Nursing Network for Nurses and Nursing Students - Latest Articles

Stupid People Tricks

By VivaLasViejas - Here’s how kooky Viva shows everyone she’s koo-koo for Cocoa Puffs: She goes to an appointment in a big building, gets turned around in there but doesn’t realize it, goes out to her car and can’t find it…..then panics and calls the police to report it stolen. It was hilarious when my mother did the same thing way back when she was in HER mid-50s. Today, not so much. I’m a tad sensitive about my short-term memory deficits anyway, and this was a blunder of the highest magnitude. I mean, what fool loses her own car in a parking lot? Somehow, a nondescript medium-blue Ford Taurus of early... Read More →

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Wisdom from an Unlikely Source

By CheesePotato - First and foremost, I would like to introduce you to someone who has life all figured out and he's only sixteen weeks old. Everyone, this is Atlas. Atlas is the newest addition to my family and he is not only ridiculously cute (of course, I am biased) but he is also the occasional bane of my existence. Good dog. And it has been since he joined me that I have realized that this kidlet has the world's workings and interactions down pat. I find myself learning from him even though I am supposed be the one teaching him. One day, I hope to be as amazing and as chill as Atlas. Read More →

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Gifts From the Sea

By VivaLasViejas - They say that everything happens for a reason, although taking some of the seashells I'd gathered on my recent visit to the Oregon Coast to my doctor's appointment a couple of weeks ago was merely an impulsive gesture of thanks. Knowing how severe my stress levels were at the time---and sharing my love of the ocean---he'd literally written a prescription for a beach trip and told me exactly what he wanted me to do: stroll in the wet sand with my husband, poke around in some funky shops, have a great lunch, and drink in the sights and sounds of the shore. That brief journey had done me more... Read More →

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Canine Seizures: One Family's Story

By nursefrances - Her name is Baby. I am a bit biased, of course, but I think she is the cutest little doggy in the whole world. She is a 4 1/2 pound Yorkie. She will be eleven years old in July and we have had her since she was 11 weeks old and weighed two pounds. She is our little girl. And we were her world. You see, this little story has an unfortunate twist. Baby no longer knows who we are. We are strangers to her. Really friendly strangers. I guess I should start at the beginning. Yesterday, Baby had her first grand mal seizure while napping with my daughter. She had three seizures that... Read More →

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The beautiful rotten reality of grief

By Liddle Noodnik - My Mom passed away recently, or was it quite a while ago? From day to day the reality changes. I'm fine with it, I'm glad she didn't suffer, but what is this world without my Mom? It's not supposed to be this way. The world feels tilted on its side, somehow. We all know from studying death and dying (thank you Elisabeth Kübler-Ross) that there are stages of grief. We have all seen, as nurses, that there are as many ways to die as there are people. Sure, some common characteristics, but physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, so many ways. Ways we'd rather go. Ways we pray... Read More →

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Help.....I'm Writing and I Can't Shut Up!!

By VivaLasViejas - It's hard to imagine now, but it was only a year ago that I had the world's worst case of scrivener's constipation.....AKA writer's block. It was awful......I wanted desperately to write, but ideas were so scarce that I wound up squeezing out an essay on how tough it was to write when I had nada to write about. It was kind of like "Seinfeld"---the ever-popular 'show about nothing'. The irony was not lost on my readers---all 17 or so of them---but it did serve to give the creative juices a bit of a stir, and pretty soon the dam broke and all KINDS of stories came tumbling out. Maybe... Read More →

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Trading Places

By VivaLasViejas - It was never supposed to be this way. We were supposed to grow old together, my sister and I. We were supposed to sit on the porch---she in the shade, I in the sun just like always---and watch our great-grandkids frolic on the front lawn while we reminisced about our long lives. She is twelve years older than I; she changed my diapers and bathed me and taught me to read when I was only four. And I have to admit that with both parents long gone, it's reassuring to still be her "baby sister", even though I'm on the verge of becoming a senior citizen myself. But it's not going to turn out... Read More →

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Painter of Light

By VivaLasViejas - It could have been a scene from a modern version of Steel Magnolias---a group of ordinary folk gathered in what used to be known, quaintly, as a beauty shop, sipping coffee and sharing funny or gossipy bits about mutual acquaintances. This, however, was an urban stylist's studio, and the collection of clients was as varied as their stations in life: a businesswoman in a tailored suit; an older lady with brilliant white hair and a naturally bronze skin tone; an extremely good-looking young man in expensive designer jeans. "MOM! Put your eyes back in your head!" my son growled at me,... Read More →

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Ta-Tas and the Pink Bracelet

By aknottedyarn - "Save the ta-tas". A common bracelet and bumper sticker. A euphemism for female breasts that is closely associated with early detection and treatment of Breast cancer. It is a way to heighten awareness of a disease that is hitting younger women all the time. It is a reminder for young ladies to review the family history for breast cancers of relatives. It encourages self care through awareness. My grand daughter has such a bracelet. Her cousins lost an aunt to breast cancer. It is not blood relationship, it is family. She wore it in support of her cousins who are growing up knowing ... Read More →

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I can't hide but Why do I have to know so much?

By aknottedyarn - "Where is that file? I can't find that bill. #$%@#$% drivers, too close. Could you balance my check book? Where did I put my glasses? Who moved my keys?" Daily these questions come to me. Not from a patient, a client, or even a resident of an Assisted Living Facility. This is my Significant Other, my partner, my love. I get him to go to the doctor with the lie of my fear of him having a stroke. After all his B/P when it was checked last time was 170/100. I don't mention that it was when he was in acute pain following a smashed finger in the car door. He remembers the accident and... Read More →

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"Aw, You're So Cute!" or, How NOT To Treat A Senior Citizen

By VivaLasViejas - You've got to know you've reached the pre-elderly stage when you're approached by a store employee with a genuine smile on her face and asked if you need any help. Then, when you answer in the affirmative, she takes you by the arm, steers you toward the correct aisle, and says "Here, sweetie, let me show you where you can find that" in a tone you might use with a grandchild who wants to know where you keep the water guns. Happened to me recently. I couldn't believe it. Somebody PLEASE tell me she didn't just say that, I thought to myself, knowing full well she had, which made me cast... Read More →

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Safely Removing Hardware and Ejecting Media in Windows

By CaptainPC - External hard drives and USB thumb drives are great tools for copying files from your internal Windows hard drive. There are some cautions that must be observed in the removal of such drives when the task has been completed. Simply unplugging the device from the USB port can result in lost or corrupt files, and possibly a damaged external device. Windows by default uses a setting that allows you to safely disconnect a device without using the Safely Remove Hardware notification icon that displays on your notification bar when you plug in your device. Most of the time, it is safe to... Read More →

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Strangling democracy

By somenurse - While canvassing in political campaigns, I meet many a Democrat who proudly tell me they vote a "mixed" ticket. Funny enough, most Republicans (2/3s) WILL and DO vote a straight ticket, and only vote for Republicans only, whereas most Democrats (2/3) vote a "mixed" ticket. ^This is a most striking difference in how the two parties' members vote. The Democrats usually take immense pride in the fact that they vote for some Republicans too, and seem to feel doing this makes them superior voters... But here's the thing, that most voters are unaware of--------- The local... Read More →

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I submitted an excerpt for a novel-writing contest! :)

By Liddle Noodnik - I finally did it! January 31st was the deadline for submitting an excerpt to a novel writing contest, and I made it! I have wanted to write seriously for years, and I've always been good at writing in general. In fact, I think the only reason I graduated from high school was that I could write a decent research paper! I can remember as a young kid (probably 12) writing stories for my parents, and many times I have tried writing a novel. It always seemed like I would start, but would give up after a chapter or two. Oh, some of my personal essays have been published in a variety... Read More →

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How to Change the Icon Size on Windows 7 Desktop

By CaptainPC - Windows 7 uses a new desktop icon size for its desktop default. The size is larger than the default icon size on previous versions of Windows, such as XP. This is fine for some LCDs, but depending on the size of your screen real estate, it can be tough on the eyes, or can consume way too much of your viewable area. Fortunately, it is a simple matter to change the icon size. To change your icon size, right click the desktop, and select View. Next select the size you want as shown in Fig. 1 below. Size.png Fig. 1 Windows 7 provides Small, Medium, and Large icons, as shown in... Read More →

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