As I’ve mentioned before, Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays. It’s always been special for me because the majority of my at-the-bedside nursing career was as a pediatric cardiac nurse, and Valentine’s Day coincides with heart month and the Go Red for Women campaign.
I hope you remembered to wear red today as a reminder of the importance of heart health. It’s also a reminder of our expanded cardiac program and the new advanced heart failure program, which includes beginning our Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) program later this month. If you haven’t already done so, please complete your VAD training requirements in MyCompass.
This year the American Heart Association has a program called, “Regain your Rhythm.” I couldn’t think of a better title for what we need to do as UAMS nurses. Fingers crossed the worst of the Omicron variant will soon be behind us and we can begin to move forward toward a more manageable norm. As quarantined and COVID-positive staff return to work and we begin to fill more and more open positions, I’m optimistic that we’ll be back in our groove soon.
However, I don’t want us to get back to our “old” rhythm. My hope is that we’ll be able to use all we’ve learned in each wave of the pandemic to create a new, livelier, more satisfying rhythm. An important part of creating this new rhythm will be your mental and physical well-being. UAMS has lots of resources to help, but I’m afraid too many people have been too busy to take note of all that’s available. Thanks to a suggestion from Perioperative Care Services Nursing Director Robbie Hemmer, MHA, BSN, BBA, RN, this month’s Schwartz Rounds will feature a panel of colleagues who have taken advantage of UAMS resources. I hope you’ll be able to join this session at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 16. Watch for registration information in the coming days.
My first baby step toward self-care was a box of heart-shaped Cheerios. They make me smile and help me feel a little better about the future. If someone figured out how to turn Cheeri-Os, into Cheeri-hearts, then the possibilities for a better world are endless, right?
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all you do for UAMS.
Trenda