[Your Rx For Sanity eNews]

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~* ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Belief Relief: Imagine that?

Medical personnel find it hard to believe in treatments that don't emphasize medication diet or exercise. We have a hard time with prescriptions for the unseen. After all, what would be the dosage, or the milligram strength? And what might the side effects be? How might you treat an overdose?

Albert Einstein, one of the most noted thinkers of this century, reminds us that "Not everything that can that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." In other words, we in medicine need to get over ourselves.

In over two decades of research on spirituality and health, 84% of the studies were associated with a clinical benefit to the participants. Over 60 medical schools now have the spirituality program in their medical training. Here are five different spirituality prescriptions that you should dispense to your patients.
* Think about it,
* Write it down,
* Pass it around,
* Get on your knees,
* Smile

Think about it
Everyone says "Don't just sit there, do something " , when it should be "Don't just do something, sit there!" Studies on meditation have shown effect in diseases as varied as psoriasis, heart disease, and chronic pain syndromes. At UCLA Medical Center, meditation tapes when presented to patients with hypertension yielded a 73% reduction in medication with 50% of the patients being able to stop medications altogether.

Write it down
Journaling has been found to have a strong influence on patient's health. A study by Smith in the Annals of Internal Medicine revealed positive results that lasted long after the study was completed in patients with emphysema and rheumatoid arthritis. In this study, the patients were instructed to journal for fifteen minutes a day about their concerns and fears about their disease. The positive effects of journaling were documented on both pulmonary function tests and on blinded evaluation by a rheumatologist, respectively.

Pass it around
Altruism has the ability to make you healthy. In a study done by the University of Michigan, 1200 retirees were evaluated. 1/3 of these retirees donated time to charitable organizations or activities. Those who donated 40 hours per year to a single cause were 40% more likely to be alive at the end of the eight year study. However, if they participated in several projects, which totaled up to 40 hours, they saw no such benefits. Thus, be altruistic, but be dedicated to a cause.

Get on your knees
Did you hear the joke about the dyslectic agnostic insomniac?
He would lay awake at night wondering whether there was a dog.

Don't wonder any longer. Worship does help prolong your lives. A study done at Duke University revealed that people aged over 64 who attended to church weekly were 46% less likely to die than irregular attendees over the six year study It has also been found that patients who lack social participation or religious strength are at a higher rate of complications and death post cardiac surgery. Blood pressure, lung disease, and heart disease have all been found to be inversely related to participation in religious activities. Even more amazing are the studies on distance prayer which show that people of various religions praying for you without your knowledge can have an impact on your well being.

Smile
Being optimistic can also prolong your life. Just remember the Buddhist of the hot dog stand who asked "Make me one with everything."

You must embrace the world. Studies at the Mayo Clinic indicated that pessimists had increased risk factors for premature death, lower overall level of health, more use of medical resources, and higher medical costs. An amazing fact from Internal Medicine News indicated that pessimism worsened pulmonary function tests, with pessimism showing the equivalent to a twenty pack year smoking history!

Choose the Pollyanna prescription. Find something good in every bad event.

Your prescription for this month: think about it, write it down, pass it around, get on your knees, and smile.
Imagine that? No, believe it!

*******************************************************************

We expected last month's feature interview with Sandy Dumont, The Image Architect, to provoke some reader comment. Well, we even heard from Mom! Dr. Raymond's mother agrees (yes, even she reads the ezine...she loves me).

'Even in Doctor's offices, the Doctor usually wears a shirt and tie or long white coat, but as a patient, I have no idea what background the person taking my blood pressure has. In fact, I don't even think R.N. When I was younger, nurses DID wear white uniforms and get more respect. Love, Mother'

And this, with Sandy's reply:

'I am an Administrative Assistant and I wear scrubs since I go in and out of the OR on an hourly basis. I found your article very interesting since we were having discussion about the professionalism of nursing.' MLP, Administrative Assistant to Clinical Director of Perioperative Services

Answer: Sandy thinks you may need to devise your own 'scrub uniform'. Tailored scrubs with a crisp look and bright blue color, worn with labcoat whenever out of OR.

The longer version of this topic will run in "EndoNurse" in two months, and we'll address the question of what to do if you have to wear the hospital's worn, baggy scrubs.

********************************************************************

Here's the prize winning contribution to our last contest. Denise K., RN/Unit Leader, won her very own personally autographed copy of "Colonoscopy: It'll Crack U Up" for this submission.

"The other day following his colonoscopy procedure, my patient, having very minimal effect from the procedural sedatives, stated that after watching almost the entire event, "OK, now that that's over, would you PLEEASE assure my wife that my head is NOT up there!"
Being a wife myself who often comments to her husband in much the same manner, I could not help but 'crack up' over that response.
Oh, the reasons we love coming to work everyday -- our blessed patients, they are what keep us going. I don't know how any one who has ever experienced the Endoscopy Lab (well you know, from OUR end anyways), couldn't help but love it!!"

Thanks again, Denise. Be ready to participate in our next Sanity sponsored contest. Win stuff. Recognition. See your name here. You get the drift.

********************************************************************
~*~ Appreciation Missing in Action ~*~

Careerbuilder.com finds in a recent survey one-third of health services workers say they do not feel appreciated by their employers!

34% of these workers say they feel their employers don't value their efforts on the job. Four out of ten also say they are dissatisfied with management's ability to lead by example. More than one third of these workers are dissatisfied enough to want to change jobs this year.

Read for yourself at http://www.nurses.com/nl/91470/1704901.

********************************************************************
Readers, I found the following posting in a Nurse Chat I participate in, and share it with you, with the writer's blessing.

"Hello to everyone. A special congratulations to the new graduate; I hope you find the profession all you want it to be.

I've been in nursing for 24 years and it's been exhausting. I had little expectations and have not been disappointed in that aspect, but the good thing is that I have met a great bunch of people (patients), and I have almost always had a job.

Just remember that if there is always an opening somewhere, there's usually a reason. So go slowly, keep the spirit, and may the job be as good to you as you are to it." ~ Anna

*********************************************************************

And in closing, a warm welcome to all our new subscribers who enthusiastically signed up to receive the eNews at the recent National SGNA Convention in Dallas! To those of you who grabbed your own free "Crack U Up" butt-on featuring the cheeky image of "Colonoscopy: It'll Crack U Up", thanks for your support and I invite your regular participation in the Rx For Sanity eNews!

No butt-on or great Crack U Up stuff? Don't whine. Get yourself a
Party Pak of "Colonoscopy: It'll Crack U Up" containing three copies of Volume I, three matching CUU "Butt-on's" and a quality, roomy cotton tote featuring a full color CUU logo by visiting The Sanity
Store at http://www.RxForSanity.com now!

*********************************************************************