Life of a Nurse

JANUARY 16, 2024

I attended a dear friend’s viewing last week, a man who touched many lives as an educator, cultural community leader, and a spiritually jolly man who left us; suddenly after a short illness. Afterwards, a friend who has been through many caretaking challenges for about a decade; we headed to an Irish pub, where we enjoyed a pint and reminisced about our friend no longer with us.

Long Term Care

Life of a Nurse

DECEMBER 3, 2023

Yes I know the holiday season is coming but it’s been a life altering period. Grief is a process, not a race, some days are fine and others a lot of tears flow. Bright spots have also occurred a new companion named Moose, a puppy growing in weight and quick witted smarts. Well, I didn’t want a dumb dog and the universe provided, some things I teach him and some he figures out himself.

Business

Life of a Nurse

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

This past week I attended the funeral of a dear friend and nursing colleague, and I participated in an honour guard as the nursing leader, wife, mother, daughter etc. was truly an exceptional individual. It was a full two days with the travel from the Toronto area over 4.5 hours by vehicle, visitation, the funeral mass, the cemetery service for internment and then the wake where laughs emerged more readily.

Life of a Nurse

AUGUST 9, 2023

A few friends were with me, all nurses, and we recalled some of the CPR events we have been involved in. A pivotal point to consider by all Nurses, Physicians, and Respiratory Therapists is that a patient may die even if the team did everything correctly. An underlying condition such as left outflow tract stenosis or blockage translates into limited to no effect when CPR is provided–optimal management aside, many sources reported up to 2019 a range of percentages of individuals making it t

Long Term Care

Life of a Nurse

JULY 13, 2023

Reading has been a lifelong love affair; to be literate and read for pleasure, school, or work has been a wonderful gift. I have a list of books I read and intend to read that many of you may find interesting; topics range from leadership, life view, controversy, and lifestyle. Also, some amazing fiction that entertained and made me ponder is included.

Leadership

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Life of a Nurse

JUNE 1, 2025

Nightingale noted that a pillar of nursing was dedicated to the preservation of cleanliness. One would hope that no one has to remind a nurse to come to work clean, nor to keep their patients clean, as this is a fundamental principle of nursing practice. She stressed the importance of removing dust using a damp cloth, avoiding the use of carpet, and of walls that are papered, plastered, or oil-painted.

Self-Care

Life of a Nurse

MAY 3, 2025

I am in the midst of moving, not a single-day event but more of a lengthy process that has stretched over a year. From signing on a realtor to facing the overwhelming task of 48 years of accumulated stuff to incorporating puppy traininga labour of loveI am experiencing a grief process as I adjust to my father no longer being available for sharing an idea or cheering his astute assessment of current affairs.

Business

Life of a Nurse

MARCH 10, 2025

These are turbulent times, yes. There have always been disasters, challenges, strife, and wars on a small and larger scale. I live in Canada, where we have great intentions but struggle with some of the necessary tasks to improve everyone’s life. Recently, we have been the target of the US president, who has determined we have not kept our border secure.

Military

Life of a Nurse

DECEMBER 28, 2024

I usually post a holiday blog post prior to the holidays and so it happens in my new retired status I’m busier than ever. I did assemble a tree to decorate the whimsical season though the headlines from the news tend to place a bucket of cold water on the Season’s Greetings we’re trying to engage in. More strife, more economic grimness, bah humbug would capture the mood most days.

Retirement