Life of a Nurse

JUNE 1, 2023

Best-laid plans survive until they’re acted upon, and all kinds of crap can occur. Not to be overly pessimistic, but my last blog entry has been challenging to bring fully to reality due to all that stuff of life. I related my intention to improve my fitness and intrinsic strength of my core due to a nurse’s back pain; indeed, I have reached that age where it’s not maintenance.

Work-Life Balance 188

Work-Life Balance 188

Life of a Nurse

APRIL 4, 2023

Since last August, I have been re-introducing exercise into my everyday life, or in this case, three times per week at 0600h. An exceptional coach modified the workouts and inspired me to achieve new goals, and she is now training to be a police officer (Great for her, meh for me). However, my body needs to be overhauled, and the health realities have crept up to the point it’s now, or my future will be more painful.

262

262

Life of a Nurse

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

Well, February is almost done, and locally the snow is falling; from inside, I’ll admit it’s pretty. The world needs a hug; the word compassion is required, but wars, inflation, mass murders, etc., sometimes make locating this essential value difficult. Last time the focus was on what nurses want, and the mood of nurses in Canada is one of patience wearing thin.

Preceptors 203

Preceptors Nurse Shortage Mental Health Education 203

Life of a Nurse

JANUARY 30, 2022

There was much hope for 2021 as we lined up for vaccines to mediate the effects of COVID-19, the easing of restrictions that gave us a window to gather in larger groups i.e., arenas and to celebrate the winter holiday of Christmas with family and friends. Then the year ended battered, bruised, and with a parting gift of a highly transmissible COVID-19 variant.

Long Term Care 100

Long Term Care Business 100

Life of a Nurse

FEBRUARY 15, 2022

I find February a paradoxical month, it’s the shortest in days yet it feels lengthy most times due to winter weather, the days remain short though if we’re fortunate the “mercury” rises and we can have a day with daresay warmth and that gives us hope. The groundhogs predicted a mix of outcomes; I go with Wiarton Willie who provided hope of an early spring.

Business 100

Business Leadership 100

Life of a Nurse

MARCH 3, 2022

As we absorb the day to day headlines of the latest sovereign nation to be invaded, we see nebulous infrastructure coming apart. The poignancy of young babes moved to basement shelters and nurses supporting their breathing efforts with bag-mask-ventilation. Communities function in a complex interplay of services provided i.e., water, sanitation, garbage pick up and essential services including police, fire, paramedics, and health care providers.

Health Outcomes 100

Health Outcomes Holistic Care Business 100

Life of a Nurse

APRIL 4, 2022

A month has literally flown by and the world is fraught with change, financial forecasts of inflation, income insecurity, weather events, and a weeks long conflict in eastern Europe. The time to pause and listen to the silence is a challenge, there are more demands on one’s time to get stuff done; in a timely manner, adapting to time constraints, and limited resources.

Communication 100

Communication Education 100

Life of a Nurse

MAY 3, 2022

In the area I live in; spring has been shy to show up for its grand stay, sometimes it’s a couple of days before the humidex readings are reported, sometimes it seems a few weeks, this year I refuse to wear my parka in May. Truly, no way, it’s nothing against parkas it’s the principle Mother Nature is to deliver warmer days with sunshine, not chilly, grey days.

Leadership 100

Leadership 100

Life of a Nurse

JUNE 21, 2022

It’s been busy these past few weeks as my elder parent entered a new phase of life, dialysis at home. The transition to manage a chronic condition with medications and monitoring is now living in a home that looks more like a supply room. Boxes and boxes keep coming, my elder is also in transition–his grail is to improve the quality of his day to day life.

Self-Care 100

Self-Care Business Nurse Manager 100

Life of a Nurse

SEPTEMBER 9, 2022

How we see complexity science in nursing can depend on your age and ongoing education. Recent graduates have met complexity science in their education programs and in the style of their teachers transfer of knowledge. In the uptake of knowledge the assessments we make describe an individual patient’s symptoms. From the diagnosis and their presentation we can have insight into their outcome with an illness, taking into account severity, timelines, response to treatments, and other co-existi

Business 130

Business Leadership Education 130

Life of a Nurse

NOVEMBER 1, 2022

As fall winds by I find this time of year conducive to reflection. Whether personal goals, professional status, and the world. Perhaps it’s my method of organizing life events, as the blogs the past few months have explored the concept of complexity. The pandemic with mandates, closures, and daily uncertainty has receded; the virus COVID-19 continues to affect hundreds indeed thousands every day.

Long Term Care 100

Long Term Care Retirement Mental Health Nursing Burnout 100

Life of a Nurse

DECEMBER 6, 2022

It’s now December and though the weather outside is less than frightful the daily headlines of “tridemic” patients, especially children, are scary. The dire view that health care is on the verge of collapse is unhelpful, our leaders in government and facilities/agencies/hospitals/Local Health Networks need some swift measures to emerge from this daresay disaster.

Nurse Shortage 100

Nurse Shortage Mental Health 100

Life of a Nurse

JANUARY 22, 2023

As the headlines continue to profile the shortages of nurses in Canada, it is sobering to recognize my province has the lowest RN to population ratio in the nation even before the pandemic. The provincial government trumpets that the highest number of new nursing registrations have been processed, but there is denial that the nursing ranks are in dire straits.

Clinical Nurse Specialist 130

Clinical Nurse Specialist Work-Life Balance Self-Care Retirement 130