Nevada RNformation - March 2011

Page 6 • Nevada RNformation March, April, May 2021
Healthy Nurses
Tracey Long PhD, MSN, APRN-BC, CCRN
Feb 2021
NNA is recruiting for the position of
Executive Director!
The board of the Nevada Nurses Association voted to invest in hiring a full-time
Executive Director. (30-39 hours). Below is a link to the job position description.
Nevada Nurses Association has such an opportunity to make a difference to nurses
in Nevada. Hiring an experienced Executive Director will bring NNA to the forefront
in guiding positive and productive changes for nurses in our state.
At a minimum, the right candidate should have excellent communication skills,
strong organizational and project management skills, the ability to develop detailed
plans, familiarity with association management organizations and processes.
Click here for Job Description
If you are interested in the Executive Director's position, please reach out to
President Mary Bondmass at mary.bondmass@unlv.edu or Director of Operations,
Linda Bowman at Lbowman@nvnurses.org.
Dismantling Systems of Oppression
Patrice Hester-Harper, M.Ed.
Assistant Dean for Administration, Outreach, and Engagement
School of Nursing University of Nevada, Las Vegas
This February, UNLV School of Nursing successfully concluded its new speaker
series, “Conversations with Leaders on Dismantling Systems of Oppression.”
Open to all, the limited event consisted of four 1-hour virtual lectures, each with a
different special guest and topic to discuss systemic racism and how to neutralize it.
Through historical and modern examples, speakers presented scenarios and possible
solutions to address these issues.
Our list of special guests comprised of experts from both the U.S. and Canada
who are nationally recognized and leaders in their respective fields. Speakers
included PhD candidate Natalie Stake-Doucet (Examining Florence Nightingale’s
complicated history); Drexel University Professor Dr. Roberta Waite (Achieving Health
Equity); Emory University Associate Professor Dr. Kylie Smith (Race and Racism in
U.S. Healthcare), and UNLV Professor Dr. Tyler Parry (Implicit Bias).
The origin of the Speaker Series was born in the aftermath of renewed national
calls for ending oppression in all societal facets in 2020. School of Nursing Dean
Angela Amar proposed a format to address these issues within SON. But the tools
learned to combat racism had additional value for healthcare professionals and
students; nurses frequently encounter racial disparities on the frontlines. While
the scope of the Series was not specifically for nurses and healthcare, audience
members (which were primarily nursing-related) could use the information and
consider applying the proposed solutions in their own careers.
Furthermore, UNLV Nursing’s Speaker Series reinforced its commitment to
diversity, equity and inclusion in addition to continuing its mission of educating
nurses to meet the health care needs of Nevada and beyond. UNLV School
of Nursing offers both undergraduate (traditional and accelerated) tracks and
nationally recognized online graduate programs. In 2021, U.S. News and World
Report ranked the SON Online Master’s program 7th in the nation, up from 11th in
2020. Additionally, UNLV Nursing was named a Center of Excellence in 2019 by the
National League for Nursing.
One lesson we all learned in 2020 was how precious and
fragile our health is. Nurses on the forefront saw firsthand
how delicate life can be as they navigated the challenges
of too many patients and too little personal protective
equipment. We also learned how tender our mental health
can be and many who we never even considered would
have threats to their mental well-being. The silver lining
in a chaotic world threatened by a global pandemic is the
awareness and focus again on our health. Ironically, nurses
who work in the healthcare industry are often not very
healthy individuals. Many of us tend to work too hard, sleep
too little, fail to empty our bladders regularly, eat sugary
comfort foods during difficult shifts to reward ourselves, and justifiably resist aerobic
exercise after a long 12-hour shift. Then its wash, rinse and repeat to do it again
the next day. No wonder nurses often feel exhausted, worn-out and have brain
fog. Even before the pandemic and added emotional trauma and stress on nurses a
study in 2017 revealed up to 63% of hospital nurses claim burnout and are at risk of
compassion fatigue (Crewe, 2017).
The American Nurses Foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of the American
Nurses Association has issued a call to arms to improve the health of our nation’s
nurses. The initiative has given us practical tools to help us succeed. The Wellbeing
initiative was developed for nurses by nurses. The Foundation partnered
with the American Nurses Association (ANA), the Emergency Nurses Association
(ENA), the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), and the American
Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) to address the physical and emotional
stresses our nation’s nurses have experienced due to the worldwide pandemic. The
digital resources include the format to join online groups and express themselves
in narrative journaling. Resources and tools also include online forums such as
peer-to-peer conversations, hotlines, learning cognitive processing techniques and
learning preventive actions such as stress reduction, and mindfulness. The hotlines
and peer conversations are held by volunteer nurses as the healers reach out to heal
each other during the difficult times of the Covid-19 pandemic. The partnership
also developed two apps for easy download on smart phones called the “Happy
App” and “Moodfit” mobile app to support nurses in their individual wellness
goals and habits of health. The apps can be found on your smart phone store or
for download at https://bit.ly/35qLV7x. Additionally, the Well-being Initiative offers a
self-assessment tool and mental health hotlines for nurses.
Information about the full initiative can be accessed at https://www.
nursingworld.org/news/news-releases/2020/american-nurses-foundation-launchesnational-well-being-initiative-for-nurses/
In addition to the mental health and wellness nurses face personally, we also face
questions from patients, friends and neighbors about which supplements should
be taken to hopefully prevent Covid-19 infections or strengthen our own immune
system. There is a wide variety of opinions and limited evidence-based studies to
declare definitively which supplements should be taken. Nurses must be well
educated and informed to effectively educate our public.
Reputable resources to learn about such supplements as Vitamin D3, Zinc,
Vitamin C, Biotin, colloidal silver, herbals and botanicals can be found at the
following sites:
o National Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine: http://nccih.
nih.gov.
o Natural Medicines: https://naturalmedicines.therapeuticresearch.com/.
o FDA tainted product list: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/sda/
sdNavigation.cfm?filter=&sortColumn=1d&sd=tainted_supplements_
cder&page=1.
o Tips for Dietary Supplement Users: https://www.fda.gov/Food/
DietarySupplements/UsingDietarySupplements/ucm110567.htm.
o Tips for Older Dietary Supplement Users: https://www.fda.gov/Food/
DietarySupplements/UsingDietarySupplements/ucm110493.htm.
o HerbList App (free from NIH): https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/herblist-app.
o Merck Manual Online Chapter on Dietary Supplements (for consumers and
health care professionals): https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/
special-subjects/dietary-supplements/overview-of-dietary-supplements.
o Dietary Supplements Part 1: https://youtu.be/SwFalkgN_1Q.
o Dietary Supplements Part 2: https://youtu.be/4L-cCzMtKx8.
References
Crewe, C. (2017). The Watson room: Managing compassion fatigue in clinical nurses
on the front line. Virginia Henderson Global Nursing Repository. https://sigma.
nursingrepository.org/handle/10755/621267?show=full
West Hills Hospital located in Reno, NV, a leader in
the treatment of behavioral, mental health care and
substance abuse treatment is seeking FT/PT/PRN
Registered Nurses to implement the nursing process
as it relates to our programs.
Visit www.westhillshospital.net and click on
CAREERS to apply.
To access electronic copies of the
Nevada RNformation, please visit
http://www.nursingALD.com/publications