nursetalksite.com » Listen

A little walk down memory lane to listen to some old stories we told when Nurse Talk was first on the air with RN and co-host Maggie McDermott. Maggie comes back to visit from time to time and she always has a story about a funeral she just attended or a "fender bender" that wasn't her fault. We think these Comedy Pharm clips are at least amusing---funny? Well, that is in the eyes of the beholder! Moving on---Lost for many observers in last month’s end-of-the-year hullabaloo was the annual Gallup Honesty and Ethics Survey which by a wide margin again ranked nursing as the most honest and ethical profession.The survey found that 84% of Americans believe that nurses have “very high” or “high” honesty and ethical standards. RN and co-president of National Nurses United Karen Higgins is with us to talk more about the survey and what it means for the nurses, health care and social activism. AND we share a wonderful story from RN, writer JoAnn Spears. JoAnn has generously contributed some stunning blog posts about her life and career as a nurse. On a recent post she describes what she learned from a mute patient in a chronic psychiatric ward in Behind Blue Eyes.

On the show this week...Casey reads from a blog post---a first hand account of what it is like to know you have Alzheimer's written by 89 year old Barbara Taylor Vaughan, Putting A Face on Alzheimer's. Barbara started a Facebook page to facilitate an open dialog about the disease. AND...She has been hailed as the "Meryl Streep of nurse activism," our great friend and D.C. correspondent Donna Smith adds color commentary and perspective to our 2011 year in review. If there were a radio jail...we'd be in it after comedian Lynn Ruth Miller gets together with Casey and Dan! The bleep button only goes so far.

She has been hailed as the "Meryl Streep of nurse activism", our great friend and D.C. correspondent Donna Smith adds color commentary and perspective to our 2011 year in review. So much happened this past year: nurses joined the protests in Madison, Wisconsin; went on to the nation's capitol to march outside the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; hit Wall Street to demand a transaction tax---before Occupy even pitched a tent; announced the Main Street Contract; fought for RN-patient ratios; joined world leaders at the G-20 summit in Cannes; and 20,000 RNs staged a one-day walk-out against Sutter Health Corp. in Northern California...whew! And all the while spending 40+ hours a week caring for their patients.

Former White House doctor Connie Mariano joins us to discuss her wonderful new book, The White House Doctor, a riveting look into the personal lives of our presidents. Dr. Mariano served as the White House Physician for presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, who nominated her to the rank of rear admiral. Dr Mariano has also achieved an impressive list of "firsts" that include being: the first military woman to become the White House Physician to the President, the first woman Director of the White House Medical Unit, and the first Filipino American in US history to become a Navy Rear Admiral!  

RN Jean Ross, Co-President of National Nurses United, is a frequent guest on Nurse Talk. On this show she updates us on recent U.S. rallies organized by nurses to support their counterparts in Great Britain. On Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011, over two million British workers joined the biggest strike in the United Kingdom in a generation. National Nurses United organized six rallies in cities around the U.S. in a show of support. Then, Dr. Barbara Greenberg, a clinical psychologist who specializes in the treatment of teens and families. She writes a regular column “The Teen Doctor” in Psychology Today. Her recent article focuses on why teens can be so competitive during the holidays. She has some good ideas about how you can have a happy TEEN HOLIDAY. We'll talk to her about her new book, Teenage as a Second Language: A Parent's Guide to Becoming Bilingual. Oh, that is good! And, a segment every nurse needs, brought to you in partnership with Nurse Together.com, Annette Tersigni RN, the Yoga Nurse, and founder of Yoga Nursing. Annette is a contributor to our Nurse Talk blog and has some great ideas for how the restorative principles of yoga can fight stress and "empower you to continue to serve as the nurse hero that you are."  

RN Jean Ross, Co-President of National Nurses United, is a frequent guest on Nurse Talk. On this show she updates us on recent U.S. rallies organized by nurses to support their counterparts in Great Britain. On Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011, over two million British workers joined the biggest strike in the United Kingdom in a generation. National Nurses United organized six rallies in cities around the U.S. in a show of support.

RN Jean Ross, Co-President of National Nurses United, is a frequent guest on Nurse Talk. On this show she updates us on recent U.S. rallies organized by nurses to support their counterparts in Great Britain. On Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011, over two million British workers joined the biggest strike in the United Kingdom in a generation. National Nurses United organized six rallies in cities around the U.S. in a show of support. Then, Dr. Barbara Greenberg, a clinical psychologist who specializes in the treatment of teens and families. She writes a regular column “The Teen Doctor” in Psychology Today. Her recent article focuses on why teens can be so competitive during the holidays. She has some good ideas about how you can have a happy TEEN HOLIDAY. We'll talk to her about her new book, Teenage as a Second Language: A Parent's Guide to Becoming Bilingual. Oh, that is good! And, a segment every nurse needs, brought to you in partnership with Nurse Together.com, Annette Tersigni RN, the Yoga Nurse, and founder of Yoga Nursing. Annette is a contributor to our Nurse Talk blog and has some great ideas for how the restorative principles of yoga can fight stress and "empower you to continue to serve as the nurse hero that you are."

Our friend RN Deborah Burger updates us on all things "Occupy," progress on the financial transaction tax, the invisible SUPER COMMITTEE AND MORE…Deborah was one of many nurses from around the world that gathered at the recent G-20 summit in Cannes.

As a nurse do you ever shy away from researching new medical information? It’s a time issue and a lot of nurses “run for the hills” from diving in to the medical journals—including our Nurse Talk hosts. Well, maybe those days are over. Dan and Casey visit with entrepreneurial RN, Stefanie Modri. Stephanie has just introduced a new nursing and health research weekly text service called PrecisionRN. Our friend RN Deborah Burger updates us on all things "Occupy," progress on the financial transaction tax, the invisible SUPER COMMITTEE AND MORE… And how many nurses have been patients a time or two? What do you recall from your experience in the hospital? Well RN and author Bobbi McCarthy is a contributing writer on the Nurse Talk blog and has written a great article called Through the Eyes of a Patient | What Will Your Patients Remember? It’s a great story and reminds us what it is like to be a patient. Dan and Casey talk to Bobbi from the comfort of her "blog cabin" in the beautiful state of Maine.

Massachusettes RN Karen Higgins joins us. Karen is a good friend of ours and she always takes time out of her busy schedule to talk with us. As a matter of fact we want to make it perfectly clear that Karen was on her BREAK when speaking with Dan and Casey. Karen weighed in on the Financial Transaction Tax, a.k.a. the Robin Hood tax that nurses and others all around the world asked the G-20 leaders to adopt. The tax would be .005 on stocks and other financial transactions. The money raised COULD dramatically change and add to funding for healthcare, education, infrastructure and more. Karen is the past president of Massachusettes Nurses Association and is currently one of three co-presidents for National Nurses United.

Massachusetts RN Karen Higgins joins us. Karen is a good friend of ours and she always takes time out of her busy schedule to talk with us. As a matter of fact we want to make it perfectly clear that Karen was on her BREAK when speaking with Dan and Casey. Karen weighed in on the Financial Transaction Tax, a.k.a. the Robin Hood tax that nurses and others all around the world asked the G-20 leaders to adopt. The tax would be .005 on stocks and other financial transactions. The money raised COULD dramatically change and add to funding for healthcare, education, infrastructure and more. Karen is the past president of Massachusettes Nurses Association and is currently one of three co-presidents for National Nurses United. And we’ll talk with the author of Critically ILL: A 5-Point Plan to Cure Healthcare Delivery. Dr. Frederick Southwick, author, teacher, respected researcher and decades-long medical practitioner, is an advocate for change to our country’s current healthcare practices, which cause thousands of hospital deaths and complications each year.

While the cats are away, the Best of Nurse Talk will play. Casey and Dan visit with Texas RN Monica Sanchez about the vote the resulted in RNs in five Texas cities voting to join National Nurses United. They now join thousands of other bedside nurses across the country who are fighting for patient rights and better conditions for RNs. Also on the show is RN Janet Izzo, who has written a book called Hotel Hennepin. Janet chronicles the poignant, sad and hysterically funny stories from her career as a staff and charge nurse on the obstetrics unit at a large county hospital in Minneapolis. This show originally aired June 12-13, 2011.

We visited with two of our friends from CNA/NNU (California Nurses Association, National Nurses United) RN/Communications Specialist Liz Jacobs, and Colette Washington, On-Line Communication Specialist. Colette shared about a new mobile app that NNU has created that makes it possible to be involved in shaping national and international policy and politics without leaving the comfort of your own home. Check it out by texting the word "payback" to 53000 from your mobile phone. You will receive instructions and a link to download. AND Casey and Dan talk with author and EMT Kim Kircher. Kim has written a book called The Next 15 Minutes: Strength From the Top of the Mountain. When she wasn’t rescuing wounded skiers as a member of the ski patrol or bombing snow-congested mountainsides to control avalanches, she and her husband, John, were proving to the world that a full life was possible in spite of each living with an autoimmune disorder. When John’s congenital liver condition – primary schlerosing cholangitis – approached the terminal phase, Kim was determined to use all of her mountain-borne skills to save him and return them to the adventurous life they both loved. Kim shares her story with us.

We visited with two of our friends from CNA/NNU (California Nurses Association, National Nurses United) RN/Communications Specialist Liz Jacobs, and Colette Washington, On-Line Communication Specialist. Colette shared about a new mobile app that NNU has created that makes it possible to be involved in shaping national and international policy and politics without leaving the comfort of your own home. The app provides information about the day's most vital issues such as the Main Street Contract and Occupy Wall Street. Plus tells you how to help support nurses fighting to keep their patients safe. You can make your voice heard to help pass a Wall Street transaction tax to support healthcare and more. You can get points for being an activist! Not like weight watchers but what you do makes a difference. Check it out by texting the word "payback" to 53000 from your mobile phone. You will receive instructions and a link to download.

Casey and Dan check in with our friend and NNU Legislative Organizer Donna Smith. They talk with Donna about the Occupy movement, the nurses' participation, the upcoming Day Of Action on November 3rd, the G-20 Summit and the nurses demands for a Wall Street Transaction Tax and continuing movement on the state by state single payer healthcare efforts. The segment starts out with a clip of Jean Ross on the Thom Hartmann show.