vacation Archives - Off the Charts

“The Next Time She Needs a Pap Smear at 3 AM . . . “

By Christine Moffa, MS, RN-BC, AJN clinical editor

Vacations are an important part of keeping balanced in life and a good way to prevent career burnout. However, I’m sure that, like me, many of you have had to step out of relaxation mode to come to the aid of some unfortunate vacationer who either injured herself or himself trying a new activity, had a near drowning at the beach, or suffered some other tragedy.

I’ve just returned from a trip with six friends to Turks and Caicos. There was beach, sun, a lot of activities like snorkeling and the flying trapeze, and unlimited food and alcohol; in other words, it was the perfect set-up for a trip to the infirmary. (I once had a three-week nursing gig at a resort, so I know the usual ailments: overindulgence in food, alcohol, and sun; twisted ankles from people playing sports they haven’t attempted in the last 10 years; and the occasional serious accident or heart attack.)

Two days into the trip, one of my co-travelers fell ill with food poisoning, which resulted in a day’s worth of vomiting. At 2 a.m. my phone rang. It was this friend telling me that not only was she sick, but she’d just […]

Jacob Molyneux, senior editor/blog editor2016-11-21T13:18:24-05:00April 2nd, 2010|career, nursing perspective|3 Comments

Weathering the Storm in PR

By Shawn Kennedy, AJN interim editor-in-chief

As I’m writing this, I’m lucky enough to be in Puerto Rico, out of the record-setting snow storm that just hit the Northeast (and further south as well). But I’m still following the news of the storm and “real life” (sun and sand in February is so not real life) and trying to keep up with work e-mail a bit so it won’t overwhelm me when I get home (it will anyway).

Which brings me to my point: how difficult it is to shake off real life today and just relax. As I’m sitting here in the hotel lobby using the Internet connection, I see at least a dozen other people on laptops and another dozen or so on cell phones. As I look out the large windows to the palm trees and blue sky, I realize there is something definitely wrong with the picture—I’m not out there stocking up on Vitamin D. I’d better go—for health reasons, you understand.