Party Like a Nurse

  Today is the 105th anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake that pretty much leveled and burned the city to the ground.
However, one of the aftermaths of that disaster was the establishment of one of the oldest nursing schools in the country at UCSF. With a proud history of graduate and research nursing that has lasted through two world wars, financial meltdowns and political fighting, it helped make nursing a respectable occupation.

The flip side:

Advance for Nurses is a company dedicated to making and selling products to nurses and health care professionals. Yet, they play right into spreading the stereotype of being the good time party nurse. Thanks for spreading the professional image and making a buck off us at the same time.

Local Media Hype

First, let me say that what happened in Japan was horribly sad and people should help if they can.

I don't understand the local media; although you would think living in the Midwest I would be immune to all the hype they portray. It was kind of a strange phenomenon that we used to joke about at work, and any chance a TV stations got they would break away from programming to tell us about a thunder or snow storm. Even if there wasn't a tornado, but conditions were ripe for one, it was like the start of the Apocalypse with their maps, radar and news trucks.

However, most people would continue golfing, fishing or gardening until trees started to fall around them, because this was the upper Midwest and conditions were always ripe for bad weather. It's kind of like saying it might be overcast and misty in Seattle, newsflash it's always overcast and misty in Seattle.

So today I witnessed this type of reporting here in the Bay Area. The media is like that friend who wants to make everything about them or put a local twist on it. Most people know of Chinatown, with the largest Chinese community outside of Asia, but there is also Japantown. In fact over 30 percent of the city of San Francisco is made up of Asian people. So instead of reporting about what was going on in Japan they had to tie-in some local hardships.

From their news helicopters and vans they showed the marina with the boats getting tossed around, but then not being dramatic or emotional enough someone must've decided it was a good idea to take their vans to Japantown and find distraught relatives. It was sad, instead of preying on those hurting how about telling us what we can do to help.

No wonder people feel depressed after watching the news.

 

Japantown (sfcitizen.com)

Alcatraz and Mom

One week seems to be the right amount of time for a visit from my mother, just wish it was not during the second week of classes. Actually, I don't care it was only a week and she comes first.
I also realized she is in good shape, anyone who has ever walked the streets of San Francisco knows they are no easy task, but she kept going. We walked and ate outside everyday, and why not she had come from Minnesota and we were having temps in the 60's with sunshine everyday.
The good thing about having different people visiting is that they make you do the things you would not normally do when living in that same area.
Maybe I'm getting more mature, because spending a few hours walking around Alcatraz with my mother and never once did I think of funny thoughts about her being at a federal prison, well almost never.

The side you don't normally see



Work for San Francisco Bay Area New Grad Nurses

    As an experienced registered nurse I have met so many new grad nurses who are complaining about not being able to find a job in the Bay Area. The thing is most of them are stuck with the mentality that they have to work in the Bay Area, when they could go and find work in other parts of the country. Understandably some are not able to leave the area because of children or family obligations, but others only want to work here because of the money. If your in nursing for the money then you really need to look at yourself.

  I remember moving seven states away for my first nursing job and once I had a year or two of experience it was easy to get another job. Face it, the economy is not getting any better soon and thousands of nursing students are entering their final year of school, so go get that job in another state before they do. Where I work they had over a thousand application for a couple new grad positions.

   So new grad nurses there are jobs out there you just need to chase them and get the experience first and not worry about the money.  It is also a great way to see the country.