Surviving Modern Healthcare: 9 Tips To Keep Your Network Strong from Nurse TogetherWe have heard it said that “no man is an island,” and that is true for all of us. An effective support system is necessary for us to excel in our life goals. These support systems may include friends, family, loved ones and co-workers. I had the opportunity to hear a wonderful speaker who grew up with parents who were FBI agents. He changed his identity and moved several times as he was growing up, and he spoke of one of the most important lessons he learned from his parents: your network keeps you safe. He then went on to do an insightful presentation about the value of networking. Some of the most important networks which we find ourselves a part of are our social networks, family networks and professional networks. Social networks include our friends, those we meet in classroom settings, people we like to spend time with and those we engage in social media. Our family network includes all of our family members and extended family. Lastly, our professional network includes colleagues at work. Even more valuable though, is the professional network you build beyond your work experience. Especially with the volatility in healthcare, the professional network can be vital to your career success. Your professional network can serve you in three important ways: support, promotion and saving your life.

We have heard it said that “no man is an island,” and that is true for all of us. An effective support system is necessary for us to excel in our life goals. These support systems may include friends, family, loved ones and co-workers. I had the opportunity to hear a wonderful speaker who grew up with parents who were FBI agents. He changed his identity and moved several times as he was growing up, and he spoke of one of the most important lessons he learned from his parents: your network keeps you safe. He then went on to do an insightful presentation about the value of networking.

Some of the most important networks which we find ourselves a part of are our social networks, family networks and professional networks. Social networks include our friends, those we meet in classroom settings, people we like to spend time with and those we engage in social media. Our family network includes all of our family members and extended family. Lastly, our professional network includes colleagues at work. Even more valuable though, is the professional network you build beyond your work experience. Especially with the volatility in healthcare, the professional network can be vital to your career success. Your professional network can serve you in three important ways: support, promotion and saving your life.

For the full article please go here.

Small strides you should take for your heart fro CNN

Let's face it – life is busy. You've got calls to make, e-mails to send and meetings to get to. But what about appointments with yourself that you've been meaning to make?

"As I say to many of my patients, if you don't find time for exercise, you will have to find time for disease," Dr. Nanette Wenger tells CNN. She's a spokesperson for the American Heart Association (AHA) and a cardiologist at the Emory University School of Medicine.

February is American Heart Month, when the AHA and other organizations hope to spread awareness about the dangers of an unhealthy lifestyle. The statistics haven't changed: Cardiovascular disease is still the leading killer of men and women in the United States and worldwide.

"The key to reducing this threat is prevention, and among the major preventive interventions– smoking cessation, control of cholesterol, control of blood pressure, control of weight and physical activity– physical activity can often be the cornerstone," Wenger said.

For the full article please go here.

5 Healthy Reasons To Love Love from Huffington Post

alentine's Day may get a bad rap as a greeting card holiday, but at the heart of it (no pun intended), it's an opportunity for us to be reminded of the loving relationships in our lives, which have a real and lasting impact on our health and well-being.

Factors like having a supportive community as you grow up, a secure job that you can rely on, or family that you see regularly make a big difference in determining both the quality and the quantity of your years, said Dr. Dean Ornish, M.D., author and HuffPost's medical editor. In other words, love makes you happier, but also healthier and long-living. However, maintaining these sorts of close relationships often goes unrecognized as a health behavior, he said.

"I believe that the need for love and connection and community is a fundamental thing ... as basic of a need as food, air and water," Ornish told HuffPost.

For the full article please go here.

8 Factors That Could Be Keeping You Awake at Night from Health.com

Pain

In one study, 15% of Americans reported suffering from chronic pain, and two-thirds also reported having sleep problems. Back pain, headaches, and temporomandibular joint syndrome (problems with the jaw muscles) are the main causes of pain-related sleep loss.

For the full article please go here.

The Worst Thing to Eat for Your Heart from Yahoo News

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among Americans: on average, one person dies every 39 seconds, according to recently published data from the American Heart Association.

I've talked in the past about cutting back on saturated fat (found mostly in animal-based products like red meat and full-fat dairy), added sugars and sodium for better heart health. Keep working at those!

Don't Miss: 3 Ways to Eat Less Sugar
6 Easy Ways to Reduce the Sodium in Your Diet

But one thing that I haven't talked about much happens to be one of the easiest to limit (or avoid) in your diet-and it's quite harmful to your heart health. What is it? Trans fat.

For the full article please go here.

Heart Health: 13 Foods With Cardiovascular Benefits from Huffington Post

President Barack Obama has officially proclaimed February to be American Heart Month, just as every president has done before him, dating back to a 1963 resolution passed by Congress to draw attention to the leading cause of death among U.S. adults.

Heart disease accounts for 2,200 deaths in the U.S. every day, or one in every three, according to the CDC. Luckily, simple diet and lifestyle changes can greatly reduce your risk. Maintaining a healthy weight, quitting smoking and keeping stress levels under control are all great places to start. Another powerful way to take control of your ticker is to watch what you eat.

By now you probably know that olive oil, lean meats and omega-3-rich fish -- all components of the Mediterranean Diet -- are popular heart-healthy fare, but we've rounded up some other options to add to your diet this February.

For the full article please go here.

Go Red for Heart Health This Friday from Huffington Post

A few years ago my girlfriends and I decided to take control of our health, and we started out by jogging in the park together -- checking our odometers, keeping pace with each other, and competing about who had the best heart rate. We also shared a lot of laughs -- always the best medicine -- while we cared for ourselves, our health and each other.

Believe it or not, heart disease affects more than one in three women -- and kills more than 500,000 women -- each year in this country, making it the leading cause of death among women. (Are you surprised by that? I sure was -- I thought cancer was the leading cause.) So this Friday, I'm getting active in the fight against women's heart disease and taking part in the National Wear Red Day, a campaign created by the American Heart Association's "Go Red for Women" movement that is designed to raise awareness about women's heart health.

For the full article please go here.

Boldly Going Where No Capsule Has Gone Before from H and HN

OK, so many of my get-rich-quick schemes haven't been what you would call blockbusters. My closest friends, family and even financial adviser scoffed several years ago when I came up with the idea for a new delicacy: Tuna on a Stick. Go ahead, laugh, but have you ever been to the Taste of Chicago? They sell everything on a stick at that exhibition of gluttony, so why not tuna? I had a grand vision of franchising all over Chicago, eventually expanding the menu to mackerel, red snapper, even Mahi Mahi (wouldn't you know it, a few years later when the Minnesota Twins' new ballpark Target Field opened, the concession stands boasted "Walleye Skewer" and "Pork Chop on a Stick").

More recently, I had the idea of creating a giant wiper blade that could descend from the top of a skyscraper to swoosh away the rain. Attach a hose or some sort of spraying mechanism and it also negates the need to have workers dangle hundreds of feet above the sidewalk with sponges and squeegees.

For the full article please go here.

5 Health Tests You Need to Ace This Year from Yahoo News

No matter how fit you are, you can't change health risk factors like your genes, your family history, your race, or your age. Other aspects of your lifestyle count, too, including how you manage stress and your eating habits. The best way to safeguard your long-term health is to catch troublesome issues early, so ask your doctor about adding these screenings to your calendar.

BLOOD PRESSURE
There are no early symptoms of high BP (hypertension), but the longer it goes unnoticed--and untreated--the more damage occurs to your heart and blood vessels, upping your chances of a heart attack or stroke. With every birthday your risk goes up. Your favorite foods also play a role, with salt, saturated fats, and too much alcohol being top aggravators. Certain medicines can also raise BP.

For the full article please go here.

Cut Your Risk of Diabetes from Huffington Post

Do you eat the typical American diet, high in soft drinks (including diet soda), white flour, French fries and processed meats like cold cuts and hot dogs?

Eating that way can increase your risk of developing diabetes by 300 percent.

Are you carrying around extra weight? That raises the risk of getting diabetes a lot. A woman who is mildly obese -- for example, weighing 190 at 5'6" tall -- has a 55 percent chance of getting diabetes. A man who is mildly obese, for instance, who weighs 225 pounds and is 6 feet tall -- has a 57 percent chance of developing diabetes.

This can be prevented, and I will share with you the exciting research on nutrition and foods that can help prevent and reverse diabetes in a moment. But first, a closer look at the problem.

For the full article please go here.