Image: Shane White | © Veer Incorporated

Warm weather. Most of us love it. Some of us are plagued with allergies, bug bites, bee stings, sunburns, and all the other joys that being outside in lovely weather bring with it.

Just the other day at work I was involved in a conversation with fellow coworkers about holistic remedies for everyday warm weather woes. Sure, I took note of some of them and will be sure to invest future efforts towards making Mollie’s deceased grandmother’s sworn natural deodorant, but I also snickered at most recommendations. I tend to favor non-medicinal treatment of ailments in some cases, and I actually find alternative medicine quite intriguing.

Thus, spawned by the discussion held at work combined with my already investigative nature, I did a little research on what people have actually claimed as home remedies for common ailments. Perhaps you will find some of these as useful, or perhaps you will read this post and get a good abdominal workout from laughter. Either way, enjoy. (Disclaimer: I am not a holistic medicine doctor, nor do I have MD behind my name at all. I have read reports of people trying these techniques, have not tried them myself, and probably do not recommend most of them due to safety/stupidity reasons. So please, read them, laugh at them, and take them with a grain of salt.)

Got a nagging ailment? Who needs a doctor when you can treat it from home…

Headache 1)  Cut a potato (uncooked) in half and rub it on your forehead.  2) Pound your head with a hammer.  3) Have someone come up behind you, grab your hair in a fist, and pull up as hard as they can- used most effectively for migraines.

Bleeding cuts Gather up a collection of spider webs and vigorously pack the wound with them. It will surely stop the bleeding. Another use of spider webs? If you find yourself coming home from Africa with malaria, chew them up and swallow them.

Joint/knee pain We have all heard of magnet therapy for joint pain which has some physiologic truth behind it because the magnets supposedly attract the iron-ridden red blood cells to the area for increased healing. However, people have gone to the extreme of drinking metal compounds (silver) for severe pain. NOT RECOMMENDED. This can lead to seizures, kidney damage and many other ailments worse than the original. Another suggestion to treat knee pain? Sleep with a bar of soap under your knee- one guy even said it had to be a specific brand or he wouldn’t bother.

Toenail fungus Soak your toes in Listerine. The next time you go to swish your mouth with Listerine, I know you’ll be encouraged…

Too much ear wax The latest trend to extract ear wax has been those ear candles where you light one end of a hollow stick and seal the unlit end to your ear, in hopes of sucking out the ear wax. This is actually dangerous to your ear because the creation of the vacuum in the tube can rupture your eardrum. Alternative? Put olive oil in your ear instead. It breaks up the wax and allows it to run out. Yum.

Bad case of the runs Drink a packet of powder jello and chase it down with a cup of hot water. This concoction will “stick” to your intestines and slow the process down.

Bug bites Sit in a tub full of vinegar. You will probably ward off bugs and people for a while after that endeavor.

Jellyfish sting I have heard many reports claiming that if you get stung, get out of the water immediately, track down a person (preferably somebody that you know, so it doesn’t get awkward) and have them pee on you where the sting was. Have yet to try this one out, hope to never have to.

Halitosis Case of the bad breath? Try chewing up coffee beans. I’m guessing this only works if the people who are smelling your breath enjoy the smell of coffee.

Severe sunburn Mix together a combination of yellow mustard and, wait for it, vagisil. Could possibly be the most hilarious remedy that I found. Next sunburn, you know what I’m doing…

Warts Cover them with duct tape. Change out the duct tape every couple of days. I’ve actually heard of this working because you are depriving the wart of oxygen, thereby killing the virus.

Hiccups We have all heard our grandmothers telling us to eat a spoonful of sugar to get rid of the hiccups. But there is some truth behind such a tale. To rid yourself of hiccups, you have to distract the vagus nerve. Downing a spoonful of sugar overloads the nerve endings in the hopes of distracting and ending that reflex.

Nausea/motion sickness Suck a lemon. Although you may make a terrible face, lemon juice actually helps to evaporate excessive saliva that is associated with feeling nauseous, and may help to settle your stomach.

Stuttering child (prepare yourself, this is bad)  A technique used in ancient Chinese practice to stop a child from stuttering was to smack him/her in the face multiple times on a cloudy day.

Body odor Try Milk of Magnesia as a natural body deodorant.

Yeast infection Yes, we have heard that we should increase our oral intake of plain yogurt to add some healthy normal flora to our bodies. But I read reports claiming that just as effective as Monistat is actually inserting a tablespoon of plain yogurt, um, down there. I will never look at yogurt the same.

Any other home remedies to share? Share the wealth.

Stockbyte | Thinktsock

By nature of the profession and the work that we do as nurses, doctors, or other medical staff, we are routinely exposed to the sick, the dying, the tragic accident, the miracles of medicine, the joy of cures.

Also by nature of our profession, I see on a daily basis the organic reasons for life, the physiology behind somebody healing from an illness, how medicine works on a human body to fix their ailments.

On the other hand, I also see what goes wrong and I see when a body’s organs fail to function properly and what the end result is. When we have a death at the hospital, a common question that floats around the nursing staff is “what happened” or “why did they die?” Although there is oftentimes a medical “reason” for such travesty, do we ever really know why?

I was raised in a Christian household and taught that God has the ultimate control over our lives. I pray every night before I go to sleep for the health and happiness of my family and friends. Fortunately, in my own life, aside from aging grandparents, my family and friends have led relatively healthy lives- and I thank God for that. But I’m certain that families of children at the hospital have also prayed every night for God’s healing hands to help their dying child. As a nurse (and as a believer in God) one of the greatest struggles to overcome is that three letter word, why.

Why would God take the life of an innocent child? Why would He heal this child but allow the one next door to suffer? Why would He put such a wonderful family through so much turmoil?

One of my very first posts on this blog was about a boy whom I referred to as Frog Boy. He was a patient at our hospital that I met the previous year at a summer camp, and we grew extremely close to one another during his months spent in the hospital awaiting a heart transplant. Five days after his ninth birthday he died suddenly one evening from a “silent” coronary event.

His current heart was a transplanted heart back from when he was just over a year old and because during transplantation you lack innervation to the new heart, these children oftentimes do not have warning signs of a heart attack like the average person would have. Along with being completely devastated by his death and angry that I was not there to be with him, for months as other kids were getting their transplants my prior-to-bed prayers were spent questioning why that beloved child was not given more of a chance.

I hit a low at work after his death. I felt burnt out, angry, sad and most dramatically directed this frustration at God. I would watch the news at home and see criminals surviving police chases, murderers getting acquitted of their crimes, people on a daily basis breaking into homes and robbing people at gunpoint. Why did these people live and such a vibrant child with so much life ahead of him have to die? How could God do that to his family, his siblings, and selfishly, me?

Then one day it hit me. Everyone’s time spent here on earth has a meaning and a role that they play in life. For some, it takes a lifetime well into adulthood to figure out that meaning or to fulfill it. For others, they are so wise beyond their years and have such an impact on those surrounding them that they only need a short time.

That young boy, even at the ripe young age of 9, touched so many lives in his short lifetime because of his huge heart, even though it was sick. He brought smiles to those that needed some sunshine, and he brought optimism to those that didn’t think they could go on. He was a child basically locked up in the hospital attached to an IV pole, and he had a better spirit than most people I know.

Perhaps he knew his time was limited, that’s one thing that I will be sure to ask him when I see him in heaven. All I know is that I am a better person today because of him, and his life and subsequent death has taught me that even amidst tragedy we must remember life and not dwell on the why. I know he is happily acting as my guardian angel and looking over the child that got the heart that he was waiting for. God knew he was special and thought he could continue doing all of his good from heaven.

Since then, when deaths have occurred, no matter what age or circumstance, I have not turned away from God, but instead turned to him, and thanked him for the time he allowed me spend with that person here on earth. I used to once be afraid that I would never care for another patient again for fear of losing them unfairly. But like I said in my past post to that fine young boy, I’d rather love a patient like you and lose you than never love at all.

Blend Images Photography | Veer

My constant hope for the pediatric patients I care for is that they leave after discharge and return for a visit with birthdays past, school years under their belts, and inches taller than when I last saw them. It’s been twelve months in the hospital world for me. In that time, inevitably, some of these patients didn’t ever get to go home, or ever return for a visit, because they have passed away.

To honor all of the patients who have passed away each year, the cardiac service line hosts a remembrance ceremony for the families who have lost their children. I was approached by our chaplain and asked to speak at the upcoming ceremony. Immediately I was overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude, honor, shock, and disbelief.

How could I, just a nurse, have anything meaningful enough to say to these parents who have lost their children to a congenital heart defect? It seemed to me like the key speaker should be a surgeon who operated on the child, or the cardiologist who medically managed their care up until the end, or even the floor manager who overseas all functionality on the unit.

But no. They asked me, just the nurse. I have been racking my brain in an effort to figure out exactly what I can say to these parents who have been mourning the death of their child, a pain that I cannot even fathom. But as I looked over the list of children that had passed away in the last twelve months, recognizing many of the names, my feelings about speaking at the ceremony quickly turned from terror to thanks.

I began to reflect on the times I had taken care of these patients, some very near to the end of their life. One name I encountered is the name of a boy whose picture to this day is the background on my phone. A boy whom I still think about every day of my life, although he passed away nine months ago. A boy who has impacted my life perhaps more than anybody has, ever. And then it came to me: People tell me all the time how honorable they think it is that I am a nurse, and how much of an impact I must make on my patient’s life. The reality of it is, these children impact my life more than I could have ever imagined prior to going into nursing.

I’m not going to tell the parents what it’s like to be a nurse or what it’s like to care for a child at the end of their life. I’m going to thank the parents for allowing me to care for their child, and tell them how appreciative I am of everything their child did for me. I’m realizing now that perhaps the surgeon wouldn’t be able to say the same thing, nor would the cardiologist.

I was the one at the bedside playing cards with the child and listening to his plans for after he got his new heart. I was the one at the bedside rocking the baby when mom needed just an hour to sleep because she had been up with him all night. I was the one administering pain medications when the child’s pain was unbearable. I’m no longer “just a nurse” but a thankful individual for the valuable time I got to spend with these children, and I can’t wait to share that.

BananaStock | Thinkstock

I always enjoy hearing other nurses talk about our profession. Everyone has their own opinion, be it positive or negative in nature. One of the greatest opinions on the matter came from a coworker of mine who posted the “true meanings of RN” on her Facebook page which started a tremendous chatter in response. I thought I would comment on each of these meanings and provide my own insight into the truth behind ‘RN.’

“The true meanings behind RN: Reluctantly Nice, Real Nurturer, Registered Nutcase, Rather Nerdy, Rockstar Nanny, Regretfully Naive, Rebelliously Naughty, Rescue Ninja…”

Next, Reluctantly Nice…

Jupiterimages | liquidlibrary | Getty Images

Think back to your middle school and high school days. There were the stereotypical bullies that everyone tried to steer clear of. They picked on the weakest, they picked on the youngest, they picked on the ones they were most threatened by. The media even hits on this rampant problem that is still around in schools today with the production of movies such as Mean Girls.

Although as professionals we all have grown up in age since then, do you ever wonder if people that surround you at work have grown up in maturity?

We have a journal club at work that meets each month to discuss articles of interest related to nursing or healthcare. This month’s article was about bullying in the workplace, most specifically in the nursing field.

Some interesting findings? Although there has been minimal research into the issue surrounding workplace bullying, all studies that have been done nationally and internationally report that over 50% of interviewed nurses have experienced some form of bullying at work. Now, one can argue that women tend to be sensitive creatures and even constructive criticism can be perceived as bullying, but by definition bullying involves multiple efforts to cause another person physical or emotional harm or injury. Obviously in the hospital setting, there is (hopefully) no physical abuse between co-workers. But a specific type of bullying that deals strictly with the emotional aspect involved, called relational aggression, is the equivalent in the adult world to the bully that walks down the hallways in school with her elbows out taking down all the weaklings.

Some examples of bullying in the workplace? Nurses that voiced their personal experiences with bullying included instances of gossiping about a certain co-worker, the formation of cliques among groups of nurses and ostracizing others, purposeful withholding of information from another nurse, bossy nurses, pushy nurses, or nurses that always criticize another nurse in front of others, and failing to help out a fellow nurse.

Who are these bullies? I thoroughly enjoyed the portion of the article where nurse bullies were given identities based on certain characteristics they displayed. The Supernurse is always right, has always been a better nurse than you, and will always be a better nurse than you. Just accept it. The Resentful Nurse is still holding a grudge against you from when you had to give her a 4th patient when you were in charge three months back. You obviously aren’t a team player. The PGR Nurse Puts downs her co-workers, Gossips about others constantly, and spreads vicious Rumors. She is always great for lunch conversations, as long as you aren’t the one being conversed about. The Backstabbing Nurse cultivates friendships then betrays them for her own good. She is the epitome of Jekyll and Hyde in nursing. The Green-with-Envy Nurse does everything in her power to obtain a certain status that she is envious of, no matter what or who stands in her way. Although some of her patients might be green from nausea, she is green from greed. The Cliquish Nurse reveals her bullying by playing favorites or by excluding others. If you’re not “in”, you can see your way “out.”

What makes you a target? As unfair as it seems, bulling trends tend to correlate with the old nursing adage that scares many away from the profession that “nurses eat their young.” New graduates or new hires are often targeted because they haven’t quite found their niche either socially or professionally.

Those that are recognized or honored for a job well done are often the target of jealous nurses displaying covert means of bullying as they try to even the playing field and increase their own recognition. And unfortunately, much like the movie Mean Girls, those nurses with close relationships with physicians may be the target of gossiping and wide open flood gates of the rumor mill. Times of stress, understaffing, and low floor morale can also increase the likelihood of bullying. As ridiculous as these examples seem, similar circumstances exist in the workplace that should be acknowledged and addressed.

What to do? To combat this problem that has recently peaked as an interest in the field, the Joint Commission, as of January 1st, is requiring that institutions have a process in place to address and handle “intimidating and disruptive” behavior in the workplace. What that means? I’m not so sure…

Some institutions are adopting a more democratic model to their management and eradicating the hierarchy found in many floors. Awareness in our own practices does wonders for a problem as preventable as this.

• If you see bullying first hand on your unit, without causing extra conflict, do you best to intervene.
• Actively UNparticipate in gossiping by redirecting conversation to something more neutral or walking away from the offender.
• If a new grad is having a difficult time, take her under your wing…we’ve all been there.

We have a council on our unit, the Recruitment and Retention Council, that I think by nature unintentionally does a nice job of eliminating some bullying tendencies by creating a sense of community among the unit. They plan team building exercises and tackle problems that are the root of low morale phases on the unit. This is an issue that can and should be resolved in the hospital setting. Nurses are nurturing and deemed the ultimate caregivers by nature of the job, so we need to start acting like it.

Has anyone experienced bullying themselves at work? How is your unit tackling the issue?

Stockbyte | Thinkstock

I’ve always envied those who can flip flop back and forth between day shift and night shift. How do they do it?

I think I’ve nailed down some of their secrets, and in so doing have been able to work both day shifts and night shifts in succession. Happily! Nights are often a more peaceful time in the hospital and it’s definitely a nice change in my routine.

So, need some tips on how to survive the “dark side”?

Surviving the night shift.

Here are steps to jumpstart your circadian rhythm and allow for easier transitions from the normalcy of day shift to the non-so-routine night shift.

(1) If you are strictly a night shift nurse and you are having problems adjusting to the schedule, try a couple weeks of grouping all of the shifts together, three in a row. That way you can completely convert to night owl status for half of the week and then have four days to recover back to normalcy (that being if you indeed do work three 12-hr shifts).

For those who rotate and really cannot stand working three nights a week, ask your scheduling manager if you can split up your weeks into day and nights (be sure to work your days towards the beginning of the week and allow ample time for recovery after night shifts). For example, you would work Monday day shift and Wednesday and Thursday night shifts.

Wake up early on the day of your first night shift and take a nap in the afternoon. This strategy allows you to have a bulk of the morning to get stuff done and having some decent sleep prior to going into the long shift. I have heard people that just sleep in late (until like noon or 1 in the afternoon) crash around 3 or 4am because they have been up for so long.

My technique for the last day is to return home post last night shift, sleep for about four hours, then force yourself to wake up! You’ll be so tired by that night that you will be able to sleep during the night and be back on a somewhat normal day routine by the next morning.

(2) Right before a night shift, eat a substantial dinner prior to going into work (even if it is “breakfast-like”). That will hold you over for hours and give you a boost of energy to get the shift started. Try your best to avoid the comfort foods of night shift and bring a light meal full of protein and complex carbs that will fulfill your midnight munchies.

(3) Exercise! This not only applies to those working normal business hours. It becomes extremely important for those on night shifts because working out allows you to have more energy and creates for more sound sleep. I have friends that exercise after they get off their shift in the morning (I’ve always been too tired for that). If that is your preference, be sure to take time to wind down and drink a warm, non-caffeinated drink prior to going to sleep. I tend to exercise after I wake up – the beauty of that being that as opposed to working out early in the morning like a “normal” shift worker may do, you will be inundated with daylight hours for a nice run, pleasant early evening temperatures, and you will most likely beat the post 6pm rush at the gym. Hitting a wall at 4am? Run the stairs, it will most certainly wake you up

(4) Isolate yourself! Be sure to tell your loved ones, your neighbors, and your kids that just like they don’t like being woken up at 2am, you don’t like to be disturbed during your “night”. Turn your phone off, buy dark curtains that will keep the daylight out of your room, wear an eye mask, lock the dog out of your room, tie up the children (kidding), and for goodness sake don’t drink coffee within four hours of going to sleep. If you “need” coffee to get through the shift, drink it early in the shift and combine water with a stair run later in the shift as an energy boost.

You mind is a powerful tool. Keep in mind all of the positives of night shift. It can be extremely conducive to family life if you are a working parent. The shift differential is an added bonus in the bank account. You typically have more autonomy as a nurse on the night shift and have ample time to develop skills and master your assessments. With the pace of the shift usually being slower, you have more time to develop close relationships with your coworkers because you are relying on each other for second opinions, assistance with tasks, and camaraderie in staying awake when everyone else is snug in their beds.

As a new nurse, I was terrified of stories about Joint Commission visits and always hoped that the visit would fall during a week of night shifts so I could avoid the torture. Elder nurses claim that the surveyors pick out weak (new) nurses to interrogate and basically lead you to believe that the hospital’s accreditation status falls on your shoulders, and only yours.

Similar to a college hazing period, if you can get through a Joint Commission visit, you can officially be an RN. It’s human nature to have a fear of the unknown, and for nurses new to the profession, simply the words Joint Commission sound daunting in themselves.

I’m here to dispel some of these myths about Joint Commission, formerly known as JCAHO, in hopes of decreasing anxiety and pointing out some benefits of the unavoidable survey at your hospital.

Myth #1 – the Joint Commission is the Big Bad Wolf

According to the website, “Joint Commission is an independent, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to continuously improve the safety and quality of care provided to the public by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value.”

Sounds great, right? Not yet all bright and cheery? How about this, the Joint Commission’s slogan, Helping Healthcare Organizations Help Patients. That has a nice ring to it. Looking past the negative stigma attached to the name, the concept behind assisting healthcare organizations in better caring for their patients is actually quite a novel one, and one that should be widely embraced by healthcare providers.

Myth #2 – the Joint Commission is unnecessary

Hospitals are surveyed at least every three years and receive an official gold seal of approval via Joint Commission standards if they pass the “inspection.” In many states, Joint Commission accreditation is necessary for receipt of Medicaid reimbursement.

Myths #3 – the Joint Commission hates nurses

Although the process can be  somewhat intimidating, the level of quality required to meet Joint Commission standards ensures that our patients, our friends, and our loved ones, if they should find themselves hospitalized, will receive proper, safe, and quality care. Prior to drafting this post, I perused the Joint Commission website and found some helpful and informative links including the master list of “do not use” abbreviations. I was also pleasantly surprised to read a document that highly promoted the nursing profession in suggesting ideas for advocating for advanced practice nurses, lowering nurse/patient ratio, how to create a more positive view of the profession in society, incentives for nursing school programs for recruiting students and faculty, and ideas to combat the nursing shortage, specifically the nursing faculty shortage. What came to mind after reading said article? Sometimes our biggest fans  are our biggest critics.

Four simple habits to prep for the Joint Commission

1. Label all medications to prevent error
2. Be diligent with charting and documentation
3. Store food in the kitchen and away from the nurse’s station
4. Learn what you don’t know

I used to compare the pre-Joint Commission preparedness time period at work to natural disaster preparation. But I started noticing the positive effects of working up to Joint Commission standards including labeling of all medications to prevent errors, increased effectiveness of transfer of care, diligent charting and documentation, and even small details such as less food at the nurse’s station to improve sanitation.

I even find myself seeking out information that I use to simply overlook if I didn’t know the answer. Sure, it’s out of fear of being audited but I’m a more well-versed nurse because of it.

Although a seemingly intimidating process, if looked at with an open mind and an educated perspective, my hope is that nurses can learn to embrace a Joint Commission visit as a challenge that will enhance their workplace, promote quality care, and push them to take pride in their profession.

alexraths | Veer

You hear it all the time in the professional realm: People complaining about their jobs.

Truth is, nursing is not immune to job gripes.

But in light of the new year, I vowed to be a more positive person with an optimistic outlook. During this little introspective session, I realized that in our profession, if you don’t like it, change it. That’s the beauty of the job.

You get out of school and you enter the workforce with a vast amount of options based purely on schedule. Do you want to work three days a week? Do you want to work night shift? Do you want to work normal business hours in an office setting? These options increase the marketing value of the profession–if you get sick of your schedule, go work somewhere else!

Many mothers that I have spoken with agree that working night shift is great for family life. You can sleep when the kids are in school and spend a couple of hours in the evening with the family, then the dad watches the children at night when the mom goes to work. And when the kids grow up and mom is exhausted from working night shift all these years, she switches to day shift. It doesn’t get much more conducive to family life than that.

Nurses also can choose the genre of people they want to encounter and care for. You don’t like adult patients? Work at a pediatric hospital. You don’t want your patients to be awake when you are caring for them? Work in an OR or an ICU. The beauty of nursing is that you can find an area that appeals to you most and where you will find the greatest happiness and job satisfaction.

I have heard many nurses complain about their pay. Some wonderful options for job growth include moving to a management position or going back to school to obtain a master’s degree (which has incredible growth potential itself). To complain about pay is a pity when there are vast opportunities to grow as a nurse.

I think the most compelling reason why nurses should never complain, gripe, or moan about their jobs is because while we are working there, we are not the patients. That doesn’t mean that we are all in perfect health or we don’t have family members that may be patients, but at that very time and place, we are not dealing with their illness on a personal level. Every day that I walk into work I try to maintain a positive attitude by telling myself how blessed I am not to have a child with a congenital heart defect. It puts things in perspective on a daily basis.

So, although it is easy to think the grass is always greener, this 2012 I’m going to do my best to do away with excuses and take nursing for all of the good that it has. Because it has a lot to offer.

mantonino | Veer + Scrubs

I had a lovely visit today with a family that I know from the hospital. The mom just had her third baby, a perfectly healthy, beautiful boy.

I am most familiar with the second child in the family. Fortunately for me I get to spend time with him outside of his home; unfortunately for him the time is spent at the hospital. He has a cardiac defect and has undergone multiple open heart surgeries.

At four years old he is thriving–aside from the faint bluish tint that encircles his mouth and creeps into his fingertips, you would hardly know the rough road he has been down in his short life. Given my experience in pediatric cardiac nursing, I feel as though I have been as asset to this family.

A very apparent dichotomy exists in light of the new baby joining the ranks. Frankly, I don’t do healthy babies. I don’t know how to prevent him from having “normal” baby spit-ups, how to prevent gas, and no, I can’t give him Tylenol just because he’s fussy.

It’s quite frustrating for me–I can’t tell you the number of people that tell me what an experienced mother I’m going to be when I eventually have children. My response is always the same: I need to read the same books you do when I bring home my newborn because (God-willing) he/she will NOT have a midsternal incision that I must take care of, will not be on a methadone wean, and will not have a feeding tube! Throw me an NG tube to manage and I’m cool as a cucumber, toss in a little colic and–whoops–my knowledge goes out the window.

The same can be said for people who know I’m a nurse. It’s not unusual to receive phone calls to the nature of “I stepped on a nail, do you think I have osteomyelitis?” Trust me, people, Google knows a lot more about osteomyelitis than I do!

One of my favorites was when my best friend’s mom was describing the symptoms she had been having for a few weeks: fluttering heart rate, mild chest pain, shortness of breath on exertion. She had convinced herself that it was not precipitating symptoms for a heart attack, and she didn’t want to go to the doctor, so she wanted me to tell her what to do. Ummm, sounds to me like you need a good dose of a kick-in-the-butt-and-go-straight-to-your-cardiologist.

Although it sounds as though I’m complaining, I do feel truly honored that my friends, family, and complete strangers think I know everything. I think that says a lot for the profession of nursing as well. People trust us and respect our advice.

The more I think about it, perhaps we all do this more than we let on. I have a faint memory of being laughed at by my CPA friend who works in audits for a large corporation when I asked him to do my yearly taxes for me. And there was the time I asked the gentleman at ACE Hardware why my air conditioner was making a strange rattling noise.

Having faith in professionals is a good thing. But the next time I tell you to go to the doctor because I can’t diagnose why you’re having loose stools and a toothache, please listen to me.

Jupiterimages | Bananastock | Getty Images

Halloween. A holiday that has been commercialized for the selling of exorbitant amounts of candy, masks, and provocative adult costumes. A holiday that has been secularized from its original celebration of martyrs and saints to trick-or-treating, pumpkin carving, and haunted houses.

To be honest, I enjoy the approach of Halloween as the leaves are changing colors and the temperature is cooling down. It symbolizes the beginning of the fall holidays (my favorite ones) including Thanksgiving in a month and Christmas in December. From a nurse’s perspective, Halloween can be a perfect combination of fun, creepy, and sometimes even a little demeaning.

Fun. If you are scheduled to work Halloween and you have to miss the kids out trick-or-treating, what environment could take the cake for 2nd place in the fun category? A children’s hospital! Our hospital hosts a Halloween parade in the lobby for patients and their families to show off costumes and get in the Halloween spirit. It’s impressive how kids in the hospital show some humor and their personalities when they dress up. I saw an oncology patient that was actively getting chemotherapy dressed as an old man in a wheelchair. His explanation? “Well I was already bald and in a wheelchair, I couldn’t have picked an easier costume.” He was all smiles in the parade. Halloween week always marks the beginning of spirit week on our floor as well- basically, it’s an excuse for our nurses to dress up each day of the week for the kid’s viewing pleasure. People come in costume on Halloween Day, followed by Superhero Day, favorite sports team day, etc. This gives the staff a chance to show their creative flare as well. And Halloween also marks the beginning of the influx of goodies at the nurse’s station that will continue for the next two months. That part, although delicious, is not so great on the waistline.

Creepy. I worked a Halloween night a couple years back and in the middle of the night when things were slow we all started telling spooky stories pertaining to the hospital. Night shift in itself is more lonely, dark, and in the right setting can be a little creepy. Especially if you have to go down to the deserted kitchen alone to get your patient a snack. But some nurses started telling stories of one of our particular rooms in the old building (before we moved units) that she believes was haunted. This was the nicest room on the floor, and patients that were the sickest or expected to be hospitalized the longest were typically given that room. Simply by circumstance, it happened to be the room that had the most codes as well. Now, whether it was to just scare me because I was new at that point or if she really believed it, I still don’t know, but she was convinced that the spirit of one of the patient’s that passed away still hung around that room. She said one little boy in that room kept asking for an older boy to play with him. When his parents questioned more, he claimed it was the boy that came to visit him last night (nobody has visited the family the night before). That same nurse also said that was the room that they had to call engineering for the most frequently because of the lights malfunctioning, or the air being extra cold, or the paper towel dispenser spitting out paper towels randomly throughout the day. So I started to think of a room on our floor that may fall into that category. We have a large corner room that the nurses like to call the VIP room which fortunately or unfortunately, again, holds many of our sickest patients. Since I’ve worked there, we have had more deaths in that room than any, some being patients that we all adored. Although the thought is creepy, I wouldn’t mind be reminded of their spirit, just perhaps not in the middle of the night shift…  do any other hospitals have rooms with similar circumstances?

Demeaning. Go to your nearest Halloween costume store to shop for a costume for an adult Halloween party and what do you find lining the shelves next to the barely-clothed Little Bo Peeps and the scantily dressed cop costumes? Naughty nurses of course. Yes, nursing is a profession that is heavily female dominated. And yes, nurses back in the day had to wear white uniforms that were oftentimes knee length skirts with stockings. And yes, some television shows portray the nursing profession as a bunch of women out to pick up the doctor at the hospital by batting their eyelashes. But why on earth do Halloween costumes have to be so demeaning for us? An unbuttoned lab coat with a red bra and panties underneath and a stethoscope around your neck does not make you a nurse. Costumes like this give the profession a bad stereotype, one that falls in tune with how TV portrays nursing. Granted, like I said previously, it’s not the only profession to fall victim to the slutty role at Halloween, but I wish people would show a little more respect.

What are some of the things that your hospitals do for Halloween to get you in the spirit?