Betty Sparks in Haiti during Earthquake Relief.

RN Betty Sparks joins us. 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. Betty is with us to share what it was like to be at the horrific scene.

Image courtesy of Businesswire

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.

Also, Jean Ross, recaps on the importance of the Inclusive Prosperity Act and reports back on the SEA OF RED SCRUBS march.  

Check out this fun, new MOVIE TRAILER about National Nurse Magazine “going viral” after launching their all-new interactive, more shareable, DIGITAL EDITION.   After you watch the trailer, go check out the magazine –  brought to you by National Nurses United.

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. Trust us – this is important even if it isn’t a sexy topic. The next time you are in a hospital you want to make sure whoever is lifting or moving you doesn’t have a bad back. That could lead to – well – you may end up on the floor on top of a nurse!

And Michelle Camicia, Kaiser RN has lived almost all of her 46 years in Marin County, California. She attended nursing school at San Francisco State University and earned her Master’s in Nursing from Sonoma State University. Her life was moving along according to plan – but then in May of 2012 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Casey and Shayne talk with Michelle and Dr. Marla Anderson, Chief of the Department of General Surgery at Kaiser Permanente San Rafael, about Michelle’s personal experience since being diagnosed. They will also talk about Kaiser San Rafael’s prestigious accredited Breast Cancer Center and how it is going the extra mile to support patients.

And of course our wonderful health and fitness expert Joanie Greggains gives us another reason to listen, as she talks about jeans (the pants jeans) that help reduce cellulite! That’s what we said. You won’t want to miss this weeks edition of “Fit Happens,” only on Nurse Talk.

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.

Jackson Park RN leaders celebrate tentative agreement.

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.

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.”

Shayne: “How was your week Casey?”

Casey: “Not too bad, fairly uneventful. Of course it usually is. I watched Oprah’s ‘Where Are They Now’ and ’60 Minutes.’ And you Shayne?”

Shayne: “Well I went to beautiful Monterey and spent a few days right on the water. The weather was picture perfect. Had dinner at a beautiful restaurant – right on the water – and then took a midnight stroll – right on the water. I guess you could say it was perfect. Always good to get away. Broadens your horizons, you know.”

Casey: “Yes, so they say. I went to Europe when I was 21. Does that still count for broadening my horizons? That must have been when you were still wearing little coveralls and cowboy boots down in Oklahoma?”

That’s it—another five minutes wasted!!!!

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!?!

Jackson Park RN leaders celebrate tentative agreement.

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.

Now some exciting news. For those of you who can’t seem to remember when Nurse Talk airs, or you live in a different part of the country, or you just simply want to listen when you want to listen and not on someone else’s schedule–look no more. Nurse Talk is now available worldwide at nursetalksite.com/category/listen and on your iPhone, iPad, desktop and Android devices via the Progressive radio channel on the TuneIn app.

You can also find us on the iHeart app, iTunes and the old-fashioned way on KNEW AM 960 San Francisco Bay Area and on KKRP LaZeR 1610AM in Cowlington, Oklahoma .

And don’t forget to check out Bay Area Fitness guru Joanie Greggains every week on Nurse Talk. You can email your questions for Joanie to fithappens@nursetalksite.com. Listen to episodes of “Fit Happens” and get Joanie’s expert health tips at Fit Happens Tips. Do you know what one study found toilet water and restaurant ice have in common? You better click over and find out.

Donna Smith last summer with National Nurses United’s Medicare for All bus tour.

This week one of our good friends returns to Nurse Talk to talk about her new project, Healthcare for All Colorado. None other than Donna Smith is with. Donna as most of our listeners know, worked for five years as National Nurses United Legislative Advocate based in D.C. She just returned to her home state of Colorado and now serves as the Executive Director of Healthcare for All Colorado.

Having (successfully) gone through two bouts of cancer, Donna has great advice on how to make your insurance company accountable–at least to some degree. In her new role she will do what she has done for many years, advocate and educate people about what can be done to access healthcare and to eventually change the current system to a nationwide universal healthcare system.

For more information about Healthcare for All Colorado and National Nurses United visit: healthcareforallcolorado.org and nationalnursesunited.org.

And—it’s time to get HIP about the issue of “low bone density.” That’s right it’s time to talk about your “bones.” And no one is more qualified than Dr. Kenneth C. Howayeck. He is an author, lecturer and osteoporosis educator.

Dr. Kenneth C. Howayeck

Dr. Howayeck is an author of books on self-care, including Bone Health Made Easy.. Here’s a jaw dropper–”If you break a hip and you are over 50, 1/4 will die in the first 12 months primarily from that injury!” Not good! Only three in ten osteoporosis sufferers actually know they have this “silent killer” affliction. For great information from Dr. Howayeck check out bonehealthmadeeasy.webs.com.

And from our Scrubs Magazine Top Ten , Interesting Hospital Fashion Moments: top of scrub pants rolled down complete with pink thong and muffin top hanging out…give me a break! Unroll the tops…it’s a hospital, not a nightclub!

Donna Smith last summer with National Nurses United’s Medicare for All bus tour.

This week one of our good friends returns to Nurse Talk to talk about her new project, Healthcare for All Colorado. None other than Donna Smith is with. Donna as most of our listeners know, worked for five years as National Nurses United Legislative Advocate based in D.C. She just returned to her home state of Colorado and now serves as the Executive Director of Healthcare for All Colorado.

Having (successfully) gone through two bouts of cancer, Donna has great advice on how to make your insurance company accountable–at least to some degree. In her new role she will do what she has done for many years, advocate and educate people about what can be done to access healthcare and to eventually change the current system to a nationwide universal healthcare system.

For more information about Healthcare for All Colorado and National Nurses United visit: healthcareforallcolorado.org and nationalnursesunited.org.

Donna Smith last summer with National Nurses United’s Medicare for All bus tour.

This week one of our good friends returns to Nurse Talk to talk about her new project, Healthcare for All Colorado. None other than Donna Smith is with. Donna as most of our listeners know, worked for five years as National Nurses United Legislative Advocate based in D.C. She just returned to her home state of Colorado and now serves as the Executive Director of Healthcare for All Colorado.

Having (successfully) gone through two bouts of cancer, Donna has great advice on how to make your insurance company accountable–at least to some degree. In her new role she will do what she has done for many years, advocate and educate people about what can be done to access healthcare and to eventually change the current system to a nationwide universal healthcare system.

For more information about Healthcare for All Colorado and National Nurses United visit: healthcareforallcolorado.org and nationalnursesunited.org.

Donna Smith last summer with National Nurses United’s Medicare for All bus tour.

This week one of our good friends returns to Nurse Talk to talk about her new project, Healthcare for All Colorado. None other than Donna Smith is with. Donna as most of our listeners know, worked for five years as National Nurses United Legislative Advocate based in D.C. She just returned to her home state of Colorado and now serves as the Executive Director of Healthcare for All Colorado.

Having (successfully) gone through two bouts of cancer, Donna has great advice on how to make your insurance company accountable–at least to some degree. In her new role she will do what she has done for many years, advocate and educate people about what can be done to access healthcare and to eventually change the current system to a nationwide universal healthcare system.

For more information about Healthcare for All Colorado and National Nurses United visit: healthcareforallcolorado.org and nationalnursesunited.org.

And—it’s time to get HIP about the issue of “low bone density.” That’s right it’s time to talk about your “bones.” And no one is more qualified than Dr. Kenneth C. Howayeck. He is an author, lecturer and osteoporosis educator.

Dr. Kenneth C. Howayeck

Dr. Howayeck is an author of books on self-care, including Bone Health Made Easy.. Here’s a jaw dropper–”If you break a hip and you are over 50, 1/4 will die in the first 12 months primarily from that injury!” Not good! Only three in ten osteoporosis sufferers actually know they have this “silent killer” affliction. For great information from Dr. Howayeck check out bonehealthmadeeasy.webs.com.

And from our Scrubs Magazine Top Ten , Interesting Hospital Fashion Moments: top of scrub pants rolled down complete with pink thong and muffin top hanging out…give me a break! Unroll the tops…it’s a hospital, not a nightclub!

This week Shayne goes home to Oklahoma! Well at least on the radio—as we give a big warm welcome to our new affiliate 1610 AM The LaZer, America’s progressive station in Cowlington, Oklahoma. Greetings and thanks for letting us into your great state.

Shayne: “Well, Casey I am just wondering if anyone else is as confused and tired of the drama that continues to play out in our nation’s capitol? First it was the “debt ceiling,” then it was the “fiscal cliff,” now it’s the 4-door Ford “Sequester.” Have we always had these themed dramas? Lord, I even found instructions on the Internet on what to do if the “fiscal cliff” happens. Check this out:

First, relax! Then call your representative in Congress. Then turn off the TV. Postpone spending. Get some cash ready.

Why didn’t I think of that?”

Donna Smith last summer with National Nurses United’s Medicare for All bus tour.

This week one of our good friends returns to Nurse Talk to talk about her new project, Healthcare for All Colorado. None other than Donna Smith is with. Donna as most of our listeners know, worked for five years as National Nurses United Legislative Advocate based in D.C. She just returned to her home state of Colorado and now serves as the Executive Director of Healthcare for All Colorado.

Having (successfully) gone through two bouts of cancer, Donna has great advice on how to make your insurance company accountable–at least to some degree. In her new role she will do what she has done for many years, advocate and educate people about what can be done to access healthcare and to eventually change the current system to a nationwide universal healthcare system.

For more information about Healthcare for All Colorado and National Nurses United visit: healthcareforallcolorado.org and nationalnursesunited.org.

And—it’s time to get HIP about the issue of “low bone density.” That’s right it’s time to talk about your “bones.” And no one is more qualified than Dr. Kenneth C. Howayeck. He is an author, lecturer and osteoporosis educator.

Dr. Kenneth C. Howayeck

Dr. Howayeck is an author of books on self-care, including Bone Health Made Easy.. Here’s a jaw dropper–”If you break a hip and you are over 50, 1/4 will die in the first 12 months primarily from that injury!” Not good! Only three in ten osteoporosis sufferers actually know they have this “silent killer” affliction. For great information from Dr. Howayeck check out bonehealthmadeeasy.webs.com.

And from our Scrubs Magazine Top Ten , Interesting Hospital Fashion Moments: top of scrub pants rolled down complete with pink thong and muffin top hanging out…give me a break! Unroll the tops…it’s a hospital, not a nightclub!

Last but not least-we want to give a big shout out to all of you who are listening to Nurse Talk on Progressive Voices, on the Tune In app, live streaming from the San Francisco Bay Area’s KNEW 960 AM, the iHeart Radio app, iTunes, Nursetalksite.com and everywhere in between.

Ken talks with us about the recent announcement from the European Nations that 11 countries have signed on to a “financial transaction”tax, aka the Robin Hood Tax. The tax will raise billions of dollars by taxing financial transactions .50 per $100. Nurses in the U.S. have been on the leading edge of this concept and are making some headway here at home. Keep an open mind. If you listen to the simple details you might agree this is a very fair and doable measure.

Well some of you may be old enough to remember Ernestine Tomlin, the blunt Ma Bell phone receptionist. Now, we find out she’s not just a pretty face–she is an advocate for Universal Health Care! “One ring-dingy, two ringy dingy’s…hello…” and she’s off to the races.

This week we have two very honorable guests to share with you. We promised them we would not tarnish their stellar reputations so they agreed. First, Ken Zinn the D.C. based Political Director for National Nurses United then retired army nurse captain, Vietnam war veteran and founder of the Women’s Vietnam Memorial, Diane Carlson Evans.

Ken talks with us about the recent announcement from the European Nations that 11 countries have signed on to a “financial transaction”tax, aka the Robin Hood Tax. The tax will raise billions of dollars by taxing financial transactions .50 per $100. Nurses in the U.S. have been on the leading edge of this concept and are making some headway here at home. Keep an open mind. If you listen to the simple details you might agree this is a very fair and doable measure.

AND…Diane Carlson Evans who served as an army nurse in Vietnam is with us to talk about the recent announcement by the Pentagon that women can now serve in combat roles in the military. Diane shares her story and tells us that women have been serving in combat since World War 2, mostly as nurses. BUT because it was not “official” combat the women were not given weapons though were oftentimes still caught in the front lines of battle. This is an amazing story about the mostly unrecognized heroines of U.S. Wars.

Women’s Vietnam Memorial photo by Michael Sirois

Shayne and Casey compare social lives. Hmm—how does that go? Tune in and see for yourself.

You can listen and laugh every week on Saturday at 11 am in the San Francisco Bay area on KNEW 960AM or live stream at www.960knew.com. Check out our favorite apps featuring Nurse Talk for custom radio on your listening devices: Progressive Voices, TuneIn and iHeartRadio. You can also download and listen to any show anytime here at NurseTalkSite.com or on iTunes. Like us on Facebook, and you can listen there too.

And, Kira Reginato is president of Living Ideas For Elders, an eldercare management firm. And boy do we need her advice. Kira takes a call from a caller who is burned out taking care of her father in her home. Dad won’t consider other options…what can be done?

Casey: “Oh Shayne I couldn’t agree with you more. That poor thing has gone through so much, and now this! I’m sure she and papa-to-be, Kanye West, are ecstatic—but this will be such a public 9-months for them. First the paparazzi will be looking to get the best photos of the “baby bump,” and then they may try to catch her on a private beach in her bikini.”

And so starts some advice for Kim and papa Kanye. We didn’t say good advice, but it is advice.

And a visit with RN DeAnn McEwen, Co-President of the California Nurses Association, about a recent press release announcing the largest nurses union in the U.S., National Nurses United and its affiliation with the National Union of Healthcare Workers. Find out why and why you should be interested.

RN Deann McEwen last year at a rally to step up the campaign to extend guaranteed healthcare coverage to all Californians

Kira Reginato

Should you really move in mom and/or dad? What happens if they move in and won’t move out? Well here comes Kira Reginato to save the day. Kira is the host of a popular northern California radio show called “Call Kira about Aging.” Kira is president of Living Ideas For Elders, an eldercare management firm. And boy do we need her advice. With our parents and relatives aging—we are often the ones who step up to take care of their needs. And we don’t always know where to look for the answers. You won’t want to miss what Kira has to say about all of this.

What do nurses find in their pockets? With the help of Scrubs Magazine we find out. It’s not always pretty! A patient’s set of false teeth! Wrapped in a glove! Crazy but true!!!?

You can listen and laugh every week on Saturday at 11 am in the San Francisco Bay area on KNEW 960AM or live stream at www.960knew.com. Check out our favorite apps featuring Nurse Talk for custom radio on your listening devices: Progressive Voices, TuneIn and iHeartRadio. You can also download and listen to any show anytime here at NurseTalkSite.com or on iTunes. Like us on Facebook, and you can listen there too.

Casey: “Oh Shayne I couldn’t agree with you more. That poor thing has gone through so much, and now this! I’m sure she and papa-to-be, Kanye West, are ecstatic—but this will be such a public 9-months for them. First the paparazzi will be looking to get the best photos of the “baby bump,” and then they may try to catch her on a private beach in her bikini.”

And so starts some advice for Kim and papa Kanye. We didn’t say good advice, but it is advice.

And a visit with RN DeAnn McEwen about a recent press release announcing the California Nurses Association’s new affiliation with the National Union of Healthcare Workers. Find out why and why you should be interested.

RN Deann McEwen last year at a rally to step up the campaign to extend guaranteed healthcare coverage to all Californians

Kira Reginato

Should you really move in mom and/or dad? What happens if they move in and won’t move out? Well here comes Kira Reginato to save the day. Kira is the host of a popular northern California radio show called “Call Kira about Aging.” Kira is president of Living Ideas For Elders, an eldercare management firm. And boy do we need her advice. With our parents and relatives aging—we are often the ones who step up to take care of their needs. And we don’t always know where to look for the answers. You won’t want to miss what Kira has to say about all of this.

What do nurses find in their pockets? With the help of Scrubs Magazine we find out. It’s not always pretty! A patient’s set of false teeth! Wrapped in a glove! Crazy but true!!!?

You can listen and laugh every week on Saturday at 11 am in the San Francisco Bay area on KNEW 960AM or live stream at www.960knew.com. Check out our favorite apps featuring Nurse Talk for custom radio on your listening devices: Progressive Voices, TuneIn and iHeartRadio. You can also download and listen to any show anytime here at NurseTalkSite.com or on iTunes. Like us on Facebook, and you can listen there too.

And Casey offers scientific evidence that “laughter is the best medicine.” What happens when we laugh? We change physiologically when we laugh. We stretch muscles throughout our face and body, our pulse and blood pressure go up, and we breathe faster, sending more oxygen to our tissues. In the last few decades, researchers have studied laughter’s effects on the body and turned up some potentially interesting information on how it affects us:

•  Blood Flow
• Immune Response
• Blood Sugar Levels
• Relaxation and Sleep

Just to test the affects on blood flow and blood pressure, Casey and Shayne conduct a very dangerous “on air” experiment. You won’t want to miss it.

On a bit of a serious note, November is National Diabetes Month, including World Diabetes Day on Nov. 14th. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) urges people to take action and make simple but important lifestyle changes to achieve their health goals — whether they have diabetes or are at risk for the disease. For more information about Diabetes Education and Resources visit http://ndep.nih.gov/.

And RNs Jean Ross and Karen Higgins join us to talk about the recent elections, what the results mean to our country and respective states. Both Jean and Karen are full time RNs and also serve as two of the three co-presidents for National Nurses United.

And Dr. Christina Purpora joins us to talk about “horizontal violence.” A veteran RN writes, “A silent killer has made its way into nursing and slowly eaten away at the core of who we are as nurses.” This epidemic is becoming so widespread that everyone from administrators to nurses’ aides are affected by it. Dr. Purpora is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing and Health Professions at the University of San Francisco (USF). Prior to beginning her academic career in 2010, she earned a Ph.D. in nursing at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

And speaking of politics — -oh,  I don’t think we were speaking of politics — BUT let’s. Our guest this week is Michael Lighty. Michael is the Director of Public Policy for the California Nurses Association. He talks with us about the upcoming election and the high stakes in California with Propositions 30 and 32. Often times these propositions are written in such a way that they are very difficult to understand — or shall we say interpret.  Michael helps decode and tells us why voting yes on 30 and no on 32 is important for nurses and patients. For more  California voting information or a national voting guide visit nationalnursesunited.org.

Do you ever have one of those nagging recurring nightmares — NAKED IN THE NURSING HOME? Well, Naked In The Nursing Home, The Women’s Guide to Paying for Long-Term Care Without Going Broke written by Harold L Lustig might help reduce the frequency of that dream. Mr. Lustig is a financial adviser who specializes in working with the elderly and their families. So important, and the book is fun to read as well. Here are some of the things you can check out in the book: Tricks and Traps of Medicaid, including mistakes to avoid and secrets to navigating the system; why you may be eligible for free long-term care if you’re a wartime veteran, or the spouse or surviving spouse of one. All worth the price of admission — figuratively speaking!

Co-Host Emeritus, Maggie McDermott and Host Casey Hobbs when Nurse Talk was a baby.

As we continue to celebrate Nurse Talk’s 4th birthday we, of course, had to drag out yet another blast from the beginning days of Nurse Talk with then co-host Maggie McDermott and one of our favorite callers Muriel. And for those of you who might be concerned about Muriel — we recently contacted her and she has completely recovered from her “chortling” disorder. She is remarried and has started a new career as a minister—a woman of the cloth. Well, it’s always nice to find a happy ending. You can listen to Muriel’s call at the Nurse Talk Comedy Pharm.

Michael Lighty

And speaking of politics — -oh,  I don’t think we were speaking of politics — BUT let’s. Our guest this week is Michael Lighty. Michael is the Director of Public Policy for the California Nurses Association. He talks with us about the upcoming election and the high stakes in California with Propositions 30 and 32. Often times these propositions are written in such a way that they are very difficult to understand — or shall we say interpret.  Michael helps decode and tells us why voting yes on 30 and no on 32 is important for nurses and patients. For more  California voting information or a national voting guide visit nationalnursesunited.org.

Do you ever have one of those nagging recurring nightmares — NAKED IN THE NURSING HOME? Well, Naked In The Nursing Home, The Women’s Guide to Paying for Long-Term Care Without Going Broke written by Harold L Lustig might help reduce the frequency of that dream. Mr. Lustig is a financial adviser who specializes in working with the elderly and their families. So important, and the book is fun to read as well. Here are some of the things you can check out in the book: Tricks and Traps of Medicaid, including mistakes to avoid and secrets to navigating the system; why you may be eligible for free long-term care if you’re a wartime veteran, or the spouse or surviving spouse of one. All worth the price of admission — figuratively speaking!

AND watch out when you go to your doctor for your annual visit. Check the bill because “airline-style” billing is alive and well in the medical profession. Check this out.  One woman found extra charges for asking a question about a pain in her back — cha ching — $50! And another for asking about a foot sprain — cha ching, $65.

You can listen and laugh every week on Saturday at 11 am in the San Francisco Bay area on KNEW 960AM or live stream at www.960knew.com. Check out our favorite apps featuring Nurse Talk for custom radio on your  listening devices: Progressive Voices, TuneIn and iHeartRadio. You can also download and listen to any show anytime here at NurseTalkSite.com or on iTunes. Like us on Facebook, and you can listen there too.

Oh lord…on the show this week we have a horrible sound ensemble that includes what is now being touted as “The worst sound EVER”—a knife against a glass bottle, followed by the screeching sound of chalk on a chalkboard, the sound of a ruler on a bottle, and the sound of nails on a chalkboard. If these noises don’t raise the hair on your chin—well—then you must be really Zen or hard of hearing. More fun with this on the show. You can listen here.

AND—we all know the V.A. hospital system is a lifeline for our returning veterans. What we don’t know or may not think about is the overwhelming case loads for the healthcare practioners who care for these vets. Recently V.A. System RNs won a NATIONAL CONTRACT that they say will ensure vets the level of QUALITY CARE they deserve. At issue for a long time has been the lack of sufficient staffing among other safety concerns. V.A. RN Irma Westmoreland is with us to talk about this landmark contract. Irma also talks about the advances that have been made within the system to increase and improve immediate care for Veterans. We don’t hear enough about the good that is being done and the improvements being made so this is great news to share.

Joanie Greggains

For those of you who live in the Bay Area—you probably already know and love Joanie Greggains, one of America’s favorite health and exercise personalities. Her TV exercise show, Morning Stretch, aired for 18 years, and her popular #1 talk radio show, The Joanie Greggains Show, was heard for 25 years on KGO Radio 810 AM in San Francisco, CA. Both have made her a familiar, popular, and respected authority in the health and fitness field. Joanie drills through ten “Barriers to Exercise.” Turns out Casey has every one of them. Check out Joanie’s website at www.joaniegreggains.com.

Casey and Shayne talk a little bit about the meningitis outbreak. For the non-nurses in the audience, what is meningitis? How does one get it? What are the treatments? Is it always deadly?

That and more on Nurse Talk. You can listen and laugh every week on Saturday at 11 am in the San Francisco Bay area on KNEW 960AM or live stream at www.960knew.com. You can find us on Progressive Voices, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, & iTunes, the whole bit!

Deb Nault

We’ve got a visit with Deb Nault, RN, MS. Deb has more than 35 years of experience in women’s health care, including working as a certified nurse midwife in Michigan hospitals and as an adjunct faculty member at Michigan State University’s College of Nursing. She is currently director of nursing practice at the Michigan Nurses Association, the largest union for registered nurses in Michigan.

As is the case across the country—the stakes are high in Michigan this election cycle. Due to current Governor Rick Snyder’s slash and burn measures, working people in the state are standing up in support of Prop 2, an initiative that guarantees public and private workers the right to form unions and bargain collectively. Governor Snyder, like his conservative counterpart, Scott Walker in Wisconsin, continues to cut spending on the backs of the working middle class. That’s why the mighty Michigan Nurses Association has come out in support of Prop 2. For more information visit minurses.org.

Evan Falchuk of Best Doctors

What goes through your mind when you hear the word misdiagnosis? Nostalgia about when you won the Miss Iowa contest? Burt Parks? No?

Despite extensive new technologies, millions of patients worldwide are being treated for the wrong conditions. No laughing matter. Misdiagnoses mean needless suffering and hundreds of millions of dollars wasted each year. Enter Evan Falchuk, an attorney and Vice Chairman of Best Doctors, a company dedicated to achieving direct and immediate improvements in the quality and cost of healthcare.

And we welcome back Hal Isen, the creator of Core Wisdom. What nourishes your spirit and empowers you to live each day with wisdom, vitality and joy? What enables you to fulfill the dreams you have for yourself, your family, and your workplace? How do you unleash your creativity and your power to take effective action? We’ll be talking with Hal about one aspect of that equation called “being present.” What does that mean? Hope you can take some time to listen because this is an engaging conversation that can help nurses express compassion without going into an emotional black hole. Hal will be part of the new Nurse Talk interactive online chat series starting in November.

Good old Mad TV—just love that. CHUAAAAAA you know whutt????? Uh uh!

National Nurses United Legislative Advocate, Donna Smith

Most of our listeners know…we love our Donna Smith. Since the start of Nurse Talk Donna has been and is—a remarkable contributor and a tireless advocate for single payer healthcare. She is a legislative organizer for National Nurses United and no one knows healthcare/political issues like Donna. And at the heart of the matter—she doesn’t really believe healthcare—and access to it—should be a political issue. Donna says, “It’s a matter of heart and humanity. It just is.” Having just been diagnosed with cancer (for the second time) Donna now faces what so many sick AND INSURED do—her insurance company is denying medications and treatment. Donna talks about this and more …coming up. Check out some of her blog posts at MichaelMoore.com.

AND…listener Sharon B. gets some answers from Stanford nephrologist, Dr. Anjali Saxsena. Dr. Saxsena talks about Kidney disease—the symptoms, the treatments—and the National Kidney Foundation. Learn more at the National Kidney Foundation.

Hives in Phoenix…A listener is having a rough time—but keeps her sense of humor about it all. Gets nothing useful from the nurses—but—she probably knew she wouldn’t anyway!

Healthcare Trivia strikes again. This weeks question: What is the strongest muscle in your body? That’s right—that’s what we said. Here’s a hint—we all use it practically all through the day. You could win a $25 gift certificate to Starbucks if you are the first to respond with the right answer. Call 1-800-977-1863 or contest@nursetalksite.com.

Trivia was brought to you in partnership with iTriage. iTriage was founded in 2008 by two emergency medicine physicians to empower people to make better healthcare decisions, and improve healthcare delivery. The company’s mobile healthcare platform offers a proprietary Symptom-to-Provider™ pathway that empowers patients to make better healthcare decisions.

You can listen and laugh every week on Saturdays at 11 am in the Boston area on station WWZN 1510AM or live stream at www.revolutionboston.com and in the San Francisco Bay area on KNEW 960AM or live stream at www.960knew.com. Thursdays at 7pm Eastern on RadioOrNot.com. Check out the iHeartRadio app for free and live custom radio. You can also download and listen to any show anytime here at NurseTalkSite.com or on iTunes. Like us on Facebook, and you can listen there too.

Remember, laughter is the best medicine.

Carolyn is just one of the people nurses and the Campaign for a Healthy California has talked to about healthcare. Carolyn knew she was having a heart attack but was afraid to go to the hospital. She thought it might be better to die than to saddle her sons with the burden of her medical bills. Fortunately she survived, but Caroline is 135,000 dollars in debt to health “care”.

The audience at our Town Hall meeting to discuss Medicare for All was distressed by Carolyn’s story, but not entirely shocked. Nurses are hearing many of these kinds of stories as we travel through California asking the public to “Tell Us Where it Hurts.”

Find out more including the bus tour schedule here:

www.NursesHealAmerica.org

It seems the California Hospital Association and United Healthcare West are pushing a proposal to allow all California hospitals to suspend compliance with the life-saving 2004 RN Patient Ratio law. Their excuse—California’s budget problems—even though the proposal would apply to private hospitals as well as public facilities, and despite the fact that California hospitals are making record profits—$4,463,827,667 in 2010 alone. Yes, that’s TRILLION. Learn more at nationalnursesunited.org.

from the Patient Advocate Desk—our friend and frequent guest RN and healthcare activist DeAnn McEwentalks about life-saving RN-Patient Ratios and what you need to know when you go to a hospital.

It seems the California Hospital Association and United Healthcare West are pushing a proposal to allow all California hospitals to suspend compliance with the life-saving 2004 RN Patient Ratio law. Their excuse—California’s budget problems—even though the proposal would apply to private hospitals as well as public facilities, and despite the fact that California hospitals are making record profits—$4,463,827,667 in 2010 alone. Yes, that’s TRILLION. Learn more at nationalnursesunited.org.

Nurses and the Campaign for a Healthy California are traveling in a bus to promote Medicare for All. Along the way we are doing health screenings in the communities we visit. We’re asking the public to “Tell Us Where It Hurts” with regard to their healthcare.

Here Joan Potts and Myra DeTate tell us about their struggle to obtain health care. Interviews are part of the Campaign for a Healthy California and Nurses Campaign to Heal America.

Get the full bus tour schedule at: www.NursesHealAmerica.org

Volunteer Nurses and Donna by the Medicare For All Bus

Unrelenting and not fearful of any CEO’s rage or the loss of a political contribution, cancer, illness and injury march on. It is with that sort of fearless and unwavering force that the nurses of National Nurses United and the patients for whom they advocate are advancing the cause for healthcare justice.

We’re on the road in California bringing the message that it doesn’t really matter what the Supreme Court announces about the Affordable Care Act’s mandate that we all purchase private insurance or pay fines for not doing so.

I know, I know. All the hoopla. All the drama. All the buildup by the Republicans and the Democrats and the media falling all over themselves to say what the Supreme Court’s ruling means for November’s presidential election. But you know what? My cancer doesn’t care.

It doesn’t matter which way the Supremes take this. So long as the private insurance giants are in my life and in my body, those insurance companies do what they do to keep their costs down and make money. Making me healthy and whole again is not their concern or their primary motivation.

The nurses care, though. And that is why the bus tour through California is bringing the message of the only way we can begin to make our care truly be our care – Medicare for all for life. Improved, expanded and providing a single standard of high quality care Medicare for all for life. For all and without financial barrier. That’s healthcare. And that’s care that will help me and millions of others facing cancer or other illness and injuries know that we are the ones who are served by our healthcare system not any presidential candidate her or other politician or media giant. Healthcare. Not Supreme Court decision care.

So join us. We’re making our way through California, and we’d love to have you join us. Tonight in San Bernardino and then on to a city near you – Bakersfield, Fresno, Modesto, Stockton, Chico, San Rafael, San Jose, Oakland, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, Glendale, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, West Covina. All in the next few days. Watch for the bus.

Because until our demands are louder than the billows of hot air, the counting of profits, and the shouting of the pundits and surrounding all the political maneuvering, cancer doesn’t care. Do you? I do. Let’s do the right thing so that if and when illness strikes, we aren’t waiting for any judge – in black robes or in business suits working for the insurance companies – to say what our healthcare will be.

And we talk with one of our favorite guests RN and Co-President of National Nurses United, Jean Ross. Jean will tell us about the upcoming Nurses Assembly in Chicago next week where over 1200 nurses will gather to talk about everything from healthcare to Medicare and beyond. The nurses will also hit the streets of Chicago in a peaceful demonstration to promote a Wall Street Transaction Tax. Check out this Bill Moyers (PBS) interview with National Nurses United Executive Director Rose Ann Demoro as she talks about the “Robin Hood” tax. Peeps—no matter what your political persuasion—it makes sense!

And then..for you 60’s hippies…lets talk about Dropping Acid! That’s right…but of course, not the kind you think. Dr. Jamie Koufman will be with us to talk about Acid Reflux and what you can do to control or cure it by simply changing your diet. Dr. Koufman has written a book called Dropping Acid, The Reflux Diet Cookbook and Cure. According to the book, acid reflux affects 30-50% of the population. You won’t want to miss this.

And of course, the Golden Bed Pan Award, In My Day with Lynn Ruth Miller, Phobia of the Week and more…not sure how much more…but more!

Ladies and gentlemen, let's give it up for our new co-host, Shayne Mason.

Let’s give a warm welcome to our new co-host RN Shayne Mason. We are so glad to have him with us and just to show our appreciation we had all kinds of studio chaos waiting for him. Three in-studio guests, advice from our retired co-host Maggie McDermott, technical difficulties and more. Shayne took it like a pro! Not to mention he brings to the show a wealth of medical expertise and, of course, a grand sense of humor.

Shayne holds an RN, BRN, NP, is an instructor at USF (University of San Francisco) and a psych nurse at a clinic in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. That psych background will come in handy!

Terri Tate

On the show this week is RN, humorist, author Terri Tate. What makes all the wrong things funny? Terri Tate will tell you. Terri claims that humor saved her life. Most people wouldn’t find two bouts of disfiguring oral cancer, 30 plus hours of surgery, 7 weeks of radiation, endless complications and a 2% chance of survival all that funny. Terri wasn’t laughing the whole time but claims that her sense of humor never completely deserted her. Nineteen years after treatment—alive and laughing, Terri talks about her remarkable path and her new book, As Is.

Cameron Harris

Wiz kid Cameron Harris is stops by for a visit. Some of you may remember Cameron, at the ripe old age of sixteen, started a podcast company (Harwood Podcast Network) that now boasts over 900 different shows. The line up includes IN RANGE Cameron’s show with his advice about how to live a healthy active life with Type 1 Diabetes. Cameron himself was diagnosed at the age of eight.

Also with us is D.C. Correspondent and National Nurses United Legislative Advocate Donna Smith. Donna gives a great answer to the question–why don’t we see the following headlines in the media?

NNU's Donna Smith

• “For Profit Healthcare Poses Threat to Medicare, Federal Deficit, and Overall Economy in Coming Decades”
• “Social Security Trust Fund Even Larger Than It Was Last Year”
• “Growing Wealth Inequity Will Lead to Social Security Imbalance Later This Century”

And of course…Lynn Ruth Miller talks about her mother’s use of vinegar in her award winning segment, In My Day. Casey and Shayne take some email questions, and at the end of the show Casey takes Shayne’s blood pressure to see if he is stable! Viola….he’s still alive!

Now you can advertise your business with Nurse Talk for as little as $500 for six months! Unbeatable we say.
If you want to spend more..that’s o.k too. Contact pattie@nursetalksite.com.

Have you heard about the iTriage Thank a Nurse Contest? Would you like to thank a nurse for the impact he or she has made on your life? Visit the iTriage Facebook page to make a nomination.

Check out our new strategic partner, iTriage

Upload a picture of a nurse you’d like to thank with a story describing why he or she deserves to be recognized. The winning nurse and nominator will both win a $75 Massage Envy gift card and a $100 Scrubs & Beyond gift card for the winning nurse. Go to www.facebook.com/iTriage.

You can listen and laugh every week on Saturdays at 11 am in the Boston area on station WWZN 1510AM or live stream at www.revolutionboston.com and in the San Francisco Bay area on KNEW 960AM or live stream at www.960knew.com. Check out the iHeartRadio app for free and live custom radio. You can also download and listen to any show anytime here at NurseTalkSite.com or on iTunes. Like us on Facebook, and you can listen there too.

We dedicate this show to Casey’s father Robert S. Hobbs who passed away April 25, 2012.

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. and global economies. A Robin Hood tax on Wall Street speculation and the gambling with people’s pensions, savings, and homes would be a good start. The tax can produce $350 billion or more every year for a national and global rebirth,” Higgins said.

More than 65 U.S. and international environmental, health, labor, faith, anti-poverty, and other organizations have endorsed the May 18 action in Chicago and its call for a small tax on Wall Street trades on stocks, bonds, derivatives and other financial instruments.

In addition, nurses and the Robin Hood marchers will call attention to the unwarranted pain of U.S. and global austerity measures while those who caused the 2008 economic collapse continue to party and profit.

Among endorsers of the event are the AFL-CIO, Health Gap (Global Action Project), Oxfam America, National People’s Action, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, United Students Against Sweatshops, Friends of the Earth, National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities, ACT V: The End of AIDS, European Federation of Public Services Unions, NFL Players Association, Public Services International, Korean Health and Medical Workers Union.

Chicago area supporters include Occupy Chicago, Chicago Teachers Union, Chicago Jobs with Justice, Citizen Action/Illinois, ARISE Chicago, and Chicago Coalition of Black Trade Unionists.

Anna Deavere Smith

A big highlight of the 2012 Staff Nurse Assembly in Chicago is Anna Deavere Smith, actress, playwright, and professor. She is currently the artist in residence at the Center for American Progress.

Ms. Smith, called by Newsweek “the most exciting individual in American theater” will be performing a new stage monologue (as only she can) called, Tell Me Where It Hurts, Stories from the Front Lines of Nursing.

You can find out more about the Staff Nurse Assembly where nurse leaders and their international allies will convene  to assess their common progress, exchange ideas, and create an ongoing plan for positive change at nationalnursesunited.org.

The many heartfelt responsibilities they received were deeply moving, and we have shared many of them, with your approval, with the media and the public in an ongoing effort to urge action to protect our families and communities. As RoseAnn notes, the need for action is greater than ever, and we hope to continue to share your stories as a call to end our healthcare nightmare once and for all and to promote other changes in national, state and local priorities.

They request for you to continue to send your stories, and those from your family, neighbors, and friends. For openings, below is the personal story Donna Smith of NNU, a frequent Nurse Talk guest, who you may remember as well from Michael Moore’s film “SiCKO.”

Please share your story here! | Read sample stories

Watch and share this video:

Rose An DeMoro

The Real Cure for “Obamacare”: Medicare for All

By Rose Ann DeMoro
NNU Executive Director

With the approaching Supreme Court showdown on the President Obama’s 2010 health care law (the Affordable Care Act, modeled on Mitt Romney’s law in Massachusetts), the U.S. healthcare system remains a dysfunctional mess, as nurses bear witness to every day. In late March, the Court will devote six hours over three days to oral arguments on the legal challenges to the law – the most time the Court has given a case in 56 years – accompanied by a possible record 100 “friend of the court” briefs, Kaiser Health News reported February 16.

As nurses have observed the past year, the economic crisis has accelerated broad declines in health linked to job loss, high medical bills, and families having to choose between paying for food, housing, clothing or healthcare. More »

Donna Smith

I Dreamed About My Cancer Docs Last Night

By Donna Smith
NNU Staff, Patient

My sleep was restless last night except for the snippets of scenes where I was being tended to by my cancer doctors from some time ago. In those dreams they cared for my body and comforted my fears as we worked together to overcome my illness. Of course time had changed things a bit and their offices were interwoven with the sweet things only dreams can infuse, but it sure was nice to revisit a time in my medical life when the system was even a little less broken than it is today. Don’t get me wrong, the bills were crushing then and some of the barriers daunting, but the slide to an even more difficult healthcare system for patients and our providers continues and deepens. More »

Tell NNU where it hurts you!

The nurses will listen.  But more importantly, the nurses will make sure that the shared stories are the fabric of their truthful assessment of the broken system and that when the transformed system becomes a reality that the stories are part of history.

National Nurses United
8630 Fenton Street, Suite 1100
Silver Spring, MD 20910
www.NationalNursesUnited.org

Then, Dr. Barbara Greenberg, a clinical psychologist who specializes in the treatment of teens and families. She writes a regular column “The Teen Doctor” in Psychology Today. Her recent article focuses on why teens can be so competitive during the holidays. She has some good ideas about how you can have a happy TEEN HOLIDAY. We’ll talk to her about her new book, Teenage as a Second Language: A Parent’s Guide to Becoming Bilingual. Oh, that is good!

And, a segment every nurse needs, brought to you in partnership with Nurse Together.com, Annette Tersigni RN, the Yoga Nurse, and founder of Yoga Nursing. Annette is a contributor to our Nurse Talk blog and has some great ideas for how the restorative principles of yoga can fight stress and “empower you to continue to serve as the nurse hero that you are.”

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.

And we share with you “Is Anybody Out There Laughing?” our campaign to change the world with laughter one person at a time. We’ll share the exciting response of a cashier in a pizza parlor when he is asked, “Is anyone in your place laughing right now?”

RNs from Chicago's landslide vote to join National Nurses United

And 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. The secret ballot election was conducted by the National Labor Relations Board. NNU will represent some 150 RNs at the hospital. “This is a victory for the nurses and the South Side of Chicago,” said one nurse.

Support Team Nurse Talk | Austyn's Allstars in the walk for a cure for MS.

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. Approximately 400,000 Americans have MS- Multiple Sclerosis, and every week about 200 people are diagnosed. Worldwide, MS affects about 2.5 million people.

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 for the 2012 Walk MS in Santa Rosa, Calif. funding research for a cure. You can donate to Team Nurse Talk | Austyn’s Allstars or join a walk or volunteer in your town this spring by contacting the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

And of course we’ve got the Golden Bed Pan Award—no hints on the winner but we do get a call from a female media mogul thanking us for the award. Hmmmm. There’s also the Phobia of the Week and some email questions.

You can listen every week in the Boston area on station WWZN 1510AM every Saturday at 11 am EST or live stream at www.revolutionboston.com and in the San Francisco Bay area Sundays at 2PM PST on KNEW 960AM or live stream at www.960knew.com. Check out the iHeartRadio app for free and live custom radio. You can also download and listen to any show anytime here at NurseTalkSite.com or on iTunes. Like us on Facebook, and you can listen there too.

It’s all here on Nurse Talk where laughter is the best medicine.

REACH NURSES NATIONWIDE
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“And I’m Dan Grady and we are two of the thousands of nurses on duty today.”

And so the show begins.

Laughter is the best medicine. Check out Nurse Talk's Comedy Pharm Funny(?) calls, stories, outtakes and bloopers

Let’s take a little walk down memory lane and listen to some old stories we told when Nurse Talk was first on the air. We think they are at least amusing—funny? Well, that is in the eyes of the beholder! Not sure any of you remember RN and co-host Maggie McDermott. Maggie comes back to visit from time to time and she always has a story about a funeral she just attended or a “fender bender” that wasn’t her fault, or a souvenir from her latest trip to the Great Wall Of China, (where she, of course, most likely offended someone). Oh, we love our Maggie. You’ll hear she and Casey in the early days on this week’s show and you can check out more clips on our website at the Comedy Pharm.

Moving on—Lost for many observers in last month’s end-of-the-year hullabaloo was the annual Gallup Honesty and Ethics Survey which by a wide margin again ranked nursing as the most honest and ethical profession.The survey found that 84% of Americans believe that nurses have “very high” or “high” honesty and ethical standards. It marks the 11th straight year—and the 12th time in 13 years—that nursing led all professions in the survey. Gallup says the only time nurses haven’t topped the list since they were included in 1999 was in 2001 after the 9/11 terror attacks, when firefighters were No. 1.

RN and co-president of National Nurses United Karen Higgins is with us to talk more about the survey and what it means for the nurses, health care and social activism.

“We hold that trust as a sacred bond with our patients and our communities. Patients and their families expect nurses to fight for them at the bedside, even when it conflicts with the profit motive of far too many hospital managers, insurance companies, and others in the healthcare industry who put the bottom line above patient interest,” said Higgins in an article about the survey on the NNU web site.

Author, Joann Spears

AND we share a wonderful story from RN, writer JoAnn Spears. JoAnn has generously contributed some stunning blog posts about her life and career as a nurse. On a recent post she describes what she learned from a mute patient in a chronic psychiatric ward. She writes, “One night, I was working on charts at the nurses’ station when I felt eyes bearing down on me. Looking up, I found the patient with the blue eyes looking down at me. I asked him what he wanted, a rhetorical question with no answer expected.” We’ll talk more with JoAnn about her post, Behind Blue Eyes | A Life Lesson from a Patient.

And Casey and Dan get a few email questions that are…well…both about feet. Ever have an in grown toenail or a heel that hurts so bad you want to cry? All I can say is God love the people who have enough nerve to send in their questions! Remember—the nurses cannot prescribe, diagnose or treat and you should always consult your physician! Now that is something we NEVER leave out of the program.

You can listen every week in the Boston area on station WWZN 1510AM every Saturday at 11 am EST or live stream at www.revolutionboston.com and in the San Francisco Bay area Sundays at 2PM PST on KNEW 960AM or live stream at www.960knew.com. Check out the iHeartRadio app for free and live custom radio. You can also download and listen to any show anytime here at NurseTalkSite.com or on iTunes. Like us on Facebook, and you can listen there too.

Remember, laughter is the best medicine.

REACH NURSES NATIONWIDE
Affordable advertisng packages available.
Great prices and coverage…Email Us.

Lost for many observers in last month’s end-of-the-year hullabaloo was the annual Gallup Honesty and Ethics Survey which by a wide margin again ranked nursing as the most honest and ethical profession.

The survey found that 81% of Americans believe that nurses have “very high” or “high” honesty and ethical standards. It marks the 11th straight year—and the 12th time in 13 years—that nursing led all professions in the survey. Gallup says the only time nurses haven’t top the list since they were included in 1999 was in 2001 after the 9/11 terror attacks, when firefighters were ranked No. 1.

Not surprisingly, National Nurses United is well aware of the survey results and appears poised to capitalize on that hard-earned public regard.

“We hold that trust as a sacred bond with our patients and our communities,” Karen Higgins, RN, co-president of National Nurses United, said in a media release. “Patients and their families expect nurses to fight for them at the bedside, even when it conflicts with the profit motive of far too many hospital managers, insurance companies, and others in the healthcare industry who put the bottom line above patient interest.”

“For nurses, that obligation also goes beyond the bedside,” Higgins continued, citing the NNU campaign for “sweeping changes to heal our communities and nation, with a program for a Main Street Contract for America premised on jobs with dignity, healthcare for all, a safe environment, and support for public education.”

The union is also pushing for a Robin Hood tax on financial transactions to be levied against “Wall Street banks and other financial firms who created the current pain and suffering in our communities….”

NNU has smart, tough leaders and compelling “us-versus-them” and “patient-first” messages that resonate not only with the nurses they hope to organize, but with tens of millions of Americans who play by the rules and still feel like they’re getting a raw deal.

The union has gained considerable success and notice since it consolidated the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, United American Nurses, and Massachusetts Nurses Association in December 2009. The “super union” now boasts more than 150,000 members within a national network and has won most —if not all—of the organizing efforts it has undertaken.

Savvy leadership and a compelling message—while important—are not the only keys to NNU’s success. Seasoned and tough leaders can be found in other unions that have not fared as well. In 2010, only 11.9% of the U.S. workforce was unionized, down from 12.3% in 2009. Unions have seen a mostly steady decline in membership since 1954, when about 28% of the workforce was organized, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Union supporters believe that more U.S. workers would join unions if they could. They don’t, the explanation goes, because these workers haven’t the leverage to bargain with management, especially in a weak economy plagued by high unemployment.

The frustrations and pressures that nurses encounter on the job can be shared with workers in other sectors from agriculture to retail to heavy industry. Bad bosses, declining wages, and benefits, job instability and lousy hours are not unique to a particular sector.

Nurses, however, know they are in high demand. They know they are not easily replaced. They know their skills—for the most part—cannot be outsourced. Because of all that, they know they don’t have to tolerate a dysfunctional workplace. They can vote with their feet and find a new job elsewhere, or they can vote to organize.

NNU’s success suggests that when workers are given the chance to organize, usually they will. That annoys a lot of people who want to believe that unions are no longer needed in this era of enlightened management.

Instead, union successes are dismissed as some sort of trickery such as heavy-handed organizing efforts that pressure non-affiliated workers to join. How else to explain the failure of management to contain NNU’s organizing efforts, other than to acknowledge the failure of management?

If NNU’s only purpose were to increase dues-paying membership, as some critics suggest, that is not necessarily a grand deception on its part, and it does not explain their success. Nor is it explained by the suggestion that unions now hold some momentary advantage thanks to a temporarily pro-labor tilt on the National Labor Relations Board.

The explanation is simple. NNU is succeeding because many nurses—like many workers in many sectors—believe that nobody else in a position of power and influence is looking out for them. The only difference is that nurses are in a position to do something about it.

John Commins is an editor with HealthLeaders Media. He can be reached at jcommins@healthleadersmedia.com.

With up to two million British workers expected to join the biggest strike in the United Kingdom in a generation, the National Nurses United announced that it will hold support rallies for British nurses and other workers in six U.S. cities on Wednesday, Nov. 30.

National Nurses United has created an online tool that you can use to send messages of  support to the millions UK public sector workers – including tens of thousands of nurses – who are on strike Nov. 30. The strike is to protest the British government’s assault on workers’ pensions. You can learn more about it this previous post.

Visit NNU’s site, send a message.

With up to two million British workers expected to join the biggest strike in the United Kingdom in a generation Wednesday, Nov. 30, the largest union of registered nurses in the U.S. announced today that it will hold support rallies for British nurses and other workers in six U.S. cities Wednesday.

U.S. nurses, joined by other union members in Washington and several other cities, will hold noon rallies at the British Embassy in Washington and at British consulates in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Orlando, and San Francisco.

The actions come amidst huge corporate cash reserves on both sides of the Atlantic while government officials in both nations push reductions in retirement security and other cuts. In the U.K., some 30 unions representing nurses, teachers, paramedics, civil servants, and other public workers will protest plans by the conservative government to cut public pensions. In the U.S., support rallies will also remind the public of threats to Social Security as well.

U.S. rally locations, all actions at 12 noon local time:

• Washington, DC – Embassy of the United Kingdom, 3100 Massachusetts Ave NW
• Boston – Consulate, One Broadway, Cambridge
• Chicago – Consulate, 625 N. Michigan Ave.
• Los Angeles – Consulate, 11766 Wilshire Blvd.
• Orlando – Consulate, 200 South Orange Ave.
• San Francisco – Consulate, One Sansome St.

In both countries, politicians seek to slash deficits at the expense of working people. Unions in both countries warned that deficit reduction as proposed will lead to increased levels of economic inequality, unemployment, and poverty, exacerbating the crisis in both nations.

In a letter to be delivered Wednesday to Sir Nigel Sheinwald, Great Britain’s Ambassador to the U.S., NNU Executive Director RoseAnn DeMoro said U.S. nurses strongly support British workers “who are standing up for their rights and for the integrity of public services in your country.”

“We urge the British government to stop its attempt to make public-sector workers pay more and work longer to receive a smaller pension when they retire. The government’s plans will impact women the most, who already suffer from lower pensions. This attack on the people who provide patient care at the National Health Service, teach school children, and provide essential public services is unconscionable,” DeMoro said.

Among major participants in the U.K. strike is UNISON, whose members include many nurses and other healthcare workers. The strikers are saying no to “pay more, work longer, get less,” a so-called “triple squeeze” in which pensions are reduced and age eligibility extended.

“The plans are just a cynical move to raise 4 billion [British pounds] to pay down the deficit caused by the bankers,” said Karen Jennings, UNISON’s assistant general secretary.

One solution put forward both in the U.S. and in the U.K. is for passage of a financial transaction tax (FTT) – in Britain termed a “Robin Hood Tax.” An FTT is a sales tax aimed at speculative trading and would raise up to $350 billion a year in the U.S. alone.

“Nurses see what this economy is doing to our communities in stress, dislocation, and poverty,” said Karen Higgins, RN and NNU co-president. “We are going out in support of UNISON, drawing the line against cuts to retirement security and other essentials for working families.”

Amidst the scourge of inequality sweeping the world, marked by continued profits, pay-outs and record levels of cash hoarding — the spoils of the 1% — one group has come forward with a remedy, refusing to stand down. Nurses from four continents gathered at the G-20 Summit last week to tell world leaders that time is running out: revenue is needed now and the starting point is a global finance tax.

That call for remedy is resonating. It is loud and it is getting louder, and half measure legislation is not a substitute for a movement.

Just last week, in addition to the actions at the G-20, 2,000 people, including RN members of National Nurses United joined by the AFL-CIO and other unions, environmental and community groups, and participants from the Occupy Wall Street movement, marched on the White House and Treasury Department.

Like the nurses at the G-20, they were calling on the Obama administration to support a tax on Wall Street, the U.S. version of a financial transaction tax to raise desperately needed revenue to heal our economy. Similar marches occurred in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Nurses have been rallying for months, and putting pressure on the White House and members of Congress to support a meaningful tax on Wall Street to provide the funding necessary for such basic needs as health care for all, jobs with dignity, and quality public education.

An FTT, a sales tax on trading in stocks, bonds, derivatives and targeting speculative activity, is now on the world agenda. For the first time, the 20 most powerful countries convened to discuss raising revenue from such a tax.

Pressure is also mounting within the U.S. One bill by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), has been introduced. However, the estimates cited in print of $350 billion are over nine years — far short of what is needed to reframe our devastated economy. We do not have nine years to wait. A better approach would be an FTT that raises $350 billion every year.

Moreover, the revenue in the current bill is earmarked for deficit reduction, i.e. further job reduction and infrastructure destruction which would only make matters worse. There are trillions of dollars sitting idle or wasted in the market casino, as such, and we are building a social demand for the FTT to be used as an economic stimulator and to reorganize the social priorities of our country. The 99% want a solution now that actually changes our lives now.

FTT proposals share critical underpinnings: speculation and manipulation in financial markets triggered collapse from which the world has not emerged; poverty and near-poverty are rampant and spreading, engulfing millions of families in the U.S. alone; financial profits should be tapped for meaningful revenues to save the many communities in crisis; and financial taxes are a starting point— a down payment. In this country today we are witnessing the greatest transference of wealth upwards in our entire history. That dynamic, here and elsewhere, must stop now.

The financial tax the nurses support would provide up to $350 billion every year in the U.S. alone and billions more in other societies. We know what is needed to put Americans back to work, provide quality health care and schools for all, to start restoring our environment and address hunger and homelessness. “The number of people living in neighborhoods of extreme poverty,” wrote the New York Times on November 4, “grew by a third over the past decade….” Nearly 50 million Americans live in households deemed “food insecure.”

Wall Street firms, in the meantime, including banks and their trading arms — are making massive fortunes, “more profit in the first 2 1/2 years of the Obama administration than they did during the entire Bush administration,” according to the Washington Post, November 6.

We also know that in the face of overwhelming community need, trillions of dollars sit on the sidelines. Trillions.

Cash holdings of non-financial S&P 500 are over $1 trillion–”more cash than in decades,” according to the Templeton Income Fund, with cash held abroad by U.S. companies adding $1.5 trillion. Cash holdings at European non-financials is now 800 million euros, putting Greek protests in some perspective. Trillions more sit in the accounts of wealthy individuals on both continents.

“How can the financial sector triumphantly continue to march,” said President Sarkozy of France at the G-20, “indifferent to the world around it, carelessly and without a care for the disorder it has more than its share in causing?” German Chancellor Merkel agreed. And President Obama, disregarding the unwavering counsel of Treasury Secretary Geithner to leave Wall Street to its own devices, indicated that while not favoring the tax he would not seek to block others from enacting it.

Sarkozy, Merkel and Obama were listening when thousands protested, including the nurses, last week in France — an outcry of global proportions certain to repeat. An array of support comprised this protest — Oxfam, unions, consumer groups, ecologists, Occupy Wall Street and other armies of occupiers — all committed to a reordering of world priorities and in support of a finance tax. “[A] billion people [are] on the edge of starvation or worse, but not beyond reach by any means,” said Noam Chomsky on November 2. We won’t stand down in the face of this challenge.

This extraordinary commitment to cash by the 1% is incendiary.

Meanwhile, Congress considers cutting essential programs, including in Social Security and Medicare. All these programs are on the cutting block even as the Census Bureau announces increases in poverty. Millions more would be in poverty, the new study contends, but for the programs government intends to curtail.

Nurses will continue to focus on building a movement. The nurses bear daily witness to the awful effects of the colossal demise engulfing communities everywhere and we will not stand down. The nurses commitment to care does not end at the bedside.

For more about the movement in the U.S. as well as globally, and to find materials, literature, bumper stickers, and more, visit our website at www.mainstreetcontract.org.

Note: Registered Nurses Linda Hamilton, Bernadine Engeldorf and Jean Ross wrote this column for the “Labor Voices” featured in the October 2011 edition of The St. Paul Union Advocate. It also appears on the blog at www.nationalnursesunited.org.

From Madison to Wall Street, from St. Paul to Washington D.C., people are seeing nurses dressed in red scrubs, holding not a stethoscope but a megaphone. We are carrying signs. We are marching en masse. And we are raising our voices. This may seem unusual behavior for our profession, but in truth, our history is deeply rooted in social advocacy, as well as the bedside advocacy you’ve come to trust. We’re doing more because we must.

We are facing a crisis in our profession and in the realm in which it serves. Anger is building. We see it in the weary faces of our colleagues, hear it in the exasperated tone of our voices and feel it in the now-permanent clench of our jaws.

But we’ve recognized that if this is true for the majority of us, an insidious grand scheme is working. Wall Street power brokers are counting on us to assume the role of submissive, quiet caregivers who don’t question or protest.

Imagine their surprise to discover, instead, enraged and engaged nurses. We’ve connected the dots that directly link power and greed to inadequate staffing and unsafe conditions for the patients in our care. The deplorable conditions in which we work right now are fully intentional. Wall Street is literally getting away with murder.

It is up to us to expose the travesty that financial inequity inflicts on our society; 2.7 million nurses in the United States do have a voice – and we are obligated by our social contract to use our influence for good.

We witness Main Street hurting. Millions have lost their jobs and their homes, face bankrupting medical bills and are jammed into over-crowded classrooms and emergency rooms. Soup kitchens, food pantries and food stamps now provide sustenance for millions more. Meanwhile, Wall Street-funded politicians are intent on stealing more from working families.

That is why nurses across the nation have been leading the movement for a Main Street Contract. We protested last spring on the streets of Madison, where our supply of signs demanding a “Tax on Wall Street to Heal America” was drained within minutes. And on Sept. 1, nurses held 61 actions all over the country urging elected officials to commit to the principles of the Main Street Contract to rebuild the American dream.

We are cheering and marching and even lending our professional hands now with the Occupy actions arising all over our country.

Nurses are turning our anger into action, realizing our power – and making a difference.

We must make Wall Street pay for the devastation it has caused families on Main Street. Our clear-cut, concise solution is a Financial Transaction Tax. It is a modest levy on trades of stocks, derivatives and currencies that could generate billions in revenue to help our ailing economy, stimulate job growth, re-fund essential services, and discourage the reckless, high-volume/short-term profit computer-driven Wall Street gambling that lead to our current economic crisis. First proposed by a Nobel Prize winning economist, the initiative is already in play in more than 40 countries around the world.

But as we all in the labor movement continue to speak up on this larger scale, we have no doubt we will be subject to ridicule poisonous onslaughts from every corner. It has already begun. An editorial in the Boston Herald in response to our Nurses National Day of Action questioned our organizational right to demand economic justice.

Here’s their direct statement: “We assumed a labor union that represents nurses was in the business of negotiating fair pay and decent working conditions for those who do the difficult work of caring for the sick. We didn’t realize that federal tax policy and securities regulation were part of its portfolio.”

This patriarchal, condescending venom is directly aimed at instilling self-doubt among our ranks. It is meant for us to question our role in social justice – both as nursing professionals and labor activists. It is a menacing shot across the bow to intimidate us from using the strongest tool any society has against oppression – that of collective action.

So get out the vaccine, friends. Take the strongest dose possible, and duly prepare yourself for more vicious attacks.

This is no time to question ourselves. Indeed, question everything else except our own role, our own power and our own vision of a healthy America.

– Linda Hamilton is president of the Minnesota Nurses Association. Bernadine Engeldorf is first vice president of the MNA. Jean Ross is co-president of National Nurses United. All three labor leaders are registered nurses.

The app provides information about the day’s most vital issues such as the Main Street Contract and Occupy Wall Street. Plus tells you how to help support nurses fighting to keep their patients safe. You can make your voice heard to help pass a Wall Street transaction tax to support healthcare and more. You can get points for being an activist! Not like weight watchers but what you do makes a difference. Check it out by texting the word “payback” to 53000 from your mobile phone. You will receive instructions and a link to download.

Are you ready for Thursday? That’s when nurses and other community activists are going to press President Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for a meaningful financial transaction tax. Nurses from four continents, including a delegation from NNU, will be at the opening of the G-20 summit in France to demonstrate how to “inject an FTT” to resuscitate the ailing global economy.

List of events:
G-20 Summit: 9:45 a.m., Salon Palm, Casino Palm Beach, Place Franklin Roosevelt – Pointe de la Croisette, Cannes, France

Washington, D.C.: Rally, Lafayette Square, 11:30 a.m., followed by march to U.S. Treasury Department. Nurses head to Capitol Hill to lobby Congress at 3 p.m.

Los Angeles: March from OccupyLA site, 11 a.m., First and Main, rally, plaza adjacent to U.S. Bank, W. 633 5th St.

San Francisco: March 11 a.m., from 101 Market, across from the Federal Reserve Bank, rally at 12 noon, Wells Fargo bank headquarters, 464 California St.

Read the full press release at nationalnursesunited.org.