Happy Nurses' Week to all my colleagues! I feel every week, every day is dedicated to nurses and all we do because where would health care be without the caring, the expertise and the unique qualities and skills nurses bring to all those we care for? I hope that each of you got a big thank you from your employers and were reminded that you are valued.

In the past few years I have had a number of health issues arise and I have been blessed to not only be a nurse, but to have been cared for by some wonderful nurses - they truly saved my life. I think anyone who is a nurse should experience being a patient at least a few times just to see how it feels to be in that bed. It truly is an eye opener. At one point I decided to do a little experiment, when I asked for pain meds I wrote down the time I rang the call bell, the time the nurse came in and found I needed pain medication, and the time I received the medication. I did not look at the clock except to mark down the times. After I received my medication and was back in bed I noted the times of each event and realized how quickly I had been given my medications; however, when I compared it to how much time it felt like the differences were amazing. While the actual time was very speedy, how it felt was quite different. It gave me great perspective on how my patients feel when I would return with their meds and they would say, "What took so long?"

So, to each of you, my fellow nurses and those working hard to become nurses, I thank you for all the hard work, the missed holidays, the weekends worked, the overtime, the empty stomachs and full bladders, for all you do with such care, empathy and compassion! Thank you, you are the best of the best and no one knows what a great comfort a nurse is until they need one and he or she is there, no matter what time it is, they are there. God bless each of you.

Here's the latest article from the Nursing site at BellaOnline.com.

Continuous Chest Compression
Changes in CPR have led to improved patient outcomes and an easier method of continuous chest compressions with no mouth to mouth required. Continuous chest compression has been studied and shown to be an effective method for layperson rescue. Let's examine this new method more closely and learn.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art170703.asp

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Lorraine Hover, Nursing Editor
http://nursing.bellaonline.com

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