As I mentioned in the previous post, reading Atul Gawande's Being Mortal should be a must, wherever you are in health care. A doctor from a family of doctors with a hospice experience of his own was just another example from which we can learn. I stayed up late last night just to finish it.
Want to know how to get your medical records? It might be a perilous journey! Check out this post from HIStalk. You don't have to be a health care informatics genius to see how crazy this can be. You have rights. If you local hospital HIM department tramples them, be sure to contact the nice people responsible for enforcing HIPAA compliance.
Finally, I saw this link on a blog I read. I could not believe it; however, having been in an ER within the last few months, I do now wonder.
It's almost February, so you can guarantee, I will GoRedforWomen. This bad attitude has to stop.
More to come...enjoy the remaining moments of this weekend, wherever you are!
Showing posts with label heart disease. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heart disease. Show all posts
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Heart ache, heart break
It's not a song, but heart ache and heart break has been the story of the unit recently.
One of our nurses breaks up via phone with her latest boyfriend. He tells her just had to get back to the babe who threw him to the curb at Christmas when she didn't like the gift he bought. She decided she wants him now, so he calls our nurse to say adios.
Another nurse comes up to me and says, "I have a pain." Which leads to more questions, then a call to the supervisor, and an ambulance shows up and away she goes. Who thinks of a young woman having a heart attack at work? She did.
Finally, one of our friends lost her brother, due to a medical error, on top of another medical error. We are just stunned. They don't want to sue, she says, they just want to make sure it doesn't happen again to someone else.
We just wait to see if we get a new name, like Heartbreak Hotel, anytime soon. Stay tuned...
One of our nurses breaks up via phone with her latest boyfriend. He tells her just had to get back to the babe who threw him to the curb at Christmas when she didn't like the gift he bought. She decided she wants him now, so he calls our nurse to say adios.
Another nurse comes up to me and says, "I have a pain." Which leads to more questions, then a call to the supervisor, and an ambulance shows up and away she goes. Who thinks of a young woman having a heart attack at work? She did.
Finally, one of our friends lost her brother, due to a medical error, on top of another medical error. We are just stunned. They don't want to sue, she says, they just want to make sure it doesn't happen again to someone else.
We just wait to see if we get a new name, like Heartbreak Hotel, anytime soon. Stay tuned...
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Another full moon
Yes, today, folks, we'll finally see it...if the storms blowing through don't cloud the sky this evening.
On our unit, we've known it was coming for days, since all of the patients start acting up in a variety of ways. The full moon will do that to some folks, I guess...
I've been encountering a lot of interesting stuff lately. I took care of a patient who had this listed on his diagnosis chart: Hypermetropia. Since I must have been snoozing during that part of the opthamology section in pathophysiology, I decided to look it up, and alas, it's simply farsightedness. I did find a really cool page on WebMD called How to read your eyeglass prescription which tells you why it's written the way it is. Very interesting...even if I don't need anything for my eyes just yet! I'll be ready for a family prescription to come my way.
One thing I was getting confused on was an SGPT result. Turns out it's just the same as an ALT, which I was looking at somewhere else.
Next, I ran into a diagnosis for mitral valve insufficiency and aortic valve stenosis. While it's not heavily clinical, I found a great set of heart articles on this very subject from the Texas Heart Institute in Houston. If you have to explain this diagnosis to a patient, go check them out. Note: they also have a special section for professionals, as well.
We had an interesting situation recently. One patient with generalized swelling was a difficult stick for a blood draw. When you missed the vein, you got fluid. Anasarca is a very challenging condition to deal with, especially when doing blood pressures or any other procedure that may put pressure on the skin. Just putting a stethescope on to do a blood pressure left a mark on this patient.
Finally, be careful how you use OTC medications. This information about ibuprofen is very good from www.rxlist.com. Remember, there's a reason why they say, "All things in moderation."
On our unit, we've known it was coming for days, since all of the patients start acting up in a variety of ways. The full moon will do that to some folks, I guess...
I've been encountering a lot of interesting stuff lately. I took care of a patient who had this listed on his diagnosis chart: Hypermetropia. Since I must have been snoozing during that part of the opthamology section in pathophysiology, I decided to look it up, and alas, it's simply farsightedness. I did find a really cool page on WebMD called How to read your eyeglass prescription which tells you why it's written the way it is. Very interesting...even if I don't need anything for my eyes just yet! I'll be ready for a family prescription to come my way.
One thing I was getting confused on was an SGPT result. Turns out it's just the same as an ALT, which I was looking at somewhere else.
Next, I ran into a diagnosis for mitral valve insufficiency and aortic valve stenosis. While it's not heavily clinical, I found a great set of heart articles on this very subject from the Texas Heart Institute in Houston. If you have to explain this diagnosis to a patient, go check them out. Note: they also have a special section for professionals, as well.
We had an interesting situation recently. One patient with generalized swelling was a difficult stick for a blood draw. When you missed the vein, you got fluid. Anasarca is a very challenging condition to deal with, especially when doing blood pressures or any other procedure that may put pressure on the skin. Just putting a stethescope on to do a blood pressure left a mark on this patient.
Finally, be careful how you use OTC medications. This information about ibuprofen is very good from www.rxlist.com. Remember, there's a reason why they say, "All things in moderation."
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Stuff you just don't want...
We've been having a few discussions at work about assorted stuff. Here are some of the goodies.
1. The dreaded triple A (abdominal aortic aneurysm). One of our patients has one and since his/her H&H has been up and down lately, we were crossing fingers once they went for scanning to see if it was leaking. Thankfully, it was not.
If one blows at our Hotel, just call us "Hotel California", 'cause you won't be checking out!
2. The CABG x 4. I know it's not Red Dress month anymore, but if you're female, please realize, heart disease is THE number one killer of women. Not that we don't like fighting breast cancer, but when they say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, start with the Quarter Pounder.
3. People messing with patient acuity and staffing. I consider myself very lucky to work in an area with mandated staffing ratios. When I talk to other people who don't have that luxury, I realize that I am a very happy nurse compared to my previous days before that happened. Very rarely do I feel that I don't have enough time with patients. That is a very important aspect of nursing today.
1. The dreaded triple A (abdominal aortic aneurysm). One of our patients has one and since his/her H&H has been up and down lately, we were crossing fingers once they went for scanning to see if it was leaking. Thankfully, it was not.
If one blows at our Hotel, just call us "Hotel California", 'cause you won't be checking out!
2. The CABG x 4. I know it's not Red Dress month anymore, but if you're female, please realize, heart disease is THE number one killer of women. Not that we don't like fighting breast cancer, but when they say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, start with the Quarter Pounder.
3. People messing with patient acuity and staffing. I consider myself very lucky to work in an area with mandated staffing ratios. When I talk to other people who don't have that luxury, I realize that I am a very happy nurse compared to my previous days before that happened. Very rarely do I feel that I don't have enough time with patients. That is a very important aspect of nursing today.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Nuggets for February 3rd
Since I've had some free time in between loads of laundry, here are a few choice nuggets I've read lately. Enjoy!
If you are a nurse
You'll always find a gem at Podunk Memorial. Some are oldies, but still goodies.
Die-hard sports fans face heart risks
From the NY Times, this article discusses cardiac risks for getting too charged up about your favorite team....just in time for Super Bowl. At least, they didn't do an expose on the appetizers and beverages you may eat!
Six Killers
This is a section the NY Times did in 2007 on the top six causes of death in the US. While it's not a leading health publication, there are some really good articles on these health issues, particularly the link between diabetes and heart disease.
If you are a nurse
You'll always find a gem at Podunk Memorial. Some are oldies, but still goodies.
Die-hard sports fans face heart risks
From the NY Times, this article discusses cardiac risks for getting too charged up about your favorite team....just in time for Super Bowl. At least, they didn't do an expose on the appetizers and beverages you may eat!
Six Killers
This is a section the NY Times did in 2007 on the top six causes of death in the US. While it's not a leading health publication, there are some really good articles on these health issues, particularly the link between diabetes and heart disease.
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