Random Bits

Have a good Lunch!!

Stephanie Williamson — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:59:16 +0000

If you work in a hospital or clinic, you know its nearly impossible to have a good lunch due to slim choices.

This year I started taking lunch to work so I have had to get creative with what I bring. One of the rules is, it has to fit in my lunch container! And it has to hold me over for about 5 hours.

Here are a few great lunch ideas.

From: Fitness Magazine

1 serving View Nutrition Facts

Ingredients

1 vegetarian burger
2 tablespoons feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup spinach
1 whole-wheat hamburger bun
1 small pear

Directions

Make it: Warm burger in microwave. Top with feta cheese and spinach and place on bun. Serve with pear.

Additional interesting articles:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunch

http://www.foodnavigator.com/Financial-Industry/Lunch-a-disappearing-culture

First Aid Kit

Stephanie Williamson — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 14:56:55 +0000

Lately my husband and I have been obsessed with the TV Show ‘Lost’. Due to the nature of the show in most episodes they bring out the first aid kit, which by the way seems to always be fully stocked. hmmmmm! So this made me think of writing about first aid kits. Here’s a little bit of history provided by Wiki.

The instances of recorded first aid were provided by religious knights, such as the Knights Hospitaller, formed in the 11th century, providing care to pilgrims and knights, and training other knights in how to treat common battlefield injuries.The practice of first aid fell largely in to disuse during the High Middle Ages, and organized societies were not seen again until in 1859 Henry Dunant organized local villagers to help victims of the Battle of Solferino, including the provision of first aid. Four years later, four nations met in Geneva and formed the organization which has grown into the Red Cross, with a key stated aim of “aid to sick and wounded soldiers in the field”. This was followed by the formation of St. John Ambulance in 1877, based on the principles of the Knights Hospitaller, to teach first aid, and numerous other organization joined them, with the term first aid first coined in 1878 as civilian ambulance services spread as a combination of ‘first treatment’ and ‘national aid’ in large railway centres and mining districts as well as with police forces. First aid training began to spread through the empire through organizations such as St John, often starting, as in the UK, with high risk activities such as ports and railways.

Many developments in first aid and many other medical techniques have been driven by wars, such as in the case of the American Civil War, which prompted Clara Barton to organize the American Red Cross. Today, there are several groups that promote first aid, such as the military and the Scouting movement. New techniques and equipment have helped make today’s first aid simple and effective.

What to put in it? Here are a few suggestions to put in the kit.

References/Instruments/Misc:
1 – Medium Softpack bag
1 – First Aid Guide
10 – Cotton tipped applicators
2 – Exam quality vinyl gloves
1 – Thermometers, one time use
1 – Medium safety pins
1 – Scissors
1 – Tweezers

Topicals/Antiseptics:
6 – Alcohol cleansing wipes
6 – Antiseptic cleansing wipes
2 – Antibiotic ointment packs
2 – Insect sting relief pads
2 – Castile soap towelettes

Medicine :
2 – Extra-strength non-aspirin (tablets)
2 – Aspirin (tablets)
2 – Ibuprofen (tablets)

Bandages:
16 – Adhesive plastic bandages 3/4″ x 3″
10 – Junior adhesive plastic bandages 3/8″ x 1-1/2″
2 – Fingertip fabric bandages
2 – Knuckle fabric bandages
2 – Elbow & knee plastic bandages 2″ x 4″

Injury/Treatment
2 – Butterfly wound closures
1 – Premium grade moleskin 2″ x 2″
1 – Finger splint 6″ x 3/4″
1 – Instant cold compress 4″ x 5″
1 – 1/2″ x 5 yd. First aid tape roll

Dressings :
2 – Gauze dressing pads 2″ x 2″
2 – Gauze dressing pads 3″ x 3″
1 – Trauma pads 5″ x 9″
1 – 2″ x 4.1 yd. Conforming gauze roll bandages
1 – Sterile eye pads

Humor of the day

Stephanie Williamson — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:35:21 +0000

Yoga

Stephanie Williamson — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:49:49 +0000

Yoga has been practiced for more than 5,000 years, and currently, close to 11 million Americans are enjoying its health benefits. Yoga can hardly be called a trend.

Yoga classes focus on learning physical poses, which are called asanas. They also usually include some form of breathing technique and possibly a meditation technique as well. There are styles of yoga that teach you how to move your body in new ways. Choosing one of these styles offers the greatest health benefits by enabling you to develop your flexibility, strength, and balance.

With increased flexibility and strength comes better posture. Most standing and sitting poses develop core strength. That’s because you’re counting on your deep abdominals to support and maintain each pose. With a stronger core, you’re more likely to sit and stand “tall.” Another benefit of yoga is the increased body awareness. This heightened awareness tells you more quickly when you’re slouching or slumping so you can adjust your posture. Because of the deep, mindful breathing that yoga involves, lung capacity often improves.

Perhaps one of the most studied areas of the health benefits of yoga is its effect on heart disease. Yoga has long been known to lower blood pressure and slow the heart rate. A slower heart rate can benefit people with hypertension, heart disease, and stroke. Yoga was a key component to the heart disease program designed by Dean Ornish, MD. This was the first program to partly reverse heart disease through lifestyle and diet rather than surgery. On a biochemical level, studies point to a possible anti-oxidant effect of yoga. And yoga has been associated with decreased cholesterol and triglyceride levels as well as a boost in immune system function.

JCCC is offering a continuing Ed Class for healthcare providers starting 2.11.2010 or 4.10.2010

Here is the description:

The practice of yoga and meditation have been shown to be very effective life skills for health professionals and their patients. This seminar will focus on practices that calm the “inner well-being”, and help one know their purpose in life, while avoiding the propensity to be robotic. Dress in casual, comfortable, loose-fitting clothes (no dresses or skirts). RNs, LPNs, LMHTs, social workers, counselors, dentist and dental hygienists will earn 3 contact hours for attending this workshop. ACHAs will earn 3 (E) hours. Approval is pending for OTs and PTs.

What Nurses Need to Know about Alternative Medicine

Stephanie Williamson — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 23:09:07 +0000

My interest in alternative medicine started when I was in high school. I had stomach problems, mom took me to the Doctor’s office. After a series of tests they gave me tagament. I took it everyday for a year because I was in so much pain if I didn’t take it. So the journey to finding a different way of fixing this problem started. I went to the local library and studied book on alternative medicine. This is where I read about how Aloe Juice could be the answer to my problem. I went to Wild Oats and bought Aloe Juice Stomach Formula. Took 1-2 ounces twice a day for 4 months and slowly weened myself off the tagament and then sure enough I stopped taking medication and found that the Aloe Juice had healed my stomach in only 4 months of daily use. Of course I also incorporated other lifestyle changes like avoiding certain foods high in acid and not skipping meals which I was notorious for and making better food choices. I am not the only one that has done this, many patients now are more aware of this type of medicine and are trying these before using standard medical treatment.

When I was in nursing school I noticed that Alternative medicine is not taught but now some nursing schools are changing their curriculum to acknowledge Complimentary and Alternative Medicine. Nurses need to know if a patient is taking any herbal medication, because certain herbs can interfere with standard medications. For instance, garlic (taken for the heart) and ginko (taken to improve memory) can increase the effect of some blood thinners, while goldenseal (often taken to treat colds) can decrease the effectiveness. A nurse may also need to ask the surprised woman who finds herself pregnant while taking birth control pills if she has also been taking St. John’s Wort, an herb commonly used to fight the winter blues, and one that can also render birth control pills ineffective.

In this area JCCC offers a certificate in Complimentary and Alternative Medicine <<>>

Holiday Party Ettiquette

Stephanie Williamson — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 05:46:39 +0000

Going to a company holiday party while keeping your career intact can be challenging but if you keep some of these pointers in mind you should be OK.

Holiday parties can be varied depending on the company. Find out the atmosphere of the party so there are no surprises. Are dates allowed? Are children allowed? Find out the dress code, whether it’s business casual or quite dressy, so there are no awkward moments when someone walks in wearing slacks and a blouse when everyone is wearing dresses and tuxes.

Business etiquette expert, Hilka Klinkenberg, states, “the cardinal rule is to remember that no matter how festive the occasion, it’s still about business.” This is a business function. Keep in mind the bosses may be watching throughout the party just to see how people are interacting with one another.

Keep everything in moderation. This includes eating and drinking. Employees are not there to enjoy the immaculate food in mass quantities, they are there to socialize and network. But on the flip side, eat or drink something. If nothing is consumed, this might come off as a snub to the committee that put the party together.

Dr. Randall S. Hansen, Ph. D., founder of Quintessential Careers, advises employees to keep drinks or small plates of food in the left hand. That way the right hand is free for greeting people and the person won’t get a cold, wet handshake or a dirty one either.

Do not pass up the holiday party invitation unless absolutely necessary. Dr. Hansen advises employees to stay at least 30 minutes but also not to stay too long. Leave while it’s still fun, but before it starts to drag on. Nobody will look kindly upon employees who dance, party and socialize into the wee hours.

If spouses are invited, make sure they’re briefed on who certain people are and possibly the people to try and keep their distance from. The employee’s spouse is probably keyed in on the details, good and bad, of the office. They probably know things they shouldn’t. Remind the spouse what they can and cannot bring up, who the executives are and how to pronounce their names.

Team Work

Stephanie Williamson — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:10:15 +0000

It is really great when Doctors acknowledge that nurses and doctors are a team. KU hospital has a newsletter From Your RN newsletter that goes out to Doctors, Fellows, and Fourth-Year Medical Students. Nurses sometimes receive new medical updates so it is great when RN’s can write articles to inform doctors for a change.

Chief Medical Information Officer Greg Ator, MD, also endorsed the newsletter.

“Nurses and doctors are part of a team. The doctor’s life and the life of the nurse are intertwined around the patient. This newsletter will allow for better communication in this time of great change for doctors and nurses. Our patients will benefit and so will our nurses,” Ator stated.

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What is a Medical Assistant?

Stephanie Williamson — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:35:27 +0000

The clinic I work in mainly has nurses running the clinics but we have medical assistants to help room patients, assist with procedures, schedule tests,stock rooms, and clean instruments. They rarely return patient phone calls, usually the nurses take care of this, prescription refills, patient education, lab results,and surgery scheduling and more, much more!

I am not sure why but all the things I listed that a medical assistant should be doing in our clinic is not being done! I’m pretty sure that they were taught the basic stuff like rooming patients and gathering pertinent information for the provider but some of the medical assistants in our clinic cannot even do that. I have tried on several occasions to teach them how to properly do this and it still cannot be done. The American Association of Medical assistants states that they should be able to do this :

Taking medical histories
Explaining treatment procedures to patients
Preparing patients for examination
Assisting the physician during the exam
Collecting and preparing laboratory specimens
Performing basic laboratory tests
Instructing patients about medication and special diets
Preparing and administering medications as directed by a physician
Authorizing prescription refills as directed
Drawing blood
Taking electrocardiograms
Removing sutures and changing dressings

Wow! I bet only 1-2 out of the 4 Medical assistants know what all of this means.

If any of you read this, please tell me your horrible MA stories or better yet the Good MA’s stories to help us believe that there are good ones out there! and that maybe our clinic will hire one.

Humor of the Day

Stephanie Williamson — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:30:58 +0000

Mammogram Guidelines

Stephanie Williamson — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 03:20:32 +0000

I came home, made dinner and then sipped on wine and read the paper. The first article that caught my eye was the article on how women should stop getting mammograms at age 40 and wait until age 50. I am repulsed by these statements. The fact is that preventive testing is never wrong. The people behind this are not interested in the patients! Telling women not to get tested is taking away their opportunity to live. The outcome of breast cancer depends on how advanced it is when it is diagnosed. So wouldn’t it make sense for women to start getting checked earlier? I brought this up to a friend of mine(nurse) that works in ob/gyn, she said her providers were really upset and they are all still encouraging women to have mammograms starting at age 40.

Here is an article I read on medicine.net :

Women Should Ignore New Mammogram Guideline, Ex-NIH Chief Says

By Karen Pallarito
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Nov. 23 (HealthDay News) — The fallout from last week’s controversial recommendation that women delay the start of routine mammogram testing for breast cancer continues, with a former head of the U.S. National Institutes of Health advising women to ignore the guidelines. <<>>