Nutrition Information

How healthy is that food anyway? What kinds of nutrients are in it? You can learn about nutrition data, and what is in your food when you visit these web sites, which are devoted to helping you learn about nutrition data, and what’s in your food.

1. NutritionData: This is perhaps the best sight out there for nutrition information. Offers helpful insight into what’s in your food, and how you can choose foods that are healthier to eat.
2. Nutrition.gov: The U.S. government offers information on learning about proper nutrition, learning what goes into food, and understanding how you can plan nutritional meals for your family.
3. Food and Nutrition Information Center: Another government web site, this provides facts about food nutrition, and provides dietary guidance as well as information on food composition and life cycle nutrition.
4. Nutri-Facts: Get an inside look at what’s in your food, using this searchable site with information on more than 6,000 different foods.
5. Nutrient Data Laboratory: The USDA provides yet another helpful tool in understanding what sort of nutritional value your food has. This keyword-based search tool can help you learn about what’s in your food.
6. Nutrition: Learn about proper nutrition, how to find out what is in your food, and how to follow a diet rich in healthy things for your body.
7. Nutrition Facts, Nutrition News, Food Nutrition Data, Diet News, Naturopathy Digest: Get information and new on what’s happening in the world of nutrition, as well as what is in your food. A naturopathy twist to nutrition is included, as well as recipes.

Reading Food Labels

One of the most useful skills you can have is reading nutrition labels. Here are some sights that can help you learn to read food labels so that you understand the nutritional value of your food.

8. Wikipedia: Provides a great overview of food labels, and how to read them. Also goes over some of the differences between food labels in Australia and New Zealand, Canada, the EU, Mexico and the U.S.
9. FDA: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration provides a helpful guide to reading nutrition fact labels.
10. KidsHealth: There is a helpful guide on understanding food labels, and properly reading them, on this web site.
11. American Heart Association: A step-by-step guide to reading food labels, and deciphering what the phrases on the labels really mean.
12. Pediatrics: Offers a helpful guide to reading food labels, and understanding what different sections mean.
13. Life Clinic: Learn the lingo used on food labels, and get an overview of how to more effectively read labels so that you can make better nutrition decisions.
14. MedlinePlus: Learn how to properly read and use nutrition labels to help you make better food choices.

Counting Calories

It helps to know how many calories your food has. It can also be helpful to understand that where your calories come from does matter. Here are some great sites to help you learn more about calories, and getting more of the right ones.

15. Calorie Count: This service from About.com offers you calorie counts for thousands of foods, and provides you with insight as to where those calories are coming from.
16. The Calorie Counter: Get basic calorie intake information, and track what you are eating with help from this searchable site.
17. CalorieKing: Get calories information on different foods, searchable and divided into easy to understand categories.
18. CalorieLab: Interesting information on calories in food, as well as data on how many calories you burn doing different activites.
19. Weight Loss: This site includes helpful information on how to properly calculate your caloric needs each day, as well as how to choose foods that help you keep a healthy balance.
20. Wellsphere: Get some solid information on different calorie questions related to fruits, vegetables and liquids.
21. HowStuffWorks: An excellent guide to calories, how they work, and where they com from.
22. Cleveland Clinic: Learn about calories, and the differences between fat and calories. Also, understand how to read calorie claims on food labels.

Eating Vegetarian and Organic

Many people are interested in eating vegetarian, or vegan. Additionally, there are those who are interested in eating organic and natural foods, even if meat is involved. Here are some sites that can help you learn about choosing these types of foods.

23. Epigee: Understand the labeling system related to organic foods, and how to read the claims.
24. MarketWatch: “Playing the organic foods game” is a great crash course in reading organic food labels from a site we might not normally consider a “food” site.
25. Naturally Savvy: Offers a helpful look at understanding what “organic” and “natural” labels mean on meat products.
26. Explore Veg: Provides a helpful guide to reading food labels if you are a vegetarian.
27. Almost Vegetarian: Get an inside look at reading food labels to understand whether animal based products are in your food — even if you wouldn’t normally think of the food as “meat.”
28. Suite 101: Offers a helpful guide on beginning vegan food shopping, and how you can spot which foods contain animal products.
29. Vegan Soapbox: A look at what sorts of foods are labeled “vegan”, and how you can tell if they are really vegan.

iPhone Food Applications

If you are interested in taking nutrition information with you wherever you go, these iPhone apps can help you get the nutrition information that you need.

30. Lose It!: Offers calorie counts for a number of foods, including break downs of whether they come from fat, protein or carbs. You can also input new information from nutrition labels.
31. Slim Down Shopping List: Helps you find your best options while at the grocery store, based on nutrition information and your goals.
32. Calorie Tracker: Large database of foods, and you can search more than 525,000 foods for nutrition information.
33. Mint Nutrition: Keep track of food, and put together “plates” based on what you like and what is healthy.

Computers and Peripherals Risks

1. Laptops and Sperm Count: This article reports on a study conducted by Loyola University that shows the heat from a laptop can reduce sperm count in men.
2. Smoking could Harm You…AND Your Apple Computer: Smoking near your Apple computer can be considered a biohazard for your computer in some cases…although this information may not be included in your Apple contract. Treat yourself and your computer nice…get rid of the smoke in the office, at least.
3. Social Networking Dangers: Two British scientists have suggested that social networking can add to your workload, increasing stress levels.
4. Printers are Hazardous to Your Health: According to this article, an investigation of dozens of laser printers revealed that almost 30 percent emitted potentially dangerous levels of tiny toner-like material into the air and, possibly, into your lungs.
5. Prison Computer Recycling Proved Toxic: Federal prisoners and staff overseers were exposed for years to excessive levels of toxic heavy metals during computer recycling operations, according to a report from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. But, it was difficult to determine the health hazard, as the prisons lacked biological monitoring and industrial hygiene data.

HIT (Health Information Technology) and Your Health

6. Health Care Privacy Issues: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is exploring privacy concerns regarding health care, including medical research, drug marketing and insurance data.
7. Does HIT Actually Help Your Health? According to a 2005 study from Harvard Medical School, many doctors were not fully using their health technology. Lead researcher Jeffrey Linder found no link between using e-records and improved quality of care.
8. Unregulated Issues Could Affect Your Health: This link leads to an article that questions the computer programming error that caused West Penn Allegheny Health System’s laboratory to send physicians incorrect interpretations of prostate cancer tests for 288 patients over 15 months. Since health IT is unregulated, all that’s required in this situation is an “please excuse us, we’ll do better the next time” from the involved parties.

Wireless Issues and Mobile Phone Health

9. Cell Tower Debates: This link leads to one example of issues involved with the increasing growth of cell-phone towers to meet the demands of cell-phone use. The article concludes that this debate still is up in the air, despite reassurances from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
10. Consider Your Sources: In this expose, Kathleen E. McLaughlin reported in March that n-hexane used in the production of touch screens for Apple, particularly the iPhone and iTouch, may have been responsible for the hospitalization for 41 workers who await medical clearance to resume their lives after working with the chemical last summer.
11. Mobile Phone Radiation: Stories about brain tumors running rampant through employees of certain industries might make you think twice about holding that cell-phone to your ear.
12. Bluetooth Risks: Bluetooth technology may resolve the issue about holding a cell-phone to your ear, because it contains 100 times less radiation than a cell-phone. The best bet is to use a wired headset, especially if it contains a ferrite bead. Best yet, use a cell-phone away from your body and turn on the speaker.
13. SAR and Continued Health Risks: For a phone to pass FCC certification and be sold in the United States, its maximum SAR level must be less than 1.6 watts per kilogram. To find out more about the latest 20 cell phones with the highest radiation levels, visit this linked article at Cnet Reviews.
14. Wi-Fi as a Health Hazard: Electromagnetic field sensitivity, or EMF, is becoming an issue for many people who appear to be sensitive to Wi-Fi. While engineers and proponents state that the fields that are induced by Wi-Fi transmissions are well below those that could cause problems to humans, sufferers from EMF believe studies reveal that even these low-frequency, low-power fields can cause subtle damage to human tissue, citing evidence of cell death, faster-growing tumors and DNA damage.
15. Wireless for Good Health: After reading all the above, you might see a conference on how wireless can be used for good health as ironic…or not. One of the biggest trends to watch at this year’s CTIA Wireless will be wireless solutions for wellness. At some point, wireless users can tap into the ability to monitor vital signs with our mobile devices.

Hospital Hazards

16. Air Embolisms from an Angiography: Injecting contrast media into the vasculature creates the risk of injecting air, potentially resulting in a fatal embolism. Most power injectors are equipped with safety features designed to reduce the risk of air embolism, but none of these features are foolproof.
17. CT Radiation Deaths: Computed tomography (CT) has been touted for its reliability and convenience to the detriment of learning about its high radiation. In the U.S. alone, the CT is thought to be responsible for about 29,000 new cancers each year, along with 14,500 deaths.
18. MR Imaging Burns: Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging is a relatively safe diagnostic procedure. However, the use of radio frequency coils, physiologic monitors, electronically-activated devices, and external accessories or objects made from conductive materials has caused excessive heating, resulting in burn injuries to patients undergoing MR procedures.
19. Surgical Fires: Yes, patients may catch fire during surgery, and the major ignition sources include electrosurgical units, electrocautery devices and lasers. The ECRI Institute also has investigated two fires — and is aware of a third where a patient died — that started inside surgical booms that house both electrical cables and hoses that supply oxygen or nitrous oxide.
20. Technology Drives Healthcare Costs: This article points to a recent American Hospital Association survey that shows the largest component of hospital expenditures from 2004-2008 was labor. But, the author of this article argues that this is a “red herring” that covers the true cost of hospital technology.

Other Technology Issues

21. Dirty Electricity (DE): This threat is invisible, as it consists of surges of high-frequency voltage or electromagnetic radiation that contaminates your home. Surprisingly, dimmer switches and energy-efficient electronic devices count as significant contributors to this problem.
22. Full Body Scan Complaints: More than 600 complaints were issued over use of full-body security scanners used in airports over the past year. Some of the machines use 40 millimeter wave technology and others use backscatter, low-level X-rays, though officials have said the health effects were minimal.
23. One Hour of Television = 80 Percent Increase in Heart Disease: Aside from this, the study found that there is an increased risk of cancer risk by nine percent and 11 percent increased risk of premature death even if one is not overweight. The point is to avoid sitting for prolonged periods of time.
24. Test-Tube Babes Might Worry: More than three million children have been born with the help of reproductive technology since 1978. While the majority of these children are healthy, as a group they’re at a higher risk for low birth weight, which is associated with obesity, hypertension and type 2 diabetes later in life.
25. UV Light Exposure Limits: Although this article focuses on the new EU Optical Radiation Directive that limits workers to UV exposure at work, you might learn what these limitations are about and why they are of concern to the European Union. Many concerns about UV light in the workplace also are addressed by the Word Health Organization [PDF].

Instead of searching for those options yourself, we’ve scouted out the best twenty-five Google tips and tricks for healthcare professionals and listed them below. These tips are categorized by search tips, tips for your mobile and Google and other Google options. The links and tips are not listed in any particular order within those categories.

Google Search Tips

1. Google Health Onebox: To see information about a common disease or symptom, enter it into the search box and Google will return the beginning of an expert summary. You can click through to read the entire article in Google Health. It is better if you use defined terms, such as “conjunctivitis” rather than “pink eye.”
2. Find Related Information: To find information related to conjunctivitis, type: related:conjunctivitis.
3. Precise Search: To find searches related to conjunctivitis without a plural or synonyms, type: +conjunctivitis; to find conjunctivitis without any pink eye references, type: +conjunctivitis -pink eye. To find information about conjunctivitis without reference to pink eye or to cats, type: +conjunctivitis -pink eye -cats.
4. Poison Control Phone Number: You can quickly find the U.S. poison control hotline (1-800-222-1222) by entering “poison control” or similar phrases into the search box.
5. Flu Shot Search: During flu season, search for “flu” to find tips on how to stay healthy from U.S. Health and Human Services and a flu shot locater, which uses Google Maps to show you nearby locations offering seasonal and/or H1N1 flu vaccine.
6. Relevant Updates: In the left side of a Google search page, you will see a link for “Show Options.” If you click on that link, a sidebar will appear that offers more searches on your topic through news, visited pages, related searches, time lines and much more — including updates from Twitter and Friendfeed on that topic under the link for “Updates.” Be sure to “reset options” to resume a new search (link located at the bottom of the options sidebar).
7. Wonder Wheel: When you use the options sidebar, you’ll see a link for the “Wonder wheel.” If you are looking for contagious diseases, click on that link to find the most recent searches specific to contagious diseases contained in a wheel graphic. In our search, those diseases included pneumonia, AIDS and strep throat.
8. Google Trends: Visit Google Trends to learn more about current hot topics, such as health care reform. When you click on one of those links, you’ll see a preview of some newer search options provided by Google, including a “Latest results” that offers real-time updates from Twitter and Friendfeed that are included under the news search at the top of the page.
9. Google Insights: Type in a search word and, in the drop-down menu to the right, choose “health” to learn more about the interest in your topic on a global basis. You also can refine the search to local or regional areas.

Google for Mobiles

10. Get Google: Type m.google.com into your phone’s browser or visit this link to download Google into your phone.
11. Google SMS: Simply text message a search query to GOOGLE (”466453″ on most devices) to receive results.
12. Goog-411: Google’s new 411 service is fast, free and easy to use. You can use this feature from any phone to find businesses and connect to that business at no charge.
13. Google Goggles: No need to type a search if you own an Android. Just take a photo, turn on ‘visual search history’, and use that photo to find directions, to log in contact information (from a business card) and more.
14. Contacts: Never lose another important number or contact information with Google Suggest. Once you build your database, it is safe even if you lose or break your Android phone.
15. Mobile Search Tips: Google provides Android users with a list of tips on how to search using Android. Use the drop-down menu at the top of the page to switch phones to Blackberry, iPhone and more choices.
16. Google SMS Health Tips: Find tips on sexual & reproductive health (family planning, maternal & child health, HIV/AIDS, STI/STDs, sexuality) with a short descriptive question or some keywords to 6001.
17. Search by Voice: On some mobiles — Android, specifically — you can conduct searches by voice. While this tool is in English only, a new Japanese version will be available soon.

Other Google Options

18. Google Medical Search: Eliminate a lot of spam and commercial links by using this search engine (although Google’s new sidebar option allows you to eliminate much of that commercial linkage as well).
19. Google MT: This search engine, based upon Google, was designed for medical transcriptionists.
20. Google Health Directory: This link provides a page for you to search through a directory categorized by various health topics.
21. Google Health Groups: If you want to tap into group conversations about various health topics, use this list to find what you need in various languages and territories.
22. Health Knol: This link leads to a current search for health results at Knol (beta).
23. Use Google Health: Google now allows users to share information via email, but does not allow that link to work in forwarded emails to safeguard patient privacy. Follow the links to Google Health Partners and their services directory to learn more about who is involved with this online health record process.
24. GMDesk: This application allows you to run Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Maps as a stand-alone operation that does not need a Web browser or that clutters your work space. This app runs on Adobe AIR.
25. Google Wave: Last, but not least, the newest Google tool for collaboration and real-time conversations. Use Google Wave for office interaction, client help and building a business.

In most cases, the miracles seem most obvious on the front end, when patients survive or have overcome odds against living a ‘normal’ life. In all cases, however, the patients’ plights and the medical remedies have altered those patients’ lives forever. Only time will tell if these patients continue to live a healthy, if not totally normal, life.

1. Survives Orthopedic Decapitation: Doctors gave nine-year-old Jordan Taylor a one percent chance of survival after his skull was lifted from his vertebrae in an automobile accident. Dr. Richard Roberts connected Jordan’s head with metal plates, screws and rods and — three months later — Jordan returned to school. He can walk and talk. This is a medical miracle considering the extent of his injuries.
2. Survived Without Heart for 118 Days: Fourteen-year-old D’Zhana Simmons needed a new heart, but the wait was longer than her current heart could bear. Doctors, including Dr. Si Pham, removed her heart and kept her alive for four months with two heart transplants that involved heart pumps. During that time, D’Zhana said she felt like a “fake person,” but is grateful for her new heart and for the ability to keep her alive during the waiting process.
3. Stabbed in Head and Survived: Michael Hill now holds the Guinness World Book of Records title for “Largest Object Removed From Human Skull,” but he probably wishes he never had to go that route. Hill answered a friend’s door in Jacksonville, Florida and was stabbed in the head with a 20 cm (8 in) survival knife on April 25, 1998. Hill walked to another friend’s house, and they took him to Shands jacksonville Trauma Center. Four hours after he arrived, the knife was removed. While he survived, the wound caused permanent damage to his memory and paralyzed his left hand.
4. Man Cut in Half Survives and Now Walks: Peng Shulin’s body was cut in half by a lorry in 1995. Although it was a miracle that he survived, he was chained to a bed for years as he developed skills to build up his arm muscles. Recently, doctors at the China Rehabilitation Research Centre in Beijing learned about Peng’s plight and devised a way for him to walk on his own again. The device is an egg-like casing with two bionic legs attached.
5. Girl Survives Removal of Two Legs, Two Arms: Lakshmi Tatma was born attached to a headless identical twin sister, a rare case that left Lakshmi unable to crawl or walk. But, she had one complete body with a near-perfect set of organs, so Dr. Sharan Patil led a surgery team into one of the most complicated surgeries ever conducted to remove two-year-old Lakshmi’s extra limbs and organs. The surgery was successful, which allows Lakshmi now to live a normal and, hopefully, long life.
6. Leaky Brain Fixed with Glue: Ella-Grace Honeyman was born with Vein of Galen malformation, which causes tiny holes in brain blood vessels. The seventeen-month-old girl was given just weeks to live when her parents hired a team of pioneering U.S. surgeons. Those surgeons fired organic glue into the artery holes to plug them. While the doctors saved her life, the operations may be ongoing in a process to fix any new leaks. This disease affects about 250 people in the world.
7. A Tooth for an Eye: Martin Jones lose his left eye and was blinded in the right eye when a tub of molten aluminum exploded in his face twelve years ago. Then, he allowed surgeon Christopher Lui and his team to pull a canine from his mouth, attach a tiny optical lens to that tooth and then implant the tooth into his eye socket. The process took about four months, but Martin can see again through that one eye. And, he seems to relish the shock that his eye gives to onlookers…it’s a bit spooky, but serviceable.
8. Man Awakens After 20-Year Sleep: In 1983, Terry Wallis suffered a severe brain injury in a car accident. Twenty years later, he emerged from what doctors call a “minimally conscious state,” which is somewhere between being awake and being in a vegetative state. Doctors now believe that Terry’s brain built new pathways during those two decades that allowed him to become fully conscious and began to talk. However, he lost the ability to store new memories and he maintains physical disabilities from the original accident.
9. Electrodes Stimulate “Dead” Brain: A patient was unable to communicate, swallow or make coordinated physical movements for almost six years after he was seriously assaulted now can speak, eat, and laugh. Doctors implanted electrodes into that man’s brain, using a stimulation technique already used on patients with Parkinson’s disease. A patient who receives this type of treatment, and if it is appropriate to the case, may receive immediate results.
10. Cured by a Spider Bite? David Blancarte almost was killed in a motorcycle accident about two decades ago. he survived, but has been confined to a wheelchair. Then, he was bitten by a Brown Recluse spider, a bite that sent him to a hospital for eight months. But, during that time, he began to feel his legs and, within five days, David was walking again. He may need to learn how to run, however, as he was arrested earlier this year for an outstanding warrant stemming from a domestic abuse case.

Pediatrician Blogs

There are a number of blogs written by pediatricians. These blogs provide insight into kids’ health, directly from the source.

1. Vicky McEvoy, M.D.: This blog is on the gather network. Dr. McEvoy specializes in pediatric health, and is an assistant professor in that subject at Harvard Medical School.
2. Dr. Sanghavi: This pediatrician’s information appears on iVillage. He addresses common pediatric issues, and his book A Map of the Child: A Pediatrician’s Tour of the Body, was names one of the top six health books of 2005 by the Wall Street Journal.
3. Dr. Greene: This pediatrician offers insights related to common concerns and current events. Learn about protecting your child’s health at school and other issues that might cause you concern.
4. Dr. Laura Jana: Learn about pediatric care from someone who is a mother as well as a physician. Helpful articles include tips for safe sleeping and reviews of online health networks.
5. Dr. Sears: Get a pediatrician’s take on the health issues affecting children today. There is also helpful information on how to talk to your kids, and taking proper care of them.
6. Dr. Shu Says: Dr. Jennifer Shu takes a commonsense look at what’s going on in pediatric medicine. Get the facts and not the hype from Dr. Shu.
7. Dr. Gwenn Is In: Another no-nonsense pediatrics blog about health issues that affect our children.
8. Dr. Nabong’s Pediatric Blog: Focuses on child development, and is doing a very interesting series on how your baby develops.

General Pediatric Health Blogs

If you are looking for some general information on pediatric health, or want to connect with others, here are some good reads about pediatrics.

9. Children’s Health Blog: Overview of issues that affect pediatric health.
10. Brian Deer: This journalist covers the health care industry, with a special focus on pediatrics and vaccines.
11. Center on Media and Child Health: Do you want to know about how the media affects children and teenagers? Insightful posts at the Center on Media and Child Health can provide you with solid information.
12. Safe Mama: Learn about child safety and green living with children.
13. Liddle Kidz Infant and Pediatric Massage Blog: Did you know that you can enhance your child’s health through massage? Find out about massage and other pediatric health tips.
14. Octopus Mom: This mother is also a NICU nurse. An interesting take on child health, parenting and keeping it all together.
15. Thrive: This is the blog from the Children’s Hospital Boston. Great information and news on pediatric health.
16. Baby Steps: The Houston Chronicle offers a blog on children’s health, getting ideas from today’s health headlines.
17. Forgiven and Loved: A great blog from a Christian perspective about raising kids who know they are children of God.

Pediatric Mental Health Blogs

Even children need a little help working through their minds. Here are some blogs that focus on mental health for children.

18. Momma Data: This psychologist offers helpful information on raising children and the mental issues that can come with different afflictions and issues.
19. Dr. Deb: Read psychological perspectives on child health, as well as information that is generally helpful even for adults.
20. BabyShrink: Find out what’s going on inside the minds of children, and learn more about mental development from babies through early childhood.
21. Depression: This blog from the Mayo Clinic offers helpful information on depression, including childhood depression.
22. Life Works: WebMD offers this blog aimed at helping readers find more optimism and get through life. Also includes information for helping your children cope with life issues.
23. The Carlat Psychiatry Blog: Focus is on education and medical education. Also offers information on mental health, including child mental health.
24. Family Mental Health: This blog on PsychCentral looks at the mental health of all family members, and provides good information on pediatric mental health.
25. Teen Depression Blog: Get information about what causes depression in teens, and how to treat it.

Pediatric Health Blogs About Specific Conditions

If your child has a specific condition, it can help to connect with others who understand. Here are some blogs that can help you learn about particular pediatric conditions.

26. Dr. David’s Blog: Focus is on childhood cancer, written by a pediatric oncologist.
27. ADHD Blog: This blog explores the challenges of ADHD and provides helpful hints for coping.
28. Left Brain/Right Brain: This is an autism blog that focuses on news and research and helpful information.
29. Coach for Asperger’s: Looks at this specific type of autism, and how you can be a more effective parent in helping your child succeed.
30. The Asthma Mom: Get insights on raising children with asthma.
31. Apraxia Kids: This blog focuses on those whose children have this speech issue.
32. My Overweight Child: Looks at childhood obesity and what you can do to help your child get healthier.

Pediatric Health Blogs for Kids

These blogs are interesting because they are aimed directly at children. They offer places for kids to go to learn about their own bodies and health.

33. Human Anatomy Online: An interactive site that teaches children about how their body works.
34. Kids Health Pediatrics: This site provides child-friendly information on health and wellness.
35. Staying Health Every Day: This is a fun place providing health tips from Sesame Street characters.
36. Patients of the Month: Every month, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital shares a patient of the month. Kids can learn about other children who might have the same conditions.
37. CMCH – VIA: This is a video blogging site that allows children to connect through video diaries about health and illness.

Podcasts Dealing with Pediatric Health

Here are some great podcasts that offer regular insight into having healthier children.

38. Pediacast: Great programming on taking care of children.
39. Dr. Robin Smith: Part of Oprah Radio, this doctor offers helpful health advice for people of all ages.
40. PrittyKat: This is a podcast aimed at helping the parents of black children provide their kids with self esteem.
41. Discovery Health: Some great podcasts and information on a number of family health issues.

Parenting Blogs

How you parent can have an effect on pediatric health. Here are some good parenting blogs that also provide tips on taking care of your children.

42. Zero to Three: Good information on giving your child a good start.
43. Smarter Babies & Kids Blog: Help your children learn better. Also includes information on child safety.
44. Parenting Squad: Find some great syndicated posts on child rearing.
45. Special Needs Parenting: This blog from Today’s Parent focuses on parenting a special needs child.
46. Momgrind: A look at parenting from an edgy point of view.
47. The Busy Dad Blog: Parenting tips and advice from a dad who is on the go with his kids.
48. Empowering Parents: Deals with child health and wellness issues, and how you can be a better parent.
49. The Panic Room: A blog about family building, written by a step-dad.
50. Radical Parenting: This is an insightful blog written from a kid’s perspective. An interesting take on what goes on in children’s lives.

The list below is categorized and links are listed alphabetically within each category. We realize that many hospital sites exist, but the lists below contain only blogs, and only those blogs that have been updated since the first week in August 2009. Many other hospital blogs exist that have not updated since that time.

Hospital Blogs

1. Beyond Vermont State Hospital (VSH) Blog: This blog addresses the future of VSH and the community’s mental health system.
2. Porter Adventist Hospital: This blog is filled with entries from Porter physicians, and Dr. Dianne McCallister, CMO, has offered to respond to popular topics and comments. Porter and other Centura Health organizations serve people throughout the metro Denver area, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Cañon City, and several mountain communities.
3. Save Charity Hospital: Charity Hospital in New Orleans was one of the oldest continuously operating hospitals in the world until it was closed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The bloggers’ mission at this site is to save Charity Hospital to serve residents rather than build an entirely new complex.
4. Knoxville Hospital and Clinics Blog: Located in south-central Iowa, this blog offers information about the hospital’s philosophy as well as health information and news.
5. Lexington Medical Center: This is the official hospital blog for the Lexington Medical Center, located in Lexington, South Carolina.
6. Morningside Hospital: The purpose of this blog is to share information about Morningside Hospital, the people who were sent there from Alaska for mental health services, and the story of the politicians who pursued the Congressional battle to change the way Alaska territorial citizens received mental health services.
7. OSF St. Joseph Medical Center: Located in Bloomington, Illinois, this hospital is part of the OSF HealthCare System.
8. Sutter Medical Center Castro Valley: This blog represents a growing health care system located in California. Although you can watch construction through their live Webcam, you also can get a glimmer of health policies and more through a vast social media outreach program initiated by this Sutter Health affiliate.
9. Virginia Hospital Center: Located in Arlington, Virginia, this hospital blog is new and lacks material, but the entered substance shows promise.

Children’s Hospital Blogs

10. Children’s Hospital and Health System: This blog belongs to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, which serves Wisconsin, Northern Illinois and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and beyond with information about the health system and news about children’s health.
11. Thrive: Children’s Hospital Boston blog is devoted to all things pediatric health care and scientific research. They help consumers and reporters touch base with some of the world’s foremost experts on topics from sleep problems to autism genetics.

Specialized Hospital Blogs

12. Endocrine Metabolic Medical Center Blog: J. Joseph Prendergast, a practicing physician for over 30 years and board-certified in Internal Medicine as well as Endocrinology and Metabolism, writes this blog.
13. MV Hospital: M.V Hospital for Diabetes is located in India and currently has 100 beds for the treatment of diabetes and its complications. This blog covers news and treatment outlooks.
14. Neurologic & Orthopedic Hospital of Chicago Blog: A number of this hospital’s doctors focus on news, progress and information about the hospital, including information on neurosurgery, joint replacements, musculoskeletal disorders and more.
15. Science Life: is a guide to the changing world of biomedicine, as seen from the perspective of writers at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Working at Hospitals Blogs

16. Aggravated DocSurg: A blog written by a general surgeon, husband, father, Ronald Reagan fan, crossword puzzle fanatic, wine lover, and coffee guzzler.
17. Clinical Cases and Images Blog: Various health experts talk about various health conditions, treatments and tools.
18. European Hospital Pharmacy Blog: Learn more about the European pharmaceutical industry through this blog, written by a hospital pharmacist who focuses on EU health issues.
19. DB’s Medical Rants: Dr. Robert M. Centor is an academic general internist at the University of Alabama School of Medicine, serves as the Associate Dean for the Huntsville Regional Medical Campus of UASOM, and also is a frequent ward attending at the Birmingham VA Hospital.
20. Flobach Republic: This blog is written by a paramedic student who is “way too keen in the sphere of pre-hospital care” in western Australia.
21. KevinMD: Kevin Pho, a primary care doctor board-certified in Internal Medicine, writes a blog that Wall St. Journal states is “punchy, prolific…that chronicles America’s often dysfunctional health care system…”
22. Notes of an Anesthesioboist: This doctor focuses on the literary aspects of medicine and hospital care and has won an award for her efforts.
23. Random Acts of Reality: An EMT in London who works for the London Ambulance Service writes about “trying to kill as few people as possible.”
24. Social Hospital: Social Hospital was founded by a hospital CFO who sees tremendous value in the usage of social media tools to build relationships with the communities that hospitals serve.
25. St Vincent’s Hospital Darlinghurst – Male Nurses: Peter trained as a nurse at St Vincent’s Hospital Darlinghurst, Australia, in 1975 and remains as an employee. This blog covers personal insights as well as news and information about his career and health issues.
26. The Happy Hospitalist: A board-certified internist who works only in the hospital environment offers his take on running, politics, working at a hospital and more with this blog.

Hospital Association Blogs

27. Hospital Association of Southern California: This hospital association consists of 157 hospitals in a region that covers six counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino. The blog provides readers with public policy development and advocacy, education and the latest technical and industry information and products and services.
28. Iowa Hospital Association: IHA is a voluntary membership organization that represents hospital and health system interests such as health policy, health care payment systems and health care delivery to business, government and consumer audiences.
29. MHA News Now: This blog focuses on the Mississippi Hospital Association news updates and information about what the hospital association offers. The MHA also offers News Around the State and several other blogs and sites for employer, members and consumers.

Hospital CEO Blogs

30. Hospital Life: Marty Bonick, President and CEO of Jewish Hospital in Louisville, KY, offers his perspectives on “life, work, and everything in between…”
31. Leading the Way to Medical Excellence: McLeod’s diverse array of services strives to meet South Carolina’s Pee Dee region’s healthcare needs. Rob colones, President and CEO, leads the way with this blog.
32. Let’s Talk Health Care; Bruce Bullen, Interim CEO for Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, a non-profit company providing comprehensive health benefits solutions in Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire, is a conversation about the face of changing health care from the perspective of service.
33. More Than Medicine: Tom Quin, President & CEO of Community General Hospital in Syracuse, New York, provides his insights into hospital progress, philosophies and news.
34. Roper on Health: This blog is offered by William L. Roper, MD, MPH
    CEO, University of North Carolina Health Care System. He focuses on health policy, science and news.
35. Running a Hospital: Possibly one of the most popular and candid hospital CEO blogs. Mr. Levy, President and CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, is forthright in his outlook and covers many issues that could pertain to any hospital.
36. St. Joseph Medical Center: Scott Kashman is ex-officio CEO for St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, Maryland. He talks about hospital news, and takes an upbeat philosophy to encourage personnel as well as other readers.
37. Todd’s Perspective: Todd Linden is president and CEO of Grinnell Regional Medical Center, an 81-bed, private non-profit hospital in Grinnell, Iowa. This blog focuses on hospital philosophies, news and carries guest entries as well.

Blogs About and For Hospitals

38. EMEA Hospital Post: This blog reflects information published in Hospital Post EMEA, which addresses decision makers in European, Middle East and African hospitals.
39. Health Business Blog: David E. Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners LLC, strategy consultant in technology enabled health care services, pharma, biotech, and medical devices, offers this blog about business issues in health care.
40. Hospital DR: Based in the UK, this site provides a daily information service for all doctors who work in secondary care. Medical and political issues are the mainstay, and the link leads to blogs written for this site.
41. Hospital Impact: This blog is dedicated to providing information for current and emerging hospital leaders, thinkers and enablers. The blog’s mission is to answer the question, “What will it take for hospitals to be the best run organizations on the face of the planet?”
42. Hospital Marketing Journal: Ten Adams is a national healthcare marketing firm that focuses exclusively on hospitals and healthcare services.
43. Nick Jacobs: Formerly “Ask a Hospital President,” Jacobs has stepped down, written the book, Taking the Hell Out of Healthcare, and re-focused his blog to look at health policies.
44. Patient Safety Monitor Blog: This blog is written by the people at HCPro, a provider of critical information, tools, and training on compliance, regulation and management for the healthcare industry.
45. Supporting Safer Healthcare: News and information for those who work in healthcare administration, including medical staff leadership, patient safety, quality, accreditation, compliance, risk management, law, and provider credentialing.

For Patients

46. Bedside Manner: Julia Rosen, Executive Director of The Kenneth B. Schwartz Center in Boston, provides a blog that makes a connection between doctors, patients and compassionate care.
47. Josie King Foundation: This blog is based upon the new book, Josie’s Story, that was written about a child who died from severe deydration and misused narcotics at Johns Hopkins. While the blog focuses on the book, the rest of the site focuses on patient safety for consumers.
48. Patient Power: Andrew Schorr, leukemia survivor and patient advocate, keeps a focus on patient care with his blog.
49. Patient Safety Blog – Telling Our Stories: This blog is about patient safety, medical malpractice, staying healthy, and preventing future errors.
50. Wounded Warriors: This blog covers veterans’ stories from sources such as the McClatchy Washington Bureau.

1. Florence Nightingale (1820 – 1910): Perhaps the most famous nurse in history, Florence Nightingale is known for her efforts to reform the British military health system. She was born to a patrician family, and her mother was distressed when Nightingale forsook her aristocratic duties to become a nurse. Nightingale was especially drawn to those in poverty. She traveled to a number of countries, and rejected an offer of marriage from the poet Milnes. She did not want anything to interfere with what she believed was a God-given calling as a nurse. In addition to being a nursing pioneer, Nightingale was known for her contributions to mathematics.
2. Walt Whitman (1819 – 1892): Few people realize that the famous poet was also a volunteer nurse. Whitman worked as a nurse at Army hospitals set up during the Civil War. Many of his observations during this time led to his “The Great Army of the Sick.” Whitman was known for his egalitarian views, as well as for his political interest and poems.
3. Mary Todd Lincoln (1818 – 1882): The wife of President Abraham Lincoln was a well-educated young woman from Lexington, Kentucky. She had the chance to marry Lincoln’s rival, Stephan A. Douglas. During the Civil War, Mary Todd Lincoln worked tirelessly as a nurse, tending wounded soldiers.
4. Clara Barton (1821 – 1912): Clarissa Harlowe Barton is one of the most famous women in American history. She began her nursing career at the age of 11, caring for her brother after he fell while working on a barn. Barton is known as the founder of the Red Cross, which began as she carried supplied to the battlefield during the Civil War.
5. Mary Eliza Mahoney (1845 – 1926): The first African-American professional registered nurse was Mary Eliza Mahoney. She worked tirelessly to provide good service and medical care to her patients. She was a co-founder of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses, which late became the American Nurses Association. The Mary Mahoney Award is names after her.
6. Mary Seacole (1805 – 1881): Born in Jamaica, Mary Seacole was a presence during the Crimean War. She was taught basic remedies and herbal medicine by her mother. Seacole spent her own money to travel to Crimea to help treat wounded soldiers after being passed over by Florence Nightingale. Her autobiography, Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands is vivid and interesting and offers insight into a woman who had difficulties in British society due to her mixed racial heritage.
7. Mary Breckinridge (1881 – 1965): One of the first to found family care centers, Mary Breckinridge provided a new model of rural health care. She began her family centers in Appalachia. She founded the Frontier Nursing Service as a way to help others in far-flung areas of the U.S., where medical care was scarce. Breckinridge was also a nurse-midwife, receiving midwife training in Britain.
8. Florence Guinness Blake (1907 – 1983): From her youth, Florence Guinness Blake was encouraged to become a nurse. She considered it a privilege, and received extensive training, even receiving a master of science degree and becoming a nursing teacher. She was well-known as a pediatric nurse, who helped advance the cause of graduate level nursing education for those who wanted to work with children.
9. Edith Cavell (1865 – 1915): Recognized as a nursing pioneer in Belgium, Edith Cavell helped everyone. During WWI, she was known for helping all soldiers, no matter which side she was on. However, she achieved everlasting fame as someone who helped Allied soldiers escaped occupied Belgium. As a result, she was court-martialled and executed. The coverage of the event prompted outrage.
10. Helen Fairchild (1885 – 1918): The letters Helen Fairchild sent to her American family about combat nursing during WWI made her famous. She was only a nurse for five years, after graduating from Pennsylvania Hospital, when she died of complications due to an ulcer surgery. As a result, she was not buried in the U.S., but at Somme American Cemetery and Memorial in Bony, France.
11. Elizabeth Grace Neill (1846 – 1926): Although she was born in Scotland, Elizabeth Grace Neill spent a great deal of her life in Australia and New Zealand. She was actually a journalist. However, after seeing the practices of a disorganized nursing profession, Neill began campaigning for a system of registration for nurses. Neill herself became a qualified nurse, and set up a system of hospitals and training centers in New Zealand.
12. Margaret Sanger (1879 – 1966): The founder of the organization of what became Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger was a nurse who worked tirelessly to provide women with adequate access to birth control. After seeing the straits that women found themselves due to lack of birth control, she was outspoken about birth control as a way for women to find equal footing by being in charge of their health and wellness by being able to decide when the best time for pregnancy was.
13. Sophie Mannerheim (1863 – 1928): Baroness Sophie Mannerheim’s career started as a bank employee. However, she divorced in 1902, she took up nursing. She went to the Nightingale School at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, before returning to her native Finland. She was instrumental in bringing modern nursing to Finland.
14. Hazel W. Johnson-Brown: The first African-American woman general in history, Hazel W. Johnson-Brown is also a skilled nurse. She served as the chief of the Army Nurse Corps. and served as dean of the Walter Reed Army Institute School of Nursing. She was introduced to the army while working at a Veteran’s hospital. It is hard to believe, considering her accomplishments, that she was first rejected for nursing school at the West Chester School of Nursing because of her race.
15. Joyce Slinsky: For 45 years, Joyce Slinsky was a professional nurse. She retired not to long ago after 39 years in the ER at John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Edison.
16. Jeanne Prentice: Currently active as a nurse midwife, Jean Prentice works to bring awareness to natural and home births. She has been active in South Dakota, where she leads the PUSH! initiative which focuses on allowing women to be able to choose to have babies where they would like. She works through WomanKind Midwifery.
17. Virginia Avenel Henderson (1897 – 1996): Often referred to as “the first lady of nursing”, Virginia Avenel Henderson is known for her development of nursing theory. She graduated from the Army School of Nursing, and also receive a M.A. in nursing education from Columbia University. Her theory that nurses should aid everyone in the quest for better overall health is recognized as a major contribution to the practice of nursing.
18. Christiane Reimann (1916 – 1979): Born in Denmark, Christiane Reimann is recognized for her contributions to the international nursing community. She was the first full-time executive secretary to the International Council of Nurses. She left to manage a family farm in Syracuse, Italy in 1934, but remained devoted to the idea of nursing. The ICN has a prized name for her.
19. Martha Ballard (1734 – 1812): This midwife worked to help mothers and babies. She is the great-aunt of famous nurse Clara Barton. Ballard is known for keeping a good diary of her medical practice as she went around by canoe or horse in what later became Maine.
20. Dorothea Dix (1802 – 1887): Outraged by the treatment of the poverty-stricken insane, Dorothea Dix became the force behind the first mental asylums in the United States. Dix was an outspoken activist who also acted as a nurse during the Civil War, serving as the Superintendent of Army Nurses.

Famous Fictional Nurses

There have also been some rather famous fictional nurses, especially in recent years with the rise of the medical drama. Here are some of the most famous nurses on TV:

21. “Hot Lips” Houlihan: This character in the TV show M*A*S*H was based on a Korean War Nurse, “Hotlips Hammerly.” The most watched episode in U.S. television history took place in the series finale, when she kisses Hawkeye Pierce.
22. Christine Chapel: Gene Roddenberry wrote the character of Christen Chapel for his wife Majel Barrett for the series Star Trek. She appeared in each Star Trek series, and even receives homage in the 2009 movie, speaking off-screen dialogue.
23. Audrey March Hardy: One of the most famous hospital shows was General Hospital, and one of the most famous characters was Audrey March Hardy, played by Rachel Ames from 1964 to 2007.
24. Samantha Taggart: One of the most popular modern medical dramas is ER. Samantha Taggart is one of the most drama-ridden nurses on TV, punching out the abusive patients of boyfriends and blowing away her estranged husband when he tries to kidnap her.
25. Carla Espinosa: The wife of surgical intern Chris Turk, Carla Espinosa is an extremely capable and feisty nurse on the show Scrubs. She is the head nurse, and tries to help those less fortunate.

Some of the nurses who have been inspirational to others include people like Clara Barton, Mary Todd Lincoln and Florence Nightingale. For those who have been in this field may have got their inspiration from these individuals.

Walt Whitman (1819 to 1892)
Being a poet, this did not bur him from conducting the most charitable role in the society as a volunteer nurse. This was basically witnessed in the army in Washington D.C. during the civil war in the army hospital. Through these voluntary services, he was able to gain a lot of materials which lead to the publishing of “The Great Army of the Sick” in the New York City 1863. Later, this made his way to the Memoranda during the war book publication.

Helen Fairchild (1885 to 1918)
Being a volunteer for the American Expeditionary Force, Fairchild was a military nurse on the WW1 and she hailed from Pennsylvania among other 64 nurses. The group entered the war in the year 1917. She was counted as one of the best nurses out of her patience. She could stand in mud for not less than fourteen hours treating her patients. After a year, her sudden death occurred which is believed to have been caused by chloroform which was then used in the rooms during an operation. As a result of mustered gas bombing, this lead to a standstill of her services.

Margaret Sanger (1879 to 1966)
The founder of the Planned Parenthood Federation in 1942 began her nursing career in New York around the turn of the 20th centaury. Today this Federation is being used by women in family planning. The reason why she decided to form the federation was that, during her nursing period, she realized that women were becoming destitute and hence promoting unplanned pregnancies. Through this process, she was able to promote birth control and later women were able to decide on their own on issues c concerning birth. Today she may be referred to as an OB nurse.

Mary Breckinridge (1881 to 1965)
She came up with a rural healthcare system called Frontier Nursing Services in 1925. This was aimed at bringing the patient to a closer medical proximity.

Mary Ezra Mahoney (1845 to 1926)
After her graduation from the New England Hospital which specializes in children and women training, she went to serve the society as an illustrious nurse in the year 1879. In the year 1908 she became the co founder of NACGN together with Adah B Thomas.

Elizabeth Grace Neill (1846 to 1926)
Being a journalist, she got inspired to serve the society as a nurse and protect it from unqualified human malpractices. Through this she registered with the trained nurses. She had drafted a bill which was passed by the parliament in 1901 and it became the Nurse’s first registration Act world wide.

BSN salaries based on experience incase of less than one year averagely ranges in: $ 50,081, 1-4 years: $54,519, 5-9 years: $59,931 where by the more the experience the more the pay. Also in the case of the geographical location for example in New York, averagely their salary is around $ 65,062, Atlanta $ 54.457 or Dallas $ 56,492 and so on. Depending on the country the rural BSN salaries ranges could be similar, higher or lower depending on the economy situation of the country or maybe due to the shortages of nurses in the rural areas.

The specialty of the BSN studies also affects pay, for example in the case of the following specialties the nurse could be averagely earning per month; nurse manager $ 67,922, Nurse case manager $ 58,893, Director nursing $ 71,619, clinical nurse manager $ 66,252, nurse school $ 37,867 or a nurse practitioner $ 71,364. The higher the level of education the more the responsibilities and consequently the more the reward (pay).

Other factors that also determine the pay of the BSN salary increase with the position one holds for example anesthetist nurse can not be paid similar to the head of the nurses. Also on the institution that has employed the nurse is it, a private practice? the government? short stay surgery centers? and so on.