Nurse who survived 100-foot-fall is back to work at the Mayo Clinic

In the Loop reported that, "Amber Kohnhorst was quite literally between a rock and a hard place. She'd fallen while hiking alone in Cane Beds, Arizona, landing 100 feet below the path she'd been on. Now she was lying in "a narrow, rock-walled dungeon, maybe 10 feet by 10 feet," Rochester Magazine reports. Amber, a nurse at Mayo Clinic's Rochester campus, assessed her injuries, which included a broken nose and pelvis, and a fractured back. She also assessed her supplies, which included some trail mix, an empty water bottle, and a whistle. And she assessed her overall situation. She was alone, broken and — with no cell signal — had no way to call for help."

........

"Nearly two years after the accident that nearly took her life, Amber is now doing much more than walking. She's returned to work at Mayo Clinic and tells Best Friends blog that "being a patient has made her a better nurse." The blog reports she's also resumed volunteering with two organizations close to her heart: "Can Do Canines (an organization that trains service dogs for people with various challenges) and RideAbility, which offers therapeutic horseback riding for children and adults with special needs."

Read more about Amber's remarkable journey at:
After Surviving 100-Foot Fall, Nurse is Moving Forward and Looking Up | In the Loop (mayoclinic.org)

Cheers!

Donna

Nurses and nursing students with disabilities: this webinar is for you!!! #accessinnursing

 

We're thrilled to invite you to the upcoming event hosted by the DocsWithDisabilities Initiative: "Empowering Women with Disabilities in Nursing: A Mentorship Panel."

Event Details:

Date: May 8th, 2024

Time: 3:30 - 5:00 pm EST

Moderators: Drs. Brigit Carter (AACN) and Lisa Meeks (DWDI)

Registration: Webinar Registration - Zoom

All are welcome, with captioning and ASL provided.

Join us as we extend crucial support to women with disabilities in the nursing profession through an enriching mentorship panel. Spearheaded by the Docs with Disabilities team, this event aims to provide free mentorship resources accessible to all members of the nursing community.

Event Overview:

The DocsWithDisabilities Initiative, Access in Nursing Program, and the University of Michigan Center for Disability Health and Wellness, in collaboration with various disability organizations, proudly present "Empowering Women with Disabilities in Nursing: A Mentorship Panel."

Seasoned nurses will share invaluable insights on navigating the nursing journey with a disability while addressing the unique challenges encountered by women in the field.

Funding:

This event is made possible thanks to the generous support from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR #90RTHF0005) and grant 142636 from the Ford Foundation.

We are also proud to work with our partner organizations on this event including:

AACN (American Association of Colleges of Nursing)

AHEAD (Association for Higher Education and Disability)

AMPHL (Association for Medical Professionals with Hearing Loss)

Disability Lead

Exceptional Nurse

Johns Hopkins University Disability Health Research Center

MDisability Program, Department of Family Medicine, Michigan Medicine

SMADIE (Stanford Medicine Alliance for Disability Inclusion and Equity)

UC Davis School of Medicine Center for a Diverse Healthcare Workforce

Hope you can make it.

Cheers!

Donna

Patient with spina bifida became a nursing assistant at Gillette Children's Hospital

Nick Lohmer

"Lohmer has been a Gillette employee for 17 years, but his journey through the halls of the hospital goes back to the first few months of his life.

He was born with a spine condition and knows exactly what the kids there are seeing and feeling.

“I grew up here at Gillette, I have spina bifida myself. I've had 88 surgeries as of a year ago, and not all, but a good number of them have been here at Gillette,” Lohmer said

Spending a lot of his youth at the hospital wasn't always easy, but it did give Lohmer a clear idea of how he planned to spend the rest of his life.

“I kind of always knew from a very young age, early teenage years I would say, that I knew that I wanted to be in the medical field. I wanted to be involved with helping mainly kids but people just in general, that have had similar situations to what I've been through and obviously I can relate to them in a way that other people can't,” Lohmer said.  

Now, everywhere Lohmer goes at the hospital, patients and their families stop to chat.

He is able to walk, but Lohmer’s condition has made it tougher over time. It is easier for him to get around the hospital in his wheelchair.

For patients, it provides an instant connection."

Read more at:

Gillette Children's patient becomes nursing assistant at the hospital where he 'grew up' (fox9.com)

Cheers!

Donna

Learning to live with epilepsy as a nurse in South Africa

"Registered nurse Tamara Moyo (center) shares her personal story of learning to live with epilepsy after being diagnosed in 2022 to encourage and inform others about this neurological condition, which affects one in every 100 people in South Africa, representing approximately half a million South Africans based on a total estimated population of 52 million."

“I’m telling my story in the hope that someone will find encouragement in learning to live with their epilepsy because it is not an easy road. My advice is to keep taking your medication as prescribed, get to know what triggers your epileptic seizure and keep going for regular checks with your neurologist or treating doctor because your treatment needs may change over time.”

Read more at:
 https://www.netcare.co.za/News-Hub/Articles/a-nurses-journey-learning-to-live-with-epilepsy

Epileptic nurse learns to manage her life with the condition (sowetanlive.co.za)

Cheers!

Donna

Meet Diane Bass, a deaf nurse, mentor, ASL user and support group leader!

Diane Bass, BSN

Safe 'N' Clear featured Diane Bass in an article and shared the following. "Bass encourages others to work at or join a developing a supportive community network. Bass moderates a Facebook nursing group because an instructor made the comment that, “There are no Deaf /Hard of hearing people in the nursing field.” The Facebook group is for those who are in the nursing field and have self-disclosed as being on the spectrum of deafness. Members are those with jobs in the nursing field ranging from Certified Nurse Assistant to Nurse Practitioner to PhD or DNP in nursing."

"Bass has worked with Britny Bensman with DeafMED to do first aid and blood pressure screenings for the Deaf community. Children with deafness came to Bass and Bensman and were shocked to see them in a medical field. Bass and Bensman were able to become their role models."

"For those in a comparable situation to Bass, she says, “do not accept negativity that is not based on fact. In fact, we are the proof that we can do it,” and “any seeming failure should never stop you, it only creates a new opportunity to reach the accomplishment.” We are incredibly proud to showcase Diane Bass, BSN in the Deaf Leader Series as she continues to work towards diversifying healthcare workforce to be inclusive and improve quality of healthcare for the deaf and hard of hearing communities."

Read more about Diane at: Meet Diane Bass, Deaf Nurse - Safe'N'Clear, Inc. | The Communicator™ clear face mask (safenclear.com) 

For those interested in Diane’s Facebook page, you can join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1054081404607317/

Diane can be reached at Deafhohnurses@gmail.com.

Cheers!

Donna

Living with an eating disorder as a patient and a nurse

                                                                         Natalie Rizqallah, BSN, RN, CMSRN

Natalie Rizqallah wrote, "Having an eating disorder was further complicated by my self-perceived moral responsibility as a nurse. I felt like an imposter as a nurse, educating about healthy habits, asking for help, and mental and physical health, and battling first anorexia, then bulimia in private. Over the years, I have been on multiple diets because of my desire to look like the images I was seeing on TV and on social media. Despite knowing these images were digitally altered and literally unattainable, I still felt cultural pressure to be thin and was convinced of this need by deceptive messaging and advertising. I somehow felt less than or not enough when I could not conform to the strict rules of each diet I tried which just worsened my self esteem and self image and I would start the cycle over and look for a new diet."

"Every part of my life had been infiltrated by the eating disorder. It has only been recently after I’ve started working with a dietitian that I truly understood how skilled I was (and sometimes still am) at manipulating myself. I justified and rationalized all of the reasons I couldn’t have certain meals or eat specific amounts of food. Which is why I found myself literally crying when the dietitian asked me to eat something. I cried. I found myself constantly asking her how I could know what was right and healthy for my patients but struggled so much to do the same for myself."

"Recovery is expensive. I don’t take for granted that I can afford to see a dietitian, therapist, psychiatrist, and primary care physician. But the alternative is the costs of continuously tearing your body apart and ending up in the physician’s office and the therapist seeking repair. Eating disorders can impact and invade every relationship in your life, your family, and your job if you let them. They steal your energy, sleep, and rob you of joy and living a fulfilling life. Recovery should not be a luxury or privilege, but I am grateful for the chance. The hardest part of recovery is trusting the healthy voice and the “experts” and simultaneously ignoring the disordered voice in your head that has been telling you all the reasons it was right for so many years. My recovery has reminded me what a gift it is to work as a nurse and help those who are seeking help and trusting us to help them. I am proud to be a nurse AND recovering from an eating disorder." 

Learn more at:

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/nurse-and-patient-living-eating-disorder/?fbclid=IwAR0McetImSYeYgquHYD6NEupa5LM8eV2Yc0VceK_kYB2uqk1mfMdQozhz34_aem_AW4RNdl7Usb8mJRkGJ1qWLgKPCNkcZa6Hl0eu_nD_pDa7cbhvQpeHAP23xbEFpP-hXT5KSMThNisPOHf51Igare0

https://youtu.be/mNoImbf1Kjc

Cheers!

Donna

Hannah Gerald, born with one arm, achieves her life-long dream of becoming a nurse

The biggest challenge Gerald had to overcome was being able to safely perform meticulous nursing skills.

“That was the big thing for me and my instructors. All of us had to find a way to adapt and be safe,” said Gerald. “I was born this way. I can tie my shoes and put my hair in a ponytail, drive. In general, I’ve had challenges learning to use the prosthetic and only wear it for nursing.”

Gerald conquered procedures like drawing blood early in the program. “I just really practiced a lot. Drawing blood is not the most difficult thing. Anything sterile is more difficult but that’s in general for any nursing student,” said Gerald.

Read more at:

Hannah Gerald achieves her life-long dream of becoming a nurse - Lamar University

https://www.12newsnow.com/article/news/education/nurse-born-with-one-arm-graduates-from-lamar-university-prepares-to-hit-front-lines-of-pandemic/502-d6e43431-d983-408e-99c5-00627f0a702a?fbclid=IwAR1x1vGsN0rt-OZrX7ZMszq7lre1wsOA1q5B8ah3STj9zDxBBrAZrJjIQh8

Cheers!

Donna

Hearing loss isn't stopping this student’s drive to become nurse

"Alana Douglas has a longtime goal of becoming a nurse, and even though life threw an unforeseen hurdle in her path, she’s managed to stay on course.

The Texas Woman’s junior learned in high school that she had begun losing her hearing, which she knew had the potential to impact her career choice. Her doctor told her by the time she reaches 40, she could expect to be completely deaf in her right ear and be left with only 25% hearing in her left.

With her heart set on becoming a nurse, Douglas figured then it would be best to begin preparing for a future with limited hearing. Fortunately, she found a way to do both by enrolling at Texas Woman’s, where she could pursue a degree in nursing while also taking courses in American Sign Language (ASL)."

 Read more about Alana at:

https://twu.edu/black-history-month/featured-stories/hearing-loss-cant-dash-students-drive-to-become-nurse/

Cheers!

Donna

Diane Grasso, Certified Nurse Practitioner with vision loss

 "At the age of four, I was hit in the left eye with a stick and from that day on I grew up with vision in one eye. I have never let my visual limitations dictate what I can do.

I was diagnosed with glaucoma in my right eye 15 years ago. I was so overwhelmed. I was determined it would not get my vision. I did everything the eye doctors told me to, but the eye drops were not enough. At one follow up appointment I was told I had retinal hemorrhaging. That was a devastating blow. I have had multiple surgeries attempting to lower the pressure and slow the progress of the disease, but the glaucoma continued to slowly take my vision. I always followed the treatment plan of the doctors, but the disease just would not relent. By 2021 I was told I should not drive. That was a depressing day for me. I tried to be positive, but I was getting more and more depressed. The eye doctor gave me a referral to a therapist for short term therapy which was very helpful.  

I am a nurse practitioner and because of my limited vision, I could not continue seeing my patients. My employer has been exceptionally accommodating and I moved into a triage nurse position. The office manager has always made it possible to get any of the adaptive equipment I need to continue working.

I have been a nurse for over 30 years. Caring for others has been my life. My new position is good for me, but I want to get back to taking care of patients. I just could not sit idlily by and let my vision change take my career away from me. I decided I needed to go back to school. I want to continue providing care to others."

Read more about Diane Grasso at:

Vocational Rehabilitation Consumer Spotlight: Diane Grasso, Certified Nurse Practitioner | Mass.gov

Cheers!

Donna

Veteran embarking on new career through College of Nursing at The University of Toledo

 

Jeff Nelson knew it was time for a change.

He was drifting from desk job to desk job after a serious on-the-job injury forced him to medically resign as a deputy sheriff. These positions kept him nominally in the criminal justice field in which he’d been working for two decades, but they weren’t fulfilling.

 “I didn’t like the desk work,” Nelson said. “I wasn’t doing what I had gotten into criminal justice to do. I wanted to be hands on, and I wanted to be helping people.”

Then came a conversation with a representative of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, who suggested the disabled military veteran take advantage of the program Veteran Readiness and Employment, formerly called Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment. Nelson learned that, with certain requirements met, the program would pay for him to go back to school to train in a new field.

His choice? Nursing at The University of Toledo.

Read more about Jeff at:

https://news.utoledo.edu/index.php/12_12_2023/veteran-to-embark-on-new-career-with-college-of-nursing

Cheers!

Donna

Cystic Fibrosis shaped this nurse's career

Brogavantty Dunwoody, RN, BSN

Brogavantty wrote the following for the CF Community Blog."For the first few years, life as a nurse was good. I was always transparent about my chronic condition (although not when I was interviewing for jobs). I was determined to be punctual and reliable, so I planned doctor visits on days off or took paid leave. During those long, 12-hour nursing shifts, I had the opportunity to display a high level of compassion for my patients. Soon, I became a teacher for nursing students, and then for nurses new to the profession, and finally for those who were new to the organization but were seasoned nurses." "After eight years in the acute care (hospital) setting, I made a tough decision to leave bedside nursing on the recommendation of my CF doctor. I was heartbroken and a bit discouraged, thinking I would no longer be able to make an impression on the lives of my patients if I was not working in a hospital setting. However, I remembered that seed of determination that was planted inside me and has grown over the years. I leaned on my faith through this transition to a new type of nursing."

Read more at:

https://www.cff.org/community-posts/2022-05/how-having-cf-shaped-my-nursing-career 

Cheers!

Donna

Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Losses (AMPHL) announces "Stethoscope Equity Project". Try before you buy!

 AMPHL - Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Losses

"We are proud to announce the launch of our Stethoscope Equity Project for students and healthcare professionals with hearing loss! Meeting technical standards for stethoscope use is often a challenge for those with hearing loss in part because of individual differences in hearing and technology (hearing aids, cochlear implants). Many people with hearing loss are not sure what will work best for them and often need assistance that is not usually provided by schools. It may become a long trial-and-error process, which can be frustrating and cost-prohibitive. The Stethoscope Equity Project improves access and promotes professional success by providing consultative information and loaner digital and amplified electronic stethoscopes so users can try them before purchasing.

ID: A flyer for AMPHL's Stethoscope Equity Project. There is a photo of 3 digital/amplified stethoscopes with the project's logo overlaying it. Underneath, the text reads: NOT SURE WHAT STETHOSCOPE WORKS FOR YOU? TRY BEFORE BUYING. The Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Losses (AMPHL)’s new loaner program can help you decide what to buy. We provide consultative information and access to a collection of digital/amplified stethoscopes so you can try them before purchasing. For a small fee (sliding scale available), you can try a variety of stethoscopes for a year. Please contact us for further information. nancy.rennert@amphl.org. www.amphl.org/stethoscopes"

Cheers!

Donna

The U.S. Census Bureau and nurses with disabilities: Are you being counted?

Richard Besser, MD is president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). On December 14, 2023, he made the following statement. "The U.S. Census Bureau (Census Bureau) is proposing revisions to questions in the American Community Survey (ACS) that measure disability without sufficient engagement with the disability community. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) supports the calls from disability advocates, organizations, and researchers asking for the Census Bureau to pause proposed revisions to the disability questions, meaningfully engage with the disability community through a more inclusive process, and issue a revised plan that is responsive to feedback provided as part of that process."

"The Census Bureau should apply the principle “nothing about us, without us” regarding people with disabilities as it considers changes to the disability questions in the ACS. This phrase responds to a long history of policymaking constructed without the involvement of the disability community that has significant negative consequences to the health and wellbeing of people with disabilities."

"The current questions used for disability in the ACS have known limitations that the Census Bureau’s proposed changes would not resolve. People with disabilities in the U.S. are already substantially undercounted in part because people with certain types of disabilities, like psychiatric conditions and chronic disease, get missed more than others."

"The Census Bureau’s proposed changes would make the undercounting problem much worse, reducing ACS disability prevalence in the U.S. by roughly 40 percent. It is unclear what analysis the agency has conducted of the implications of the proposed changes for programs administered by fellow federal agencies and offices, for example, the Social Security Administration, the Veterans Administration, and the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. Further, it is unclear whether the proposal reflects expert feedback from relevant federal agencies, for example, the National Council on Disability and the U.S. Access Board."

"RWJF encourages the Census Bureau to adopt an inclusive and fully representative definition of disability so that ACS data accurately tracks the full diversity of people’s lived experience with disability in the U.S. Given how the Census Bureau’s disability data is used to inform the allocation of government resources as well as the development of local, state, and federal policymaking, RWJF is concerned that the proposed changes could make it more difficult for people with disabilities to get the supports they need and deserve.  

RWJF recommends that the Census Bureau prioritize active and intentional engagement with a diverse group of people with disabilities, disability researchers, and disability advocacy organizations going forward. That includes individuals and organizations that can advise how to accurately describe not only the disability status but also the functional needs and other characteristics of people with disabilities of all types, including non-apparent disabilities. Finally, RWJF urges the Census Bureau to ensure that its outreach and engagement efforts are mindful of accessibility needs to facilitate meaningful participation by people with disabilities. This attention to process may take longer, but it will lead to better data and better outcomes for people with disabilities."

 https://www.rwjf.org/en/about-rwjf/newsroom/2023/12/statement-from-richard-besser-on-census-bureau-engagement-with-disability-community.html?channelid=xli&cid=1003836

Cheers and Happy New Year!

Donna