What is a Good Nurse?

During a hospital stay, doctor visit or any medical procedure, a good nurse is a vital part of a person’s health care needs. Nurses provide many services, from documenting vital statistics, to explaining complicated medical terminology to interacting with physicians, patients and family members. Since patients in recovery or during treatment are encouraged to focus on their own health and healing, having a good nurse can make a great difference in a patient’s prognosis and wellness, giving patients the ability to fully concentrate on their own needs.

Good nurses are smart and knowledgeable about the current trends in health care, both medically and technologically. These nurses know how to operate and translate the information relayed from new medical devices and can apply the medical results to a current care plan that is in a patient’s best interests. The field of nursing is constantly challenged to keep up with the demands that technology and research place on new therapies, medications or treatments. One way for nurses to continue to learn and grow within the nursing profession in through the many online nursing degree programs that are offered by colleges and universities across the country, helping keep nurses working while still providing valuable skills and knowledge that keep a nurse up-to-date on the latest information in medicine.

The ability to balance medical knowledge and patient care is another important aspect of a good nurse. Many people are better able to understand and interpret the information provided by medical equipment, but may not be able to properly relay the information to patients or family members. Online nursing degree programs often help cross this barrier to excellent medical care by combining current research into medical care as well as interpersonal relationship dynamics. Nurses who take a personal approach to patients and the care involved are those that are most remembered later, by family and patients alike. The nurses who take the time to connect with the emotional and intellectual natures of people are more likely to be considered good nurses, even over those with the ability to understand medical information and implement it in a beneficial manner.

Other qualities of a good nurse include the ability to organize and prioritize. A nurse may deal with one patient per shift, or dozens throughout the day. Keeping medical charts, information, medication, treatment information and all other medical concerns in mind while providing patient care is a tough job, and being able to not only organize the information but prioritize it, or patients, in the event of unexpected critical care situations, is a priceless addition to a good nurse or nursing staff. An online nursing degree can help a new nurse, or a nurse within an already established career, define priorities based on nursing specialization or through the evaluation of the nurse’s own strengths and weaknesses.

A good nurse is a nurse that cares about the patients she or he cares for. These nurses are able to not only understand technology and the information it provides, but also use that information to make decisions and recommendations to a patient or physician regarding health care, treatments or care plans. The combination of positive interpersonal relationships and astute medical knowledge is one that will help a nurse go forward in a nursing career, receiving compliments from patients, physicians and medical staff alike.

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Men in Nursing

The concept of diversity is important in all industries; perhaps especially in nursing where nurses attend to patients across the gender, ethnic, social and religious spectrums. Impacting the overall need for nurses in the medical profession is also the need for nurses from all demographics to fill positions that were classically designated for women based upon an antiquated, turn of the century belief that only women could be caregivers. Nurses, regardless of gender or other concerns, are a valuable addition to any medical facility, hospital or clinic and each bring a wide range of strengths into the nursing profession.

Historically speaking, until the early 1900s, nursing was a profession for men only. Today, only around six percent of working nurses and around 10 percent of baccalaureate and master’s nursing students are men. Given the current nursing shortage that continues to challenge the medical profession from LPN through doctorate- level nursing programs, the demand for qualified and dedicated nurses is high and for men, a career in health care that offers competitive pay, flexible hours and the ability to combine science and care giving in the hospital or clinical setting can be a rewarding career path.

One of the solutions to the nursing shortage, as well as for men interested in pursuing a career in nursing is to take advantage of the online nursing programs available from different colleges and universities. Because of the lack of faculty in college and university nursing programs, nursing school students are being turned away at an astounding rate, adding to the lack of nurses currently employed in hospitals, clinics and medical facilities. Men who may hesitate to enter into a nursing program because of implied prejudice can also take advantage of the online nursing programs, getting a feel for the profession and academics before entering into the educational environment with some experience.

It is the professional nurse, regardless of gender or other concerns that can make the difference in a patient’s life. From the youngest pediatric patients to senior caregivers, are continually proving that they are just as able to provide high quality health care to patients with the bedside manner of a nurse. With the slow, but steady increase of men in the nursing profession, the ability to continue to provide the best health care possible can increase, adding a male perspective to care giving and professional nursing duties.

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How to be the “BEST” IV line starter

In the Emergency Room, one of the most important nursing skill you must have is being good in    starting an IV line for patients. An “IV” fluid or “Intravenous” fluid is important for patients              admitted in a hospital whether it is for hydration purposes or a site for administering drugs or        whatever purpose it may serve. Most emergency nurses find this task to be the most difficult          one due to a number of factors: maybe because of relatives who anxiously observe you as you        do the cannulation and you can’t concentrate, maybe because you are too stressed and you can’t focus on what you are doing, or maybe because the resident doctors keep on giving orders even if you are not yet done with your work. I know these because of the long years of experience i had in the emergency room and i tell you, it was not easy. The hospital I worked for has a daily average of at least a hundred out patient consults and at least 30 in patient admissions and would you believe if i tell you there are only three of us nurses to attend to all of them in a 12 hour shift??!But because of this, i have learned some tricks to make me, if not the best in our hospital,a good IV starter!I am not bragging about this but because of what i do everyday, it makes cannulation as easy as like taking a patient’s vital signs.

Now, I will teach you a few tricks to make IV cannulation easy for you!

1)I will assume that you already know how to “prime” the line, just make sure there are no bubbles in the line because patients or even relatives will argue with you about this.

2)Always do a sterile technique when doing this.It is our habit to “feel” the patient’s vein so we know where to prick but make sure you do not touch the insertion site AFTER sterilizing it.

3)Choose your needle carefully!The size will depend on the patient’s age and case. For example, if the patient will undergo surgery, it is best that you choose a needle with a large burrow or hole because most anesthesiologists prefer this for them to administer their drugs more efficiently. The Smaller the gauge, the larger the hole remember that!

4)In our country, it is our practice to start the line on the dorsal part or the hand.If so, try to estimate the needle’s size with the length of the vein.Make sure that if you start inserting the needle, it will not go through the other end if the vein is not straight.if so, start pricking a few cm before the actual vein then puncture it from inside so that the end of the cannula will not bend or puncture through the vein.

5)There are veins that are hard to prick like those of old people.Their veins move freely if you feel them.The trick here is to puncture the skin from the side of your targeted vein.Then on your other hand, try to secure the vein by gently pressing it so it will not move and prick the vein from the side.By doing this, you are sure to hit the vein because it will only move sideways.If you will try to puncture it from the top,it will only slide.

6)For pedia patients, it is so irritating because they constantly move and cry.Try to get some help with your co-staff to hold the patient or if they are too busy, ask for the relative’s help.Now, the catchy part here is that even if you have a visible vein, it will be hard to keep your needle in place because they will surelystruggle. The trick here is this: have the kid secured by your helper,have them firmly hold the kid’s hand,prick the site and then let go of the needle for a few seconds,but not completely.The rationale for this is the kid will surely move even if they are firmly secured because of the pain.Then after, try to immediately hit the vein because you will only have a few seconds chance that the kid will not move again.

7)This is the trick that i love!I don’t know how you will react to this technique but i believe it is effective and useful.If you miss your target,never admit that it was your mistake!.Now why did i advise you this?Because once you admit this, it is like telling your patient that you are incompetent.Your patient will lose faith in you and might even argue with you.You can tell them that sometimes it is normal for veins to collapse due to dehydration, or tell them that their veins are really hard to find.Also,this can keep your focus and composure if you still have your patient’s cooperatin and trust.But remember that this will not always work on all patients.Be careful and try to be polite when telling them this.But if you really are having a hard time, it is better to ask for help from a more experienced one.

8)If all alse fails and you really cannot find a visible vein, you may try a blind shot.It means you will try your luck hitting a vein even if you can’t see it.But before you do this,explain first to your patient on what you are about to do and ask for their consent.If they agree,prick the sites with the highest probability that you will hit one.The site where your thumb is on the side of the hand,the back of the hand near the pinkie finger,the brachial vein,for babies the site on the ankle,or even on the head.

All of these are the techniques that i learned during my duties.Do these on your own risk and according to your hospital policy!Also these are just suggestions to make your life easier n the hospital.Some of you will disagree on my methods and some of you i think will find these useful.

New Facebook game, “R.N. Battle”

For those facebook enthusiasts there, especially nurses, i have created a new app called “R.N. Battle”. As the title implies, you battle with your co-nurses by hitting them with various medical instruments and if they do not hit back within a specific time, you win a point! Personally, i enjoy this app because of the “nursing humor” i added into it. You will “prick your opponent with a gauge 18 needle” or “endorse to them a fully dilated OB patient and so on.. and if you are a nurse, you will surely understand the humor in it. I started created this app just a month ago and it already has 320 “MAU” or monthly active users and i think they are enjoying it. I can say this is a nice icebreaker after a toxic duty! You can make use of the app to connect with your nurse friends and even meet other nurses in different places.

Here is the link to the app:

http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=187842077916692

I hope you will also find the game enjoyable!Please send me feedbacks on the app forum for suggestions to make the game more fun to play!

Thank You!