Jackie Vance

One thing you can say about working in long-term care is that as long as the population keeps aging, we’re pretty much guaranteed to be able to find a job. Yep, we can keep bringing home that bacon. Notice we don’t say “bringing home the salad” for a reason.

I mean, America has a love of bacon and associates it with just pure yummy goodness.

But wait. On October 26 the World Health Organization released a report that said that just 50 grams of processed meats a day — just two slices of bacon — increased the chance of developing colorectal cancer by 18%. Say it isn’t so!

I mean, we’re talking about bacon here, one of our most beloved processed foods ever. We associate it with everything from our paychecks to your favorite party bacon-wrapped appetizer. There is even a restaurant in Hollywood California that has bacon in everything, including desserts and cocktails. Yes, even skinny-body obsessed actors love bacon! Heck, I know vegetarians who eat bacon now and then.

I love being able to “bring home the bacon.”  I don’t want to change that!

I read a study that said that vegans live an average three years longer than us carnivores, but, man … those would be three lonely, baconless years.

Thanks to my long-term care career, I’ll keep bringing home that bacon. So WHO, if you’ll forgive me, I’m gonna’ continue to fry it up in a pan, put it in ice cream, sprinkle it on my salads, dip it in my cocktail …

Just keeping it real,

Nurse Jackie

What’s your favorite bacon-related “innovation”? Please share in “Comments” below.


The Real Nurse Jackie is written by Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC, a 2012 APEX Award of Excellence winner for Blog Writing. Vance is a real life long-term care nurse. A nationally respected nurse educator and past national LTC Nurse Administrator of the Year, she also is an accomplished stand-up comedienne. She has not starred in her own national television series — yet. The opinions supplied here are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of her employer or her professional affiliates.