National Nurses Week is Coming Up

Are there any non-nurses who know that there is a National Nursing week in May? For those of you who didn't know, what is your reaction to this? Do you feel it's something that is important?

Nurses seem to be torn on this matter. In one way, it is nice to be recognized (officially) for the work we do. On the other hand, is it a way of appeasing nurses so they won't be so difficult for administration to deal with them? Some nurses feel that a recognition day or week is insulting - what about the other 51 weeks of the year?

What gets to them, I believe, is many facilities take this week to throw trinkets at the nurses, a few pens, a breakfast, maybe a vase of flowers at the desk. Of course, some facilities do much more elaborate things too. And, no matter how inexpensive or cheap a gift is, isn't a gift a gift? I'm not so sure.

I've heard people comparing Nurse Appreciation week to Mother's Day and Father's Day. Is this a fair comparison? Maybe not. Other than Administrative Assistant week (what used to be Secretary's Day) or Teacher's Appreciation week, there doesn't seem to be any other type of {insert profession here} Week. And, if you look at it, admin assistants, nurses, and teachers generally tend to be women. When was the last time you heard about Mechanical Engineer Week? Urban Planner Week? Plumber Week?

Whatever side of the argument you're on, it doesn't take much to appreciate a nurse. A smile, a thank you. A sincere appreciation of what it is nurses do to help people. That's from the general public. From the admins? More appreciation and understanding of what we do. Nix the stupid rules that some facilities have that do nothing more than foster hard feelings. Pay the nurses more. Hospitals say they don't have more money to spend, but how many of us have seen money spent on events, items, and issues that really could have been done without?

Volcano-Stranded and Low on Medications

People who take medications or use medical supplies (such as catheters or ostomy equipment) are encouraged to always bring along more than they would need for their stay. The reason has always been because you could get delayed or run into problems, and you may not necessarily be able to renew your prescription or obtain more supplies where you are.

This problem has been brought to light especially during the extended vacations, business trips, and other voyages out of home countries because of Iceland's volcano eruption and the massive closure of air space across parts of Europe.

While for some people, not taking their medications may only result in mild discomfort, for others, it can very well be life threatening. Take, for example, Sophie Longton, a woman from the United Kingdom who has been stuck in Malaysai since the air space has been closed. According to this BBC News article, 'My medication is running out', the 23-year-old woman who lives with cystic fibrosis, is coming dangerously close to exhausting her medication supply. This could be disastrous for her, especially since she is beginning to show signs of developing an infection.

What more could Ms. Longton have done? She traveled with extra medications, but how much extra is sufficient? One would hardly think that you would need more than a week of extra medication in case of emergency, right?

What about you? Do you travel with extra supplies or medications in case of emergency? What do you consider a safe cushion?

Should pregnant doctors work in abortion clinics?

Now this is a situation I never thought of. If a woman is going to have an abortion, is it a conflict or a problem if the doctor performing the abortion is obviously pregnant?

A doctor in the United Kingdom asks exactly that question in a piece she wrote for the medical journal, BMJ. Is it appropriate for an obviously pregnant doctor to be doing abortions? While she was doing rotations, she was assigned to work in an abortion clinic. She was seven months pregnant at the time.

The article was not about whether she wanted or did not want to terminate pregnancies, but the situation she found herself in:

Is it appropriate for patients to see a pregnant doctor for their termination of pregnancy appointment? Is it suitable to have an obvious reminder of the alternative consequence when patients are already facing a difficult decision? Pregnancy is a familiar sight in society, and some may argue it is inevitable that some patients will be seen by a pregnant doctor. Why then is it common for efforts to be made to arrange ultrasonography sessions for women wanting an abortion separate from routine antenatal scanning? (BMJ 2010;340:c867)

What do you think?

Contest for Diabetes Book Over at Gadabout Health

Just a quick drive-by post for today, Easter Sunday.

A writer friend of mine is doing a book blog tour about a book she wrote on living with diabetes, or more specifically, helping others live with diabetes: 21 Simple Things You Can Do To Help Someone With Diabetes.

She wrote a guest post for me over at Gadabout Health: Diabetes – Cherie Burbach Guest Post & Book Giveaway! So if you are interested in diabetes, because you or someone you know has it, you may want to either buy the book (link is above) or check out the post and see if you can win a copy.

Good luck!