Ask Nurse Alice

Nurse.org, the largest website and community of nurses online, announced the winners of its annual Nurse ICON Awards which recognize the best products, entertainment, careers, influencers, and issues that were most important to nurses in 2021. The Nurse.org community nominated and voted for the winners.

See the full list of finalists on Nurse.org

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 With one in eight women who will experience breast cancer in their lifetime, it's extremely important that we keep screening and early identification and treatment on the top of mind. As a woman, not only do I need to know for myself but also for my patients. 

And so what happens when the nurse who cares for patients with breast cancer, gets breast cancer herself? Can we keep the same energy and positivity we give our patients? Hint - it's hard but this episode's guest, Natasha Rossi, a pediatric and oncology registered nurse did just that.  And not only did she beat her cancer, despite her personal ups and downs she has not let it stop her from going back to school to become a family nurse practitioner. 

In this episode she and Nurse Alice talk about her accelerated 14-month nursing program building on her psychology degree; how she discovered her breast cancer; how she had to advocate for her own screening and treatment and what it felt like being a nurse, but feeling lost and frustrated as the patient.   

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever received a report from someone who so confidently acts like they know it all, but leaves out fundamental and critical elements in the report? 

Nurse Alice shares a recent experience of when she was picking up a patient from an ER to transport to an ICU at a different hospital and encountered a handoff report from a nurse whose "know-it all" attitude was rooted in her closed-off personality and failure to recognize how sick the patient really was. Tune in to hear her 8 tips for how to deal with a "know-it all" coworker. 

Get more great advice at nurse.org

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the world of healthcare, many times it's presumed that a patient's code status is full code especially in the absence of any medical documentation or family that says otherwise. Is that okay? Or should you seek this definitive information asap, especially when the patient has a high probability of deteriorating? 

In this episode Nurse Alice shares a recent clinical experience when she discovered a DNR order from an assisted living center for a trauma patient she just received after being told in the handoff from the ER nurse that the patient is full code. If this were you, what would you do? In situations like this Nurse Alice recommends the nurse absolutely find out if the patient has a  POLST (Physician Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment) and if not determine who is the medical decision-maker for the patient if they can't do so. 

Read more at nurse.org

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode Nurse Alice breaks down the new and confusing shortened CDC Covid isolation and quarantine guidelines, its potential impact on the health and safety of nurses, and how it's giving the air of more concern for big business and staffing vs safety, and is fueling the real nursing shortage. What nurse wants to go back to work Covid positive while still not feeling well to have to take care of patients who don't feel well?

Learn more at Nurse.org

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More and more often we're hearing, "I'm fully vaccinated but tested positive for Covid." Nurse Alice talks about why the Omicron strain is so contagious, why this is happening, and hot off the press, the FDA  first-ever Emergency Use Authorized Covid Pill that can significantly reduce moderate to severe illness progression that results in hospitalizations and death. But here's the catch - just like Covid vaccines, they're new and carry an emergency use authorization, and are not preventative. So if someone had reservations about the vaccine, will they feel the same way about the Covid Pill? By the way, the Covid Pill is only for people who already have Covid, and not everyone who wants it will be eligible to take it.

Learn more at nurse.org

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a nurse how involved are you with your state nursing association? How involved are you with your state board of registered nursing? Do you know the difference between the two organizations, their roles, and how they work together to advance the nursing profession? And what is your role in working with both of them to make sure your nursing voice is heard? If more nurses aren't present at decision tables, do you know who's making decisions on our behalf?

Dr. Marketa Houskova is the Executive Director of the American Nurses Association of California and a Registered Nurse joins Nurse Alice in this episode to talk about the role of ANA/C, the Board of Registered Nursing, and how nursing being more familiar with policy and politics is the only way to really advance the profession. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a nurse, if you heard a colleague say I'm not a nurse, I'm a nurse practitioner - would you be offended? Or are they justified in saying that to clearly identify their role and scope of practice with patients which is different from the registered nurse? 

I know, it may sound like a betrayal because you can't be a nurse practitioner without being a nurse first but before you write them off as having a superiority complex, consider the fact that they do have advanced education, additional licensing and certifications, and a greater responsibility to directing the patient's care as the ordering healthcare provider. 

Dr. James Simmons, an acute care nurse practitioner and hospitalist talks with Nurse Alice about the title animosity within our profession between RNs and APRNs because of title and scope. At the end of the day, we're all responsible for the patient, just in different ways.

Read more at Nurse.org 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When was the last time you combed or washed your patient's hair? Is that part of your assessment? How often does a hair make the care plan?  

A person's hair provides a lot of information about one's health and blood circulation. Hair also serves a variety of functions, including protection, sensory input, thermoregulation, and communication, for example, hair on the head protects the skull from the sun. 

So what happens when a patient is experiencing hair loss or thinning because of their disease process or medical treatments? Shouldn't those symptoms also be managed especially when they start to negatively impact one's body image and mental health?

Dr.Khris Upshaw is a Trichologist, cranial prosthesis specialist, scalp micro-pigmentation practitioner, and custom wig designer joins Nurse Alice to discuss how illness manifests in our hair, medical treatments that cause alopecia, and various options to manage the appearance of hair loss like scalp micro-pigmentation, and even how patients can qualify for a medical cranial prosthesis through insurance.

Visit nurse.org for more!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Through her platform and business, Sarah Gaines aka "The Six-Figure Travel Nurse" coaches RNs making the transition into travel nursing and provides them with tips and training to maximize their earnings, as well educates new travel nurses with all the practical information they need to succeed, from taxes to supplies to take with them on assignment. 

Read the article on Nurse.org

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices