"Formal education will make you a living. Self-education will make you a fortune."~jim Rohn

Transcription

1 Stay Connected OPPORTUNE JUNE! "Formal education will make you a living. Self-education will make you a fortune."~jim Rohn Happy June! June is a month filled with celebrations. Students graduate from high school and college, young students start summer break (although not always celebrated by their parents), and many new nurses start their first job as professional nurses. When nurses graduate from nursing school, many think, "Ah. At last! I'm done with school." However, what they don't realize is that they ain't done cookin' yet!! They've only just begun. Successful nurses find ways to incorporate life-long learning into their practice. They realize that, as this month's quote implies, you might do okay as a nurse - (get a job - make a decent salary) but you'll miss out on opportunities if you don't continue to learn and grow in your practice. 1 of 5 6/27/13 11:50 AM

2 If you're not on the path, I encourage you to use the month of June to start the journey to continuous learning. Stick with me and I'll show you how! Take care and stay connected, Clinical Practice Tip HYPERKALEMIA: UNDERSTANDING TREATMENT OPTIONS Potassium acts as an irritant at the neuromuscular junction. Too much and your cells get irritated; not enough and your cells get sluggish. Your heart demands a normal potassium level for its electrical conduction system to work. Too much and you'll see a peaked T wave; too little and you'll see ventricular arrhythmias! So, hyperkalemia is a bad thing for your patient's heart and needs to be treated immediately! There are so many different ways to treat hyperkalemia, but how do you know what treatment is best and in which situation? Professional Practice Tip: SURVIVING AND THRIVING IN THE INFORMATION ERA Have you noticed that we are no longer in the Industrial Era? We are now in the Information Era and bombarded on a daily basis with information. I'm sure you receive newsletters (like mine), news briefs, clinical updates, etc. every day! It's humanly impossible to keep up with the plethora of information. However, if you want to be successful, you must find a way. To read more,click here! To read more, click here! Article Review COMMUNICATION: A DYNAMIC BETWEEN NURSES AND PHYSICIANS by CASSANDRA LEE FLICEK 2 of 5 6/27/13 11:50 AM

3 In this short article, the author describes the current challenges nurses and physicians face regarding communication in today's acute care environment. Knowing that communication has been linked to patient outcomes, the author discusses strategies and uncovers the barriers faced. Interesting to note was the author's mention of the issue regarding separate pre-licensure training among nurses and physicians and how it impacts our understanding of roles. Reading this reminded me of something I heard a physician once say. It was during a system-wide diabetes meeting - Dr. Michael A. Devita, a critical care Medicine Physician, said this (I'm paraphrasing a bit), "If you wanted to create the best basketball team, you wouldn't send your guard to guard school; your center to center school; and your forward to forward school and then ask them to show up during the championship game. But that's exactly what we do in healthcare. Physicians go to med school; nurses go to nursing school, etc. and then show up to care for patients. No wonder why we have problems!" The author shared some of the common processes in place to ensure effective communication, such as SBAR and Bedside Rounds; but, also admits that even though we know these processes improve patient care, it's really difficult to comply on a consistent basis. What I really love about this article is that a clinical nurse who practices at the bedside wrote it. Kudos! If you'd like me to send you the article, just me! Flicek, C.L. (2012). Communication: A dynamic between nurses and physicians. MedSurg Journal. 21(6) MY SPECIAL THANK YOU! It was a complete joy to have had the opportunity to present for and work with the following organizations in May: *Community College of Beaver County (Beaver, PA) *ValleyCare Health System (Warren, OH) *Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Chicago, IL) *Simpson University (Redding, CA) *Mercy Medical Center (Redding, CA) *Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center - MedEd (Waco, TX) *Providence Health Center - MedEd (Waco, TX) *Heritage Valley School of Nursing 3 of 5 6/27/13 11:50 AM

4 Resource: MEDIVIZOR Medivizor is a free service that searches for credible health information regarding specific diseases, such as breast cancer, melanoma, and diabetes; and summarizes the information in layman's terms. This resource is so valuable that the company is now piloting this service for healthcare professionals! Please encourage your patients to utilize this amazing resource. To learn more about Medivizor, click here. STAY TUNED! Bullying Webinar: I've had many requests to host a bullying webinar based on my work on nurse-to-nurse bullying. You asked - I said yes! I plan to do this as a beta test in August. Stay tuned for details. Hero Book: I've been asked by several companies to write a book based on my most popular keynote presentation, "Celebrate Nursing: Human by Birth - Hero by Choice." This book is tentatively scheduled for release some time in September. Be sure to watch for the announcement! UPCOMING EVENTS! Now scheduling Leadership Development Workshops for the fall 2013! Healthcare and Academic Institutions CLICK HERE for details! Blogs, Wikis,and Tweet chats - OH MY! Strategies to engage today's virtual learner CLICK HERE for details! PRODUCTS 4 of 5 6/27/13 11:50 AM

5 Now available Renee Thompson's Book A solution to nurse-to-nurse bullying ebook Renee Thompson's ebook A Guide: Helping New Nurses Succeed! Thank the Hero in your life RTConnections now has Hero Thank You Cards available for purchase. Visit our website! rtconnections.com Stay Connected * renee@rtconnections.com Forward this This was sent to renee@rtconnections.com by renee@rtconnections.com Update Profile/ Address Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe Privacy Policy. RTConnections, LLC 146 Aidan Ct Pittsburgh PA of 5 6/27/13 11:50 AM