4 minute read

HUDDLE

Hello, Nurses!

No matter how much you love being a nurse, let’s be honest: It can get stressful. Whether you’re hands-on at the bedside, innovating in research, or working in any other nursing niche, mindfulness practices can squash stress and even prevent it from cropping up as easily.

It can be hard to know where to start, so here are four mindfulness apps to get you going:

☀️ Headspace
☀️ Calm
☀️ Healthy Minds Innovations
☀️ Smiling Mind

Give one a try to get centered, discover more peace, and handle whatever life (or patients) throw at you with grace.

Today's Top Beats

🧠 Uncovering Animal Intelligence
💚 Volunteer Therapists Fill a Need

💡 Skin-Tillating Insights

HANDOFF

The Subway Nurse: New Specialty?

After a spurt of violent crimes on New York City subway cars in early January, the governor called for expanding laws for committing people with mental illness. But there’s a controversial history of that practice… Enter Lisa Singh, a psychiatric nurse who works nights in the subway to assess people with possible signs of mental illness. Working with both police and outreach workers, she helps determine who might need to be removed for care.

Uncovering Animal Intelligence

Humans might be the most intelligent beings in the animal kingdom, but plenty of other vertebrates have shown remarkable smarts, too. From crows who count and use tools to the incredible memory of chickadees and all the incredible activities of dolphins, where did all this animal intelligence come from? Scientists are learning that intelligence has actually evolved more than once in history—the neural pathways involved can differ a lot. See where we are with understanding animal intelligence.

Volunteer Therapists Fill a Need

The trauma is real. About 20,000 people have been laid off from the FDA, CDC, NIH, and other Health and Human Services departments. Those remaining struggle with bizarre rules, like avoiding forbidden words like “women,” “diversity,” and “Covid,” while the chaos interrupts standard operations and key agency functions. But volunteers have jumped into the gap: Non-government psychologists and therapists have begun offering free or low-cost counseling to those struggling. Read more about the group stepping up to help.

TODAY'S TOP VITAL

24 minutes

The amount of sleep you lose by viewing a screen for an hour at bedtime. Find out whether social media or watching TV makes a bigger difference.

PRN

TECH TUESDAY WITH NURSE MANNY

Skin-Tillating Insights

Nurses, we've long been the masters of arterial blood gas (ABG) interpretation, turning pH puzzles into clinical clarity. Now, Northwestern University introduces a wearable device that measures gases emitted and absorbed by the skin, such as CO₂, water vapor, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). 

This non-contact sensor hovers just above the skin, providing insights into hydration, wound healing, and exposure to environmental chemicals. It's like adding a new instrument to our diagnostic orchestra—skin gas analysis. While we won't be drawing tic-tac-toe grids on forearms just yet, this innovation could soon harmonize with our patient assessments, offering a fresh perspective on skin health.

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TODAY IN THE CHART

SUPPLY ROOM

Take Your Meds 

These unique pill earrings would make a great addition to your work outfit!

BREAK ROOM

Pre-Shift Warm-ups

Do you have your own routine to help deal with the “pre-shift scaries”? Check out this video if you need a laugh, and share this with your work bestie the next time you two head in for work.

DISCHARGE INSTRUCTIONS

Check out TNB’s very own action figure: The Nursing Beat Nurse, complete with coffee and stethoscope!

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