Come one, come all….if you’re interested in a nursing job in the greater Seattle area, you can come to the free job fair (like anyone should have to pay to go to one of these) that will be held in May. It will be held May 15, 2008.

Washington State Convention & Trade Center
Hall 6E
800 Convention Place
Seattle, WA 98101

8:30am-4:00pm (CE Seminars)
10:00am-2:30pm (Exhibit Hall)
Doors open at 8am

EXHIBITORS

Auburn Regional Medical Center
Cascade Valley Hospital & Clinics
Children’s Hospital & Regional Medical Center
Columbia Basin Health Associates
Evergreen Healthcare
Franciscan Health System
Good Samaritan Emergency Dept
Group Health
Harborview Medical Center
Harrison Medical Center
Healthways
Maniilaq Health Center
MultiCare Health System
Northwest Hospital & Medical Center
Phoenix Children’s Hospital
Public Health Seattle & King County
Puget Sound Blood Center
Seattle Pacific University
Seattle University College of Nursing
State of Alaska, Dept of Health & Social Services
Stevens Hospital
Supplemental Health Care
The College Network
The Regional Hospital
University of Washington
US Army Healthcare Recruiting Team
VA Medical Center
Valley Medical Center
Virginia Mason Medical Center
Walgreens - Option Care
Washington State Department of Corrections
Washington State Department of Social and Health Services
Western Governors University
Yuma Regional Medical Center

Of course, I have heard stories from many nurses that their resumes are ignored, the recruiters never call them back, and basically, it just seems for show. Or that despite the whining and bitching about no nurses, they really don’t want to hire anyone who has one iota of experience. That translates to having to pay them more, they will probably use more benefits (after all those years on the job, undoubtedly there is a back injury brewing), and may be less malleable than a fresh new grad who thinks that she’s going to save the world.

Yes, I’ve been away. Spring is medical conference time, and I was fortunate enough to be able to soak up some sun and fun in California.

It seems that winter just doesn’t want to leave this area. The Saturday after I left town–April 12–was in the 60s and sunny. But then winter returned. So while I was sunning myself in San Diego, it was raining/freezing/hailing here. The big surprise was that it snowed yesterday morning, and when I came home last night, there was snow along the freeway. This morning I woke up and it had snowed again–the trees was covered with snow and there was snow on the ground.

Come on, this is getting towards the end of April. Snow?

It melted by midday, but the trees up in the hills are still white. I wonder if summer actually came and I missed it somehow. I guess I should be pulling out the Christmas lights…

Posting will be skimpy during the next week as I’m getting ready to head off to a medical conference. I’ll probably through in a post or two from my laptop, but it is going to be a very hectic week. And of course, as soon as I get ready to leave town, it stops raining. The forecast says clear up until the middle of next week, although that can change very quickly in this part of the world.

Under Seige

If you are a nurse esthetician, watch out. Apparently, your right to practice medical esthetics without direct supervision by an MD is being challenged in California. This is just off the press from the Association of Medical Esthetic Nurses.

ALL MEDICAL ESTHETIC PROFESSIONALS CALIFORNIA UNDER ATTACK AGAIN!!

All Medical Professionals in California your right to practice medical esthetics as you now know it under attack. Again, these moves are instigated by a subspecialty group of physicians to gain statutory protection and protect their financial cash cows by limiting competition. Meanwhile they are tying up our legislatures and incurring debt on the taxpayers with their unjustified and nonsensical personal agendas.

California Assembly Bill 2398 would require a physician or surgeon who delegates the performance or administration of any cosmetic medical procedure or treatment to directly supervise the delegate. The bill defines cosmetic medical procedure or treatment as “a medical procedure that is performed to alter or reshape normal structures of the body solely in order to improve appearance.” We are uncertain as to whether the scope of this bill is intended to include light-based cosmetic procedures, however we believe it will. A hearing regarding this bill has been scheduled for April 9.

We must fight back, we did in it Wisconsin, GA, AZ, CO, MASS, other states, WE CAN WIN, but we must be united and each do our part. Look over this amendment and contact (email and call) your respective congress persons to voice your strong opposition to this proposed amendment. Also please email the Assemblyman that are responsible for this bill:

Assemblyman Alan Nakanishi’s email is: assemblymember.nakanishi@asm.ca.gov

Assemblyman Ross Warren’s email is: ross.warren@asm.ca.gov

Other Committee Members can be found at:
http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/newcomframset.asp?committee=129

I looked up the bill, and it states that (among other techno-talk):

This bill would require a physician and surgeon who delegates the performance or administration of any cosmetic medical procedure or treatment, as defined, to provide immediate supervision of that procedure or treatment, as specified. The bill would provide that a violation of that provision may subject the person or entity that has committed the violation to either a fine of up to $25,000 per occurrence pursuant to a citation issued by the board or a civil penalty of $25,000 per occurrence.

So I’m not really sure what this means, to be quite honest, or how the system is working right now. Does it mean that an MD must be physically present when a nurse performs the procedure, as in breathing down her neck and watching as her fingers inject Botox? In that case, the physician may as well do it himself. Or does it mean that there just needs to be an MD present somewhere in the facility? The MD could be doing his or her own procedures at the same time the nurses are doing theirs?

I do know that nurses perform many of these procedures, and in fact, I’ve seen them advertised on the windows of salons in Seattle. Perhaps a doc is available by phone, and then there’s always the ER, but I’m certain that salons do not have a physician physically on the premises.

I would appreciate more feedback on this from nurse estheticians, who are not nurse practitioners or who have an advanced degree.

This website may seem a little morbid to some, and challenging to the sensibilities. In essence, a German photographer photographed 22 dying individuals right before they died, and when they were deceased. Yes, a photograph of a dead face.

The photos are beautiful and sensitive, and when I looked at some of them, I wondered what the person was thinking, as all knew that they were close to death when the portraits were made.

When I was in nursing school, death was mentioned but as sort of a side remark. Patients weren’t supposed to know, and we weren’t supposed to know that some of them died. Our patient assignments during our clinical roations were carefully selected, in that none of the patients were too ill. End of life was mentioned briefly in textbooks, mostly as it related to pain relief.

I’m hoping that programs have gotten a little more 21st century, and acknowledged that as a nurse working in acute or long term care, patients are going to die. Get used to it. These photos symbolize, at least to me, that transition–when one is aware that the end is near, and the camera has captured that awareness in their eyes and facial expression. And then afterwards, when their soul has been freed and the body is at peace.

This doesn’t have much to do with health, but it is the cutest thing. A monkey riding a motorcycle. A teeny weeny mini-sized monkey-cycle.

Someone commented that the monkey is being pulled on a leash. Not so. The monkey is on a leash, but I imagine so it doesn’t ride too far away and get lost. You can see that the monkey is driving the bike. What’s more, you can see the monkey watching the traffic, and waiting until the cars clear before it rides off again.

Now if healthcare administrators could only be that bright. Well, I guess I found my health related theme to this.