The truth behind fitness blogs

New fitness blogs and trends are on the rise as people look to online sources of inspiration and guidance on working out at home during the pandemic. But are they all good sources of information? Probably not. A study looked at 200 fitness blogs to see which were actually run by trained experts. While more than half of the blog hosts reported being experts in their field, less than 10% were actually licensed professionals. A similar study focused on nutrition blogs found that up to 90% of bloggers may not be giving factual advice. Yikes. So next time you get ready to follow some newfangled advice, make sure to do some research on who, or what (if it's a company), is giving that advice. Read more

Most popular cities for travel nurses 2020-2021 —

Through a combination of comprehensive data points (such as top-paying opportunities) and some anecdotal evidence, we’ve listed the most popular travel nursing destinations in the United States for 2020-2021. Many of these cities are flocked to for their competitive pay packages, while others for the culture, social ambience, or even natural beauty (and for some, maybe all of these reasons!). See if your favorite cities made the cut! Read more

Nurses saving lives away from the bedside —

These nurses have been recognized for saving the lives of strangers while off duty: Christine Schreiber, BSN, RN applied a tourniquet to an injured motorcyclist who would not have survived a further loss of blood. Multiple nurses rushed onto the field of a middle school football game and performed CPR, where a boy collapsed due to what was later diagnosed as CPVT. Alex Sequeira, MSN, RN stopped her car to revive a pulseless driver, stabilizing him until paramedics arrived. Sybil Calhoun, MSN, RN was working out at the gym when a man next to her went into cardiac arrest; she performed CPR and later used an AED to revive the man. And Celia Marcos, RN who gave the ultimate sacrifice, performing CPR on a COVID-19 patient who had stopped breathing, only to succumb to the virus herself and pass away 14 days later. Thank you to all of you amazing nurses; we don't deserve you. Read more

How to look out for your own wellbeing —

Nurse stress and dissatisfaction are important factors in nurse burnout and are, you guessed it, on the opposite side of optimal wellness. Managerial style and supervisory support are also factors in nurse burnout. Moreover, US nurses are at risk for poor health due to physical inactivity and poor dietary habits, both large by-products of heightened stress levels. Nurses are often nurturers by nature. But how and when are nurses taking the opportunity to care for their own wellbeing? And how can you. Read more

Coronavirus Updates

Over 1 million deaths due to COVID-19 —

As of Monday, the global death toll due to COVID-19 surpassed one million, with the United States holding 20%—the greatest amount—of the world's deaths. Unfortunately, cases continue to climb once more, as 21 states are reporting more new cases this past week compared to the one prior. What's more, many of these states now have a test positivity rate of more than 10%, something the WHO recommended stay below 5%. What does this mean? We have a combination of increasing infections and not nearly enough testing. And while children still only entail about 10% of recorded COVID-19 cases, it's still unclear to what degree they're able to transmit the virus, as many are left untested, saving the tests for those at higher risk. Read more

Young adults are driving the spread of COVID-19 —

A recent report from the CDC stated that young adults in America are driving COVID-19 infections and are likely the main cause of its continued spread to older, more vulnerable demographics. At the inception of COVID-19, older adults accounted for the largest number of infections and were more likely to become infected, but when researchers looked at data from June to August, they found that people in their 20s actually accounted for the largest group of confirmed cases. This is worrying, as Mike Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota states, "This group is going to continue to transmit a lot of virus." Confirmed by the CDC, it's clear that widespread infections in young adults lead to more infections in older people who are more likely to become hospitalized. This has been seen recently across Southern states, where rising infections among young adults preceded increases in rates among people 60 and older by four to fifteen days. Read more

Filipinos make up 4% of nurses but 32% of nurse deaths in the US —

While nurses of Filipino descent make up only 4% of nurses in the US, nearly 32% of nurse deaths due to COVID-19 are from this same group. The nursing union, National Nurses United, found that more than 1,700 healthcare workers have died from COVID-19 and related complications, with more than 200 of those fatalities being registered nurses. Thus far, the largest non-white group to die from the effects of the disease has been of Filipino descent. This data shows the extent to which Asian Americans have suffered from the pandemic, and that while this disease certainly affects us all, it does not do so equally. Read more

New ANA webinar on responding to moral distress during COVID-19 —

The ANA is hosting another COVID-19 webinar, entitled How to Respond to Ethical Challenges and Moral Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic. While the physical threat of COVID-19 is incredibly clear, the less-recognized challenges are the many ethical dilemmas and moral distress that follow the stark physical conditions. If you think this informative, and free, webinar would benefit your own practice, make sure you register! Read more

Upcoming Events

10/7, 3pm PST: Healthy Finances: Financial Freedom for Nurses —

Nurses have what it takes to build wealth in a relatively short amount of time. This gives us the freedom to fully show up in our roles and serve. Join Naseema McElroy, nurse and founder of Financially Intentional, to create a set-it-and-forget-it approach to financial freedom in 10 years or less. You have what it takes to be wealthy — consider this event your starting line. All nurses are welcome to this event, just make sure you RSVP! RSVP