As the weather takes a turn for the better, it can be difficult to stay focused at work. The sunshine, the warm air, the blue skies, all point to summer vacation. But something’s holding you back… whatever the excuse may be; too much work, don’t want to spend money, don’t want to use time off, etc. The truth of the matter is vacation may actually improve your work preformance.

Giving in to the demands to work around the clock may actually wreck your productivity, destroy work-life balance, and ultimately lead to the dreaded burnout. I know in our profession, finding time to get out of our Scrubs is difficult, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of a little R&R! If a big beach getaway isn’t in the cards, there are still many ways you can work within the system to get some rest and some time off.

Forbes staffer Deborah L. Jacobs suggests several ways to reset your internal clock, including:

1. Work when you’re most productive. Morning people: schedule the tougher assignments for the a.m., when you’re freshest. Everyone else: try to hold off on meetings until you’ve had your morning cup of coffee.

2. Take fewer breaks. Although it’s tempting to take any excuse to get away from your for a minute or two, every time you return to work, you need to get back in the groove. Power your way through as much work as possible before taking a rest.

3. Go on vacation. Take every second of your vacation time, even if you only have two weeks, and even if your company subtly discourages it! You’ll be a much better worker when you’re rested and recharged, and most people remember how crabby their colleague was in the morning meeting rather than recalling whether he took eight days of vacation this year or ten.

How do you keep from burnout? How much vacation time do you take?

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Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale defined nursing over 100 years ago as, “the act of utilizing the environment of the patient to assist him in his recovery.”

Nurses were no longer untrained housekeepers but people educated in the care of the sick due to Nightingale’s efforts. And thus the birth, although we didn’t know it then, of National Nurses Week began.

National Nurses Week is celebrated annually from May 6, also known as National Nurses Day, through May 12, Florence Nightingale’s birthday.

Nightingale is the considered the “mother” of professional modern nursing, after establishing the first secular nursing school in the world, St. Thomas’ Hospital in London. The school is now part of King’s College London. New nurses today still take the Nightingale Pledge in Florences’ honor.

With such a powerful and memorable mentor for the nursing industry, it’s no wonder, National Nurses Week concludes on Florence Nightingale’s birthday. A nice sentiment back to the original roots of nursing. Each year, National Nurses Week embodies a theme chosen by the American Nurses Association. The 2012 theme is Nurses: Advocating, Leading, Caring to help celebrate nurses and all that they do!

May 6 through May 12 are fixed dates, always marking National Nurses Week. In 1998, May 8 was designated as National Student Nurses Day. And as of 2003, National School Nurse Day is celebrated on the Wednesday within the week.

With over 3.1 million licensed registered nurses in the United States, how will you be celebrating? How about holding a special celebration or reception to recognize nurses in your community? Who would you honor?

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Who would have ever thought Scrubs could be fashionable? Students from the University of Minnesota’s College of Design were selected to create three looks using medical scrubs and modeled them in a Scrubbed Into Fashion Show at TCF Bank Stadium. Scrubadoo was the main sponsor for the event, donating all the scrubs which were then turned into garments.

The Scrubbed Into Fashion Challenge, in it’s second annual installment, is a “Project Runway”inspired event produced by the Medical School Student Council and the Fashion and Business student group.

Eight c design students were selected & asked to create a ready-to-wear look, a couture look, and a traditional medical attire look. The theme this year was African culture. Scrubbed Into Fashion partnered with the Smile Network, a Minnesota-based nonprofit which provided reconstructive surgeries for children and young adults in developing countries.  All proceeds were given to the Smile Network, who’s next destination is Africa.

The Fashion Show had about 450 attendees and tripled last year’s earnings, raising about $15,000. This money will go toward funding 30 surgeries for an upcoming mission to Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.

Students from the University’s dental and medical schools modeled the African-inspired garments. As an added challenge, this year’s designers had to incorporate a male model in their runway collections. Most of the designers saw this as their biggest challenge.

The event originated in 2010 through a conversation at a conference-room table with medical student Phillip Radke and Kim Valentini, founder of the Smile Network.

“I wanted to create an opportunity for young talent to flourish,” Radke said. “And to see my crazy, zany dream become a reality.”

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Do you have design skills? Have an idea for a funny nursing tee? If so, then we’ve got something great for you! Enter the 3rd Annual Nurses Week Humerus T-shirt Design Contest, sponsored by yours truly, Scrubadoo!

All participants are challenged to design their own t-shirts focused on the humor in nursing as part of the celebration for National Nurses Week, beginning May 6th.

Designers can submit as many tshirts as you wish, using Fibers.com design tool or any number of design programs. The winning designs will be chosen through a combination of a judging panel as well as an online voting system at Fibers.com. Entries are being accepted now through May 12th, 2012 at 11:59pm; registered users can vote for three total entries.

Be sure to let us know if you create a t-shirt so we can all help you gain votes! Post it on our Facebook page, or even Tweet us your design, @Scrubadoo!

The three winning designers will have their t-shirts available for purchase at Fibers.com while the grand prize winner receives and iPad 3, second place will receive an iPod Nano
and third prize receives an iTunes gift card. All winners will also get vouchers to use at
Scrubadoo.com and Fibers.com online stores and t-shirts of their winning design.

“We really enjoy making Nurses Week something special for our Traveling Nurses and Nurses everywhere, and this t-shirt design contest is definitely one of our favorite things we do to celebrate National Nurses Week,” said Craig Meier, Senior Vice President. “The whole point of our celebration is to bring a little fun to our Nurses who work so hard day in and day out. This year I think will be even better since we’re having the Nurses design the funniest t-shirt that represents their profession. I’m really looking forward to seeing all the great designs as they come in!”

Interested in checking out all the designs, voting for your favorites, or submitting a tee of your own? Visit Fibers.com for all the details!

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Dry hands plague us all! We can’t help but wash our hands about a million times a day and that can really take a toll on those important hands of ours. There no easy solution for the sandpaper, I mean hands, but I’ve found hand creams and moisturizers that really help.

1) CeraVe: I really love this product. It’s great for itchy, dry hands and drys quickly. It even helps those with ecezema. All CeraVe Skincare products provide the benefits of unique, patented MVE® delivery technology and are formulated with essential ceramides and other skin-nurturing and protective ingredients—including vital humectants and emollients—to replenish and retain needed moisture.

2) Vaseline Intensive Care: You really can’t go wrong with Vaseline. It’s been around forever, so you know it works. Repairing Moisture Lotion with Stratys-3^TM multi-layer moisture relieves and accelerates the healing of very dry skin. This unique formula hydrates all layers of dry skin, for intensive moisturization that works quickly and effectively.

3) Eucerin Hand Cream: This product is safe for babies, so if you work in childcare there’s a plus right there. It’s a thicker cream, yet doesn’t leave your hands with that greasy feeling. It gently exfoliates dry, damaged skin while intensive moisturizers keep your skin protected and smooth. After just one use hands feel noticeably smoother. Plus dermatologists love this stuff!

4) Johnson’s Baby Lotion: Who doesn’t love that unmistakable baby fresh scent? As the # 1 choice of hospitals and with the wonderful baby fresh scent, it could just be your best friend to help protect your skin from dryness. This ultra-gentle lotion softens and nourishes, for baby softness, perfect for you and for babies!

5) Aveda Hand Relief: This all natural cream moisturizes and soothes dry hands quickly with it’s incredibly rich moisture therapy. Chapped hands are left noticeably softer and smoother. Hydrating plant emollients, humectants, exfoliating fruit acids and anti-oxidants-including vitamins A and E-help diminish signs of aging and provide optimal relief. Increases moisture levels and elasticity in skin with continued use.

What hand creams have you found that work best for you?

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I was overwhelmed at the responses I gathered for last month’s Your Stories: Why I Love Medicine, I just had to create this second installment. I believe that ‘ah ha’ moment, when you realize you chose the right career path is a pivotal moment in everyone’s life and should be shared. So here ya go.

Do you have a good story to share? Please do, just leave us a comment below.

“When I was eight years old my mother had a massive stroke. It left her without the ability to speak or move her left arm and left leg. I watched as the speech therapists taught my mom to speak and write again, and I watched the physical therapists help my mom walk again.

My mom had intense physical and speech therapy, but the ones who spent the most time with her were the nurses. They treated my mom as if she was the only patient in the hospital. They walked her when physical therapists weren’t there. They educated my dad and my siblings about how to assist my mom while she was in the hospital and when we got to go home. The nurses treated us like people, and not just another patient.  The most important thing was the nurses made Mom feel at ease when she was scared of the unknown.

As a young girl, I witnessed all of the wonderful care my mom received from the nurses.  Twenty four years have gone by since my wonderful mother had her stroke, and I have been a nurse for nine of those years. I decided that was what I wanted to dedicate my life to; taking care of others.

Because of the fantastic nursing care my mother received, my life was, and is, forever changed.  This was my “I love medicine moment.”

– Cindi Jobe RN, BSN; Texas Regional Medical Center at Sunnyvale

“I love what I do. I am a dermatologist so I get to be a detective, an artist, and a scientist. I solve all kinds of medical mysteries and I can also save lives when I find a melanoma. When I put filler in someone’s face, I’m like a sculptor with the perfect eye for proportion. It’s not always easy, sometimes I have patients that complain and don’t pay the bill. Sometimes I have patients that leave my practice for no apparent reason without saying goodbye. But all in all I love my job.”

–Debra Jaliman MD

“My grandmother helped define medicine for me very early in my studies.  She said, “you realize that with all your education, you are still called to serve?” I think it is the most wonderful vocations to be able to take something I know or can do and use it to relieve someone else’s pain or anxiety or confusion.  I love new technology and I am beginning to enter into robotic surgery of the larynx, but even the coolest new you doesn’t eclipse the satisfaction of trying to help.  I am probably most rewarded when patients tell me I was kind to them or made them feel less worried or that they trust me.”

–Dr. H Steven Sims, M.D., FICS; Director at Chicago Institute for Voice Care

“There are so many moments I have found in which I loved medicine. Taking a piece of steel from a child’s eye at an amusement park, taking glass out of a woman’s hand, just making a difference in lives from birth to death is a bittersweet experience with rewards like none other. “

–Karon White Gibson, RN, CCM

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