Category: Nurse Information

Ask A Nurse is a triage of registered nurses available
around-the-clock with health care information accessible by phone and
e-mail. These specifically trained registered nurses will carefully
listen to and answer your questions. Ask A Nurse is a professional
service designed to help you make an informed decision about your
health. Although they can not provide a diagnosis they may assist in
the decision to take your loved one to the emergency room, to call a
doctor, or to use simple home care treatments. The nurses use a
comprehensive data base so they can provide accurate information and
fast and reliable facts. They may also refer you to a physician in your
local area for treatment. They always have the latest medical knowledge
available at the touch of a keyboard. The information is confidential
and guaranteed to be accurate. Ask A Nurse is accessible in the privacy
of your own home as long as you have a working phone line. This service
is also free of charge and is available in most hospitals.

As well as Ask A Nurse, many foundations and hospitals offer a site
where you may ask a nurse questions about your health. Registered nurse
consultants will answer questions about treatments and health care
through e-mail. They will answer a variety of questions ranging from
diagnostic tests, medications, chest pains, and even weight management.
All information will be accurate and confidential. Some places will
even offer counselors where you can ask a nurse advice about your
health problems. These nurses are certified in both nursing and
counseling fields. These information services are extremely
confidential and secret; they are all accessible from your own home if
you own a computer with internet access. The counselors will offer
personal advice on living with medical conditions such as breast
cancer, heart health, genital herpes, and many others.

There are many different roles in the health care industry that are
important, and all there for one purpose: to heal and help patients. A
professional nurse is one of these people, and their role is extremely
vital to all who are sick and injured. Florence Nightingale is the
first primary example of what nursing is all about, and her book Note
on Nursing which was written in 1860 served as a stepping stone to help
today’s professional nurse become a front runner in the health care
sector. In earlier times, nurses were often there to help serve and
assist soldiers injured in battle. Eventually, doctors realized the
importance of their help, and soon colleges and schools were formed to
help young women (mostly at the time) move up and go towards getting a
job as a professional nurse. Today, there are many organizations both
nationally and international that were created to help create a sense
of unity for the professional nurse.

The role of a
professional nurse can be quite a challenge, and today’s diseases are
often more intricate and more challenging than ever with the help of
modern diagnostics. Overall, the role of a nurse is to provide care,
administer medication, ensure patients are doing ok, and to be a
support system for the doctors. It is a job that often gets overlooked
but is so important and vital to all of us. If you’ve ever been sick,
you know that the nurse is there to help you when needed. They are a
truly special group of people whose goal is to make sure all patients
are treated with respect and dignity, and that they have everything
they need to be made as comfortable as possible. A professional nurse
is someone who knows the value of human life and how peoples’ needs can
be met through proper care.

A pediatric nurse is involved in child health nursing which focuses
on providing holistic care for adolescents, children, and infants. It
is centered on the care and concept of family. These nurses help
supporting the family by providing nursing care, educating the parents,
helping to maintain a normal environment, and most important of all
viewing the parents as partners throughout the entire caretaking
process.

A pediatric nurse must be understanding of the children’s feelings
at all times because they are still young and may not yet understand
what’s happening to them. A pediatric nurse must function as a teacher
to the families of the children and provide them with sufficient
support and confidence in their abilities to raise their child as well.
Nurses who have decided to enter this field must have a special set of
attitudes and must have an open mind to all different methods to raise
a child.

A pediatric nurse must be able to adapt to various settings and
perform their job without any problems.  They need to be able to
respond to both the physical and psychological aspects of illness. They
also must be able to discern between both acute and chronic illnesses
as well as management of different mental disabilities. A pediatric
nurse must be good when interacting with people, have empathy, an
immense love for children, flexibility, control over their emotions,
and stress management.

To become a pediatric nurse you must be a registered nurse with an
Advanced Diploma, a diploma, or a Bachelor of Science for nursing.
Different employers for a pediatric nurse could be hospitals, clinics,
long-term care facilities, the community, and home care agencies. A
pediatric nurse may also work in a children’s ward in a medical
institution alongside a medical doctor to assist them with their work,
they must also deal with emergencies in their absence.

There are several schools offering online nurse courses. This is a
wonderful way to learn all about nursing sitting in the convenience of
your home. Some of the notable schools, universities and institutions
offering online or distance nursing education are:

• Florida Hospital College Of Health Sciences
• Kaplan University – Legal Nurse Consulting Certificate Program
• School Of Nursing And Health Care 
• Norwich University
• The Midwifery Institute of Philadelphia University
• University of Cincinnati – College of Nursing
• Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner
• Health Systems Management of Walden University and Wheeling Jesuit University
• Sentinel University

This is not where the list ends. There are more educational organizations offering fabulous online nurse courses.

With online nurse education you can reach higher in the field. It is
a great way to study while still being in the profession right away.
Online nurse courses help nursing associate degree holders attain
bachelor’s degree. You may also get to know about online nurse master’s
courses, which you can easily take during the free hours of practicing
nurses.

An online nurse course can only help you to complete the
non-laboratory portion of your classwork. However, for bachelor’s and
master’s courses you need to visit the nearby clinics where you can
carry out your clinical or laboratory exercises. In online courses you
will get access to the database, which stores lecture materials for
students to utilize and evaluate. The instructors make sure to post the
modules with the assignments at specific periods of time.

The main benefit or advantage of online nurse education is
self-paced learning. With this course, students can study during free
time and they don’t need to report to the class each day. This is
indeed a boon for those who have to work to feed their own family. They
can earn money and at the same time study at home to make themselves
professionally indispensable.

However, some people are afraid of the fact that students of online
nurse education will not receive the same benefits and opportunities as
the students of traditional courses. This, they feel because in case of
online courses the students don’t get a chance to witness the
interaction and communication within the classroom premise. However, as
a solution to this problem several online nurse courses are making
arrangements for discussion forums where you can at least communicate
with your guides.

The most important thing is to choose the right online nurse
program. More and more people are going for online nurse courses
because it is all so flexible and affordable than the tuitions as
needed by standard schools of nursing. Therefore, before you plunge, be
sure to measure the depth of the water. When everything seems right you
can readily go for online nurse education.

First, you should decide which nursing degrees you desire to go for.
Based on this you have to select your preferred online nurse course for
a bright and promising career in the field of nursing.

The Ohio Board of Nursing is the state regulatory board for the
oversight of nursing practice in Ohio. As a part of the state
government, the Ohio Board of Nursing derives its powers and duties
from state law. Funding for the agency comes from the licensure and
renewal fees submitted by nursing professionals. Its chief mission is
to promote and protect the health of citizens in the state through
ensuring the safe and effective practice of nursing.

Consisting
of a thirteen members, the Ohio Board of nursing is appointed by the
Governor for a term of four years, and may be reappointed for a second
term. The Board is made up of eight registered nurses, on of whom must
be authorized to practice as an advanced practice nurse. Another of the
thirteen is a consumer member, a non nurse that represents the
interests of health care consumers. The remaining four positions are
occupied by licensed practical nurses

To fulfill its
mission, the Ohio Board of Nursing is involved in nearly every aspect
of nursing. Educational criteria for the profession are set by the Ohio
Board of Nursing, certification of the state’s nursing schools and
programs is done by the board, and rules pertaining to the regulation
of the nursing practice are drafted by the agency. A variety of Nursing
licenses and certificates are issued by the board, and discipline of
nursing professionals who do not uphold the rules and laws that
regulate the practice is handled by the Ohio Board of Nursing.

Regulating
the nursing profession state wide is a monumental task, with an
estimated 180,000 nurses practicing in the state. Nursing is the
largest segment of the Ohio medical health care industry, with a range
of sub specialties and paraprofessionals falling within its boundaries.
All of these nursing professionals are placed under the jurisdiction of
the Ohio Board of Nursing, ensuring that Ohio’s health care consumers
receive safe and effective nursing care.

Medical nursing can be defined as the art of curing patients not
only physically, but also mentally.  Hence, the profession of nursing
is considered very important in the medical field.

Patients can lose their mental balance or may eventually die, if not
properly taken care of, after any major operation. At this point, the
service of a nurse matters a lot. There is a specialized branch of
nursing, which takes care of mentally distressed, while there can be
nursing in other fields.

Medical Nursing For Psychiatric Patients

Medical nursing care for mentally ill or retarded patients are of
two types – basic and advanced nursing. As a basic-level nurse, you
have to try to assess the mental condition of the patients. You have to
diagnose the exact problems and evaluate the level of medical nursing
care, your patient has already received and how much more is actually
required. Counseling at such level is considered very crucial.
Time-to-time monitoring can also be very helpful in these
circumstances.

Advanced level nurses need to have a Master’s degree in
psychiatric-mental health nursing. Their job starts from the basic
level like taking care of patients; but their role is not restricted to
that of a mere psychotherapist, instead, an advanced nurse needs to act
as an educator, a consultant, an advanced case manager and an
administrator. In many states of U.S., the advanced level nurses are
assigned the authority of prescribing medicines.

Medical Nursing – The Methods To Be Followed

• Records – Maintaining patient-records is very important and
  as a nurse, you should be attentive while writing case histories. The
  record actually serves as evidence and enables other medical experts to
  treat the patients with least difficulty in any later stage.

• Infection Control – There are certain sanitary rules, which
  should be strictly followed otherwise, this can trigger various
  infections, which can be detrimental for the health of the patients. As
  a nurse, you should wash hand thoroughly with soap in running water,
  after smoking, coughing, drinking or washing clothes. Wearing gloves
  helps keep infection and other such problems in check.

• Medication – As mentioned earlier, in some countries
  advanced nurses have the authority to prescribe medicines to the
  patients, without even referring to a physician.

• Temperature – Taking temperature from time to time is very
  important. A nurse should be aware of the ways of taking temperature.
  The thermometer can be placed in the mouth or the rectum for three
  minutes or in the armpit for a minimum of 10 minutes. Remember, that
  the normal body temperature is 37 degree Celsius or 98.6 degrees
  Fahrenheit. Temperature rise above this normal mark can call for a
  medical emergency.

• Diet – In the field of medical nursing, proper diet is important. The type of illness determines the diet of the patient.

The medical nursing profession has diverse roles for nurses like,
nurse practitioner, registered nurse, home nurse, health nurse. As a
nurse, you can be given assorted tasks, which you have to accomplish
with accuracy. This incorporates, consulting clinical staff, providing
direction to staff, monitoring the patients’ condition, maintaining
records and so on.

Medical nursing can be very simple, provided you have full dedication and love for the job.

While most of the American population’s median age increasing, more
people are living longer and therefore are in need of medical care more
than ever before. The demand for licensed practical nurses is
definitely increasing each year, and is a very good career move for
people looking to get into the medical field. Training for most
licensed practical nurses takes about one year, and many students
enroll in state approved programs or vocational schools. Licensed
practical nurses serve under the leadership of a physician or a
registered nurse, and are able to perform such tasks as taking vital
signs (checking blood pressure, temperature, etc) and help to do things
such as give injections or insert IVs. In addition, they often help to
collect samples for testing, and perform such tasks as bathing and
feeding patients. For those who are experienced, they may also be
allowed to supervise other licensed practical nurses.

Most
licensed practical nurses work within a hospital setting, but some may
also work in private clinics, or in rare instances, assist with in home
care. The average licensed practical nurse can make anywhere from
$30,000 to $50,000 per year according to a recent survey of the
national average. The demand for this type of position is high, and
schooling is readily available to most people who are interested. All
50 states as well as the District of Columbia require potential
licensed practical nurses to pass the LPN exam. The training and
education is typically a combination of both in classroom and hands on
experience, so that the nurse has an idea of the basics as well as the
real work involved. Laboratory classes are also included and have
proven to be very helpful. Licensed practical nurses work closely with
emergency room physicians, private care doctors, surgeons,
anesthesiologists, and specialty care doctors.

A legal nurse consultant, also commonly referred to as a LNC, is a
registered nurse who uses their knowledge as a health care professional
to help solve cases. These consultants receive legal training so they
can accurately provide advice for medical related cases. This career is
generally referred to as legal nursing.

Not all attorneys understand the complicated medical terms and
requirements for a patient’s health care. Therefore a legal nurse
consultant will supply the information needed to solve the case and
offer any opinions he or she has on the subject as well.

A legal nurse consultant can work for insurance companies,
utilization review firms, government agencies, private corporations,
and hospitals as both staff members and consultants. Being able to work
in many places allows a legal nurse consultant a lot of options for a
comfortable and profitable full-time or part-time job. A legal nurse
consultant has many different responsibilities and services they can
offer. Some of these include assisting with discovery, conducting
research, reviewing medical records, identifying standards of care,
preparing reports and summaries on the extent of injury and illness,
and locating expert witnesses. They may also serve as expert witnesses
themselves, although they usually work behind the scenes.            

Since the early 1970’s registered nurses have been acting as
consultants to the legal profession on nursing and health care issues.
It began when expert witnesses offered their opinion on malpractice
cases. The Judicial system now recognizes nurses as better consultants
to provide information on nursing care and practice than doctors. In
1999, the distinction between the practice of paralegal and legal
assistants and the nursing specialty practice of legal nurse consulting
was determined. The AALNC, American Association of Legal Nurse
Consultants, has decided that legal nurse consultants fall under the
category of the profession of nursing rather than a special category of
paralegals.

The history of nursing research begins with Florence Nightingale. In
fact, it is nursing research that governs and determines the elements
of the nursing practice in general. Great care, detail, and educational
study comprises nursing research. When a nurse makes a medical
decision, it is believed that he or she will make judgments that are
supported by and characteristic of the current trends in nursing
research. If a nurse does not act in harmony with nursing research, he
or she may be held liable of medical neglect. Therefore, it is
imperative that all who are in the nursing profession stay current with
the latest developments in nursing education as well as research.

There
are two main areas of research that are applicable to the nursing
profession. These include Quantative and Qualitive Research. Quantative
research focuses on results in nursing that is measurably by the use of
testing controlled trial settings, and visible statistics. Quantative
basically means that something may be measured, and when describing
research, Quantative refers to results that may be measured.

Qualitive
Research focuses on the quality of the result or approach as
experienced by the patient. Where you can understand Quantative
research as being the facts, or the what, where, and when of the facts
used in research, Qualitive research refers to the “who” and “why”
questions. For example, “Who did this method work for, and why was the
method or treatment effective?”

Medicine has evolved through
a number of theories over the centuries, and the field of nursing is no
different. Before a practice can be accepted as being effective
medicine, it must be carefully researched, tested, and the results
measured. This research begins with the use of the Scientific Method
and culminates in case studies, clinical trials, and using measurable
standards to determine the results.

Nursing is a profession that focuses on patients. When a patient
enters a doctor’s office, hospital, or operating room, they expect the
best care. While doctors perform a bulk of the service, they need
assistance from qualified nurses. Most people are familiar with modern
day nurses that perform lab work and other preliminary medical steps.
Yet, many are unfamiliar with the history of nursing. Nursing has been
around in one form or another for centurise. While earlier nurses went
by many different names, they held the same responsibility – to care
for the patient. In many instances, a doctor wasn’t even present,
wherein a nurse was solely responsible for a sick or injured person.

The
history of nursing points to the 14th century as the start of modern
day nurses. Although various forms of nurses existed prior to this
time, these weren’t traditional nurses. In the 14th century, the
primary role of a nurse was to care for a newborn or child. These
nurses were referred to as wet nurses and dry nurses. Over time, these
nurses began to expand their realm, and offered their services to
various sick persons. This type of nursing was not organized or offered
in an actual medical facility. Rather, the history of nursing shows
that individuals who provided healthcare services would go to the sick
person’s home and remain until their health improved.

Nuns
and the military introduced modern day nursing services. Nuns would
care for the elderly and orphans, and provide bedside service.
Additionally, the military employed qualified women to care for injured
soldiers. Health care services were offered in a designated facility,
and each nurse had a specific role. As the profession expanded, nurses
were able to specialize in a medical field, and choose from an array of
occupations. The history of nursing proves that this profession has
been around for many years. Moreover, the development of various health
care facilities and nursing degrees is a testament to the need for
qualified nursing professionals.