Monday, Monday (aka back to work)

It was a brief trip to MegaConference and it was fun. I even met some new friends on my whirlwind tour. I tried to meet one nurse blogger, but she wasn't coming in, until I left town. I got lots of looks at my poster and made sure I didn't take a single handout home, by using a couple of marketing gimmicks. (I marked my literature holder--aka a brown envelope--with the words TRADE SECRETS).

All that business experience helped. I also corralled a spot near my poster and carefully set my coat and a notebook there (with a glass) so I could go between sessions and not lose my spot. (We were expected to be by the poster at break times, so...)

Dahey and Bubba drove around the town exploring, watching dogs and sailboats. Bubba also proved that kids needing to go to the bathroom is really a universally understood problem, no matter in what sort of ethnic neighborhood you may find yourself. They also saw a movie, which was a good excuse for Dahey to find a dark place with a comfy chair for a nap. (We got up really early to get me to the conference on time, since our hotel was far away in the suburbs.)

There was a party once the session was over, but I literally had to fly out of there, after I talked to an exec I had tweeted to during the sessions. It was nice to finally meet her after conversing back and forth. It was bedlam--cars, taxis, buses, everywhere. It was a miracle Dahey and Bubba could get to me amidst all the masses escaping the conference hall looking for a ride. I was really happy one of the staffers there was able to get us back to the highway to RehabLand.

It was literally down the street and around one corner. So we drove away into the evening to RehabLand.

Today was a long day with lots of caffeine infusions. My last one is wearing off, so I will say good night.

More fun to come...

People will talk...

And I really do listen, or read, as needed.

I'd like to thank all of you out there who weighed in on your various sites. I'm all for recognition, so here goes... in no particular order with any additional comments following each listing.

Aspen University said on its page "Fifteen nursing blogs you should be reading"
Rehab RN
By a nurse “down on the farm,” this is a fun and snarky blog. 

Snarky? Yes, this is true.

Qi Exam Prep says RehabRN is one of the 25 best nursing blogs. (Thanks!)

 #12 RehabRN
Focused on working in rehab, this blog is fresh and well written. It makes you both laugh and wince at what patients are up to as they recover, and wonder to some degree how the author does it. It's original and clever. 

How do I do it? Very carefully (with a grin, too, or grimace, depending on the situation). It's all about the presentation. I'm still working on that poker face, but I do blank, confusing stares really well. (I can confuse lots of folks).

Online LPN to RN says this blog is one of 50 nursing blogs you should be reading.


RehabRN: RN “living down on the farm with Dahey, Bubba, WildDog and other wild animals, working at the Hotel Rehab to pay the bills and get material for this blog and for my standup comedy routine.”

Wow! Thanks. Yes, one day, I will have a standup routine. I have enough potty jokes from the Hotel. (bad pun)

Finally, AJN (the American Journal of Nursing) does its professional best not to endorse one specific blogger, but hey, I made the list. Here's their criteria below:

We don’t necessarily endorse the opinions or ideas of every nurse blogger out there, but do try to give you an idea of the range of nursing blogs, and to semiregularly update this list to weed out those that are no longer being updated and add newcomers you might be interested in. The list is arranged alphabetically, not in order of quality or ”klout.” Please send correspondence and new blog suggestions to this address: nursingblog@wolterskluwer.com

One of their recent comments on bloggers listed mentioned: "We are subjective about who we choose, but generally look for blogs that still update on a regular basis, that are civil, that aren’t run by unspecified corporate entities aggregating online education options for nurses, and that do more than simply complain about unpleasant patients (though of course there’s a place for this!)."

To one and all, my thanks. Hope you enjoy the stories, comments and even the complaints you find here. It's just a snapshot of my little world.

More to come...

Happening in threes, fours?

First,  in September, Michael Douglas reveals he has a head/neck cancer.

Next, Head Nurse jo tells us about her own cancer diagnosis.

Then, she tells us about another blogger who also has a rule out oral cancer test coming up.

And lo and behold, today, a story on Yahoo! says Tony Gwynn has a salivary gland cancer.

Folks, please pay attention. What can you do? Don't miss your next dentist appointment and screening. If something feels funny, check it out with your favorite health care provider.

Thanks!

One can pay back the loan of gold, but one dies forever in debt to those who are kind.  ~Malayan Proverb

I've not had a shout out section in a really long time, so I thought it was about time, you know how people end up here. Sure a few folks get here via search engine, but without the blogs below, no one would even wander over here for a view of the Hotel.

So when you're out and about, hop on over and visit some of our referrers and read their stuff.

Thank you ladies and gentlemen. I am in your debt!

RehabRN

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http://pakazoid.blogspot.com/
   
http://atyourcervix.blogspot.com/

http://studentrntiffany.blogspot.com/

http://ajnoffthecharts.com/

http://livingdeadnursepsychoward.blogspot.com/

http://pissedoffpatient.blogspot.com/

Nuggets for August 13

There were a whole lot of interesting items out there recently, so here are a few of them for your viewing pleasure.

You've got questions...

They've got answers, and no, it's not an electronics store. ConsultantLive had this great article on the ubiquitous purple urine bag. I've seen it a few times before (also blue) and asked questions about it, and never got a straight answer until I found this article. They also have a number of other articles of interest, so peruse at whim.

Crispy and brown

Feeling burnt out? Need to read something to get you going? Laura Wisniewski has this great article over at www.nursinglink.com called Re-Engage Your Passion for Nursing that has a few interesting points to ponder.

A telling anniversary

It's been ten years (yes, it was 1999) that the IOM published To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System.

There are still lots and lots of mistakes happening out there. The Houston Chronicle (a Hearst Newspaper) recently ran a series called Dead by Mistake on what the state of error reporting is in the US, and it's not so hot. Don't miss it.

Study, study, study

I'm still doing some certification study (yes, it seems like forever...) and I ran into some terms I didn't recognize, so I went searching and found some articles of interest.

Glossopharyngeal breathing is used with some ventilated SCI patients. This article explains what exactly it is and how it works.

Figure ground deficit is explained in this Google Book called Neurological Disabilities: Assessment and Treatment.

I always feel weak in my studies of the brain, so I found this article about a particular TBI patient very interesting as an aside. (from http://www.nytimes.com/)

Privacy (or lack thereof)

And you thought a prescription was private (from http://www.nytimes.com/)
I just shuddered reading this article...what will they think of next? I'm sure all you pharmacists out there have some stories like this.

And everything else about bloggers

It seems like life is very electronic these days...with good and bad results. Here are a few articles about various topics related to blogging I've seen lately. And, no, some things just don't need to be blogged or explained electronically, at least not in my little world, thankyouverymuch!

Mommy bloggers and ethical conflicts (from http://www.cnn.com/)

A no tweet, no blog party (from http://www.nytimes.com/)

Clinical narratives, nursing and image

I read my latest AJN and there is an article that discusses Benner's concept of clinical narratives and how they work in nursing.

If you read this above-linked PDF in detail, you may already realize that many bloggers, including myself, already describe many of these situations. We may obfuscate, consolidate and agglomerate our people and situations, but the comings and goings of our lives as nurses are on the screen. Take note, that this nursing narrative concept was developed in 1993.

I wonder, if Professor Benner looks out in the blogosphere and sees the narrative she defines in this document. I ask you, the lurkers and the bloggers, to start your story if you haven't written at all and if you have, I ask you, please continue to tell your story.

Besides the narratives, there are things we can do daily. We can project a positive image in how we carry ourselves and how we do our jobs. I got the e-mail below in a mailing list digest which discusses the image of nursing. Note the items in bold below, that I've chosen to highlight.

RE: [ni-wg] Are you proud to be a nurse? (from a faculty member at http://nursing.umaryland.edu/)

"Yes, I am proud to be a nurse, but am I proud of how nursing promotes itself and how others perceive us? Not really. Each semester, I ask my first semester undergraduate NI students to close their eyes, picture a physician and a nurse, and then describe what they see. These students, who have no nursing background, usually describe the physician as middle-aged, well-dressed (frequently wearing a lab coat), and very professional looking man. This description has not changed much over the years – varying little with student age and background, but changing somewhat with race and national origin. The nurse students pictured has changed a great deal over the past several years. At first, many students reported picturing a middle-aged, somewhat matronly looking woman in white, occasionally wearing a cap. However, as the incoming students are getting younger (actually younger, not just in context of my age), the nurses they picture look different. Many students report younger women wearing ill-fitting, multi-colored scrubs with animal prints. They reported them as looking harried and dour. Overall, the reports are of nurses that look overworked, unprofessional, and unhappy. This is not something I am particularly proud of. I asked several students who made such negative reports why they chose nursing if they see it in such a negative light. A common response was that they want to be part of changing nursing from a devalued occupation to a respected profession.

Yes, I am proud to be a nurse. I am even prouder of my students who want to be better nurses than those they pictured in their minds eyes."

Yes, Professor. I am proud, too, and this fuels me to do better.