International Nurses Association

Have you ever thought that you might like to share your experience or expertise?  If so, inquire with your human resource department about being a mentor. If they don’t offer programs for mentoring, inquire at a local school for nurses. You can offer real life experiences, and answer questions for someone about to enter the profession.  Mentoring 101 The number one rule in mentoring is to be realistic. Don’t make the job sound like a piece of cake; you will only be setting them up. There are good days and bad, so be honest and say that. Things are not always easy, and mistakes will happen. Always advise that anyone making a mistake should own up to it.  Nurses are not perfect, and accidents happen, we are just human.  Talk about the good things in a nursing profession. Nurses are in general more dedicated to their coworkers than any other profession. This is great because when you need help, advice, or guidance, a coworker will be right there to assist you. There is truly a uniq

Some really simple things can make a patient's hospital stay tolerable. Little things can make a patient more comfortable. For example, tall patients can be uncomfortable in beds; however, most hospital beds can be extended. It's at least worth checking.  If your patient will be in bed for any appreciable amount of time, they will be more comfortable if lying not just on the mattress, but also on a bed pad designed to improve her blood circulation.  The new approach is an inflatable bed pad that automatically adjusts itself under the patient to avoid sustained pressure in one spot or another. Bed sores can be an issue, but even if they’re not a concern for your patient, a pad will make a hospital bed much more comfortable. To protect patients, mattresses and pillows are encased in plastic.  Hospital beds are covered to preserve them, which can make for a very uncomfortable sweaty patient.  When changing linens, add a cotton blanket under the patient. Related:  Pat

My shift started at 7 am, and by 8 am, I'd seen 3 patients of varying conditions.  My favorite patient this week is a 91-year-old woman that weighs all of 90 lbs., but is feisty, and tells you just what she is thinking. For instance, as my coworker and I tried to put in a catheter, she proclaimed very sternly, if we tried to put that thing in her we would be sorry. Well, wouldn't you know, as soon as we began to insert the cath, my little friend had what she referred to as, a bad case of the vapors.  We stood up straight to catch our breath and the patient said, told you not to do it.  My next patient was less feisty, but determined he was not going to take his prescribed medication. Of course, it's within his right to refuse, however each time I left the room he would call me back and say he would take it. I'd get it and oh well, he would change his mind again.  The morning went on, I was vomited on, but otherwise things went pretty well.  I went to lunch at 1

Summer is terrific, everyone wants to get out and have fun, but then they get bugged by--you guessed it--bugs. It’s bad enough that insects can be a pest, but there are some that will bite, and some of those can cause tremendous harm. -           Mosquito bites are for the most part annoying. The itching can wake us at night, and it seems no matter what you put on the bite itself, the itching continues. A mosquito bite is a reddish bump on the skin, which may sometimes be red around the area from scratching. Most of the time the bites are harmless, however it is possible to contract West Nile Virus from a mosquito bite.  That is a condition that mimics a severe case of the flu; however in patients with compromised immune systems it could be fatal.  -           Tick bites are common for people that camp or hike regularly in the woods.The sooner a tick can be removed, the less the chance of complications.Lyme disease comes from certain tick bites, and can cause a number of probl

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

Evidence-based medicine is a relatively new term. To simplify what it is, essentially, it's a combination of things used to treat a patient. The idea is to utilize the scientific side of medicine, the physicians' knowledge and expertise, and combine it with the patient's history, needs, and lifestyle. In other words, if a patient is a professional tennis player and has a tumor in their arm, the protocol would be to carefully consider how treatment should proceed.  An aggressive and harsh treatment for the arm of a tennis player is probably not something the patient wants. A group of doctors would meet and discuss possibilities as to the best form of treatment while preserving the use of the patient's arm, so that their life is not altered. This is a concept that has been developed to provide more patient satisfaction in medicine, and also involving the patient more in the decision making about their care. For many years patients have visited their primary healthcare p

There are some misconceptions about being malnourished, and what it actually means. Most people think that malnourished people only reside in third world countries. This is absolutely not correct. There are many malnourished people right here in the U.S.  Patients at Risk -       Homeless people are the number one group of admitted patients that are malnourished. This is understandable, due to the limitations with proper nutrition. If admitted into the hospital, workers can attempt to introduce nutrition back into the diet of a homeless person.There is little that can be done where there is no money, and the person lives on the street, or in their car. Suggesting a local soup kitchen or shelter may be beneficial, and depending on the seriousness of the patient, there may be group homes available to individuals unable to care for themselves.  -       Models, actresses, and those in the fashion industry are often hospitalized for malnourishment. Many models in particular, may go

Not every member of the military goes to a Veterans hospital for treatment.  In addition, there is proposed legislation that military men and women may opt to seek medical help in the private sector, and have costs covered just as it would be at a Veterans hospital or facility. If this happens, it will essentially mean that most military and ex-military will seek treatment at hospitals outside of the V.A. System. If you have not treated military persons previously, there are some guidelines that may prove beneficial in their care. Recognizing P.T.S.D. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a condition most often associated with military people, although it is a condition that can affect anyone. Military persons are often exposed to battles and situations that are just as the name implies, traumatic. In the private sector, if one traumatic event happens, it is generally not followed by another and another. And, in most cases, if a traumatic event occurs, the people affected have immedia