Change of Shift: New Year, New Logo (Vol.3, No. 2)

Welcome to Volume 3, Number 2 of Change of Shift!

New year, new logo!

I tried, I really tried, to make a logo that wasn’t blue but I just could not do it.

I just love blue on blogs!

Many thanks to all who have contributed this week, and to those who contributed but don’t realize it yet!

As soon as I am done with this edition, I will be updating the CoS calendar to run through the end of the year. If you are interested in hosting an edition, just let me know!

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I’m going to start off with a nurse blogger who is so new, she only has three posts! Meet FlautoNP, a nurse practitioner who is also a flautist! She posts a hilarious video that happens to be The Best Way to Learn Arrythmias. Be sure to watch it to the very end. (She will also be rather surprised to find it on Change of Shift, but I saw this just could not resist! ) Welcome to the blogosphere!

Our Mother Jones tells us the conclusion of her recent work predicament in It’s Always the Nurse’s Fault, Part II at Nurse Ratched’s Place. (For those who missed it: Part I) Alas, no Las Vegas for her. (I can’t even think of Las Vegas without that atrocious “Viva Viagra!” commercial popping into my head! Ugh!)

I don’t know about you, but nursing has done a number on my back! A long time contributor to Change of Shift, Dean Moyer of The Back Pain Blog shares information about Aquatic Therapy for Back Pain. Be sure to check out the cartoon at the end - and make sure you have swallowed all beverages before you do! : D

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Miss Elaine gets her first patient with an acetaminophen OD in Acetaminophen: Good for Headaches, Bad For Liver. Don’t forget to send congrats her way as she has passed all tests and is officially an RN! You can find her blog at Miss-Elaine-ious,RN.

Jen Carroll was voted Valedictorian of her nursing class and presents a great post on Writing a Valedictory Speech. What is amazing, is much of what she wrote can work for any speech or even writing for your blog! The speech itself gave me goosebumps and took me back to my own pinning ceremony. Well done Jen, and congratulations. Her entry can be found on mendelbrot!.

Have a patient who is going to be laid up for awhile, or ever find yourself in that position? Just thinking about puts 10 pounds on me. In Forced to Rest? Watch your Weight!, Heather Johnson goes over some tips that can help your patients avoid weight gain associated with enforced rest. While Heather usually posts at NursingDegree.net, this post can be found at Lose That Tyre. Heather gets around! She also wrote a post on Relaxation Tips for Nurses at Stuffed Nurse. I’m not sure what a “stuffed nurse” is, but it’s pretty much how I feel after a pot luck.

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Over at NurseLinkUp there is an article by Keith entitled: Measles, Mumps and Rubella, Oh My! A great overview of vaccines for healthcare workers, It hit close to home as I just had all my titers checked. I’ve had measles, mumps, rubella, varicella - it’s a wonder we nurses-of-a-certain-age made it through childhood!

Katie Bee links to a story about overworked (and penalized) social workers as she wonders Could We Switch the Word Nurse for Social Worker? posted at Young and Restless Nurse. Sounds like they need mandated ratios.

The Nurse Came With the Room is a thought provoking post by Nurse Kathy at NurseConnect wondering just who will be held responsible for preventing the hospital-acquired conditions that will no longer be covered by Medicare/Medicaid. Weigh in with your opinion in the comments section. Then check out Kathy’s take on Nurses and the Media. Have we made any progress?

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What makes a nurse a “Professional”? Nurse Laura at Nurse Connect has some ideas in Professionalism: Is it Different in Our World? Are we different? Should we be different? Join in the conversation at Laura’s blog.

With an aging population, we will be caring for larger groups of older patients. Alvaro at SharpBrains looks Computerized Cognitive Assessments: Opportunities and Concerns. You’ll be surprised at who is using computerized cognitive assessments and why!

Okay, it’s official get-out-your-kleenex time. New nurse RNTed paints a vivid picture of critical care and connecting with her patient in Interventions and Outcomes posted at Vertical & Ventilating. Beautiful post

Oh man, Beka at Medscape Nurses read my mind when she penned Are You Ready to Quit Nursing? Surveys reveal that unbelievable numbers of us are ready to at least leave our current jobs. Find out what the survey said and discuss the state of your workplace!

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And that’s it for this edition of Change of Shift! Our next edition will be on August 7th right here at Emergiblog. Be sure to check out the schedule once it is up for future editions and hosts!

Thanks for reading!