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We are very sad to find out that this year’s Nurses Week was darkened by the death of two RNs and three other caregivers in a tragic limousine fire on the San Mateo Bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area. California Governor Jerry Brown issued a statement recognizing the incredible contribution of nurses who “work hard every day to make our state a healthier, happier place.” To read more about this tragic event, and to learn how you can support the grieving families, please visit the : www.nationalnursesunited.org/blog/entry/cna-nursing-angels-family-fund.

AND something special coming up from Nurse Talk and our academic partners. Be the change you want to see in the world and put this on your calendar: Nurse Talk is hosting an informational webinar regarding the online MSN program at the University of San Francisco. Your host is Shayne Mason RN, BSN, PHN, MSN, PMHNP(BC). Shayne is an instructor and alumni at USF and maintains several clinical practices. He is also the co-host of Nurse Talk Radio, where he discusses progressive health care policy to a national audience. He will be discussing the online MSN program, the many and increasing opportunities for nurses with graduate degrees, and how to maximize income potential while doing the greatest good for your community. Read more…

Who didn’t love the amazing Jonathan Winters? He was the master of improvisational comedy.

As we celebrate National Nurses Week, Casey and Shayne found some interesting gestures of generosity toward those in their profession. One in particular stood out:

It happened in Kearney, Nebraska. A beauty salon (that shall remain nameless) gave nurses free makeovers if they showed up in their scrubs!  Just what you want to do? Lets see…

“Hey Mary, my 12 hour shift is over and I heard X salon was giving nurses FREE makeovers. I think I’ll just swing by and get one.”

“Don’t forget to wear those dirty bloody scrubs you have on or they won’t give it to you!”

As they say, it’s really the thought that counts…

Listen to our guest this week RN Jeff Breslin of the Michigan Nurses Association on The Safe Patient Care Act. “Every Michigan resident deserves to receive safe care at every hospital, every time. Michigan’s nurses are simply asking for our leaders’ support to make that happen.” Jeff will talk with us about this important initiative that is sweeping the country.

And later, a fierce leader, and one of our favorite guests, Healthcare and Human Rights Advocate Donna Smith, will join us. Read more…

As part of their tribute to wasting time, Casey and Shayne tell stories about their childhood. Although not particularly newsworthy or medically related, they are none-the-less rather funny. Casey shares about the time she was hit by a car (not hurt) and ran home and tried to hide it from her mother. Unfortunately, the gentleman that hit her found her phone number in one of the school books she dropped while fleeing the scene. Find out what happened when Casey’s mother finds out. 

And Shayne…well growing up as an only child in rural Oklahoma was not exactly eventful. He shares about the time he made Jello salad with his mom.

Good show this week! RN Betty Sparks  joins us. Betty is a nurse at Newton Wellesley Hospital and is trained to provide care and treatment in the wake of all types of disasters.

Betty, who was on the ground to help victims after Hurricane Katrina and in Haiti after the devastating earthquake, was working at the medical tent at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. She was there to respond and care for the victims when the bombs exploded. She is trained to do this and she has seen horrific scenes before, but this time it was different; she knew her son was at the finish line with a camera getting ready to photograph her daughter-in-law as she finished the race. Read more…

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Ahhhh, technology! It’s a very good thing, but when are we going too far? Should ROBOTS replace doctors and nurses? Can they diagnose and treat patients? Well it’s already happening in some hospitals. Get the good, the bad, and the ugly on this emerging trend when Casey and Shayne visit with National Nurses United RN Deborah Burger.

Our bodies and our hungers carry messages; carry wisdom. Turning these into our enemies in order to lose weight, or try to change other habits, is almost never sustainable. Author and psychologist David Bedrick returns to the show and will show us how to listen to our bodies, befriend our hungers, and develop more loving strategies to effect change.

David is the author of the best-selling book, Talking Back To Dr. Phil, Alternatives to Mainstream Psychology. David facilitates an on-air process with Casey about “losing weight”. Check it out on our website or visit www.talkingbacktodrphil.com.

AND, this week’s top 10 craziest things patients have insisted on keeping in their hospital rooms. A hint: A cherished, stuffed, real dog; the family pet for 20 years who recently passed on.

Here’s a thought for all of you nurses out there who have been thinking about getting your Master of Science in Nursing degree. Read more…

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Welcome to Nurse Talk, where laughter is the best medicine and random acts of unconsciousness can (and do) occur. This week, live from our studio atop the beautiful U-Haul storage warehouses in Corte Madera CA, we gather to take Casey and Shayne’s blood pressure as well as talk to Dr. Elson Haas, the Founder of the Preventive Medical Center of Marin, and Sandra Evans, the organizer of the 1st Annual Marin Healthy Palooza. If you are in or around the San Francisco Bay Area on Saturday May 11th, you must stop by and visit this unique health fair. All the info is on our website or you can visit www.marinhealthypalooza.org.

And we always joke about our nurses at National Nurses United and how busy they are. Even though we do like to have fun with that, its true! RN and Co-President of National Nurses United Jean Ross will be with us to talk about H.R. 6411, the Inclusive Prosperity Act (aka the Robin Hood Tax). I swear these people never sleep—but that would be wrong because they are nurses and they know the value of a good night’s rest. That said, this week we find over a thousand of our friends, aka the “Sea of Red Scrubs,” on Capitol Hill this week at a rally to support Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison as he reintroduces the Inclusive Prosperity Act. Read more…

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“How does one lose weight when they have hyperinsulinemia (high fasting insulin levels and high fasting glucose). I am prediabetic and having a very hard time losing weight. Is counting calories or carbs going to work better for me to lose weight?”

Well, tune in for the answer when Bay Area health and fitness expert Joanie Greggains joins Casey and Shayne this week on Nurse Talk. Joanie is now a regular on Nurse Talk with her weekly segment Fit Happens and her monthly house calls to the Nurse Talk studio to answer listener questions. Wow, does she know what she’s talking about! In just the 45 minutes she was with us I learned so much, including that if I don’t trim down it’s not only bad for my health (of course we all know that), but soon my airline tickets will cost more because they are starting to charge by the pound! Can you imagine?

“Well, sister, I am so sorry I can’t make it to the family reunion this year but my airfare would be over $5k one-way!”

And…a little combination of world news with an oh-so-slight medical twist. While Kim Jong Un, the 28-year-old petulant third generation dictator of North Korea, struggles to find his “inner and outer” power, our crack research team at Nurse Talk decided to check into his country’s healthcare system. Read more…

Welcome to Nurse Talk where laughter is the best medicine. I’m Casey Hobbs
and I’m Shayne Mason – and we are two of the thousands of nurses on duty today.

Casey: “Oh lord, I don’t know why we had to share that with you but for some reason we felt compelled to play a clip of President Lyndon Johnson ordering pants. He could have used the talents of Nixon’s secretary Rose Mary Woods…erase-erase-erase…my…what a bit of history.”

We’ve touched on this issue before but it’s worth talking about again.

The statistics regarding back injuries are frightening! Approximately 80% of adults are expected to experience back injuries in their lifetime with 10% re-injuring! When it comes to health care professionals, the facts get are even worse.

According to national statistics, six of the top 10 professions at greatest risk for back injury are nurse’s aides, licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, health aides, radiology technicians, and physical therapists. Healthcare industry workers sustain 4.5 times more overexertion injuries than any other type of worker.

Well, registered nurses from hospitals in Kansas City and St. Louis, members of National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC), with the help of their state legislators, recently introduced HB 856 - the Safe Lift Bill. Sounds like a no brainer right? Listen and find out how challenging it was to get this bill introduced. Read more…

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Casey: “Well, that was a 100-year-old stand up comedian who loves to perform. Our producer found her on YouTube—sitting down doing ‘stand up.’ Proves that laughter is the best medicine at any age.”

Keeping up with the RNs from National Nurses United—Registered nurses at Jackson Park Hospital and Medical Center on Chicago’s South Side reached an agreement with hospital officials on their first ever collective bargaining contract that includes significant improvements in patient care protections. We’ll talk with RN Monica Lloyd from the great city of Chicago about this and more. And did we say Monica is on fire about this good news!?!

And later in the show, if you haven’t found this great app called iTriage, look no further than the Nurse Talk website. iTriage is an amazing resource for everyone.Read more…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 53:45 — 73.8MB) | Embed

For those of you old enough to remember cassettes or even 8-tracks (yikes!) this week’s show is a “rewind,” but it isn’t as old as an 8-track. That makes no sense and sometimes neither do we…but this show is a Best of Nurse Talk and you don’t want to miss it. Check out all the Nurse Talk broadcasts at www.nursetalksite.com.

Coming up next week, if you haven’t found this great app called iTriage, look no further than the Nurse Talk website—in fact here’s the direct link http://nursetalksite.com/itriage/.

iTriage is an amazing resource for everyone. For example: have a symptom? Go to the iTriage symptom checker. Need information about a disease? You’ll find complete clinical descriptions from A-Z. Is your medical issue an emergency or do you need to find a clinic or hospital near you? Yip, you guessed it; a complete directory of everything in your area including WAIT times. It’s incredible and we use it all the time. You should too, its free and it works. Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Wayne Guerra joins us for a conversation on this revolutionary tool.
Read more…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 53:45 — 73.8MB) | Embed

We have a very good show this week. How many of you have ever wanted to talk back to Dr. Phil? Well, I, for one, have. Now a new book called none other than Talking Back to Dr. Phil has been written by our guest David Bedrick.

In his book, Bedrick tackles the major issues that provide fodder for reality shows and pop culture experts, including body image and weight loss, addiction, domestic abuse and bigotry. That’s right…Talking Back to Dr. Phil moves past simple, pop culture answers to our psychological wounds and shines a light on the path of loving kindness that leads to deep, emotional healing. You really will be dazzled by this great conversation with the author.

Why should anyone care about legislative bills that have to do with healthcare and staffing? Sounds boring? Not so fast! AB 975 Charity Care? Check it out. Or maybe SB 631 Observation Study? You don’t want to end up in a hallway at the hospital for over 24 hours do you? Listen as we check in to see what the California Nurses Association has been doing lately to fight for nurses and their patients. Read more…