It all boils down to this

Life is short. We are seeing that in the news today. A celebrity and her mother die within days of each other.  Some people say you can't die of a broken heart, but yet, some people do.

This year has flown by quickly. I'm happy that in the grand scheme of things, I've had some time to reflect and relax. It's a privilege not granted to everyone and I know it and cherish it, especially this week. There just aren't enough nurses at the Hotel, or anywhere really. Bedside nurses are a rare enough commodity in these parts, they are paying five figure bonuses to get to work in various institutions.

The mood of this country has been tentative and taxing. The elections didn't really help anything. When I heard about history and Hoover and trying times of the Depression my relatives talked about when I was a kid, I now think, "Wow! Some of this stuff is really happening here to us now."

A lot of things will end this year. New ones will begin next year. I'll work on what I can and do my best. Hope you enjoy the rest of this week and this year. May we all be here to discuss it all again in 2017. There are no promises but we can hope for the best.

See you next year.

The year of ethics

The American Nurses Association declared 2015 the Year of Ethics. They also updated their Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements this year, too.

Lately, there are lots of ethics issues in the news. This recent article series talks about risks for manicurists calls into question the ethics of nail salons. There are sections of major newspapers discussing everything from genomic issues to the latest celebrity ethical dilemma.

In the Hotel, we deal with issues, too. Is it ethical to share your cell phone number so patients can call you back promptly when the phones in the facility don't always work? Is it ethical to be Facebook friends with patients? Is it ethical to deny certain patients items during care that aren't denied of similar patients, when there is no risk to health and safety? Are prejudices appropriate as health care providers?

So many things to consider this year, and every day.

We are the most trusted profession after all. Shouldn't we be ethical?

More to come...

A different kind

Since I was searching for rehab articles today, I came upon this one.

Dr. Drew (from NY Times)

Not exactly my type of rehab, but much needed nevertheless.

Raise your hand if your "lawsuit sensing" antennae went up after reading the first half of the article.

More to come...