Welcome to my blog about health, nursing, caring, kindness and positive change. Our world is full of such negative influences and bad choices, today is the day to make a positive change both physically and mentally in your life.
ERNursesCare is a blog incorporating my nearly 30 years of experience in the healthcare field with my passion for helping others, I want it to encourage others with injury prevention, healthy living, hard hitting choices, hot topics and various ramblings from my unique sense of humor. Come along and enjoy your journey......
Nurses Week each year is a family affair, as nurses we feel a bond to each other. Working side-by-side as individuals or as a team, nurses share some of the most demanding, precious and life-changing moments together. We share new life, triumphant miracles, horrific trauma and of course death of the patients we live each day to take care of. Nurses around the world share a consistent knowledge and passion that only a nurse feels .....knows......lives.....
How many of you have bonded with a special nurse that you may have worked with and shared that common bond with?
Above: my bestie, we met in a class right before I started working in the ED.
My very best friend of nearly 28 years is just that nurse. We worked together in the emergency department for many years ....laughed and cried together as we grew into "seasoned " nurses. She has had my back, as I have had hers thru many life events, joys and sorrows. Even though we don't work
together anymore, we stay very close and I consider her my sister ( we even look alike...lol).
This year during National Nurses Week, the travel nurse company Fastaff celebrates just such relationships with a giveaway : two $500 gift cards for Southwest Airlines! How awesome is that?
To enter complete the form Here to nominate someone who is a part of your life... your nurse family.
Happy Nurses Week to nurses all over the world! Enter the giveaway today! You only have a day left to enter.....so hurry do it now!
Wow is all I can say, the names on this list are some incredible blogs that I have read and loved for a long time now, then I notice that my name is also on this list and all I can say is WOW! Yes I love being a nurse in the ER and can't imagine doing anything else as a career. So I wanted my blog to reflect that and inspire others into nursing. Congratulations to all nursing blogs on this list, everyone deserving of many awards.
Best Nursing Blogs
1. Johns Hopkins School of Nursing Blogs feature a wide variety of perspective from their various bloggers. The blogs are written by some of the foremost minds in the nursing field and offer insights into both the worlds of practice and academia.
2. Codeblog is one of the oldest and most consistent nursing blogs out there, dating back 11 years. Codeblog very simply covers the nursing experiences of its writer and records them for the entertainment and education of others in the field or considering it.
3. Nurse Barb is a very popular advice blog that covers a wide range of treatment options for common ailments. The blog stands as a good example of the sort of niches available to nurses interested in blogging.
5. RehabRN features the thoughts and experiences of a rehab nurse. The blog is engaging and shares stories of both success and failure, seeking always to provide the reader with a realistic sense of the job.
6. Madness: Tales of an Emergency Room Nurse features tales from the emergency room, and the perspective of a nurse working in this necessarily high pressure environment. The blog features topics from stories derived from personal experience, to advice for surviving the day to day insanity of the ER.
7. Health Care Renewal is focused on addressing major issues that threaten to compromise the core values of the health profession. The blog turns an especially critical eye on management and the centralization and abuse of power.
8. Provo School Nurses is a collaborative blog run by a collection of school nurses from the Provo Utah area. These nurses share insight into the lives of school nurses, and advice for nurses in or considering the school nurse field. The blog also features posts centered on providing resources for local readers. This blog is a great example for school nurses looking to maximize their impact on their local community.
9. Tales of a School Zoned Nurse features the stories and thoughts of a school nurse. This is a more intimate, personal look at school nursing. The tone of the blog is light, with a good sense of humor.
10. Diary of a School Nurse is all about what really goes on in the nurse’s office. The blog features stories about and advice dealing with the unique day to day situations faced by school nurses everywhere. Many of the posts are in a poetic form, which gives the blog a unique feel.
11. Nurse Education seeks to provide a place where debate and discussion about the nursing profession, and nurse education in particular, can be had. The blog tackles all of the major nurse education issues, and the impact of those issues on the field of nursing in general.
12. A Journey Through Nursing School and Beyond chronicles the journey of a nurse pursuing her BSN degree. The blog deals a lot with the unique challenges of working a nurse’s difficult schedule, and balancing that with school and life.
13. The Makings of a Nurse is all about taking readers on the journey of nursing by communicating the writer’s thoughts and experiences of day to day life as a nurse. While the blog is primarily about nursing, it also throws in posts dealing with the world outside the workplace.
14. Ten Centimeters and Beyond is the blog of a night shift labor and delivery nurse that works in a mid-sized hospital. The blogger is also a mother who has experienced many of the challenges of pregnancy on a personal level. She shares insights from both the medical and personal side of pregnancy and birth.
16. On Call RN… is all about the makings of an ICU nurse. The blog shares stories as well as commentary and analysis from a nurse’s perspective on medical issues and other topics.
17. The Nurse Practitioner’s Place features the musings of a nurse practitioner who practices in a rural area. This mother and grandmother received her degree in 2007 and her enthusiasm for this career she arrived into later in life shows in her insightful and well written blog.
18. Nurse Practitioner Business Owner Blog is a unique blog where this nurse practitioner shares insights on the business side of nursing. The blog is focused on providing resources and support nurse practitioners in private independent practice.
19. Adventures of a PICU Nurse Practitioner has two areas of focus. One is relating stories and insights derived by this nurse practitioner from her time working in the PICU. The other focus is on how she sees life outside of work, and how her profession affects her day to day life.
20. The NP Mom brings both the perspective of a Nurse Practitioner and a mother to the table. The blog tackles major issues of health and parenting such as eating disorders, type II diabetes in children, and online RN to BSN education.
21. ER RN brings readers advice an experiences from an ER night shift nurse. The blog recognizes that being a night shift RN takes a certain kind of person. Anybody considering night shift nursing should read this, and anybody that does night shift nursing will find a kindred spirit.
22. ER Nurses Care is the blog of Leslie Block, and she loves being an ER nurse. She cares about her patients, about her co-workers, and about people on the internet she has never met. Her blog has some stories, but mostly advice, tips on staying healthy and developing healthy habits no matter who you are or what you do, but especially if you are an ER nurse with a demanding and often fluctuating schedule.
24. My Strong Medicine followed the blogger on his journey through his graduate education in nursing and now continues to follow him as he makes the transition from the Master’s in Nursing to a new level in the field.
25. Digital Doorway features the musings of Nurse Keith on the nursing profession, coaching, healthcare, and more. The blog features articles on the importance of self care, book reviews, and stories about day to day events in the life of a nurse.
26. Not Nurse Ratched features fresh new perspectives on the field from a young up and comer who was inspired to go to nursing school after being a medical editor for most of her career. This web savvy, politically incorrect, tattooed and pierced ER nurses offers an edgier view on everything from nursing to photography to Apple products to pit bulls.
28. Life in the NHS is written by a 30 year veteran of nursing. While she no longer works in nursing directly, she maintains the blog and offers insights and perspectives on developments in the field from an experienced point of view.
29. The Nerdy Nurse features articles on everything from eating healthy, to building a great RN resume. The blog is light on stories and skews more toward posts about life in general and useful tips for fellow nurses.
30. JParadisi RN’s Blog is an eclectic blog that ties in science, art, and humanity to the profession of nursing, viewing the field through a variety of unique perspectives.
Summer time injuries that come into the Emergency Department can vary from very minor to horrible and traumatic. A mixture of the heat, late nights, holiday parties, alcohol, summer sports and the water/water sports can cause many different injuries in ages from very young all the way up to our elderly seniors. As an ER nurse I am amazed each summer with the trouble people can get themselves into. The poor choices they can make, the stupidness they can exhibit and how selfish parents can be sometimes when they choose to not watch their children. For pete's sake people use your brain some time, you do have one you know.
According to Colin Dircks, M.D., an emergency medicine physician at
Piedmont Hospital in Georgia, three of the most common summer injuries are
heat-related illness, head injuries and fireworks-related injuries.
“Heat cramps are common in the summer months and are caused by loss
of sodium and other electrolytes. We see heat exhaustion and as heat
illness progresses, you can develop nausea, headaches and even heat
stroke,” says Dr. Dircks. With heat stroke, “the body core temperature
elevates significantly – oftentimes more than 104 degrees Fahrenheit.”
To avoid heat-related illnesses, Dr. Dircks recommends “staying hydrated and replacing lost sodium by drinking sports drinks.”
In addition to heat-related illness, head injuries also increase in
warm weather months. “The most common activity during the summer months
responsible for head injuries is bicycle accidents,” he says. “Water
sports-related injuries are also very common and are responsible for
almost 30,000 ER visits annually. It is very important if you have a
pool that children are under supervision at all times. Be sure to
minimize horse play in and around the pool.”
When it comes to fireworks-related injuries, “these are commonly
burns, foreign bodies, or lacerations, predominately in the hands,
fingers and eyes,” says Dr. Dircks.
And be cautious with so-called “safe” fireworks, especially around
children. “People think of sparklers as ‘safe’ fireworks and often give
them to kids,” says Dr. Dircks. “They burn at about 1,000 degrees
Fahrenheit and we see a lot of burns associated with them. They are
responsible for as many ER visits as firecrackers.”
Stay tuned tomorrow for those dangers of fireworks
What is in your bag? As a mom myself I carry a bag or some kind of pocket book every where I go. I am ashamed to tell anybody what I found in mine
today, lots of items that would harm any small child that might get into my bag. So I am doing some heavy spring bag cleaning today! You should too!
The Great folks here at The Poison Center have lots of info on their website, one is this http://www.ncpoisoncenter.org/workfiles/Poison%20Purse_compressed.pdf
"Poison Purse" pdf that shows you exactly what might be dangerous in your purse.
One of the best resources in our area here is our Poison Control Center at Carolinas Medical Center, areas all over the country also have Poison Control Center's and the main number can get you the right information.
As an ER nurse I have utilized the services of our poison control center many times over and can not say how pleased with the expert care and compassion they have given both the professional and the patients who call them. Visit the website today for great info http://www.ncpoisoncenter.org/
I think every ER nurse has had an Ectopoopy moment, that moment when your gut just tells you that the patient that just walked into triage is the patient you need to address first. He might be looking sorta grey, sweating, clutching his chest, or maybe not at all. The female patient might just have very vague complaints like, sudden dizziness, weakness, shortness of breath or abdominal pain. We girls are stubborn and wait out our symptoms until its to late. I have always told my family that they will most likely step over me on the floor having my big MI because I was to stubborn to listen to my own body's symptoms. I can just hear them now, "Mommy" I'm hungry, get up off the floor.
An ER nurse's gut instincts are a gift from above, listen to your gut when it tells you to act on something. Anytime I have ignored my gut, my patient has suffered for it. No one should ever put you down for following your gut instincts as a patient advocate, we are nurses because we care for people, that's our job.
Have a great weekend and remember to smile at your fellow co-workers today!
