It’s Nurses Day — a day we celebrate all it means to be a nurse. This day gets me into deep thinking. Particularly about the core of a nurse and how sometimes — even if we don’t want it...
Transitions of Care III — Scarier than a horror movie: Medication errors
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Aug 11, 2011
We’ve been talking for a while about transitioning of our residents to and from the facility and some of the problems associated with it. But let’s talk now about just one huge problem, that...
The schizophrenia of patient-centered care
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Nov 11, 2014
Is it me or sometimes do the wide interpretations within the State Operations Manual (the dreaded “RED book”) make you want to question your entire existence? I mean, we’ve been working...
What we have is a failure to communicate
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Jun 25, 2019
Recently, I saw a group email pop-up on my computer that basically states that surveyors showed up in a particular building and they may need electronic medical record access, so please stand by.
It’s easier to stay warm
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Mar 23, 2021
I was reminded of something this week that got me thinking: It’s easier to stay warm than get warm. As we just finished wi
Documentation nightmares: so noted
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
May 28, 2019
The bane of any nurse leader’s existence is reading some of her staff’s notes and just praying a surveyor or lawyer never finds them.
Should you treat LTC work like a sprint or marathon?
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Jan 08, 2019
I am sure you have all heard the saying, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” But in our profession, I think we find that sometimes it’s both. So, what in the heck do I mean?
Thick as a Brick
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Aug 15, 2023
I was recently on a road trip, cruising along and listening to the classic rock station on Sirius XM. There was an interview with Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson where he explained the title “Thick as a...
If only these nursing books would be written
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Oct 09, 2012
This past summer, Medscape had an article titled “The Top 15 books for Nurses.” They were “heavy” reads and not the self-help books I thought would have been on their summer “must-have”...
When life gets in the way of life
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Sep 18, 2013
You ever have one of those weeks that kind of runs into the weekend and then runs into the next week? And while you wanted to do your personal life “stuff” your work life “stuff”...