• Shortage of doctors could damage healthcare reform
• New York State Senate Passes Nursing Care Quality Protection Act
• The 'problem with nurses' is a problem with healthcare
• Docs, nurses use and recommend diet supplements
• Nurses Call On Rep. Miller To Support Amendment Allowing States To Enact Single-Payer Health Reform

• New Hope for Fixing Broken Hearts
• Poll Still Finds Public Support for Health-Care Reform
• Parental Stress Boosts Kids’ Asthma Risk
• Kids’ lower IQ scores linked to prenatal pollution
• FDA Urges Consumers Not to Purchase or Use Certain Gel-Filled Teethers
•  

• International Nurses Day Chance To Improve Conditions For Health Workers In Developing Countries, Opinion Piece Says
• One Doctor's Quest to Cut Unneeded Treatments
• In patients' hunt for care, doctor database a place to start
• Nurses in Washington Fight for Medicare
• Virtual Doctor Visits Satisfactory for both Patients and Physicians

• Senators open to compromise on healthcare revamp
• New Study Data Indicates Long-Term Defibrillator
• Ginger may help chemo patients with nausea
• US now has 4700 cases of new swine flu- CDC

• National Nurses Week Ends- What Now?
• Calling out the near miss

Congratulations to Mary, the winner of January’s Editor @ Large Contest. When I contacted Mary to tell her about her win she shared a little bit about herself and her job. Keep reading to find out more about her.

Mary earned her M.D. and is now doing her residency, working towards a specialty in Emergency Medicine. She’s employed at one of the largest public inner city hospitals in the country and she described her position in detail,
“I am blessed to get the opportunity to care for a variety of people that have very few options with little to no access to routine healthcare including:  individuals who are indigent, homeless, incarcerated, low income and undocumented.  This special population of people due to factors such as substance abuse, mental health issues, little to no previous medical care, environmental factors, cultural beliefs and lack of knowledge   present with a multitude of disease processes not commonly seen in any other setting.  The care of this population brings with it a need for a unique and exceptional learning experience that when my training is complete will allow me to work anywhere and be adequately prepared. In 5 short months my training will be complete and I will assume a role in a yet to be determined location as your run of the mill ‘ER doctor’ yet my training and residency experiences have taken me to a level that makes me not so run of the mill.”

For the contest, we asked you, our customers, to describe the colors required by your work dress code and here’s Mary’s winning comment:

“I am a senior resident in the Emergency Department of a large urban public hospital. We have no specified dress code, yet most of my colleagues have adhered to an unspoken tradition of wearing either the scrubs provided to us from the hospital or solid navy or black traditional unisex scrubs almost always embroidered with their title. The amusing thing is that the hospital scrubs are color-coded depending on size. Therefore, when these are worn everyone knows exactly what size you are wearing. The XL scrubs, the size many of the males wear, are pink. Despite my adherence to said tradition and often adding a lab coat, I had a difficult time conveying my role as the physician to patients. It is clear that my sex will always foreshadow any other role-identifying label including nametag, lab coat and uniform. Having recognized this fact, I have chosen to break tradition and become much more creative with my uniforms. I have now started wearing styles that are more fashionable and fun. The amazing thing is I now connect better with patients and gain their trust much more easily despite the new scrubs.”

As our winner she’ll be receiving a $50 gift certificate which she can use towards hospital scrubs, medical coats or whatever else she’s had her eye on at Lydia’s Uniforms. Mary mentioned that Dickies Everyday scrubs are her favorite, so maybe a new pair will be going into her shopping cart soon.

If you want to be our next winner, click here to enter.

If you’re responsible for buying medical scrubs for your office, or if you want to get a group of co-workers and friends together to place your order, Lydia’s Uniforms has some options to make the job a little bit easier for you. We don’t want you to get stressed out about something as simple as buying scrubs so we’ve done everything we can to make the process as effortless as possible.

So here’s how it works: When ordering for a large office or group you’ll be speaking with someone from our team of Customer Service Representatives who will handle your order. All of our Customer Service Reps have tons of knowledge about our products and the group ordering process so they'll be very helpful and able to answer any of your questions. If you would like a custom logo embroidered onto your medical coats and apparel scrubs they’ll help you arrange that and Lydia’s will even waive the $95 set-up fee if you’re placing an order of $495 or more. I personally think logos are a great addition to a lab coat or scrub top, but some people prefer their uniform without; it’s all up to you whether you want one or not! Plus, if you’re placing an order over $500 we do offer group discounts so you’ll be able to save a little money when you order for everyone at once. If you want to order discount medical uniforms for everyone in the office it will be easy to arrange or if everyone will be picking out their own stylish medical scrubs that’s not a problem either. So in short, Lydia's will make the process simple and save you some money in the process, which sounds good to me and hopefully to you as well.

Another awesome feature that we have for large groups is that we can create a custom e-store for you. We’ll fill the store with the scrubs that you choose, in your colors. Just by logging in you’ll have access to a store that’s customized to your employees’ specific needs.

So if you’re responsible for all the ordering at your office, let us help you out a bit. If the custom e-store sounds like a good plan to you click here to sign-up! Otherwise the best way to get started with your order is by calling 1.800.293.7721. You’ll talk to a Lydia’s employee who can answer all your questions and in the future ordering for your group will be a breeze.

Have something to say? Leave a comment here.

In the latest Lydia’s catalog we introduced a new line of lab coats: MedCouture Lab Coats by Peaches. These new products have a set of unique attributes that set them apart from your standard medical coat, so I thought I would share a little bit about them with you. One cool thing about these lab coats is that they feature anti-bacterial surfaces. A new technology called BioSmart binds Chlorine to them, which then destroys bacteria and viruses (including Salmonella, E. coli, Staph and Hepatitis A) on contact.

In addition to the innovative technology of BioSmart these medical coats are also stylish; they come in very sleek, professional and tailored looks for men and women. Plus there are different styles to choose from so you’ll definitely be able to find one that suits your personal taste.   

So if you’ve been looking for a new lab coat to top off your medical uniform MedCouture could be the brand to try. If you do purchase one, leave a comment and share your opinion of it. Or if you already own one I would love to hear what you think about it.

The holiday season is here and we want to wish you Happy Holidays by offering you two chances to win free medical clothing uniforms from Lydia’s. Tons of new designer medical scrubs, lab coats and medical supplies will be available soon in our new catalog and on the web site so now is the perfect time to win a Lydia's gift certificate.

Enter our Holiday 2008 Photo Contest and you could win a $100 gift certificate or enter our Editor @ Large Contest and you could win a $50 gift certificate; enter both and double your chances of winning free scrubs!

To enter our Holiday 2008 Photo Contest all you have to do is click here and send us a picture of you in your holiday medical scrubs. I’m excited to see all of your photos so I hope you take the time to enter. The contest ends on January 7th, 2009 so get your camera out this week at work.

To enter the December Editor @ Large Contest just share a funny work story. Visit my blog post here to read all the details and enter now.

Good luck to all who enter; I can’t wait to see your pictures and read your stories.

I’m excited to tell you about a new section of our web site. Just today we added a Lydia’s Uniforms Plus Size Scrub store. You can view medical clothing uniforms, scrubs and lab coats from all your favorite brands in sizes 2XL-5XL. Finding the right fit is one of the most important (and sometimes difficult!) things about shopping. I personally like shopping online just because I don’t have to sift through racks and piles of clothing trying to find the size I’m looking for. With our new plus size scrub store we want to make it easier for you to find exactly what you need.

To visit the main page of our new store, go here; click on the different homepage tabs to see our favorite trends, popular basics and featured Cherokee Scrubs.  Or click here and you’ll be taken to all of our plus size scrubs sorted by brand. Browse through them to find something you like or click on any of the brands and you’ll be able to view medical scrubs by size.

So next time your shopping, check out this new section of our site. If there’s something you love about it (or something you don’t), leave a comment here and let us know what you think.

Your medical scrubs and lab coats aren’t the only part of your look that your patients are paying attention to. Tattoos can be a significant part of one’s appearance, which makes it hard not to wonder what effect they have on patients’ perceptions of their caretakers. This article from NurseConnect.com looks at how tattoos relate to professionalism and what some hospitals are doing about it.

If you have an opinion on this topic, leave a comment when you’re done reading.

Do Tattoos Reflect Professionalism?
By Debra Wood, RN, contributor at NurseConnect.com

Art and beauty may lie in the eyes of the beholder, but some hospitals are requiring nurses to cover all tattoos and other body art in case patients don’t find them beautiful or professional.

“They are concerned about what consumers will think, and whether they want people to care for them with visible tattoos or body piercings,” said Myrna Armstrong, RN, EdD, FAAN, professor and RN-BSN director at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, whose research interest is body art: tattooing, body piercing and branding.

There is no current research that clearly identifies patients’ perceptions of nurses with body art, but there appears to be generational differences. General indications suggest that older adults frown on tattoos and young people are more supportive, Armstrong said. She added that 25 percent of 18 to 30 year olds have tattoos and 32 to 50 percent have body piercings, somewhere other than an earlobe.

Nurses are currently required to cover up their tattoos at many leading hospitals, such as St. Mark’s Hospital in Salt Lake City; Florida Hospital Memorial System in Ormond Beach, Florida; Children’s Health System in Birmingham, Alabama; and Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

“When you walk into a room as a stranger, you have to build rapport and a sense of trust,” says Nancy M. Albert, Ph.D., RN, director of nursing research and innovation at the Cleveland Clinic. “A tattoo or piercing is another sign of a cultural difference or being hip. The perception is not professional.”

Albert added that walking in with a tattoo gives the impression the nurse is not taking the position seriously. She said nurses at the clinic have not voiced opposition to the policy.

That’s not the case at the Seton Family of Hospitals in Austin, Texas, which is considering a dress code that requires nurses to cover body art. Some nurses object.

“We are moving to a policy that addresses professional appearance and demeanor,” said Yvonne VanDyke, RN, MSN, vice president for nursing education, nursing practice and research at Seton. “The core of what this is about is decreasing anxiety the patient or families might have in the patient?nurse interaction.”

VanDyke acknowledges that body art and piercings are popular, yet patients may not view it the same way as the person with the tattoo. Seton is discussing the proposed policies with staff and hopes to implement or phase in a policy starting in January 2009.

Armstrong said that many nurses have tattoos in locations that are not on display, but in some settings, such as working with adolescents or on a mental-health unit, a visible tattoo might help in establishing relationships with clients.

Nurses working in facilities that ban visible body art may wear long sleeves to cover tattoos. But if it is on the face or hands, they may need to wear a bandage. Armstrong expects nurses with visible tattoos likely would not be hired in the first place.

Although external, Armstrong said that people get body art for to feel special or unique. She said there is still a backlash?internal reasons toward women with tattoos.

“People who have them have made the decision for themselves,” Armstrong said.

In addition to requiring nurses to cover tattoos and piercings, the Seton system plans to introduce standard colored uniforms for nurses as part of the dress code, so that patients, visitors, physicians and staff can identify them more easily.
Which color is ultimately chosen might also rest on the public’s perception of which is more professional.

Albert has researched patients’ responses to different uniforms. Nurses at the Cleveland Clinic wear white and, Albert said, most are happy with it. Her research showed that patients age 45 and older thought white was more professional. Older patients, age 70 to 100 years, also believed that fitted, white uniforms reflected professionalism more than scrubs.

Seton officials have not made a decision yet about the proposed dress code.

“We want to make sure nurses’ ability to carry out their role is not compromised by a patients’ anxiety or lack of confidence in them,” VanDyke said. “This will help the nurse in many ways.” ■

Have something to say about this article? Leave a comment here.

To read more nurse related articles visit NurseConnect.com.

P.S. Don’t forget to enter for your chance to win a $50 gift certificate to Lydia’s Uniforms! Click here to enter now, it only takes a minute.

Last week I received an e-mail from my mom inquiring about what I wanted for Christmas. After thinking about it for a week I realized that I have no idea.

If you’re in the same boat, I have one suggestion: make a wishlist, pass it on. Visit your favorite web sites, places where you normally purchase all the things you want and need and make wishlists on them. Share them with anyone who wants to know what you would like for Christmas. At Lydia’s, making a wishlist is simple. If you see a pair of hospital scrubs or a lab coat that you like, simply click on the Add Wishlist button (see picture below). Once your wishlist is complete you can e-mail it to anyone who might be wondering what you would like for Christmas. This is the perfect chance to score a pair of the designer nursing scrubs you’ve been eyeing, so go ahead and make your list.

If your wishlist is already made, but you’re still looking for gifts for others, don’t forget that we now offer gift certificates at Lydia’s Uniforms. They’re perfect for co-workers or other friends or family members who wear medical scrubs.

Visit our site to start making your wishlist now or click here to purchase a gift certificate for your favorite healthcare professional.


Have something to say? Leave a comment here.

 

In recognition of National Dental Hygiene Month I would like to shine the spotlight on one of our valued customers, Judy. Judy is a Registered Dental Hygienist Alternative Practice; she provides services to patients in long-term care facilities. I interviewed Judy about her career and found out that it’s a tough, but rewarding job. Here’s what she had to say:

What factors influenced your decision to become a Registered Dental Hygienist Alternative Practice? 
I have been a dental hygienist for over 26 years and the last 2 years practicing as an RDHAP. This has allowed me freedom to practice preventive hygiene care to patients who have little or no access to dental care, to serve the underserved.

What type of schooling is required to become a Registered Dental Hygienist?
A dental hygiene education is a minimum of 2 years, but it can be a long as 4 years. A 2 year program offers a diploma, certificate, or associate degree.  A four year program offers a baccalaureate degree. There are some schools that offer Master's degrees for those interested in education, research, or administration.  An accredited dental hygiene program requires an average of 1,948 clock hours of curriculum. This includes 585 clock hours of supervised clinical dental hygiene instruction.  For a list of all dental hygiene programs in the country you can utilize the American Dental Hygienists' Association website.

As an RDHAP working with patients in long term care, what does your job consist of? 
Every day is varied. I try to stay flexible with the resident patients, the nursing staff, and all the adjunct support staff. I usually have a list of residents to see, but sometimes it is not a good time to visit...sometimes they are in the beauty shop having their hair done, or they are in the shower room, or physical therapy, or in activities. Heaven forbid we disrupt a hot game of Bingo!  Each patient that is seen, their facility chart is checked for their current medical and drug status. I then will see the resident in their room, in their bed, wheelchair, or reclining chair. Complete an intra and extra oral assessment. Chart missing, decayed, broken teeth. Complete a periodontal assessment; perform preventive hygiene services as necessary such as scaling, root planing, and applying fluoride. I try to adapt toothbrushes, and other intra-oral aids for ease of use of the resident or for the staff or family members that may be assisting the resident in their oral care. Then the charts are completed and equipment is packed and moved to the next room. At the end of the day a Resident Oral Health Needs Assessment form is filled out for the residents that are seen on that day. This form addresses the acute needs, suspicious oral lesions, denture concerns that will need the attention of the facility's dentist.

Some days I do an inservice for the nursing staff or an informational evening with resident's family members. I am a speaker that promotes and provides education on prevention of oral health diseases and total health to the public, special needs and senior caregivers, other professionals, and government agencies.

What are the things you love about your job and what makes your job difficult?
I love the people! Everyone has a story to tell. Most all my patients are thankful for the services I provide, and it is rewarding to see the improvement in my patient's oral health and the improved self esteem they have.

What makes my job difficult is the long hours. Takes about an hour to pack my supplies for the day and load my car. It is a set-up time of approximately 15 minutes before seeing a resident, and a tear-down time of about 20 minutes before I can move on to another resident's room. Upon the return to my home-office it is time to unpack, clean, sterilize instruments and equipment and pack up my mobile cart again. Then there is the paperwork and billing insurance and Denti-Cal. Each resident seen takes about one hour of clinical time and the same in preparation and completion of paperwork and equipment maintenance. 

Is there a dress code at your place of employment? If so, what is it? If not what do you wear on an average day? Do you have a favorite medical uniform? 
No dress code, when seeing residents I wear single color scrubs, with a white lab coat with my name embroidered on it. I love Landau Scrubs especially the pull-on pants. I think I have all the colors!  When meeting with the public or giving an inservice I usually wear nice street clothes with my lab coat.

Will you be doing anything specific to participate in National Dental Hygiene Month 2008?
Yes, on October 30th my local dental hygiene society along with dental hygiene students will be having a "Sugarless Shack" at a market night. We will have stuffed "goody bags" with sugarless treats, toothpaste and toothbrushes and floss. The dental hygiene students will be demonstrating tooth brushing techniques, and some tooth fairies in costumes appear! It's a fun time for adults and children alike!

Depending on the day, I’ve been known to argue that sacrificing comfort for fashion is just necessary. I’ve worn completely inappropriate shoes for mile long walks, just because they were the perfect addition to my outfit, and this has been known to happen on more than one occasion. I’m not the only one who thinks this way, the proof is everywhere: women in dresses, mid-winter, waiting to get into night clubs; brides in elaborate wedding gowns that won’t even allow them to go to the bathroom without a three man (or woman) team; girls in high heels, taking on the descent of the four flights of stairs in their apartment building. Women everywhere are willing to give up comfort for a day of looking good. It’s not rational, but it happens, and somehow I understand.

Fortunately, there is one category of clothing, where I can honestly say that comfort never needs to be compromised for fashion. That category is, of course, medical uniforms. Any part of a medical uniform, whether it’s a lab coat, nursing scrubs or a pair of shoes, I will stand behind the statement that there are comfortable and fashionable options. And if you don’t believe me, here are a few of my favorites.



Left: L.A. Rose Keyhole Neck Scrub Top in Blueberry & Dickies Sandwashed Flare Pants in Cocoa 
Right: IguanaMed Short Sleeve Scrub Tee in Winter White & Urbane Essential Pant in Steel Grey


Left: Cherokee Flex-i-bles Callie Scrub Top & Cherokee Flex-i-bles Scrub Pants in Black
Right: Dickies Black Label Mock Wrap Scrub Top in Ceil Blue & Dickies Black Label Flat Front Flare Leg Scrub Pant in White



I personally went through all of our scrubs to find the ones that I thought had the most comfortable feel. Out of all of our scrubs the Dickies Black Label are definitely the most touchable. The Cherokee Flex-i-bles are unique because they have side insets that are stretchy and allow for easy movement. I hope you like my comfy scrub picks! And if there are any scrubs I didn't mention that you think deserve to be noticed for their high level of comfort combined with fashionable style, leave a comment and share your opinions!

If you haven’t already heard: the Lydia’s Win Your Wishlist Contest is back (I love being the bearer of good news)! Just in time for fall we’re giving you the chance to score $250 of stylish uniforms.  Entering is extremely simple. Whether you’re looking for men’s nursing scrubs, medical supplies or a new lab coat, just login to your Lydia’s Uniforms account, find your favorite items and add them to your wishlist. You have until August 31st to create your wishlist and I’ll be announcing the winner the following week.

                  

To read all the official rules and details of the contest click here. And if you happen to know where I can score my own free work clothes just by browsing an online store, let me know!

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you enjoyed reading about everything from spacious nurse uniforms to designer medical scrubs this week.  I love how there are so many new things for me to write about now that the stylish scrubs for fall have arrived. Who knows what I’ll find to write about next week.

Now, taking a break from medical uniforms (just for a minute), here are some news stories from the week that you might find interesting:

Healthcare Professionals in the News:

• New nurses need criminal record check
• Dental Care Shortages, Reimbursements Need To Be Addressed In Health Policy Debate, Experts Say
• GenVec receives funding for foot-and-mouth vaccine program
• Most Generalists Reluctant To Provide Primary Care For Young Adults With Chronic Illness
• Doctors’ opposition to home nursing riles midwives, moms
• As Doctors Cater to Looks, Skin Patients Wait

Health News:

• Experimental Alzheimer’s drug shows early promise
• Pre-pregnancy diabetes tied to more birth defects
• Artificial pancreas just years away, experts say
• Does Bush proposal threaten access to the pill?
• L.A.: No new fast-food outlets in poor area

Opinion Piece:

• PRICE: Transforming health care

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, and if you’re planning on purchasing any apparel scrubs, lab coats or medical supplies in the next few days I suggest you keep an eye on your e-mail for an opportunity to save a little cash when you do.

Sometimes you can’t help but get a little dirty at work and for certain professions in the medical field; it’s just part of the job. My job isn’t all that dirty; so I can only imagine the complications of keeping a white lab coat white, or what it takes to keep your favorite well worn hospital scrubs looking clean and professional. But what I imagine is that it’s probably not easy.

So since you probably don’t want to buy a new lab coat every time you get a stain, and since I can’t do your laundry for you, I’m going to do the next best thing; I’m going to give you tips on how to remove some tough stains from your medical scrubs. For those of you who have been wearing medical scrubs for a long time, you probably know all these tricks and more, but for those of you who are new to hospital uniforms, lab coats or scrubs; read on.

I decided to focus on a three stains that are fairly common in general and even more widespread in the medical profession: iodine, blood and ink. I’ve used all the stain removal methods below and I can definitely say that they’re effective.

Iodine Stains
1. The first thing to know about iodine stains is that you should not wash them out with any detergent containing oxygen bleach or chlorine. These can set in the stain, which will make it even more difficult to remove.
2. Use a detergent without either of these ingredients and rub it directly on the stain.
3. Wash as usual.
4. If the stain persists, mix one tablespoon of sodium thiosulfate with warm water.
5. Blot the stain.
6. Wash again.

Blood & Ink Stains
1. If the stain has dried, first soak in water for 10-20 minutes.
2. Apply hydrogen peroxide to the stain. When it reacts with the blood or ink it will begin to bubble.
3. Let it sit for a few minutes.
4. Rub away the stain.
5. Rinse with cold water.
6. Repeat as necessary.
7. Wash as usual.

I hope that these tips help you keep your lab coats and scrubs from Lydia's looking clean, new and professional. If you have additional tips on how to keep scrubs in their best shape, leave a comment and share them with everyone! Or if you have any questions about keeping your medical uniform as clean as you can, feel free to ask.

The 4th of July is only 2 days away! I can't even believe it's already July. I haven't made any plans yet, but I hope I find something exciting to do for the holiday weekend. I doubt I'll be going to fireworks because my boyfriend isn't a fan of them, but  I'm hoping to at least get together with friends and grill out or go to the beach. We'll see what happens! What I do know is that I'll be wearing my favorite red summer dress.

So what are your plans for Friday? Will everyone be wearing their red, white and blue medical scrubs for the holiday weekend or will you be staying home and not wearing medical scrubs at all? I love these three stylish medical scrubs tops. They're perfect for the 4th, or for any day of the year really!

             
      Pro Series Snap Front Top, White Cross Mock Wrap Ruffle Top, Urbane Contrast Piping Top
  
Well, whether you're wearing nursing scrubs, lab coats or hospital scrubs at work or your staying home and relaxing in your PJs, I hope everyone has a great 4th of July!