Monday | March 13, 2023

Healthcare starts with you. This is your beat.

 Hello Readers,

This past weekend many organizations lost a lot more than an hour of sleep with the collapse of SVB, marking this the second-largest bank failure in US history. This leaves many digital health companies compromised. As stated on their website, “the bank was used by 76% of venture capital-back initial public offerings in healthcare since 2020.” This will undoubtedly send ripple effects into the healthcare community. Is this a warning sign for the future funding of digital health?

Stay safe. Be healthy. Be kind. 

Tamara AL-Yassin (aka Nurse T)

CEO | The Nursing Beat 

MORNING BRIEF 🍳 ☕️

‘American Frontline Nurses’ Spreading Disinformation and Attacking Nurses

“American Frontline Nurses” sounds like an innocuous organization, perhaps one that works for the betterment of nurses. But the group is anything but, according toVice. Led by Nurse Nicole Sirotek, AFN uses social media platforms to spread disinformation about Covid-19 and vaccines, including telling parents to give their kids ivermectin. And those who speak out about these efforts — including other nurses — receive relentless harassment. One nurse, Tyler Kuhk, was labeled a pedophile and reported to the police, and he was subject to attempts to get him fired. 

What makes this story all the more alarming is that Sirotek is serving on a government-appointed nursing committee in Nevada and has aligned herself with other misinformation machines. For example, in 2020, she posted a now-deleted video claiming that healthcare professionals are killing their Covid patients for money. She couldn’t find nursing positions after that, but she raised money through her disinformation work. 

FDA Not Finding Opioids Coming into US from International Sources

Prescription drug prices are often significantly lower in Canada and other countries. But proposals allowing Americans to purchase their necessary medications from outside the US are often squashed thanks to lobbying from the pharmaceutical industry. They suggest this move would allow unprecedented amounts of illicit drugs, such as fentanyl, to enter the country, too. But the FDA’s data from its confiscation of drug-containing packages coming through international mail show that only a tiny fraction of them contain opioids, according to KHN.

So what kind of drugs are coming in? The number one item was generic Viagra. Others include prescription medications to treat asthma, diabetes, cancer, and HIV. But 90% of these drugs found at international mail facilities are still destroyed or denied entry into the country. Low drug–price advocate Social Society Works suggests the pharmaceutical industry is using the FDA to keep its monopoly on high drug prices. 

‘Mini Nurse Academy’ in Philadelphia Introduces Marginalized Students to Nursing

Students at General George Meade School in North Philadelphia are participating in an eight-week after-school program designed to entice young minds to consider nursing. The Mini Nurse Academy program was created by the National Black Nurses Association, whose mission is to introduce more Black and brown children to the nursing profession. It’s designed for 3rd to 6th graders in predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods and was initially piloted at a school in Birmingham, Alabama.

The Philly program is put on in collaboration with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Area Black Nurses Association. Local nurses volunteer once a week to teach the kids about nursing history, how hospitals work, and what a nursing career is like. Students also learn how to take blood pressure, listen to heartbeats, and learn about diseases. The academy creators hope that every NBNA chapter across the US sponsors at least one local school program. 

COMMUNITY PICKS 🌼 

If you love Skims fuzzy loungewear, but hate the price, check out this fantastic dupe by Fixmatti! This three-piece set comes with a cardigan, crop top, and pants for a fraction of the price!

🧑‍💻 THAT REMOTE LIFE powered by

How to Avoid Remote Nurse Scams

Whether or not you’ve been scammed, everyone has encountered a scam at some point. Especially during times of economic uncertainty, job-seekers are susceptible to recruitment fraud. Recruitment fraud is when a scammer creates a fake job opportunity. Many nurses are looking to pursue alternative nursing careers, leaving many remote nursing candidates especially vulnerable. 

Be suspicious when:

• Communications have spelling and grammatical errors

• Interviews take place over text or chat apps

• You are unable to independently verify their HR department

• Email addresses aren’t from the official company domain

• The company has no physical address

• No website, or it looks poorly designed and devoid of social proof 

Scammers are usually after two things: your personal information or money. So trust your gut, and learn more about protecting your privacy by checking out the full post here. 

Ready to find your remote nursing role? Nurse Fern caters to remote job postings to nurses leaving the bedside. Check out our daily remote nurse job postings on Nurse Fern.

DAILY DIVERSION 💊

Hollenbeck Terrace, an assisted living facility in Los Angeles, may seem unassuming at first glance. However, it’s listed as a Historic-Cultural Monument in the National Register of Historic Places. In 1905, Hollenbeck Terrace was the Santa Fe Coast Lines Hospital, which served Santa Fe Coast Lines railway employees and their families. It went through many ups and downs until finally shutting its doors in 1991. It became a centerpiece for ghost hunters and was even used by Hollywood for horror stories.

🤯 ONE BIG NUMBER

Thanks for reading! 🤓