DiversityNursing Blog

Nurse Elise Wilson was in critical but stable condition after being stabbed by a patient at Harrington Hospital in Southbridge last month. Nurses aren't "expecting to encounter violence but they do, every single day of the week," said Elise's husband, Clifton. "They are cursed, spit upon, bitten, punched, kicked, and yes, stabbed."

The Boston Globe said, Elise was treating Connor Oregan, 24, of Southbridge, in the emergency room around 10:15 a.m. when Oregan slashed at her multiple times with a knife before fleeing the hospital.

The nurse was stabilized in the emergency room before being flown to UMass Memorial Medical Center for further treatment. She underwent eight and a half hours of surgery and remained in critical but stable condition, the district attorney’s office said.

Clifton Wilson, and colleagues will testify Wednesday before a committee at the State House in support of legislation proposed by the association “that requires health care employers to develop and implement individualized workplace violence prevention plans,” according to a release. The association has dubbed the legislation “Elise’s Law.”

“The attack against Elise was vicious and left her fighting for her life,” said RN Tracy DiGregorio, who was working in the ER at the time of the assault. “Unfortunately, I cannot say violence against nurses is rare. Nurses and other health care professionals are assaulted every single day at hospitals throughout Massachusetts. We should pass ‘Elise’s Law’ right away to help stop the violence.”

Massachusetts Nurses Association talked about the photo and said, "This is a tough photo to look at. But RN Elise Wilson and her loved ones want the public to see the violence nurses and other health care professionals are experiencing. And they want it to stop. Elise is only smiling because she is grateful her ventilator and feeding tube have been removed." 

The young man allegedly sat in the parking lot sharpening his knife for 20 minutes before entering the emergency room, Clifton Wilson told lawmakers. Conor O'Regan, 24, is accused of the attack. Clifton also said, "She bled out three times and almost died."

Since the attack, Harrington Hospital has beefed up security, and now has a metal detector, he said. They've also hired a Southbridge police officer.

Have you experienced violence from a patient or witnessed it at your place of work? Please share with us in the comments section below. 

For many people, Nursing was all they ever imagined they would be doing as their career. For other people, becoming a Nurse was a second career for them. No matter which stage in life they chose to become a Nurse, these people are passionate about what they do and they are happy they made the switch to a job they love.

John McElroy worked in a local brick factory for about twenty-five years. He lost his job in 2007 after sufferring from a stroke. McElroy wanted to be a Nurse when he was younger and during one of his hopsital visits, his childhood dream was restored. John told CNN, the Nurse thought he would be a fantastic Nurse. She gave him advice and told him, "You will have loads of excuses to not do this, to fail, to quit. But you've got to carry on."

John attended college and even earned $4,000 in scholarships. In 2012 he graduated with a Nursing degree and every day McElroy sees pieces of his own journey reflected in his patients. He educates families on the unique needs of stoke survivors. By sharing his personal story, he hopes his patients will believe that there is life after recovery.

When Bob Evans was 20 years old he took an aptitude test that showed Nursing as a good match for him. Learning news that he was going to become a father Bob decided to take a job in the horticulture business, mostly in sales and customer-service positions in landscaping and lawn care.

In his late 50's, there was a restructuring where he worked. He wasn't sure what he was going to do for work. His wife Lou said, "Remember how you were interested in becoming a nurse when we got married?" I said, "It's too late," but she said, "I don't think so." Bob and his wife attended an information open house at Collin College and decided to go for it. He earned his associate's degree at Collin College in 2013 and a bachelor of science in nursing in 2016 at the University of Texas at Arlington. 

Bob told Dallas News the toughest part about changing careers is, "The transition from expert to novice. I knew that not being the expert on the job anymore would be an adjustment. Assuming the role of novice required a steady flow of swallowing my pride. It has been humbling, but learning and mastering skills that help others is really rewarding."

Laura Callens worked as a school admissions director and was taking care of her husband, Eddy, who had brain cancer. After Eddy passed away in 2011, Laura quit her job and spent some time in Mexico where she had a career epiphany. She heard about a nursing program and realized she had honed relevant traits and skills like compassion and deep listening while caring for her husband. Though hesitant to become a student again, she applied to Nursing school.

According to the NewYork Times, Ms. Callens happily graduated last December and will soon be a neurological nurse. She will work in the Rochester hospital unit where her husband was treated.

Changing careers is always a nerve-racking journey. For people in their 40s and 50s, making a change can be daunting. Experts believe assessing job opportunities, doing some smart skill-matching and getting technical training can help speed the process. But, you also have to love what you do for a living and these people luckily found their calling.

Technology is an integral part of almost every field of work and in order for Health systems to stay on the cutting edge you need a healthcare IT professional on staff. This is where the Nurse informatics specialist comes in.

Demand is growing for Nurse informaticists and according to the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, the average salary is more than $100,000 and 95 percent of their survey respondents “view health IT as a strategically critical tool to help healthcare organizations be successful.”

According to Forbes, "The shift to electronic health records has spurred a dramatic change in the way health care professionals work. Nurse informaticists design and maintain processes for how people use electronic records, finding ways to save nurses’ and caregivers’ time. And they test systems rigorously. For example, they must make sure a patient’s vital signs are accurately recorded by heart monitors, and that the data is accurately transferred to electronic health records."

Informatics Nurse isn't a new career choice. Joyce Sensmeier, vice president of informatics at HIMSS says, "The American Nurses Association blessed it as a specialty in the early 1990s." She also goes on to say, “Usually the East and West Coast have quite a few positions. The Midwest as well — Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois. That’s where a lot of the biggest health systems are. To be paying nurses this salary, it takes a strong health system.” But hospitals aren’t the only organizations that need the specialists. Universities and health technology startups do, too.

allnursingschools.com beleives it is a great leadership role opportunity. Because you’ll be responsible for creating strategies, implementing policies and ensuring better patient care, specialists can be a great fit for someone looking to move into advanced nursing. According to the HIMSS survey, 71 percent of healthcare organizations employ a “clinical IT leader” such as a Chief Nursing Informatics Officer.

Sensmeier also told Forbes, "To become a nurse informaticist, you’ll need a nursing degree, project management skills, an understanding of data and the ability to analyze it. The best route is to get a nursing bachelor’s degree to start, then get some real-world experience as a nurse, so you understand the clinical environment. After that, a master’s degree in health or nursing informatics — offered at most major universities—will provide all the education you need, even if you’d like to rise to the level of CNIO. These programs take two years, full time. An alternative is a one-year certificate in informatics. You probably can’t get to the CNIO level without a master’s, but a certificate will give you the core skill set."

Occasionally I receive Ron’s eNewsletter and I always find them thoughtful, humorous and to-the-point. In this one, he offers examples of the importance of using humor while under stress, most of them in medical situations. I hope you find them clever and humorous too! 

I wish my brain consistently delivered me a funny and snappy comment like the people in this newsletter or my neighbor, Kay, who is always so witty and sharp at 86 years old! She is delightful to be around. How about you? Are you quick-witted and find the humor in most situations? Perhaps you have an example you’d like to share?

Written by Ron Culberson

For instance, a few years ago, while going through airport security, I was trying to remove my watch. I had recently changed the band and was having trouble unhooking it. As I attempted to take it off, the watch slipped out of my hand. I grabbed for it and accidentally smacked it twenty feet across the floor. Nervously, I turned to the TSA agent and said, “Time flies, doesn’t it?”

He laughed. I retrieved my watch. And I made my flight without incident.

Dropping your watch is not a huge problem. I understand that. But when we can find humor during life’s more challenging experiences, the situations feel a bit less challenging. So, I thought I’d share some of my favorite examples from family, friends, and colleagues who used humor to cope with their particular predicaments.

———

Recently, I spoke for the US District Court clerks in western North Carolina. The Clerk of the Court, Frank Johns, shared that he was diagnosed with an unusual type of intestinal cancer in 1999. His daily treatments consisted of two chemotherapy injections administered in each side of his, well, back side. Luckily, Frank is married to a nurse so she could administer the injections.

On some days, Frank noticed that the injections didn’t hurt at all while on other days, they hurt a lot. So one day, when he didn’t feel any discomfort from the shots, he asked his wife to mark the spots on each cheek with a Sharpie. A couple of days later, he went to a tattoo parlor and had two permanent bullseyes placed where the spots were. Oh, and by the way, Frank is an avid gun enthusiast so the bullseyes were appropriate on a many levels.

In Frank’s case, humor definitely hit the spot! And it made a challenging situation better. Today, Frank’s cancer is in remission.

———

Early in my career, I spoke at a local support group for people living with serious illnesses. I asked the participants how they used humor to cope with their health challenges. One man said that when he went to see his doctor for a checkup, he placed a Beanie Baby crab under his hospital gown. When the doctor lifted the gown to examine him, he said, “Sorry, I’ve got crabs.”

The doctor burst out laughing.

When you’re dealing with a serious illness, edgy humor can be one of the greatest reliefs for the tension. It’s like fighting fire with fire. In this case the patent’s reference to an STD lead to ROTFL.

———

A colleague was telling me that when her father died, she went to the funeral home to purchase an urn for his ashes. However, she felt that the urns on display were too serious and that they didn’t fit her father’s fun personality. She felt that they were just too “urn-est.” Haha.

So, she solved the problem by burying her father’s ashes in a beer growler! He had always loved beer and she felt this represented his life much better than a more somber container. I guess you could say one bad urn deserved another (sorry).

———

My friend Theo Androus's dad was quite a gregarious guy. Once, Theo told him that his haircut looked awful. His dad said, “Son, the only difference between a bad haircut and a good haircut is two weeks.”

As Theo’s dad got older, he began to have physical problems due to diabetes. On one evaluation visit, his doctor told him that he would probably need to have his leg amputated at some point in the near future. 

Theo’s dad asked, “When you cut off my leg, can I have it back?”

The doctor responded, “Why?"

His dad said, “Because I want to bury it under a tombstone that says, ‘The rest is yet to come.’”

Theo’s dad was the epitome of using sharp wit to battle serious life challenges. He was definitely a cut above the rest.

———

My friend Michael Aronin was born with cerebral palsy. All his life, he has dealt with people who are uncomfortable with his speech and his unsteady gait. But, as a comedian, he has always responded to this discomfort with humor.

Once, when Michael was nine, he was in a department store with his mother. He tripped and fell. A sales person came over to help his mother pick him up. As they were lifting him to his feet, he said, “I shouldn’t have had that second beer.”

Michael has a brilliant way of straightening out the uneven road in his life.

———

A couple of weeks before my father died, and when it seemed pretty clear that he would not get better, a few friends and family came to visit him in the hospital. My dad was a private person who didn’t like to talk about himself or the seriousness of his situation.

One day, our pastor and my dad’s friend Neal were in the room. The pastor asked, “Is there anything you want to tell anyone?”

In his typical witty way, my father said, “Well, Neal owes me five dollars.”

We all laughed and my dad successfully avoided one more serious conversation.

———

Sometimes it may feel like nothing is funny. Other times, humor is the only way we can get through the day. A touch of humor can be just the balance we need so that we don't get knocked off our feet by life’s challenges.

So, laugh a little. It’s good for what ails you.

Former Fleet Marine Force corpsman, George "Mik" Todd, released a new hip-hop album called Combat Medicine. George raps under the name Doc Todd and his main goal is to help veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, or substance abuse.

According to NPR, Todd took several years before gettingt help for his PTSD. He was depressed and started drinking heavily. Eventually, he realized what he needed to be doing was helping other veterans. With savings from his job as a money manager and help from his wife, he was able to quit his job. He'd been making music since he was a teenager. Now, he wanted to use his music to help veterans heal. And he had plenty of material for his lyrics.

Some lyrics from his song, Not Alone, Doc Todd urges veterans to take action in their own recovery.

The struggle is real

Found a feast

And lost a soul

Eventually my drinking

It got out of control

There in darkness, I roamed

Struggling to find home

See Suddenly death didn't

Feel so Alone

Take those bottles out, dog

and pour 'em in the sink.

Take the needles out of your arm

And the gun away from your forehead.

It's time, man.

You've been through enough pain.

Stand up.

It's time to stand back up.

Learn more about Doc Todd in his interview here.

Drinks

Have Murse-y Margarita
1 oz. creme de banana
1 oz. gold tequila
1/2 oz. triple sec
3/4 oz. lemon juice
1/4 mashed banana
Apply lemon juice to the rim of a frosted double-cocktail glass and dip into caster sugar. Fill the glass with crushed ice, add the ingredients and blend briefly. Serve with a lemon juice-dipped slice of banana.

Nightingale Old Fashioned
mix 2 oz bourbon
1 1/2 teaspoons simple syrup
2-3 dashes of Angostura bitters
one orange slice, ice, and one maraschino cherry.  

The Night Shifter
1 oz. After Shock Fizzy Orange
1 oz. Sambuca liquor over ice.
Then, top off your glass with chilled Red Bull. 

Gin and Colonic 
6 mint leaves
1/4 lime, sliced
1 1/2 oz gin
and one tablespoon sugar to a shaker and muddle.
Then, add 4 or 5 cucumber slices to the shaker and shake vigorously. Finally, pour the mixture over a glass containing 4 ounces of tonic water and a few ice cubes. Stir, let sit for a few minutes.

Code Brown
1/2 oz. Butterscotch Schnapps
1/2 oz. Whiskey

Hematoma
2 oz. vodka
4 oz. tomato juice
Juice of 1/2 limes
1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
6 dashes Tabasco sauce
salt and pepper
1 lime wedge
Add vodka, juices and sauces to a shaker with ice, adding salt and pepper to taste. Shake vigorously. Strain over ice cubes into a highball glass and garnish with lime wedge.

The End-of-Shift Report (aka Irish Coffee)
1½ oz. Irish whiskey
1 tsp. brown sugar
6 oz. hot coffee
Heavy cream
Combine whiskey, sugar and coffee in a mug and stir to dissolve. Float cold cream gently on top. Do not mix.

Desserts

Frosted and sprinkle cookies. Idea from www.iheartsprinklescookies.com

Pretzel sticks dipped in white chocolate with frosting details. Idea from Pinterest

Brain cupcakes! Idea from blog.wantsandwishesdesign.com

Jello shot syringes. Idea from Pinterest

Cookie bandaids! Idea from partysupplies.art-spring.net

If you have any recipes you would like to share, please comment below!