They’re not completely recession proof, but the healthcare industry is still going strong, even in “today’s economy.” (Oh how I hate that expression) And even with all the commotion over healthcare reform, and dire warnings from Republicans and health insurance companies about how improving access and care will be the undoing of our nation, healthcare is still running strong.

So its a good place to look for a job. Still. I know, there have been complaints from nurses about layoffs, inability to find jobs, and so on, that is reminiscent of the early 1990s–when the industry created an artificial nursing surplus in order to cut costs. And it backfired major league. As it will do now.

But nursing isn’t the only job in town. In fact, there are a lot of careers that pay better, have better hours, are less messy, are as rewarding, require as much skill or more, garner you more respect, and have a rosy future. The American Medical Association has a really good website devoted to healthcare careers, other than physician. I came across it when I was doing research for an article and I was really impressed. At first glance it doesn’t look like much, but that whole list is “clickable.”

Don’t forget to tweet. It is just about 9:am PT, so I’m ready to hit the Twitter board. And so should you…

On Saturday, 24 October 2009, between 9 -10 AM Pacific time (12 – 1 PM East Coast time)
Send the following tweet to @BarackObama:

USA MUST formally adopt the 350ppm CO2 target at Copenhagen 09 – the ONLY WAY to prevent runaway climate change NO EXCUSES!

For those of you who have been glued to 350.org, or even if you haven’t been, tomorrow morning is the ideal time to do some tweeting. Since they want to get the word out, I don’t think the folks at 350.org will mind my reposting this:

If you want to know more about 350.org, here’s a little video which condenses it in a nutshell:

The continuing saga of swine flu. I’m planning on staying healthy, and one of the best ways of doing that is to ignore the hysteria and the doomsday prophecies. It’s funny, but I do recall that at once place I worked, people used to come around with a little cart asking who wanted a free flu vaccine. No takers, at least not in the units I worked in, and it wasn’t because everyone had already had one.

Why is it that healthcare workers are so adverse to flu shots? It might be worth discussing, especially hearing why physicians have such low rates.

Anyway, back to swine flu. Seems that someone if finally doing some real journalism and digging beyond sound-bytes. CBS News has asked the question if swine flu cases are overestimated? And then they tell of the experience in trying to get data from the CDC, along with the CDC’s rather abrupt decision last June, to  tell states to stop testing for it. Very odd, considering that this is a new disease and they should be tracking it.

Interesting story and finally, a real journalistic effort to dig for the truth.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

This is straying away from the theme of this blog, but I felt that it really has to be mentioned.

Does President Barack Obama deserve the Nobel Peace Prize?

According to Alfred Nobel’s will, the Peace Prize should be awarded “to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” His will stated that the prize should be awarded by a committee of five people elected by the Norwegian Parliament. Thus, it is the only Nobel Prize not awarded in Sweden.

The definition of peace covers a lot of ground, according to the stipulations in Nobel’s will, and over the years, it has been awarded to “heavy weights” like the Dalai Lama and Jean Henry Dunant, found of the International Red Cross. It has also been awarded to dubious individuals like Woodrow Wilson, who dragged the US into WW I for no apparent reason other than a stab at imperialism (and many historians feel that the entry of the US into the war sufficiently tipped the balance, dragged the war on for an extra year, and set up the circumstances which eventually led to WW II), and Henry Kissinger–probably one of the most evil creatures to inhabit the 20the century.

Fortunately, the names of the people and organizations who have received this award have for the most part, been deserving. Mother Theresa, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), Jane Addams, Amnesty International, Aung San Suu Kyi, Martin Luther King, Jr, etc. You can see the full list here, along with the reason for the award.

So to this illustrious list, the name of Barack Obama is added. As much as I like Obama, this move seems a little too premature, especially considering the accomplishments of the other candidates. Maybe after a year or 2 in office, when real progress has been made, would have been a better time. Right now, the award seems based on hope–that the Bush/Cheney era is finally over and things will change for the better. So far there’s talk, but not much action. But at least the US is being seen in a better light, and we are once again taking our rightful place on the world stage.

Either this nurse isn’t too bright, or she’s intentionally malicious. Hard to say from this short news clip from Associated Press:

The police were looking into possible criminal charges against a nurse at a South Florida hospital where officials say she may have exposed some 1,800 patients to H.I.V. and hepatitis by reusing medical supplies. Officials at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale said this week that the hospital discovered that the nurse, Qui Lan, 59, was reusing IV tubing and saline bags during cardiac chemical stress tests.

Think before Pink, or better yet, don’t waste money buying stuff you don’t want or need because it has the pink touch to it. I know, I am so politically incorrect to be so negative about breast cancer awareness month, but the whole concept of these “awareness” months is also rather distasteful. Like breast cancer should be ignored the rest of the year.

The pink campaign, as this video says, began with good intentions, but it has mushroomed into a mega marketing campaign, with many unscrupulous companies selling pink products to “raise awareness,” and do not donate any money to breast cancer causes. In other words, they’re cashing in on an illness and trying to increase their profit margin for the month of October by “pinkifying” their inventory.

Cool. Thanks but no thanks. I refuse to buy anything pink in October.

Okay, I was in Berlin, Germany at a medical conference and really couldn’t blog because I bought a brand new little netbook for the journey, but neglected to take my blog passwords. And then, its taken me a week to get over jet lag, read my mail, take care of stuff at home, and so on. Blogging has been neglected.

But anyway, October is breast cancer awareness month, and the start of that awful pink campaign. Yes, I know that its not all bad, but just the tone of it makes breast cancer seem like some sweet and frilly little girl’s issue, rather than a life threatening disease.

I’ll post more on this, but I basically advise donating to a particular charity itself, if you want to do something for breast cancer, rather than waste money buying some ridiculous pink item that will end up in the recycling bin. In many cases, virtually none of the money that you spent on the item actually goes for breast cancer. Sometimes not even a penny. So again, donate to a legitimate charity, volunteer, or whatever, but don’t get sideswiped by the pink.