Suicide Prevention Month

Photo Credit: Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center

September is Suicide Prevention Month. Have you taken a moment to check on your family and friends? How about checking on the “strongest person that you know?” They need to be checked on as well. We have all been trying to get through this pandemic while still going to school, working, and taking care of home. Stress, anxiety, and depression levels have skyrocketed! Take time out each day for a “mental moment.” Meditate, go for a walk, listen to music, paint, etc. Engaging in these types of positive coping skills can help improve your mental health. If you find yourself participating in negative coping behaviors, please seek help from a mental health professional. There is no shame in doing so!

#InThisTogether

#endthestigma

One Down, One to Go!

Well y’all I did it! I got my first Covid-19 vaccine! One more to go.

I will admit that the quick development of the vaccine was the main reason why I did not want to get it. However, pandemic anxiety and my children wanting to return to in person class instruction were my determining factors for getting the vaccine.

I have never been a person to get anxious, but ever since the pandemic started I have experienced the worst anxiety ever in my life! I mean, I was terrified to leave the house and be around other people. I am hoping that two weeks after receiving my second dose when I am considered “fully vaccinated” that this will change. We should not live in fear, but we should also be cautious and careful.

I have not experienced any serious side effects after receiving my first vaccine. I only had soreness at the injection site for a day or two. I will keep you all updated on my second 💉 dose. Have you gotten yours? Let me know your experience below.

Love 💕 Nurse Neesy

New Year, New Venture!

Happy New Year! I can’t believe that we are at the end of the first month of 2021 already! How many of you have already broken your resolutions by now LOL? Instead of making a New Year’s resolution this year I decided to start a new venture in my nursing career.

For those of you who do not know my story, I started working with patients at the bedside as a teenager. I worked as a patient transporter and a dietary aide in the hospital. I then became a patient care tech and a home health/hospice aide. I love caring for others and truly believe that nursing is my calling!

As a nurse, I am a true advocate for my patients. I stand up for them when they are not able or afraid to do so. I help them access the healthcare resources that they need when they don’t know how. I am their shoulder to cry on, and their available ear to listen when they are lonely.

Photo Credit: Baptist Physician Partners

I have worked in a wide arena of nursing including correctional facilities, assisted living, inpatient and home hospice, OB/GYN and adult medicine medical offices and most recently tele-health due to the pandemic. Through tele-health visits I was able to touch bases with my elderly, immuno-compromised, or chronic condition patients who were instructed not to come into the office unless absolutely necessary.

I was able to coordinate their care from a distance. Let me tell you, getting my patient’s the resources that they needed to withstand this pandemic felt amazing! I fell in love with care coordination so much that I’ve moved into this as my new nursing position. Being able to follow my patients after they have had a doctor’s appointment, hospital or rehab stay and giving them the tools that they need to prevent being readmitted feels so fulfilling! This is where I need to be. Helping my patients take better care of themselves! I am doing what I was born to do!❤️

-Nurse Neesy

COVID-19 Vaccination Debate

Well, it’s finally here, now what? There are currently two COVID-19 vaccines available to us, but will you be getting one? There are people on both sides of the fence. Some people are ecstatic to get the vaccine while others are very skeptical of it. There are currently several conspiracy theories surrounding the vaccine ranging from biblical references to the “mark of the beast” and the government tracking us via microchips in the vaccine.

Photo credit: Harvard Gazette

After speaking with other nurses, physicians, allied health workers, and family members, I have found that there is a major concern about how quickly the vaccine was developed. Recent reports about anaphylactic allergic response and Bell’s Palsy as possible adverse effects of the vaccine have also deterred individuals from wanting to have it administered.

Some people are unsure about which vaccine will be more beneficial and produce fewer side effects. Moderna or Pfizer? Many frontline workers are having conflicted emotions about getting the vaccine altogether. While they want to be brave and show the public that the vaccine is safe and effective, they are also unsure about the short term and long term effects of getting the rapidly developed vaccine.

Photo credit: the conversation.com

Next, there is the medical mistrust amongst minority populations due to past malfeasance in healthcare. Unfortunately, there is a strong history of underserved populations being used as guinea pigs or test subjects without their informed consent. The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment and John’s Hopkins use of Henrietta Lacks cancer cells for research are just a few examples of this. How will the medical community regain their trust enough to ensure that they will get the COVID-19 vaccine?

Ultimately, it is your body and your choice! Just remember that getting the vaccine does not give you immediate immunity. So whether you choose to vaccinate or not, please remember to social distance from others, avoid large crowds, quarantine if exposed to COVID-19, wear a mask in public, and wash your hands. If we work together we can end this pandemic!

If you need more information about the available COVID-19 vaccines, please visit the CDC website at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/faq.html

Cutting Ties With WHO?

It has been recently announced that the President of the United States and his administration want to formally withdraw from The World Health Organization (WHO). WHO is the world’s leading health organization and its mission is to “improve people’s lives, reduce the burdens of disease and poverty, and to provide access to responsive health care for all people.”

First of all, aren’t we in the middle of a PANDEMIC? Why would you want to withdraw now? Obviously what we have been doing in the United States to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 is NOT working! Our country also ignored initial warning signs about the virus and it hit us hard. The virus has spread at an alarming rate, people are making a political issue out of wearing a mask, we are running out COVID testing kits, PPE is on the decline again, and there are new symptoms and routes of transmission being discovered every day!

As a nurse or other healthcare professional, how does cutting ties with The World Heath Organization make you feel? Do you feel disrespected because you are a frontline worker and putting your own health at risk? Are you even more nervous because our country will have a lack of guidance from the world’s leading partners in global health responses?

If we do cut ties with the WHO, what does this mean for the US when it comes to the development of a vaccine or finding a cure? Leave your comments below.

Mental Health and Covid-19

May is mental health awareness month and whether it’s from months of being quarantined, front-line working, homeschooling, or working from home, some of us are under a lot of mental strain, anxiety, or psychological distress!

According to the CDC, experiencing symptoms of stress during an infectious disease outbreak is common. If you are experiencing any of the following changes, you may be experiencing psychological distress due to a crisis:

• Increased intake of drugs or alcohol
• Changes in sleep or eating patterns
• Difficulty concentrating
• Worsening of chronic or mental health problems

There have also been reports of increases in domestic abuse cases, which along with drugs and alcohol, are ineffective ways of coping.

To effectively cope during this difficult time, several mental health professionals are offering their services to first responders, older adults, parents, and caregivers alike. Please utilize the the resources below if you need assistance:

• Mental Health America https://mhanational.org/covid19
• Visit the Disaster Distress Helpline call 1-800-985-5990, or text TalkWithUs to 66746
• Call the National Domestic Violence line at 1-800-799-7233 and TTY 1-800-787-3224

Let’s work together to remove the stigma of mental health by never being afraid or embarrassed to ask for help!

Quarantined…Now What?

It has been two weeks since we have been quarantined and surprisingly I haven’t lost my mind! Homeschooling my children has not been that bad considering I have one child in elementary, one in middle, and another in high school. The assignments have actually been fun and I only need to get them refocused a few times out of the week. School for them has been suspended until the end of April, but I doubt that they will return for the rest of the year.

Cooking has been fun and creative! I have been hesitant to allow my family to eat out with this pandemic, so whatever they are craving as far as takeout, we make ourselves! Hubby and the kids practiced baking a cake for my birthday next week and it actually turned out great! My birthday…sigh. I turn the big 40 next week and my girlfriends and I had a birthday bash planned for this weekend, I was actually supposed to be in Miami today! Well, that’s been canceled, thank you Covid-19!

On the health front, my family has been taking their vitamins, exercising, practicing good hand hygiene, social distancing, and cleaning/disinfecting our home. We come outside in our front or back yard to get fresh air and exercise. Hubby and I only venture out to the pharmacy or grocery store for necessities, since I stocked the pantry a week before being placed on quarantine. My “mommy senses” told me to do it.

Watching news stories about my fellow nurses and healthcare personnel have been very disheartening! Hospitals have been running out of rooms and ventilators for patients, and there is a shortage of personal protective equipment. There are not enough testing kits to diagnose patients either! Ambulatory practices are being exposed because patients are coming in saying that they have one set of symptoms but they actually want to be tested for the coronavirus!

Healthcare workers have been working in deplorable conditions, to say the least. I just saw a New York article today that my brother-in-law sent showing nurses in New York protecting themselves with trash bags! My girlfriend shared an article about nurses in California being told that they will be fired for wearing their specially fitted N95 masks! Are you kidding me! There are so many “unknowns” with the Covid-19 coronavirus, and I feel that we were not prepared here in the United States.

I will continue praying for the families of those healthcare workers on the front lines who’ve lost their lives taking care of their communities. I pray for those who are still active in the trenches fighting the good fight! Thank you! I also pray for you reading this blog post. May God protect you and your families during these uncertain and ever-changing times.

Nurses: It’s OK to be Scared!

It was 2014, and I was working in an internal medicine office. Suddenly, a patient walked in with complaints of fever, fatigue, nausea, and vomiting! The patient reported that they had just returned from Africa a week ago, and that’s when the office felt like it stood still! Although all clinical staff completed an in-service about the Ebola virus, we were all terrified! Yes, we were all professional and took care of the patient, however, the fear of possibly contracting the virus still crossed our minds.

Recent news reports about the coronavirus have lots of people panicking, which is to be expected. However, as healthcare professionals, people depend on us for healthcare information and proper care. So is it alright for you as a healthcare team member to be scared in certain situations? Yes, it is! We are all human and you will encounter anxiety or fear about working with patients who are diagnosed with certain viruses or diseases. What matters is what you do when you encounter them!

Remember that you have been trained to critically think and handle challenging situations within healthcare! You stay current on evidenced-based practices, know what type of precautions to take, and which personal protective equipment to don. Most importantly, you know how to treat your patient as a person and not the virus or disease that they were admitted with!

The next time that you feel frightened when caring for a certain population of patients, just remember that those feelings are absolutely normal! Take a brief moment to regroup, let that healthcare training kick into high gear, and go save those lives!