This is a very hard blog for me to write. My mother just passed away. It was very sudden and not expected. I am blessed to have two mothers: A step-mother who has been in my life since I have been 8 years...
I was a better nurse when …
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
May 06, 2014
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...
Spacely Sprockets and the future of medical care
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Apr 02, 2014
So does anyone remember the cartoon “The Jetsons”? You know, George and Jane, daughter Judy, son Elroy and, of course, the dog, Astro. It’s kind of fun to see how their 1960s and 1980s...
It was 55 degrees in Sochi while we were expecting Snowmageddon
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Feb 18, 2014
This one is subtitled “Nursing facility personnel are essential and other things the world wasn’t anticipating.” Yes, while the temperature unexpectedly rose in Sochi, Russia, making...
What’s your load? How nurses can lighten med usage
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Jan 23, 2014
The US Food and Drug Administration recently requested that practitioners stop prescribing combination prescription pain medications that have more than 325 mg of acetaminophen per tablet, capsule, etc.,...
Lost in Medicare Part D land
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Dec 10, 2013
My mom called me to relay her “tragic” story of trying to sign up for a Medicare Part D plan. She hadn’t signed up for one, and didn’t feel that she needed one, but at lunch her...
I pay dead people
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Nov 12, 2013
On Oct. 31 (an ironic coincidence?) a report from the Office of inspector General frighteningly said Medicare paid some $23 million in benefits for more than 17,000 dead people in 2011. And my husband...
What’s your view from the outside?
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Oct 01, 2013
I bet a few of you are going to be thinking while you read this, “What has this got to do with a healthcare blog?” Give me a minute and you will see where I am going with it.You will see a...
Look on the bright side to fight depression
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Aug 20, 2013
I was recently reading an article about depression and what one can do to help themselves. It said that how you became depressed is important, but more importantly, you can learn how to do various things...
Give these nurses a hand, really
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Jul 23, 2013
The American Nurses Association recently revealed national standards for safe patient handling and mobility. I say, “Bravo!” And it’s about time.