Crank up the AC and settle in for this month's edition of Nursing Connections™. Find out more about entrepreneur Karon White Gibson, RN, CCM, TV show host and owner of AmericaNurse, a consulting, education, and TV production company. Read a review of a holistic nursing book and an article about taking care of the caregiver in you, and learn how to research products based on chemical ingredients.

Donna's Book Pix: Holistic Nursing – A Handbook for Practice, 4th ed. by Barbara Montgomery Dossey, Lynn Keegan, and Cathie E. Guzzetta This 942-page tome is a comprehensive and complete guide to the concepts, principles, and practice of holistic nursing. It is published by the American Holistic Nurses Association and covers every imaginable aspect of the subject (and then some) for both self-healing and healing others. You’ll find information about all the basics, including touch, meditation, imagery, and nutrition, as well as music therapy, addiction and recovery counseling, dying in peace, smoking cessation, therapeutic communication, and much more. There is so much information in this outstanding guide that it would be impossible to list it all here. Every nurse should have this incredible reference in his or her professional library. The cost (around $75) is a worthwhile investment. An abbreviated pocket guide version is also available for about $30.

Cool Nursing Web Site:
Household Products Database
What’s under your bathroom sink? The National Library of Medicine Household Products Database links more than 6,000 consumer brands to health effects from Material Safety Data Sheets and allows scientists and consumers to research products based on chemical ingredients. The site answers questions like "What are the chemical ingredients and their percentage in specific brands?" and "What are the acute and chronic effects of chemical ingredients in a specific brand?"

If you have a cool nursing web site you'd like to share, please send it to me at editor@dcardillo.com.

Career Article:
First Things First
A lot has changed in nursing and health care over the last few decades. Resources are diminished, patient acuity is up, and everyone is expected to do more with less. Nursing has never been an easy profession, but it seems to be pushing our limits these days.

Nurses are caregivers by nature and by profession. That means we traditionally take care of everyone else first and have little time and energy left for ourselves. The result is stress, illness, short tempers, loss of focus and perspective, and poor judgment. When your system is taxed, things start to go wrong on some level. Read more.

News You Can Use:
HIV tests could become as common as cholesterol checks under guidelines expected to be issued soon by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to an Associated Press dispatch.

Although voluntary, testing for the virus that causes AIDS would be part of routine physical exams for Americans age 13 to 64 because they are most responsible for spreading it, according to the CDC.

Federal officials estimate 1 million Americans are HIV-positive and as many as 25% don’t know it.

Quote of the Month:
It is confidence in our bodies, minds, and spirits that allows us to keep looking for new adventures, new directions to grow in, and new lessons to learn – which is what life is all about.
— Oprah Winfrey

Entrepreneur Spotlight:
Karon White Gibson RN, CCM, is a nurse with a very "entertaining" background. In addition to being owner of AmericaNurse, a consulting, education, and TV production company, she hosts her own TV show, Outspoken with Karon, which deals with diverse topics, such as health, safety, adoption, and herbal remedies. She is a TV veteran: In 1982, she hosted her first program — Healthbreak, a 15-minute spot on Multimedia Cable — and she’s hosted several others since then. Karon has also run first aid stations for major motion pictures and TV series, including The Fury, Dr. Detroit, Risky Business, and Lady Blue. Additionally, she writes on health and safety topics for two newspapers in the Chicago area, the Southtown Economist and the Daily Herald.

She and partner Joy Catterson, RN, authored Nurses on Our Own, the astonishing story of two women who defied the entire medical establishment by establishing an Independent Nursing Practice Corporation, the first in the U.S., as well as the dramatic court battle to regain their professional reputations after being fired by a powerful hospital. Nurses on Our Own is available anywhere that books are sold.

Karon, who is available for speaking engagements on related topics, was the president of a home health care agency and private duty nursing service that pioneered the development of home care in 1973 before it was fashionable.

Find out more about Karon, her TV show, and her business at www.americanurse.com. You can reach her at asktvnurse@yahoo.com or (815) 773-4497.

Come Meet Donna:

Upcoming Events:

Seminar Double Header – Las Vegas, NV
October 16, 2006 – Career Alternatives For Nurses™
October 17, 2006 – How to Start Your Own Business or Consulting Practice

Conferences/Conventions
Nursing - The Next Generation
September 7, 2006 – Lake Lanier, Georgia
Grady Health Systems – Nursing Perspectives Conference

Take Your Career to the Next Level
September 14 - Parsippany, NJ
Atlantic Health Systems Recruitment Event

Nursing Career Advancement
September 16-17, 2006 – Dallas, Texas
21st Century Professional and Civil Society Conference

Nurse Power!™
Learn to Speak With Style
October 25-29, 2006 - Cancun, Mexico
Educational Enterprises - Nursing Symposium

For additional program info visit http://www.dcardillo.com/events.html.

Book Donna Today
Planning a convention, educational conference, or leadership training program? Looking for a speaker for a new graduate orientation program, student nurse luncheon, or recruitment event? Donna has a program to meet your needs. Don't miss the opportunity to bring the country's leading career management expert and motivational speaker for nurses to your event. Call 800-801-5796 or e-mail at donna@dcardillo.com for rates, availability, and program topics. Fill out an inquiry form if you prefer.

Your 1^st Year As A Nurse Ordering Information
Order a personalized, autographed copy of Your 1^st Year as a Nurse directly from Cardillo & Associates. It makes a great personal or professional gift.

For colleges and healthcare facilities, Your 1^st Year as a Nurse can be purchased at a bulk discount from online booksellers and directly from the publisher. Contact us for more information at 800-801-5796.

Career Alternatives for Nurses™ Product Specials
The audiocassette and VHS versions of Career Alternatives for Nurses™ are being phased out, so we are offering you special close-out prices on those. Hurry — this offer is valid while current supplies last!

Video Cassette (VHS) – 2 tape set originally $149.95 now $105.99 plus shipping and handling
Audio Cassette – 4 tape set originally $99.95 now $69.99 plus shipping and handling
Order your copy today.

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