This is an actual case study for one of my graduate classes. A fellow classmate pointed this one out to me. It seems that Tom is in good health huh?

They made a funny.

Heh heh.

Sorry, this is how my brain works after a weekend full of cramming.. err…  I mean studying. Yeah, studying.

I rang in my birthday this year curled up on the couch in the fetal position trying to survive one of the worst sinusitis infection I have ever had.

I think the source of my illness jumped across the bacterial / viral line quite a few times over that 10-14 day period! One minute I felt it was viral with the body aches, generalized pain everywhere and that energy-zapped life-less body movement thing. I swear it took everything in me just to get out of bed and fall onto the couch. I mean my eyeballs hurt to blink and the hair that I don’t have on my head hurt!

Then it transitioned to the gravity-dependent, my head is going to explode sinus-focused terror. My head felt like a 100lb dumbbell and I reveled during those very brief moments of breathing through both nostrils.

I missed a whole week of school – and that was AFTER spring break. Thankfully I didn’t miss much other than class time.

-WHEW-

Fast forward about 14 days and a wonderful Z-pack later. I still have some sniffles lingering -nothing like when I was down and out – but annoying none-the-less at times. I’m back at school, back to the gym, back to feeling my humanish self again.

I just wanna know where the heck did I catch that darn bug? What did I do wrong? Do differently??!!

I haven’t had a ‘head-cold’ in over 3 yrs. I quite honestly I cannot remember the last time I was ever that sick?? If I had lost my appetite I surely would have been hospital bound. Thankfully I could consume soup on a daily basis and I forced the fluids as much as I could tolerate.

As a side note – I never, ever realized how dehydrated one can get just from oozing and blowing mucus from their nostrils??!!

Sorry – overshare.

Anyhoo.. Back to me and my immune system. What the heck happened? I mean I work in a hospital. Cross many-a-paths with the sick and ill. My poor wife has battled through a couple dooozy’s of a illness over the past couple years. I’ve been exposed to H1N1. I have had my flu shot annually (including the H1N1 vaccine).

I wash my hands too much in my opinion – since my hands get so dry they crack and split at my fingertips at times.

I don’t use nor abuse the darn hand sanitizer gels (no antibiotic resistance here).

I take my vitamins. I eat right. I sleep a ‘decent’ amount (not great, but decent).

???

The only thing that was new in my ‘equation’ of life has been school. Or should I say Graduate school. I started NP school this past fall.

The only real difference I can postulate is the fact that I’m ‘burning my candle at both ends’. I took a heavy load of classes this semester. I definitely bit off more than I could chew with multiple assignments from different classes pelted at me as if it’s target practice. I commute 4 days a week to class. So my day is choc-full of deadlines on a weekly basis. I do things in ‘chunks’ since I’m either in my car or in class most of my week.

Stress.

I think the self-induced wallop of stress definitely knocked my immune system down a few notches.. And with the right combination one of those damn ‘bugs’ got me.

Ahh well. Live and learn.

Lessons learned:

• I will never take this many graduate classes at one time ever again
• I will not commute this many times in one week ever again
• It doesn’t matter how healthy you think you are – the bugs are stronger
• It doesn’t matter how strong you think you are – the bugs are stronger
• Sooner or later…… everyone gets sick

I wish I could tell you how long ago, I can only tell you we crossed paths. Ever since then I’ve been following his plight. His love of nursing is only bettered by his love of his family, his profession and his passion for financial freedom. And quite honestly, the three coexist on such high level of play. He is a 25yr veteran OBGYN who is married to a fellow nurse. In his ‘spare’ time he has written the book "The Millionaire Nurse". A book on how nurses can utilize their professional skills to maximize their financial management. It teaches nurses, step by step, how to reach financial freedom without bending over backwards and losing their mind in the process.

I was lucky enough to have read his book this past summer, and sadly I never really blogged about it. Everything from post graduate planning, work, family and then pre-graduate school jitters took up most of my time this past summer. Of course I’ve been drowning in grad school work since fall season of last year.

I just wanted you to know that his book has a plethora of vital information that can help all nurses loosen the ‘noose’ we call debt. Everything from daily tips, sample worksheets, step-by-step planning guidelines, how-to tips, and of course what not to do when it comes to sealing the ‘deal’ of better financing. There is information on buying and selling stocks, bonds, big ticketed items like homes and vehicles, to little money saving tips on the everyday things we take for granted.

Finances and me are on decent terms these days, but once school is finished I can tell you that me and Dr. Dean’s book will be re-visiting each other. I’m going to need the help.

I only bring this to your attention because Dr. Dean is out to help all nurses. Either by his book, through is positive words on Twitter or his millionaire nurse blog that he maintains here: Millionaire Nurse Blog. He is always putting in the good word for us, and I just want him to know that I appreciated it.

Not to mention he always has nice things to say about me and my social presences (Twitter, My Strong Medicine blog, and Scrubs Magazine).

Here’s his latest kind words:

One story by Sean- who works out, writes as The Male Nurse at the Scrubs website, has his own site, is going to graduate school and has a real job, is the poster-child for burnout.  But, best I can tell, he is just writing about it, not living it.  Don’t miss his post below.

So this is my thanks to him.

And this is my nudge for all of you to seek this fine gentlemen and proud professional out, you won’t be disappointed.

Dr. Dean:

Twitter

Facebook

LinkedIn

Image source: (Google) apartmenttherapy

So the new semester has started and school is in full swing (heck it’s at warp speed already) – and classes just stared yesterday!!

No. I’m not stressing. No, not at all. (insert heavy sarcasm at your leisure)

I’m technically taking the same amount of credits as last semester, but due to the amount of credits per course I’m taking an additional course. So I’m on campus an extra day each week. That small fun-fact alone increases my stress level since I commute.

I’m not complaining really (or at least I’m trying), just trying to get all this stuff straight in my mind and create a plan of attack. Knowing me, it will be mid-semester before I accomplish that!

-insert sinister laugh when appropriate-

But, I digress.

As a nursing student, most of the ‘stuff’ I’ve acquired and created I’ve kept for reference. By stuff, I mean all my classwork, assignments, notes, etc. Over the years this ‘stuff’ has started to pile up. Just this past fall I started to whittle down the ‘stuff’. I decided since I’m past my Bachelors in Nursing, and now onto my Advanced Practice degree, I think it’s a safe bet to discard my notes from my basic nursing school education. It’s been over 5 years, and I might have referred to the stuff for that first year and then maybe when I started my journey for my Bachelors.

I just don’t need it.

So now I need to figure out how to efficiently store and utilize my current academic ‘stuff’??

Any suggestions?

Up until now I’ve (bundled) wrapped them up, labeled them and ‘stuffed’ my ‘stuff’ into a storage bin (plastic tote or something similar). I’ve tried my best to label them so that when I DO need to find it I won’t spend hours picking through the bay of hail.

Fellow students and academic pursuers… how do you ‘stuff’ your ‘stuff’ (yeah, sorry I think my play on words is funny).

Any George Carlin fans out there? Every time I talk/refer/read about ‘stuff’ I think of his ‘graphic’ stand-up comedy skit about ‘stuff’. If you can handle his language… it’s quite comical. I’ll let you Google that one.

The one constant thing I keep encountering is the lack of education given to the (our) patients and their families. Patients and their loved ones are scared and confused the majority of the time. It’s always our job to lessen those fears and eliminate their confusion, yet we as nurses (heck most health care professionals) miss the bus on this one.

Maybe it’s not enough time? Maybe it’s not enough effort? Resources? Information? I really don’t know.

I do know that when I spend those dedicated few minutes with my patient and their family talking about their care, our plan of attack, my goals for my shift, what I’ll be doing, not doing, the ‘why’s’ for the interventions I’m performing, explaining those ‘numbers’ on the monitor, and trying to lay out their overall plan of care – they sit their like it’s their first school lesson.

“Deer in headlight” look.

Sitting still in their seat.

Watching my every move.

They ask questions, I answer them to the best of my knowledge. If I can’t answer the questions I investigate and give them direction. We have a dialogue about the do’s and don’ts of their care. Why this.. Why not that.

It’s an enriching and engaging interaction.

Everybody wins.

They get to feel more comfortable about all that happens in the room. They aren’t startled when alarms go off, or ancillary staff comes in to draw blood (this patient was on a heparin drip).

I get to understand and better appreciate their view point as well as get a ‘feel’ for their willingness to contribute to their care. Will they comply, will they be uncooperative, will they be engaging, etc.

A certain level of trust is established in those few and finite minutes that we as nurses rarely get to spend with our patients.

I wonder if that’s part of the overall problem? Those few minutes make all the difference when determining success and/or failure. I think that interaction helps and hinders their overall experience, their state of health AND ultimately their length of stay!

In a world of health care fraught with ‘adding more to the to-do laundry list’, we spend less and less time at the bedside.

How can we get those few minutes back?

How can we prevent this loss in translation?

…

Hmm…

Yeah. The hospital doesn’t close for the holiday. They don’t have ‘holiday’ hours. Some of us are there right now saving lives, tending to your loved ones and making the difference.

Be sure to thank a nurse today when you’re enjoying your holiday with your loved ones.

Thank you for working the shift. Thank you.

Image source: wallpaperstock.net

It’s rather amazing how many ‘laymen’ and non-health care folk still have NO IDEA what a nurse does. They still think all nurses are the same. And the concept of a Nurse Practitioner is just beyond comprehension to most.

We seemed to have failed miserably in educating the public.

I’m just as guilty of this crime. Before I became ill and needed a nurse – I was just as clueless. Until I started nursing school and on to my career I still didn’t grasp the limitless boundary of nurses. How important they truly are to the survival of the ill, but how they are never given the credit.

We can’t rely on the media, or Hollywood to educate. Their idea of a nurse involves sex, addictive tendencies, white uniforms and nothing but air between the ears.

It’s up to us. We need to approach self-promotion the same way we approach the care we give our patients.

Make those around you understand how vast your education and skill truly is. Simply answering a question with, "I’m just the nurse" is not good enough. It speaks volumes about what you think of yourself and your profession.

It’s our job to speak for our patients when they can’t speak for themselves.

Maybe it’s time we stared treating ourselves like we treat our patients?!

Start demanding the respect you deserve and have earned. Stand tall and be assertive about what you offer to the world of health care. We see the best and worst of what is happening in our current health care system.

We want equality, respect, dignity, and independence. Well then start acting like you deserve it!

I am a nurse.

Hear me roar.

Yep, every nurse. Not just the pre-nurse nursing students, not just the current nurse-in-training students, and certainly not just the advanced degree seeking nurses out there.

Every nurse should blog and become a blogger for two reasons:

• Networking

I have lost count how many nurses I have met, chatted with, collaborated with and ‘connected’ to since I started actively blogging a couple years ago. I’ve met fellow bloggers who are nurses, I’ve met nurses who are also bloggers. And that’s just scraping the surface of blogging! Every medical profession is represented out there blogging! I’ve also met doctors (including residents in training and many specialists), paramedics, EMT’s, Physical therapists, Occupational therapists, respiratory therapists, allied health care professionals, etc. (and I’ve left so many out!)

All these wonderful professionals, including nurses, are from all over the world! Yes, I said the world. As far as England, Australia and India to name a few. All have their story to tell, and all have a wonderful ear to lend when it comes to sharing ideas, and the occasional ‘venting’ session. These folks are a great resource when needing validation on ‘not being alone’.

All of this connection improves your communication skills, heightens your professional awareness and increases your diversity of care.

• Verbiage

Blogging helps you write better. It improves your verbiage, whether you want it to be more concise or more grandiose, it will help. I remember when I first started blogging, I hated to write. I only ‘wrote’ when it was required (for school related responsibilities) And when I did write, I procrastinated so much that the quality of my writing suffered.

Since blogging I have learned ‘free writing’ and ‘free thought’ are some powerful tools. I have applied my ‘writing’ to my skills of charting (no I’m not saying charting is like blogging). I’ve learned to make my charting more concise, as well as improved my descriptive documentation. I no longer have trouble expressing my thoughts on paper (or computer). When I have to ‘chart’ an incident, or recount the day, I no longer stare at the paper (or screen), I just start.

Along with the writing comes the ability to tell a story better. Like it or not, most of our patient education is in the form of ‘story telling’. Thanks to blogging words no longer escape me when needing to better describe a therapy, treatment or intervention to my patient’s and their family members. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no professional journalist or elite blogger – but my skill of writing has improved.

No matter what ‘stage’ you are in as a fellow nurse – start blogging. It doesn’t matter where, or how, be like NIKE: ‘Just do it’. In my opinion there isn’t any drawbacks to blogging as a nurse. We all have privacy rules and regulations that concern us, but as a professional we should be abiding by them no matter where we communicate.

Get out there and blog my fellow nurses, it’s time well spent.

Oh yeah, if you don’t know where to start just contact me, I’m sure I can point you in the right direction. In the meantime go visit Kim over at Emergiblog. A cornucopia of nurse-blogging knowledge.

Not just another nurse

I stumbled upon this amazing video from Facebook. A fellow nurse found it and shared it. I had to pass on the gift.

From the video’s info:

What I’ve LeaRNed is a nursing video that celebrates the wisdom of nurses, the strength and intelligence of nurses, the intensity of nurses and the grace and humor of nurses. It is about nurses, for nurses, by nurses and features nurses

This video was made at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, where the nurses will all tell you, "I am Not Just Another Nurse." Learn more about UAB Nursing Services at http://www.uabnursing.org.

I cannot begin to tell you how accurate and how ‘real’ this video depicts everything about nursing, for nursing and about every nurse out there.

Just awesome.

Simply awesome.

Thank you to the nurses at UAB, and thank you to all my colleagues out there for digging deep every day.