FMM 1 17 14 Self-Efficacy

“Live as if you were living a second time, and as though you had acted wrongly the first time.”~ Viktor E. Frankl Studies show that you can predict a person’s ability to change a habit by the degree to which they believe in their ability to change.  Self-efficacy is the term given to that belief…

WHY CAN’T NURSES RUN THE SHOW?

Last week I reblogged Josephine Ensign’s Radical Hat-Burning Nurses Unite! because I was moved watching the Politics of Caring. The video, released in 1977, showed in Ensign’s words, “how little things have changed.” Nurses then were striking and joining unions in order to have “control over their jobs” and to promote safe and good nursing…… Continue reading WHY CAN’T NURSES RUN THE SHOW?

MEMORIES OF MICU

I recently toured a new state-of the-art medical building. The family/visitor side could have been a luxurious hotel. Original paintings by local artists hung on the walls of lounges with soft sofas and recliners illuminated by diffuse lightening. The operating rooms and intensive care units on the opposite side of the building, out of sight…… Continue reading MEMORIES OF MICU

I WAS THE ONLY ONE

I can’t believe I was the only one. In my last post I referenced The Truth About Nursing blog in which we are asked to write to two journalists who did not mention nurses in their article about Hillary Clinton’s hospitalization. The story read as if doctors were the only health professionals caring for her.…… Continue reading I WAS THE ONLY ONE

SILENT NO MORE

When will nurses cease to be invisible? The web site The Truth About Nursing discusses an article about Hillary Clinton’s hospitalization in which the author did not make one reference to nursing (MatthewLee, “Hillary Clinton hospitalized with blood clot,” Bloomberg Businessweek, December 31, 2012 *). The Truth About Nursing suggests if Clinton needed to be…… Continue reading SILENT NO MORE

NOT SURPRISING NURSES ARE THE MOST TRUSTED PROFESSIONALS

NURSES ARE THE MOST TRUSTED PROFESSIONALS This is from the Medscape Medical News Nurses Remain Nation’s Most Trusted Professionals Jenni Laidman  Dec 06, 2012 Authors & Disclosures Medical professionals are among the most trusted people in the United States, a new Gallup survey shows, with 85% of survey respondents ranking nurses highest for honesty and ethics, followed by…… Continue reading NOT SURPRISING NURSES ARE THE MOST TRUSTED PROFESSIONALS

VANISHED Part 2 of 3

When the clinic first opened last year, Margaret would saunter in holding Josie’s hand, pulling her along. While Margaret’s stringy hair and disheveled clothes reflected an indifference to her own appearance, Josie always looked neat. Like a treasured, well cared for doll. Her deeply wrinkled face blank but her blue eyes held a sparkle. She…… Continue reading VANISHED Part 2 of 3

VANISHED Part 1 of 3

A feverish Chicago summer ebbed into autumn. No telltale falling leaves signaled the change of seasons on this block of concrete walkways surrounding the massive twenty-story apartment building. I yanked open the heavy door. Inside the foyer, through the grimy glass doors, I noticed Margaret parking Josie, in her wheelchair, in front of the elevator.…… Continue reading VANISHED Part 1 of 3

UNCONVENTIONAL NURSING

    NAKED IN THE LABOR/DELIVERY ROOM Written by Ruth Donoghue Time: December in the early ‘90’s. Place: Nursery in a Catholic hospital where 5,000 babies pass through in a year. The call came from unit secretary. A nurse was requested as soon as possible to pick up a baby in delivery/labor room three. (Every…… Continue reading UNCONVENTIONAL NURSING