Hawaiian

Great article about how EMS rules in some cities are jeopardizing patient care. http://nycrn.blogspot.com/2010/06/cant-get-cab-hail-ambulance.html

Weird yet informative. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz7YIxL-D-U

I wanted to see if anyone else felt the same way.

This post was particularly pertinent given the whole mammogram debate.

[from the nursing blog PEE AND SYMPATHY] Once, I witnessed an RN's final, solemn march. Many years ago, while working in an ICU in the hills of San Francisco, I sat at the monitors and observed Jerry pushing a very heavy hospital bed across the unit by himself (as you know, nurses often work alone). His struggle, personified in an extremely thin frame pillaged by AIDS, refused to quit working. He was an ICU Nurse devoted to his career and wanted to pay off his debts before his death. This nobility couldn't overcome his attacker, however, and he died a week later. His ashes were thrown into the Bay by a handful of nurses who had become his de facto family. I remember his cool-headed approach to his illness and his mortality. "RN's aren't built to break," he would say. He was committed to his work ethic in an environment that encouraged an honest, open approach to illness, even when it was one's own. I'm writing this story not to embellish sad thoughts or gloomy moralizing, but to simply acknowledge the strenuous endeavors of an epic career filled with good fellowship and camaraderie. There's a big difference between the West and East Coast and I'm sounding the alarm....ringing the bell and clanging the trolley. I had been on vacation and upon my return I asked my colleagues, "Where's Grace? I haven't seen her in a while," and was met with a disquieting "SHHHH!" "Be quiet," I was told. "What are you talking about?" I persisted. "What's the matter with Grace?" I put on my mining cap and continued inquiring until I discovered the heartbreaking truth. "Grace has cancer," Miss Kimodo said. "She's terminal." (Stage 4 breast cancer) "Grace has too good a heart," I replied stunned and tormented. She is only 34, a wife and mother, and gifted with perennial cheer. She's a nurse who "has your back." Have you ever watched a Chinese family working together in a restaurant? It's very much like the excitement of a busy nurse's station. The pots and pans create a busy melody reflecting the hospital-ity of family. And there's always a child in the corner doing her homework. In my experience, it was Grace finishing her master's degree on any computer she could get her hands on. Ladies and gentleman of the nursing profession: Cancer is not a horrible secret or something "bad" that happened because of karma. It...just...is. In the tradition of honor and affection, and in the old-fashioned warmhearted style of nursing, I am reaching out to all those Amazing Graces. The RNs, LPNs and aides that you work with are your second family. Embrace the big picture. Breast Cancer should not be silenced. If it is, it will shut out all the good intentions of caring comrades. It will also inhibit the funding needed to search for a cure. Yesterday, I noticed for the first time in years the beautiful sunrise over NYC (I saw it from the Gold Coast of NJ, believe or or not). It carried with it all the residual colors of Autumn. And in its golden hue, I reflected on the words of an exquisite nurse: "RNs aren't built to break." ...patients and doctors should be thankful for that.

I believe the song is La Vida by Coldplay.

Here's a YouTube video of what the word "NURSE" really stands for! It's about time we get some public respect!

(from the blog "PEE AND SYMPATHY") I'm stepping up to the plate and out of the box. I'm a real Nurse: Not the kind of nurse who's stuck to the seat with Elmer's glue, or the clipboard nurse in a starched lab coat looking for errors, or even the nurse who is perpetually late. I am not an rn (resting nurse). I'm a Warlord Nurse, marinating in overtime, who fights for intergrity and compassionate care. Regarding lazy nurses and aides: A wise Nurse Chen once told me, "A crow is black all over the world." Then she would go into the pantry and eat bitter melon, (raw). Nurse Chen was hard-core, but she was hard-working and never suffered from indigestion (nor indignation). I eat bitter melon of a different kind. Every time I suffer the indignation of a physician who yells at me, I swallow... Every time a nurse's aide rolls their eyes when I ask for simple vital signs, I swallow... Every time a nurse hangs up on me when I'm trying to give report, I swallow... I protect and serve. I am a healthcare soldier. I belong to the division called N.U.R.S.E. Necessary Unsung hero Resilient Selfless Essential It begins with us...and ends with us. We take all the bitter melons and make melonade. I am stepping up. And I am demanding respect. I'm a real N.U.R.S.E. Can I get an Amen?