EP. 168 Empowering Nurses with Alice Benjamin

EP. 168 Empowering Nurses with Alice Benjamin

by | Jun 17, 2022 | Podcast

Empowering Nurses with Alice Benjamin

Nurses are the backbone of healthcare, and we take pride in that. However, there are times when nurses don’t feel like they are as important in our community.

A bad work environment can also add up to the stress that many nurses feel. In some cases, many nurses do not feel like their efforts are given enough recognition, so they don’t perform well, or worse, they don’t provide quality patient care any longer. 

While many nurses take their profession seriously, some are not sure anymore. What can we do to help our fellow nurses? Is there a way to inspire and encourage them to do better?

What needs to improve in a nurse’s work environment to help them feel empowered?

In this episode, we would like to introduce you to Alice Benjamin, better known as Nurse Alice, America’s favorite nurse. She is a cardiac clinical nurse specialist and family nurse practitioner with over 23 years of healthcare experience.

Alice is Nurse.org’s Chief Nursing Officer and Correspondent and hosts the popular ‘Ask Nurse Alice’ podcast. 

QUESTIONS FOR GUESTS:

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

  • Being in over 20 years in healthcare, what are some changes you would like to see in healthcare? 
  • How do you think the pandemic has affected nurses? 
  • How should new nurses empower themselves going into this profession in 2022? 
  • What do you think about the RaDonda Vaught case?
  • She was sentenced on Friday to three years of probation in a Nashville criminal court. After the probationary period, she could ultimately have her conviction dismissed.
  • Found guilty in March of two charges, criminally negligent homicide and abuse of an impaired adult, after a medication error contributed to the death of 75-year-old Charlene Murphey in December 2017.
  • What are some of the biggest challenges you have taken on recently? 
  • What is something nursing has thought you that you can apply in life? 

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? 

Socials:

Learn how to become an empowered nurse by watching our full episode. Click here for more 👇

TIME STAMPS:

00:00 Intro
01:35 About Alice
02:30 What are some changes you would like to see in healthcare?
06:26 How can we improve the healthcare system?
09:46 Reasons for some patients’ noncompliance
15:24 One-size-fits-all patient treatment does not always work.
17:57 How should new nurses empower themselves?
20:26 How to be a better nurse
24:13 What are the challenges of being a nurse
29:52 Thoughts about the RaDonda Vaught case?
43:31 The last one cup of coffee with?

EP 164: Improving Patient Communication with Jennifer George

EP 164: Improving Patient Communication with Jennifer George

by | May 20, 2022 | Podcast

Improving Patient Communication with Jennifer George

Improving patient communication is an effective way to provide patient care. Without proper communication, it is easy to miss out on your patient’s needs.

But how can you become effective in this situation? Will this help lessen the stress nurses feel? 

In this episode, we will talk about effective communication and how nurses can improve the way they speak to their patients to get the message out. We also welcome our guest, Jennifer George.

She is a compassion-focused physiotherapist with vast experience in the private and public care sectors. 

Jennifer has spent the last 14 years learning and reflecting on the importance of communication in our health and education systems. 

She is also a mentor to future and current health providers on discovering their purpose, achieving fulfillment, and creating empowering patient experiences. Jennifer is also the author of the book, Communication is Care: 9 Empowering Strategies to Guide Patient Healing. 

QUESTIONS FOR GUESTS

  1. As a physiotherapist, what do you do, and what are some significant takeaways or life lessons from your career? 
    • Work on inputs rehab currently
    • Patients need a team of professionals; physical therapy is only one piece of a much bigger picture in the healing process
    • Helped me to recognize the whole person
  1. How was your role as a caregiver for your father shape your personal experience of healthcare and later your professional career?
    • The power of communication and connection on healing – feeling disempowered, unheard, rushed, at times – good: learned to empathize and be an advocate for patients and families
  1. When did you realize how important communication was and its importance in healthcare?
    • After the first two years of my practice – I learned to better connect with patients before conditions and diagnoses and look at the bigger picture of their life and the impact of pain and suffering
    • Then after my dad died, it was like I became super conscious of the fact that my life as a caregiver/daughter shaped my professional interactions 
  1. Is there a difference between communicating in social engagements vs. communicating with patients? How should this differ? 
    • How can you keep a professional yet personal communication style with patients?
    • Is there such thing as communication burnout? I talk to my patients and many other people in/outside of work. Sometimes that gets tiring, and I need a day to myself and silence. 
  1. Where do you think misunderstandings arise from? When there is a break in communication, it causes misunderstandings. 
    • How/when does communication fail? What goes wrong?
  1. When speaking to patients, what do they mainly seek to learn? Or how can you pick up on what they are looking for? Does it vary between situations?

Learn how you can communicate more effectively with your patients by watching the full episode here 👇

TIME STAMPS:

00:00 Intro
02:37 Episode Introduction
04:08 The feeling of seeing your patient progress
06:00 The importance of communication in improving patient care
09:54 Building rapport with your patient
12:12 What are the barriers that affect communication with patients
15:06 How to be true to your patient’s care
17:36 How to start a conversation with a patient
19:43 Gauging patient for a good conversation
24:42 How to solve miscommunication
28:39 Guiding and educating patients to empower themselves again
33:35 The importance of Interprofessional Communication
35:41 The inspiration of how the book came up.
39:20 Caretakers aren’t taken care of
46:26 Patient safety as the main goal
49:33 Healthcare’s reactive approach to solving the problem
57:08 Wrapping up the episode

EP 155: Why Self-Care is Important For Women With Isabel Bogdan

EP 155: Why Self-Care is Important For Women With Isabel Bogdan

by | Mar 20, 2022 | Podcast

EP 155: Why Self-Care is Important For Women With Isabel Bogdan

How important is your health? Self-care is important, but what steps are you taking to meet your needs?

Do you do something about it? Or do you wait till you are diagnosed with a disease to get moving?

In the era we live in, it is easier to pop pills when you are not feeling well than reevaluate your entire body and mind to get to the root cause of the problem. 

It is a known fact that many people today are more dependent on medication than on doing something to change their condition. Why is it easier to take pills than make the change you need? When did people stop eating well and doing exercises that can benefit them as a whole?

We are joined by our guest, Dr. Isabel Bogdan, founder and owner of belev.co. She is also a health nurse practitioner with a doctorate in nursing practice. Dr. Bogdan has the vision to intertwine traditional medicine with a holistic approach to transformational change.

Join us today as we discuss the importance of holistic care and how it can change our way of looking at our health in this fantastic episode of Cup of Nurses. 

QUESTIONS FOR OUR GUEST

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

  1. Can you give us a background about yourself and your nursing experience?
  2. What does it feel like to be in the daily life of Isabelle? 
  3. What have you seen as being the biggest factor associated with poor health, particularly women’s health?
  4. On an emotional level, what do women struggle with the most?
  5. How do you heal people in life?
  6. What are women struggling with most in their lives?
  7. Endometriosis?
  8. How do you control your hormonal health?
  9. How do you change people’s beliefs for them to think they’re superheroes of their journey. 
  10. What is your current obsession? – How are you making an impact in disease prevention? 

Why is self-care important? Learn more and watch the full episode here 👇

You can connect with Isabel through her Instagram @dr.isabelbogdan   or learn more about her business by visiting her website belev.co. or send her a tweet through her Twitter @isabel_bogdan. 

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro
00:49 Plugs
2:52 Episode Introduction
4:58 The Reason: Why is Conventional Medicine Failing?
8:52 All about Yoga
16:19 How is yoga done, and how does it benefit the body?
20:45 Yoga’s spiritual side?
23:18 What are women struggling with most in their lives?
28:52 Isabel’s Take on What Is “Consciousness”
32:29 What is the impact of hormonal health?
38:40 What supplements can you take to stay optimal?
41:06 Dietary Consultation with Isabel
47:15 Everything is good in moderation.
51:37 All about gut health.
57:00 A study shows that cranberry juice prevents UTIs.
57:49 How to empower people to be the superheroes of their lives.
1:08:41 Where to find Isabel?

 

What’s in a Nurse’s Bag?: 6 Must-have Items

What’s in a Nurse’s Bag?: 6 Must-have Items

by | Jan 11, 2022 | Nursing Student

What’s in a Nurse’s Bag?: 6 Must-have Items

Ever wonder why nurses always carry a big bag with them? Whether a nurse or a nursing student, having a bag full of essentials is part of your everyday life to get through the shift successfully. But what items should be inside a nurse’s bag? 

Having these items ready in our bag is more of a need than a want! Of course, we love accessories, but with them comes practical use.

You’ll never know when an emergency arises, so it’s best to be ready than sorry! Here are the six items we love to keep in our nursing bag. 

1. Trusty stethoscope and blunt-tip scissors

Nurses cannot go without their stethoscopes [1]. Although sometimes they get mistaken for being “the doctor,” – this tool is just part of our daily routine.

Besides, it is always good to have your stethoscope to use on patients during your assessment, checking vital signs, or when your patient’s condition changes.

The blunt-tip scissors come in handy in emergencies when a wound dressing is needed. It helps cut medications or clothes during emergencies.

2. Medical kit for personal use

When studying as a nurse, a headache, tummy ache, or cold can occur anytime. The same goes when you are a nurse on duty. Long shifts can cause fatigue and a few aches and pains in between.

Having a personal pharmacy kit is essential. This kit usually contains vitamins, meds for headaches, some balms for aches and pains, meds for allergies, or anything needed for your shift.

You may also find some lotion, mouthwash, toothpaste, toothbrush, and other hygienic products that you use.

3. PENS, LOTS OF PENS

As a student nurse, I avidly collected colored pens for my notes [2]. I always had highlighters, pencils, erasers, liquid markers, etc. My pencil case is always full of them, and it looked like I had a stash of school supplies with me!

I’ve always thought it was just a thing I did, but I found out that my nurse friends did too. So, it is a nurse thing. Besides, these pens come in handy when taking notes or rewriting them in a way that you will understand.

Dry-erase markers are essential when correcting your patient’s information on whiteboards. 

4. Hand sanitizers or disinfectant alcohol

As a student nurse, I habitually carried a hand sanitizer wherever I went. I always prefer cleaning my hands with it even after I have washed them (to be extra clean).

So, even now, I still make sure that I have that in my bag. It is always a must to clean your hands before and after dealing with patients to minimize contact with germs, bacteria, or viruses.

5. Water bottles, candies, or snacks 

As a nurse, we are always on the go. Sometimes we forget to eat on time. Having snacks or candies in your bag can help spike your sugar levels when you are feeling low.

Of course, don’t forget your water bottle. HYDRATE. It is essential to hydrate at all times!

Our job needs our whole life force, so we must also care for ourselves. Having these in your bag will come in handy! 

6. Miscellaneous items

These could be your wallet, phone, car keys, extra socks (if needed), cologne, wet wipes, facial tissues, an iPad for your study notes, and many others. 

Now You Know What’s in a Nurse’s Bag! 

You see, we are prepared for anything! Our patients’ lives and the people around us matter. Having all these essentials with us helps deliver quality care to those in need.

Whether in a hospital setting or not, our hearts are ready to serve! 

Looking for more student resources? Check out these helpful links!

 

EP 143: Real Estate Investing with Savannah Arroyo

EP 143: Real Estate Investing with Savannah Arroyo

by | Dec 24, 2021 | Podcast

EP 143: Real Estate Investing with Savannah Arroyo

In this episode, we would like to introduce our guest Savannah Arroyo. Savannah is a pre-operative nurse with prior administrative experience.

She started investing in Real Estate in 2020 and is growing her real estate portfolio. She explains how you can harness the power of nursing and use it to your advantage in real estate.

Get inspired by her journey, find out how she started investing in real estate as a nurse, and how you could start investing too.

  1. What is your nursing background, and how did you get started in nursing? 
  2. When and why did you start a career in real estate? 
    • What are multifamily syndications?
      • ​​Multifamily syndication is a real estate investment with multiple investors pooling their money to purchase the asset. There is a sponsor that locates the deal, coordinates the transaction and financing, and manages the investment once the deal has closed.
  3. How has the housing industry changed over the last few years?
    • Most popular states?
    • How has the pandemic affected the housing market?
  4. How can you help someone get started in real estate investing?
    • What are some barriers to entry? 

​Learn what real estate investing is in this full episode. Click here for more! 👇👇

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 Introduction
0:48 Sponsor Ads
2:45 Episode Introduction
3:02 Who is Savannah Arroyo?
4:03 What it’s like in pre-op?
4:46 How did you shift from bedside to admin?
5:52 What’s more stressful, bedside or admin?
8:08 Tips for administrative roles
10:24 How to transition from management to real estate
11:40 What’s the difference between single-family with multi-family?
14:03 Should you start with a single home or multi-family?
17:02 Do you recommend people to get an education in real estate?
23:31 Where do you invest in the US?
29:37 How has real estate changed in the past few years
36:37 What is the projection of the real estate market?
44:35 How do interest rates work?
47:29 How to invest with you in real estate
50:37 What do you do in your free time?
51:32 How do you stay organized?
53:50 Where can people find Savannah Arroyo?