November 11th, 2009 by BarbaraFicarraRN in Better Health Network, Expert Interviews
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The questions and concerns continue to swirl regarding the H1N1 swine flu vaccine, and health consumers continue to fear the safety of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine.
Many health consumers are asking if there are adjuvants in the vaccine, should they receive the vaccine if there’s thimerosal, and what’s the difference between a multiple dose (multi-dose) and a single dose.
Others are asking if they have certain health conditions (diabetes, heart disease, lyme disease, bipolar, etc.) should they receive the H1N1 vaccine.
I constructed a series of questions based on information you are looking for and medical expert, Bruce B. Dan, MD, a specialist in infectious diseases addresses your concerns and helps relieve your fears. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*
November 7th, 2009 by MotherJonesRN in Better Health Network, True Stories
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My iPhone started ringing just as my nursing colleagues and I were getting ready to report off to the next shift at Undisclosed Government Hospital. The frantic caller was one of our nurses. She cried, “Are you on lockdown? Don’t leave the unit!” I signaled everyone in the room to cut the chatter. Then we heard the patients in the television room gearing up. I’m not going to replay everything that happened last night. I can’t do it. Suffice to say that things got tense at the nurses station when the name of the Fort Hood triggerman was released. We knew him. He was a former psychiatrist at UGH.
People are asking me what it was like to work with Dr. Hasan. They want to know if there were any signs that he was going off the deep end. No, he didn’t come across as a Unabomber in scrubs. He was just one of the guys, and that’s what made him so dangerous. He could make me laugh. I use to banter with him about his bachelorhood. He told me it was too bad that I was already married and then he would ask me if I could line up a nurse who wanted to marry a doctor. We never talked about religion or politics on the unit. He was always polite and respectful. He was an officer and a gentleman. Read more »
November 6th, 2009 by Emergiblog in Better Health Network, Opinion
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The story of the nursing student who was expelled for blogging got me thinking.
(If you haven’t heard the story, check out What Can Nursing Students Blog About? at Code Blog, with an update at Kevin, MD)
Just what can you write about on your blog?
Well, you can write on just about any topic.
It’s not a case of what you say, it’s how you say it. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Emergiblog*
November 3rd, 2009 by BarbaraFicarraRN in Better Health Network, Opinion
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Part 1 in a series on the e-patient and participatory medicine
There’s no question that today’s patients are savvy. Today’s patients are e-patients. Surrounded by technology, researching health information on the Internet has never been easier. Patients are engaging in communities and social networking sites and the exchange of information between patients has proven invaluable to some.
When patients visit their doctor and other health care professionals, many are armed with questions and they are not satisfied until they get answers. Patients are empowered and they want to be engaged in a relationship with their doctors and other health care professionals. They want respect, collaboration and connection. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*
October 30th, 2009 by MotherJonesRN in Better Health Network, Opinion
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I never knew that newspapers use to hire nurses. This nurse is working in a big city at the news desk. I wonder if she had to have a journalism degree as well as a nursing license in order to write copy for a media outlet back when nurses wore their cap. There was a time when only journalists wrote the news. Now anyone with a computer, a video camera, and a website can out scoop CNN. Kim from Emergiblog told me that some bloggers and a member of the press got into a debate at BlogWorld09. I wasn’t surprised to hear this because mainstream media thinks that its the only legitimate source for news. Come on mainstream media, we both know what’s really going on here. You have blogger envy.
I’m sorry if I sound cranky, mainstream media, but I’m really tired of all your whining. I know you don’t think that citizen journalists check their facts and that we lack reliable news sources. Some of you have even said that our stories aren’t fair and balanced. Do you really want to go there, mainstream media? I’m talking to you Fox News and MSNBC. You’ve got your nerve to criticize anyone about their scruples. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Nurse Ratched's Place*
