The Flame
Regrets? I’ve Had a Few.
Just in these first two months of 2022, I have already been to two funerals. And last year, I lost several friends. Not to mention the patients that our Guardian Nurses team lost. Sadly, death is part of life. And many books have been written on common regrets that...
New Year. New You.
Happy New Year! The beginning of a new year is often a time for reflection. It is also a time when people think about their futures, their goals, and quite often, improving their health. So we make resolutions, but according to recent research, while as many as 45%...
Have ‘The Conversation’
November is my favorite month. Not just because it's my birthday month, but the weather is cool and crisp, and the Thanksgiving holiday offers a chance to give thanks. And in these polarized times, we might all benefit from a little more gratitude in our lives. And...
Helping Someone Who is Grieving
I'll admit, it's been an emotional two months. In August, my dear friend and mentor, Karen Kirby, RN, MSN, died from cancer. Then, in September, our Guardian Nurses' colleague and friend, Mary Jane Darbee, RN, BSN also died from cancer. This month, another dear...
Let the Patient- and Family – Beware
With so much—SO much—going on in our world of late, it feels like I could write on a plethora of subjects. But then, just this past Sunday, I read an article in the New York Times on the increasing frequency of medicating nursing home patients with anti-psychotic...
Violence Against Nurses
In a recent episode of the Lighting Your Way podcast, we addressed the prevalence of violence against nurses in the workplace. While aggressive behavior on airplanes and on highways has recently made the news, it has been happening in healthcare facilities all over...
Music and the Brain. Listen Closely.
Besides May being Nurses' Month, May is also Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental health is essential to our overall health, and the importance of attending to mental health has become even more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has not only negatively...
The Power of Telling Your Story
I've heard ALOT of stories in 17 years of working with and hearing about patients at Guardian Nurses. To honor those stories, which never cease to amaze me, there is a plaque on the wall outside my office that says "You can't make this stuff up." This weekend, I was...
COVID19 Vaccines, Part 2
In December, we published our first issue on the COVID19 vaccines entitled, "All I Want for Christmas is the Vaccine." Two months later and well, many of you are still waiting for that vaccine. Last week, my sister said, "It reminds me of the days trying to log on to...
Tips to Get Information
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Though 2021 has had a rough start in the U.S., with record numbers of people contracting and dying from COVID, at least 2020 is over and there is a vaccine at the end of the tunnel! But, with the extraordinary numbers of patients requiring...
All I Want for Christmas is the Vaccine
Well, in a year that we'd all soon like to forget, finally we have some very good news. This past Friday, the FDA gave an Emergency Use Approval (EUA) of the BioNTech-Pfizer COVID vaccine. No doubt as you read this, vaccines are being shipped to hospitals, physician...
Listening in the Year of COVID
Amidst last week's anxiety about the election results and dire news about increasing COVID infections, hospitalizations and deaths, we were interviewing a candidate and asked her, "In your opinion, what is the most important skill a nurse advocate can have?" Her...