I remember: You blaming me for your hips being uneven, ha ha, because you had to carry me around when we lived in New Jersey when Dad was a Chaplain in the Army from 1943-1946. You telling me that, after the war, we shared a bed in West Sayville and, thanks to me, another ha …
Category: nurse
Christmas Present for a Nurse or Nursing Student – 2013
For that nurse or nursing student in your life, consider giving them Caring Lessons: A Nursing Professor's Journey of Faith and Self. My career memoir tells my story from nurse's aide to professor emerita and from diploma to PhD. Caring Lessons will inspire the reader that achieving career dreams are possible! I used to tell my …
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Tea-inspired Decluttering Party Naturally Leads to “Caring Lessons”
I think it was the tea. For several days last week, I methodically decluttered my closets and drawers in one bedroom, one kitchen, one living room, one dining room, one study, one hallway, and three bathrooms. My husband even noticed. “Whatever you’re on, let me know, so next time the house needs to be cleaned, …
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Living in a High Rise – Audible Enunciators
People living in houses often ask, “What’s it like living in high rise?” This question came to mind last week when we received a notice from our building manager. The notice addressed our “audible enunciators.” An inspection is coming up to make sure they are working. In case you’ve never heard of these, I hadn’t …
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Caring Lessons Celebrates Third Anniversary
Fun things first. In honor of this third anniversary, I'm giving away one copy of Caring Lessons: A Nursing Professor's Journey of Faith and Self. All you have to do to qualify for a drawing is make a comment on this post. On Wednesday, September 25, I will randomly select one winner, contact that winner …
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How is your doctor’s nonverbal communication?
Last week I praised my internist’s therapeutic communication skills and promised I’d write about some bad experiences soon that I’ve had during my nearly 15-year history of fibromyalgia. So today is the time to give you one example that still floors me years later.Some back story. When I taught nursing, therapeutic communication was my favorite …
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Therapeutic Communication Skills – An Essential in Health Care
“Don’t let it happen again,” said Marianna Crane, my nurse practitioner friend. I could hear the disbelief in her voice. Marianna and I share a history of graduating from diploma schools of nursing in the early sixties. At that time, a visible hierarchy existed in health care. Doctors were treated like gods. And, even though Marianna …
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Living with Bipolar Illness or Breast Cancer
If you have a loved one living with either one of these illnesses and would like to understand them better, then Ka Hancock’s Dancing on Broken Glass is a compelling, informative read. Hancock, as a nurse in the clinical specialty of psychiatry, dives into the minds of Mickey and Lucy as they forge a life …
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Chronic Itch Sufferers: Advice Welcome!
“Don’t tell me you are still itching,” a friend said yesterday. “That is just terrible! What’s been happening?” I’d not seen her in a month, and while she was off gallivanting across the world, I was continuing my journey from one doctor to another. As a retired nurse, I ask myself, every minute, What if …
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