from! Would you like to chat with our chaplain? He/she ministers to people of all faiths.” Another response might be to ask “Are there any prayers you’d like to say together?”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">It’s important to use universal terms until you know the person’s religious affiliation. “Higher Power”, “Creator,” or “the God you believe in” are generally accepted by those who believe. Listen next for the word they use, then repeat that as you converse and pray.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Often a prayer can be as simple as saying “God, take good care of Margaret today.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Ask them if there is anyone they would like you to call to pray with them, making sure they understand this is not an offer reserved for fatally ill people only! They might ask to talk with their rabbi, pastor, or even a friend from their church, synagogue or mosque.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Perhaps the best way for you to find the right words to open this discussion with your patients is to pray to the God <i>you</i> believe in. Your Creator will give you the words and both you and those you touch will be blessed.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: white;"><a href="http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/CareerArticles/CareerArticle/tabid/102/itemId/2446/Should-You-Pray-for-Your-Patients-This-Nurse-Says.aspx">http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/CareerArticles/CareerArticle/tabid/102/itemId/2446/Should-You-Pray-for-Your-Patients-This-Nurse-Says.aspx</a></span></span></div></div>RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-38403099390740407672011-03-31T05:08:00.000-07:002011-03-31T05:08:09.516-07:00Oppositional Defiant Disorder<div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><strong>Definition</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.nursingcrib.com/wp-content/uploads/angry-child-300x200.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="angry child 300x200 Oppositional Defiant Disorder" border="0" src="http://cdn.nursingcrib.com/wp-content/uploads/angry-child-300x200.gif" /></a></div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The American Psychiatric Association’s <em>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition</em> (<em>DSM IV</em>), defines oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) as a recurrent pattern of negativistic, defiant, disobedient, and hostile behavior toward authority figures that persists for at least 6 months. ODD is a condition in which a child displays an ongoing pattern of uncooperative, defiant, hostile, and annoying behavior toward people in authority. The child’s behavior often disrupts the child’s normal daily activities, including activities within the family and at school.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><strong>Causes and Risk Factors</strong></div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The causative factors can be divided into categories, namely:<strong></strong></div><ul style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><strong>Biological Factor.</strong> Aggressive behavior may be caused by alterations in the neurotransmitter activity of the brain. Neurotransmitters help nerve cells in the brain communicate with each other. If these chemicals are out of balance or not working properly, messages may not make it through the brain correctly, leading to symptoms of ODD, and other mental illnesses. Also, some studies suggest that defects in or injuries to certain areas of the brain can lead to serious behavioral problems in children.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><strong>Familial Factor</strong>. Familial influences on child development may be genetically linked, attributed to conflict in the family home or based on parent-child interactions. Additionally, a parent’s prior aggressive behavior (in childhood) has been shown to manifest itself in their child at the same age.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><strong>Genetics.</strong> Many children and teens with ODD have close family members with mental illnesses, including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and personality disorders. This suggests that a vulnerability to develop ODD may be inherited.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">E<strong>nvironmental</strong>. Factors such as a dysfunctional family life, a family history of mental illnesses and/or substance abuse and inconsistent discipline by parents may contribute to the development of behavior disorders.</li>
</ul><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><strong>Clinical Manifestations</strong></div><ul style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><li style="margin-left: 15px;">Actively does not follow adults’ requests</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Angry and resentful of others</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Argues with adults</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Blames others for own mistakes</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Has few or no friends or has lost friends</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Is in constant trouble in school</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Loses temper</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Spiteful or seeks revenge</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Touchy or easily annoyed</li>
</ul><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><strong>Diagnosis</strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"></span></div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">To fit this diagnosis, the pattern must last for at least 6 months and must be characterized by the frequent occurrence of at least four of the following behaviors: losing temper, arguing with adults, actively defying or refusing to comply with the requests or rules of adults, deliberately doing things that will annoy other people, blaming others for his or her own mistakes or misbehavior, being touchy or easily annoyed by others, being angry and resentful, or being spiteful or vindictive.</div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><strong>Management of Children with ODD</strong></div><ul style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><li style="margin-left: 15px;">Behavior management techniques. Use behavior contracts.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Be fair but be firm, give respect to get respect.</li>
</ul><ul style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><li style="margin-left: 15px;">Using a consistent approach to discipline and following through with positive reinforcement of appropriate behaviors. Apply effective contingencies that are consistent responses to the child’s behavior, following through with appropriate rewards and consequences when these are needed.</li>
</ul>RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-19603392940683716972011-03-31T03:17:00.001-07:002011-03-31T03:36:39.734-07:00Multiple sclerosis: Medical and Nursing ManagementsCheck out this SlideShare Presentation: <div style="width:425px" id="__ss_7460327"><strong style="display:block;margin:12px 0 4px"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/reynel89/multiple-sclerosis-medical-and-nursing-managements" title="Multiple sclerosis: Medical and Nursing Managements">Multiple sclerosis: Medical and Nursing Managements</a></strong><object id="__sse7460327" width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=multiplesclerosis-110331051300-phpapp02&stripped_title=multiple-sclerosis-medical-and-nursing-managements&userName=reynel89" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><embed name="__sse7460327" src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=multiplesclerosis-110331051300-phpapp02&stripped_title=multiple-sclerosis-medical-and-nursing-managements&userName=reynel89" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><div style="padding:5px 0 12px">View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/">presentations</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/reynel89">Rey Gal</a>.</div></div>RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-65476473343907541732011-03-30T01:43:00.000-07:002011-03-30T01:43:33.159-07:00Sexually Transmitted Diseases (Pictures).avi<iframe width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/l5cksycO4PY?fs=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-74886519881307694192011-03-29T01:02:00.001-07:002011-03-29T01:03:23.586-07:00Major depressionCheck out this SlideShare Presentation: <br />
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<div style="padding: 5px 0 12px;">View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/">presentations</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/reynel89">Rey Gal</a>.</div></div>RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645406247808272259.post-1188893088949706292011-03-28T19:34:00.001-07:002011-03-28T19:59:57.869-07:00Alzheimer’s disease: ManagementCheck out this SlideShare Presentation: <br />
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Sa unang oras ng buhay hanggang anim na buwan, GATAS NG INA lamang ang ibigay.RDG, RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12902622493744477117noreply@blogger.com0