http://www.philly.com/r?19=960&32=3796&7=-1&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fphillyrn%2F Lauren Auty, RN, BSN, MJ, has a nursing degree from Gwynedd-Mercy College and more than eight years experience in Emergency Medicine, Urgent Care and Home Health settings. She is blogging about the field of nursing and how healthcare and news issues affect both nurses and patients. en-us Wed, 16 May 2012 17:55:47 GMT 2012-05-16T17:55:47Z en-us http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=1036303&44=151604915&32=3796&7=1055128&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fphillyrn%2FViolence-drives-an-ER-nurse-to-find-new-job.html After 22 years of employment with a local hospital, Barbara LaPierre’s life changed dramatically one April night in 2010. Wed, 16 May 2012 17:55:47 GMT 4f772b9203ee7c8a66b2da86b5d68d17 Lauren Auty 2012-05-16T17:55:47Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=1036303&44=147990815&32=3796&7=1055128&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fphillyrn%2FLessons-learned-at-St-Marys.html In September 2005, Charles Kunkle was paged to the St. Mary Medical Center emergency room (ER) to find that a patient had shot and killed one local police officer, and wounded another officer and one of the hospital employees. Fri, 20 Apr 2012 19:46:11 GMT 65401108f7764b94674dcb1f032687f1 Lauren Auty 2012-04-20T19:46:11Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=1036303&44=144968715&32=3796&7=1055128&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fphillyrn%2FDifferent-setting-same-violence-against-a-nurse.html Last time, the story of an emergency room nurse at a center city hospital, who was attacked by a patient. Today, a similar story from a different setting - a 130-bed suburban psychiatric hospital. Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:26:17 GMT 03061a66a73acd6ba3d41cce49731b95 Lauren Auty 2012-04-05T15:26:17Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=1036303&44=139454183&32=3796&7=1055128&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fphillyrn%2FNot-part-of-our-job-description--.html In December, I wrote about a nurse in Alabama who was assaulted at work. That lead me to some remarkable nurses in this area who were willing to similar, personal accounts of violent assault, so that a face could rise from behind the statistics. I'm going to share their stories over the next few weeks. Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:59:47 GMT 9e09a0c287c2b423211ddfc8cda9f777 Lauren Auty 2012-03-19T21:59:47Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=1036303&44=137487408&32=3796&7=1055128&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fphillyrn%2FEVERY-month-should-be-Heart-Disease-Awareness-Month-.html Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:30:24 GMT 5680f42a81f0c97d169e26c55e6b04e5 Lauren Auty 2012-01-20T17:30:24Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=1036303&44=136513353&32=3796&7=1055128&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fphillyrn%2FHow-best-to-tell-hospital-staff-whats-going-on.html Communication breakdowns in healthcare are often the leading cause of serious mistakes reported to the Joint Commission’s Sentinel Event Root Cause Database. So I ask, what methods have hospitals found most successful to communicate new information, policies or procedures to large numbers of staff? Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:13:56 GMT f628d63fcb3d43a2a0e7a0ae0d366a5e Lauren Auty 2012-01-03T23:13:56Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=1036303&44=135763398&32=3796&7=1055128&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fphillyrn%2F135763398.html Christmas debt, endless bills, a suffering economy and paying for higher education will stress anyone. If you know where to look, there is money available to assist with tuition and further your nursing education. The reality is that nurses are facing this financial hardship many years after becoming a nurse. Many are raising a family or holding senior positions, yet a higher nursing degree is a common career necessity. Sat, 17 Dec 2011 21:29:02 GMT 44225b41e938c59d6b805b2786f8cbab Lauren Auty 2011-12-17T21:29:02Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=1036303&44=135712048&32=3796&7=1055128&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fphillyrn%2FTis-the-Season-Out-with-the-Nursing-Caps--in-with-the-APPS----.html Chances are that a nurse may be on your holiday shopping list. With less than 2 weeks left before the holidays, I wanted to suggest some great gift ideas for nurses. Fri, 16 Dec 2011 04:32:30 GMT 01d3dda17c247e7b3c18fbfe4ab40439 Lauren Auty 2011-12-16T04:32:30Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=1036303&44=134994898&32=3796&7=1055128&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fphillyrn%2FWomans-first-response-after-car-crash-You-from-Philly-.html On Tuesday afternoon, I was driving in New Jersey with my 14-month-old son and my car was T-boned by another women's vehicle that failed to stop at the stop sign. After the impact and coming to a screeching stop, knowing that my son and I were alright (despite my heart palpitations!), I jumped out of the car, went immediately to her driver’s side door, and said “is everyone alright?” Sun, 04 Dec 2011 21:13:54 GMT 8c60d3a08ec20920cc5db33197d6cccd Lauren Auty 2011-12-04T21:13:54Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=1036303&44=134803503&32=3796&7=1055128&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fphillyrn%2FNurses-face-an-epidemic-of-violence-in-hospitals-.html An Alabama ER nurse, Tammy Mathews, was working a late-night shift when an intoxicated and medicated patient grabbed her around the neck, choked her until she couldn’t breathe and spit in her face. She survived, MSNBC reported, but found that her employer wanted her to drop assault charges against her attacker. Then when she refused, she said officials fired her. Accounts like these compel me to keep talking about violence directed at nurses. Thu, 01 Dec 2011 04:52:38 GMT bfa165a67f5112061430904de55d7a2d Lauren Auty 2011-12-01T04:52:38Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=1036303&44=134572643&32=3796&7=1055128&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fphillyrn%2FNo--tolerance-policy-Its-now-a-felong-to-assault-a-nurse.html As an ER nurse for most of my career, I have become almost desensitized to the reality that violence in our workplace is becoming more frequent and just as common in the suburban hospitals as those in major cities. The explicatives mother f****w**** or bitch, or f-this and f-that are common language in an Emergency Room. As the nurse this language is directed at, you learn to walk away and control the patient with methods supported by your hospital. Mon, 28 Nov 2011 05:07:49 GMT b5871ca402aa7976cb8527372dbe409d Lauren Auty 2011-11-28T05:07:49Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=1036303&44=134212443&32=3796&7=1055128&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fphillyrn%2FEven-Florence-Nightingale-would-need-a-higher-degrees-.html Am I prepared to go back to school? It’s a question I recently have been forced to asked myself. Mon, 21 Nov 2011 00:22:06 GMT f85a9c8dacaa1524b1515e35de582c23 Lauren Auty 2011-11-21T00:22:06Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=1036303&44=133933118&32=3796&7=1055128&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fphillyrn%2FHow-Philly-area-hospitals-deal-with-flu-shots.html Philly area hospitals have creative, and sometimes strict, methods for vaccinating their employees. I conducted a random survey of area hospitals and found that hospital policies for influenza immunization include all “health-care workers (HCW)” and “health care providers,” not just nurses. This group was defined as any staff who work on patient floors, not necessarily giving direct patient care. Therefore, Philly hospitals stressed the importance of vaccinating nurses as well as auxiliary staff, housekeepers, electricians, cafeteria personnel, patient aids, clerks, technician, etc. Sat, 19 Nov 2011 00:20:57 GMT e1cfbee2beedd515bd5a563ae23ce6f3 Lauren Auty 2011-11-19T00:20:57Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=1036303&44=133456558&32=3796&7=1055128&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fphillyrn%2FNurse-Uniforms-A-Quaint-Issue-or-New-Trend-.html I have always believed that appearance matters. It may sound shallow but it’s the TRUTH… people DO judge a book by its cover. So I ask the question, does a uniform policy effectively help patients identify staff members and convey trust? Wed, 09 Nov 2011 12:29:00 GMT 7f14391ee4f32bbf87d2d4283d798d41 Lauren Auty 2011-11-09T12:29:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=1036303&44=133398103&32=3796&7=1055128&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fphillyrn%2FTop-ten-most-Fabulous-Nursing-habits.html Here's a list of the Top Ten Most Fabulous Nursing habits! Please add to my list and POST your thoughts! …. Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:57:00 GMT c54fbf2350213e4f885f1b08967935f9 Lauren Auty 2011-11-08T20:57:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=1036303&44=132896478&32=3796&7=1055128&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fphillyrn%2FWelcome-to-Philly-RN.html Nurses enter the profession for two main reasons: They were sick as a child or their parent was a nurse. Well, thankfully, I have been healthy and, other than an optometrist in the family, no one is a healthcare provider. But I owe a big thank you to one nurse who inspired me and gave me a vision of such an awesome career that it kept me from quitting on Day One. The sad part is, I don’t remember her name - just her face and her actions. Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:48:09 GMT 87e578e678c68002a7a1af57ade84b09 Lauren Auty 2011-11-07T19:48:09Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=1036303&44=132896643&32=3796&7=1055128&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fphillyrn%2FOccupy-PhillyRN.html If you live in a major metropolitan area like Philadelphia, you are more than aware of the “occupy” movements happening nationwide. Therefore, to launch the Inquirer’s newest blog, I would like to invite you to Occupy PhillyRN. Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:01:57 GMT c1b1758331ed8fb33093a79856af2852 Lauren Auty 2011-11-07T19:01:57Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=1036303&44=132897253&32=3796&7=1055128&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fphillyrn%2FTop-10-Most-Awful-Nursing-Habits.html I love being a nurse … but, sometimes, nurses’ actions are so hypocritical and shameful. Ouch! Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:00:44 GMT b3eca97f4eefcd5ec88c42aa0766b919 Lauren Auty 2011-11-07T19:00:44Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=1036303&44=133077788&32=3796&7=1055128&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fphillyrn%2FTop-10-Most-Fabulous-Nursing-Habits.html I talk often about patients’ perceptions and patients’ complaints, but patients also send in the most gracious and appreciative letters of thanks. Mon, 07 Nov 2011 18:58:52 GMT 2a2e4a8552be4c6004b5d3da14a944ba Lauren Auty 2011-11-07T18:58:52Z