In October We Wear Pink

Happy Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

To show my support for all past, present, and future breast cancer fighters and survivors, I thought I would highlight the American Association of Nurse Practitioner's 'Find It. Fight It.' campaign.

You can read all about the campaign here. In a nutshell, the AANP has partnered with the National Breast Cancer Foundation to publicize early detection tools (self-exams), clinical exams, and mammograms during the month of October.

How is this different from the multitude of breast cancer awareness campaigns running this month?

"As the primary care provider of choice for millions of patients nationwide, nurse practitioners play a vital role in ensuring women take advantage of early detection tools that can make an enormous difference in the discovery and treatment of breast cancer," said AANP President Cindy Cooke, DNP, FNP-C, FAANP. "With advanced education and clinical training, plus preparation rooted in in the compassionate, patient-centered nursing model, our profession is on the front lines of ensuring patients best understand their breast cancer risk and take the necessary steps to protect themselves."

-Press Release, Austin, Texas, October 1, 2015

One more time for dramatic effect: our profession is on the front lines. 

It has always been my personal belief that nursing is rooted in patient education and empowerment. This campaign is in direct alignment with these concepts.

See your Nurse Practitioner or visit NPFinder.com today!

#sorrynotsorry

What a week it has been for the nursing profession.

I wanted to share a video clip of an interview on Fox & Friends from earlier today. (Sorry I wasn't able to embed the actual video.)

The infamous Katie Duke did a wonderful job representing our profession, articulating exactly what our problem is with the remarks made by Michelle and Joy on "The View" earlier this week.

I couldn't have said it better myself, Katie. Thank you for standing up and speaking out.

The View

Do you watch The View on ABC? Did you hear the less than intelligent comments regarding the nursing profession Joy and Michelle made?

This is a perfect example of why misconceptions exist regarding who we are and what we do as nurses, advance practice or not.

Guess what general public? These women have no idea what they are talking about. The whole reason I started this blog was to share information about my profession with the hopes of dispelling misconceptions. I never imagined I would have to say this, but I guess this is where we are... "Nurses use stethoscopes."

I'm going to call on my colleagues to stand up and stand together to educate the public on what nursing is and what it is not. If you are on Twitter and/or Facebook, please educate The View and it's "talent" (see what I did there?) on our profession. It is 2015 and this is embarrassing.

Specifically to Joy and Michelle - My stethoscope is not part of a costume. I wear a uniform and it's covered in YOUR loved one's bodily fluids. And I hope you never have to witness or experience yourself the pain that is Alzheimer's.  #thatdressthough

You can follow me on Twitter @RN2Practitioner. Be sure to check out #mytalentisnursing. It makes me so proud to be a nurse!

Back to School

School starts tomorrow and I. Am. Ready. I have a year under my belt and I like to think I have some idea of what I'm doing. Fake it till you make it, right?

I thought I would share some of the things I do to stay organized and sane during the school year. (Read: not cry and/or pull out my hair. I save all that for finals week!)

1. Use a planner. Religiously.

Now this may sound like a no brainer, but finding both a planner and a planning system that works for you is, I believe, half the battle when it comes to surviving graduate nursing school. If I'm not organized, everything falls apart; I can't prioritize, things don't get done, etc.

I personally use a written planner. I color code it and spend roughly 30 minutes on Sunday nights planning my week. Classes are pink, clinicals are orange, teaching assistant stuff is yellow, work is blue, and so on.

I also have a version of this on a bulletin board directly above my desk that I can easily add 'To Do' post-it notes to. I find that writing everything I need to do in my planner takes up too much space and makes things messy, ultimately defeating the purpose of having a planner in the first place.

2. Set all of your monthly bills to auto-pay. And sign up for electronic statements.

Not going to lie. There are some weeks when I check my mail maybe once a week. I have to drive up to the thing and get out of my car. Who has the time?

Electronic statements remind me that the bill is due soon (Is there enough money in my account to cover this?) and I can breathe a sigh of relief knowing it will automatically be paid on time. No late fees! And it's one less thing on my 'To Do' list.

3. Meal Prep.

If I can do this, you can do this. You'd be amazed at the things you can make in a crock pot! This is not only a time saver, but it is easy on my wallet. And who doesn't need to eat better?!

Hope this helps. And I hope you have a great first week back to school!

How are you organizing yourself for the new school year?

Medical Trip Pictures

Home sweet home! I can not tell you guys how good it is to be back! And I could not be more excited to share my pictures from my 6 week medical trip to Peru!

I am a packing ninja! I only took 2 backpacks with me.

I split my time between an outpatient pediatric clinic, an emergency department, and a private surgery center. It was fascinating to witness the many differences between the U.S. and Peru's healthcare systems.

Some things truly are universal.

For example, there is no such thing as HIPPA (patient privacy). It is also rare for pharmacies to have licensed pharmacists in house; clerks sell prescriptions without legal, written prescriptions. Hello antibiotic resistance!

Crash cart = the only medical supplies available in the ED. Use sparingly!

When a patient presents to the ED, they are triaged and given a prescription for every medication and any medical supplies (ex. syringe, gauze, saline, etc.) they will need. A family member then goes and fills the prescription prior to the patient receiving ANY treatment. The turn around time on this is about as long as you would suspect.

Triage (aka patient waiting) area.

I worked with several wonderful physicians, surgeons, residents, and nurses. Everyone was eager to not only teach, but to learn. During a laparoscopic cholecystectomy (gall bladder removal) the surgeon and I played 'Name That Organ.' I would respond in Spanish and he in English. It's harder than one might expect in a second language!

Do you know how to say gall bladder in Spanish? Hint: it's not gall bladdero.

The OR is not air conditioned (I have never sweat more in my life!) and the doors are left open. Eeek! The surgical equipment is at least 20 years old (with the exception of the lap equipment) and eye protection is not a thing. Double eeek!

Machu Picchu. Pictures will never do this place justice. 

And of course Machu Picchu! One of the volunteers and I traveled to Cusco and the Sacred Valley to witness this wonder. We did not do the Inca Trail, (I feel I paid my dues during the first five weeks going without a hot shower!) but we did hike the small mountain and watched the sunrise. Truly breathtaking.

I wish that I had more pictures (and of better quality) to share but I stopped carrying my phone with me when two of the volunteers were robbed at gunpoint in broad daylight. I highly recommend stepping out of your comfort zone!

All in all, it was a wonderful trip!

Thanks for stopping by!

¡Saludos desde Peru! // Greetings from Peru!

Last night I checked 'learn to merengue' off my bucket list.

Next week marks the fourth week of my medical trip to Peru and I have NO idea where the time has gone! I had every intention of blogging consistently while I was here as I feared I would forget things and wanted to share what I was seeing and doing at the hospital. But then we went surfing. And then sand boarding. And then...you get the idea. I promise to share everything with you guys once I get home!

In the meantime, I just wanted to share how grateful I am to be here and how blessed I feel to have had this opportunity. (Have I mentioned we don't have hot water? Four weeks down. Two to go.) This experience has truly been life changing. My heart is open and full.

Sinedie

Image: http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/kut/files/styles/medium/public/201301/Capitol-Liang-Shi.jpg

The 84th Legislative Session adjourned this past Monday, and Texas' advanced practice nurses (APRNs) and physician assistants (PAs) are more than disappointed. Not a single bill reached Govenor Abbott's desk.  

HB 2602 (expansion of schedule II controlled substance authority to psychiatric/mental health APRNs, palliative care APRNs, and APRNs in hospital settings upon discharge) was the last piece of legislation to die. The bill did make it out of committee with an unanimous 11-0 vote, but sat in the Calendars Committee where the bill was rumored to have been tagged the maximum number of times allowed by House rules. 

You can read more about what the Calendars Committee does here. You can find a list of committee members here.

You can also look at an overview of nurse practitioner laws and regulations specific to each state here. 

I do want to congratulate the states that successfully passed APRN legislation. 

The fat lady hasn't even begun to sing...