Healthcare leaders, are you FRUSTRATED with your life already, and we’re only in week #2 of the January? Here are 5 FREE tips you can take on your New Year’s journey, based on my own 30+ years as a nurse/educator and administrator in healthcare: If you’re not still  passionate about your work, find  out WHY? Are you immobilized by a coworker ? A boss? The culture of the organization? After you finish your analysis, make a PLAN. What will you do to change your situation? Is the irritation worth a transfer or a relocation? Even if you cannot change WHO you work with, you...

Happy January, all~ As we take down our holiday decorations and gear up for the next spin-around-the-globe, what are your biggest fears for the coming year? For some, it may be the lingering recession. Perhaps it’s the coming election? Or maybe you worry about the drought ? Well, thank heavens there is no drought in ideas, right?! New ideas are as bountiful as the universe, right? There is a stream of random ideas like a meteor shower right above your head, right? Wait. Did you say, “Wrong”? Uh-oh. Does your fear stem from a creative dry spell? Are you faced with the task of...

Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah out there in Blogland! One of my New Year’s Resolutions (or Goals or Intentions, however you like to call it), is to blog at least twice a week about Life as a nurse/presenter/humorist, with Helpful Tips and general info on these subjects. At my last presentation, an audience-member asked me how I could stand the stress of working with premature babies and their families.I told him it was definitely a “calling,” and that although the emotional toll is sometime a burden, the strain is far outweighed by knowing I have helped to ease the burden of...

(Reprinted with permission from Health4Mom.org) Premature infants thrive when parents spend lots of time interacting with them. NICU parents: Do you feel anxious, frustrated, aching to do more for your premature baby’s growth and development besides pump that milk, and sit and stare?You are not alone. LAYING DOWN TRACKS There is still much to learn, but every year researchers add to the evidence that premature infants thrive when parents interact with them. Each minute your preemie’s brain is making 200,000+ neural connections; early recognition of you as parent is key. Now we know that singing or...

(Reprinted with permission from Healthy Mom & Baby  magazine and Health4Mom.org) Expert advice on pumping for your preemie By Candace Campbell, MSN-HCSM, RN Share: Are you the mom of a preemie who dreads pumping milk at night while the baby is in the NICU? You’re not alone. Who can blame you? It’s inconvenient. It interrupts your sleep. And perhaps you’re discouraged that even though you are pumping every 2-3 hours during the day, your milk supply is also dwindling.  While there is no solution to the fact that your milk supply follows the simple principle of supply and...

Breastfeeding Advice For Moms of Premature Infants NICU fallout: It’s not about radiation Are you the mom of a preemie who dreads pumping milk at night while the baby is in the NICU? You are not alone. Who can blame you? It’s inconvenient. It interrupts your sleep. It also interrupts your sleep! (If you noticed that repetition, you are probably NOT pumping at night.) Unfortunately, even though you are pumping every 2-3 hours during the day, your milk supply is also down…or dwindling. But why? Research shows there are five simple prerequisites for making milk: increased nutrition...