Hello my fellow healthcare professionals. I'm excited to announce that I have STARTED (WIP) a new group called "Roots To Health". This is a private paid subscription group that will include similar subjects as we have here in our Nursing Revolution Group, but is geared towards the public. My dream is to have a group focused on lifestyle medicine and has healthcare professionals available to interact and participate in the health journey of the general public/community members. You do not need to be a "Lifestyle Medicine" expert because many of the practices are holistic nursing interventions. Right now, the majority of the participants are from American Samoa, an unincorporated US Territory in the South Pacific. I've been here on island for the past 2 months and within the last month have started a whole plant juice company called Tropical SOL Juice Company. Look for us on FB: TropicalSOLJuice. What I've learned: People want to be healthier and happier. They are open and willing to learn about their health and ways to improve. Its the implementation of these interventions that is the biggest obstacle. Culture, family and peer pressure plays a major role in keeping them stuck in lifestyle practices that are harmful to their health. If this sounds like a group you are interested in participating in and/or learning more about, please join our group for $1 a month. This is our "FOUNDING MEMBERS" rate and won't change for you. I'm extremely excited to see how this "Nursing Model" of care plays out and how participants and healthcare professionals feel about it. Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to seeing you in "Roots To Health"🥰🥰🥰 https://www.skool.com/roots-to-health-6290?invite=6469eb746fef4cfca9b5efeb7efde961

When I tell people that I'm a nurse, they automatically assume that I'm in the hospital. "Oh what hospital do you work at?" I love saying that I haven't worked in a hospital since 2008 and that the best part of being a nurse is that there are INFINITE settings in which we can contribute to the health and well-being of all humans. I started this group to emphasize how much nurses can contribute to the health of the world, and it starts with ourselves. As role models, we have to walk the talk. We can't just "take care" of patients and assume they know what that means when we don't even "take care" of ourselves. I became a licensed massage therapist in 2015, but it wasn't until I got sober in 2017 that I really embraced a holistic way of living. Looking back at my life when I was still drinking, physically I was "healthy", but mentally, emotionally and spiritually I was "sick". There are two terms that are very similar, but not the same, holistic wellness and lifestyle medicine. Maybe you've heard that nursing is both an art and a science, and to be a great nurse, you need to know how to practice both excellently. That is how I think of holistic wellness and lifestyle medicine. Holistic wellness is the art of mind, body, and spirt while lifestyle medicine is the evidence based science of living using holistic interventions. Now, back to what does your work environment look like.......sorry for the tangent. 😉 For the last 6 months, I have been self employed. What does that look like? Well, I've been connecting and networking like a mad women. Looking for like minded healthcare providers and community leaders that are engaged in holistic lifestyle activities. I've traveled to the South Pacific to embrace my culture and to introduce, encourage, and support holistic wellness and lifestyle medicine to the community. In the process of doing all that, I started my own whole plant juice company called Tropical Sol Juice Company. With my uncles help, we developed a plant medicine juice that uses all locally sourced ingredients, coconut water, ginger, turmeric, moringa leaves, miracle leaves, and papaya leaves and made it palatable for everyday consumption. Oddly, this tropical island is considered a food dessert and our juice is one of the only ways to get fresh, locally sourced, whole plants in a super convenient way. I am having a BLAST sharing all the benefits of fresh plants with the community and reminding people of all the vitamins and minerals that plants have, and encouraging them to incorporate them into their daily routine.

It was a busy week last week. Attended a 4 day conference for the National Association of Hispanic Nurses and received 22.5 CEU’s at the same time!! Not a bad way to meet new people, network and learn about other nursing opportunities. I think one of my biggest takeaways is that Social Determinants of Health “SDOH” are 80% modifiable!!! 😱 Which means there is something that we can do. Another great presentation was about technology, informatics and AI. I’m a fan for sure!!! I enjoy attending conferences and learning so much new things. It’s a really great way to reignite your passion for learning and the profession of nursing. I’ve been to San Diego, Chicago, New Orleans, and San Antonio for various nursing conferences. Where are some places you’ve visited for conferences and to expand your learning experience?

If you’re not FIRED UP, like extremely lit 🔥 up about why we need to have a NURSING REVOLUTION , then you absolutely have to listen to this episode of the NurseDot podcast. I’ll be joining the Nurse.com community as an ambassador, and the reason why I know they absolutely understand why nurses need to be supported more than ever right now is because of episodes like this. “In this episode, Cara is joined by Rebecca Love, RN, BS, MSN, FIEL, who recently launched the Commission for Nurse Reimbursement which aims to transform the way Medicare reimburses healthcare systems for the invaluable care that nurses provide. Rebecca discusses the historical background of nurse reimbursement and shares how the changing legal landscape, wherein nurses are now facing criminal charges for errors resulting from understaffing, has increased the urgency for reform. The two discuss how the nursing profession is at a critical juncture, highlighting the need to prioritize the value we place on healthcare workers. Rebecca also provides insights on how both nurses and the public can actively advocate for much-needed change.” https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nursedot-podcast/id1653164865?i=1000618073441 Let us know what you think after you listen. Share your thoughts, feelings, next steps…..

If I was still a Providence RN, I would be right there with them!! In April of this year, our department, ProvRN, which happened to be its own bargaining unit, was shut down. In the words of the higher ups, it was “sunsetted”!!!! On top of all that, their communication to the providers and other “caregivers” was that we- the staff, were given the opportunity to remain with Providence. That was BullShit at its finest! Over half of our nursing staff had 10+ years experience. With that much seniority and being part of a union, there was little Providence would be able to do except to continue to return to the “bargaining table” and negotiate our contract. Their solution, close us down!!! AND pay us off versus assisting us to find “opportunities” in other departments. Think 🤔 about………………………….. I was not part of the department during the initial and height of the pandemic of COVID-19, my coworkers were. While everything was shut down and not accessible to patients, my coworkers were there. 24/7, 365 for 2-3 years!!! When patients have NOWHERE ELSE TO GO, they called us and we cared and comforted them. And we got laid off. “Sunsetted”!! So, if you aren’t exactly sure why or what is happening, it’s because of shady ass practices such as what they did to ProvRN!! Providence is a multi-billion, multi-state network of systems. Their care for their “frontline” workers would be horrible if it wasn’t for the ONA nurses union. https://www.facebook.com/OregonNursesAssociation?mibextid=LQQJ4d What do think about nurses having to strike to get the necessary standards to safely perform their jobs?