Monday | March 20, 2023

Healthcare starts with you. This is your beat.

Good morning readers!

Over the weekend, The Nursing Beat had its most viral TikTok post with over 240 thousand views. What went viral, you ask? President Joe Biden. In a recent speech, the President stated that the single most underrated profession in America is nursing. I couldn’t agree more, but what came next was a viral response from nurses demanding more than just the hero card. Hundreds of comments by nurses asked for ratios, lunch breaks, and help with student debt. 

While I agree with the President that we are underrated, I also understand the palpable frustration. One of our advisors, Taofiki Gafar-Schaner, said it best; “Congress is having a hearing on Ticketmaster because of some #TaylorSwift issues, yet we haven’t had a hearing about the surge in hospitals.”  What do you think? 

Stay safe. Be healthy. Be kind. 

Tamara AL-Yassin (aka Nurse T)

CEO | The Nursing Beat 

TODAY ON TNB'S BLOG:
Nursing Certification: My Journey to Certification and the Unexpected Support I Found Along the Way

MORNING BRIEF 🍳 ☕️

Covid-19 May Have Begun in Raccoon Dogs

An international team of scientists has discovered the strongest evidence that the Covid-19 pandemic stemmed from an infected animal being dealt with through the illegal wildlife trade. Coronavirus-positive surface swabs taken from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market shortly after Chinese authorities shut down the market in January 2020 revealed genetic material belonging to animals, including large amounts matching the common raccoon dog. 

This doesn’t necessarily mean the fluffy fox relatives passed the virus to people — just that it left genetic signatures in the same area as genetic material from the virus. Chinese scientists had previously released a study using February 2022 samples and concluded the positive samples found suggested the virus had come from people shopping or working in the market. But other researchers mining the data pinpointed coronavirus-positive samples from a specific stall in the market that contained caged raccoon dogs on top of a separate cage holding birds.

Beware the Rise in Babesiosis

Babesiosis is not some new infection spreading among America’s babies. Instead, it’s a rare disease caused by the Babesia parasite, carried by black-legged ticks (deer ticks) in the northeastern and midwestern US. And cases of babesiosis have risen 25% from 2011–2019, according to the CDC. As a result, the agency has now placed Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire on the list of babesiosis-endemic states, joining Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

Sometimes asymptomatic, the disease can cause fever, headaches, muscle pain, joint pain, and other symptoms. The CDC suspects cases may be rising due to milder winters, which allow ticks to stay active year-round. Cover your skin with long sleeves and pants to avoid tick bites, and spray any exposed skin with repellent. Take off your clothes before heading indoors and throw them into the dryer on high heat for a few minutes. 

Major Insulin Manufacturers Cap Out-of-Pocket Costs

With the Inflation Reduction Act, out-of-pocket insulin costs for seniors on Medicare were capped at $35 per month. But the act didn’t help insulin users under the age of 65. So Sanofi has now announced it will cap the price of its most popular insulin, Lantus, at $35 per month for people with private insurance. This move comes after two other manufacturers — Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk — announced similar changes earlier this month. The three drugmakers make up about 90% of the US insulin market. 

Sanofi further announced changes that will benefit people with high deductibles: it’s lowering the list price of Lantus by 78% and its short-acting insulin Apidra by 70%. These positive changes may, in part, be due to the efforts of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who urged the CEO of Sanofi to lower its insulin costs following price reductions from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.

COMMUNITY PICKS 🌼 

🧑‍💻 THAT REMOTE LIFE powered by

How to Stay Physically Active as a Remote Nurse

One of the biggest challenges new remote nurses cite is staying active in a significantly less physically strenuous role. Choosing the best strategy to help you incorporate daily movement is the trick to staying active when you have a desk job. 

Tips:

• Take mini-movement breaks

• Incorporate desk stretches

• Try a standing desk or under-desk treadmill

• Make the most of your lunch break

• Pack your gym bag (Prepare ahead of time to head out to the gym)

• Walk while on the phone

No matter your remote nursing role, maximizing your movement and staying active working from home is possible. Find activities you enjoy and work them into your day wherever possible. Staying active as a remote nurse comes with challenges, but the freedom and stress reduction you get from remote nursing makes it all worth it. Read more about incorporating daily movement into your remote work day 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.

🧭 MAP OF THE MODERN NURSE powered by

Energy Assessment 

For those who have experienced trauma, it can be difficult to navigate the stress of everyday life and stay in your optimal zone of emotional functioning. An Energy Assessment can help you navigate simple to complex decisions, connect with your intuitive self and align your life with your core desired feelings. Completing an Energy Assessment when making decisions helps to build resilience, foster self-trust and create safety in your body. 

Ask yourself, is this commitment:

• Energy Preserving

• Energy Renewing 

• Energy Depleting

Take it a step further by asking yourself, “Do I have the space for this? And if so, at what capacity? What is this commitment costing me?” Completing an Energy Assessment brings awareness to your Window of Tolerance and honors what is needed to remain at an optimal level of emotional functioning.

For more on energy assessment and tapping into your core desired feelings and science of safety, visit our website and follow us on Instagram.

DAILY DIVERSION 💊

If you’re recently out of a relationship, double-check your shared internet accounts, such as Amazon and YouTube. They could open the door to digital harassment. Case in point: a psychiatric nurse practitioner has taunted his ex by playing music on her Alexa audio device connected to his Amazon account.

🤯 ONE BIG NUMBER

Thanks for reading! 🤓