Although there has been an existing nursing shortage in the U.S, the shortage came into the spotlight in 2012. Now it is projected that within eight years, over 1 million new registered nurses (RNs) will be needed to meet healthcare demands in the U.S (https://www.healthline.com/health/nursing-shortage). That seems like an embellished number, but it is not.

As of 9/20/21, the U.S has the highest number of COVID-19 infections (42.3 million) and deaths (over 691,000) in the world–compared to any other nation  (https://www.statista.com/page/covid-19-coronavirus). The COVID-19 death toll has surpassed that of the 1918 flu pandemic. According to epidemiologist, Stephen Kissler, PhD, of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health: “A lot of the mistakes that we definitely fell into in 1918, we hoped we wouldn't fall into in 2020 … We did.”

How can you tell the difference between a bacterial and a viral infection? It is hard to judge, based on symptoms, since they can cause similar outcomes such as coughing, fever, fatigue, inflammation, sneezing, headaches and even vomiting or diarrhea (https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/bacterial-and-viral-infections). Although bacteria and viruses are both categorized as microbes and can spread infections in the same manner (coughing, sneezing, skin contact etc.) , they are significantly different structurally and the treatments are not the same.

People do not have a clear understanding of how HIPAA is put into practice. HIPAA, which stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, was established in 1996 as an act to provide consumers with a national standard for handling our medical information. The word “privacy” is not in the name of the act.

I started out writing about the highlights of COVID-19 and with each highlight, the outcome was “people need to get vaccinated.” We have the good fortune in this country of access to the vaccine, and yet we still have large numbers of the population not vaccinated. In the beginning it was understandable that people were concerned about the unknowns of the vaccine, but now there are over 2.5 billion people who are vaccinated world-wide.

Over the years I have written about the many benefits of physical activity. Along with good nutrition, it should be the first prescription that our doctors write out for us. But what does physical activity do for the brain?

What is the major reason for people declining the COVID vaccine? My answer: distrust. There are other apparent reasons: People are also misinformed, complacent, suspicious, fearful, stubborn, in denial, and there are those who regard declining the vaccine as a sign of loyalty to a political party. As a nurse for so long, I find that last reason very odd.

Collectively, how has this pandemic impacted our mental status and function? Our experiences in getting through the “COVID Era” have varied. Then, of course, we have different baselines with our mental health. But we have all been touched with a “collective trauma,” since this pandemic is a global health issue and has caused major disruptions and various traumas in many aspects of our lives (https://dana.org/article/pandemic-brain-parsing-the-mental-health-toll/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjtjNxt-m7wIVyuDICh0ZxgzhEAMYAyAAEgJgNPD_BwE).

Just like food or breathing, movement is critical to life. The body was designed to move and many body and mind functions suffer if we remain sedentary. Our doctors and other healthcare providers should literally write out a prescription for “physical activity” to treat many of our health problems, including pain. Better yet, physical activity prevents many health problems. If you still have doubt...

We lose close to 18 veterans to suicide on a daily basis. Veteran Andrew “Andy” Marckesano was born in Phoenix, Arizona on October 22, 1986; and  just three days after taking a job with the Pentagon in 2020, he took his own life in our nation’s capital. The suicide rate of veterans goes up to 20 suicides daily if active-duty troop members are included
(https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2020/11/12/suicide-rate-among-veterans-up-again-slightly-despite-focus-on-prevention-efforts/). Despite the numerous programs and ongoing research of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), suicide is still a complex problem with too many unknowns that leaves our veterans at high risk.