A Nurses Wishlist...

Now, I know this sounds ridiculous: a nurses' wishlist. Blame the Pollyanna optimist that I tend to be if you must, but I'm quite sure I speak to everyone for every nurse out there when I say this.... well almost:

1.) I wish for more hospital transportation assistance - day and night. It's damn near impossible to get help during the day moving a patient from the ICU to another room... imagine the night shift.
2.) While on transportation: I wish ICU transfer's trumped all other's in the hospital. We don't move 100 people in/out a day, but when we do move someone, it's likely an urgent matter for the person who needs to come in. OH, and if we can't get a "Resource Nurse" for the critical care department... maybe just a few to float around the hospital to help turn, transport, go to procedures etc...
3.) I wish for compliant Dialysis patients. I know it has to suck having dialysis. It's probably eternal torture waiting and waiting and waiting for a kidney transplant... BUT DO WHAT YOUR DOCTOR/NURSES SAY! There are just reasons for fluid restrictions, low sodium diets and regularly scheduled dialysis appointments. Not going to dialysis because you "don't feel like it" is pure stupidity... emergent dialysis isn't a picnic and practically drowning in your own body fluids has got to be freaking SCARY! Why do so many KEEP doing it?!
4.) Also - take care of your fistulas.
5.) Go to the bathroom when your nurse asks if you need to go. Likely, we have time to help you now.... not 15 minutes from now when you finally call out asking for help. Yes, it's kind of like when you make your kids "go" even when they say they "don't have to go".... something will always come out. Usually. 
6.) Keep a record of your medications. This includes dosage and frequency. Also, it's nice to include herbals too. You never know if we're going to need it. 
7.) While you're healthy and of sound mind, make a living will and designate a Power of Attorney (POA) and/or Healthcare Power of Attorney. Especially if you're not married to this person. Legally, your next of kin is your decision maker whether you want them to be or not if you don't have LEGAL documentation authorizing someone else. Just do it. I know you think this won't happen or you won't need it... but this lack of documentation creates a mess for everyone involved. 
7a.) If you're gay and living in a state that doesn't yet recognize gay marriage, DO THE PAPER WORK! 
8.) I wish for online scheduling.
9.) I wish for 6 week scheduling.... 6 weeks ahead.
10.) Smile. Say thank you. Be kind. This is for everyone. Patients. Doctors. Nurses. Transportation. Dietary. Pharmacy, etc .... we're all a team. We all work hard. 
11.) I wish for Computerized MARS.
12.) Keep your weight in check. Yes - the BMI calculation works too. Yes, I'm strong... but I'm certainly not strong enough to move 100kg of flaccid body weight up and around a bed alone. So if you would like to be moved regularly, watch your weight and keep it within HEALTHY levels please.
13.) I wish Starbucks delivered to the nearest hospital every afternoon between 1 and 4pm and for the night shift-ers, when they close the stores.
14.) Better yet, I wish family members would ask their nurses more often if we too would like a cup of joe to sip on when they go to get theirs. :)
15.) I wish for more nursing education assistance.... for higher ed and/or unit based. 
16.) Free water bolus' for each nurse every 2 hours. This chronic dehydration mess we're all in at work is making us grumpy and wreaking havoc on our skin. 


Love, Your Nurse

Okay... well, that's all I've got for now. Fellow nurses: Feel free to add on......

Workout Wednesday: Forward LUNGE

Okay - Everyone loves great legs and a tight toosh.

So, if you want those things... Lunges HAVE to be a part of your workout routine. There are MANY forms of lunges, but we'll start here:

Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your hands on your hips. Step forward with your right leg and slowly lower your body until your right knee is bent at least 90 degrees. Push back to the starting position and repeat with your left leg. That's one rep.

Eventually, try doing Walking Lunges. You can even add light weights. Just always remember to keep your head up, your CORE STRONG and ENGAGED, and your knee never goes over your big toe.

Motivational Monday

We all have those days where we don't "feel like" doing our workout. But today isn't one of them. GET OVER IT. Face it. One day, you might not be able to get out of that chair without help. Hell, you might not even be able to walk. Get up and get OUT THERE doing what you CAN do! :) 

God gave us this body to keep it. If you don't use it, you will loose it. 

Here's to a successful week Friends!! :) You CAN DO IT! 

Pour me a cup... maybe two.

Well, it took me a few years AFTER college to develop a love for good coffee. I still have just as much soy or almond milk as coffee usually... but regardless, I love it and now can't imagine my life without our Keurig. Saw this article regarding five benefits of coffee... besides productivity and alertness. :)

And it's better while you sip your coffee as you read. Enjoy!

Delia Lloyd

5 Reasons to Drink Coffee

Posted: 10/7/11 08:45 AM ET

Ever have one of those mornings where you wake up, jump in the shower, turn on the radio and hear the best news you've gotten in ages?


No, not world peace, but close.

Apparently, coffee is now good for you. It holds a host of physical -- not to mention psychological -- benefits which scientists are only now beginning to appreciate.

In a household where our espresso machine holds a hallowed place, this is definitely grounds for rejoicing. I haven't been this excited since I learned that sugar made a comeback.

So hear ye, hear ye: Five reasons to drink (more!) coffee:

1. It reduces depression in women. This just in. A new study out of Harvard University shows thatwomen who regularly drink coffee -- the fully caffeinated kind -- have a 20 percent lower risk of depression than nondrinkers. This comes on the heels of previous research showing that the risk of suicide decreases with increased coffee consumption.

2. It lowers the risk of lethal prostate cancer in men. But it's not just the ladies who will benefit from more java. In another study out of Harvard (what are they drinking there? ahem!), men who drank six or more cups per day had a 60 percent lower risk of developing the most lethal type of prostate cancer, and a 20 percent lower risk of forming any type of prostate cancer compared to men who did not drink coffee. Given that prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men, that's nothing to sneeze at.

3. It may protect against head and neck cancers. A study from the University of Utah showed that people who drank more than four cups of coffee a day had a 39 percent decreased risk of cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx combined, compared with those who didn't drink coffee. Regular consumption of coffee has also been linked to a lower risk for brain tumors, reduced rates of colorectal and endometrial cancer, as well as liver cancer and cirrhosis.

4. It may ward off Alzheimer's disease. Several studies looking at how caffeine affects brain development in mice have confirmed that caffeine significantly decreases abnormal levels of theprotein linked to Alzheimer's disease. When aged mice bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer's disease were given caffeine -- the equivalent of five cups of coffee a day -- their memory impairment was reversed, according to a report issued by the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Centre. Should these results be replicated on humans, it might suggest coffee as an effective treatment for this disease, rather than just a protective strategy.

5. It appears to stave off diabetes. Numerous studies have shown that coffee may be protective against Type 2 Diabetes, although the precise mechanism is not well understood. An analysis in the Archives of Internal Medicine, for example, found that people who drink three to four cups of coffee a day are 25 percent less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than those who drink fewer than two cups. In the U.S. alone, nearly 24 million children and adults -- nearly 8 percent of the population -- have diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of the disease and accounts for about 90 to 95 percent of these cases.

Whether these studies will prove robust in coming years -- or be cancelled out by some of caffeine's adverse effects on things like sleep and high blood pressure -- remains to be seen.

But I'm going to blithely hedge my bets and carry on enjoying my cuppa (or two).

Latte or Cappucino?

Follow Delia Lloyd on Twitter: www.twitter.com/realdelia

Naked Toilet Paper?!

UGH! I have to get this off my chest. I hate this commercial:

I'm sure you've seen it. It's ridiculous.

How long has society lived without this additional piece of decorative clutter in our bathrooms!?!? UGH! Now this commercial makes it seem like you're an idiot if you don't "respect" the stupid toilet paper roll. I mean, yes, it is used to clean some of our... ummm more delicate areas and I don't condone using a roll that's been sitting on the ground or that's fallen in the toilet and is now dry ( ICK! I get a little grossed out thinking about this now... but I swear there were rolls in middle/high school just like this we had to use).



BUT REALLY?! A Cover?!





Okay - I feel better. Anyone else?

Workout Wednesday: X's

It's been a while since I last provided a GOOD workout idea.  This one has ALWAYS been one of my favorites... even my old neighbors and work out partners, Shameka and Jordan (her daughter) can testify. 'Meka loved to hate this one when we'd do it... but Jordan was always there to tell us it'd make our butts look good!

HA! I miss that loud mouth Jordan!!

Yesterday in our warm-up moves I asked for volunteers and one of the girls chose this one!! I like to call this move, the X-Jump-Squat.  Like always, it's a muscle multi-tasker and great to add on to a circuit for a cardio boost.

As the pictures show:

• A. Start in a low squat position with your legs apart. 
• B. Jump UP and OUT creating an "X" with your body. 
• C. Back to the starting position. Repeat.   

I also like to do these with my feet/knees together in the squat position. It's a bit more work on the abductor muscles and the quads, but it's a nice way to change it up for a different challenge.

Mix this move in to your running/walking routine or while you're lifting to help keep up your calorie burn. I also recommend setting a goal of 10 reps to start. Eventually do timed intervals or max out until you just can't do any more. :)

Shiny and "new"

Okay - Soooooo I'll admit. I've lacked LOTS of motivation recently. I'm worn slap out about 80% of the time and the rest of it I'm blaming lazy. I swear I probably get in 10 miles a day at work. Seriously. Well, maybe not quite 10... but really, I should check it one day. I easily get in 5 miles.

ANYWAY!

Finding motivation has been challenging... Todd and I are both just doing our thing lately. Run, work, eat, maybe workout, sleep, repeat. Honestly, it's boring. HA! But this week was different!!

I FINALLY got to be "Coach Amanda" to 32 elementary school girls participating in Girls on the Run! It was awesome!! I missed our first week due to my work schedule, but after a few butterflies in my stomach and a whole lot of "I don't have a clue what's going on".... the school bell rang and the girls slowly trickled out to the black top behind the school. Each one with big eyes, messy hair, smiles and rushing to put their bags up to come meet me! (I had beat the other coaches to practice.)

They FLOCKED to me!! It was almost like bugs to a light bulb. Each one with the same question: "Are you the NEW COACH!?!?!" Happily I said "YES! I'm one of your new coaches! My name is Amanda."

A few ran their fingers through my redheaded ponytail. Others grouped together to talk about me. Some told me I looked like I could run "really fast". One even told me "I was cool". A few held my hands. One tried to pick me up. It went on and on...

I was on cloud nine all afternoon.

We went through our activities and started our running activity. These girls were so amazing! Of course, there were a few rowdy gals... but for the most part, I've never met a more well mannered group of little ladies in my life. I don't think I stopped running the entire time (Not what I would say of my fellow coaches though!), which I believe helps to make me "different" to the girls. I'm also not a "mother" yet... which helps, I think.

Regardless, I raced the fast girls. I skipped with the little girls. I held hands with a team of 5 while they ran their lap TOGETHER as a TEAM (this group was the ONLY one of all 6 small groups to consistently stay together as a team). I taught 3rd graders how to do push-ups. I praised each and every little smiling face the I saw moving. I joked with them. Made silly faces. Jogged with "the last one" of the group. Teased my fellow coaches for not running...

And before we all knew it. Time was up! :) I still am not quite sure who was more upset that the day was over, me or the girls?!

Several of the girls made sure to introduce me to their parents. But one girl, "Jules", had started to leave and suddenly stopped, told her mom she forgot something, turned around and came to me smiling and said "Coach Amanda, I'm so glad you're my coach" and was gone as quickly as she had come.


Only thing is, I'm SOOOO HAPPY to be their "Coach"! After one day, they've already lifted my spirit and motivated me beyond words!!


I knew GOTR would be amazing.... but actually, amazing hardly describes it.