Nurse Ratched’s Place

My mind is exploding. I’m at Blogworld New Media Expo and there just aren’t enough hours in the day. There are so many new things to discover. I wish I didn’t have to shut down my mind and go to sleep so I could keep learning 24 hours a day. My brain hurts. Let’s start [...]

I escaped my everyday life and I took a road trip to visit my kids. The flight was lovely, thank you Southwest Airlines, and the weather in the Midwest is perfect. The leaves are turning beautiful colors and the fall air is crisp and clean. The best part, of course, is getting to spend time [...]

Nursing instructors grading Exams in the 1950s. Courtesy of Johns Hopkins Medical Archives on Flickr. I remember it well. Cramming all night for a nursing exam, taking the test, and hoping for the best. It was a nerve racking experience for the students, but I’ve always wondered what it was like for the instructors. Check [...]

You read it right. Nurses are needed now, along with anyone else who blogs about the healthcare system. It’s time to meet up at Blogworld Media Expo 2011. Like I said last week, Johnson and Johnson is sponsoring the Social Health Track for the third year in a row. The three-day track will include 8 [...]

Meet nurse Preen from the movie The Man Who Came to Dinner. Nurse Preen faced a common problem. She had a patient that drove her nuts. His name was Sheridan “Sherry” Whiteside, a caustic radio personality and critic. This is my favorite interaction in the movie. Sherry: “Ah, pecan butternut fudge!” Preen: “Oh, my, you [...]

There are cops and then there are Dragnet cops like Sgt. Joe Friday. Joe carries a L.A.P.D. badge. That’s why he’s here. Blogworld 2011 is coming to his beat. (Cue music) Dum-de-dum-dum “The story you are about to read is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.” This is the city. [...]

This picture really hit me. That’s because I’m sitting in the middle of a flood. I’m OK, but a lot of people aren’t. Unfortunately, floods and other disasters keep coming around and they cause chaos and misery whenever they strike. This photo shows a Red Cross doctor and nurse caring for a mother and her [...]

Mark Lamers from Online Nursing Degrees.org contacted me for an interview. Mark, I’m flattered. People tell me that I give good interviews because I’m very opinionated. Mark asked some thought provoking questions and one of them really stood out. He asked me about something that I wrote on my blog a long time ago. The [...]

Meet Nurse Julie Eustance. Nothing rattles her. She remains calm, cool, and collected as a hurricane approaches her private Caribbean island. I’m not sure what’s going on with her friend, Simon Tiernan. He looks a little shellshocked. Some people just handle stress. We’ve had a wild week on the East Coast. First we had a [...]

I wonder how many cups of coffee an average night nurse consumes during their shift. Look, there’s someone we can ask, although it looks like her caffeine buzz is wearing off. Notice the telltale chin to chest head tip that gives sleep deprived nurses away. She may look like she’s charting, but she really is [...]