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FDA Approves Over the Counter Narcan to Combat Drug Overdoses
The Food and Drug Administration announced today that Narcan, an essential tool in combating opioid overdoses, can now be sold over the counter. The move is aimed to increase the availability of the drug at a time when opioid-related deaths remain high across the U.S. Over 106,000 people died of drug-related overdoses in 2021 alone, according to the National Institute of Health. The FDA said OTC Narcan will be made available in stores, vending machines, online, and even in gas stations by the end of the summer. FDA commissioner Dr. Rober M. Califf said in a public statement that the […]
“Holy Grail” of Cancer Detection Can Predict Tumors Over a Year Before They Appear
A new cancer detection tool known as the “holy grail” of early detection is currently being tested in hospitals throughout the U.K., and experts say it could revolutionize cancer treatment by predicting tumors more than a year before they begin to form. It is the first pan-cancer blood test, according to Ashish Tripathi, founder and CEO of Tzar Labs and chairman of Epigeneres Biotech, an Indian firm that first developed the test in 2021. “We can detect [cancer] earlier than other known technologies … before the tumor has physically formed,” Tripathi explained in a recent interview. “Not only can I […]
How Simulation Labs Could Help Ease the Nursing Shortage
Student nurses need to complete at least 400 hours of clinical training before they can take the National Council Licensure Exam, but more states are allowing students to practice their skills in simulated labs instead of on real patients. A new bill in New York State would allow nursing students to substitute up to 30% of their clinical training with “high-quality simulation education.” Advocates for the change say it would help bring more nurses into the workforce amid the ongoing staff shortage, but opponents say students could miss out on important experiences that only occur in person. If you head […]
Retired Nurses Find New Purpose in Resettling Afghan Refugees
Linda Pegg and Becky Meadows may be done with nursing after hanging up their scrubs, but they aren’t done helping people in need. They recently started volunteering with International Institute Southwest Missouri to sponsor refugees from Afghanistan relocating to the U.S. Now both women are sponsorship group leaders, balancing several refugee cases at once. “It’s changed my life. I just really treasure these people,” said Pegg, who is balancing five resettlement cases. “Experiencing their culture and faith, very different from mine. They’re very good people who don’t know anybody here. We’re it. It makes them feel welcome, and that they’re […]
Nurse Hospitalized After Being Exposed to Narcotic Smoke at Work
Safety issues have long been a concern for all types of nurses, but providers at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital say they are particularly worried about illegal drug use inside the facility. One nurse is now in the hospital after being exposed to narcotic smoke on the job. The staff said she fainted and seemed to go into a panic attack after inhaling the contaminated air. Experts say it’s difficult to obtain a second-hand high from the smoke of narcotics, but exposure to fentanyl and methamphetamine can trigger a stress response in the body. Hospitals and ERs across the country […]
Night Shift Nurse Wins DAISY Award for Her Calming Presence
Christy Fliss isn’t used to seeing much daylight as the charge nurse on the night shift at Sanford Health Sylvan Court in Canby, Minnesota where she’s worked for nearly nine years. Her colleagues know and love her for her attention to detail and stabilizing presence in the ICU, so they decided to surprise her with the DAISY Award to show her how much they appreciate having her around. “As an administrator, we can get calls any time of the day, any time of the night,” said fellow night shift nurse Jason Anderson. “When I know Christy’s on, I just have […]
A Story to Prove that ICU Nurses Have to Learn to Laugh
“Patient in room 709 didn’t sleep all night and thinks his call light is to get the cops to come and arrest us,” said the night shift nurse as she packed her things. How can nursing be so predictable and unpredictable at the same time? As soon as I walked into his room and tried to introduce myself, he exclaimed, “Oh great, another woman; if they really think they can keep me here, they should at least bring a man to do the job!” “Well, good morning to you too,” I thought and proceeded to kindly help him understand what […]
Cancer Patient Reflects on Surviving 9-Week-Long Heart Attack
Most heart attacks only last twenty minutes or a few hours at most but one woman in northeast Portland recently survived one that lasted over two months. It all started with a pain in the center of her chest after two and a half years of battling cancer. Beven Byrnes, the mother of six-year-old twins, said she wouldn’t be alive today if she hadn’t trusted her instincts and sought help. When her symptoms started, any physical movement would cause her pain, even things like walking to the bathroom. Her kids even called it the “sloth walk, because I couldn’t do […]
Staff Throws a Bubble Parade for One-Year-Old Leaving the Hospital for the First Time
Providers at Franciscan Children’s Hospital in Boston, MA lined the hallways to say goodbye to baby Helen, who spent 15 months in the NICU after being born at just 28 weeks gestation in December 2021. Her twin sister Alma got to go home but Helen had to stay in the hospital because she needed additional care due to medical complications. On March 15, Helen finally got the all clear to go home with her mothers Harriet Alexander and Isabela Alexander-Astiz Le Bras. It was a tearful moment that both women say they will never forget. The staff put together a […]
Wrongly Accused of Patient Assault, Nurse Fights to Have License Restored
Nancy Waller, 67, hasn’t practiced nursing since 2021 after being accused of assaulting a patient while working as the head nurse at a New Boston assisted living facility in New Hampshire. But a jury found her not guilty earlier this year and now she is on a mission to get her nursing license back. State authorities first brought charges against Waller in April 2021. She was accused of breaking the fingers of a resident named Steven Hall, who ended up at the Rose Meadow assisted living facility after suffering from a drug overdose. Prosecutors said Waller broke the fingers of […]
