It Might Sound Trite But…

Posted May 11th, 2021

This past weekend I had the chance to see some nursing friends I hadn’t seen in a while. All vaccinated and sitting at an outdoor table for brunch, it felt like no time had passed. Of course, over a year had gone by since we were able to sit face-to-face and enjoy each other’s company. […]

Pine Trees or COVID?

Posted September 2nd, 2020

Last weekend, I stayed in a tiny cabin at a campground near the beach. I knew I would be able to socially distance myself from others, while enjoying the outdoors and the late August weather. I knew the area well, and I took precautions, cleaned my living area, brought my own hand soap and utensils, […]

Face Mask 101: Cover Up!

Posted April 27th, 2020

There’s a lot to keep track of these days: numbers, stats, rates, counts, curves, precautions (something our cancer patients know all too well!) It seems we have had to, in some twisted turn of fate, become more focused on success and winning, even as life, as we know it, has halted. This success and winning, […]

Sideline Lessons

Posted March 31st, 2020

During a preseason basketball game in my freshman year of college, I tore just about every ligament and piece of cartilage in my knee. Destroyed it. Just like that, my “plan” for my college life had changed. For the next year and a half, I had 4 or 5 surgeries and countless hours of PT […]

The Year of the Nurse & Midwife

Posted January 21st, 2020

“Nursing is a progressive art such that to stand still is to go backwards.” -Florence Nightingale The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated 2020 as “The Year of the Nurse and Midwife.” They are doing so in honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the most famous nurse—Florence Nightingale! Both professions play such […]

Falls

Posted August 1st, 2019

One of the most common safety issues for cancer patients, both in the hospital and at home, is falls. While receiving treatment, side effects from medications can cause lightheadedness, dizziness, and weakness. Some of these effects, such as peripheral neuropathy (numbness/tingling in your hands/feet), fatigue, and deconditioning, can be a concern long after treatment has […]

Hospital Safety

Posted July 29th, 2019

Whether it is a planned or unexpected admission, being in the hospital can be a scary situation. There are a few things you can do before and during your stay that will help keep you safe, while giving you some much needed peace of mind. While you will have nurses, aides, physicians, pharmacists, and many […]

Nursing’s Strong Suit

Posted May 6th, 2019

I’m sure by now many of you have heard the clip or read about the Washington senator who, speaking about a proposed new law requiring uninterrupted lunch breaks for nurses, mentioned that nurses, “probably play cards for a considerable amount of the day.” As a nurse, obviously I was baffled by this statement…if not a little amused. […]

Sharing the Power of Palliative Care

Posted November 27th, 2018

There are some things you should learn in a classroom, and certain things that can only be truly understood once you’ve experienced them in real life. As a new-to-practice nurse on a medical-oncology unit, one such topic that presented itself within my first few days was that of the very real, very necessary, and truly […]

Lasting Connections

Posted September 4th, 2018

Over the course of my nursing career, I’ve met some truly incredible human beings. Like, people with whom you’d love to sit down and have a cold beer, or sit at their kitchen table over a meal. Those kinds of people—the ones who make your soul smile and warmth spring out of even the worst […]