Top Tips for Dealing with Your Patient’s Family

The following is a guest article from Kathleen Baker:

Wouldn’t it be great if you could just do your job as a nurse practitioner, and do it the way you know is best? Unfortunately with most patients, you also have to answer to the family members and friends who have their own opinions about how your patient should be cared for. And while having family support is extremely important to a patient’s progress and well being, it would also be nice to have them support you during the whole process. Here are 10 tips for dealing with your patient’s opinionated family and friends.

1. Give them as much information as you can. Most family members just want to know what’s going on with their loved one, so don’t hide information that’s their right to know.

2. Be strict with visiting hours. Lay down the line early on in regards to visiting hours. They’re there for your patient’s protection and to give you a break without having to deal with family!

3. Try to understand things from their perspective. By considering their feelings, you’ll be better prepared to deal with any situation involving your patient and his or her family. Plus, if the family feels like you’re on their side, they’ll be kinder to you.

4. Don’t let them get to you. You have a job to do as a nurse practitioner, and chances are, you know how to do it better than anyone. If you feel overwhelmed or need assistance, ask for help from the doctors and other nurses involved, not the family.

5. Keep your cool. If you feel panicked, stressed or pessimistic about your patient’s condition, don’t let the family see you freak out. They’re counting on you to keep your cool and maintain control of the situation.

6. Don’t take things personally. Remember that family members are incredibly stressed out and worried about their loved one, and if they snap at you, it probably wasn’t meant maliciously. Concentrate on your job and ignore the rest.

This post was contributed by Kathleen Baker, who writes about the ultrasound tech school. She welcomes your feedback at KathleenBaker3212 at gmail.com

Avoid Hospital Acquired Infections With A Sure-Fire Remedy

Hand washing  is vitally important in any health care setting. The following video is courtesy of the Kimberly Clark Health Care Associated Infections website. Click on this link and browse through their current articles on the very important subject that is unfortunately on the rise. Hospital acquired infections are serious matters. Community acquired infections are also becoming more and more prevalent too. As a Family Nurse Practitioner, I see several cases of MRSA infections in patients who have never been admitted to the hospitals. It used to be unusual to have MRSA, now it’s almost a matter of who doesn’t? Please wash your hands frequently. It’s the only sure-fire way to prevent infections.

Why Are We So Quick To Take Drugs?

I don’t know why people are so interested in taking meds for a sniffle. Have we turned into the instantaneous society who thinks that we shouldn’t be sick even for a minute? The Swine Flu is a flu that one will either survive or won’t. Good old hand washing is just about the only thing one can do except for staying home and not exposing others when you are sick.
I have been receiving several calls from patients who just started an antibiotic (day one) and by the very next day are one the phone asking for a different medication because they aren’t cured yet. We can’t even wait for the medication to take effect.
We wonder why we have multi-drug resistance?

Online Nursing Degrees Information

The health industry is among the fastest growing of all occupations and right now there is not only a high demand for nurses, but a shortage. Nursing is predicted to be the fastest growing career through 2016 according to a US Department of Labor Report. Not only are registered nurses in high demand, but they are very well compensated as well.

The question most often asked by students interested in a nursing degree is “Can I earn my nursing degree online?” The short answer is yes! There are a large number of programs that will allow the nursing student to take the academic courses online. If a particular nursing degree chosen requires clinical hours (hands on practice with patients) those can be arranged separately. Some students may even pursue their Masters degree in nursing online.
Types of Online Nursing Degrees

It is difficult to list all the possible online nursing degrees, but what follows is a short list of the more common degrees and certifications sought.

* LPN to Registered Nurse – The Licensed Practical Nurse often chooses to continue their education and transition to a registered nursing program.
* Registered Nurse – this includes the two-year associate degree program, and can pursue a bachelor’s degree program at four years.
* Advanced Practice Registered Nurses- These are often for the Registered Nurse who has finished their Master’s Degree where they specialize in a particular field such as anesthesiology or midwifery or many other specializations.

An LPN is most often engaged in day-to-day care of patients as well as routine monitoring and dispensing some types of medication. The boundaries of their responsibilities are set by the state laws governing licensed practical nurses.

Registered nurses (those holding an associates or bachelor degree) are involved most often with advanced patient care procedures, intravenous medication administration, and supervisory activities. They also are governed by state law as to the procedures they can perform in patient care.

To become an LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse or Licensed Vocational Nurse) or an RN (Registered Nurse) there are academic requirements and clinical hours requirements to be met. The nursing student must graduate successfully from an accredited nursing program and have fulfilled all these requirements which will vary from school to school. After graduation, the successful student will also need to pass a state licensing examination as well.
For nursing students going for advanced practice certifications, the requirements and state certification procedures will vary from program to program as well as with the state laws governing their area of specialization. Generally, in the nursing field, the more specialized training the nurse has the better their earning potential is.

As mentioned before , persons holding nursing degrees and certifications, have a multitude of employment opportunities available to them, and are normally very well compensated. If helping people while engaged in a well paid and exciting career appeals to you, then an online nursing degree program may well be for you. You can use links provided on this site to seek the online nursing degree program or certification program that is just right for you.

The above article was submitted from a guest blogger. You can visit their site for more information about online nursing degrees by clicking here.

How Not To Choke Your Non-Compliant Patients

SIGH!

Every day I come across non-compliant patients. I’m not talking about the ones who can’t afford their medications, but the ones who just don’t get it. The ones who say that their glucose levels are normal. Strange how that AIC got to be a 13? There’s glucose +2000 in my urine? But I don’t cheat on my diet, I swear! It’s inconvenient to check your glucose levels and take your meds? I’m sorry. How inconvenient will it be when you are hooked up to a dialysis machine three times a week for a few hours at a time?

Strange how your blood pressure shot up to 200/120 when you decided not to take your blood pressure medicine just because it made your sex life a little more difficult. Do you want to be around to even have sex? How about having that “Big One” when you are going at it like a bunny rabbit. How will your wife/girlfriend/partner feel when they have to explain to the paramedics and the coroner that you just keeled over? NICE..

Remember when you had insurance and never went to your provider’s office for a check up? You were reminded to get those preventative tests such as that pesky mammogram and colonoscopy. I know that it meant that your precious boobs would be squished for a few minutes and that you’d have to drink some stuff that made you sit on the toilet for a few hours to clean yourself out. WAAA!!!!

Too busy to take care of yourself?

Too bad. Get it done before you lose your job and join the ranks of the unemployed who lost their insurance policies and then found out that they had some horrible disease, such as cancer,  that will wipe out everything their family ever knew.

Too many good people are dying out here for the lack of money to get testing done to find out their problems. So quit complaining to me when I suggest that you get those tests done while you have insurance. Many of my patients would love to have that luxury. Patients often wonder how to pay for their prescriptions and feed their families.

Do yourself a favor and stay healthy. Rant finished.

Swine Flu- The New Pandemic?

The Swine Flu has been reported by the CDC as a potential pandemic. Symptoms include chills, fever, malaise, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and upper respiratory symptoms.

Well folks, I think that I have been the unfortunate victim of this illness. The sudden onset of low grade fever, body aches from hell, nausea, vomiting EVERY hour, chills, sweats, and now on day two the stuffy nose and slight cough. A business next door to my office has had several workers struck with the same symptoms and one came to the office to be treated.

Within 22 hours, three people in our office came down with the same symptoms with varying times of exposure. I was the lucky one with the longest contact so I ended up with the full force of the illness.
I am going to propose that this is an airborne virus as well and contact.

The good thing is that the process doesn’t last more than three or four days (I’ve heard and pray!)

I hope that you all don’t have to experience this illness for yourselves. Protect yourself and your families by washing your hands frequently and avoid obviously ill people if you can do so.

Looking For Some Great Continuing Educations Credits?

I have been surfing for some really educational CMEs and found this site. I also like the fact that they have downloadable pocket guides on different medical diagnoses. Enjoy!

Oh Hell No You Didn’t!

While I was surfing the net looking for subjects to post on for this week’s Change of Shift, I stumbled on a horror story of tremendous magnitude if it’s proven correct.  There are allegations that Hammot Medical Center harvested their 18 year old comatose son’s organs without their permission.

The suit claims Hamot contacted the Center for Organ Recovery and Education about the donation of Jacobs’ organs even though his parents, who were at the hospital, wanted him to live. CORE directed that Jacobs’ organs be removed in the absence of a valid consent, the suit said.

The hosptial denies any wrong doing on their part but the parents say that their son still had brain waves and that his heart was still beating when the doctors removed his life support. Read the rest of the story here.

I am a firm believer of organ donation. In fact, when I go, you can have every scrap that you can use including skin, bone, and heart etc. if it’s usable in order to help someone else. But don’t EVER do the unthinkable and take organs from an unwilling donor. It makes people leery of ever wanting to donate!

What Is A Nurse Practitioner?

A Nurse Practitioner is a Professional Registered Nurse who has advanced education and clinical training in a health care specialty. The Florida Board of Medicine designates the term for a nurse practitioner as A.R.N.P or Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner. Most Nurse Practitioners have national board certification in their area of expertise and hold Masters or Doctoral degrees. Nurse Practitioners serve as primary health care providers for children and adults during health and illness. Their goal is to help people of all ages stay as healthy as possible. They do this by teaching people and treating their acute illnesses (such as infections) and chronic disease (such as hypertension, diabetes, and many others).

Read more…

Required Continuing Education Credits for ARNPS

Q: How many contact hours do I need for a full biennium?
A: All Florida-licensed RN’s and LPNs, ARNPs and CNSs are now in a 24-month renewal cycle and must complete 24 hours of appropriate continuing education during each renewal period. The 24 hours must include two (2) hours on Prevention of Medical Errors. HIV/AIDS is now a one-time, 1-hour CE requirement to be completed prior to the first renewal. Domestic Violence (DV) CE is now a 2-hour requirement every third renewal. Since Domestic Violence (DV) is a 2-hour requirement, the licensee will have 25 hours of CE during the renewal period when DV is taken. For example, if you renew your license on July 31, 2008 and completed DV during the 2006-2008 licensure cycle, you are required to complete the Domestic Violence CE before the July 31, 2014 renewal.

This information was located on the Florida Board of Nursing site here