My Strong Medicine

The adventures of a male nurse navigating through life, staying fit, surviving the journey.

Archive for September, 2011

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Thank You Thursday

Posted by Sean on September 29, 2011

Well, this is the first week of the official ‘Thank you Thursday’ weekly post. Thanks again Joni for such an awesome idea.

So, this week. Thank you for:

Dry weather during my commute to school

Dry weather while walking around campus!

Surviving clinicals this week at school

For my wife always thinking one step ahead of me – she takes such good care of me

Having some amazing co-workers who are going through some tough times

New clothes

time with my family during their birthday

time with my cousin – I missed hanging out with him

What are you thankful for this week?

Posted in words of wisdom | Tagged: | 3 Comments »

All you hot heads out there

Posted by Sean on September 28, 2011

Yawning is typically linked to tiredness, but a group of researchers from Princeton and the University of Arizona have found it may simply be a means to regulate brain temperature.

The researchers found yawning frequency correlates with the season and yawning is more likely when the temperature outside is less than the temperature of the brain. Their argument is that keeping your mouth agape helps regulate the temperature of the brain by exposing the roof to cooler air. In the author’s previous studies, cooler brains have been linked to alertness, which might help explain why we yawn when we’re tired.

via lifehacker.com

This explains it!
OK. It might explain why I yawn, but now I wanna know why my brain is too warm?

You see.. I’ve over-worked my brain. Yeah… that’s it.

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Why do we always reach for medication?

Posted by Sean on September 28, 2011

Instead of allowing our bodies to strengthen, instead of nurturing our health, instead of improving the ‘fight’ of our immune system we seem to find more ways to find a shortcut to a healthier you. We debilitate our immune system and we coddle our bodies by reaching for the next best thing.

Maybe it’s the era in which I was raised?

Maybe it was the household where I was lucky enough to spend my youth?

Maybe it’s just me being stubborn and bull headed? (most likely)

I just feel that we should allow our bodies to take the hit. We don’t grow stronger by living in a bubble. We grow stronger by learning to defend ourselves. I’m talking about our immunity to illness and disease. This conversation brushes shoulders with the ‘Antibiotic resistance’ debate. No I don’t believe every child should be place on an antibiotic every time the get the sniffles.

I also don’t think we need to start prescribing a medication that is intended to alleviate symptoms of COPD and Asthma exacerbation for the common cold **

It’s a runny nose people! C’mon.

Intranasal ipratropium bromide for the common cold.

Cochrane Database Syst Rev.  2011; (7):CD008231 (ISSN: 1469-493X)

Albalawi ZH; Othman SS; Alfaleh K
Sheikh Abdullah S. Bahamdan Research Chair for Evidence-Based Health Care and Knowledge Translation, College of Medicine, King Saud University, P.O. Box 68639, Riyadh, Central, Saudi Arabia, 11537.

BACKGROUND: The common cold is one of the most common illnesses in humans and constitutes an economic burden both in terms of productivity and expenditure for treatment. There is no proven cure for the common cold and symptomatic relief is the mainstay of treatment. The use of intranasal ipratropium bromide (IB) has been addressed in several studies and might prove an effective treatment for the common cold.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effect of IB versus placebo or no treatment on severity of rhinorrhoea and nasal congestion in children and adults with the common cold. Subjective overall improvement was another primary outcome and side effects were reported as a secondary outcome.

SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL 2011, Issue 1) which contains the Acute Respiratory Infections Group’s Specialised Register, MEDLINE (1950 to January week 4, 2011), MEDLINE in-process and other non-indexed citations (February 2011), EMBASE (1974 to February 2011), AMED (1985 to February 2011), Biosis (1974 to February 2011) and LILACS (1985 to February 2011).

SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing IB to placebo or no treatment in children and adults with the common cold.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently extracted data and assessed trial quality. We used a standardised form to extract relevant data and we contacted trial authors for additional information.

MAIN RESULTS: Seven trials with a total of 2144 participants were included. Four studies (1959 participants) addressed subjective change in severity of rhinorrhoea. All studies were consistent in reporting statistically significant changes in favour of IB. Nasal congestion was reported in four studies and was found to have no significant change between the two groups. Two studies found a positive response in the IB group for the global assessment of overall improvement. Side effects were more frequent in the IB group, odds ratio (OR) 2.09 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.40 to 3.11). Commonly encountered side effects included nasal dryness, blood tinged mucus and epistaxis.

AUTHORS’ CONCLUSIONS: For people with the common cold, the existing evidence, which has some limitations, suggests that IB is likely to be effective in ameliorating rhinorrhoea. IB had no effect on nasal congestion and its use was associated with more side effects compared to placebo or no treatment although these appeared to be well-tolerated and self-limiting. There is a need for larger, high-quality trials to determine the effectiveness of IB in relieving common cold symptoms.

Intranasal ipratropium bromide for the common cold| Medscape Reference Online

**  = Sorry folks, if you want to read the full article you have to sign up for the free account on Medscape (I would highly recommend it)

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Saving time at work

Posted by Sean on September 28, 2011

 

 

Tick-tock, tick-tock. I don’t know about you but my entire day at work is ruled by the clock. Everything from the medication I give to the procedures my patients have to every ‘timed’ care event that we perform.

Everything in some way shape or form is on a ‘timer’.

Lately, my timing has been ‘off’. I can’t seem to get a leg up and stay ahead of the 8-ball. The other day I clamped an NG from wall suction after giving a med, and lets just say the tube remained clamped for the better part of my shift (thankfully it was only a couple of hours). I realized that looking up at the clock to see the time and calculating my next ‘event’ was just not cutting it. So here are 3 tips that I think are going to help me, and I thought I’d share them:

A Watch

Now, before you go poking fun. I’m not just talking about a standard time piece. I’m talking about a watch that has a timer, an alarm and possible a stop watch (if needed). I own one of the traditional ‘Ironman’ triathlon watches that has all the above. I’m starting to used the ‘timer’ more frequently, especially after the NG episode recently. Set your timer to whatever interval you need to remind you of your next ‘event’ (a timed med, unclamping a tube, your next blood sugar, etc.)

The IV Pump

Most IV pumps these days are quite advanced. I sometimes think they are a lil’ too much, but the advancement has definitely increased safety and decreased the likelihood of simple human error. This suggestion really doesn’t utilize those ‘advancements’. The next time you have a med to give, or a blood sugar to check (Q 1 hr. on Insulin gtts) set the volume of your infusion for one hour or whatever time you need. That way, in 1 hr., your IV pump will (annoyingly) alarm ‘low volume’ which will require your attention. You can reset the volume to the next desired interval to keep you on schedule.

A Smartphone

This last suggestion is only if you already own a smartphone. No need to go buying one just for this purpose. My iPhone and most smartphones have a pre-installed timer, alarm clock and stopwatch. If yours does not, there are million and one ‘apps’ you can download for free, or for a small fee. My iPhone is always on my hip now since I utilize it more for medication references as well as medication calculations (and just about everything else), so if I forget to wear my watch I utilize my phone. Heck, there are times when I use both my watch and my phone to help keep me ‘on time’.

Care to add any suggestions to this list? What do you use at work to keep you ‘on time’?

Another post over at Scrubs. I really gotta get in front of that 8-ball.

Three on-the-job time saving tips | Scrubs – The Leading Lifestyle Nursing Magazine Featuring Inspirational and Informational Nursing Articles

Posted in health | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

Coffee preventing depression?

Posted by Sean on September 28, 2011

It is not clear why it might have this effect, but the authors believe caffeine in coffee may alter the brain’s chemistry. Decaffeinated coffee did not have the same effect.

The findings, published in Archives of Internal Medicine, come from a study of more than 50,000 US female nurses.

The experts are now recommending more work to better understand the link.

And they say it is certainly too soon to start recommending that women should drink more coffee to boost mood.

via bbc.co.uk

I’m thinking they’re stretching this one pretty far, but being a coffee drinker.. heck I’ll go with it.

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Practicing what I preach

Posted by Sean on September 27, 2011

P87

Gonna be a long day on campus.
Traffic was long. I’m still making a vain attempt at accepting the long commute that has gotten longer. Due to AM traffic, I have to leave 2.5 hours prior to the start of my day. Whew.

Will. Stay. Positive…..

And full of caffeine.

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Back to school checklist

Posted by Sean on September 24, 2011

 

Nursing school checklist

The beginning of the school year is when I do a mental checklist to make sure I have what I need to start this semester and last through the entire school year.

Interested to hear: Do you have anything to add to my list, or recommendations on certain brands?

  • Book bag : Check their condition. Yes, I said their. I have multiple bags I use depending on the day and depending on the class. I’m a ‘backpack’ kind of student, but I also have a messenger bag. I need to make sure the bags are gonna make it through the semester. Have you ever had the strap of a bag just ‘fail’ on you in the middle of transport? Yep, my books and supplies went everywhere. It was not a pretty sight.
  • Planner : This is almost a moot point these days with the popularity of smartphones and tablets, but I still carry around the traditional calendar planner. I think these days I use it for carrying papers and documents, but I still utilize the calendar in addition to my trusty iPhone.
  • Printer & Accessories : Ever run out of ink mid-print? I always take stock in what I have, and what I need prior to the start of the semester. I’ve noticed I print a couple ‘forests’ worth of paper in the beginning. Everything from course syllabus, outlines, assignments, course schedule, book list, etc., gets printed out for each class. I need to determine what I have and what I need. This includes printer cartridges & paper!
  • Supplies : I try to envision what I do and what I need on hand while I’m in class as well as what I utilize when I am studying (at home and on campus). Everything from pens, pencils, erasers, white-out, sticky-notes, highlighters, bookmark tabs, scissors, stapler (and staples), paperclips, etc. This list is usually pretty long, and I almost always forget something.
  • Storage : How do you store your documents? Where do you store them? Do you use or utilize jump drives? It’s a crazy thought, but some of us still use discs to store data. Do you utilize online storage (in the cloud as they like to say)? Is your online storage maxed out? Is it a paid membership? Is it free? Do you need to clear the clutter out of your storage device to make room for the new data?
  • Study : How do you study? What do you utilize? Do you record lectures? Is the device you use to record operational? Do you need extra batteries? Is it digital – if so do you need to clear the memory for the new data?
  • Notes : How do you organize your class? Are you a spiral notebook kind of person? Or a loose-leaf paper and binder kind of student? Do you utilize folders or tabbed organizers? Make sure you have ample supply of whatever it is you utilize. I have my binders and paper ready to go.

This is a randomly small list of things I inventory each semester. I find it helps make the transition a little less hectic, because we all know how ‘stress-free’ those first two weeks of class are right? Right? (Yes, insert heavy dose of sarcasm now)

What crazy things to you check when your school year starts? Another post from over at Scrubs.

Nursing school checklist | Scrubs – The Leading Lifestyle Nursing Magazine Featuring Inspirational and Informational Nursing Articles

Posted in health, random | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

Earning It

Posted by Sean on September 24, 2011

I stole this from a friend over on Facebook. I had to share this.

Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock , did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom. When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks. ‘Ms. Cothren, where are our desks?’ She replied, ‘You can’t have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.’ They thought, ‘Well, maybe it’s our grades.’ … … ‘No,’ she said. ‘Maybe it’s our behavior.’ She told them, ‘No, it’s not even your behavior.’ And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom. By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in Ms.Cothren’s classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room. The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the deskless classroom, Martha Cothren said, ‘Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/ she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.’ At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it. Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned.. Martha said, ‘You didn’t earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it’s up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don’t ever forget it.’ By the way, this is a true story. Please consider passing this along so others won’t forget that the freedoms we have in this great country were earned by U. S. Veterans.

I then did a quick search and discovered that this story seems to be true via Snopes.

This and many other stories always seem to circulate during those ‘military holidays’. And then during the 9/11 anniversary there was a small surge in what I like to call ‘convenience patriotism’. The problem I have is how we so easily forget and have forgotten about the tremendous sacrifice our veterans and our current military personnel have made. They are the reason for almost all your comforts in life, yet we still continue to ignore them.

I’m doing my miniscule part by passing on such a heart-tugging story.

Posted in random | 2 Comments »

The best bumper sticker evah!

Posted by Sean on September 24, 2011

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via twitter.com

Found this on twitter from an NP I follow. This. Is. Full. Of. Awesome.

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The social media check-in app wars

Posted by Sean on September 23, 2011

Me thinks I see a copycat?

I’m a TV junkie. I was perusing the internets reading up on the fall season premieres when I stumbled across a new SoMe* app that promotes “"Connect with your friends around the shows you love". It’s called IntoNow:

image

Now, anyone that follows me around the SoMe circles knows I’m a big GetGlue fan:

image

After I read more about this IntoNow app, I’m getting an oh-so familiar feeling. As if I’ve seen or used something verrrrrrrry similar.

Here is the IntoNow description from iTunes:

Get more from TV! IntoNow is the best way to connect with your friends around the shows you love.
"I was amazed to the point where I was dumbfounded" — MG Siegler at TechCrunch
Great reviews from TechCrunch, Mashable, Reuters, All Things D, VentureBeat and many more…
IntoNow makes engaging with your favorite TV shows easy, social, and fun. Just tap the green button when your favorite show is on and IntoNow will identify the show and episode; provide all data and links associated with it; and help you share on Facebook and Twitter. IntoNow also helps you see which shows you have in common with your friends — including whether they’ve seen the latest episode — and alerts you whenever you and a friend are watching the same show at the same time. Use it to discover new shows, discuss your favorites with your friends, and learn more about whatever you’re into now!
Features:
- Identify live TV, or anything that’s run on TV in the last five years, from your television, computer or mobile device.
- Get full episode and cast information, as well as info on future airings.
- Receive notifications when your friends are watching the same episode or show.
- Comment on what your friends are watching in the app, or on Facebook and Twitter.
- One-click access to IMDb, Netflix, and iTunes so you can learn more or start watching right away.
- Add new friends using Facebook, Twitter, your address book, or “search by name.”

Aaaaaaand.. now check out the description of GetGlue on iTunes: (by the way GetGlue has been around since 2009)

GetGlue is a fun social network for entertainment. Check-in to what you are watching, reading and listening to. Connect with friends, discover new favorites, and unlock FREE stickers and discounts.
“The single most useful social networking tool I’ve encountered” – Wired
Positively reviewed by top press, including: L.A. Times, NY Post, Mashable, Gizmodo, and many more!
Features:
* Check-in to your favorite TV shows, movies, music, and more
* Earn rewards from over 40 major media companies
* See what your friends are currently watching, reading, or listening to
* Rate things to get awesome recommendations based on things you like
* Get filtered new releases and old favorites picked just for you
* Share the TV shows, movies, and music you like
Join more than 1.5 million other users who are sharing 9 million check-ins per month.
Watch a 60-second overview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P0tkjkSO20
Earn rewards from our current partners, including: 20th Century FOX, A&E, AMC, Animal Planet, CNN, Comedy Central, Discovery, Disney, Dreamworks, ESPN, FOX, Food Network, HBO, HGTV, MSNBC, MTV, NBC, PBS, Science Channel, Showtime, Sony Pictures, SPEED, Starz, SyFy, TBS, TLC, TNT, Travel Channel, truTV, USA, Universal Pictures, and other major entertainment companies.

If that wasn’t strangely odd enough check out the screenshots of the two apps:

imageimage

Me thinks there is a copycat?

*  SoMe = Social Media

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