Going in the hospital? Ask how many nurses they have

Not surprisingly, this study reveals that hospitals with understaffed ICU units have higher incidences of infection and patient mortality. What a perfect metaphor for businesses of all kinds--when you overwork your employees to the point of stress, the results for your customers suffer. The Deming quality studies from decades ago confirmed this understanding, yet we continue to disregard it in our organizational imperatives.

Why is there such a severe nursing shortage? No doubt lots of factors count, but clearly these are biggies: nurses are consistently overworked and, compared to medical doctors, underpaid, and women now have other options where they can count on receiving a) similar or better money, b) far less stressful working conditions, c) get more respect from employers and have more opportunities for pleasant interactions with coworkers (being around disease and illness is taxing), and d) not have to work excessive overtime.

So it seems reasonable to conclude that we don't necessarily have fewer people who care about nursing. Seems more like the practitioners don't get the respect they deserve. And it's the patients--that's you and me--who pay the price.

Calcium from food may be better for bone health

I have been waiting for this. Yes, okay, I'm a skeptic about taking fake versions of vitamins and minerals instead of getting them from our diets. So here's this study--not massive, of course--that indicates calcium from natural substances affects estrogen metabolism in a way that may more thoroughly promote bone mineral density.

I predict we will see a lot more of these studies as we discover ever more substances to analyze, and as our ability to measure them becomes ever more sophisticated. It's been well documented for some time that our vegetables have lost significant amounts of nutrition. And now as continue to investigate how important it is to get our nutrition from food, we will begin to see more and stronger connections in how our artificially enhanced soil, chemicals, and other abuses of nature are contributing to our ill health.

This can only be a good thing.