Overnight Observations with Jen the R.N.

Strolling through the hallways of my memory, I came across some good and not-so-good recollections of my childhood and teenage years watching soap operas. It all started with a contemptuous conversation about SOAP notes, an acronym representing a widely used method of documentation for healthcare providers. A practice I bet only old-school nurses keep alive; the rest of them might be using some fancy software. In this episode, I share my vision on SOAP notes, what they are suitable for, and why I prefer to stick with the good old bullet points during a conversation with a patient. I also travel back to my childhood, remembering my experiences with ice cream and hospitals. We also take a closer look at soap operas' history in America, from radio to TV shows. In This Episode, You Will Learn:It is good to take some things out of our chest (1:18)What does SOAP stand for in SOAP notes (2:27)From throat soar to undergo anesthesia at the Revere's Grover Manor Hospital (5:01)A bit of soap operas' history (6:22)Resources:Network Radio's Fateful Thanksgiving of 1960Let's Connect!Overnight Observations website Email: OvernightObservations@gmail.com

Usually, at the beginning of a dystopian movie where machines team up to wipe out humanity from the face of the earth, someone says something like: "I want machines to do what we want them to do, and I want us not to be enslaved by machines." The quote belongs to Thomas Reardon, CEO of CTRL-labs, regarding the impressive progress of using technology to treat patients with Parkinson's disease. Today's episode is precisely about that; not about the human extinction at the hands of soldiers with metal skeletons, but the progress of technology in the medical field. After a week of trick or treating the scale and finding out I might have added some weight, my mind wandered through some interesting facts about new equipment and technologies developed to make patients' and caregivers' lives easier. We discuss the imminent arrival of Alexa to hospitals and clinics to help patients connect with the care team and be entertained. We also talk about the use of VR for physical therapy rehab, Google's new tech to help diagnose lung cancer, and much more.In This Episode, You Will Learn:Some of the technological advances I've seen during my almost 25 years in the industry (2:19)Alexa, play some relaxing music to relieve the pain (3:13)A portable ultrasound machine (6:14)About Google's AI systems to detect lung cancer (7:47)Let's Connect!Overnight Observations website Email: OvernightObservations@gmail.com

These are exciting days for me as Halloween gets closer. It has always been my favorite holiday, even more than Christmas, even more than my own birthday. Unfortunately, as I haven't worked a single Halloween my entire life, I haven't had any first-hand experiences at the emergency room from this holiday. However, I do have to share some of my childhood memories "trick or treating" and a fascinating piece of research on how Hollywood horrors had depicted nurses through the years. In this episode, we travel back to some happy Halloween memories from my childhood, my father's sweet tooth, and his planned chocolate shopping miscalculations. We also analyze in-depth the three types in which nurses were represented in Hollywood horrors throughout cinema history. Finally, we look at the evolution of nurses' uniforms and costumes, from our friend Florence Nightingale's original design to the 2008's designed by Luis Vuitton in Fashion Week. In This Episode, You Will Learn:The doctor said I can't go trick or treating this year. Going anyways (1:45)About my father's planned miscalculations (3:39)How Hollywood depicted nurses over the years (5:38)The evolution of the nurses' uniform through the years (8:31)Resources: Nurse Advisor MagazineNurse BuffScreen RantAmeritech College of HealthcareLet's Connect!Overnight Observations website Email: OvernightObservations@gmail.com

The emergency room is definitely one of the few places where horror and humor can exist in the same space at the same time. However, it is not the only place where that can happen; a warzone is another excellent example, with the subtle addition of a thick sense of danger and an exceptionally high risk of getting a heavy wound or be killed. To Hunter Swan, our today's guest, humor will always make your life easier, even in an extremely violent and hostile environment like war. In this episode, Hunter Swan, a former U.S Marine who spent over 8 years in the army, shares some stories of his time in the military, and we talk about the importance of humor to endure heavy training and armed combat. Hunter also offers some advice for those interested in joining the army; he explains what a sugar cookie is, and tells us his grandfather's incredible story from when he stormed Normandie. Some Questions I Ask:How did you get into the Marines? (1:37)How long were you in, and what did you do? (2:57)What advice would you give for people enlisting in the army? (12:04)In This Episode, You Will Learn:About the kind of combat Hunter witnessed (5:16)A bad stomach and a hot truck going through the desert (7:14)Trading MREs (Meals Ready-to-Eat) for a goat (9:13)What is a sugar cookie, and why military people don't like them (16:52)Connect with Hunter:InstagramLet's Connect!Overnight Observations website Email: OvernightObservations@gmail.com

It might sound unbelievable after all we've suffered in the last couple of years, but many people seem to ignore the importance of washing their hands. After seeing people walking out the door instead of to the sink after using the toilet, I've decided it was time to do a little public service with today's show. This episode is dedicated to the good old (and lifesaver) habit of washing our hands. We travel back a couple of centuries to know Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian doctor who suspected that doctors scrubbing in between the autopsy room and the birthing room might be the reason why many women developed fever or died after giving birth. We also explore different hand washing techniques, apps, and a curious yet entertaining incident at the Boston Garden ticket line. In This Episode, You Will Learn:A woman walks into a bar... and leaves the bathroom without washing her hands (2:38)One of my mother's pet peeves that inspired a song (3:26)About Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis observations (5:05)How long it took to the importance of washing our hands to catch on (8:03)A tiny spectacle before The Wiggles' show at the Boston Garden (9:33)Let's Connect!Overnight Observations websiteEmail:  OvernightObservations@gmail.com

A contemptuous scrolling on social media drove me to an ad that called my attention. This sponsored ad, which was trying to sell a serial-killer-torture-device-like artifact, an earwax remover, made me think about old remedies. In this episode, we talk about old-timey remedies, some of which caused more damage before solving anything at all. We explore these old-fashioned advertisements, some of which we can still find in some hospitals. We also look at some of these practices still used in today's medicine, believe it or not. In This Episode, You Will Learn:You shouldn't put anything bigger than your elbow in your ears (2:03)The lollypop that takes you on a delicious trip (5:45)Mrs. Winslow's soothing syrup (6:15)When remedies cause bigger damage than the one they were trying to fix (8:01)Let's Connect!Overnight Observations websiteEmail:  OvernightObservations@gmail.com