International Nurses Association

The simple answer is, sometimes.  Not every suicide can be prevented, but some can.  The national suicide prevention line is available to help anyone that feels they may harm themselves.  Patients on Suicide Watch A nurse was treating a patient that had undergone surgery and was not doing well.  When the patient was speaking to her mom, she indicated she would take her own life. Her mom visited the next day and casually mentioned this to her nurse. The nurse followed protocol, and suicide prevention procedures. The patient was moved to an area where she could be constantly observed, and all objects were removed from her room that could potentially pose harm to her.  The nurse explained to her mom that the threats would be taken seriously, however the mom insisted it was a cry for attention and they should not worry.  The fact is, the mom may have been right. On the other hand, the mom may have been wrong, and if she was it would cost a life. In this case the patient got bette

This is a little difficult question to answer. There are some considerations to be made before making a decision about participating in this special day.   -           The age of your daughter is important. 9-10 years of age is about the right age to consider participating. Working as a nurse, your daughter will need to remain alone in the nurse’s station or break area for a good portion of your shift, so there needs to be enough maturity there to sit quietly and entertain herself.  -           How long is your shift? A twelve-hour shift is too long for more children.  Perhaps arranging for a half day visit is a better option, again, age is a factor. Teens If you have a teenage daughter, she may benefit more from a day at work with you, especially if she has an interest in a medical career. Use your free time during the day to show your daughter around, and let her get a good idea of what mom or dad does during working hours. If there are small tasks during the day that othe

How far do you go as a nurse to accommodate you patients?  Do you go far enough?  How much is too far? The number one reason that there is often difficulty in this particular area is that not all nurses interact the same way with patients. Scenario Mr X is a patient that has been admitted for some time. He is unable to do some things for himself, and will occasionally ask for assistance. He spoke with his nurse regarding his toenails, and said that they needed to be clipped. The nurse did as he requested, and clipped his nails. Several days later he mentioned wanting to shave, however his hand was unsteady.  Again, his nurse assisted him. A couple weeks later Mr X had a different nurse, and requested that she cut his toenails and help him shave. This nurse knew all hospital rules and regulations, and she knew that nurses were not to cut nails or assist with shaving. There was in fact specialty staff to do this. When she advised the patient of this, he was very upset, saying, the oth

The ACA was a blessing to some, but not all. Could it have been perfected over time?  We will never really know as it is being replaced. As of now, 70% of Americans do not approve of the ACA, so let's see if the new one is any better. The New Health Care Bill This bill does not require people to buy insurance. Instead, it offers incentives to those who do. The new bill tries to encourage insured people to maintain their coverage by setting regulations with insurance companies. The new act will prevent companies from charging more or denying coverage for pre-existing conditions. The only stipulation is, you cannot let your insurance lapse. If insurance does lapse for more than 63 days, it allows the company to tag on a 30% penalty for the year. The tax credits will be based on age, but can go up to 4,000 per year. It's difficult to predict who will win out with the new bill, and who will lose, it takes some time to determine the results.  Related:  Importance of Nursi

Notes are critical to patient care.   They must be detailed and accurate, yet not go on and on so that the reader gets uninterested.   Notes should always be clear and precise, and it's a good idea to go back and read them after you entered them.   Read them as if you did not write them, and as if you are reading them from someone else. Documenting Documentation is vital in a nursing role. Lack of documentation is a serious mistake, and is not tolerated by medical facilities. Many nurses put the emphasis on patient care, which is great, however documentation is part of that patient care. Nurses are busy, everyone knows and understands that, sometimes there is not a moment to breath, and it's hard to find time to document.  The document portion of the job should be considered as important as medication administration, it must be done. Often the busiest times are the times that r equire the most extensive documentation, it's actually an extension of the busy time in ma

Care plans are not a favorite among most nurses. It's difficult to develop plans for someone that is hospitalized, and you are unsure how things will go.  However, as time consuming as they are, they are an essential part of nursing.  The Need for a Care Plan Care plans are individualized plans specific to that patient. They are based on the exact needs of the patient, and it coordinates with the patient's diagnoses, and their specific needs. The care plan is designed to inform the following shift exactly what is being done for and with the patient. This is a way of communicating, similar to a log book passed on from staff to staff.  Care Plan Contents In addition to the communication aspect of a care plan, it should provide instructions so that a nurse unfamiliar with the patient could step in and know what to do. This would include special request of family members or the patient themselves.  Care Plan Guidelines Care plans must be completed for every patient tha

There is one aspect of nursing that seems to be the same regardless of where you work or how big the facility is. That is, nurses help nurses. The caring nature of nurses does not stop at patients, it continues on with coworkers.  There is no profession that has more workers willing to help one another.  Nurses want their coworkers to be successful, and for the patients to receive the best care possible.  A Nurse’s Story Jaden started to work at a small private practice in her home town, right out of school. The practice was very small, and the physician could only offer employment on a limited part time basis. After 4 months of employment at the practice, Jaden decided to look elsewhere for work. She secured a job in a larger city, and arranged her move in accordance. After relocating Jaden prepared for her first day of work at the hospital. She left home for work in plenty of time, thinking she could stop for breakfast. Once on the road, she realized she grossly underestimated t

There is usually a demand for qualified nurses, especially in hospitals.  There are more doctors now than ever before, and for every doctor, there is at least one nurse, and sometimes more. Private practice medical groups employ multiple nurses, with a mixture of LPNs and RNs. Consider all of the medical practice groups, including specialty practices. That is s lot of nurses, and there needs to be. It takes many nurses to keep a medical practice operating.  Nursing Turnover Reasons On average, 17.5 percent of nurses leave their job within the first year. Many hospitals try to determine the reason for this, and offer exit interviews to have a shorter time nurse explain their reason for leaving.  -       The number one reason new nurses leave their jobs within the first year is, they took the job to gain some experience. Hospitals are much more likely to hire nurses that have recently graduated. Most hospitals offer extensive mentor or training programs for new nurses, so they c

Have you ever had an argument with an older relative about what is safe to eat, and what's not? We’ve all been there. Food was placed on the table at noon, and left out for everyone to snack on. At 10 that night, you tell someone that things need to be thrown out, mainly the turkey that had sat out at room temperature for 10 hours. After a heated discussion,you lose the argument and the following morning, someone is sick from the food.Vomiting, diarrhea, fever, chills: The classic symptoms of food poisoning. You may have found it difficult to prevent yourself from saying “Told you so!” Facts Bacteria can grow on food left out at room temperature. You may think that can't be true because you have eaten such food before. Notice “can”, and not “will”. Food left out for 2 hours, on average, has a 40% chance of having bacteria multiplying to the point of making someone sick. Leave it out 5 hours and it's up to 90%. Of course, this does not always happen.If you have a health

Where does someone go that has lost their job, and has no insurance?   Resources may be limited.     The Facts of Uninsured Patients It may be surprising to hear, but currently 33 million Americans still have no insurance.   Nearly 9 million people gained insurance last year, a win for “Obamacare as the president’s signature health care law expanded Medicaid and opened health insurance exchanges. And yet, 33 million Americans , 10.4 percent of the U.S. population, still went without health insurance for the entirety of 2014. Millions more were uninsured for at least part of the year.   Information released this month shows they were disproportionately poor, black and Hispanic; 4.5 million of them were children.   It is not a surprise that some Americans still do not   have health insurance. Despite aiming to insure everyone in the U.S., the Affordable Care Act left significant gaps in coverage, and decisions made by the law’s opponents have denied benefits to millions