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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). Read more…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 53:47 — 73.9MB) | Embed

This week we’re sharing  a vintage clip of one our favorite funny ladies, Ellen Degeneres in her first appearance on the Johnny Carson to start you off with some chuckles.

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/. Read more…

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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. Why be involved in patient advocacy beyond the bedside? Read more…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:20 — 4.6MB) | Embed

This week we’re sharing a vintage clip of one our favorite funny ladies, Ellen Degeneres in her first appearance on the Johnny Carson to start you off with some chuckles.

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.

Plus RNs Jean Ross and Karen Higgins on why you should be involved in patient advocacy beyond the bedside and Dr. Christina Purpora discusses horizontal violence among nurses. A message for new grads: It’s systemic. It’s NOT you. Read more…

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

Massachusetts RN Karen Higgins joins us. Karen is a good friend of ours and she always takes time out of her busy schedule to talk with us. As a matter of fact we want to make it perfectly clear that Karen was on her BREAK when speaking with Dan and Casey. Karen weighed in on the Financial Transaction Tax, a.k.a. the Robin Hood tax that nurses and others all around the world asked the G-20 leaders to adopt. The tax would be .005 on stocks and other financial transactions. The money raised COULD dramatically change and add to funding for healthcare, education, infrastructure and more. Karen is the past president of Massachusettes Nurses Association and is currently one of three co-presidents for National Nurses United.

And we’ll talk with the author of Critically ILL: A 5-Point Plan to Cure Healthcare Delivery. Dr. Frederick Southwick, author, teacher, respected researcher and decades-long medical practitioner, is an advocate for change to our country’s current healthcare practices, which cause thousands of hospital deaths and complications each year. Read more…