EP 196: What is Sports Psychology With Sean O’Connor

EP 196: What is Sports Psychology With Sean O’Connor

by | Dec 31, 2022 | Podcast

What is Sports Psychology With Sean O’Connor

Sports psychology is a practical skill that helps address athletes’ optimal performance and well-being. How can this be used? And what do you know about sports psychology? 

Traumas and repressed emotions can affect us in the long run. Some of us can handle these emotions well, while others displace them, creating more trauma, stress, fear, anger, resentment, depression, and anxiety.

How can people heal from this? Is there a way to work through these feelings? 

In this episode, we would like to introduce you to Sean O’Connor. Sean is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) at Peaceful Living Mental Health Counseling in Scarsdale, NY.

He specializes in sports psychology and trauma-informed counseling to help adults and athletes overcome anger, depression, anxiety, PTSD, and stress. 

To treat his patients, he uses a combination of EMDR therapy, mindfulness, meditative science, polyvagal theory for nervous system regulation, and neurofeedback when working with clients.

Sean loves working with athletes and survivors of past trauma to help them heal from the past, love the present, and have hope for the future.

Questions for Our Guest

The questions below are some we’d like to tackle. We often go off-topic, so we don’t expect to hit them all. If you have any ideas, please let us know.

Looking forward to our conversation!

These are the questions you had in Calendly. We’ll go off your questions and wherever else our conversation goes.

  1. Can you give us a little background about yourself?

2. How did you get into Sports Psychology & what is sports psychology?

3. How do Athletes cultivate their identity? 

4. What does it take to improve your mental health?

  • What is the simplicity of happy living?
  • What are some common stigmas in mental health?

5. How does holistic health play a role in mental health?

6. What is the Polyvagal theory?

7. What is the problem with the age of information? 

8. Martial arts

ENDING QUESTIONS

Before we end the show, we have one last question we like to ask all our guests. If you had the opportunity to have a Cup of coffee with anybody one last time, who would it be & why? 

Connect with Sean through his Instagram @peacefullivingcounseling Or visit their website at https://www.peacefullivingmentalhealthcounseling.com/. 

Do you want to know more about sports psychology? Click here for more 👇👇👇

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Introduction
02:11 About Sean O’Connor
08:41 What is the language of an Athlete
12:13 The most frequent problems that athletes face
15:35 What transpires when an athlete leaves their sport
17:37 How to guide struggling athletes
22:34 What are the traits of an athlete
25:27 How to overcome extreme pressure and performance anxiety
30:38 How to communicate to a person who is tense and fearful
36:02 How important is physical health to mental health
40:16 How to recognize danger and when it exists
43:25 How our emotions make our consciousness
48:18 The negative impacts of the modern age of information
52:31 What makes EMDR more efficient
58:43 How martial arts enhance both mental and physical health
01:08:03 How martial arts foster self-control
01:11:45 The significance of a warm community
01:19:48 What separates an elite athlete from the rest
01:22:13 Wrapping up the show

Miscommunication Among Nurses and How to Avoid It

Miscommunication Among Nurses and How to Avoid It

by | Dec 24, 2022 | Nursing

Miscommunication Among Nurses and How to Avoid It

Nurses are among the essential workers in the healthcare world, especially now that we have a pandemic. However, miscommunication among nurses is an issue that happens quite often.

How can this be avoided? What causes miscommunication among nurses? 

 

How Can Miscommunication Among Nurses Be Avoided?

There are a couple of ways that nurses can avoid miscommunication. Keep in mind that being able to relay the correct information about their patients can make a difference in nursing care.

As a nurse, you must provide accurate data regarding their condition so proper nursing can be given. Here’s how you can do that:

 

1. Make eye contact when endorsing patients.

There is a sense of relief whenever the shift is over, especially if it has been toxic since you first clocked in. While it is exciting to exit the nurse’s station once your shift ends, make proper endorsements first.

The best way to ensure no miscommunication is to make eye contact with the next nurse on duty when endorsing the patient’s chart. 

Take the time to explain everything, from the procedures done to the patient, medications given, the diagnosis (if you have to), and even the physician/s who came to check in with them.

Making eye contact gives you a chance to scan for any uncertainty in their face or if they understood what was said to them. It is also the best way to engage someone in a conversation and ensure they listen to what you say. 

 

2. Use bedside nursing boards.

Bedside nursing boards are also commonly known as bed-census boards. These can help you with an open line of communication among nurses in the team/building, the patient’s families, and you as health care providers.

The boards help with the patient’s condition and communicate with their families and the rest of the hospital staff. Understand that there are tons of healthcare providers in the hospital working on patients.

Failing to communicate properly can lead to negative consequences.

Bedside boards are essential in providing reports to the next nurse on duty. It can help them understand what happened during your shift and fill them in on the patient’s history if this is their first time handling them.

Bed census boards also prove to the patient’s families that proper care is given to their loved ones. 

 

3. Take time to talk to your patients.

Nurses are often busy on each shift, and, unsurprisingly, they cannot give their patients’ full attention. However, taking the time to check on your patients, listen to their concerns, and show that you can help are enough to put them at ease. It is also a good nursing quality to have. 

Allowing a few minutes of one-on-one conversation with your patients can be rewarding. It is easier to see how they are improving and establish a sense of trust as their nurse. Although you may not do this daily, it is best to create a routine and stick to it. 

 

How Can Nurses Improve Their Communication Skills?

Improving communication among nurses is possible. To do this, nurses like you practice patience and become better listeners. When you listen, you don’t offer one ear but both. Keep in mind that you are working with other nurses who are also busy. Listening to each other is crucial to providing better services to patients. 
 
You can also avoid communication conflict when you practice active listening. Active listening is repeating the key points of the conversation to the speaker. So, make it a habit to listen to your coworkers and improve your listening skills. 
 
Another way to avoid miscommunication among nurses is not to interrupt the speaker. This could be helpful during endorsements at the end of the shift. Allow the person to finish talking first before asking questions.
 
Keep in mind that even the slightest cues can determine the condition of patients. Resist the urge to ask questions whenever someone is talking. 
 
As a nurse, you must also learn to maintain a positive attitude. Remember, happiness is contagious! Your positive outlook can also affect your coworkers and even your patients.
 
When things get a little serious, be sure to keep your emotions in check. Your nurse training taught you to remain professional and courteous during conversations. No matter how angry or upset you are, keep it cool.
 
Be aware that your emotions can affect others and your ability to communicate at work. When you do so, miscommunication among nurses will not happen.

 

 

In Closing

Communication is an essential part of patient care, and when this is done accordingly,

it is nurses can work together effectively. If you feel like you or your coworkers are missing out on proper communication, take the step to address this issue.

It will surely help your team and other hospital staff improve as you provide nursing care to your patients. 

 

Looking for more nursing and travel nursing information? Check out these helpful links!

EP 195: Psychotherapy & EMDR with Stephanie Polizzi

EP 195: Psychotherapy & EMDR with Stephanie Polizzi

by | Dec 23, 2022 | Podcast

Psychotherapy & EMDR with Stephanie Polizzi

Psychotherapy & EMDR are therapies for many mental health issues, but what is it all about? What goes on during these sessions? 

Feeling anxious or stressed is something that we don’t want to feel. But unfortunately, we all go through this. Some of us have good coping skills, while others cannot deal with these negative emotions.

The bad news is that we will go through many stressful life situations. The good news is we can overcome the negative thoughts that cause us to be anxious. How can we do it? What steps should we take to rid ourselves of anxiety? And can psychotherapy & EMDR help? 

Our Guest

In this episode, we would like to introduce you to Stephanie Polizzi. Stephanie is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) at Peaceful Living Mental Health Counseling in Westchester County, NY.

She also works with teens and adults struggling with eating disorders, anxiety, trauma, behavioral challenges, and life transitions.

Stephanie is also a trained Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapist at a trauma-informed practice. She uses a combination of EMDR, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and other modalities when working with clients.

Questions for Our Guest

The questions below are some we’d like to tackle. We often go off-topic, so we don’t expect to hit them all. If you have any ideas, please let us know. Looking forward to our conversation!

These are the questions you had in Calendly. We’ll go off your questions and wherever else our conversation goes.

  1. Can you give us a little background about yourself?
  2. How did you first get involved with therapy? What made you want to become a psychotherapist? 
  3. Your primary focus is on adults, teens, and children, specifically those with eating disorders, anxiety, and challenging behaviors; what made you go down that path?
    • How does a teen with an eating disorder act?
    • What does an anxious teen look like?
    • What are some challenging behaviors teen show?
    • Is there a core reason why teens exhibit those problems (eating disorders, anxiety, challenging behavior)? Where do these issues stem from, or what is the teen looking to solve with those behaviors?
    • Do these issues mainly come from trauma or some issue the persona has with society or their parents?
  4. How do you figure out the core issue with children or teens going through these difficult times? Do you talk to them, and they eventually open up and speak about it?
  5. Once you figure out the problem, how do you solve it? How do you take the teen with an eating disorder and show them how to solve whatever they are going through correctly, or how do you make the teen with challenging behavior content with their situation?
  6. What is EMDR, and how does it work?
    • Have you found success with it, or is it an approach you take when other things fail?
    • What does an EMDR session look like?

ENDING QUESTIONS

Before we end the show, we have one last question we like to ask all our guests. If you had the opportunity to have a Cup of coffee with anybody one last time, who would it be & why? 

Catch or connect with Stephanie through her socials via:

Instagram: @peacfullivingcounseling

Website: https://www.peacefullivingmentalhealthcounseling.com/ 

Stephanie about: https://www.peacefullivingmentalhealthcounseling.com/stephanie 

Learn more about psychotherapy and EDMR by watching the full episode here 👇👇👇

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Introduction
01:48 About Stephanie Polizzi
03:18 How therapy helped Stephanie
05:10 The patients’ common problems
06:46 What is EMDR
10:10 What takes place during an EMDR therapy session?
13:19 How does an eye movement fix our suppressed body
18:42 How Stephanie went about studying eating disorders
20:58 The reasons why people have an eating disorder
23:02 The common issues that adults and teenagers have
25:16 How to approach someone with an eating disorder
28:21 Indications that a patient is benefiting from the treatment
32:30 What to do if you’d prefer not to see a therapist
35:40 A determination to improve yourself
39:59 Contemplating positive aspects
44:47 Understanding when to seek help
48:27 The negative implications of sickness labeling
53:16 The lack of expertise in managing eating disorders
58:52 A healthcare system that will benefit us
01:04:56 The gains of mental health awareness
01:08:10 Wrapping up the show

EP 194: Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation with Aurika Savickaite

EP 194: Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation with Aurika Savickaite

by | Dec 16, 2022 | Podcast

EP 194: Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation with Aurika Savickaite

Noninvasive positive pressure ventilation is a recognized alternative in managing selected cases of acute respiratory failure.

It is a form of mechanical support where positive pressure delivers a mixture of oxygen and air through the respiratory tree using a noninvasive interface. It could be through standard ICU ventilators or portable devices.

Now, if this is something new to you and you want to learn about NPPV, this episode is for you. 

For this episode, we would like to introduce you to Aurika Savickaite. Aurika has worked as a registered nurse and patient care manager at the University of Chicago Medical Center’s Medical Intensive Care Unit.

She was also involved in successfully testing the helmet ventilator in the ICU at the University of Chicago during a three-year trial study.

In the episode, we focus on the benefits of helmet-based noninvasive positive pressure ventilation on patient outcomes. 

QUESTIONS FOR GUESTS

The questions below are some we’d like to tackle. We often go off-topic, so we don’t expect to hit them all. If you have any ideas, please let us know.

Looking forward to our conversation!

These are the questions you had in Calendly. We’ll go off your questions and wherever else our conversation goes.

  1. Can you give us a little background about yourself?
  2. What is Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation (NIPPV), and what are some typical examples of this you see at the hospital?
  3. What made you decide to be involved in creating helmet-based ventilation?
    • What exactly is it? 
    • Can you explain the product and how it works?
  4. How does helmet-based ventilation compare to our current noninvasive positive pressure ventilation? 
    •  What is the cost difference?
    • Can it lead to fewer intubations? 
  5. How have the helmets been working out in New Zealand? 
  6. You’re a problem solver at heart. Are there any other things you are working to improve? Inside or outside of the healthcare setting? 

ENDING QUESTIONS

Before we end the show, we have one last question we like to ask all our guests. If you had the opportunity to have a Cup of coffee with anybody one last time, who would it be & why? 

Links: 

Website:
https://www.helmetbasedventilation.com/ 

YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO8Tfe2OXZuRdNIblSZIZyQ/videos 

Infographics: https://www.helmetbasedventilation.com/post/infographic-comparison-bubble-helmet-hood-niv-face-mask-invasive-mechanical-ventilation 

Online training course:
https://www.helmetbasedventilation.com/online-course 

Links to two articles mentioned in the podcast:
https://annalsofintensivecare.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s13613-022-01069-7
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0964339722001380

Learn more about Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation in this full episode 👇👇👇

TIME STAMPS:

00:00 Introduction
02:15 About Aurika Savickaite
04:35 How does a ventilation helmet look like
08:28 The cons of using the facemask
12:07 Why does a patient needs positive pressure ventilation
17:55 The advantage of using the helmet interface over the facemask
25:39 Helmet interface has lesser chances of intubation
30:14 Is there a noise issue with the helmet?
33:50 How has the helmet helped the world
38:38 Embracing Innovations to improving patient care
43:31 To much technology is not always better
48:16 Improving patient care should start with nurses
55:25 Other things that interest Aurika
01:01:12 Wrapping up the show

Things to Know About Being a Crisis Travel Nurse

Things to Know About Being a Crisis Travel Nurse

by | Dec 10, 2022 | Travel Nursing

Things to Know About Being a Crisis Travel Nurse

Being a crisis travel nurse has its perks, but it comes with real responsibilities too. One of these responsibilities is when you respond to a crisis.

As a crisis travel nurse, you must assist wherever this crisis calls you. If you are interested in working as a travel nurse, it is best to understand what you are getting into and how it can help you as a travel nurse. 

 

Things to Know About Being a Crisis Travel Nurse

As a travel nurse, you have the opportunity to go to different parts of the country and offer assistance. That said, it is also one of your jobs to answer in times of crisis.

A crisis contract is crucial to get things started. But what do you need to be qualified as a crisis travel nurse? Here’s what you need to know. 

There are no additional requirements for travel nurses with crisis contracts. However, you are most likely able to qualify further if you have the following RN certifications:

  • Certification in Critical Care Nurse
  • Certified Emergency Nurse
  • Certification in Pediatric Nurse

To become certified in these departments, you must have an Associate’s Degree, BSN or MSN. Higher degrees are even better.

You must also have experience working in Cardia Care units, Surgical ICUs, ICUs, trauma units, transport, and flight operations, specializing in emergency or life-threatening conditions [1]. 

 

Differences

Every job has a contract to follow, and a crisis contract is no different. However, there are a few differences that you should know. They are as follows:

The crisis assignment of travel nurses often comes without warning. An event can happen anytime, like a natural disaster. The pandemic is one example of a crisis that went without any notice.

Often, a crisis assignment is face-paced and involves high-stress levels. The duration of your job will also depend on how long the crisis is at hand. While the pay is higher for crisis travel nurses, it can be demanding.

 

Benefits of Being a Crisis Travel Nurse

The crisis assignment of travel nurses often comes without warning. An event can happen anytime, like a natural disaster. The pandemic is one example of a crisis that went without any notice.

Often, a crisis assignment is face-paced and involves high-stress levels. The duration of your job will also depend on how long the crisis is at hand. While the pay is higher for crisis travel nurses, it can be demanding. 

As a crisis travel nurse, there are benefits when you accept the job. One of them is the benefit of a high paid salary. Because of the demands, you can receive 10-100% more than regular nursing staff jobs [2]. 

You also get to obtain housing, food, and incidental allowances, as well as bonuses for extra shifts. There are also additional shift incentives, primarily if you work night duty or when the health care facility is short-staffed.  

While this sounds good, there are also some downsides to being a crisis travel nurse. For one, you don’t know how long your contract will last or if it will be dropped at the last minute.

It can also be an inconvenience because a crisis is not planned. The work is also demanding and often involves critical situations. So, you don’t know what you are in for. 

 

Before Agreeing to Be a Crisis Travel Nurse

Before agreeing on the job and taking on the risks, remember these three things before signing your contract. 

Always consider the location – before you agree on the job, always consider the place of your assignment first. Take the pandemic, for example; some states have higher Covid-19 cases than others. It is also essential to do your research before signing up for the job. 

Follow safety protocols – taking a crisis travel nurse job always involves risks. It is also why the pay is higher compared to other nursing jobs. If you are deployed for a job during this pandemic, wearing the proper PPE while at work, wearing face masks, and social distancing are vital.

Of course, each crisis differs, so it is best to observe safety protocols. 

Consider the pay – crisis travel nurses are paid higher than usual because of the risks involved. However, be on the lookout for agencies that offer ridiculous salary amounts.

Often, these contracts are cut off short because of budget reasons. It is also why you should consider contracts with reasonable pay to avoid losing them. 

 

Being a Crisis Travel Nurse Today is Vital

If you are already a travel nurse, you don’t need many requirements to work in this field. However, working with a good travel nursing agency is a must to set you up with the right job.

Your recruiter can help guide you and provide insight on your next crisis travel nursing assignment. Make sure to work only with the best.

Looking for more nursing and travel nursing information? Check out these helpful links!