Thursday, October 30, 2008

A Halloween Change of Shift :: Volume 3, Issue 9

We have some fabulous reads today... a few quite creepy to satisfy the occasion and others to make you smile and touch your heart.

First of all, my friend TherapyDoc at Everyone Needs Therapy shared some tips and an entertaining yet “frankly” alarming story for us on About Those 8 Ways to Spot a Dishonest Date. (How’s that for scary?) “I’m not gonna lie,” but her post is totally interesting. “Honestly”... you may giggle, but it will leave you thinking!

Disappearing John, an ER nurse, writes about A Strange Outbreak in his area. What kind of outbreak, you ask? Well, it seems that in Arizona, people are coming down with pseudocyesis. Don’t know what that is? In a few words, it’s a false pregnancy. Yep, all the symptoms but no fetus. (Halloween appropriate? You can decide...) Ignoring all of the thoughts running around my head on mental illnesses and the multifaceted, overwhelming emotion behind some women’s desire for children... we’ll move right along. (But still... how would this rare syndrome be occurring repeatedly in one area?)

Braden snuck in two posts! How trick-or-treat-y of him! An ER nurse who is threatening us with morphine (I’m serious - check out his profile!) has two very great posts on “Never Events.” The first: It Isn’t a Never Event if it Isn’t Called a Never Event will probably make you laugh out loud. I did. Jump in and add your ideas for creative charting! His second post, Serious Never Events will make you stop and think. In our healthcare society, how dare a patient be held responsible for their own actions!! Right? Uhh... wait a minute... It’s our job to solve all of their problems and keep the inevitable from happening? Now that’s scary.

On another scary note, Karin proposed an interesting thought on her blog: It’s Over: The Nursing Shortage. As a nursing student, you may think that I am alarmed, but I’m not. I’ve actually wondered the same thing myself. The “shortage” the associations and media tell us about.... The one that makes naive high school seniors go to nursing school with big dreams of money and mansions and a fabulous schedule and cute scrubs? Yep, that one. Join in on the discussion in the post’s comments. [Disclaimer: Many people go into our field for the right reasons, but there are those who jump right in because they hear someone exaggerate the job security, benefits, hours, salary... I mean no disrespect to either. :)]

Perhaps a spooky coincidence, Nurse Laura at NurseConnect posted Are Nurses Feeling the Pinch?, proposing questions about our profession and the current state of the United States economy. How is it affecting us? Our jobs? Our job security? New nursing prospects? Nursing education? Join in the discussion. There’s truly a lot to think about.

All this Halloween craziness and overall critical thinking sending your head for a spin? Neuro guru Alvaro submitted a post he wrote interviewing a University of Oregon neuroscience professor, Dr. Posner, about his research on the idea of Training: Attentional and Emotional Self-Regulation. It’s a very interesting read. Just watch out though - there’s a little scare hidden in there. Just click the link to the Stroop Test when you get there. Dr. Posner’s little teaser might just make you feel umm... not that smart! (Or it might just make you remember that you really needed to get a few more hours of sleep last night!)

And speaking of your head, I bet you’re wrong on something. Male nurses. Did you really know that they’ve been in our the care-taking role longer than women? Kathy at NurseConnect has all the details in A History Lesson on the Male Nurse. It’s quite interesting, and if you know much about feminism and its history, it’s even more interesting... perhaps upsetting. Nursing and related activities - whatever it was called at the time - has always gone through cycles being esteemed to being lowly and primitive. You’ll learn from Kathy that a long time ago (BC, not 1800!), it was a distinguished honor only for men. Funny how during a few of nursing’s “better” times, it was during the men’s role in the profession. Go check out this little history lesson and don’t forget to love the male nurses! I think they bring an entirely different mindset to the table and have many strengths and weaknesses that complement ours in the healthcare setting.

Next, let’s take a little break from the “scary” and go visit Running Wildly.... She sent in two posts, and they are both fabulous. Post-survival is near and dear to my heart since it’s her thoughts on wrapping up nursing school and getting ready to rejoin the world! (We all know that nursing students have no time to eat or sleep or breathe, let alone be a human being with an actual life...) In her post, she reminisces on what nursing school is and isn’t and how it has changed her. Next, you have to check out Jigsaw Puzzle - a moving story unfolds in the ER’s trauma room. There’s rushing and yelling and CPR and chaos. There’s no time for anything but fighting for a life. Sadly though, this time, medicine and the resilience of the human body aren’t enough. Running Wildly gently compares nursing with he lping patients put together the jigsaw puzzle of life. Unfortunately, sometimes the pieces don’t go together like the picture on the box. Her story and analogy are beautiful.

While we're on the more serious side, let’s not forget that today wraps up Breast Cancer Awareness month. Is breast cancer screening always a good thing, or does it sometimes do more harm than good? Even we as healthcare providers receive mixed information, so what is a patient to do? Are we accurately informing them or shying away from the topic because we don’t know ourselves? Thankfully, Sandy at Junkfood Science sorts out both arguments for us in Brest Cancer Screening - What's Right for You? It’s a long read, but every bit of it is packed with info. Sandy definitely did her research! Take your time to peruse her post and understand both sides. Knowledge is power, and we need to be well-versed both for ourselves and for the ability to equip our patients with the fair options they deserve.

And on that note, let’s wrap things up by talking more on informed decisions and being knowledgeable on both sides of an issue. Dr. Jessen from Highlight HEALTH showed me his fabulous post that is just full of information and links on both candidates' perspectives on healthcare topics. He was very clear in telling me that he sent this to Grand Rounds, too, but due to the election being less than a week and my belief that everyone is entitled to fair, unbiased knowledge, I’m recommending that you read his post, the 2008 Presidential Candidates on the Issues of Biomedical Research and Healthcare.

And that's all for this time! See, that wasn’t so bad, was it? We got a little freaked out in the beginning but by the end, it was more treats than tricks, right?

Thank you so much to everyone who submitted - all of the posts were wonderful, and it was a pleasure to read each one of them. Also, thank you to everyone who is reading this and supporting the nursing blogosphere. Take your time to explore these great posts, comment, learn, and make new friends.

Want some more good nursing stories? Check out my sidebar for info on a fabulous brand new compilation of hope-related musings by nurses called Meditations on Hope. (And sorry, shameless and way-excited plug here... one of the contributing writers was none other than yours truly!)

Oh and don’t forget to be thinking of your posts to submit for the next Change of Shift over at Flight Nurse's blog!