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Thursday, April 12, 2012

Stress Reduction Increases Healing for Children


By Lori Lite, Founder of Stress Free Kids

Imagine teaching children to harness their own power to create positive, stress free healing reactions. Children are enthusiastically receptive to learning proven techniques of breathing, visualizing, muscle relaxation, and positive affirmative statements to actively participate in managing their own stress and promoting their own healing. Prolonged stress, high pressure, and health challenges can wreak havoc on our children and their families.  It is our responsibility to empower children by offering them the tools they need to maintain emotional balance while optimizing their immune systems. Kids can be active participants in creating their own healthy, calm lives.

Here are 5 tips and proven techniques to help children manage stress and facilitate healing:

    Use affirmations or positive statements to counteract stress and promote healing. Teach your children to take a break and say, “I am calm. I am healing. I am peaceful. I am happy. I am strong.” Write positive statements with children so they can carry it in their pocket for the day. Encourage kids to make signs for their room. Put happy healing notes under their pillows. ( Affirmation Weaver  is a story that introduces children to positive statements.)

    Create visualizations - imagining can be both fun and effective. Create a happy thought that children can "go to" when stressed or worried. Develop a short story or scene that your child can think of when they are fearful or anxious during procedures.  Go for a calming ride on a cloud or float in a bubble. Slide down a rainbow and encourage children to create their own story of healing. Let them write it down or record it and then let them relax mom or dad with their visualization. (A Boy and a Turtle  introduces the healing power of visualizing with colors.)

    Practice controlled breathing. Taking slow deep breaths can help lower a child’s anxiety and anger.  It is also recommended for pain management. For added impact children can visualize breathing in healing joy filled air. All children can benefit from this important powerful stress and anger management technique.  Children can use breathing when they feel over-stimulated or on a verge of a temper tantrum, have them focus on their breathing and soothe themselves.  Breathe in 2,3,4 and out 2,3,4. In 2,3,4 and out 2,3,4. Encourage your child to show one of their dolls or stuffed animals this technique. (Kids love to breathe with the sea otters in Sea Otter Cove.)

    Use progressive muscle relaxation to help your child to fall asleep. Relax your child’s mind and body by telling various muscle groups to relax. Start with your child’s feet and work your way up to their head or reverse the order. After a few tries your child will be able to use this technique on their own. “I am going to relax my legs. I will relax my legs. My legs are relaxing. My legs are relaxed.” For a variation, try active progressive muscular relaxation. Tighten muscle groups and relax. “Hold, hold, hold…..Ahhhhh...” (The Goodnight Caterpillar uses passive progressive muscle relaxation so that actual movement of body in not required.)

    Music for healing and relaxation. Exposing children to music is a fun way to let them see how vibrations and sound can change the way they feel, function, and respond. Music can affect the brain, lower blood pressure, alleviate pain, reduce stress, and boost our immune systems. (Indigo Dreams: Kid’s Relaxation Music inspires and relaxes.)



All of the above mentioned techniques are incorporated into our books, CDs and Lesson plans . I invite you to explore my entire site to learn more about how you can introduce your family to stress management.

All of the above-mentioned stories and more are available as downloads:

Indigo Dreams shorter stories with relaxation techniques for younger child.  

Indigo Ocean Dreams longer stories with relaxation techniques for older children. 

Indigo Teen Dreams guided instructions with relaxation techniques for teens. 

Indigo Dreams: Adult Relaxation guided instructions with relaxation techniques for adults. 

Indigo Dreams: Garden of Wellness stories for all children includes techniques to release anger and positive statements to encourage healthy eating. 

Stress Free Kids founder Lori Lite has created a line of books and CDs designed to help children, teens, and adults decrease stress, anxiety, and anger. Ms. Lite’s books, CDs, and lesson plans are considered a resource for parents, psychologists, therapists, child life specialists, teachers, and yoga instructors. Lori is a certified children’s meditation facilitator and Sears’ Manage My Life parenting expert. For more information visit  Stress Free Kids and for daily advice follow Lori on Twitter and  Facebook .

The Critical Need for Continuing Education in Nursing

by Donald Wood

In writing my book and preparing educational courses for nurses, I have devoted much study to critical thinking and its application to nursing. While critical thinking is a very large subject with many parts, one component stands out in our world of evolving technology, mass communication and frequent research updates; accurate information.

In our initial training, we were exposed to the most up-to-date information available. This was the frequently cited reason for always having to purchase the newest edition of text books. We dutifully studied and were tested on information that would allow us to practice state of the art nursing. Later, we were tested on this same information to earn our license. After all of this training and testing, we were set free to be nurses. Having graduated from my nurses training in 1973, there was no continuing education requirement for my state at that time.

Back in 1964, musician Bob Dylan released his third album, The Times They Are a-Changin'. We should pay heed to this title in nursing. Though healthcare and nursing have always been changing, the rate of change is increasing at an ever increasing pace. It is hard to read a newspaper, magazine or listen to the TV without hearing about some study that has been published on any of a number of health related topics. You see, what we worked so diligently to learn in our initial training, may not be true anymore. Our instructors didn't lie to us. They provided us with the best information available at the time. Then the times changed!

For a nurse who was trained before the early 1990s, the cause of gastric ulcers was "known" to be excess stomach acid produced from too much stress or spicy food. After all, no bacteria could grow in the highly acidic environment of the stomach and duodenum! The treatment for these patients was centered on antacids, the Sippy diet (frequent portions of milk and cream followed by the addition of cereal, crackers and pureed vegetables) and stress reduction. The work of two Nobel Prize winning Australian physicians (Dr. Barry Marshall and Dr. Robin Warren) in the mid-1980s laid the foundation for medicine to learn that our treatment of gastric ulcers was totally off base. The research of these two investigators showed that a bacterium (Helicobacter pylori or H. pylori) was responsible for gastric ulcers. Our treatment regimen, while very impressive and time consuming, was totally worthless.

You see; the world of information around us had changed. How were we to learn of this important change? If you didn't work in a gastroenterologist office, it might have been many years until you stumbled upon this gigantic change. This is why we have a need for continuing education. Healthcare is always in a state of change. It is up to us to be constantly searching for and learning new information. Even the items that we initially learned should be periodically examined to confirm their continued accuracy and relevance to our nursing practice.

Many states have instituted a mandatory continuing education requirement for licensure renewal. A recent Internet search revealed 18 states that don't have even a minimal requirement for continuing education. If not for the renewal of a license, we should all commit ourselves to a continuing education program for the sake of keeping our professional standing at its highest level. The public expects it. Our patients deserve it. We should demand it of ourselves. I know; educational courses incur cost and take time, but that is part of being a professional.

The results of the 2011 Gallup Poll on honesty and ethics of professionals were recently released. For the twelfth year (out of thirteen), nurses have achieved the highest rating. This shows that the public embraces the professionalism of nurses above pharmacists, physicians, police officers and even clergy. We hold an esteemed position in the eyes of the public. For nurses to continue this path, we must continue to learn every single day. It is essential for the critical thinking process and for our profession.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6893441



A nurse since 1973, Donald has seen nurse from many views. Emergency room, ICU, military, anesthesia and mentor are but a few of the experiences that Donald has had during his ongoing nursing career. Donald still provides direct patient care. He is also promoting better patient safety and satisfaction through increased communication, critical thinking, leadership and marketing skills. His book, "The Intelligent Nurse", was released in 2011. This book forms the basis for The Intelligent Nurse seminar. Donald has spoken at several national level nursing meetings across the country. People constantly comment on the effective way he can communicate new ideas using a variety of teaching methods. You can contact Donald at donald@donaldwood.com

Monday, April 9, 2012

التعليم الطبي المستمر في الكويت


يعرف التعليم الطبي المستمر بأنه كل الخبرات والأنشطة التعليمة التي يحصل عليها العاملون في المجال الطبي بعد التعليم الأساسي ويهدف هذا النوع من التعليم إلى تحسين جودة الرعاية الصحية المقدمة. ويتمثل التعليم المستمر في عدة أشكال منها المحاضرات وورش العمل والمؤتمرات والتعليم عن بعد.
أهمية التعليم الطبي المستمر
  • يساعد في الحصول على مهارات جديدة تساهم في تطوير المهنة
  • العمل على مواكبة المستجدات في مجال التخصص
  • يمكن المهنيين المحافظة على كفاءتهم ومستوى أدائهم
  • العمل على تحسين صحة المجتمع
  • المساعدة في الحصول على إعادة الترخيص للمهنة إن وجد
  • إرضاء الأسباب والاحتياجات الخاصة للفرد
جهات الإعتماد أو الإعتراف بالتعليم الطبي المستمر في الكويت
الجهة الوحيدة التي تعتمد التعليم الطبي المستمر في الكويت هي معهد الكويت للاختصاصات الطبية (KIMS). ونظام التعليم الطبي المستمر اختياري ويعتمد على نظام النقاط لجميع البرامج المعتمدة من مجلس المعهد.
كيفية توزيع النقاط على البرامج التعليمية
تنقسم البرامج التعليمية المعتمدة من مجلس المعهد إلى فئتين:
الفئة الأولى:
  • يحصل المشارك في الأنشطة التعليمية التي تندرج تحت هذه الفئة على نقطة لكل ساعة حضور وتشمل هذه على سبيل المثال المحاضرات والندوات والحلقات الدراسية أو السمنار.
الفئة الثانية:
  • يحصل المشارك في الأنشطة التعليمية التي تندرج تحت هذه الفئة على سبيل المثال حضور المؤتمرات أونشر أبحاث في مجلات علمية محكمة.
المستفيدون من برامج التعليم المستمر المعتمدة من المعهد
  • الأطباء وأطباء الأسنان والصيادلة فقط. وتشترط وزارة الصحة حصول الأطباء وأطباء الأسنان على 250 نقطة في خلال 5 سنوات للحصول على ترقية أما الصيادلة فتشترط حصولهم على نصف هذه النقاط أي 125 نقطة في خلال 5 سنوات.
تساؤلات حول التعليم المستمر لمهنة التمريض
هل هناك فعلا حاجة ماسة للتعليم المستمر لأفراد الهيئة التمريضية؟ إذا كانت الإجابة بنعم:
  • هل يجب أن يكون التعليم المستمر إجباري أم اختياري؟
  • من هي الجهة التي ستكون مسئولة عن الاعتراف ببرامج التعليم المستمر؟
  • كيف يمكن قياس الاستفادة من هذا التعليم؟
  • كيف يمكن ضمان جودة هذه البرامج؟
  • من سيتحمل تكلفة هذه البرامج التعليمية؟
  • ما هو الوقت المناسب لهذه البرامج؟
  • ما هي الساعات والبرامج والنقاط المطلوبة للتعليم المستمر لأفراد الهيئة التمريضية؟