Archive for May, 2013

Safety of Food Trucks

May 24, 2013

When purchasing a meal from a food truck, make sure the food truck is licensed, has a permit, is registered, and/or is certified. The type of document required depends on the city. Food trucks in Florida is my main reference point of writing. I will widen my perspective to refer to all states as I address each Food Cart in the USA.

Be careful with food borne illnesses such as Botulism, Salmonella poisoning, and E. coli poisoning.

If your city does not regulate food trucks or you are not sure about the safety of a food truck, here are some tips.

  • Make sure the truck is clean inside and outside.
  • Make sure the food handlers use safe methods of handling foods. These may include the use of gloves, hair covers, aprons, and clean towels.
  • Ask customers about their experience using the food truck. Are there any illnesses after eating the food?
  • Check public records. These may be available at the public health department or news outlets.
  • Ask the owner and/or workers about their food safety. Honest and diligent individuals do not mind sharing their food safety procedure. Ask during convenient times. If possible, do not ask during rush hours and when there are long lines of customers.

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Posted in Forensic Toxicology, Nutrition, Patient Education | Comments Off on Safety of Food Trucks

What is Mechanism of Injury in regards to the Trauma patient?

May 20, 2013

This refers to the mechanisms whereby the energy is transferred from the environment to the person. Mechanism of injury assists the health care provider in triaging casualties and determining the probability of various types of injury.

Obtaining information related to Mechanism of injury is crucial in understanding what the patient’s body went through during the traumatic event. It may also be a very good predictor for associated injuries in which the patient may have sustained. Such things that may be of great importance: What did the vehicle look like: Mild/Moderate/Severe damage? Was there a Death in the same vehicle? Was the passenger restraint device used? Was there intrusion into the frame of the vehicle? Was the steering wheel bent? Did EMS notice any starring of the windshield? This information can be of great help when trying to prevent secondary injury in the trauma patient.

Did the car accident occur in Miami, FL (the location of our office)? Was chiropractic, massage, physical therapy, or another type of mechanical therapy instituted? Was there a surgical or mechanical procedure performed at the hospital? This information can be of help in identifying the progress in the accident patient.
References: American College of Surgeons (2008). ATLS

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Posted in Accidental Injuries, Motor Vehicle Accident, Motor Vehicle Collision, Trauma | Comments Off on What is Mechanism of Injury in regards to the Trauma patient?

The Role of the Health Care Informatics Professional, comment

May 16, 2013

The original blog post is titled; “The Role of the Health Care Informatics Professional”  (Johnson 2013).   I agree that this is a very interesting field and one with a lot of potential.  The better able we are to harness the technology available to us the better able we will be to serve our clients and the unique health needs such as forensic nursing.  We could also collect data on a large scale basis to help provide feedback on success or failures of certain procedures. IT consultants in Washington DC can help in this area.

This technology comes with it’s risks and I think the biggest problem will be making sure the information stays confidential.  I can’t remember if I read this in our book or came across it during my research but there are some countries that have ATM type cards and they hold your medical information on them.  When you go to a new doctors you can give them this card and they can read your health files and look at any medical record you may have.

Having this process happen seamlessly between institutions and forensic personnel could save a lot of time and money.  Again though it needs to be used wisely and whenever you are talking about gathering a lot of personal information in one place it can be worrisome. Depending on how things go in my forensic nursing pathway I would be open to working in this field.  I love the health care field and I have years of experience in the high-tech field as well.

Reference:

Johnson. J. (2013). The role of the health care informatics professionals [Blog].  Retrieved May 3, 2013, from http://healthcare-informatics-resources.com/2013/05/01/the-role-of-the-health-care-informatics-professional/

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Worship Music Lyric Videos, comment

May 16, 2013

It is with excitement that I read about Worship Music Lyric Videos. We are leery of Internet offers for these videos. Some are out of business. Others say the videos are free to download, but a hidden charge sneaks up. One of the computer forensics technicians on our floor said musicians and the authorities are cracking down on illegal transfer of music.

We definitely can use the lyrics at our church. Approximately half of our congregation are older adults and the other half young adults. One group does not know the lyrics that the other group is singing. And vice versa. Having your legal church song lyric films will bring unity to our church.

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Perception of Coercion

May 13, 2013

I believe that Ukraine should allow a neutral international team of forensic nurses and experts speak with and exam Yulia Tymoshenko. She is the ex-prime minister who has been jailed since 2011 in Ukraine. I would be happy to take a trip from America to Ukraine to be part of the international team. I would ask for an office for rent in Kharkov and one of the short-term apartment rentals in Kharkov.

The importance of the material covered on health history interviewing cannot be over emphasized in forensic psychiatric nursing. The ability to communicate with accurate empathy, non-judgment and skillful use of specific techniques is essential for accurate risk assessment and monitoring of mental status changes. People who are impaired with paranoid delusions, mistrust, and extreme sensitivity to the motives of others (such as the government of Ukraine), are more inclined to provide information to clinicians that they perceive to be competent. Monahan and colleagues at the MacArthur foundation found that the manner in which providers communicated affected the recipient’s perception of coercion for better or for worse. That is, even when recipients were being subjected to involuntary treatment, their scores on the “Perception of Coercion” scale were lower when the clinician communicated with empathy and respect. Violent events in psychiatric settings can be reduced when staff is competent in assessment and forming working alliances with the patients.

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Picnic Day Supported by the Occupational Safety Department

May 10, 2013

Our hospital picnic day will be here soon. This year our department is responsible for the t-shirts. We are in the Occupational Safety Department. This includes Occupational Health Nurses, Forensic Nurses, an Occupational Medicine Physician, a Forensic Physician, secretaries and technicians. We plan on getting t-shirt printing done with our hospital logo and name.

One of our staff members came up with the idea of offering embroidered shirts for sale. The profit would be used for the family of patients in our cancer department. This is especially for those who travel a long distant to be with their loved ones who are receiving cancer services and treatments. The embroidered shirts would be designed to be worn outside of the picnic. They can be worn at a restaurant, doctor’s appointment, grocery store, etc. We plan on selling the embroidered shirts at the picnic, hospital’s gift shop, and various hospital fundraisers.

The t-shirts we will be using at the picnic are funded by the hospital every year. They are given to each employee and family member at the picnic if desired. The t-shirts we will be using this year are sturdy. They can stand up to tug-of-wars, water fights, football games, food stains, and the like. I am excited already about our picnic!

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Forensic Consulting Expansion

May 6, 2013

Our forensic consulting business is doing well in a major U.S. city. We desire to expand into other cities and states addressing the Nuvaring side effects. It is not going to be an easy task. So, we looked at examples of other companies that expanded. One company that peaks our interest is Mandrien Consulting. This consulting firm helps companies expand nationally. The firm is geared toward companies in the mortgage and title insurance industries.

We love the consulting firm’s track record. They helped one company expand to a forty-three state area in a matter of only six weeks. The company originally was operating within a five-county area. This is very impressive rapid expansion.

If the consulting firm cannot assist us with our forensic consulting business regarding the Nuvaring recall, at least we want to obtain some ideas from them. We know that we need to obtain licenses within each state for our attorneys, physicians, and nurses. Or we may be able to have our current licenses recognized by some of the prospective states. We do know that we need an expert to handle this major licensing task for us. We will also need an expert to handle business licenses and permits within each prospective state.

It time for us to call the consulting firm to begin on a proper footing.

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Avoiding Foreclosure

May 2, 2013

We had a very low turnover rate for the past 5 years at our Forensic Consulting Firm. A big part of this is due to the recession. A large number are not able to obtain the new positions they were hoping to secure. Some have gone through, are going through, or may go through foreclosure. A Cleveland foreclosure lawyer said some people might be prey to predatory lending or unjust trading of their mortgages to other banks.

One co-worker decided to move in with her parents. She has not been able to sell her house for one year now. Before she moved out her house, she was struggling to keep up with her mortgage. She applied for higher positions internally and externally. Not able to sell her house, she decided to rent it. The family that moved into her house is paying the rent and keeping my co-worker in a better financial position. She pays her parents rent and has money left over. This plan was what she came away with after she left the office of the Cleveland foreclosure lawyer.

I have a cousin who tried to sell his house and move to Cleveland. After one and a half year of trying, he and his wife gave up. They could not sell their house and they discovered that many houses were being foreclosed on within Cleveland.

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