HUDDLE
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Hello, Nurses! |
Are you celebrating St. Patrick’s Day today? For anyone working, you can bring green treats (like green bread from Panera!) to the break room to join in the festivities. If you’re off, you can visit parades celebrating the patron saint of Ireland. Guess which cities dye their rivers green for the holiday...
St. Patty’s Day also kicks off GI nurses week, and we’re excited to share an incredible resource for your gut health below!
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Today's Top Beats |
🌟 GI Nurses Week
↪️ CDC Lead Nomination Withdrawn
🕵️♀️ Airport Disease Detectives
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HANDOFF |
Health Systems’ Non-Profit Status in Jeopardy |
A chief challenge for health systems this year is legislative efforts that could revoke the non-profit status of many hospitals. Beyond missing out on tax exemptions, losing non-profit status would prevent health systems from receiving donations that support nursing education, disrupt student loan forgiveness for healthcare workers, and shift priorities from community health to profits, argues RN Rose O. Sherman, a keynote speaker at the 2025 North Carolina Organization of Nurse Leaders conference. TNB attended this conference and found these considerations particularly salient for nurse leaders.
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CDC Lead Nomination Withdrawn |
The Trump administration withdrew its nomination of former Rep. Dave Weldon, MD, to lead the CDC shortly before his confirmation hearing, due to a lack of Republican support over concerns about his past vaccine skepticism (despite confirming longtime anti-vaccine activist RFK Jr. as Secretary of Health). Wheldon singled out Sens. Susan Collins and Bill Cassidy as being most responsible, though both denied his account of events. Cassidy said Weldon’s “poor response to the situation” shows he likely couldn’t handle the job.
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Airport Disease Detectives |
Did you know that the US government has disease detectives who search for major pathogens brought in from abroad? The CDC’s Traveler Genomic Surveillance Program tests airplane wastewater at four major US airports—Boston, San Francisco, New York's John F. Kennedy, and Dulles in the Washington, D.C., area—to detect infectious diseases from international travelers.
Viruses surveyed include COVID-19, influenza A and B, adenovirus, norovirus, RSV, and mpox. Weekly results are shared on a public dashboard, though the data hasn’t been updated since Feb. 17.
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TOGETHER WITH INJOY
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The Nurse's Guide to a Happy Gut |
This GI Nurses Week, become a gut health pro in 3 easy steps:
Your Gut & Heart Are BFFs 💖
A balanced gut helps reduce inflammation and regulate cholesterol—so a happy gut means a happy heart!
Fermented Foods = Gut Superheroes 🦸♀️
Yogurt, kimchi, and sauerkraut are packed with probiotics to keep your gut in check. These foods are your microbiome’s best friend.
Test Your Gut with Injoy 🔬
Injoy’s at-home Microbiome Test Kit uses 3 stool samples to give you a comprehensive
gut health report—no office visit required. Plus, it’s HSA/FSA eligible!
Use code NursingBeat15 for 15% off, and enter our Gut Health MVP giveaway for a chance to win a wellness kit. Because YOU deserve it. 🌿
Ready to level up your gut health? Let's go!
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TODAY'S TOP VITAL
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30% |
The percentage of device safety reports from manufacturers (including death reports) that missed FDA deadlines in 2019–2022. Click here to learn which three manufacturers and 13 medical devices were the most to blame.
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PRN
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MYSTERY Dx MINUTE WITH NURSE KEL |
Mystery Diagnosis Minute |
Welcome back for another round of the Mystery Diagnosis Minute! We’re going to keep going with kidney diagnoses in celebration of National Kidney Month in March. Let’s get into it!
🫘 This diagnosis is a form of vasculitis, which has characteristic granulomas that form within the kidneys and can also affect the lungs, eyes, and sinuses.
🫘 In this disease, the patient’s body creates auto-antibodies which attack normal white blood cells that cause inflammation.
🫘 Glomerular damage occurs with this disease and can become so severe that the patient ends up in kidney failure.
Think you know the answer? Click here to see if you’re right!
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Kelly McClure, MLS, BSN, RN, is a nursing school instructor for LPNs and
RNs at Ehove Career Center in northeast Ohio. She is also TNB’s resident trivia guru.
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Did you miss our last newsletter? Click here.
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‘Nursifying’ Artificial Intelligence |
Discover how AI is transforming nursing with insights from expert Jing Wang, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN.
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SUPPLY ROOM |
Off Key |
Never lose your keys again (or at least, make it harder) with this adorable customizable keychain!
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BREAK ROOM |
CPR Beats |
Kendrick Lamar recently won a Grammy for his song “Not Like Us.” According to AHA, the song’s tempo is 101 BPM, which is the perfect tempo for CPR. Now, you can save lives to this Grammy award winning song!
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