I love Nurses' Week. It is only fitting that every year since 1954, the 100th anniversary of Florence Nightingales' mission to the Crimean War, the nursing community is celebrated. Nurses' WEEK begins on May 6th (since 1982) and runs the full week, ending on May 12th, Florence Nightingale's birthday. I love Nurses' Week and I…
There I sat, amidst close to 6,000 women attendees at the Pennsylvania Conference for Women, listening to Arianna Huffington give her keynote presentation during lunch. What a pleasant surprise it was to hear her remarks! At times serious, then humorous, and back to serious again, I was impressed with her articulate, insightful comments about women…
Many thanks to the planning committee and volunteers who made the 2012 RN-AIM (Registered Nurse Association in Michigan) Annual Conference a smashing success! This year's theme for the conference, on September 20th and 21st, was "Nurse As Advocate" and I was honored to be invited to give the keynote presentation to kick off the meeting. My…
We recently had a case in California which required us to frequently communicate telephonically with the nursing staff. We had the required signed HIPAA release on the chart (multiple times, in fact, as it continued to get 'lost') as well as the family's verbal authorization to speak on their behalf with the clinical team. Unfortunately,…
Thirty years ago today, May 23rd, my mom died after a four month "battle" with what doctors said was liver cancer. Now that I know a little more (well, kind of…), I'm thinking it may have been pancreatic cancer. Still, 30 years ago today. So officially, I've been alive longer without my mom than with…
My mom was not a religious woman. A woman of faith, yes. But a quiet faith that wasn't flashy or 'in your face.' And through the years of raising her children, six in all, she was known to spout off a zinger, a memorable quote. One that has come to mean more to me as an…
Earlier this year, I made a promise to myself that I would schedule an appointment with a dermatologist. After all, as I have shared with you before in other venues, my childhood vacations on the beach at Wildwood, NJ were often marred with an enthusiastic sunburn. And it's also quite likely that years of playing…
I do not 'get' lying. Never have, never will. I have been a nurse for more than 25 years, clearly most of my adult life. To my knowledge, there is not much lying in nursing, or in healthcare, for that matter. Peoples lives are at stake. Tends to change the dynamic a bit. When people lie,…
I was on the receiving end of healthcare this week. Being a patient, and a nurse, is a little like being a "secret shopper." I don't usually admit that I'm a nurse when checking in, filling out the voluminous forms, or being interviewed on my personal health history by the intake nurse. I want to…
There is so much energy, money, and planning that goes into a vacation, especially if it's a family vacation, that it's worth taking some time to think about the 'what ifs.' No doubt we all want our vacation memories to be positive. So think about adding these seven tips (below) to improve your chances of having…
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