by Nursetopia on April 30, 2012
by Nursetopia on April 28, 2012
Here are two more Nurses Week cards. Feel free to download, print, and hand out prolifically. The message of thanks and nurses-are-the-most-awesome-people-on-the-planet gratitude is yours to create, though.
Download this card.
Download this card.
by Nursetopia on April 16, 2012
Jedi Knight emblem
One of the most popular Nursetopia posts of all-time, ‘Star Wars’ Flavor to Dr. Patricia Benner’s ‘Novice to Expert,’ is a whimsical combination of nursing theory and pop culture. I love hearing from other nurses, and I was giddy to hear June Fouse, BSN, RN, CNOR, uses the metaphor to bring levity to her Peri-Operative 101 class. She took it one wildly-creative step farther, disseminating Jedi Alliance emblems for her students to tape to the back of their badges, serving as a secretive and celebrated touchstone within their inner circle of nurses. She learned more about the Jedi ranks, finding that the Jedi Knight must pass five tests – Trial of Skill, Trial of Courage, Trial of Flesh, Trial of Spirit, and Trial of Knowledge. Fouse explains, “All five of those are the trials we go through everyday in the OR, so were able to tie those into the process as well.” As nurses receive their emblems, they also receive a copy of the Jedi ranks and the Nursetopia Benner/Star Wars arrow. What an excellent way to teach and strengthen the tight-knit nursing culture within her peri-operative area.
June is rocking nursing care, education, and culture; I am proud to work alongside her.
The 1 in 3 Million series highlights individual nurses – diverse, frail, powerful, artistic, opinionated, daring – those changing their own lives and the lives of those surrounding them.
by Nursetopia on May 14, 2011
Many thanks to colleague, Julia Whitaker, MSN, RN, AOCNS®, for allowing me to share her poster, Using Social Networking to Engage Breast Care Nurses Worldwide, which was presented at the 36th Annual Oncology Nursing Society Congress in Boston last month. Needless to say, her poster leaped out at me, and it was definitely unique amongst all the others. Way to go, Julia!
Julia's poster was presented at the 36th Annual ONS Congress. Click to enlarge.
You can also download her poster to print or reference in your upcoming presentations and articles. Please do so!
by Nursetopia on March 26, 2011
It is always wonderful to be surrounded by brilliant colleagues, a loving family, understanding friends, and complete strangers that become instant connections simply through small but common bonds.
It’s fabulous to be around one of the aforementioned groups, but I have had the great opportunity to be around all of those people for the past two days. It has been – in one word – refreshing.
Amazing, isn’t it, what a simple conversation can do to lift your spirit or a touch can do to change your outlook? I am proud to say most of these people I am talking about are nurses – all around fun, caring people that have provided inherent care to me this weekend simply through relationships.
Shall I say it again? Nurses rock!
by Nursetopia on December 7, 2010
My heart was racing, the telephone was ringing, the chief nurse, Gertrude Arnest, was saying, “Girls, get into your uniforms at once, This is the real thing!”*
Today marks 69 years since the attack on Pearl Harbor. Nurses were instrumental on that fateful day. All things considered, the Pearl Harbor attack wasn’t that long ago. There are still many Navy and Army nurses alive to recount the day, and the military, family members, and media have captured numerous histories, giving us glimpses into the horror and the bravery of those nurses and servicemen dedicated to our country during that time.
For more personal nursing stories, check out U.S. Army Nurse Corps 2nd Lt. Harriet Moore, When Our Mothers Went to War, Monica Benning, and one of my personal favorites – a video made by a granddaughter about her grandmother and Navy Nurse, Grace Fay.
Thank you to these nurses and the other men and women who served at Pearl Harbor. We remember.
And thank you to those nurses and others currently serving our country at home and abroad.
*Read more of Lt. Ruth Erickson’s oral history of December 7, 1941.
by Nursetopia on August 11, 2010
South by Southwest interactive (SXSWi) will host a health track for the very first time in 2011. Sessions are selected based on a combination of a SXSW advisory board, SXSW staff, and votes.
Programming Selection(Image from SXSW)
The Panel Picker opened today, and a quick search reveals only two panels tagged with “nurse” or “nursing.” Say what?! The largest group of health care professionals is specifically represented in 2% of the session proposals?! Ouch.
The two sessions are Not Your Mama’s CNE: Transforming Continuing Nursing Education (full disclosure: I submitted this session with my organization, the Nurse Oncology Education Program.) and Why Nurses are Vital in Emerging Technology, submitted by nursing colleague Phil Baumann.
Nurses rock! (Okay, so I am completely biased.) Let’s make sure nurses and nursing are represented at the inaugural SXSWi health track. Swing by the Panel Picker, and vote.
Tomorrow begins Oncology Nursing Month, and next week (May 6-12) is Nurses Week. Have a finite amount of dough in comparison to the seemingly infinite amount of nurses around you? Here are some free and (very) low-cost ideas and printables to gift.
