Wednesday, March 18, 2020

COVID-19, Nurses, and Staying Informed in Trying Times

Greetings from Nurse Keith Nation HQ here in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where I'm spending the majority of my waking hours monitoring the COVID-19 situation closely in order to inform myself and my online tribe of nurses and healthcare professionals. Like many others, I'm doing my best to stay up-to-date and use my various platforms (as well as good old-fashioned emails and phone calls) to educate and inform as many people as I can about the latest developments regarding this very real pandemic sweeping the globe.

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay 

The reality is that this is not going away any time soon, no matter how many people say it will be "gone in two weeks"; that this is a government conspiracy to decrease the population; or that it's a Democratic/progressive plot funded by Bill Gates, George Soros, or some left-wing Deep State cabal to unseat the President and turn the United States into a socialist state with Bernie Sanders as dictator for life.

Meanwhile, completely useless -- and potentially dangerous -- home "miracle" remedies to clear the virus are being circulated on the Internet, including turning a hairdryer on high heat and blowing it into your mouth for some unspecified period of time. I also hear people saying that we can pray away the virus, dance away the virus, or simply focus on love instead of fear in order to eradicate this menace. Prayer is a lovely practice with many benefits, as is focusing on love, but the scientific evidence is our best bet for keeping as many people safe and alive as possible.

You may or may not be aware that I'm now producing regular podcast episodes about COVID-19, along with my usual career-oriented interviews with national nursing and healthcare leaders that are released every Friday. Nurses need career support now more than ever as this virus ravages the world's resources and ability to respond, and we must make sure that every nurse is ready with a resume and other career-related tools in order to apply for jobs, land interviews, interview well, and then get hired. We need nurses in the job market and ready to roll today!

Please see below for my very first podcast episode related to COVID-19, and you can hear the first update following that episode by clicking here.

As stated on my podcast:

I will be regularly publishing episodes related solely to the COVID-19 pandemic. There will be no corporate sponsors of these episodes and no advertising of my business as this is solely about education and information as a public service. Please share far and wide if you feel these episodes are a valuable approach to the virus. 

DISCLAIMER: All information in these episodes about COVID-19 uses the most up-to-date information we can access, as well as some personal opinions and reactions. Please note that the situation is changing by the moment, and any information shared in any episode may not apply once that data has been updated. Please also note that nothing shared in the course of any Nurse Keith Coaching COVID-19 podcast is intended for diagnosis or treatment; please consult your healthcare provider or your local Department of Health.  

If you hear or read something I have shared that appears to be erroneous, please leave an evidence-based comment on social media or email me directly at keith@nursekeith.com. Thank you for understanding, stay safe, and keep informed. 

If you navigate to NurseKeith.com and click on "podcasts" in the menu bar at the top of the home page, you'll have ready access to my show notes that include links to anything salient I mentioned on the show or simply want you to review. I'm also sharing many high-quality resources on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, as well as links to podcast episodes on Instagram.

Based on the massive amount of reading, studying, talking to experts, and relaying of information that I'm engaged in, you may notice duplicate information on this blog, my newsletter, on my podcast, and also in the feeds of my social media platforms. It's impossible in the current fast-moving and mutable climate to continue to create 100% fresh content each day regarding the latest updates, so please understand that you may see the same information here and there as I spread the word and attempt to reach the many branches of my audience with my overall message in these troubled times.

If you need me, please reach out. These are uncharted waters and we must stick together; support one another; keep our families, loved ones, and communities safe; and be as educated as we can so that we can provide the most evidence-based information to those who trust us and look to us for information, reassurance, and reliable information. Will you join me in that effort?


Stay safe, well, and informed, and be the nurse who does the right thing in the face of COVID-19.

Blessings from Santa Fe,

Nurse Keith


--------------------------------


Keith Carlson, RN, BSN, NC-BC, is the Board Certified Nurse Coach behind NurseKeith.com and the well-known nursing blog, Digital Doorway. Please visit his online platforms and reach out for his support when you need it most.

Keith is the host of The Nurse Keith Show, his solo podcast focused on career advice and inspiration for nurses. From 2012 until its sunset in 2017, Keith co-hosted RNFMRadio, a groundbreaking nursing podcast.

A widely published nurse writer, Keith is the author of Savvy Networking For Nurses: Getting Connected and Staying Connected in the 21st Century and Aspire to be Inspired: Creating a Nursing Career That Matters. He has contributed chapters to a number of books related to the  nursing profession. Keith has written for Nurse.com, Nurse.org,, MultiBriefs News Service, LPNtoBSNOnline, StaffGarden, AUSMed, American Sentinel University, Black Doctor, Diabetes Lifestyle, the ANA blog, American Nurse Today, NursingCE.com, Working Nurse Magazine, and other online and print publications.

Mr. Carlson brings a plethora of experience as a nurse thought leader, keynote speaker, online nurse personality, social media influencer, podcaster, holistic career coach, writer, and well-known nurse entrepreneur. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with his lovely and talented wife, Mary Rives, and their adorable and remarkably intelligent cat, George. (You can find George on Instagram by using the hashtag #georgethecatsantafe.) 

No comments: