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A little about iTriage, an amazing resource for everyone that you can access online or download the app to your smartphone or tablet. Have a symptom? Go to iTriage Symptom Checker, need information about a disease? You’ll find complete clinical descriptions from A to Z.

National Nurses United Jackson Park nurses in Chicago recently won their first ever collective bargaining contract that includes significant improvements in patient care protections. RN Monica Lloyd is here to speak with us. “The people we take care of are poor or middle class. Some have insurance, some do not, but I still believe they deserve the best care possible…Our patient ratios were 8 to 1, 9 to 1…It’s hard for us to take care of our patients when we are already overloaded.”

Casey agrees, “When nurses are treated better, patients get treated better.”  Monica’s advice to other nurses around the country: “You’ve got to stop saying ‘It won’t change.’ You’ve got to make the change.”

And…health trivia…this week’s question and last week’s answer. Don’t miss it. Read more…

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Keeping up with the RN’s 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. 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. It’s free and it works. We welcome back Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Wayne Guerra for a conversation on this revolutionary tool. Read more…

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

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…

There was “dancing in the streets” in Chicago at the National Nurses United Staff Nurse Assembly. O.K. So we looked a little silly in our Robin Hood hats. But 3,000 nurses and 2,000 of their closest friends got some attention for the Heal America Campaign .

And…whatever your political persuasion, we invite you to just check out an idea that might not be so crazy. Visit robinhoodtax.org.

And one of the highlights in Chicago…Anna Deavere Smith’s Tell Us Where It Hurts performance.

“Tell Us is one of the most relevant current theatrical pieces and will hopefully be taken on the road across the country…Revealed in the dialog of the show is the courage of nurses in face of a system which places barriers on their ability to heal.”

–Kevin O’Donnell
Member of the American Theater Critics Association; New York Times Company Foundation-sponsored critic fellow

Read the whole review. This show is a must-see for all nurses (administrators and legislators).

While we were away in the beautiful city of Chicago… We asked those left behind to pick a great “rerun” and so…we are playing it again, Sam. We present…RN Greg Montes on mental health services cuts and Hal Isen on making your life a work of art.

Read more…

Nurses from around the United States took part in a rally at Daly Plaza in Chicago on May 18, 2012 to support a half-percent financial transaction tax, known as the Robin Hood Tax, on Wall Street trades as part of their campaign to heal America.

Read more…

Nurses, Robin Hood and the band of merry women and men, and scores of friends are strapping on their boots and preparing to head to Chicago Friday, May 18.

The absence of AWOL G-8 leaders, who decided to run off and hide in the woods of rural Maryland rather than face a disgruntled public, has not dampened the spirits of Robin Hood and the nurses who will proceed with a colorful march through Chicago streets.

The march culminates in a Daley Plaza rally where Robin and the nurses will scour the brush and trees for the absent world leaders to determine what they are doing to help average families, not just the banks and Wall Street high rollers, in the midst of continuing economic gloom.

Renown musician Tom Morello, The Nightwatchman, will join the festivities, performing at Daley Plaza.

“Bailouts and bonuses for the banks, austerity for the rest of us, that’s been the prescription of the 1 percent and far too many among the G-8. No wonder they have run off to seclusion at Camp David,” said Karen Higgins, RN, co-president of National Nurses United, which is sponsoring the May 18 action.

“But they won’t be able to avoid the 99 percent for long if they don’t take meaningful action to heal the U.S. Read more…

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Joining Casey (Dan was excused to go to Chuck E. Cheese with seven 8-year olds) is RN Dorothy Ahmad. Dorothy is a CCU nurse at Stroger Hospital in Chicago. Recently registered nurses at Jackson Park Hospital and Medical Center on Chicago’s South Side voted by 85 percent to join National Nurses United, the nation’s largest union and professional association of RNs. The Jackson Park RNs voted 94 to 16 to join NNU. Read more…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 53:43 — 49.2MB) | Embed

Joining Casey (Dan was excused to go to Chuck E. Cheese with seven 8-year olds) is RN Dorothy Ahmad. Dorothy is a CCU nurse at Stroger Hospital in Chicago. Recently registered nurses at Jackson Park Hospital and Medical Center on Chicago’s South Side voted by 85 percent to join National Nurses United, the nation’s largest union and professional association of RNs. The Jackson Park RNs voted 94 to 16 to join NNU.

Casey then visits with Jennifer Gainza, the communications director for the Northern California chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. We asked Jennifer to come on the show and talk with us about MS, the signs the symptoms and current treatments. Read more…

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Photo: Nurses from Chicago’s landslide vote to join NNU

Well, this week we continue with our little walk down memory lane. We’ll hear from a caller named Mary Ellen who by the end of the call was not very happy with us. She recently sent us an email telling us her legs still hurt and we are crackpots!

For more where this came from check out our Comedy Pharm at nursetalksite.com.

Joining Casey (Dan was excused to go to Chuck E. Cheese with seven 8-year olds) is RN Dorothy Ahmad. Dorothy is a CCU nurse at Stroger Hospital in Chicago. Recently registered nurses at Jackson Park Hospital and Medical Center on Chicago’s South Side voted by 85 percent to join National Nurses United, the nation’s largest union and professional association of RNs. The Jackson Park RNs voted 94 to 16 to join NNU.

Casey then visits with Jennifer Gainza, the communications director for the Northern California chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. We asked Jennifer to come on the show and talk with us about MS, the signs the symptoms and current treatments.

We were recently prompted to inquire about Multiple Sclerosis when our Nurse Talk web producer Tonia McCallum’s 20-year-old niece Austyn was diagnosed. Nurse Talk is sponsoring her team. Read more…