RehabRN's Book Club: Summer vacation edition

No, I did not just pick up any old trashy romance novel at the airport newsstand. I actually went to the library (my favorite place to pick up books). Here's what's made it to the reading list this vacation week.

1. The Power of Less by Leo Baubauta. What's my favorite part of any book? Brevity and clarity. If it's short, I'll read it from cover to cover pretty quickly.

I wasn't quite able to sit  down and just read it until it was done (as Dahey often does), but I did  finish it today, and finishing any book in three days for me is a sprint.

Next on my list,

2. The Book of Joan by Melissa Rivers. Okay, it's as close to a trashy novel that I'll get. It's always interesting to hear what kids have to say about their celebrity parents, especially ones who were as famous as Joan Rivers.

Finally, for number 3, I always have Lewis Grizzard's Last Bus to Albuquerque on my night stand as my go to book. When I need some comic relief, I just pick a page, open it and start reading. I also start laughing and thinking that this interesting character has been gone for far too long. What would he think of the Kardashians and all the internet/Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest/Instagram world we live in?

More books are on order at the library, so stay tuned.

It happens to nurses too

I saw this post on a site I venture to regularly and it just reminded me that restaurant folks aren't the only ones who get caught up in this dilemma.

One ED nurse got fired for an Instagram post.

Word to the wise: be careful out there, folks. Know and understand how to use social media approriately.

This week's In the news

I've got a personal connection to some of the items I've found this week. Hope you all enjoy

I knew it!
Ever have horrible migraines when it's ready to storm? You're not alone. Researchers have correlated migraines to all sorts of things, including lightning strikes, according to this CNN story.

Sad story
A teenager gets an elective surgery to stop sleep apnea and some other things, then ends up brain dead, according to this CNN story. It may be simple, but as a parent, so sad.

Throwing your money away?
You may be if you believe this Medscape article on multivitamins and cognition.

Were you hoodwinked?
Maybe once or twice? Mashable tallies up these social media hoaxes which got a lot of mileage this year.

Finally...
And last, but not least, just in case I win the Mega Millions prize (even a sliver of it) tonight, I may play hooky tomorrow from work, but I just want to let you know I won't stop blogging. It's too much fun.

That is all...more to come.

Points to ponder about social media

I'd love to print this article out and leave it in our break rooms at the Hotel.

Nursing and the social media battlefield

I follow all of these, but not friending folks at work. I had to overcome that because people kept asking me if I didn't like them. I am selective (I don't friend everyone), but I've put everyone from work is in a separate group. My main rule: I also only discuss two things on Facebook: food and family, and I limit what I discuss on family (food is open to all!).

So if you're unhappy that you see too many recipes, photos of food, and restaurant info, sorry, but that's all I'm saying.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. I'll be doing laundry in the laundry room as WildDog sleeps outside it on his special rug.

More later...

Goodies in my world

Modern technology is a very good thing. The more we work with patients with disabilities, the more I am inspired. Ordinary things can do wonders. Extraordinary things blow our minds.

I heard one of our therapists talking about interacting on Facebook. We're finding more and more of our patients are doing that. So why not engage them on Facebook and let them know about our programs? Just another fun part of my job. At least I'm learning about what can and cannot be marketed on social media.

When I'm not getting people to use Facebook, I can evaluate more and better ways to interact with our specialists at Washington. As a rehab nurse, I am thrilled to be working with patients and using these tools to make their experiences better. I can do education in person, phone and via messaging devices.

Working together with a number of disciplines is not only making the experience better for me and the patients, it also makes it better for our providers and the rest of the healthcare team.

And yes, that is a very good thing!

Going big time

Megen Duffy from not ratched has a great article in AJN on nurses using social media.