What Nursing Can Mean--New Followers Re-post

Nurses need to Take Care of Nurses-5

Nurse accountability is integral to professional nursing. Every nurse should know that with every decision and action made she/he is the one who is ultimately responsible for the patient outcomes related to those decisions and actions. Patient safety and well-being; optimization of their health and enabling the patients return to a normal functioning status should be inherent to any plans or procedures performed. Autonomy requires exercising informed judgment and competence that generally only comes with experience and time. A part of that use of autonomy is knowing when to call for help and/or call the doctor, especially, if the avenues of choices from standard orders have been exhausted. So many decisions and actions that every nurse performs on a daily if not hourly basis. Each time the patient's welfare is being considered.

This is just another reason that NURSES NEED their own ADVOCATES... 

Patient's have the whole alphabet in advocates and they BEGIN with Nurses...

Nurses should be advocating for themselves as well and be involved in all decisions regarding how they practice. Whether it is in their workplace and more importantly in the political arena...Get Involved...

From the ANA Smartbrief--Interesting Articles

Review: APRNs, doctors achieve comparable health outcomes
A review of 69 published studies indicates that advanced practice nurses, such as nurse practitioners, reach care outcomes equal to or better than those of physicians. The study "reinforces that APRNs provide effective, high-quality patient care and play an important role in improving the quality of care in the United States," researchers wrote in Nursing Economics. Nurse.com (7/28)


Families see hospice care as beneficial, but timing is crucial
Families of nursing home patients with dementia who received hospice care were at least 49% less likely than families of those who didn't have hospice care to say their needs and concerns regarding quality of care, pain management and emotional support for loved ones were unmet, according to a study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Researchers noted that families of patients who were given hospice care "too late" became more concerned about care and support and felt worse off than those whose loved ones didn't get hospice care at all. Nurse.com (7/31)


Why the lack of nursing IT funds is "a missed opportunity"
The HHS is providing $71.3 million to broaden nursing education, but Bonnie Westra of the Alliance of Nursing Informatics and the University of Minnesota's Center for Nursing Informatics said the lack of federal funds to train nurses in health IT is "a missed opportunity." The government should not shortchange "the need to educate nurses in advanced informatics positions, given the investment that HHS is making in health IT," she said. InformationWeek


Patients' perceptions don't always reflect quality of hospital care
An analysis of Medicare data conducted by USA TODAY found that more than 120 hospitals that received high ratings from patients also had high rates of death from heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia. This finding sheds light on the differences between patients' perceptions and more objective measures of quality of care, according to experts. USA TODAY (8/5)


Health care industry hired 31,300 in July
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the health care industry gained 31,300 new jobs in July, with hospitals hiring 14,000 employees, doctor's offices hiring 6,300 and home health care services hiring 3,100. According to the report, nursing and residential care facilities had 3,200 additional staff, but at nursing homes alone 500 jobs were lost. The total gain was higher than the pre-recession monthly average of 2007. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model)/Health Blog (8/5)

What Nursing Can Mean--New Followers Re-post

Nurses need to Take Care of Nurses-4

To improve political activism in nursing workforce conditions and practice issues, nurses need to be involved and aware. All levels of nursing should be involved in this process; student nurses, licensed practical nurses, registered nurses and advanced practitioners. From contact with the department of health, just in the Jacksonville area alone, the number of nurses, totals over 14,700 nursing professionals. This could be a powerful tool for improving working conditions and protecting professional practice if even a portion of these nurses become more involved and today much of this can be done through the point-and-click method.

When politicians make decisions about how nurses practice and the situations they work in, the time is now to be more aware and involved in the politics of nursing. Politicians should be educated by nurses about nursing issues.

The main feeling that many government representatives have about nurses, is that they are not organized, and that being organized is the best way to get your interests heard.

Many legislators have regular delegation meetings that often address issues and particular groups; this is one option for nurse involvement.

Helping legislators with their campaign is a good way to stimulate interest in sensitive and important nursing issues and does not require money. Congressional representative Patterson said “sweat equity” is as much or more valuable. Walking neighborhoods for a representative that is willing to listen and possibly help nurses with an issue important to you, time allowing, is an easy chore. Other options include steps as simple as stuffing envelopes or putting a sign in the yard, which he said, is often hard to get people to do.

Have well-spoken representatives (Nurses) are needed to speak in committee hearings in Tallahassee

Summertime is the key time to present issues of concern to legislators; they have recently completed the sessions for the year and are back in their home districts. This is the time to present new issues.

Know your legislators; their past successes and failures in healthcare issues, the issues they have supported or been against in the past, and know when key committee hearings are taking place.

What Nursing Can Mean--New Followers Re-post

From the ANA SmartBrief-6

Workplace violence continues to be a risk for nursesAlthough hospitals have implemented more safety rules and states have toughened assault laws, nurses and other health care professionals are still more likely than most other workers to experience violence at work. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is working on a best-practices course, which will be accessible in 2012 through the ANA and the NIOSH websites, to educate health care providers about workplace violence prevention. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (2/22) 

Does anybody actually have a facility that will prosecute the patient's and families that feel they are entitled to threaten nurses, or be verbally and physically abusive towards them?

We have big signs saying it is a Felony to threaten or assault the nursing staff, but when it happens, they refuse to actually do anything and the police do not even want to take a statement.

Why is it okay for these people to get away with this? I understand the emotional strain of being in the hospital...But it is not NOW or EVER OKAY to act this way unless truly demented or psychotic...Just being an impatient rude jerk is intolerable, and even the alcoholics and drug users know how they are behaving and who they are threatening..these people are just not right... and it should not be tolerated, especially when you are trying to help them.

Really...I know the facility I work at did not send them an invitation to come there, nor were they promised drive through medicine or narcotics, and this place is not named The Marriot or McDonalds...

From the ANA Smartbrief--Interesting Articles

Nurse leaders suggest ways to achieve work-life balance
Terry Chase and Colleen Hallberg say nurses can achieve a better work-life balance by setting priorities, assessing the number of shifts they can accommodate, taking vacation and lunch breaks, making a joy list and incorporating a personal touch in the care they provide. They also remind nurse leaders to be good role models and introduce their staffs to resources available to help deal with life's stresses. NurseZone.com (7/15)


Why you should look beyond salary in deciding on a specialty
Salaries within the nursing profession vary by specialization, unit and location. For instance, Indeed.com and Monster.com report that nurse researchers and pediatric oncology nurses are among the highest-earning in the profession. But nurses should consider their interests and should look at the whole compensation package, rather than focus on salary alone, according to this article. "When selecting a job, if you just look at hourly rate or annual salary, it's shortsighted," said nurse and author Donna W. Cardillo. NurseZone.com (7/15)


3 growing specialties to look out for in nursing
Driven by the shortage of primary care providers, the aging of baby boomers and the continuing evolution of technology, the need is growing for nurses in primary and geriatric care and informatics, according to this article. Carol Bickford of the ANA said advanced practice nurses such as clinical nurse specialists, nurse midwives and nurse anesthetists will also be in demand. NurseZone.com (7/15)


Classical music in ICU helps calm ventilated patients, study shows
A study in Anesthesiology News found that when classical music was piped into the ICU at San Francisco General Hospital, ventilated patients needed lower doses of sedatives. Hospital researchers did a pilot study with five ICU patients and found that after two hours of music sedation needs dropped 33%, with the effect lasting for one hour after the music stopped. BeckersASC.com (7/15)


3 most popular learning methods for nurses
During the convention of the National Nursing Staff Development Organization, Jobeth Pilcher presented her research on the three most preferred learning methods of nurses: interactive lectures, paper-and-pen self-study and online learning. One of the themes of discussion among nursing leaders at the meeting was professional development as a tool to increase retention amid signs of a looming return of staff shortages and turnover. HealthLeaders Media (7/19)


Why nurses are key players in conversion to electronic records
Nurses can take advantage of a host of opportunities in electronic medical records, regardless of whether they have a technical background. For instance, nurses who serve as super users are coaches to their colleagues as well as bridges between the clinical and IT worlds. "There are roles for nurses -- in fact it is critical to have their participation -- in creating an EMR that makes logical sense with their workflow and which is user-friendly," said Jan Zachry, vice president of nursing and operations at Scripps Memorial Hospital in California. NurseZone.com (7/22)


APRN-led transitional care program lowers seniors' readmission rate
A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that seniors hospitalized for heart failure who completed a transitional care program headed by advanced practice nurses had a 48% lower readmission rate compared with those who did not complete the program, which involved interventions before discharge and house calls afterward. A separate study of 257 seniors found that 12.8% of those who participated in a transitional care program, including a hospital and home visit, were readmitted to hospitals compared with 20% of those not in the program. HealthDay News (7/25)

What Nursing Can Mean--New Followers Re-post

What can nursing do to care for themselves and their own?

The nursing shortage is a danger to healthcare on multiple levels; to the future of safe patient care delivery and professional practice, in addition to nursing workforce issues. The numbers vary weekly, but have been noted to be over one million nurses short to provide care in the next one to two decades. Aging baby boomers increase the risk and the numbers. States across the country are bringing more politicians into the nursing practice with laws created that decide practice issues. These laws cover multiple workforce situations that are being decided by politicians, from safe patient handling to the publics right to know, and various other issues effecting our practice, including staffing ratios. Now, one thing that lead me to this path is a firm belief that the bedside nurses, who GIVE their hearts and souls 24/7 providing skillful and knowledgeable care comfort and compassion SHOULD NOT have to worry about what kind of situation they are driving into, when coming to work. The legislators deciding these issues are often basing their decisions on very limited knowledge of nurses and how they practice or experiences they have had in the past with nurses, or worse yet, what they know about nurses is based on stereotypes (like TV shows like Scrubs and ER) and very little reality. Not being involved in the politics of nursing can leave the decisions of how we practice up to people with little knowledge of nursing issues and the situations surrounding the workforce today.

What Nursing Can Mean--New Followers Re-post

Love Nursing?-1

WOW...So many things to Love about this profession...Just a few

1) Making someone feel better is often its own reward, most especially when that patient improves enough to know you have truly helped them..Often that help is in the form of medication, sometimes even education...

2) There is something powerful about saving lives and making a difference..Many of us make a joke of it, but when you know you have the knowledge and the ability with one or two actions to pull a patient from the cliff of death...It feels great when it works and sometimes even when it does not and you just know that you have done all that you can

3) Satisfaction is another factor for nurses and patients...It just feels good to know that you have comforted and bathed and pampered a patient, to know that if that was your mother, father or child, this is how you would want them cared for...

What Nursing Can Mean--New Followers Re-post

Nurses need to Take Care of Nurses-1

Planning for secure retirement is just one way...As one of the largest workforces in the country that provides caring and professional services to all communities, we deserve a retirement plan. We work long and strenuous hours with tremendous responsibilities and stressors and are justified in seeking this plan.

Planning for daily autonomy and safe practice is another... When decisions are made regarding changes in practice...Nurses at the bedside should always question the change..

I.E. A Current trend is the NO WAIT ER...

Again...How does one spell Ludicrous, because the hang nail and toothache in the ER really should be seen immediately and the life threatening possibilities are endless...

The triage nurse in some of these situations is now expected to treat patients and discharge patients while continuing to manage the triage area...TRIAGE should focus on triage and all that can occur there, not otherwise without a nurse specific to treating and streeting triaged patients.

What is endless is legal issues in such a situation...Many legal issues are present and problematic..

The STANDARD of CARE will be what a lawyer will address...IS it the National or Local Standard of Care for the triage nurse to not only manage triage but greet, treat and street patients in the waiting room or even a room close by...REQUIRES an additional nurse...for my standard...

What pressures does the change place on staff nurses workload and ability to practice safely?

Does the change effect the current staffing patterns and needs in your facility?

Is it safe for your patient?

Is it safe for YOUR License?

QUESTION...

QUESTION....

QUESTION!!!