DiversityNursing Blog

We know you are dedicated, kind, thoughtful, generous, patient, gracious and the list goes on-and-on about how wonderful Nurses are every day. We couldn’t get through our mental, physical and even spiritual problems without you by our sides. Here’s a story about a Nurse who went beyond the call of duty, as many of you do, in a very personal and life-giving way. Let us know your thoughts.

A young nurse recently saved the life of a total stranger by donating one of her kidneys.

In giving her kidney, Kate Burris, 27, Scottsdale, became the first altruistic kidney donor at Dignity Health St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center and part of a small, but growing number of people in the U.S. who give one of their kidneys to a stranger.

Jim Ensslin, 56, Peoria, received Burris' life-saving gift and was the 10th patient in St. Joseph's kidney transplant program, which received CMS accreditation in December.

"I just thought, I don't need this kidney. Somebody else does," Burris said.

After the March 22 surgery, Burris told Lisa Scharnow, RN, kidney transplant coordinator at St. Joseph's, that she wanted to meet the recipient of her kidney. Ensslin agreed, and the two met four days later, as Burris was leaving the hospital.

There was an "immediate connection," said Ensslin, who has lived with kidney disease for 17 years. "Kate's gift was the greatest gift ever. It will allow me to have a regular life, to keep going and not be sick the rest of my life."

Burris, too, was deeply touched by their meeting.

"I'm just so happy to see him doing well," she said. "It's not just him I'm helping. I'm helping his wife, his mom, his kids. I didn't realize how many people I was helping. It's an awesome feeling. I would donate again if I could."

Giving a kidney to a stranger was virtually unheard of 20 years ago when transplant centers worried about donors' motivation, emotional and mental health, and medical risks. Today, health care professionals realize that for some people donating a kidney gives the same kind of personal satisfaction that donating blood or giving to charity does.

In 2014, there were 17,107 kidney transplants in the United States, 11,570 from deceased donors and 5,537 from living donors, like Burris. Of the living donors, 181 designated their kidney to go to a stranger, 3.2 percent of all living donations that year, compared to 1.1 percent in 2001.

Burris, who is a nurse and a blood donor, said she first became interested in altruistic kidney donation while watching an old episode of Grey's Anatomy.

"As I was watching it, I wondered, 'Why couldn't I do this?'" After hours of research, Burris said, "I couldn't find any reason not to donate. The risks to me were so minimal that I felt the benefits outweighed the risks."

At St. Joseph's, Burris underwent a series of screenings to assess her physical, emotional and psychosocial health.

"We wanted to understand what was driving her desire to donate," said Scharnow. "We wanted to make sure she was in a good place to make such a profound decision."

Burris and Ensslin have both returned to work.

Ensslin, who said he has much more energy now, has multiple business trips scheduled in the next few weeks.

"Donors like Kate are important to the future of organ donation," said Dr. Jeffrey Brink, Ensslin's transplant surgeon. "There are far too few kidneys for the current need."

As a Nurse, you see miracles all the time. Here’s an interesting and happy story about the miracle of birth for identical twin sisters. Perhaps you’ve seen or heard something similar?

Twin sisters Sarah Mariuz and Leah Rodgers not only share the same birthday, but their kids do, too.

Mariuz and Rodgers, both 35, each gave birth last Thursday at the same time: 1:18 a.m.

According to Today.com, Rodgers’ baby boy, Reid Joseph, was born in Denver, Colorado, while Mariuz’ girl, Samantha Lynne, was born in La Jolla, California, which is one time zone behind, so the cousins were born an hour apart though both clocks read 1:18.

The sisters insist they didn’t plan to get pregnant at the same time. Instead, they surprised each other at Thanksgiving.

“I wanted it to be a surprise, but when she showed up at the door -– it was the funniest thing –- I opened the door, welcomed her into the home, but as soon as I saw her, I knew she was pregnant too,” Rodgers tells People.com. “I can’t explain it, I just knew. My prediction was that she was five days behind me, and it turned out her due date was four days after me.”

So far, neither sister has been been able to see her niece or nephew, but they aretrying to work out a time to visit each other, according to the Associated Press.

“We’ll definitely spend Christmas together,” Mariuz told Today.com.

Rodgers predicts the bond between cousins should be as strong as the one she shares with her sister.

“It’s a really cool thing to be able to share,” Rodgers told People.com “The adventure will only continue as our babies share the same birthday like we did! We can’t wait for them to grow up together.”

Related Articles: 

Conjoined Twins Plan Party After Reaching Landmark Age

Summer is all about fun! Everyone should enjoy their time over the next few months, but please take a minute to be aware and safe while youdo. Consider water, sun and mosquito safety as well as preventing injuries in all of your warm weather activities. Here’s some information to help you and your loved ones have the best summer ever!

Master water safety

Water-related activities are popular for getting physical activity and have many health benefits. Here are some tips to stay safe while having fun.

• Learn how to prevent recreational water illnessesand help protect yourself and your kids.
• Help kids get H2O Smartz about water safety.

Drownings are the leading cause of injury death for young children ages 1 to 4, and three children die every day as a result of drowning.

• Always supervise children when in or around water. A responsible adult should constantly watch young children.
• Teach kids to swim. Formal swimming lessons can protect young children from drowning.
• Learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Your CPR skills could save someone’s life.
• Install a four-sided fence around home pools.

Recreational boating can be a wonderful way to spend time with family and friends. Make boating safety a priority.

• Wear a properly fitted life jacket every time you and your loved ones are on the water.

Beat the heat and sun

Heat-related illness happens when the body’s temperature control system is overloaded. Infants and children up to 4 years of age are at greatest risk. Even young and healthy people can get sick from the heat if they participate in strenuous physical activities during hot weather. For heat-related illness, the best defense is prevention.

• Never leave infants, children, or pets in a parked car, even if the windows are cracked open.
• Dress infants and children in loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing.
• Schedule outdoor activities carefully, for morning and evening hours.
• Stay cool with cool showers or baths.
• Seek medical care immediate if your child has symptoms of heat-related illness.

Just a few serious sunburns can increase you and your child's risk of skin cancer later in life. Their skin needs protection from the sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays whenever they're outdoors.

• Cover up. Clothing that covers your and your child's skin helps protect against UV rays.
• Use sunscreen with at least SPF (sun protection factor) 15 and UVA (ultraviolet A) and UVB (ultraviolet B) protection every time you and your child go outside.

Keep mosquitos and ticks from bugging you this summer

Protect yourself and your family by preventing bites and diseases, like Zika,  West Nile virus and Lyme disease, which can be transmitted by insects.

• Use an effective insect repellent while playing outdoors.
• Make your backyard a tick-safe zone.
• Check yourself and your children for ticks. Ticks are easy to remove.

Prevent Injuries

Each year in the United States, emergency departments treat more than 200,000 children ages 14 and younger for playground-related injuries. Falls at home and on the playground are a common cause of injury.

• Check to make sure that the surfaces under playground equipment are safe, soft, and well-maintained.
• Supervise young children at all times around fall hazards, such as stairs and playground equipment.
• Use stair gates, which can help keep a busy, active child from taking a dangerous tumble.

A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that can change the way your brain normally works. Concussions can occur in any sport or recreation activity.

• Learn concussion signs and symptoms and what to do if a concussion occurs.
• Make sure kids and teens wear the right protective equipment for their sport or recreation activity.

Parents can take many actions to protect their children's health and safety at home.

• Stay smart around the house by following tips on fire prevention, microwave use, and living with pets.
• Learn healthy home tips for each room in the house.

Young workers have high job injury rates. Hazards in the workplace, inexperience, and lack of safety training may increase injury risks for young workers.

• Know their rights, employer and teen worker responsibilities, and what teens under 18 can’t do.

Stop the violence

• Kids can use electronic media to embarrass, harass, or threaten their peers. Take steps to prevent electronic aggression, a term that captures all types of violence that occur electronically.
• As teens develop emotionally, they are heavily influenced by their relationship experiences, including teen dating. Protect your children from teen dating violence. Nearly one in 10 teens reports having been hit or physically hurt on purpose by a boyfriend or girlfriend at least once over a year’s time.

Children playing in sprinklers. A fun activity in the summer months. What could go wrong? Read on and find out.

An Arizona mother wants to warn other parents after her 9-month-old boy was accidentally sprayed with scalding hot water coming from the garden hose, causing second-degree burns to about 30 percent of his body.

Dominique Woodger said she was about to fill a little pool with water on Monday, as she normally does. When she turned on the faucet, the extremely hot water came out of the sprinkler head attached to the hose, getting all over her baby who was sitting on the ground.

"I thought he was crying because he was mad, because he hates when he gets sprayed in the face. I didn't think that it was burning him,” Woodger told ABC News.

Woodger said doctors say her baby will be okay, but she doesn't want other parents or children to experience the same pain.

"It's heartbreaking. It is. It sucks," Woodger said. "All of it was peeling. He had blisters all over the right side."

Parents, please remember to always touch the water from the hose before you spray it on your child.

Related Articles:  Practice safety around lakes, swimming pools

Ahhhh… don’t you love summer? On this 1^st day of summer, we think it’s wise to post this article about safety around water. Whether it’s a pool, the ocean, a lake, pond or any body of water, safety is a must. As a mother and lap swimmer, I had my son in the pool at our local Y when he was an infant. Swimming lessons followed soon after. It’s extremely important you know how to swim for safety reasons because you never know when you’ll be in a life or death situation around water. As a Nurse, you’ve unfortunately seen situations with tragic outcomes.

While many parents worry about their children’s safety around swimming pools, as they should and need to do, drowning incidents can also occur in natural bodies of water, says information from the U.S. Swim School Association.

Safety precautions need to be taken around all water environments. According to the Center for Disease Control, about half of all drowning incidents occur in natural water settings such as lakes, rivers or oceans. And, almost 75 percent of people killed in boating accidents die as a result of drowning.

As the summer boating season begins, there are steps parents can be taking to keep their children safer in the water. The U.S. Swim School Association has put together the following guidelines to help keep children safe while boating this summer.

• Make sure your children know how to properly wear a lifejacket. And always have children under 12 wear a life jacket at all times when boating or using personal watercraft.

• Personal floatation devices should always be U.S. Coast Guard approved. Never substitute water wings or other recreational type floating toys for an approved PFD.

• Create a water safety plan for your family and have water emergency drills with your children covering how to recognize the signs of someone struggling in water and what to do in this type of emergency.

• Teach your children the “throw don’t go” rescue method. Instead of entering the water to help a struggling person, teach your child to throw in a rope, reach with a stick, paddle or other object to pull the person in.

• If you take your kids on a shore excursion while boating, be aware of tides and currents and other risks the ocean or beach may have.

• Non-motorized boats can also pose a risk. If your family is canoeing or kayaking be sure your child is wearing a life jacket and knows what to do if the boat flips.

• If your child is playing near a natural body of water and accidentally falls in, teach your child to roll over on his or her back and float until help arrives if exiting the water is not an option.

• Never use floatation devices or water wings to keep your child safe in the water. Rely on your direct supervision.

Swimming lessons are a great addition to help keep your child safer while boating and around open water. For more information about swimming lessons and water safety and to find a Unites States Swim School Association member swim school near you, visit usswimschools.org.

Nurses at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston are threatening a walk-out next Monday, June 27, 2016. The Massachusetts Nurses Union and management at the hospital have been in negotiations and cannot agree on their contract. What are your thoughts about it?

Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the union representing its registered nurses are at an impasse.

Negotiators from Brigham and the Massachusetts Nurses Association have met 20 times to hash out a new contract, but after the latest session on Friday, the dispute seemed only further from resolution.

The union has threatened a one-day strike on June 27, and patient care is likely to be disrupted as hospital leaders scale down operations and hire temporary replacement nurses. The hospital says nurses will be locked out for five days if they walk out.

“In response to what the union said was their greatest concern, we worked hard to develop a generous wage and benefit package for every one of our nurses, despite the tremendous financial pressure in healthcare,” Dr. Ron M. Walls, Brigham’s chief operating officer, said in a statement. “We are disappointed that the union rejected our most recent proposal.”

Brigham is owned by Partners HealthCare, the state’s largest health care provider network.

Union negotiators said in a statement that “nurses are prepared to strike unless Partners offers a fair settlement that values patients over profits… Every patient deserves safe care and every nurse deserves a fair wage and equal benefits.”

So, what’s preventing an agreement? As hospital and union leaders prepared to continue talks Monday, they shared details of their latest proposals with the Globe:

Wages

Brigham nurses receive 5 percent annual raises for their first 18 years on the job. The hospital proposed keeping those step raises and adding a new step at the top of the pay scale. Those at the top would receive a 4 percent increase, plus a $500 bonus, over three years, bringing pay for full-time nurses at the top of the scale to $148,616. The average Brigham nurse currently makes $106,000 a year. The hospital also offered $1.4 million in bonuses, but after the union rejected its offer, it directed that money to hiring temporary nurses to work in case of a strike.

The union also wanted to keep step raises in place and add a top step to the scale. But it wanted bigger raises than the hospital proposed: a 5 percent raise for nurses at the top of the scale, and an additional 4 percent increase for all nurses over two years.

Benefits

Brigham wants to place newly hired nurses into a “flex” insurance plan already offered to other Brigham and Partners employees. The hospital calls it a comprehensive plan with a wide range of options, which many union nurses have voluntarily selected in the past. Brigham officials said they offered to set a maximum employee premium contribution rate so they wouldn’t be able to increase what nurses pay without future negotiations.

But the union says the hospital is forcing newly hired nurses into “lesser benefits.” Officials say the hospital has already “lured” many nurses into its preferred insurance plan only to increase employee costs over time. They want new nurses to be able to choose from the same health insurance options that existing nurses have.

Staffing

The union says Brigham has been cutting nurse staffing in one unit of the hospital, where patients are recovering from major thoracic procedures, such as lung transplants. Union officials say the unit was historically staffed with 15 nurses at a time, and they want to keep staffing at that level.

Hospital officials maintain that staffing in that unit is “comparable to or better than similar units within the hospital and at other hospitals throughout the state.” They want to set staffing levels according to the number of patients in the unit at a given time, and how sick the patients are. On Friday, the hospital asked the union to agree to a plan for submitting complaints about staffing to senior nursing officials, but the union said this was “unacceptable” because nurses already complain when they have concerns about staffing and “nothing is done.”

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3. Diversity In The Nursing Field
   
   
   

4. Homeless Veteran Became VA Nurse To Help Others
   
   

5. Important Questions Regarding Your Diversity, Inclusion and Cultural Proficiency

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As we are all still grieving the horrific shootings in Orlando, this article points out the hospitals and medical teams who took care of the victims. As staff called co-workers at home and asked them to come in and help with the overwhelming number of patients coming in to the emergency room, the response was “I’ll be right there”. We know our Nurses across the country would respond the same way.

Things started out fairly well, by a busy emergency room’s standards. The Orlando Regional Medical Center had been warned that gunshot victims would be arriving from a nearby gay nightclub, and the first one was conscious, talking and medically stable.

“We didn’t know exactly how many we were going to get,” Dr. Kathryn Bondani recalled Tuesday. “We thought maybe they’re all gonna be like this, and that would be great.”

But then another victim from the mass shooting early Sunday at the Pulse nightclub arrived, and another, and another, in critical condition with devastating injuries. Four or five of the earliest patients died. And then victims kept coming – not always arriving in ambulances, but sometimes in the backs of trucks, sometimes seemingly just appearing in the halls of the hospital, awaiting treatment.

Gunshot victims aren’t an unusual sight at the 75-bed facility in downtown Orlando, nor are they for any trauma center handling the daily chaos of a major American city.

ut on Tuesday, staff at the hospital described what it was like to confront the aftermath of the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history, with one staffer likening it to a “war scene.” Forty-nine victims were killed.

Nine of those victims died “in the first few minutes” after arriving at the Orlando Regional Medical Center, which received 44 victims from the shooting, according to Dr. Michael Cheatham, the hospital’s chief surgeon. 

Six of the 27 victims still being treated at the hospital Tuesday were in critical condition, and doctors warned that some may die. Twelve victims were also treated at Florida Hospital in Orlando, where six remained in fair condition.

The victims arrived at Orlando Regional Medical Center in two waves over the course of Sunday morning. There was an initial batch of almost two dozen who arrived shortly after shooting began at 2 a.m. A second group arrived after police confronted and killed the gunman.

Some of the wounds were small, looking like they were from the shooter’s handgun; others were much larger, probably from the shooter’s .223-caliber semiautomatic rifle, according to Joseph Ibrahim, the center’s trauma director.

Some victims looked like they’d been shot from close range. Some looked like they’d been shot while running away. One victim had 11 gunshot wounds; another had four surgeries after arriving Sunday, doctors said. Many of those who died suffered head wounds, they said.

One of the victims taken to the hospital was clubgoer Angel Colon, who was shot three times in the left leg as he ran away from the gunman, and then was trampled by other club patrons trying to escape.

Speaking at Tuesday’s news conference, Colon said his left leg was “shattered” and he couldn’t run, so he lay down and played dead as the gunman began “shooting everyone that’s already dead on the floor.”

“I can just see him shooting at everyone, I can hear the [shots getting] closer, and I look over and he shoots the girl next to me,” Colon said.

“I’m next – I’m dead,” he recalled thinking as the gunman approached.

The gunman shot him in the hip and hand and moved on as Colon tried to show no reaction.

Soon the police arrived, and Colon said he could hear officers trading gunfire with the assailant. Colon saw an officer, and the officer grabbed his hand, saying, “This is the only way I can take you out.” He then dragged Colon out – as broken glass cut Colon’s back and his legs.

“I don’t feel pain, but I just feel all this blood on me, from myself, from my other people,” Colon said. “He just drops me off across the street” – outside a Wendy’s  restaurant -- “and I look over, and there’s just bodies everywhere, we’re all in pain.” There, an ambulance took Colon to the safety, and the chaos, of the Orlando Regional Medical Center.

he hospital normally gets alerts from a “very advanced” emergency medical service system that lets hospital workers know when certain patients are headed their way, said Medical Director Gary Parrish. This time, “there was really no advance notice at all.”

As more patients arrived, the on-duty staff began calling more doctors, and more nurses and other staffers, who answered their phones in the middle of the night with a common answer: “I’ll be right there,” according to surgical intensive-care unit director Chadwick Smith.

An army of nurses arrived – dozens who were supposed to be off-duty – along with X-ray and blood technicians as doctors set up a triage to treat the most gravely injured patients, said Bondani. Workers speedily cleaned up operating rooms after the end of one surgery so doctors could immediately begin another. Coordinators responded immediately whenever supplies ran low.

The scene was emotional, with “people in pain, people worrying about their loved ones, people not knowing where their loved ones are,” said Smith.

But doctors said that despite the chaos, the hospital’s emergency plan worked smoothly and efficiently. Aside from the initial patients who died immediately after the shooting, no one else at the hospital had died in the 48 hours since the attack, doctors said.

Smith got emotional at Tuesday’s news conference as he talked about watching hospital staffers arrive in tears to do their jobs.

“It was singularly the worst day of my career, and the best day of my career,” Smith told reporters. “I would think this is probably the same for every person you see standing up here.”

This week is Men’s Health Week and this article serves as a reminder about the importance of men paying attention to their health. As a Nurse, you are in the perfect position to remind your male and female patients to take care of themselves, exercise, eat healthy, listen to their bodies and get help if they notice any persistent changes.

Men’s Health Week is being recognized across the U.S. during the week leading up to and including Father’s Day (June 13-19). And while I have said it before, it bears repeating, this is not just a men’s issue — we all need to be aware and support our men’s (young to old) good health and prevention of health problems. To that end, I am sharing key information in three parts to help spotlight Men’s Health. There are many medical and social factors that impact the physical, social, emotional and spiritual health and wellbeing of all our men and boys.

Studies show that culturally women surpass men in asking for help with their health and too, our boys and men have been raised in a culture “to be emotionally restrained, keeping things close to the vest, being in control, independent, competitive and to endure pain.” Research shows that many men only seek medical counsel when under duress from a family member or when their condition has deteriorated to a severe state. This in itself is an issue but add to this, these staggering statistics:

• Men die at much higher rates from the most common forms of cancers that affect both sexes
• Experts agree there is a focus on women’s health with multiple commissions – but the same lags for men with substantial amount of health disparities in men/boy’s health research

The purpose of Men’s Health Week is to heighten the awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among our men and boys. This Part 2 (of 3) spotlights some additional key concerns while underscoring that having an awareness of preventable health problems along with early detection and treatment of chronic illnesses are imperative to improving men’s health. (Part 1 is here.)

Dr. Nina’s What You Need to Know: About Men’s Health Part 2

Depression While depression in men is common, they often times do not gain the relief needed as they believe they have to be strong and in control of their emotions at all times. And mental health can also affect our physical health; depression can increase the risk for heart disease and other serious medical problems.

Research shows, too, that when feeling hopeless, helpless, or overwhelmed by despair, men and boys tend to deny it or cover it up by physical pain, reckless behavior, anger, or drinking too much. While a key step to recovery is to understand that there’s no reason to feel ashamed – that is more convoluted for men as a result of our culture.

And unfortunately, depression in our men can be overlooked—they can find it difficult to “open up” to talk about their feelings. This can result in the underlying depression going untreated, which can have serious consequences—men suffering from depression are four times more likely to commit suicide than women. It is important for any man to seek help with depression before feelings of despair become feelings of suicide.

Depression is not a sign of emotional weakness or failing of masculinity. It is a treatable health condition that affects millions of men of all ages and backgrounds, as well as those who care about them—spouses, partners, friends, and family. If you (or someone you know) is dealing with depression – talk honestly with a friend, loved one, or doctor about what’s going on in your mind as well as your body. Once correctly diagnosed, there is plenty you can do to successfully treat and manage depression.

Connecting and Isolation: I am currently reading a book by therapist, psychiatrist Dr. Rob Garfield (2015), titled: “Breaking the Male Code: Unlocking the Power of Friendship” about the “connecting” breakthroughs and valuable benefits from men that had personally felt disconnected – and an insightful introspect of what, as a culture, we reinforce in our men “boy code” – “guy code.”

Research shows men may have as many friendships as women have but the quality is often very different. If a guy has a good friend, he may see them once every 3 to 5 years. Social relationships and connection for men are equally vital to men’s wellbeing, as to women’s. Loneliness can send both men and women down a path toward bad health, and even more intense loneliness, studies have shown. We want to encourage healthy connections and examine our views and related behaviors on “guy codes.”

Decrease alcohol use According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, men are more likely than women to drink excessively: 58% report drinking alcohol in the last 30 days and 23% report binge drinking 5 times a month (equates to 8 drinks). In addition to the numerous illnesses that chronic heavy alcohol use increases the risk for—liver disease, heart problems, dementia, cancer—being intoxicated has also been shown to elevate the risk for aggression, accidents, injuries, and deaths.

The Federal Dietary Guidelines on Alcohol Consumption state the following regarding drinking in moderation: For men 65 years of age and younger, no more than two drinks per day and for men who are older than 65 years, no more than one drink a day. They even recommend that some should not drink alcoholic beverages at all including those who cannot restrict their drinking to moderate levels; plan to drive or operate machinery; are taking prescription or over-the-counter medications that can interact with alcohol; have certain medical conditions; and are recovering from alcoholism.

According to a statement from an editor of American Journal of Men’s Health, “facts are that men put their health last and it has been researched to find that most men’s thinking is, if they can live up to their roles in society, then they’re healthy.” From infancy to old age, women are simply healthier than men. Out of the 15 leading causes of death, men lead women in all of them except Alzheimer’s disease, which many men don’t live long enough to develop.

Our men deserve better – their health needs all our attention, on every front — at home; in our communities; and the national level (as we advance more research as well as commission additional understandings to break through the health gap). Let’s rally to help make a difference!!