Mitch Woldt, BSN, RN,  is a nurse at the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis. I am a male who recently became a registered nurse. Through college and my first few months working, I have noticed and felt many emotions. There are two main and important points I would like to share so others know and understand what ...

For many of our patients, their HIV status is the least of their problems. The population of people we deal with not only suffers from the disease, but from their addictions, homelessness, abusive relationships and indifference. I've come to learn that these people view our clinic as much more than just their doctor's office. For a lot of ...

I like Mike Rowe. He seems like the kind of guy I would want on my team. No matter how hard it gets, no matter how bad it seems, he is the one who is smiling and joking around with the crew.  We are like that at my facility. No matter how busy, no matter how many upset folks we have, we smile, joke and put our patients at ...

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.   Thomas Edison We are living in precarious economic times. My husband calls on manufacturing companies; nearly every week he comes home with news of another client shutting its doors. Other companies are letting go ...

In the latest issue of PT Magazine, Sharon Dunn, PT, PhD, OCS, talks about the need for PTs to work together no matter what degree they have. Throughout her article, Ms. Dunn provides examples of difficulties she believes PTs are running into as the three degree levels merge into one profession. Her intentions were good. But for some reason Ms. ...

Life isn't about avoiding storms, but about learning to dance in the rain. Most of my life's storms result from those everyday events that pop up like little twirling tornados and send me into a tailspin. More and more I'm realizing they usually come from a predictable and avoidable source: my unmet expectations.  Whether at home or ...

Hi: This is my first blog ever!!! Here it goes... I have decided to take a position within a retail health clinic. I have been intrigued with the concept of retail health care since its inception, what a novel and practical approach to a tired health care system. I have not started working at the clinic yet. Our market is just beginning to open ...

I'm working in an acute care rehab department this month. It is in crisis. There has been a leadership void for three weeks because a decision was made to change the direction of the department. As so often happens in these situations, the manager was asked to leave.  Upper management wanted to bring in someone new. These decisions have ...

Officials this week have released the financial toll of the floods that ravaged Iowa a month ago. The University of Iowa in Iowa City incurred more than $230 million in damages. In Cedar Rapids, the price tag is likely to exceed $1 billion. Despite the destruction, the residents of the state continue to band together in their ...

It can be the irate, highly credentialed surgeon who throws an instrument tray at a questioning nurse; it can be the staff nurse who bullies a new grad; or it could be the lab tech who berates a member of the housekeeping staff. These types of disruptive and intimidating behaviors affect everyone, at all levels of a healthcare organization, and ...