Top 25 Social Sites for Nurses
June 9, 2011
Employees and students across the industry have discovered nursing social networking sites invaluable for learning, socializing and for job connections. Nurses find safety in numbers on these social sites where colleagues offer tips, advice and support. However, some sites are safer to use than others. The list of the top 25 social sites for nurses listed below include safe sites for professionals, including forums, student resources (including sororities) and organizations specifically designed for nurses.
Follow the link below to read the rest of the article and link to the tp 25 social sites.
http://bestmastersinnursing.com/2011/top-25-social-sites-for-nurses/
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Pulling Some of it Together
As some may have noticed I changed the blog introduction and mission statement to reflect the emphasis that I have been giving to labor issues and the politics surrounding them.
I am writing this post today to attempt to pull all the recent links and post I have made together to explain how they all relate to the bigger picture of nurse rights and health care.
The last couple of years has clearly defined the objectives of the two political parties and in my opinion has clearly revealed the plan of the Republican Party. I know some will see this as somewhat paranoid and conspiratorial but when it is all put together I think it is pretty clear.
The popular, knee jerk, push to cut the budget and decrease the deficit on the backs of social programs is the opening that the Republican Party has been looking for to make advances in diminishing if not destroying the labor movement and social aid programs and we see this in action in a dozen or so states and at the federal level at this very moment. With the recent Citizens United ruling that gives corporations unlimited abilities to influence elections and the simultaneous destruction of organized labor we will be like lambs to the slaughter if as individuals we attempt to stand up against our corporate employers. This goes for nurses as well. Even if you are not working at a unionized hospital the head of that hospital is always worried about the possibility of a union and that fear to a degree keeps them in check and makes them at least consider the patient safety issues that are so important to nurses.
Unions have many issues and are not always the hero in every argument but they do for the most part represent the needs and issues of the common working man and they act as a counter to the corporate interest that are concerned only with profits.
Nurses and workers in general need to know that they can come together and organize to have their voices and concerns addressed. When this option goes away, Patients will suffer, nurses will suffer and the public as a whole will suffer. The debate will no longer be on finding the middle between what works for both business and the community but what increases profit and what is needed to make it easier for the interest of the corporation to be met.
I hope that you will continue to read and view the links I post and join the discussion with your comments and guest post. Only through dialog and debate will our country continue to move forward and I feel that we as citizens still have the right to that debate and are responsible to engage in it to make our nation stronger. I can be reached via email at the link in the top right corner of this blog and welcome all comments and suggestions.
I am writing this post today to attempt to pull all the recent links and post I have made together to explain how they all relate to the bigger picture of nurse rights and health care.
The last couple of years has clearly defined the objectives of the two political parties and in my opinion has clearly revealed the plan of the Republican Party. I know some will see this as somewhat paranoid and conspiratorial but when it is all put together I think it is pretty clear.
The popular, knee jerk, push to cut the budget and decrease the deficit on the backs of social programs is the opening that the Republican Party has been looking for to make advances in diminishing if not destroying the labor movement and social aid programs and we see this in action in a dozen or so states and at the federal level at this very moment. With the recent Citizens United ruling that gives corporations unlimited abilities to influence elections and the simultaneous destruction of organized labor we will be like lambs to the slaughter if as individuals we attempt to stand up against our corporate employers. This goes for nurses as well. Even if you are not working at a unionized hospital the head of that hospital is always worried about the possibility of a union and that fear to a degree keeps them in check and makes them at least consider the patient safety issues that are so important to nurses.
Unions have many issues and are not always the hero in every argument but they do for the most part represent the needs and issues of the common working man and they act as a counter to the corporate interest that are concerned only with profits.
Nurses and workers in general need to know that they can come together and organize to have their voices and concerns addressed. When this option goes away, Patients will suffer, nurses will suffer and the public as a whole will suffer. The debate will no longer be on finding the middle between what works for both business and the community but what increases profit and what is needed to make it easier for the interest of the corporation to be met.
I hope that you will continue to read and view the links I post and join the discussion with your comments and guest post. Only through dialog and debate will our country continue to move forward and I feel that we as citizens still have the right to that debate and are responsible to engage in it to make our nation stronger. I can be reached via email at the link in the top right corner of this blog and welcome all comments and suggestions.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Walls in Nursing: How to Break Them Down
The New York Times recently published a blog article by Theresa Brown, R.N., in which she describes the sometimes alarming nature of walls within the medical profession and how these walls can sometimes cause unbearable tension in hospital hallways. Any yet, her post relays the story of what happens when one of those walls come down, allowing nurses and other medical professionals to unite in a common task: caring for their patients.
Brown's piece opens by invoking Robert Frost's poem "Fences," which introduces the theme of walls between neighbors. She then talks about how areas in which nurses work in oncology are separated. She writes, "There's 'med onc' and 'surg onc,' and never the twain shall meet."
All of this was true for her until she met a patient with a blood disease who needed an immediate operation to repair a hole in her intestine. What followed that discovery was a story in which she and a surgeon were able to come together and smoothly and efficiently care for the patient. She found that after that experience, the walls that were constant throughout the hospital were not so strong, and she was able to surmount them in order to care for another human.
The entire story is worth a read, which you can see here, and it got me thinking: what are others ways that nurses can unite and break down barriers within the profession? What are some walls that continue to blockade various nurses from fully uniting as a group and exerting their influence in the health care world?
For me, as someone who often writes about nursing schools, the gender issue is the one that most greatly affects the acceptance of males in the nursing world, and is thus a huge wall to overcome. Fortunately, there has been much headway made towards making male nurses more welcome in the profession, especially in how nursing programs have shifted their admission materials to be more attuned to the needs of male nursing students. As this has happened, we have seen the number of male nurses dramatically. Of course, there is much more we can do.
But what? When you see these walls in your nursing profession, what ideas do you have for continuing to break them down and unite together?
By-line:
This guest post is contributed by Kitty Holman, who writes on the topics of nursing colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: kitty.holman20@gmail.com.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Push To Repeal
Now that the elections of 2010 are over and the republicans have taken back the US House and many of the state governments houses, senates and governorships there is a big push on to fight and repeal the Affordable Health Care act passed last year.
I as most who have read any of my post probably assume, opposed to the repeal. I was never over joyed by what was accomplished with health care reform last year but do believe it is a step in the right direction and repeal would be taking a step back. Millions more Americans are now without insurance or the means to buy insurance or meet their medical needs due to the recession and general malaise of the current economy.
As a nurse I see the increase in patient admissions during hard economic time due to peoples inability to afford their medications or co pays. Taking away or limiting options would only make the problem worse.
I firmly believe that no matter how you view this issue there is one fact that cannot be denied. People will continue to get medical treatment no matter what happens or who ultimately wins this fight. If the insurance companies and the for profits get their way they will continue to get richer from the suffering of others and the tax payer will continue to pick up the tab in the end.
You must understand that cost of care is associated with the degree of illness and acuity of the patient at the time of service and it is always less expensive to prevent or manage chronic diseases than it is once they have become emergencies. Take hypertension for example, if managed it can cost a few hundred to a couple thousand a year versus tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands for the treatment of a stroke, heart attack or kidney failure due to uncontrolled emergent hypertension.
It just makes economic sense to ensure that the basic health care needs of our fellow citizens are met and that people have the opportunity to get the health care they need.
Visit http://www.healthcare.gov/ to see how the Affordable Care Act can and will benefit you and your community.
Join me in writing your representative at both the federal and state level to say that we want them to focus on creating opportunities and improving the health and well being of our nation. They were elected to make the live of Americans better, not worse.
I as most who have read any of my post probably assume, opposed to the repeal. I was never over joyed by what was accomplished with health care reform last year but do believe it is a step in the right direction and repeal would be taking a step back. Millions more Americans are now without insurance or the means to buy insurance or meet their medical needs due to the recession and general malaise of the current economy.
As a nurse I see the increase in patient admissions during hard economic time due to peoples inability to afford their medications or co pays. Taking away or limiting options would only make the problem worse.
I firmly believe that no matter how you view this issue there is one fact that cannot be denied. People will continue to get medical treatment no matter what happens or who ultimately wins this fight. If the insurance companies and the for profits get their way they will continue to get richer from the suffering of others and the tax payer will continue to pick up the tab in the end.
You must understand that cost of care is associated with the degree of illness and acuity of the patient at the time of service and it is always less expensive to prevent or manage chronic diseases than it is once they have become emergencies. Take hypertension for example, if managed it can cost a few hundred to a couple thousand a year versus tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands for the treatment of a stroke, heart attack or kidney failure due to uncontrolled emergent hypertension.
It just makes economic sense to ensure that the basic health care needs of our fellow citizens are met and that people have the opportunity to get the health care they need.
Visit http://www.healthcare.gov/ to see how the Affordable Care Act can and will benefit you and your community.
Join me in writing your representative at both the federal and state level to say that we want them to focus on creating opportunities and improving the health and well being of our nation. They were elected to make the live of Americans better, not worse.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Time well spent.
Finally a preacher of my religion. Blows my mind and gets me thinking in a way that I once believed only possible through pharmaceutical means.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Patient Benefits in Unionized vs Non-Unionized Hospitals Employing Travel Nurses
Patient Benefits in Unionized vs Non-Unionized Hospitals Employing Travel Nurses
The debate rages on in the field of nursing about the quality of patient care and after care and the impact of unionization on our current system. With the shortages of nurses becoming severe in this country and the institutional stresses and pressures, many nurses feel disenfranchised both by physicians and healthcare administrators.
With California, Massachusetts and Maryland RN unions teaming together and still other RN unions following suit, whether to organize or not and the implications this has on patient care is becoming a real institutional issue.
Opinion is certainly mixed about the issue, with some nurses skeptical about the changes a union can produce when faced with hospital bureaucracy and the dwindling supply of new graduating nurses while more experienced nurses reduce their work time. Some nurses in unionized environments see no improvements in staffing and are concerned about high union dues. Other RNs agree unions are essential to pay nurses top wages in order to support health care and reduce turnover. Hospital administrators who oppose unionization announce that there is in fact no reason for hospitals to become unionized. Hospitals that provide poor patient care will simply lose to other more productive hospitals.
But do independent studies support the idea that unionization will reduce patient care and after care and decrease productivity? Actually independent studies confirm that patient care actually increases, and for reasons apart from just fairer wages. Nursing unions have been pushing to establish RN to patient staffing ratios as well as reduce the overburdening of nurses who often have to perform tasks that aren’t at all their responsibility, and have them focus on their own duties. Patients are also being pushed out sooner, forcing nurses to do more work with their available time and take on more patients. This in turn elevates the risk of patient death.
Establishing RN to patient ratios through unions is actually one way of addressing nurse shortages in hospitals. However, nursing shortages continue to be a problem all across the country in both unionized and non-unionized environments and this has critical implications for patients. While patient care can arguably increase in unionized hospitals, it still won’t increase a lot with the few nurses that currently work in hospitals.
Traveling nursing services can help make up for the shortfall in non-unionized environments and travel nurses can and do work in unionized environment. Traveling nurse agencies send out travel nurses who supersede the union requirement for temporary assignments.
Travel nurse jobs can help ensure the continuity of patient care since travel nursing agencies are experienced and can help relieve a temporary shortage while a hospital deals with more serious organizational issues, since travel nurses can be employed for weeks on end, offering high quality care for an extended period, even up to a year. Hospitals can save money as well, while not having to pay benefits, insurance and sick leave, and most crucially, not have to close their beds due to nurse shortages, which is the first step at providing quality patient care.
Article written by a guest blogger and client of:
Adam Brown
www.purecontent.com
The debate rages on in the field of nursing about the quality of patient care and after care and the impact of unionization on our current system. With the shortages of nurses becoming severe in this country and the institutional stresses and pressures, many nurses feel disenfranchised both by physicians and healthcare administrators.
With California, Massachusetts and Maryland RN unions teaming together and still other RN unions following suit, whether to organize or not and the implications this has on patient care is becoming a real institutional issue.
Opinion is certainly mixed about the issue, with some nurses skeptical about the changes a union can produce when faced with hospital bureaucracy and the dwindling supply of new graduating nurses while more experienced nurses reduce their work time. Some nurses in unionized environments see no improvements in staffing and are concerned about high union dues. Other RNs agree unions are essential to pay nurses top wages in order to support health care and reduce turnover. Hospital administrators who oppose unionization announce that there is in fact no reason for hospitals to become unionized. Hospitals that provide poor patient care will simply lose to other more productive hospitals.
But do independent studies support the idea that unionization will reduce patient care and after care and decrease productivity? Actually independent studies confirm that patient care actually increases, and for reasons apart from just fairer wages. Nursing unions have been pushing to establish RN to patient staffing ratios as well as reduce the overburdening of nurses who often have to perform tasks that aren’t at all their responsibility, and have them focus on their own duties. Patients are also being pushed out sooner, forcing nurses to do more work with their available time and take on more patients. This in turn elevates the risk of patient death.
Establishing RN to patient ratios through unions is actually one way of addressing nurse shortages in hospitals. However, nursing shortages continue to be a problem all across the country in both unionized and non-unionized environments and this has critical implications for patients. While patient care can arguably increase in unionized hospitals, it still won’t increase a lot with the few nurses that currently work in hospitals.
Traveling nursing services can help make up for the shortfall in non-unionized environments and travel nurses can and do work in unionized environment. Traveling nurse agencies send out travel nurses who supersede the union requirement for temporary assignments.
Travel nurse jobs can help ensure the continuity of patient care since travel nursing agencies are experienced and can help relieve a temporary shortage while a hospital deals with more serious organizational issues, since travel nurses can be employed for weeks on end, offering high quality care for an extended period, even up to a year. Hospitals can save money as well, while not having to pay benefits, insurance and sick leave, and most crucially, not have to close their beds due to nurse shortages, which is the first step at providing quality patient care.
Article written by a guest blogger and client of:
Adam Brown
www.purecontent.com
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