Barb's Daily Dose

Don't Wait for Chest Pain

Did you know that when a woman has a heart attack, she may not have the same symptoms as men. Only about 60 % of women will experience crushing chest pain, while the 70% of men have chest pain with a heart attack. 

Because women's symptoms may be more subtle and not as obvious as men's are, this can delay treatment, which puts a woman at increased risk.

Why I Became a Nurse

I'm reading Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese.  It's a brilliant book with shiny pearls of life's wisdom tucked within innocuous paragraphs and chapters like gems waiting to be discovered  There was one passage that made me gasp.  I thought that Dr. Verghese had been reading my mind when I read his description of why someone would want to care for others.

Knee Replacements

Steve could barely get up the 3 stairs that lead from his driveway to his house. The arthritis in his knee was killing him. He knew that weight loss would help, but he couldn't help but wonder if playing high school and college football hadn't done irreparable damage to his knees. They creaked and groaned like the old man he was becoming.  He knew when the weather was about to change and he tried ice and over the counter Advil to help the swelling. He knew that he needed a knee replacement, but couldn't imagine how he'd manage the recovery.

National Nurses Week

Today's Featured Guest Writer is Sam Omulligan, Writer and Educator.  Sam is interested in finding and sharing information relating to the healthcare profession. Sam primarily works with and for nurses who have an interest in better BSN Online Programs as well as developing a more substantial career.

The History of National Nurses Week

Nurses list many different reasons for entering the profession. Perhaps they were attracted by the appeal of job security and competitive wages, the flexibility of scheduling work shifts around family and other commitments or the option of working in specialized areas of interest.

Quality of Life

Jane was in severe pain after bending over to feed her dog. She could barely move and there was tingling down her legs. She crawled across the kitchen floor to get to the table, where her purse was and barely managed to reach up for it. She was in agony. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before and she was scared.

Robotic Surgery Part IV

Robotic Surgery:  An Innovation That Changes Everything

This changes everything.  How many times have you heard that and wondered if it was really true.  Well, in the case of Robotic Surgery, not only is it true, but it's transforming the way patients are getting treatments and recovering in days instead of weeks. Imagine the old-fashioned way, when as surgeon, Dr. Mary Kilkenny described, she had "Barbie Doll arms" and could only access areas of the body using the equivalent of "scissors on a stick".  You can see my interview with Dr. Kilkenny and Dr. Pisani and listen to what real women who had the procedure have to say.  

Disclosure: I'm thrilled to be working with El Camino Hospital to highlight some of the extraordinary ways that they do whatever it takes for patients. The more I learn about the innovations and cutting-edge use of technology in health care, the more impressed I am.

Robotic Surgery Part III

Wednesday, April 25th,  at 7:20 on CBS 5, KPIX in the San Francisco Bay Area, join me as I showcase the innovations with Robotic Surgery.

I wish that I could bring all of you along with  me to the Operating room and watch a surgery using the DaVinci Robot. Many people hear Robot and automatically think of something out of a Science Fiction movie. And yet, this is just another tool for surgeons to use. The surgeon is in complete control at all times.

Robotic Surgery Part II

Easier Recovery

During my nursing career, I've cared for many patients who are recovering from surgery. One of the most difficult aspects is the pain they have from the incision or opening in the skin and muscles. These cuts could extend for inches and didn't just leave permanent scars on the skin, the memory of the pain was something that people never forget. Immediately after surgery, coughing, deep breathing and getting up to walk were important, but with excruciating pain, it was often difficult to impossible to motivate people. 

Robotic Surgery Part I

Here's the First in the Series of 5 Blogs on Robotic Surgery

I was so excited when I was offered the opportunity to go with a patient, Kara*, into the Operating Room (OR) and watch her surgery. I was even more excited because unlike the past with an open procedure that meant 6 weeks of recovery, she opted instead to have her hysterectomy done by Robotic surgery. I had seen the brochures and watched a few videos prior to getting dressed in scrubs and heading for the OR, but I wasn't prepared for the simple elegance of what I saw there.

CPR Saves Lives

Deedra Harrington, a nurse practitioner, was walking back to work after her lunch break when she noticed a man had collapsed in a nearby park. Though someone had called 911, there were lots of bystanders staring at the man. Deedra took a closer look and realized that his heart had stopped.