By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA Let’s face it, health and medical news reported by mainstream media can be misleading. In attempts to capture the attention of the public with alluring headlines, the substance of a news story may be imbalanced and inaccurate. Consumers ought to be skeptical when reading a health story or listening to a segment on their favorite morning show or nightly news program. How do consumers know what questions to ask…
Read More...Happiness: 3 Tips for a Spectacular YOU
By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA Posted in Healthy Living Thank you to all the Huffingtonpost readers for retweeting my latest post on Huffingtonpost, “3 Tips for a Spectacular YOU, Oh Really?” (published in the “Happiness” section) on Twitter 348 times. I greatly appreciate your readership. You know that person you work with, the one that always seems to be in a bad mood, the one that never smiles, the one that never has a…
Read More...Healthin30 on KOMO News Radio Seattle, WA Shares Tips About Reading Food Labels
By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA I was thrilled to take the other end of the microphone as guest expert for quick healthy living spot on KOMO News Radio in Seattle, WA, thanks to Matthew Holt and courtesy of The Health Care Blog. I talked with hosts John and Nancy about the importance of reading the ingredients on food packages. Reading only the front food labels on food products can be misleading. Consumers need to…
Read More...Active Healthy Kids and Outdoor Play- Preparing for Life’s Little Mishaps
By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA Preparing for Life’s Little Mishaps While Engaging Your Kids in Outdoor Play “Play, Incorporating Animistic and Magical Thinking Is Important Because It: Fosters the healthy, creative and emotional growth of a child; Forms the best foundation for later intellectual growth. Provides a way in which children get to know the world and creates possibilities for different ways of responding to it. Fosters empathy and wonder.” – Rachel Carson, “A…
Read More...Social Media and Online Health Sites Begins the Conversation with Doctors and Nurses
By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA My post on KevinMD, “Social media starts the patient dialogue with doctors and nurses” talks about the importance of gathering health information online to get the conversation started with doctors and nurses. A patient apologized to me for asking so many questions. There is no need to apologize, I said to the patient; it’s wonderful that you have so many questions concerning your health care. I mentioned to her…
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