tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17640482222632894912024-02-27T00:09:39.322-07:00ER Nurses BlogAn exploration into the health industry with particular focus on the men and women battling and saving lives in our ERs.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger107125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-25956483524549834592022-04-24T12:54:00.000-06:002022-04-25T10:13:23.992-06:00Overworked in the ER?Are you overworked? Working double 12 hour shifts? COVID got you working 2 years of overtime?
What are you doing, or your unit, to ensure nurses and doctors are well rested and prepared for their shifts? Or what could be done to improve work place conditions? Looking to hear from those who've tried some new things and have found success (or failures)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-4297088317955363722022-04-20T11:59:00.000-06:002022-04-25T10:02:59.596-06:00Burnout - From the ER and Beyond, Healthcare Workers at RiskThe global pandemic, which still continues, has forced many healthcare professionals including nurses to work under the constant and unrelenting pressures of overtime and patient loss. That conicides with a work culture and system that often works to undermine alleviating workload for frontline healthcare professionals. The brunt of this reality is held by nurses working amidst the effects of Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-65775291836145813182022-03-14T23:18:00.000-06:002022-04-25T10:13:41.156-06:00Just In: ER Nurses Aren't RobotsIt would appear that although ER nurses perform their duties seamlessly despite dealing with critical injuries in patients, this type of high level stress has impacts beyond the ER.
A Master of Nursing student from the University of Calgary suggests that the work environment is not only stressful, but could have devastating consequences.
Your thoughts on the short and long term damage&Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-35836221123548302012022-02-18T09:32:00.000-07:002022-04-25T10:14:44.743-06:00Overcrowding and Resourcing in The ERHow many of you care for patients in the ER who shouldn't really be there? At worst we're talking about psychiatric patients who sit in the ER and pose a physical threat to nurses. At best it is a drain on resources and impacts overall healthcare for those who really need it. Appropriate protocols and policies to streamline healthcare provision and ensure the right care is given to the needs of Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-10999624968747630022021-12-06T14:22:00.000-07:002022-04-25T10:16:26.152-06:00Nursing Pragmatics: Your Shoes of Preference?There was a time when nursing shoes were a distinct white flat. Before that, a distinct white mid-low heels. Crocs may be comfortable but who wants an open toe anyways?
What shoe do you use at work? The popular choice is of course the day long sneaker. The choice of footwear is important since you're on your feet all day (plus it saves your back).
Choices? Styles? Price points? What's your Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-79736952444848952382021-09-29T11:17:00.003-06:002021-09-29T11:17:21.885-06:00Nurses Aren't Interchangeable In the hardest hit regions of COVID-19, mostly due to bad public health policies, redeployment of nursing staff is one tool to staff ICUs. ER nurses are often the first to moved. But the skills aren't interchangeable. Each discipline has very specific competencies. Care suffers when different disciplines need to extend themselves. Here's another thread on the subject.
Nurse redeployment & Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-86507134236276135542021-06-16T16:30:00.005-06:002021-06-16T16:30:55.411-06:00Nurses Make Care HappenAs the slow incremental reforms in the American healthcare system amble forward, within the change lies great opportunity. In seeking to avert the collision course of an aging chronically ill population with a financial burden to maintain the current system, policy makers have had to reflect and discover a hitherto unrealized fact: nurses are the backbone of the health care system. This is both Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-59865699261841551312021-01-08T11:01:00.003-07:002021-01-08T11:01:52.608-07:00Frontline Healthcare Workers Slowly Getting VaccineLet's ignore the minute healthcare practitioners who believe the conspiracy hype that vaccinations aren't to be trusted.
The vast majority of frontline healthcare workers are receiving a reprieve, or perhaps just a little hope, with the Moderna and Phizer vaccines. Both require two doses and in most jurisdictions appear to be given to health providers first. That's great news. But the tide Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-85156064480481968392020-12-15T10:54:00.012-07:002021-01-08T10:59:41.316-07:00The Unhealthy Culture of "Above and Beyond"Is the work of a nurse supposed to be "above and beyond?"
COVID has certainly shifted our expectations. There is more work to do as risk and critical care accommodates the massive influx and changes COVID-19 has brought. It means a lot more attention on frontline healthcare providers. Some of the narrative celebrating these workers include acknowledging the work--those who go "above and beyond" Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-77969006478200324132020-07-08T12:24:00.001-06:002020-07-08T12:24:54.012-06:00finding rhythms, wear your mask, the er is disasterhttps://www.thestate.com/news/coronavirus/article243599457.html
Have you found rhythm in your daily work routines amidst COVID craziness? You do what you have to do to cope. But note, this is trauma. Inundated ER rooms look like war zones, and with government officials doing little to curb the rapid acceleration of the virus, we can expect it to get worse. This is trauma for healthcare providersUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-693710169466095552020-06-17T10:54:00.000-06:002020-06-17T10:54:09.167-06:00Shot out to the front line
You're safe where you're at and that you're not suffering from shortages of PPE.
Frontline healthcare workers are receiving acknowledgement from everyone these days. But we know what it means sit exhausted on the front lines as the world seems to deteriorate inside the hospital. Some of you are on the front lines of a pandemic that doesn't seem to be slowing down. In someplace it's actually Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-67448788549327148772020-06-15T10:56:00.000-06:002020-06-17T10:57:01.206-06:00Ya, it's not over, ICUs still overrunCOVID 19 is the worst disease process I’ve ever worked with in my 8 years as an ICU nurse. When they say “recovered” they don’t tell you that that means you may need a lung transplant. Or that you may come back after d/c with a massive heart attack or stroke bc COVID makes— Cherie Antoinette (@sheriantoinette) June 14, 2020
COVID-19 is vicious.
This is an ER Nurses blog but we know Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-2208591524554416112020-06-10T10:55:00.000-06:002020-06-17T10:55:58.919-06:00Wear your masks in publicI can't imagine how many grown men and women still refuse to wear masks in public? It's a matter of public health. Part of me wonders whether or not it has to do with grown white men unwilling to do something that might benefit other people. After all mask wearing is predominantly for others as it doesn't have as big of an impact on YOU. It stops YOUR droplets from heading out into the world. So Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-75572125026645537562020-04-09T15:58:00.001-06:002020-04-09T15:58:56.460-06:00Trump's Lack of Leadership Crippling Response.You know things are bad when the federal response is completely missing, and you have to blame state governors for the mess.
Stay safe out there. Your work is crazy. it's ok to feel the grief and anxiety of this time.
Other countries responded quickly and aggressively to combat the spread of coronavirus.Trump failed to do the same—and now the U.S. has the most cases in the world. Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-55090808201433880212020-03-26T15:55:00.000-06:002020-03-26T15:55:04.457-06:00COVID Stats Around the WorldThe results aren't good for America. Something failed in the healthcare system. Here are some resources in terms of tracking COVID trends.
» COVID-19 tracking map
» COVID-19 tracking map FAQ
» CEPAR COVID-19Preparedness and Response Plan
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-42195509990691806362020-03-19T15:56:00.000-06:002020-03-26T15:57:05.910-06:00It's not PTSD...yetHow are you feeling with the advent of COVID? We're just getting started and nurses are on the frontline. Even if you haven't seen the magnitude of the problem hit your workplace yet, it's coming, and you've been thinking about it.
part of that thought process, and the changes you're facing in the workplace, is traumatic.
Go ahead, name it, it's trauma. Pre-trauma, but it counts, and it takes Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-78747337728769174982019-10-08T09:17:00.000-06:002019-10-15T09:19:08.778-06:00ER nurses week - memesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-56219287099948934402019-05-06T12:06:00.000-06:002019-05-06T12:06:17.095-06:00Happy Nurses Week 2019!High five a nurse.
Give a hug to a nurse you love.
Buy some flowers, or some beer.....
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-53397476871846385632019-03-08T17:26:00.000-07:002019-03-08T17:26:07.165-07:00Growing Violence in the ER (and other nursing departments)Have you noticed a growing level of violence in the workplace?
In your situation, career, and workplace what are some of the primary causes of violence?
Some of the top factors include:
A rise in the opioid epidemic and violent patients.
Coworker or manager violence, be it bullying or verbal.
Dementia or mental health patients.
What do you commonly see your workplace?
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-48252035386889142002019-02-04T17:19:00.002-07:002019-02-04T17:19:41.612-07:00Resources for Transitioning from Student to PractitionerSome of the most daunting moments in a nursing career is when you started a new position. The most stressful may be when starting a brand new career. Nursing students who make the shift to practitioner face numerous insecurities and steep learning curves particularly around competency. Knowing what assessment to make and having confidence in that result are things only experience can help with. Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-82012059490684225512019-01-14T17:32:00.000-07:002019-02-04T17:32:25.287-07:00How nurses are wired - ER vs ICU
LOL.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-59915861246555467172018-11-01T16:55:00.000-06:002019-04-16T16:57:21.129-06:00Eyeballing Better than Testing in ERA new report conducted that surveyed 6000+ ER nurses has determined "eyeballing" patients in the waiting room was more effective in determining patients who needed the most urgent care.
https://emj.bmj.com/content/36/2/66
Simply eyeballing a patient may be more effective than using a formal structured assessment (algorithm) to prioritise those who are the sickest and therefore most in need ofUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-37467880095176127852018-10-29T16:28:00.000-06:002019-02-04T16:46:36.082-07:00Coloring Therapy for the Hospital
The current rage in art therapy models is the coloring book craze, particularly the adult coloring book market, which has exploded over the past couple of years with new titles. Some coloring books are marketed with 'art therapy' label suggesting coloring is a viable means to not only calm the mind, but offer therapeutic benefits as well. Art therapy is a useful tool to help caregivers, Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-73732851163750250532018-09-17T10:02:00.000-06:002018-09-17T10:02:00.220-06:00A Comparison of Health Care in Canada and the United States
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764048222263289491.post-7567134564038435832018-08-29T14:20:00.000-06:002018-08-29T14:20:10.373-06:00Reader's Digest Ten Things You Didn't know about nurses.A Reader's Digest article was posted and has an interesting list of 10 things you didn't know about nurses. What would you add? Do you think it's accurate?
The list includes
Nurses are expected to know everything
You don’t always know where you stand with patients
Sometimes nurses have to disobey orders
Nurses are taught that patients are their Unknownnoreply@blogger.com