Safe Sun Practices

With such an unbearably long and cold winter (polar vortex, anyone?) who isn't ready to get out in the sunshine and get drenched in Vitamin D (which you're actually better off getting from your diet)? With skin cancer rates rising 2% a year since 2000, take a moment to brush up on safe skin practices before heading out to soak up some rays, you bathing beauties. These are some tidbits from the New York Times blog.

Quick Facts About Safe Sun Practices:

• The appropriate amount of sunscreen to apply is a golf-ball sized dollop
• Sunscreen should be reapplied every two hours (of a better frame of reference for some: the amount of a 1 ounce shot glass)
• Many high SPF sunscreens will protect you from ultraviolet B rays and protect you from burning, but they do not provide sufficient coverage to keep out the ultraviolet A rays which are responsible for aging and skin damage and may be more involved in the development of skin cancer
• The use of "broad spectrum protection" on the label means that the lotion is approve to protect against UVA and UVB rays but the protection against UVA rays is often times comparatively lower 
• Products with a SPF of less than 15 do not protect against skin cancer
• Lotions claiming to be waterproof or water-resistant will protect for either 40 or 80 minutes and are required to inform the consumer of  their duration of protection on the label, at which time the user needs to reapply. 
• SPF greater than 50 does not necessarily provide more protection and could be pulled from shelves in the near future along with sunscreen sprays.
• Avoid products with vitamin A, retinol or its derivatives, such as retinyl palmitate and retinal acetate. They may increase sun sensitivities and burning.
• Be weary of  "seals of approval. The skin cancer foundation will grant is approval to sunscreens but only if the manufacturer has donated $10,000 to become a member of their foundation.

Just Keep Swimming

It's been said a million times before, and it will be said a million times again....and again, and again, and again.

NURSING SCHOOL IS HARD!!!

But not because of the information you have to learn. The anatomy and physiology, microbiology, pathophysiology, learning about different disease processes and how they are managed; that is the fun part! The hard part is keeping up your motivation when grinding though the areas that don't interest you. Unfortunately, healthcare is not all blood and guts.

For me, nursing theory is the big snoozer. YAWN! But I understand it is what the professional stands on and must be mastered. Community nursing could put me into a coma but I have to keep pushing through understanding that it is still critical to understand the role of community nurses. We all have to be knowledgeable of what different areas of nursing are capable of to give the best care to our patients.

That said... I am ready to be done with this section of reading!

Summa, Summa, Summa- time

Well, summer is almost here ladies and I am dying over this new Lilly tote and these seersucker scrub pants from bluesky. I probably also would not turn down these Lobstah earbubs.

Lilly Pulitzer tote bag   (see more lilly pulitzer handbags)

Preppy Nurse

I love the nautical themes! Too bad you can't buy Lily scrubs.

Check out this nurse bling, perfect for any southern, sweet tea drinkin' prepster nurse made by abbyloutwo on easy!

From abbyloutwo's website:

"Stethoscope ID Tags can be personalized with your name. Makes a great gift for anyone in the medical field that uses a stethoscope . We have many designs to choose from so you can choose the perfect style for your personality. Stethoscope tags are printed professionally and covered with a clear plastic Mylar. Never gets dirty like fabric, wipes clean. Easy to attach the top and bottom snap together over the steth tubing. Once attached, it is difficult to remove. These do not fit the Cardiology Steths with the thick tubing."

Hospitals Top Earners Aren't the MD's

If you work in a large hospital chances are pretty good that this isn't news to you. It is, however, a nice reminder to the public that the doctor's are not the ones raking in the cash hand over fist. The next time you see your hospital's CEO walking down the hallways, remember why he has such a big smile on his face. This is a great article from the NY Times that shines a much needed light on healthcare costs. Physician's payments are always targeted as cause of high costs but truly one needs to look no further than the salaries of the CEO's of hospitals and insurance companies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/sunday-review/doctors-salaries-are-not-the-big-cost.html?_r=0

Welcome!

Click on the right to FOLLOW and you can be notified when I update my notes. My goal is to build a catalog of outlines for every chapter of Excelsior's required reading.


Shortly after embarking on the Excelsior nursing adventure I realized that the volume of information to digest was overwhelming. Required reading, Study Guide 101, practice exams, youtube videos, etc. The amount of resources available to independent learners is at times staggering and at other times disappointing and frustrating. I was finding myself having to hunt down lectures as well because I am much more of a classroom learner.

On this blog I am including my own personal notes from the required reading along with any useful youtube videos I find. Feel free to use any of this information as an adjunct to your own studying. The best method I have found to prepare is to complete the required reading then pick apart the practice questions on both practice exams.

Example of how I break down the practice exam:
(the following question is taken directly from Saunders NCLEX Prep, 6th ed., pg 398)

345. The nurse in a newborn nursery is monitoring a preterm newborn for respiratory distress syndrome. Which assessment findings would alert the nurse to the possibility of this syndrome?

1. tachypnea and retractions
2. acrocyanosis and grunting 
3. hypotension and bradycardia
4. presence of a barrel  chest and acrocyanosis

The first step I take is to define respiratory distress syndrome in newborns and look up everything I can about it in the required reading. After that do the same thing with all the terms in the answers (tachypnea, retractions, acrocyanosis, grunting, hypotension, bradycardia, barrel chest). Now I am prepared for that question in any form.

In the right column you will find a list of the courses. In each courses 'page' you will find all related notes and videos I use for that specific course.

So far I have completed A&P and Transitions. I will be adding my notes from Transitions soon.

The College Network

Many of you have seen this conversation come up time and time again; Should you order the TCN books, use study group 101, or just buckle down and do the EC required reading? Thus far, I have ordered four study group 101 guides (A&P, Transitions, Health Differences, and Health Safety) and have mixed feelings about them. I used them for A&P  and Transitions but ended up doing the required reading anyway. For Health Essentials I never looked at it and for Health Safety I might take a look at it but have primarily worked off of the practice test and required reading.

Yesterday I ordered the TCN modules that coincide with the remainder of my EC courses. I plan on reading it for my next exam, Foundations of Nursing, formerly Chronicity.

I will update when they arrive!

Feel free to comment if you have any questions or want to share an experience with TCN, good or bad!

Thanks :)