Dear Students,

The end of the semester will be here before you

know it and I know you are all very busy at this

time. I know you are all working hard towards

your educational goals and I commend you for

that. However, I just want to remind you that “all

work and no play” can be very stressful and

detrimental to your overall health and well-being.

In my opinion, the middle of the semester is a

particularly difficult period because the new

excitement has worn off and the end seems so

very far away. It is easy to feel discouraged and

burned out. Please remember to take some time

for yourselves, whatever that may be. Go for a

walk (my favorite stress reliever!), spend time

with family and friends, watch a movie, go to the

gym—whatever makes you feel refreshed!

If you are having a difficult time, remember

there are supports within the nursing

program. We have a fabulous Success

Advisor and a wonderful faculty and staff.

Please remember that my door is always

open to you as well. On the general campus,

we have the Life-Skills center that can deal

with crisis intervention and ongoing

counseling. You are not alone.

In November, we are planning something

special for you. More details to follow!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Yamakawa

News from the Director

EBOLA: Some thoughts from Ms. Lum

EBOLA! I can’t begin to describe the intense fear

I experienced when I learned that two of our

colleagues had tested positive for the Ebola virus

after caring for an affected individual here in the

USA. Furthermore, the news stories suggested

fault on the part of the nurses which made me

furious. However, as nurses and future nurses,

we must not founder in the chaos of

misinformation. We must speak up to get the

right training and equipment. Healthcare is ever

changing, and nurses who are on the frontline

must work collaboratively with the hospital nurse

leaders to ensure that we have the most current

policies and protocols. Mindfulness, NOT

mindless fears, will keep us safe and healthy.

Next month, I would like to present the current

state of the Ebola crisis and discuss the CDC

guidelines, but for those who like me experi-

enced fear and anger, I want to step back and

emphasize that when nurses speak up, WE ARE

HEARD!

LAHC Nursing: The Heartbeat

Mark Your Calendar:

PINNING

CEREMONY

Friday

December 19

Warner Grand Theatre

San Pedro, CA

Los Angeles Harbor College 1111 Figueroa Place, Wilmington, CA November 2014 Volume 2, Number 2

Inside this issue:

News from the Director 1

Ebola: some thoughts

from Ms. Lum 1

Learning Theory of the

Month: Dorothea Orem 2

Be Nice!

Faculty Profile:

Julie Nunez

2

2

October Community

outreach efforts 3

Strip Tease

Land Your First Job

4

5

Calendar

Nursing Club news

6

6

Local hospitals prepare

for Ebola

Given our proximity to the Los Angeles and

Long Beach ports and foreign ships, South Bay

hospitals are taking measures to be prepared if

Ebola patients arrive in their Emergency

Rooms. Habte Tecle, MSCAP, infection preven-

tionist at Providence LCM Medical Center San

Pedro, states that the hospital has set up a

special, dedicated isolation room in the

Emergency Department and purchased Haz-

Mat type protective gear. Tecle continued,

“Sixty staff members at San Pedro have been

trained as part of the Ebola task force, so

we have a plan in place and have even run a

practice drill.” All hospital departments —

from EVS to Critical Care —- are working close-

ly together to ensure a seamless response.

Providence Torrance, St. John’s and Tarzana

have followed suit.

Mindfulness,

NOT mindless fears,

will keep us safe and healthy.

Ms. Evelyn Lum

“The central philosophy of the Self-Care

Deficit Nursing Theory is that all patients

want to care for themselves, and they are

able to recover more quickly and

holistically by performing their own self-

care as much as they're able. This theory

is particularly used in rehabilitation and

primary care or other settings in which

patients are encouraged to be

independent. If a patient is unable to

meet their self-care requisites, a "self-

care deficit" occurs. In this case, the pa-

tient's nurse steps in with a support

modality which can be total compensa-

tion, partial compensation, or education

and support.” 2013, http://www.nursing-theory.org

BSN: University of Phoenix,

2001

MA in Bioethics: Loyola, 2009

Previous experience: NICU,

ambulatory, community and

hospitalized pediatrics,

Partners for Healthy Kids

mobile peds clinic; also home

health and hospice, palliative

care and pain management .

Have you noticed how

very clean, organized and

attractive our NLL and

courtyard are? You can

thank our new

NURSING INSTRUCTIONAL

ASSISTANT,

Julie Nunez, RN, BSN, MA.

Education ADN: LAHC, 1987

Hobbies: “I like to dig in the

dirt.” In addition to growing

roses, plumeria and bulbs of all

kinds, Ms. Nunez also makes

jewelry and loves to travel.

“The best vacation? Ziplining in

Costa Rica over the forest

canopy. Unforgettable.”

Words of Wisdom: “Never, ever

EVER give up.”

Dorothea Orem:

Self Care Deficit Theory

BOTTOM LINE: independence rocks!

Faculty Profile: Julie Nunez, RN, BSN, MA

You’ll be more successful in nursing school if you’re nice.

stick with it at least 3 to 4 days

a week.

PEER STUDY GROUPS: if you

don’t “get it”, someone will.

READING COURSE CONTENT:

don’t just go over the Power

point slides and notes given by

the teacher.

NOTE CARDS: visual learners

especially profit from this tactic;

take ’em with you wherever you

go and study at the bus stop.

STUDENT SUPPORT: could it be

that Mom was right? PLAY

NICE! “Peer supportive behav-

iors include interactions with

other students that increase

feelings or inclusion and help in

understanding of nursing con-

tent” (Dapremont, 2011).

Being supportive of others

creates a generally positive

atmosphere which in turn,

supports success.

FACULTY SUPPORT: if teachers

are approachable, understand-

ing and encouraging, it helps.

Duh.

A 2014 study reported in

Nursing Education Perspectives

notes that there are several

strategies that helped a group

of nursing students at Universi-

ty of Memphis/Loewenberg

School of Nursing graduate

successfully. The top six:

DAILY ROUTINE: a study ritual

that develops into a habit im-

proves study skills, consistency,

organization and confidence.

Create a program (“two hours

of reading a night, followed by

15 Kaplan questions”) and

Page 2 LAHC Nursing: The Heartbeat

Dorothea Orem,

MSN, RN

1914-2007

Julie Nunez, RN, BSN, MA

You’ll be more successful in nursing school if you’re nice.

Volume 2, Number 2 Page 3

LAHC Nursing Students work community health; October 2014

Above, the flu shot clinic at Harbor UCLA. L to R: 2nd semester student Breanna Barrios vaccinates former

LAHC RN graduate Jackin Conlin; instructor Kathy Vo bravely

offers her arm for Kurt Kuizon (2nd Semester); and Kurt gets his

from Brittany Vattuone.

Left, Breast Cancer Awareness Liz Waddell and Aleah Baklenko report: “We had a great day at

the Seahawk Center! The breast self exam sheets were great

and we had many sign ups and interest for the Nursing Club.”

L to R: Angelo Almonte, student worker Camille Barrera, Liz

Waddell, Christina Rodriguez, Mrs. Nunez, Aleah Baklenko.

Below, Providence LCM Med Center San Pedro

flu shot clinic

WHO GETS WHAT? About flu vaccinations…both

intramuscular and intranasal routes offer about the same level of

protection, but some people are better suited for the shot, while

others do better with the spray.

LAIV = live attenuated influenza vaccine, FluMist

PROS: The live virus vaccine is quadrivalent (4 different flu strains)

and the intranasal route is perfect for those who don’t like injections.

It’s suitable only for healthy folks, though, from ages 2 to 49 and not

for pregnant women.

CONS: The virus has been weakened, but it’s still live. Kids under 2

who received Flumist showed a significant increase in hospitaliza-

tions and asthma exacerbations. There’s also a chance the newly

immunized will shed live virus, so Health-care personnel who care for

severely immunocompromised persons should receive inactivated,

not live. Don’t give it to patients who are ill with fevers.

IIV = inactivated influenza vaccine, Fluzone PROS: This dead virus, trivalent vaccine is OK for everyone over age

6 months including pregnant women and folks with diseases. It’s

also fine to administer if patients are currently ill, so they can be

immunized in the hospital.

CONS: Don’t take if allergic to or objections about thimerasol

(mercury derivative) preservative. The pediatric version of the dead

virus vaccine does not have thimerasol, which is a response to

dropping immunization rate due to parent concerns. Ruuskanen, O., Lahti, E., Jennings, L.C., Murdoch, D.R. (2011, April). Viral pneumonia. The Lancet, 377, 1264-1275.; Immunization schedules. (2013). Centers for Disease ControlRetrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/wnloads/child/0-18yrs-schedule-landscape-chart.pdf

Smoothies for Success! Thanks to all the students who came out to

enjoy a smoothie in our nursing courtyard last month. We hope that you enjoyed the yummy smoothies and were able to take a break from the hustle and bustle of your courses for just a moment. Thanks to Mrs. Brust and Ms. Nunez for all their hard work in making this event a success! Three different flavors of smoothies and fresh fruit….. wow!

Strip Tease: can you figure out this rhythm? You’ve just received report from the ED nurse on Mr. Hansen, a 82 year old man with an exacerbation of heart

failure. He has multiple stents and a pacemaker. While hooking him up to telemetry, you note he is wide awake

and alert; he tells you the reason he is sitting straight up in bed is because he “can’t seem to catch his breath”.

You note fine bibasilar lung crackles and 3+ pitting pedal edema. His BP is 140/94, and his radial pulse is 54

and irregular, so you check the telemetry monitor to see what’s going on electrically with his heart ...

FAILURE TO SENSE, PACEMAKER FAILURE: note the pacemaker “spikes” and consequent cardiac electrical capture, and then the three spikes without capture. The pacemaker is working (spikes) but not always stimulating the heart muscle, which can cause decreased cardiac output. Possible causes include inadequate stimulus from the pacemaker, lead dislodgement, wire fracture or electronic insulation break, catheter malposition, battery depletion, or myocardial ischemia. Indications for a permanent pace-maker include symptomatic bradycardias and heart block; he already has a pacer placed but obviously something is wrong with either it or the heart. Pacemakers have improved markedly through the years, and although they need to be monitored, expected battery life varies between 4 and 10 years. In this case, you’d definitely call the doc and might be instructed to get a stat 12 lead EKG, portable chest X-ray and to turn the patient to the left side to float any loose internal electrodes against the cardiac wall. The generator or battery might need to be replaced. Brunner and Suddarth, 2010

Another new addition to our faculty “family”... Mrs. Yamakawa writes, “I am excited to introduce our new nursing Transfer

Counselor, Christine Kourinian. She is a General and International Counselor here at LAHC so she is very familiar with our students and college. “She will be here 3 hours a day, Mon-day through Thursday, in office # 137. She will work at fulfilling the goals and objectives that we identified in our Song-Brown Special Project grant: to develop pathways with higher education nursing programs; to disseminate information to students via transfer fairs, workshops, written materials; and to develop a transfer educational plan for each of our nursing students. “ Ms. Kourinian isn’t pictured above with this good looking group, but will be featured next month in our Faculty Profile!

LAND YOUR FIRST RN JOB: TIPS FROM EXPERTS 4th semester students Harmony McGehan and Juan Guerrero ably represented LAHC at the California State Student Nurse Convention in Pomona. Below is Harmony’s report:

“To Infinity and Beyond! Limitless opportunities for nursing students”: this was the theme of the California Students' Association's State Convention held in Pomona, CA on Saturday October 18, 2014. The convention

hall was filled with electric and hopeful nursing students from all over the state. There were many speakers but one thing that was weighing heavily on everyone's mind was landing their first job. Where is the best area to find a job as a new graduate RN in California? The Central Valley has an 80% hiring rate of new graduates. The Cen-tral Valley include the cities: Bakersfield, Fresno, Modesto, and Stockton. There are two states that are hiring the most California new RN graduates: Texas and Florida.

Brenda Brozek, MAOL, RN author of You're Hired! A Nurse's Guide to Success in Today's Job Market spoke at

the convention. She stated that nursing recruiters spend 10-30 seconds viewing an application and she suggests using action verbs such as "I supervised" and "I created" to catch their attention. She recommends making nursing student business cards and business cards after graduation and having them ready at career fairs and conferences to improve possible networking.

After an application is filed with a hospital she has more tips. Check to make sure the voicemail the employer is going to reach sounds professional. Answer all phone calls because it could be a nursing recruiter on the other end calling to do a screening interview. A screening interview is often unannounced and is common practice at many hospitals. This is done before to determine if they would like a formal interview. A common question is "tell me about yourself" on these calls so it is best to have a re-sponse thought out. She recommends carrying a small notebook with your resume folded inside and a list of every hospital and position applied for so the information is ready when they call.

Oh, and another tip for ladies! Leave the heels at home and wear closed-toe flats to the interview. Many times when they hire a new graduate RN, a tour of their pro-spective unit is given that day. This is done before to determine if they would like a formal interview.

The campus Nursing Club is being re-

chartered this semester and will provide

opportunities for LAHC's pre-nursing

students and current nursing students to

connect through community outreach

opportunities like flu clinics, first aid

stations, blood drives and feeding those

in need.

The Nursing Club helps pre-nursing

students meet and ask questions of

current nursing students about LAHC’s

Registered Nursing program; there is a

focus on serving the community through

various events and staying informed of

current topics in nursing. Meetings will be

held the second Monday of the month.

Upcoming Events include:

November 3-14: Help support the Nursing club’s canned food drive! Drop your donation in the marked box in

Nursing Building

December 10: Serve at the YMCA San Pedro Better Breathers Club’s holiday luncheon

LAHC

NOVEMBER CALENDAR

Tuesday November 11 Veteran’s Day

LAHC offices and NLL closed

Sunday November 23

Last day to drop a full term class with a “W” online

Thursday November 27 Thanksgiving holiday

LAHC offices and NLL closed

Friday November 28 some clinical rotations are

open, so check with your instructor

December 15—19: Final exam week:

December 21: Last day of classes 2014

February 9: Back to school!

NURSING CLUB NEWS by Aleah Baklenko, 4th semester

Health Sciences

1111 Figueroa Place

Wilmington, CA 90744

Phone: 310-233-4282

Fax: 310-233-4609

E-mail: brustkt@lahc.edu

The mission of the Associate Degree

Nursing Program at LAHC is to edu-

cate and prepare a diverse body of

students to become safe, compe-

tent, and caring Registered Nurses

for entry‐level positions in communi-

ty health‐care settings while culti-

vating professionalism, an apprecia-

tion for other peoples and cultures,

and a desire for life‐long learning.

To achieve this mission, we strive to

create a culture of excellence and

support, where students are chal-

lenged to meet high educational

standards.