• Study Suggests That Staggered Radiologist Work Shifts Improve Patient Care

• Osteoporosis Drugs Tied to Esophageal Cancer
• Companies pile bigger share of health-care costs onto workers
• Experimental TB Test Called Fast and Accurate
• Men With Insomnia May Have Higher Death Risk

• A dying patient is not a battlefield

You've got questions? We've got answers!!

Q. I am 5"10 and always have trouble finding scrubs that are long enough. I need a scrub pant that has a 34" or longer inseam. Can you recommend one for me?

A. You came to the right place! I have selected a handful of our most popular scrub pants that come in tall sizing.

1) Starburst pant PRO4170- This pant is from our new Lydia's line and is so adorable. It can be ordered in tall with an inseam of 35". It also has roomy side cargo pockets,darted knees for greater movement and drawstring leg openings.

2) Six pocket flare pant 331- This pant made by Whitecross and come in tall with an inseam of 34 1/4". I absolutely love the puckered pockets and small detailing to add just a bit of trend to your wardrobe.

3) Barco NRG four pocket cargo pant 3207B- This pant is brand new for the Fall season and comes with a 34" inseam. It has elastic back and drawstring front and I must say that the material is extremely soft!!!

4) Daisy pant PRO4502- Need a basic drawstring pant? Than this is the perfect pant for you! It comes in a 34" inseam and has one back pocket. You can't go wrong with our new and improved Lydia's line!

5) Reversible unisex drawstring pant 7602-Looking for a pant for both the men and women in the office? This 34 1/2" inseam unisex pant is great for group orders and comes in all the basic colors.
 

Happy New Year! Start off 2010 in style with new scrubs from Lydia’s. Our Winter Catalog has so many uniforms to choose from; you’ll have no trouble finding looks to update your wardrobe with. And if you want to score some free medical scrubs, stop by later today, January’s contest will be posted this evening.

Now here’s the new from the week:  

Healthcare Professionals in the News:

• John Hopkins Nursing Explores “Nursing School 2.0”
• Exam-Room Rules: What’s in a Name?
• Bill could make it felony to assault a nurse

Health News:

• Proteins Show Promise for Ovarian Cancer Screening
• Ginkgo Doesn’t Stop Cognitive Decline
• FDA to study safety of drugs taken during pregnancy
• Tylenol Recall Expands

Blog Posts:

• 2010: The Year of the Nurse
• Are Nursing Unions Necessary
• 10 Most Famous Male Nurses in History

Have something to say? Leave a comment here.

• Call for 'fast track' recruitment of health visitors and more male school nurses
• Will Insurance Alone Cure What Ail Us?
• America Nurses Association Talks Healthcare Reform with White House Officials

• Cancer survivor provides free health care for uninsured
• FDA cracks down on ibuprofen gels
• $1.2 billion granted for electronic health records
• Parents Doubt Gardasil's Safety
• Mercury found in all fish caught in U.S.-tested streams

• Re-Engage Your Passion for Nursing
• A Nurse's View of Health Reform

A few months back I wrote a post about how easy it can be to buy medical scrubs for an office or group at Lydia’s Uniforms. Since then, we’ve been busy adding more features to make it even simpler! So let me tell you about what’s been happening and how it’s going to help your group buy medical uniforms.

We still have the all the things I told you about in my previous post: knowledgeable customer service reps, custom embroidery (with the set-up fee waived for orders over $495), group discounts and custom e-stores (think personalized login, scrubs that your company chooses and even products displayed in your colors with your logo). <-- Visit my last post on group orders for even more details about any of these things.

Now here’s what’s new:

We’ve decreased the minimum order size for group discounts and the discounts are available all day every day! Get your group to order just $200 worth of medical scrubs and you’ll receive $25 off. Have an order of $350? That means $50 off. And an order of $500 or more means you’ll get $75 off! I know it wouldn’t take much for a group of my friends to spend $200-$500 on work clothes and I bet that’s the case for you as well.

Lydia’s has also added a payroll deduction feature. After a quick set up, your company can make shopping easy for employees by deducting their medical uniform purchases right from their paychecks. Employees can buy scrubs without a hassle and the result is a staff that looks professional and put together. Everybody wins!

And as always we have tons of scrubs that are great for groups. Whether you’re looking for stylish uniforms, men’s nursing scrubs or just affordable uniforms that will fit your budget there’s something for everyone. Need a recommendation? Call us at 1.800.293.7721, email us, live chat or even leave a comment and we’ll be happy to help. Or if you want my personal recommendation, click here.

Now stop reading this, go get your group together and save some money on your scrub uniforms!
 
Or if you have something to say, leave a comment here.
 

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.

Happy Friday everyone. With only 8 days left in the month, time is running out to enter January’s Editor @ Large Contest. It only takes a minute to leave a comment and tell me about the colors of your dress code and that’s all you have to do to enter for your chance to win a $50 gift certificate to Lydia’s Uniforms. Click here to enter now. The end of the month also means that Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching. We’re celebrating by offering you 20% off on all of our Valentine’s Day prints. This sale will last ‘til Monday so get your heartwarming nursing scrubs soon!

Now here’s the news from the week:

Healthcare Professionals in the News:

• What the Public Expects of the Modern Physician
• Shriners Staffers Sad, Angry at Plan to Close
• Doctor and Patient- Building a Healthy Community, One Child at a Time
• Hospital Cleaning Products And Disinfectants Boost Nurses' Asthma Risk

Health News:

• FDA OKs first Embryonic Stem Cell Trial
• Cleaner Air Extending Lives, Study Shows
• FDA Confirms Peanut Corp as Source of Salmonella
• Men vs. Women in the Weight Loss Game
• Trying a Pill to Prevent HIV
• US Heart Attacks Becoming Less Severe
• MRSA rising in kids' ear, nose, throat infections

Blog Posts:

• Where Should Money for Primary Care Come From?
• How Does Your Workplace Treat RN Travelers?
• Forced Overtime Outlawed in Pennsylvania
• Tele-Nursing Follow Up Valuable

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.

Earlier this month Lydia’s employees worked together to give back to the community by making a large donation of food and personal care items to a local organization. I was extremely impressed with everyone’s response and the huge collection of items that were donated. Giving is as much a part of the holiday season as receiving and it’s great to see Lydia’s employees doing their part.

I talked with my co-worker Natacha who was largely responsible for organizing the holiday food drive; she told me more about what was donated and who the donations will go to:

What organization was the food drive for/ who will benefit from the goods that were donated?
We donated to Mel Trotter Ministries.  Mel Trotter provides shelter, food, clothing, education, biblical studies, computer-based learning, and work training and experience for men and women in need throughout our community. To help those with drug and alcohol addictions, they also offer a state-licensed substance abuse recovery program. Last year thanks to local donations they were able to provide:

• Over 289,000 meals
• More than 950 holiday food boxes
• 6,192 daily food boxes containing over 130,000 meals
• 13,699 daily food bags
• Over 1,500 Thanksgiving dinners for the homeless and working poor

What types of goods were donated by Lydia’s employees?
All non perishable foods were donated, mostly canned fruits and vegetables, oatmeal, pasta/sauce, macaroni and cheese, crackers, peanut butter, tuna, rice and mashed potatoes.  Also many personal care items were donated, such as shampoo, conditioner, hair accessories, deodorant, and toothpaste.  Many people also brought in gently used coats, clothes, and shoes as well as toys. As a company we were also able to donate thousands of new shirts, pants, jackets.
   
Was there a positive response to the drive/ approximately how much was donated?
There was an amazing response! I was so impressed by everyone’s support and willingness to give. I know how hard the economy has been on everyone this year and the fact that people gave so much, even though they have very little, really showed me how generous our co-workers are!! They continued to impress me throughout the 2 weeks the food drive ran. We were able to send around 20 boxes of food and countless boxes of clothes and personal care items.  When Mel trotter came here to pick it up, our donation filled their entire truck!

Does Lydia’s do an annual food drive or was this the beginning of a new tradition?
We donate clothing throughout the year to other charities, but this year was our first food drive. I hope to continue it for years to come!

Did you and your co-workers do anything special to give back this holiday season? If so I would love to hear what you did. Leave a comment here and share your story.

Are there any men who wear medical scrubs reading today? If there are, today’s post is for you- a post entirely devoted to men’s nursing scrubs.

Now, it’s true that men’s nursing uniforms don’t come in as many styles and patterns as women’s. For some of you that’s fine, it’s actually perfect. Less variety means that when you buy medical scrubs it doesn’t require as much thought. When you’re pulling a pair out of your dresser in the morning you don’t really have to choose what to wear, they’re all fairly similar. But then there are those of you who love variety. You don’t want to look the same at work every day and you would like if your men’s nursing scrubs were a little bit different from all the other scrubs at work. So if you’re in the latter group I’ve got a few tips on how you can add a touch of style and personalization to your medical uniforms. And if you have additional tips, leave a comment.

One easy trick is to use layers and colors to accentuate your style. Back in August Rachel posted about a medical professional who wore contrasting color tees under his medical scrubs. We both loved this idea. Check out her post to see a picture of him wearing chocolate and lime green. It’s a color combination that you might not think of, but it looks great when you see it! If you want more subtle contrast try different shades of the same color, like a ceil blue scrub top with a navy tee underneath. Mix and match colors from your closet and you might discover that an unexpected combination of colors actually works well.

You can also play with colors without wearing layers. Why not wear a neutral shade of scrub pants like khaki with a maroon top? It’ll change up your look a bit, but you’ll still have a uniform style. Plus, mixing and matching means that you’ll multiply the number of looks you have.

A third way to add style is to personalize your look with embroidery. Embroidery is subtle, but it shows that you really care about your look. Add your name and an emblem that shows off your personality to your medical coat or scrub top and you’ll instantly have a one of a kind uniform. 

So how do you wear your men’s nursing scrubs? Do you keep it simple or do you mix it up with colors, layers and personalized touches? If you have more ways to add style to men’s nursing scrubs, leave a comment and share it with our readers!

Everything Happens for a Reason by Jaclyn Hall

Colt was a six week old male Boxer puppy who was brought into the clinic by his breeder to be euthanized.  He was underweight, under-developed, and appeared to have some severe neurological issues.  He was about 1/4 of the size that a Boxer pup of this age should be.  His head was dome-shaped and completely disproportionate to the rest of his body.  He struggled to keep his head up and was wobbly on his legs.

We all took pity on this poor little guy and talked his breeder into relinquishing him to the clinic so that we could get some much needed nutrients in him and do some diagnostics to figure out exactly what was going on with him.  If at all possible, we would then nurse him back to health and adopt him out.  The breeder agreed after some coaxing and all legal documents were drawn up and signed. 
 
Immediately following all the logistics of relinquishment, we began syringe-feeding him a high-fat, high-calorie diet every hour on the hour, as he wasn't eating on his own.  His blood work came back normal, but a skull rad revealed an unfortunate truth... this little pup was suffering from hydrocephalus.

Hydrocephalus, or water on the brain, is a sad condition which spans across all the breeds, as well as all species (don't ask me about it's effects on people as all my patients have either four feet or feathers).  This diagnosis is not a death sentence in the least, although it does cause severe mental retardation - and therefore - a very special owner.
       
We kept the wobbly pup safe in a kitten condo with padding on all sides.  He required round-the-clock care and so at night when the clinic closed and on weekends, my now soon-to-be-husband (also with veterinary experience) and I cared for him at our home to ensure Colt had the best chance for survival.  We took turns feeding him through the night and cleaning up his frequent 'whoopsies' which were often used as paw-paint throughout his padded kennel.
     
Slowly and steadily, but not without the occasional speed bump', Colt proved to be strong enough and brave enough to make an outstanding recovery.  His weight increased and with the proper nutrition, his natural hunger drive began.  He no longer had to be syringe-fed and with that caught on to the idea that he didn't want to soil where he slept.  He began walking on his own, still with a slight wobble, but with enough neck muscles to hold his head up.  He began growling and playing with the toys we had gotten him, and he even began doing the classic Boxer butt-wag.  We were now faced with an encouraging realization... Colt was actually happy and healthy enough to be adopted!!
      
It was terribly sad to see him go, seeing that we had spent so much time caring for him.  He had become a big part of out hearts while on the other hand it was unbelievable gratifying to know that we aided in his great success and ultimate survival.  My fiancé and I contemplated making him a true member of our family; however our pet situation at that time would not have been the best situation for Colt.  We just would not have been able to continue giving him all the attention he would require as he grew into the adult dog we worked so hard to get him to become.
     
With the help of a local rescue organization, all of us at the clinic, and of course my fiancé; we were able to find this sweet little boy an absolutely wonderful forever home.  His new family had a 3 year old female Boxer that took Colt under her wing and showed him the ropes.  She watched him like a hawk and would rush to his side anytime she thought he needed assistance.  It was amazing!  An assistive dog for a dog!  It was the sweetest and cutest thing to see - truly endearing and awe-inspiring.
       
Colt is now 3 years old and doing great!  He still has
a slight wobble, and often uses people, and his older Boxer sister for support.  His hydrocephalus is till present, but he was able to grow more into his head.  He remains intact as there are several anesthesia risks associated with his disorder.  Despite the fact that his family lives far away from me, they do let
me see him from time to time.  This pic was taken
of him and me on his third birthday earlier this summer.  As you can see, he appears to be very normal and healthy.  Though he does suffer from seizures as well as retardation, he is still extremely happy, healthy, and content.
      
Being given the opportunity to be a part of this fur-kids life is a constant reminder of why I do the work I do.  Despite the fact that not every patient is happy to see me nor easy to work with, and the majority of our patients are sad, sick, and only masking the pain to appease their owners, at the end of the day they go home and they feel better.  That to me is the most gratifying feeling in the world. 
      
Colt knows that he was saved and his personality reflects that knowledge.  He is always ready and willing to be a part of the fun things life has to offer and always wants in on the action.  I understand that he has successfully finished his training to become a therapy dog and frequents Children's Hospital on a weekly basis.  His Mom states that the children are so fascinated with a dog that has physical and mental challenges - proving that he makes a positive impact on their lives.  This just goes to show us that everything does happen for a reason and that Colt has found his reason.