- A Nurse's Story, All Services, American Heart Association, Article, Career Builder, Featured This Month, ICU/ER Track, Maternal Child Health, New Grad Maternal Child Program, New Graduates of Nursing, NRP Skills, Nursing Advocacy, Orange County, San Diego
Nurses Eat their Young
Lateral violence is a form of nurse bullying For instance, lateral violence occurs when another nurse deliberately instills harmful behavior in the workplace to another employee. Most noteworthy, nurse to nurse bullying remains extremely common in various hospitals and healthcare facilities. Nursing remains one of greatest occupations at risk for lateral violence. As a matter of fact, roughly 44% to 85% of nurses reported being victims of bullying (Christie and Jones, 2014). Most notably, 93% of nurses reported witnessing lateral violence in the workplace. In most cases, the experienced nurse served as the perpetrator, whereas the New Grad and Student Nurse served the role of the victim (Jacobs & Kyzer,…
- A Nurse's Story, All Services, American Heart Association, Article, ICU/ER Track, Maternal Child Health, Neonatal Intensive Care NICU, New Grad Maternal Child Program, Nurses Self Care, Nursing Advocacy, Orange County, San Diego
How I Survived ACLS
Before I begin to describe how I survived ACLS let me remark on the impact of the initial American Heart Association ACLS class in the early 1990’s As the owner of Nurses Educational Opportunities, a recognized American Heart Association ACLS, BLS and PALS certification provider, I have come across countless of veteran nurses who remain scarred, particularly, by the first-ever Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support class (ACLS). In fact, the trauma many nurses experienced inspired a T Shirt with the statement, I survived ACLS. Aside from my own experience, I often ask nurses what is was that made ACLS so difficult. Reasons why nurses find the ACLS course difficult include: The…
- AHA ACLS, AHA NRP, All Services, BabyFriendly(tm) Policy, Breastfeeding Education, Fetal Heart Monitoring, Labor and Delivery, Maternal Child Health, Neonatal Intensive Care NICU, New Grad Maternal Child Program, New Graduates of Nursing, NRP Skills, Nursing Advocacy, San Diego
The Baby Friendly Initiative History
Congratulations Southern California Nurses, for your efforts in promoting the Baby Friendly Initiative. Hospitals and Maternal-Child Health departments have set a powerful example for women nationwide. To summarize, in 2007 only 29% of USA hospitals used breastfeeding measures. By 2013, this percentage increased to 54%. Additionally, in California, rates increased to as much as 94% for some breastfeeding and 70% for exclusive breastfeeding. Indeed, the attainment of Baby Friendly designation has proven to be a strenuous, but worthwhile journey. More than one million infants die worldwide every year because they are not breastfed exclusively for 6 months. If 90% of babies were breastfed exclusively for 6 months, 911 lives could…
- AHA ACLS, AHA BLS, AHA PALS, All Services, American Heart Association, Featured This Month, Maternal Child Health, Neonatal Intensive Care NICU, New Grad Maternal Child Program, New Graduates of Nursing, NRP Skills, Nursing Advocacy, Orange County, San Diego, Specialty
How to Develop your Critical Thinking Skills
“Inquiring minds want to know” Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally about what to do. Nurses with critical thinking skills are able to understand the logical connections between patient adversities and treatment. To illustrate, a reciprocal connection exists between a nurse and his/her patient where the nurse is the patient’s advocate and the patient relies on the nurse to be his or her advocate. Moreover, nursing is an honorable profession, and nurses are the heart and soul of the healthcare system. It is the nurse that the patient spends the most time during his or her stay in the hospital, therefore critical thinking for nurses is a…
- AHA ACLS, AHA BLS, AHA NRP, AHA PALS, ICU/ER Track, Labor and Delivery, Neonatal Intensive Care NICU, NRP Skills, Nursing Advocacy, Orange County, San Diego
Klebsiella pneumoniae and Healthcare Acquired Infections
Do you know why Healthcare Acquired Infections are on the rise? One reason is Klebsiella pneumoniae. Actually, Klebsiella pneumoniae CAN be a friendly bacterium, especially to our environment and GI tract; but nurses don’t turn your back! These little capsule wearing, sticky suckers can cause serious havoc to the fragile lungs. To put it briefly, Klebsiella pneumoniae can be an opportunistic bacterium. In fact, it can cause a dangerous form of bacterial pneumonia in children, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Contact with feces allows people to serve as reservoirs and transmit the bacteria from person to person. Under those circumstances, these individuals can become severely ill or die from complications.…
- A Nurse's Story, AHA NRP, Neonatal Intensive Care NICU, New Grad Maternal Child Program, New Graduates of Nursing, NICU Track for New Grad RN's, Nursing Advocacy, Orange County, San Diego, Specialty
A NICU Nurse’s Story
It takes an extraordinary person to become a nurse. Even more so, it take a courageous individual to become a Neonatal Intensive Care nurse. Of my 50+ years of nursing in a variety of clinical settings I treasure my NICU experience the most. I remember “swaddling” and holding solitary infants each Christmas Eve. Embracing a tiny infant always made me feel complete. Any angst I may have felt throughout the day dissipated the moment I witnessed a baby continue to fight for their life in my arms. Moreover, I recall explaining all the IV lines and monitoring devices to the infant’s father who appeared shaken at the site of his…
- A Nurse's Story, AHA ACLS, AHA BLS, Article, New Graduates of Nursing, Nurses Self Care, Orange County, San Diego
Plantar Fasciitis: My Aching Feet
Do you feel shooting pain through the heel of your foot when you step out of bed? Does the pain go away after you are on your feet for a while? Does the pain return after you have sat for a while only to return when you stand again? You have Plantar Fasciitis. So many nurses suffer from Plantar Fasciitis. I too had Plantar Fasciitis and tried everything. I tried: Those Gel pads for your shoes Many weeks of therapy with an orthopedic sports specialist Ultrasound treatments Hot packs Cold packs Shoes from the Good Feet store Even magnets in my shoes. Nothing worked! Joe, the Orthopedic Technologist at our hospital,…
- AHA NRP, All Services, BabyFriendly(tm) Policy, Breastfeeding Education, Labor and Delivery, Labor Delivery Track for New Grad RN's, Maternal Child Health, Neonatal Intensive Care NICU, New Grad Maternal Child Program, New Graduates of Nursing, NICU Track for New Grad RN's, Nursing Advocacy, Obstetric Track, Orange County, San Diego, Specialty
Become a Breastfeeding Advocate
Education for professionals, or the lack of it, has been and continues to be a barrier to breastfeeding. A healthcare provider’s attitude, personal beliefs and values can greatly impact a mother’s ability to initiate or maintain breastfeeding. Certainly, the lack of support from healthcare providers is related to the difficulties healthy women experience with breastfeeding. Despite efforts to improve breastfeeding management, healthcare professionals, including doctors and nurses, continue to give poor advice on this matter. Poor advice has taken different forms; sometimes it actually has been no advice. Moreover, patients wholeheartedly trust their primary nurses and doctors. Healthcare providers who are not proficient in breastfeeding promotion, initiation and protection may advice patients to…
