You know this post is going to be about Thanksgiving, right? Tired of it, and ready to get on into the Christmas spirit?
Go right ahead, I won’t stop you.
As long as you don’t stop me from still talking about my favorite season. Ok, ok, so I’m not writing this post to talk myself, but to let others talk. So let’s get to it….and don’t worry, these selections are not all about Thanksgiving!
First, when we speak about evidence-based practice, are we willing to apply that to our own work shifts? In a recent post on the Off the Charts blog, Shawn Kennedy, the AJN editor-in-chief, asks if we should get rid of 12-hour shifts based on the evidence that long shifts cause increased burnout of nurses and higher dissatisfaction of patients, to name just two of the negatives. What do you think?
Nerdy Nurse comes through with a couple of great posts again. See if you have some or all of the 6 Characteristics of Fantastic Nurses, then get your mind back into the holiday mode by trying out some of the 10 Must-Have Mobile Apps for Holiday Shopping!
Food is a big topic in November…and apparently, “big” is becoming a problem. Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, in her blog HeathPopuli, states that food and health information need to be reinvented in order for the USA to reverse the ongoing march toward overall obesity. Apparently, most Americans choose food first for taste and price, THEN health, when health should be a priority. But the burden for clarity of health information should not just rest with dieticians and nutritionists. As Jane says, “…it takes a village.” We all are responsible, especially us nurses who have frequent opportunities to educate our patient populations.
Along those same lines, Dr. Jim deMaine at End of Life blog reminds us that while we like having our rights to bad habits, these behaviors cost us personally and as a society. He brings up the high number of smoking-related deaths in the 20th century, perpetuated by the promotion of smoking in the media around the middle of the century. I agree with his dilemma: where do we find the fine line between our rights and the appropriate role of government in regulating our rights to encourage health?
In light of the increased government involvement in our healthcare now, and the increased amount of our tax dollars going to support medical treatment of everyone, this question is of primary importance. How do you think we should balance our rights and the health of our population?