Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving!

Since it's Thanksgiving, it's time to give thanks!

First, I want to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all our readers in Canada, who are enjoying their turkey and pumpkin pie today. I miss you so much Scrappy, Pierre, Monique, and Gord. Ah, another lifetime ago...(I am still going to visit EVERY provincial capital 'cause it's on the bucket list.)

However, since search engines can be flaky, I am happy to say I'm so thankful for the folks out in the audience who help you find your way here.

These are just some of them (and a couple of reviews). I am eternally thankful for you all, especially At Your Cervix (who sends more readers here than any other blog.)

Enjoy your day wherever you are!

http://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/nursing/blog/nursing-blogs-you-need-to-read/

Rehab RN by RehabNurse

Rehab nurse offers a light-hearted and often comical view into the issues encountered by nurses working in rehabilitation. Chock full of relatable commentary – at times with life lessons outside the scope of nursing – this blog could easily be housed in the “entertainment” section as well.


http://ernursescare.blogspot.com/2013/05/top-30-nursing-blogs-2013-boy-i-am.html

RehabRN features the thoughts and experiences of a rehab nurse. The blog is engaging and shares stories of both success and failure, seeking always to provide the reader with a realistic sense of the job.


Other places to find me:
http://www.northeastcenter.com/links_nursing_blogs.htm
http://www.blognation.com/blog/9498/rehab-rn
http://ajnoffthecharts.com/nursing-blogs/

I have to remind myself why I continue...

To blog.

Who knew that keeping a journal may be the one of the best kept productivity secrets out there?

Sounds like a very good reason to me.

TGIF! Enjoy your weekend wherever you are.

Share the love

I really like reading other blogs. Nursing blogs, doctor blogs, you name it.

So today, I'm going to share the love for one of my favorite all-time MD blogs, KevinMD.

While I was enjoying some quality time with Bubba (recuperating from running around on his spring break when I could), I perused blogs I haven't had the chance to really read in a while.

KevinMD had some posts that I really enjoyed. Hope you do, too.

• Have you ever felt that you've been profiled by your doctor? I have (I've been that "asks too many questions" relative). This article was illuminating and had plenty of examples.
  
• CYA medicine? Yes, it really does exist.
  
• People die without love. Sad and so very true.

Spring break diversions

Yes, to keep the vacation atmosphere around here for one little boy: let's go out to eat more than usual. At least that part seemed like a vacation, even when you're staying home, and the parents are working.

I decided if I ever want to be a nursing instructor when I grow up, I ought to take some more education classes before I run out and get a terminal degree. I've been checking out MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) from all over the world here. It seems like a better option than handing over my checkbook for every class.

I actually found a nice course by Curtis Bonk (yes, it's his real name) about using technology in teaching on one of the sites. I knew of a few, but the MOOC list has many I had never even heard of at all.

Professor Bonk has some interesting viewpoints.

1. You need critical friends, web buddies, e-mail pals in online classes.

2. Your blog will be there 100 years later. What you post today might be usable tomorrow. Your digital history may be available for centuries. (Wow was my first thought). The professor mentioned a friend who published the Come and see Africa blog. The author's died in 2010 in a car accident. Her blog remains.

This tidbit of that course provided a lot of food for thought today.I can only imagine what rehab nursing will be like in 100 years, and what would they think of this blog?

Today, I read an article that people are still trying to keep rehab hospitals relevant, when the pointy haired policy wonks want to send everyone to a skilled (nursing home) care facility for rehab.

Only time will tell...enjoy your night wherever you are.

A little weekend fun

Bubba has gone to camp. It is suddenly quiet in our house. WildDog keeps looking at me as if to say, "Mom, where is he?" He looks in his room and around the house and sees no kid couch surfing or playing on the computer.

Alas, since I've had a few moments of quiet, not interrupted by movie reviews or the infamous game, "I'm hungry, what can I eat?" I surfed around and found this interesting article about women in economics and the next Fed chairman (or maybe -woman).

It gave me flashbacks to college, when, yes, I was contemplating going on for a master's degree in the dismal science. (Hey, I can still draw that diminishing marginal utility curve and explain it with the best of them!)

However, the best thing I found meandering around looking for information on women and economics was Economists Do It with Models. When you can use Dilbert cartoons as your lead-in for stories on long-term unemployment, you definitely have arrived.

That is all. Hope you enjoy the moments that are left of your weekend. I will, too.

Stay tuned...

Every little bit

 Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.― Mother Teresa

I came across this blog last year when I read about it on BBC. One woman talks about raising her child as a single parent and subsisting on very little.

Now she's been blogging over a year, and talks about doing little things to make life better for others.

Important thing to ponder...

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...

Sunday stealing - Obscurity

Check 'em out here...enjoy!

21: Would you swear in front of your parents?
On accident, then I ran.
22: Which continents have you been on?
North America, Europe. I'm slow moving continents. Hoping for Asia next year.
23: Do you get motion sickness? Any horror stories?
Yes. I don't do rides on ocean going boats without my stuff!
24: Why did you name your blog whatever you named your blog?
Describes me in my work life.
25: Would you wear a rainbow jacket? A neon yellow sweater? Checkered pants?
Have worn all of the above at least once. Helps to live through the 80s (where all were popular for a while.)
26: What was your favorite cartoon growing up?
Too many!
27: In a past life I must have been a...
Not sure...once an aristocrat, another an adventurer.
28: If you had to look at one city skyline for the rest of your life, which would it be?
Hmm...no idea. Have seen a few I like. One friend lived far enough away to have a great view right from the bedroom. (was a selling feature).
29: Longest plane ride you've ever been on?
10 hours.
30: The longest you've ever slept?
12-16 hours (after that 10 hour flight)
31: Would you buy a sweater covered in kitten pictures? Would you wear it if someone gave it you for free?
No, and no.
32: Do you pluck your eyebrows?
Yes, with a tweezer.
33: Favorite kind of bean? Kidney? Black? Pinto?
All. Prefer black on most Mexican stuff.
34: How far can you throw a baseball?
Far enough.
35: If you had to move to another country, where would you move?
Canada
36: Have you ever eaten Ethiopian food? Vietnamese? Korean? Nepalese? How was it?
Yes, every one of them. They all have delicious things to eat.
37: How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Many chucks.

Sunday stealing

Ah, yes, the crazy meme blog. I've missed ye not because I didn't want to visit, but I've been busy.

Here are some good ones for this weekend here and my abbreviated version below.

What if you came across a backpack stuffed with one hundred thousand dollars. Would you keep it?

Heck no! I know exactly where they send you if you do, and it's not worth the sentence frankly. I would be trotting it to whomever owned it or the nearest police station--with a witness and I'd get a receipt.
 
What if you were the most powerful person in the world. How would you use that power?

Gee, so many things you could do. I'd probably start small and see what happens. World peace and ending starvation are pretty big tasks. I've always wanted to grow up to be a full-time philanthropist!
I have a list of people I'd like to meet and a list of people who I'd like to ask for advice. They're not the same for a reason.
 
What if you found a magic lamp?

Ask these questions my mother taught me: Does it go with the current decor? How much would it take to redo the decor so the lamp would fit?  What does the genie look like and what is his/her offer?

So many darned decisions. :)

What if the internet didn't exist? 

Ack! I'd still be in my very first job if it didn't. Or I'd spend lots of money on phone calls and expedited mail! And I would not be in the job I am in today. I did a lot of research on the internet before I became a nurse.
 
What if you never started blogging?

I would have never encountered some of the interesting people I've met online. Or I'd be in jail for killing some of the idiots I've worked with. Blogging is cheap therapy, kids.

Write out your frustrations, let go, keep growing and look back later. Evaluating yourself later is not a bad thing. It prompts something called growth.

What are your November 22 Thanksgiving plans?

Eat, drink and be merry (and I'll be cooking!) There is so much to be thankful for this year in spite of the craziness of the past year.

Almost over...

Spring Break ends tomorrow for me and Bubba.

It's been an interesting week. Training, appointments and a couple of days of vacation thrown in. Overall, I'm happy, even if I didn't get a week to enjoy with Bubba or to have fun roaming hither and yon at whim like I'm apt to do on staycation.

I've been reading lots. Books, blogs, you name it.

Here's my reading list of the past few days, because tomorrow, it's back to being a grad student in the last part of the semester. No more breaks until May.

Fun books:

CSI by Anthony Zuiker talks about the show of the same name.

Brandwashed by Martin Lindstrom talks about marketing and manipulation. Ah, I get warm fuzzies thinking about my time in the marketing department as a contract worker bee. Such fun with product focus groups!

And even though it might not seem like fun, I really enjoyed Help! for Writers by Roy Peter Clark. I figure it can't hurt with those assignments coming up!

Blogs:

I like to read Doc Grumpy and Nurse K regularly. Two really different points of view, but I enjoy the randomness of things that happen, because that is my life, too. 

Since I had time to meander, I also visited a few blogs I don't normally get to enough. Everyone needs Therapy is an interesting blog and I particularly enjoyed the post on March 18 about Paul Carr and drinking.

At Your Cervix is another blog I pop in and out of intermittently. I like this blog because the author is a student like me.

The snarky ones: FML, Apostrophe Abuse, and my all-time favorite, Passive Aggressive Notes, had a section on Tourist Terrorists in Spain. Just priceless. However, the best of the snarkiness category had to be this entry on the Daddle (with comment) in UHpinions. No, I'm not making this up.

Alas, I'm getting back to a delightful Hefeweizen and getting ready for the week. Can't wait until the next vacation.

Stay tuned...

Blasts from the past

I get a message on a professional network I'm on from my former boss. Didn't even know he was still around. After that, I managed to catch up with a few other coworkers, too.

Then I read this story about Mr. A. on Grumpy's blog.

Reminds me of that song, "Grandpa, tell me 'bout the good old days."



Enjoy the weekend, all, wherever you spend it.

Just another reason...

Yes, I have had offers to "come out"; to write publicly. However, I do not feel it's worth the potential backlash. Especially like the one this lady experienced.

I'd rather develop my talents without potentially losing my real job, thank you very much!

Besides, where on earth would I get material?

More later...

Nuggets for April 21

Oh yes, it's Nugget time again. Here's a few items I've found in my recent meanderings on the internet and visiting various blogs. Hope you enjoy!

From the blogosphere

Check out these treats from far and near in the blogosphere.

• Maha solves problems in the ER with tricks she learned at the salon in Bet they didn't teach that in med school
• Dr. Grumpy's got the power to check up on you if you're shopping for narcs, kiddies. Look out!
• Parents of pre-teens, you'll never think of this the same way again once you read ER Doc from Serenity Now Hospital's story called Does your 12 year old little girl shave? Just gives me the creeps...and slight homocidal feelings if that were my kid!
• I really enjoyed AtYourCervix's Lost and Found recently. One of my recurring nightmares often involves losing something valuable at work...and having to dig to find it.
• She's not a nurse, but Pissed Off Patient has some interesting things to say about life with chronic illness. Go on over and check her out!
  

The office
So many things to talk about...and sometimes there are things you'd just rather not know about your coworkers. Bowel habits, shaving preferences, reasons why they divorced xx spouse and the list could go on and on. This Yahoo!Finance article called Spare the Details is just the ticket. That boss in a Speedo image makes me thankful one of my bosses is not my Facebook friend.

School
It's a classic you'll hear about again in a few weeks, but I've loved this column since it came out. From the archives of the Chicago Tribune, just remember to wear sunscreen.

Brain training
Yes, I've bought those brain training games and used them to no avail. They're cool at first, but end up boring. Check out this article from www.forbes.com called Becoming a Memory Whiz for a few tips on sharpening your memory.

An eye-opener
Many RNs already know about the contentious nature of the DNP credential in healthcare. My good friends from Ye Olde State Nurses' Association hooked me up with this interesting article written by an actual MD, Dr. Bernadine Healy, called The New Doctors in the House.

Did you know
Robert Pound, the physicist behind everyone's favorite noisy and claustrophobia-inducing diagnostic machine, the MRI passed away recently. As it turns out, Mr. Pound was a great British car buff. I really enjoyed the last line of his obit.

"Others recall that when confronted with a mechanical problem in a laboratory setting, he often gave the same advice as he would in the garage: “Did you try whacking it?” "

Spring cleaning

I've made a few changes here and there, especially to blog links. If your blog was there and was inadvertently deleted, let me know.

My verification system: go check the links. No blog anymore = no link.

This is highly variable, as I am still working on my required caffeine intake this morning on my coffee break in between patients.

Wanna link here? Let me know.

Please be patient...

God's not done with me yet." -- sign on a door I saw recently.

With the influx of people recently to our unit, I'm reminded that my services are important where I work. Sometimes I get frustrated because I see people working as if we're in an assembly line. Do the tasks, run to break, go back and then clock out. I have to work daily to remember a few very important things.

First, I'm dealing with people, not auto parts on an assembly line. Deviations can, and will occur on a regular basis, because of the all the people involved in the process.

Second, I may have that task list in my mind, but I'd like to do things better and try new things. Many times patients can clue you in to tricks you never may have thought of employing. One patient told me recently, "Hey, I can't move that arm, but if you put it on a pillow, I can wiggle my shoulder some if I need to and that helps me." Hey, I'm no rocket scientist, but if it makes you happy and keeps you from hurting, let's do it!

Third, patients can and will speak if you let them. Sometimes the best thing to do is shut up and listen. Here are a few of them speaking on the internet. I hope you take the time to listen to them. I did and thoroughly enjoyed these stories and sites.

I found Astrid in the Netherlands from my sitemeter log. I was equally impressed that I made her blogroll. She's got a great blog with loads of posts about dealing with blindness and her other diagnoses. Don't miss it!

Patient Dave talks about you owning cancer or cancer owning you amid other interesting posts.

Steve's got lots of information on Adventures of a Funky Heart, as an adult congenital heart defect survivor.

Leslie has a great blog called Getting Closer to Myself. I really enjoyed this recent post called Everyone wants to be a 10, but no one wants to be a 710. You'll have to read it if you want to know what a 710 is!

Nuggets for June 3

After a temporary hiatus, the Nuggets are back!

Multiple Sclerosis links:
Here are a few links I thought I'd share as a result of my conference last week.

National Multiple Sclerosis Society
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/index.aspx

MultipleSclerosisPro.org
http://www.multiplesclerosisprofessional.org/

PVA's page on spinal cord diseases
http://www.pva.org/site/PageServer?pagename=disease_main


From the blogs...
I'll never think of making someone NPO the same again...
http://serenitynowhospital.blogspot.com/2009/05/npo.html

Sadness for a traveling OB nurse
http://rvtravelerrn.blogspot.com/2009/06/can-you-help.html

And a related item: What is anencephaly?
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/anencephaly/anencephaly.htm

Things not to do on Twitter: announce your vacation.
http://casesblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/dangers-of-social-media-twitter-your.html

And for something completely different....
Therapists wired to write
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/fashion/04shrinks.html

Nuggets for October 22

Yes, it's my day off and I'm again scouring the blogosphere for some good stuff. I've had a few people send me links to their blogs, so I'm adding those as I can, to share the link love. Check out the sidebar for some from the good ol' USA to Canada and even one from the Czech Republic about a nurse who snaps photos for fun while checking out nature.

In the MIA section
I'm also lamenting the loss of Podunk Memorial. Mielikki, where ever you are, I really enjoyed your blog. I wish you the best!

Terry at Counting Sheep sold www.everydaynurses.com, so I haven't seen anything from her in eons. Good luck Terry!

Here are a few things I found meandering today. Enjoy!

From the ER (ED, or whatever you choose to call it for the moment...)

Braden from 20 out of 10 has a great post on never events. Bayer may be right and the government may indeed be idiots if they buy this renaming thing. Why call it a never event if it can get renamed? Perhaps some funding in the way of adequate equipment and staffing from CMS might help. Naw...that would be too logical.

You can get more than you bargain for if you tagalong on a ER visit. CrassPollination has this great tagalong story you'll enjoy, even if you don't work in the ER.

From transplant city...

Donorcycle is one of my favorite transplant blogs to read. While there haven't been a ton of posts lately, I'd suspect she's busy. Some days are better than others according to this post. I really like the bird imagery, TC!

And finally, in the 'tis the season category...

Awake in Rochester has this great post about ghosts. My answer is yes....maybe not seen but have heard and felt some around me, and it wasn't even scary.

Nuggets for September 16

Yes, I'm off today, so I'm surfing again before I start the real vice...baking. Fall has come to our neck of the woods, the furnace is dead, so why not heat up the house by baking!

To the blogs we go...
Alas, here are a couple of newer blogs I've found since I was reading my sitemeter stats today. You gotta love the link love! Many, many thanks to all of you who link to this blog. I appreciate it! (Mucho, mucho, mucho...as I tell Bubba).

PerfectRN is also a second career RN like me in the Midwest (yes!) who's chronicling her adventures in her blog.

And via PerfectRN, I found Booty Nurse (what will Google do with that...whoa!) who's giving us her view from Endoscopy in rural New England. BN, I gotta tell you, I thought endoscopy was pretty cool when I saw it on my clinicals. And no, I'm not just saying that to get any brownie points from my brother-in-law, the gastroenterologist. He's the man who loves Katie Couric because of this story.

DisappearingJohn is one of my favorite ER RN bloggers. I loved this quote he found from atyourcervix. John, if you only knew how much poop (literal and figurative) there is on evenings in rehab!

Articles of note from the NY Times

ER patients often left confused after visits
This should be an interesting topic on all the other ER nurse blogs (MonkeyGirl, GuitarGirlRN, DisappearingJohn, etc.) I doubt this author actually talked to one nurse. If she did, she camoflages it well.

The strep that wasn't...a cautionary tale
This was a scary story. If you have kids, you must read this one. It really scared me.

Spit it out...the DNA testing fad
This was actually listed under the Fashion section, but it does have some health implications. Who'd a thought DNA would turn glam? Ah, yes, the CSI effect...

Death and a new nurse
Another second career nurse describes her thoughts on this subject and what happened to her.

A good cause

If you want to help military and veteran families who are in the hospital, support your local Fisher House.

A Fisher House is “a home away from home” for families of patients receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers. The homes are normally located within walking distance of the treatment facility or have transportation available. There are 38 Fisher Houses located on 18 military installations and nine VA medical centers. Five more houses are under construction.

We're still waiting for ours at Madison. It's on the drawing board, though.

Change of shift

Yes, the famous Change of Shift is up at Nurse Ratched's Place, and check out all the cool pulp fiction covers over there.

Nuggets for June 23

Today's installment features a few important (and sometimes funny) aspects of nursing.

First of all, there's a nursing shortage. Surprise, surprise. I know a few of you are rolling your eyes as you're looking at the latest newbie RN on your floor. Nurse.com has a great article about the Versant RN residency program which is being used in various hospitals throughout the US. According to the article, RN residency programs are keeping new RN turnover levels lower than the national average.

Residency program prepares new Texas RNs (from http://www.nurse.com/)

Next, it's not the newest post she has out there, but PixelRN has a great one about nursing and the Maternal Suckling Thing. The moral of the story: Don't worry, some people just don't get nursing in today's modern hospitals. Hopefully, Flo's not spinning over this one!

After that biology lesson, head on over to Podunk Memorial for an Ode to a Node. I don't read many ECGs, but it makes me want to get the book referenced in this post.

Finally, let's look at an oldie but goodie that bears repeating. I really enjoy reading Taralynn Mackay's blogs, Information for nurses and A Nurse Attorney's Thoughts. Both blogs spotlight legal interest stories that are appropriate for nurses. Just because someone tells you, "Oh, you're a nurse, don't worry." you should. As grown-ups and nurses, our job is to know what is going on in the world and what's going on with our patients.

This post, appropriately called Why you don't want a stupid nurse really made me think. I was flabbergasted in May when I attended a symposium for new grads in an accelerated program when one of my younger, louder classmates, commented that I was stupid because I thought it was important to recognize failure to rescue. "We don't do that every day. You don't need to worry about that." Well, yes, we do Ms. Jen, yes, we do.

And that is all for today, so enjoy your goodies, folks. More later!