Nuggets for May 19

Happy birthday to my ol' grade school pal, T. She survived her girls dancing marathon where no hair went unsprayed and no makeup wilted on the dancing kids.

And for something completely different...you know people think too much of your nursing job when they ask you "can you be too constipated?" and proceed to rattle off their bowel history and comments on clients who tell them theirs. Oh.My.Freaking.Heavens! Here I thought I was doing something relaxing...aargh!

So now, for something completely different, here are the latest nuggets for your view pleasure (no bowel ones, I promise!)

Ease, sneeze and a little hygiene

How to squash worry (from www.cnn.com) I love this title, even if it's abbreviated here. Worry can weigh you down like a lead weight. Sometimes, you just have to let go!

Pollen allergies aren't the only ones out there. This recent NYTimes article discusses food allergies and it's impact on people and their families, in ways you may not have even thought about, including the cost of food.

I love this online excerpt from Dr. Atul Gawande's book, Better about washing your hands. Amen!

A cool concept

The Boston Home, is a home for people with MS and other progressive neuromuscular disorders. Thanks, T. for the link! In case you need more information on neuromuscular disorders, check out the following links:

May is ALS Awareness month, according to the ALS society. Visit their website at www.alsa.org for more information, with lots of healthcare professional and patient tools.

MDA (aka the Muscular Dystrophy Association) has this great page on the myriad types of neuromuscular disorders out there, with explanations.

Up, down and all around

That's been my story lately. A lot of things almost whirling around my head and inside the building. A fly kept buzzing the table as K. and I ate our dinner. I watched it whirl around the room. No matter what I did, it wouldn't land.

Later that evening, K. caught said fly in a weak moment and slapped it dead on the table, and sent a bag of open potato chips all over the floor. Thankfully, one of the nursing assistants found the broom and dustpan (housekeeping usually locks this stuff up) and it was cleaned up quickly.

My patients were reasonably good. Both have my least favorite bug, C-diff. If I only had a dollar for every time I was in their rooms and for every, single, solitary time I had to wash my hands (since that ol' hand sanitizer won't do with C-diff), I would have a whole lot of money. I am so paranoid with C-diff. I go home and disinfect my shoes with bleach spray (since housekeeping hides ours).

School's gonna kick my butt if I'm not careful. My first paper came back yesterday. I talked to the instructor about it because of the grade and we have a resolution. Stay tuned! I have two weeks to resubmit, which I thought was a nice thing for her to do. From her discussion, I suspect she gets a lot of people who would be going to the dean or something if they don't get x grade. Not that I like a not-so-hot grade, but if the instructor's amenable and has a solution, I have no problem working with them. We'll see how it goes. I have a few more ideas and another paper to submit by Monday. This weekend will be busy in a few more ways than one.

Gotta run...an off day means errands and homework! More to come...

Nuggets for May 19

Yes, it's Tuesday again, and I'm waiting for my car today. So since Starbucks is so lovely, I remembered the ear buds and am listening to intermittent Christmas music, yes, on May 19, thanks to Adore Jazz.

Here are a few goodies I've run into in between reading for my cert exam and writing an essay.

From my ANA SmartBrief (via e-mail)
Hospital secret shoppers looking for handwashing violators (at wcvb.com)
Just use that hand sanitizer or wash please!

Just another reason to get your red dress on...
Gender disparities seen in EMS care for chest pain (from reuters.com) I was thinking about this the other day when I was talking to my grade school friend who just got a new mitral valve (along with a free CABG x 4...yes 4)

On the job hunt
Okay, all you nursing school grads, and general job hunters, here are a couple of great articles on things to do for your interview and things not to do for your job interview (both from nursinglink.com)

'Tis the season
It's getting warm in our neck of the woods and sunny, too. Memorial Day is right around the corner, and you know what that means...the pools open and you spend more time out in the sun.

To keep your skin in shape keep an eye out for the signs of skin cancer. If you're high risk, like yours truly, stock up on your favorite sunscreen and stay out of the sun if you can avoid it. If not, use that sunscreen liberally and cover as you can. You'll avoid scars and wrinkles that way, too.

A great swine flu article

This one, on the Lede blog at www.nytimes.com has a couple of great British flu commercials, one current and one circa 1948.

Bottom line: use Kleenex and wash your hands!

More to come...stay tuned!