alan headbloom

A male's legal partner is his husband. A female's legal partner is her wife. "Spouse" would be simpler for forms if it doesn't matter the gender.

In German, the old term is Krankenschwester (sickness-sister). In modern times, it's been changed to Krankenpfleger (sickness-caregiver), which is akin to the gender neutral "fireman-firefighter" (or "stewardess-flight attendant") switch. In Portugu...

Etymology: Middle English norice, norce, nurse, from Anglo-French nurice, from Late Latin nutricia, from Latin, feminine of nutricius 'nourishing' Language evolves over time. In another generation, the people who say "male nurse" will have passed on...

Our interdisciplinary team is putting together materials and exercises to teach health science students Cross-Professional Competence (CPC): concepts of communicating between members of the health care team, awareness of roles of the various team mem...

Thanks for the great feedback. Our team has gotten hold of a set of instructional handouts and DVDs (not cheap!) from the University of Toronto. (The Canadians seem to be leading on a host of cross-/inter- studies/initiatives.) From the half-dozen...

I think with some minor edits, this can be sent out to: * Dear Abby, Dear Miss Manners, Ask Heloise * the Hospital's monthly newsletter * the Letters to the Editor in your local paper * several nursing journals Points well taken, and the publ...

This is not true. There's not "a ton." There is one. Cmonkey left out one article (a), probably a typo. Just sayin'.

Vicky, I was thinking of using some of this in a workshop on giving PowerPoints. Whom do I credit? You? Others? Thanks, Alan

Dear NurseThis21, I admire your personal and professional pride, your pluck, and your willingness to address an issue which most Americans--even after the election of an African American President--are reluctant to talk about. However, I must respect...

Unfortunately, denial is one coping mechanism that families employ. The woman was lucky to have you in her corner. You did a great service for her. We just said goodbye to my dad this fall after 2 months with hospice. Happily, we were all on the s...

When my wife was in med school (in the 80s), they used to practice small procedures on classmates. She did more "personal" exams on her husband (at home), though.

That's why everyone should have an applied linguist in his/her corner! ;-)

Vicky, Good tips. One correction, though: sans serif is harder for non-native speakers to read. If the PowerPoint has large enough fonts and sharp projector focus, the serifs connect letters within words together and make them easier to process. I...

While the U.S. population is currently 34% "minority" (non-Anglo), only 10% of U.S. nurses are non-Anglo. Until there is a better representation across the board, there will be lots of racial misunderstandings. And, of course, even after racial/eth...

Multi, Be careful with self-study materials. You can learn phrases, but without a native-speaking coach, you won't know when to use your handful of expressions. Just because you can parrot a handful of phrases, doesn't guarantee you'll apply them i...

In East Asian cultures, the "volunteerism" exists in helping the inner circles first: family ---> friends ---> church or school community ---> village. The idea of helping out strangers (those outside of the innermost rings) is puzzling to ...

Thanks for taking the time to compile this, madwife. Great links and statistics!

1. ALL of us have communication handicaps. Some of us use $10 words or jargon--over the heads of our audience. Others have incorrect grammar and spelling (skim the 200+ posts above for plentiful examples). Others have accents which represent Bost...

Powerful sharing of an important point of view! Thanks for taking the time to tell your story.

Loved the skylight metaphor! Nice job. I wish your story had been longer. Can you tell us which of their beliefs you "did not agree with"?

Within the field of nursing, the term "transcultural" has been used for about two decades, first introduced by Madeleine Leininger. Her website: http://www.madeleine-leininger.com/en/index.shtml. If you can attend a training session or conference o...

Terrific story. Your presence in that community was a real blessing to the random Hispanic patients who wandered in for health care. Have you written your high school Spanish teacher to thank him/her? S/he would get a kick out of your letter!

You embraced the experience and learned a lot. Thanks for sharing with us. Great contribution to this series of essays!

Viva, You have opened many eyes--and maybe a few hearts--with this story. It's a challenge for ALL of us to step outside our own tribal raising and minister to others. I applaud your courage and conviction. You are indeed a Good Samaritan. Alan P....

Good job in a challenging situation! On an NPR interview with Diane Rheem this morning, an author talked about his book on survivors and what distinguishes them from others. According to his research, staying cool and not freezing (or overreacting...