I joined a book club several years ago.  I have read books I normally wouldn’t choose and always enjoy them.  At a local restaurant I frequent I always order the daily special.  It has forced me to try different and tasty fare. I also have teenagers.  I never make a big decision without talking to them.  They bring a unique and fresh perspective that would not occur to me. 

I am thrilled to be hosting Change of Shift.  While I do not always share the opinion of my colleagues, I learn so much and am challenged to view my profession in a new and different light.

We are expecting Joint Commission at my facility any day now. We are brushing up on all the regulatory guidelines. In The second coming? RehabRN shares a recent Joint Commission survey and practical tips to survive your own.

Off the Charts explores the controversial practice of recruiting foreign-educated nurses in International Recruitment of Nurses: a Look at the Industry and Voluntary Codes of Ethics.  This is sure to be a hot button topic as graduates struggle to find jobs.

The Bloom Is Off by The Makings of a Nurse reminded me of a comment a nursing leader once made to me.  Patients are in the hospital because they need 24 hour nursing care. We try so hard not to leave anything for the next shift, we forget we will never get it all done; the patient requires constant care.  While I am not encouraging anyone to slack, the reason there is a next shift is to continue care.

As an ICU nurse I really connected to the GeriPal – Geriatrics and Palliative Care Blog’s  feature The Opposite of Love by Brad Stuart.  Brad reminds us the opposite of love is fear. Love connects; fear alienates and fosters abandonment.  We abandon patients to treatment that may or may not extend their lives without asking how they feel. We must hold the difficult conversations to honor our patient’s wishes and decisions. My mentor as a house supervisor once cared for a dying patient who wanted comfort measures only.  The patient deteriorated with the physician en route minutes away to write the “Do not Resuscitate” order (this was before phone or fax orders were accepted).   When the patient coded, she barred the door from the code team as the physician arrived to write the order, placing herself in liability to honor the patient’s dying wishes.

Running Wildly describes the angst mothers feel in deciding to stay at home or work in SAHM vs. WM.  Women are known to be more social and value relationships.  Why then do we attack other mothers and eat our nursing young? Why can’t we show each other some of the unconditional respect we show patients?

The Muse, RN develops the RN Mouth Moving Theory which will immediately remind you of at least one long winded, opinionated colleague and leave you laughing at the conclusion.   Unless……….

A Mother, Author and Activist for Neurofibromatosis Shares Her Story reflecting how much their lives have changed since her daughter’s diagnosis. To help other parents and children know they are not alone she created  the Bur Bur and Friends stories.

I was reminded of a shift on oncology years ago when I had a patient die at the beginning, middle, and end of my shift as New Nurse Insanity: Fundus Chop! shares Thoughts on Death with the poignant, twisted humor of a nurse.

The Nurse Practitioner’s Place explores the role of  Nurse Practitioners As Diagnosticians.  As NPs struggle to have prescriptive and practice authority, traditional roles will be challenged by nurses, NPs, and health care consumers. 

Nurse Me explores balancing respect for a person’s mind, body, and spirit in Science vs Jesus.  Much like the books in the book club I have read but wouldn’t have picked on my own, this blog provided a perspective I would not have obtained in my homogenous world. 

Scrubs What I Remember from Nursing School brought back memories of the Sister making me practice turning down covers according to the text book, being afraid of the call light, and pages of calulations to determine the 0.25 mg dose of IV digoxin was one-half of the available 0.5 mg product.   

That’s it for me this edition of Change of Shift. Thanks so much, Kim.

Drop by and visit me at Nurses Network.

Be sure to check out the next edition of COS hosted by Keith at Digital Doorway.