An article in the Nov. 6, 2003 issue of the New York Times, written by Richard Pérez-Peña, reported on a highly poisonous powder sold to Dominicans to treat everything from body odor to foot odor. The powder, called litargirio, contains high levels of lead and can cause irreversible brain damage. It is usually sprinkled on…

I was on a pediatrics visit at Harbor-UCLA hospital learning how to perform a newborn exam. As I followed the Peds attending into the patient’s room, I noticed that the baby’s mom was sitting on the side of the crib talking in Spanish to her husband. The attending, I’ll call her Dr. Gabe, started to…

HE DIDN’T ANSWER by Dawn Michael Rounds have started. I move from bed to bed with the doctors, three patients at a time. Bed 3 contains Matu, Mugambi and Karanja. Matu’s spine is beginning to curve from six weeks of clutching his knees so he doesn’t touch the cold, contaminated floor. His spot at the…

I was invited to do a presentation on cultural competence to the hospice staff and a large, successful, and very white hospital. As part of my preparation, I visited the in patient hospice one afternoon. At the end of my visit I sat with the nurses as they debriefed the shift. One, a leader of…

Although polygamy (marriage to two or more spouses at the same time) is illegal in the United States, it sometimes occurs by default, when the individual neglects to get a legal divorce and then takes on a common law spouse. This can create confusion and legal difficulties in the absence of a signed Durable Power…

by ARISTOTLE V. IBASCO, RN Patient safety and satisfaction have always been a priority in nursing, but they can be compromised by nursing priority and time constraint. With higher patient to nurse ratios, increase patient acuity, managed health care system, and higher demands for quality patient care, nurses today are working harder. Who has the…

This excellent paper was written to fulfill an assignment for the class I taught on cultural diversity at CSUDH. Homelessness in our Hometown: The Hidden Community by Cammi Schwarze-Beem, School of Nursing, CSUDH In today’s society a person’s worth is determined by their material possessions, the size of their home, what kind of car they drive and how…