For most of us, time is a rare commodity. If you had an extra hour, what would you do? Let’s throw out the obvious: get an extra hour of sleep, play with the kids or clean the house, and here are some interesting ideas as the end of Daylight Saving Time this weekend provides that rare extra hour of time:
Write a love letter to your spouse or partner (when was the last time you did that?)
Catch up on that Netflix show you keep trying to see
Try a new recipe
Read a book
Get a massage
Write those thank-you notes you promised you’d get out
Google yourself and family members
Plan a perfect dinner party
Give yourself a makeover
Unplug the computer and TV, hide your cell phone and just enjoy the silence.
For Educators:
Use it to write longer, pithy comments as you grade papers due last week
Get an extra hour of push-ups and exercise to gird yourself for the rest of the school year
Shop for technology you’d like to have in your classroom (but probably won’t ever have the funds for)
Revise the lesson plan to satisfy unsatisfied parents and administrators
Learn how to do math problems the “Common Core” way
Fill a week’s worth of water bottles and prepare snacks to save time the rest of the week
Doing that self-evaluation you were supposed to do at the beginning of the school year
Fill out grant requests so you can afford to buy classroom materials
Rearrange the class seating chart to accommodate the three new students who are coming into your already crowded classroom
Look over the “new” testing criteria that will be instituted next semester
Looking up recipes you’d like to cook, if you had the time
Reacquaint yourself with the people you call family, but rarely see
Catch up on the charting that electronic record keeping promised would be “that much easier and faster”
Reorganize the work station so it is actually more functional
Go for a run or to the gym for the first good workout of the year
Talk with the patient in room 201 whose yet to have a visitor
Chart your goals and desires and the prescription to getting there
Design a patient gown that actually fits and works
Actually watch one of the shows or movies in your Netflix cue
Take that nap you promised yourself at the beginning of the year
Need a break? Enter for the California Casualty Give A Nurse A Break getaway at the world famous Hotel Hershey and Spa®. It only takes a minute to enter; details and rules can be found at www.giveanurseabreak.com.
Lighting a fuse or sparkler is like holding a ticking time bomb; odds are someone, most likely a child, is going to be hurt. Every year nurses are called upon to try and heal the wounded from fireworks injuries.
Now there is a concerted effort to prevent the tragedy before it occurs. The Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) has joined the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, the National Association of School Nurses and other health organizations in an alliance with the National Fire Protection Association calling for an end to the use of personal fireworks. The goal, educate parents and caretakers before there are more injuries.
Here is why: the numbers are staggering, in 2011 fireworks caused an estimated 17,800 fires resulting in eight deaths, 40 injuries and $32 million in direct property damage. 2013 injury figures show U.S. hospital emergency rooms treated an estimated 11,400 people for fireworks related injuries. Children under the age of five experienced a higher estimated per capita injury rate than any other age group.
How many times have you, as a nurse, had to cradle a badly burnt six year old or counseled a parent about their youngster’s loss of a finger?
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warns that even sparklers burn at nearly 2,000 degrees, hot enough to melt, wood, plastics and some metals and inflict terrible burns on mostly young people. Sixty percent of injuries and deaths from fireworks occur in the weeks just before and after the 4th of July. Most injuries are to the hands and fingers, head and face and the eyes caused mainly from firecrackers, bottle rockets and sparklers. The Emergency Nurses Association asserts the damage from fireworks can cause permanent scaring, both physically and mentally to children. “The extremities are essential for mobility; head injury is particularly critical: and burns can cause both pain and deformity. The message is very straightforward: fireworks are not safe to handle, watch them from a distance,” said the president of the ENA.
The National Fire Protection Association is so troubled by the carnage and damage from fireworks that they have created the Alliance to Stop Consumer Fireworks. They urge everyone to attend professional fireworks and never buy or use fireworks at home.
Realizing fireworks are still used by families; the Consumer Product Safety Commission has developed these essential safety tips:
Never allow young children to play with or ignite fireworks.
Avoid buying fireworks that are packaged in brown paper because this is often a sign that the fireworks were made for professional displays and that they could pose a danger to consumers.
Always have an adult supervise fireworks activities. Parents don’t realize that young children suffer injuries from sparklers. Sparklers burn at temperatures of about 2,000 degrees – hot enough to melt some metals.
Never place any part of your body directly over a fireworks device when lighting the fuse. Back up to a safe distance immediately after lighting fireworks.
Never try to re-light or pick up fireworks that have not ignited fully.
Never point or throw fireworks at another person.
Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose handy in case of fire or other mishap.
Light fireworks one at a time, then move back quickly.
Never carry fireworks in a pocket or shoot them off in metal or glass containers.
After fireworks complete their burning, douse the spent device with plenty of water from a bucket or hose before discarding it to prevent a trash fire.
Make sure fireworks are legal in your area before buying or using them.
Remember, while they may be pretty to watch, the damage from personal use of fireworks is more than just statistics or numbers on a page; they are real people – sons, daughters parents and grandparents – real flesh-and-blood victims. Think of them and the nurse who is waiting in the emergency room.
Two-and-a-half years of working three, 12-hour shifts in one of Alabama’s busiest hospitals can take its toll. Now Evan Henegar, an RN at the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) Hospital is planning a trip to ease that stress. Evan was randomly picked as the grand prize winner of California Casualty’s “Give A Nurse A Break” contest, from more than 11,000 entrants across the nation. Evan, his wife and two co-workers will soon be embarking on a scrumptious getaway to the world-famous Chocolate Spa® at The Hotel Hershey® in Hershey, PA. The all-expenses paid trip for four has a value of $5,500.
Henegar graduated from the University of Alabama Birmingham with a nursing degree. He is now a general medicine nurse. “We get every patient you can imagine, from a broken leg, surgery or cardio. We do total patient care from baths, dispensing medicine to assessments,” he said. Henegar says it’s all great training and experience for his next assignment, Emergency and Trauma. UAB is the only recognized level I trauma center for the State of Alabama.
Henegar got turned onto California Casualty’s “Give A Nurse A Break” contest by a co-worker who told him to check it out on Facebook. “I can’t believe my luck; I am just so appreciative and grateful.”
“Often times, nurses aren’t always appreciated for the incredibly hard work they do,” said California Casualty Vice President, Mike McCormick. “This is just one way we can say ‘Thank you and we appreciate you.’”
Previous winner, Lisa Gordon, LPN, from Victoria Texas experienced her spa getaway in October. “I love what I do….and I am so excited and amazed that I won this trip from California Casualty just for being a nurse!” she exclaimed as she and two of her closest friends luxuriated at The Hotel Hershey® and Spa. Gordon is currently continuing her education to obtain her RN.
