Nursing

AN ONCOLOGY NURSE IN MASSACHUSETTS plans to take part in a two-day, 190-mile bike ride this month in honor of a patient who died in October 2008. Kristin Beauparlant, RN, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, hadn't ridden a bike since childhood, but agreed to ride in this year's Pan-Massachusetts Challenge to honor patient Beth Bennett Rice, who had done the challenge every year between 1992 and 2006, after which she was too sick to take part. Two days before her death, Bennett Rice offered Beauparlant her bike to ride in the event, according to an article posted on the Web site Seacoast Online. "She just had an amazing way about her," Beauparlant said. "I think my experience with her has taught me a lot about being a nurse and being a person, and living life to the fullest."

AT LEAST 10 SCHOOL NURSES in New York City were not paid for days the city closed their schools during the recent H1N1 flu scare, according to a recent article in the New York Daily News. The nurses were told they would have to use vacation days for the time their schools were closed, or else have their pay docked. Several of the nurses spoke to the newspaper on the condition their names would be withheld. Many said they themselves got sick from caring for sick kids, and during the height of the crisis, they were deluged with sick kids. One called the situation "chaos." All other employees in the schools, including teachers, custodians and lunch aides, were paid as usual for the time their schools were closed. Some New York school nurses are employed through the city Health Department, and some through the Education Department; the Education Department nurses were paid as usual, but the Health Department nurses were not, according to the Daily News.

WOMEN WHO GIVE BIRTH at a Tampa, FL, hospital have a new tool available to combat post-partum depression, thanks to a nurse leader. June Vinyard, RN, BSN, recently implemented a voluntary screening questionnaire for new moms to take prior to leaving the Women's Center at University Community Hospital, according to an article in The Tampa Tribune. It contains 12 yes-or-no questions, and if the mother's answers indicate there may be a problem, a nurse or social worker will meet with her before discharge to assess her situation and seek permission to call her later. As a result of Vinyard's efforts, the hospital also established a Mom to Mom Connection support group, led by a licensed mental health counselor, and open to women who gave birth elsewhere. "It's rewarding, and I'm pleased we are providing information and resources they might need, and women are stepping forward," Vinyard said. "It's not really our job, but we want them to be successful."