Because Patients

Blog #21 Consider your findings on your MSDS about the potential dangers associated with the chemical/product you looked up. Was the MSDS an adequate tool for worker to use to gain an understanding about the potential health risks and how to protect him/herself? I printed Finasteride as my substance; I thought this was a perfect choice, as my nursing students have been administering it, but learned that none of them knew about the risks. The MSDS that I printed had great warning, but they were not very clear as to the process. An example: under Eye /Face Protection it has to wear safety goggles or face shield. All equipment should have been tested and approved under appropriate standards, such as NIOSH(US). But I was looking for a warning, something to show my students what is harmful and why they need this. Consider tat the general public reads at a reading level at or below 6th grade, and that's if English is their first language. Was the MSDS still adequate? Some ...

Blog #26 Have you ever looked at the warnings that are on your cell phone. If you have an iPhone, follow these directions to find them on your phone: Go to settings - - >General - - >About -->Legal. What do you think about what you found, in light of this module's content? Well first off, OMG I have never seen so much!  Most of the legal page was not helpful in answering this questions, but the section for RF exposure was enlightening. According to my iPhone, it has ben tested and meets the applicable limits for radio frequency exposure. Now this hits a little close home as we just discussed what "acceptable limits" exactly are. Just like with the candy dispenser, there is no mention of who set this limitation.   Specific Absorption refers to the rate at which the body absorbs RF energy, The SAR limit is 1.6 watts per kilogram in countries that set the limit average over 1 gram of tissue and 2.0 watts per kilogram in countries that set the limit av...

Blog #25 Were there ways in which to "green" your healthcare setting that you had not perviously considered? Is there a green team or equivalent in your work setting? Who makes purchasing decisions? Currently we have a Blue Bin System; instead of having a plethora of products to chose from and bringing tons of supplies into patient rooms, we have a supply room that has Blue Bins in metal racks. We have two sets, the first is a set that we pull from and then a full one behind it. When we pull the bin from behind it signals our team to order new and replace the one we have used. We do have a dedicated team that is responsible for this, but nursing and NA staff will call when supplies are running low on our second bin. After completing the survey, I was surprised that I didn't know so much about our hospital, especially where our trash goes. The survey has helped me to identify deficits; the website was also interesting to research. I love that nurses have thes...

Blog #24 The production of energy has a huge impact on the environment, human health and the well-being of many communities. At what level would you be most comfortable helping to transition to sustainable and healthier energy choices? With out new home, we are required to have solar placed, so although not my choice, I do like that we are going to be adding to the safety of our environment. We already keep electronics unplugged when not in use and avoid using fireplaces or heaters, and instead stick to blankets.  Do you know what types of governmental incentives exit in your community, state, country to transition to renewable sources of energy? Funny to ask this question; it was the first thing I asked when our builder told us that we had no option to not have solar; on top of this was no incentive was being offered as PG&E customers have exhausted the program. Seriously? Exhausted the program; so for us currently no incentives, but according to energy.ca.gov m...

BLog #23 Climate change is predicted to have multiple effects. Are you prepared, as a nurse, to address the effects that are likely to be experienced in your community? As a nurse in a seaside community, I myself am prepared for excessive rain, flooding and the potential for the waters to rise for an extended period. As a nurse I can ask, encourage and give resources for weather related climate changes. Helping to educate patients on temperature increases and how to stay safe. Are there ways in which the nursing community can use our trusted voices about health to strengthen climate change policies and practices? Nurses within the community I feel can make positive changes; and help encourage policy makers to endorse these practices. In the process of purchase our new home, we were told that new communities build in 2020 will require Solar panels to be installed. Although not be given the choice to chose what goes on my home, this required will in time be b...

Blog #22 What are the roles that nurses can play in addressing food waste? I was shocked to hear that the United Staes waste enough food to fill 730 foot ball fields per year. Unbelievable; but yet believable. I too am guilty of purchasing strawberries that are currently way too ripe in my Fridg that I neglected. Even more sad was learning that in 2013 49.1 million people lived in food-insecure households; and this most likely doesn't come close those in developing countries.  Nurses role to address this issue can be to bring awareness to expiration dates, choosing the last of an item and not purchasing more then you plan to make/eat. In the past year, I have started to only purchase what I plan to eat for three to four days. Although not great on time management, it has helped keep my waste at a minimum. This is not ideal for families who need to make larger meals, but has been a great solution for me. I also think along these lines we need to educate our patients...