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| The chief operating officer of a nursing recruiting company admitted that he defrauded his employer out of hundreds of thousands of dollars
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The chief operating officer of a nursing recruiting company in O'Hara admitted Wednesday that he defrauded his employer out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Anthony J. Aliucci, 39, who was a star quarterback at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer to a single count of mail fraud for what prosecutors call a scheme to defraud Global Nursing Solutions Inc., which has offices on Sigma Drive.
The company recruits nurses from foreign countries to work at hospitals throughout the United States
Prosecutors say that Aliucci, who lives in the Mars area of Butler County, owned and operated a company known as Nurse Resource Group Inc., which had a mutual-services agreement with and received payments from Global.
Foreign-Trained Nurse-Learn how to work as a nurse in the United States
Aliucci lied to Global when he told the company that Nurse Resource Group had recruited, prepared and incurred costs for nearly 200 foreign nurses between October 2003 and May 2005.
Prosecutors said Aliucci became vice president and chief operating officer of Global in May 2005, a position he held for two years.
He formed and incorporated a company known as International Healthcare Corp. in June 2005, a fact that he concealed from other Global officials, say authorities.
Aliucci, in his capacity as chief operating officer of Global, is accused of paying International Healthcare $176,000 for services that never were performed. He also is accused of lying about the costs of services that other companies provided to Global.
Prosecutors said Aliucci acknowledged defrauding Global out of at least $400,000 but less than $1 million.
Aliucci was the quarterback at Indiana University of Pennsylvania when the team reached the NCAA Division II playoffs from 1989-91. The team lost to North Dakota State in the 1990 Division II National Championship Game.source
He was a first-team, Division II All-American in 1991. Aliucci finished second in the voting that year for the Harlan Hill Award, the Division II equivalent to the Heisman Trophy, awarded annually to the top college football player.source
Foreign-Trained Nurse-Learn how to work as a nurse in the United States |
posted by blogger @ 23:55
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| The retired nursing assistant
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Stepping gingerly off the Intouch Adult Day Services bus on a blustery November Friday, 75-year-old Jo Ann Letts looked a little suspicious.
The retired nursing assistant — who spends most weekdays at the Intouch center — was surprised to see members of the staff standing in front of a second bus, parked in front of her modest apartment on 17th Avenue in Moline.
Channeling Ty Pennington of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” the crowd gathered roared “move that bus!” A few moments later, a shocked Letts froze in disbelief in the doorway of her apartment, which had been transformed from somewhat drab and barren to homey and inviting in the six hours or so she’d been gone.
“Oh my goodness!” she exclaimed, as Lynda Vogt, director of Intouch, explained that her apartment was made over as part of the Wish List Quad-Cities effort. “I’m getting spoiled. I don’t know if I deserve all this, but thank you.”
Letts’ concern that she didn’t deserve it came as no surprise to staff of Intouch, who spent the prior week shopping and all day Friday feverishly working on the makeover.
“She is one of those people you can’t ask what she needs, because she always defers to someone else,” Vogt said. “She’s a giver and has been a giver all her life. It was time to give back.”
And give back they did.
With a budget of $1,000, the crew upgraded the late 1970s motif in which the apartment was frozen.
The pea-soup-colored green carpet in the living room was replaced with a cream throw rug, new insulated drapes adorned the windows and a new recliner and wardrobe replaced old furniture. Letts’ bedroom was redecorated in blue — her favorite color — and a festive table was set in the small kitchen.
Maybe best of all, L&W Bedding of Moline chipped in with a donated twin bed. Letts’ old mattress and box spring were so battered, she piled blankets on top to cover up the spots where the springs were starting to push through.
The makeover crew added pillows, bedding and a thick comforter. In the living room, a small Christmas tree was put up, with presents underneath to be opened next month.
Vogt said Letts — who is a widow with no family in the area — lived in this same apartment for 18 years, and has not had any new furniture or furnishings since she moved in.
Letts walks with the aid of a walker, and suffers from osteoporosis, arthritis and hypertension. Vogt speculates the years she gave helping others with physical ailments took their toll on Letts’ body.
Despite the health issues, Letts remains one of the most upbeat people you’ll meet, said Karen Ohrberg, who volunteers at Intouch.
“She’s such a friendly person,” Ohrberg said. “To be able to do something and give back to her is exciting.”
Vogt said the hardest part to springing the surprise was keeping Vogt out of the business office where the new home furnishings were hidden.
“Her priority for the day is to give everyone a hug,” she said. “Our biggest challenge this week was coming out of the office and hugging her before she could get in there.”
Tears welling up in her eyes, Letts had plenty more hugs to give out following the big “reveal.”
“I’m just a little overwhelmed,” she said. “I knew I had a lot of good friends at Intouch.”source
Nursing assistant training-Certified nursing assistant job
Where to find a free CNA training? |
| posted by blogger @ 20:02
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| the Foundation for Quality Care's Nurse Educator Course, an exclusive leadership program for nurses
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Forty-two nurses from nursing facilities across New York have completed the Foundation for Quality Care's Nurse Educator Course, an exclusive leadership program for nurses in senior management roles who aspire to become or remain leaders in the long-term care profession.
Area nurses who completed the course include: Jennine Best-Baker, UMH; Barbara Fletcher-Blake, Vestal Nursing Center; Ausan A. Holbert, Chase Memorial Nursing Home; and Antonia Jetter, Countryside Care Center.
The course is part of the Long Term Care Leadership Institute, which was developed by the Foundation for Quality Care, a nonprofit research and educational foundation affiliated with the New York State Health Facilities Association.
The program provides college-level credits through the State University of New York Institute of Technology's School of Nursing and Health Systems in Utica. It also is approved by the New York State Department of Health as a train-the-trainer program for registered nurses who provide the nursing assistant certificate course.source
Nursing offers great job opportunities
RN: I really enjoy my job.”
How to become Air Force Nurse Corps officers |
| posted by blogger @ 16:51
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| Coventry University- nursing as a career
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As students prepare to complete their UCAS application forms, it can be a tricky decision choosing which university to go to.
How do you know whether you’re going to pick the right institution for the next three years?
Will you like it when you get there?
Do they offer the right courses and the right student support?
What is the accommodation like?
And, of course, the social life?
By visiting a university open day, students and parents can experience at first-hand what a campus is really like and get a feel for whether it’s the sort of place they’d like to study.
Coventry University opens its doors throughout the year to potential students from all sorts of backgrounds and holds open days for general student admissions, as well as in specialist subject areas.
It’s a great opportunity to meet the staff, talk to student advisers, see the facilities and ask important questions about finance and admissions processes.
On Saturday, Coventry University is holding a specialist recruitment day for those interested in nursing as a career. This will be a great opportunity to find out more detailed information about the nursing diplomas and to discover some of the benefits of studying these programmes at the university.
These include no course fees, a non-means tested bursary of £500 and help with childcare costs. And because courses start in January, you can bring all your certificates on the day and be interviewed.
It’s open from 10am to 3pm and there will be presentations on the hour between 10am and 2pm with interviews held after each.
* To find out more contact 024 7679 5959 or go to the Richard Crossman Building, Jordan Well on the day.
* You can obtain more information about Coventry University at www.coventry.ac.uksource
Nurse Practitioners make up a very large and vital part of the medical care community
Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners-a SANE trained nurse certification |
| posted by blogger @ 12:48
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| a new radio program “by nurses, for nurses and about nursing
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Faith Williams, RN, Director of Healthcare Accounts at Care2Learn.com, an online continuing education and training company for healthcare providers, recently appeared on “Nurse View,” a new radio program “by nurses, for nurses and about nursing.” On her November 4th appearance, Williams and program host Jennifer Scully, RN, discussed the various educational needs of healthcare workers and healthcare facilities and how Care2Learn can help meet these ever-changing needs.
“This is very exciting for me,” Scully said on the show, “I just love hearing about the Care2Learn programs and how they have met the educational needs of healthcare providers nationwide. Not only just nurses, but every discipline that you can imagine.”
“Nurse View” is sponsored by Clinical Resources, a high level staffing agency that places experienced personnel in healthcare facilities throughout the country. The show is hosted by Scully, President and CEO of Clinical Resources, and Crystal Chin, RN, Vice President of Operations and Development. “Nurse View” airs every Tuesday from 4-5 p.m. EST on 1620 AM in Atlanta, Georgia. Listeners can also tune in via internet streaming at www.radiosandysprings.com. The nurse-orientated show, the first of its kind, began airing on September 2, 2008.
Throughout the one-hour radio program, Scully and Williams discussed the various aspects of Care2Learn, including its vast library of continuing education courses, in-service training, content development, the accreditation process, license management and corporate partnerships. The archived episode is available on the “Nurse View” program page at www.radiosandysprings.com.
“I think your partnerships really show the strength and integrity of Care2Learn as well as the expertise you have in your offices,” Scully said on air, ”I know that providers really like to work with other healthcare professionals. Professionals like those at Care2Learn.”
About Care2Learn
Founded in 2000 by professionals from the post-acute care rehabilitation industry, Care2Learn provides online learning and healthcare content for over 200,000 healthcare professionals with engaging, affordable, easy-to-use online continuing education. With programs created specifically for the post-acute healthcare market, the e-learning company has accredited over 2,100 course hours and 110 in-services for 15 healthcare disciplines, with more courses in production. Care2Learn serves healthcare professionals and their employers worldwide.
Acquired by RedVector, an online continuing education company for the design, engineering and construction industries, Care2Learn continues to grow by offering customized online e-learning universities to companies who want to offer a training and education benefit to their staff. For further information call 1-866-242-8451 or visit www.Care2Learn.com.source
United Way's Learn to Earn program helps health care workers aiming to upgrade their skills, jobs and income
Retired nurses return to work to help ease critical shortages in the profession.
Physician assistants and nurse practitioners, will soon be handling more primary care duties |
| posted by blogger @ 08:41
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| when nurses used phrases like 'good girl' or 'how are we feeling' patients became more aggressive and were less receptive to care
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Еhe English language is a minefield.
Even when you've mastered the unusual spellings and bizarre pronunciations, meanings change and when you're not looking previously innocuous words become politically- charged insults.
The latest additions to the list of no-go terms are, at least according to the Nursing and Midwifery Council, "love" and "dearie".
A draft document due to be approved next week advises nursing staff the liberal use of terms of endearment is no longer acceptable and could be bad for the health of elderly patients.
The guidelines accept that in some areas, notably Yorkshire and its neighbour Lancashire, "love" is a part of everyday speech and therefore not patronising at all, proving just how tricky the whole linguistic business can be.
However, while the NMC was itself being accused of having lost the plot with the publication of what many saw as little more than an idiot's guide to bedside manners, it had clearly hit a very raw nerve.
While most right-minded people accept that only the very old can get away with calling somebody else "dearie", the use of "love" appears a far more contentious issue.
One online posting, from a man presumably few have ever had the misfortune to call "love", dismissed it as an "expression of the lower working classes" and called for it to be immediately taken out of use. Another claimed our "lax attitude to manners and civility" was the reason the country is in such a "pathetic mess". A third, more laid back contributor, controversially dared to suggest it was just a "nice word".
In truth, as with most turns of phrase, to love or not to love is a matter of context. However, even those who agree with the apparently sensible shadow health minister Anne Milton who described the guidance as evidence the of the "world having gone mad", may soon be forced to admit that "love" has had its day.
Before thrashing out the details of the document, part of the Government's drive for dignity in care, the NMC asked various groups of elderly patients their main concerns about the health service, and the use of terms of endearment was right up there with privacy on wards and long waiting lists.
There is also evidence that it does have a negative effect on health of vulnerable patients.
"Health care workers often think that using words like 'dear' or 'sweetie' convey that they care and make them easier to understand," says Kristine Williams, who studied the effects of so called "elderspeak" on a group of American patients
with mild to moderate dementia. "But they don't realise the implications. These words also give the message to adults that they are incompetent.
"We also found that when nurses used phrases like 'good girl' or 'how are we feeling' patients became more aggressive and were less receptive to care, while it made others refuse to do what staff members asked of them. There is a danger that patients who are viewed as difficult actually end up receiving less care, and elderspeak can also start a downward spiral with patients losing self-esteem and sinking into depression.
"The main task for someone with say Alzheimer's is to maintain their sense of self. If you know you are losing you cognitive abilities and someone talks to you like a baby, it's incredibly upsetting." However, the NMC report has left many wondering whether the time and money lavished on its new medical glossary might have been better spent.
"It's ridiculous that this kind of political correctness takes a higher priority than feeding patients properly and delivering good healthcare," says Mark Wallace of the Taxpayers Alliance.
"Elderly patients are more interested in getting appointments promptly and receiving the medication they need. Nursing and medical staff need practical support to their job and these kind of guidelines don't appear to help anyone.
"Until the very real problems with the health service are solved, this body should butt out of interfering in the language they use."
Unfortunately that is unlikely to be the last word on the matter.source
Prescribing nurses and nurse consultants
What made you decide to study nursing?
What differentiates good nurses from bad ones |
| posted by blogger @ 04:26
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| The demand for private nursing at home by the parents of young children is growing rapidly
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| Saturday
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The demand for private nursing at home by the parents of young children is growing rapidly, according to Ambition 24hours Direct. Parents increasingly are choosing specialist support in a domestic setting for a child wherever possible, according to the homecare agency, to reduce the period of stay in hospital.
Ambition 24 hours can provide ITU (Intensive Therapy Unit) nurses nationwide for homecare, professional staff who have had experience in working in the special units in hospital where very ill people are given extra care. The agency can provide support in cases where a ventilator may be required or a tracheostomy is used to assist breathing.
In other instances, where parents require less specialised and more general support, Ambition 24hours offers support from a non-medically qualified carer. Care assistants are trained to deliver essential personal care and assistance, including help with simple domestic tasks.
Ambition 24hours offers care packages for just a few hours each day or week, up to 24 hours a day live-in care, for people of any age who are undergoing treatment at home or who are rehabilitating. Funding may be available from the local PCT (Primary Care Trust), County Council or private healthcare provider, where provision has been made.
Specialist nurses and care assistants help patients and their families with their medical and other needs in liaison with a GP and other healthcare providers. All agency staff ensure family members receive dignified support during what can be a stressful and upsetting time.
Ambition 24hours offers home care support and private nursing packages for mental health care, post-operative rehabilitation, eating disorders, paediatric and geriatric support, learning disabilities, and oncology homecare.source
What made you decide to study nursing?
What differentiates good nurses from bad ones |
| posted by blogger @ 23:58
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| there's still one profession that can't fill vacancies fast enough: nursing
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Layoffs, layoffs, layoffs. Headlines from around the country are pretty grim these days, what with all the downsizing and all.
But there's still one profession that can't fill vacancies fast enough: nursing. In Washington state, there are nearly 5,000 RN vacancies today, according to the state Labor Department.
In King County alone, there's a need for 740 nurses.
And, according to state projections, demand for nurses is bound to increase in coming years, with the number of patients growing and many nurses nearing retirement age. In this state, the average age of an RN is 46.7 years old.
The Washington Center for Nursing is pushing a plan to boost nursing education and recruitment across the state source
MyCoolJob: Nurse
Critical Care Nurse
Doc and Nurses of ER-video
What it Takes to be a Nurse
Nurses documentary-video |
| posted by blogger @ 20:58
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| nursing faculty produced podcasts of fundamental skills sophomore nursing students must perfect in their first clinical course
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Check out what’s on a University of Louisiana at Lafayette nursing student’s iPod and you may learn how to physically access a patient or properly take vital signs.
This semester, nursing faculty produced podcasts of fundamental skills sophomore nursing students must perfect in their first clinical course.
The technology to produce the podcasts, as well as 30 nano iPods made available for the semester for students without access to the portable devices, were made possible with a $50,000 grant from the Board of Regents. The devices will remain with the program and loaned to future students.
The podcasts offer students the opportunity to watch and rewatch faculty demonstrate skills wherever and whenever they may need a refresher.
“Sometimes you think, ‘Did she say this was next or this next?,’” said Lahra Boitnott, a nursing sophomore in the course. “It’s been a good reference to go back and pick up on something.”
The podcasts were a way to blend students’ interests with the course work, said Janis Guilbeau, one of the nursing instructors who coordinated the initiative.
“The goal of this pilot project was for the retention and recruitment of nursing students,” Guilbeau said. “We want students to be successful. Different students learn by different methods: visual, audio and by reading. We thought podcasting would help them learn by repetition and the use of a platform that they’re familiar with.”
Several students in the program are also older or nontraditional students that have also benefited from the accessibility of studying wherever their busy schedules may take them, said Susan Randol, nursing freshmen and sophomore coordinator and instructor.
“With this they can be at a kid’s soccer game and watch it or access it at home,” Randol said.
“This is the first clinical experience for them, so it’s stressful and they have a lot to do. Wherever they are. They can go, ‘wait a minute, what did she do?’ and know.”
The idea for the podcasts was in part sparked by podcasts produced by St. Pius Elementary School in Lafayette, Guilbeau said.
She and Randol visited the school before embarking on their own project.
“These young students were producing their own podcasts,” Guilbeau said with a smile.
The nursing faculty’s podcasts include video of skills demonstrations, but also audio pod casts of test taking tips.
“We plan to expand it throughout the whole curriculum and possibly to the nursing alumni, as well,” Guilbeau said. source
Faster than average job growth for registered nurses
Possible Solutions for Nurse Shortages
Top Medical Jobs
Why I became a nurse
What it Takes to be a Nurse
Why a Nurse? |
| posted by blogger @ 16:28
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| 90,000 nursing graduates
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About 90,000 nursing graduates are set to take the licensure examination starting tomorrow.
Marco Sto. Tomas, Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC’s) Board of Nursing (BON) member, said a total 89,252 have applied to take the two-day Nursing Licensure Examination (NLE).
Sto. Tomas said the PRC has set up additional examination centers to accommodate the record number of examinees.
He said Manila has the biggest number of examinees with 40,344, followed by Baguio with 13,460. Davao and Cebu have 8,113 and 8,036 examinees, respectively.
Between 2,000 to 5,000 nursing graduates from Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Legaspi, Lucena, Tugegarao and Zambonga will also be taking the examination starting tomorrow.
“Even Jolo, Sulu has 139 examinees for this examination,” Sto. Tomas added.
PRC has set the examination earlier this year but due to the huge number of examinees, he said the results will likely be released later, probably in February.source
Provide more foreign nurse visas
US to increase work visas to ease strains of nursing shortage
Medical Careers Salary Best Medical Careers Top Medical Jobs |
| posted by blogger @ 12:19
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| the Eureka Adult School's nursing aid certification course
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With the ending of a similar program earlier this year, officials from the Eureka Adult School's new nursing aid certification course are excited to graduate its first class next month.
Run by the Career and Education Center at Eureka Adult School, the nursing aid certification program has been created to provide more people opportunities to work in health care, according to a news release.
”It's a pretty demanding job. They're the ones that are with the patients the most,” said course instructor Rei Maki, who used to run the program run by Hospice of Humboldt before it was terminated due to funding.
The Eureka Adult Education program has the same curriculum, and fulfills the prerequisites for the nursing programs at both College of the Redwoods and Humboldt State University. The 10-week course is suppose to prepare students for state exams.
”There's quite a need for certified nurse's assistants,” Maki said, adding that the student learn how to do personalized care, check vital signs and act as the eyes and ears of the charge nurse.
Maki said while some students have experience in private health care, or have worked in a heath care facilities, there is no previous experience required to take the course.
”We have a really great teacher and we're all having fun,” said Laura Gillespie, of Loleta, one of the 14 students currently enrolled in the class. She said getting a nursing aid certification was
something she has thought about doing for a while. The program is giving her an opportunity to explore the field, she said.
”Right now just checking my basics out see if its something I'd be interested in,” Gillespie said. She said her classmates are of all different age ranges, and has a good time while taking the course, which includes 50 hours of theory and over 100 hours at clinical sites. She plans to work at one of the sites the students have been visiting after she is certified.
With an $80 course fee, which includes books, scrubs, TB testing and fingerprinting, Gillespie said the course is within her price range, and has allowed her to learn about a field she is finding she really enjoys.
”It's given me a little bit of insight on really wanting to help people, and that's something I've always enjoyed doing,” she said. source
CNA salary-Certified nursing assistant salaries by location
Where to find a free CNA training?
What is a Nursing Assistant and Certified Nursing Assistant?
What nurse assistants do |
| posted by blogger @ 08:11
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| Nursing-a recession-proof job for men
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Daniel Prieto dreams of going to medical school someday.
But right now, the 21-year-old Apopka man has set his sights on becoming a nurse.
"Medical school is so expensive and hard to get into," Prieto said, "so I thought, 'Maybe I'll get into nursing, in case things don't go the way I planned.' "
He is one of a growing number of men who are turning to the profession. And as the economy falters, Prieto and others are also finding that there's a bonus in the nursing field: The job is recession-proof.
"You don't make as much as a doctor makes, but it's a pretty good income," said Prieto. "That was definitely a factor."
At Seminole Community College, school administrators have seen a spike in the number of men applying to the nursing program, jumping from 32 to 58 during the past year. "I've been teaching for 18 years and have never seen anything like this," said Cheryl Cicotti, the college's director of nursing. "There's a tremendous amount of male interest."
For a state facing a critical shortage of nurses, that's good news. In its 2007 Nurse Employer Survey, the Florida Center for Nursing reported more than 5,000 vacant positions.
Change has been slowly coming to the nursing field. From 1980 to 2000, the percentage of males among U.S. registered nurses doubled -- from 2.7 percent to an estimated 5.4 percent. Today, 6 percent of the nation's nurses are men.
In Florida 9.4 percent of the state's registered nurses are men, according to a 2007 report from the Florida Center for Nursing.
But there is growing interest at community colleges. In 2001, only 8 percent of the students enrolled in the region's three largest nursing programs -- at Valencia, the University of Central Florida and Seminole Community College -- were men.
Today, 13.5 percent of Valencia's beginning nursing students are men. And at SCC, 18 percent of the applicants this fall were men. "I think one reason for the number of men is the economy," said Cicotti. "Nursing is one profession where you can find a job in any city that you go to. And it's a well-paid job."
The median income for registered nurses was $57,280 in 2006, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Yet there aren't enough nurses to keep up with vacancies created by turnover and retirements. So in April, Workforce Central Florida partnered with three Orlando-area hospitals -- Florida Hospital, Health Central and Orlando Health -- to sponsor an advertising and education campaign titled, "Are You Man Enough to Be a Nurse?"
The campaign features billboards, ads and posters of male nurses who also happen to be Harley riders, sky divers, skateboarders and deep-sea divers in their spare time. The campaign, which has been tried throughout the country, is aimed at students and men interested in changing careers.
Area schools, such as UCF and Valencia Community College, report that interest among men has increased, though they haven't yet seen spikes in enrollment that SCC has experienced, said Kimberly Cornett of Workforce Central Florida.
"Men are going into nursing because it's a stable job and it's economy-proof," said Jerry Lucas, 43, an Indiana emergency-room nurse and publisher of Male Nurse Magazine. "The field is still dominated by women, but we need to start looking at how we get more men in there."
Nursing student Steve Olah became interested in nursing while his father was in an intensive-care unit two years ago.
After he enrolled in SCC's nursing program, "I realized that I have an aptitude for it, but it's more than just a technical aptitude. I'm enjoying taking care of people," said Olah, 41, of Deltona.
After Olah earns his bachelor's degree in nursing in 2009, he hopes to work in a critical care unit, such as an ICU or a cardiac unit. Eventually, he would like to become a certified nurse-anesthetist.
"It's always nice to have a job that's recession-proof," Olah said, "but there are so many directions that this one degree can take you toward. The opportunity is unbelievable."source
The specific needs of male nursing students
Male nurses have a better chance of getting into the nursing program
Increase in male nurses
being a male nurse can bring awkward moments
'I didn't know there were guys in nursing"
Army Nurses |
| posted by blogger @ 04:06
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| certification program under the wing of Huron Valley Adult Education is Medical Assisting
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Medical Assistant training-Medical Assistant job-Medical Assistant salary
Adult Education and the Alternative High School program have been a vital part of Huron Valley Schools since 1982, and they continue to meet the varied needs of students today. The area of most familiarity within Adult Education is high school completion. These classes are open to students, age 18 or older, who wish to complete the requirements for a high school diploma and graduation. Each potential student works with an academic advisor who reviews and evaluates previously earned credits. Classes which look to the goal of graduation are then formulated into a course of study. Class sizes are small, and they are taught by highly-qualified instructors who are committed and caring. There is flexibility in scheduling with daytime classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and evening classes which meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Adult Education also offers an ESL (English as a Second Language) program for those who would like to improve their skills in speaking, reading and writing the English language. Individuals who are new to this country, or those who feel that they need some additional assistance, are encouraged to enroll and participate. Adult Reading (ABE) classes are available for adults who are non-readers or those who find reading difficult. The classroom settings for ESL and ABE students are informal and very friendly. Within these environments, the learning process is carefully individualized. Literacy tutors work with all students to help them improve not only their reading capabilities, but also to help them enhance their spelling and writing skill levels. These tutors are volunteers who enjoy spending a few hours each week helping other adults. It should be noted, by the way, that these individuals do not need specialized workshops, or a college degree, to step forward and offer their time. The Adult Ed. staff willingly provides all training that is needed.
The GED Testing Program is a federal equivalency examination which tests knowledge in 5 areas: Language Arts Writing, Language Arts Reading, Science, Social Studies and Math. The tested content is periodically updated to maintain appropriate academic rigor. In addition, testing eligibility is strictly regulated, and testing security is closely monitored. Candidates who pass all sections of the exam receive certification from the federal GED Testing Service. Successful certification is well-earned and, as such, is respected by both employers and educational institutions. The 2007 Annual Survey of Colleges, conducted by the College Board, indicated that 98 percent of colleges and universities whose requirements include a high school diploma accept the GED credential. 96 percent of companies accept applicants with a GED credential for jobs requiring a high school degree as well. Testing here at the Huron Valley center is available to individuals who are eighteen (18) or older, who have not graduated from high school and who are not now enrolled in a high school program. The two-day testing sessions are held once a month throughout the year. Anyone wishing to take the exam must register in advance. Candidates may take all sections of the test at once, or they may choose to take the test in sections. Either option is acceptable. Huron Valley Adult Education offers GED preparation classes to help candidates practice and review their academic skills. In those classes, an initial pre-test helps to determine where study efforts should begin. Ongoing practice tests then allow candidates to monitor their own skill levels and boost their test-taking confidence.
Another certification program under the wing of Adult Education is Medical Assisting. Just about every employment survey indicates that within the service industries, the medical arena is now one of the areas with the most potential for job growth. As our population ages, this need will certainly not diminish.
Students who successfully complete the Medical Assisting program through Huron Valley Schools have a level of knowledge and tested skills which will certainly assist them as they seek to become valued, cognizant employees. Every student must pass eight specific classes and successfully complete an externship of 64 work hours.
The coursework is presented over two semesters. During this time, students learn medical terminology. They learn how to check blood pressures and how to give injections. They learn to work with records and billing, and they learn about ethics.
Upon graduation, medical assistants are eligible to work in physicians' offices, clinics, hospitals, laboratories as well as home health agencies and residential complexes for independent seniors or those who require assisted living. Enrollment for the program may only be done at the beginning of the fall semester, but we encourage interested parties put their names on our list for future enrollment at any time during the rest of the year.
Harbor High School is the alternative high school program for Huron Valley Schools. It is an educational option for 11th and 12th grade students who have not always felt successful in the larger, traditional high school environments. The alternative high school program offers these young people a new opportunity to continue their high school experience within an academic setting that may better suite their particular learning styles and capabilities. The job of the Harbor staff is to provide instruction which is cognizant of individual needs, but which still pushes these students to effectively meet the same academic benchmarks as their peers in the traditional settings. Students may also participate in the programs offered by Oakland Technical Center Southwest. At this facility they can prepare for careers in the medical field, culinary arts and biotechnology, to name a few. Attending classes at OCC is another option. To help Harbor students keep their focus on graduation, the Harbor staff will begin a mentoring program this year called "grad coaching." Each teacher will work with a small group of students. The plan for each of them is to provide as many opportunities and strategies as possible to make graduation, not just the potential goal, but the attainable goal.
The teachers and staff are very proud of and committed to these programs at Duck Lake Center. To obtain more information about any of them, please call the Adult Education office at (248) 676-8398 or the Harbor High School office at (248) 676-8421 source
Medical Assistant training-Medical Assistant job-Medical Assistant salary |
| posted by blogger @ 23:52
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| Nursing is so much about caring
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The NIC Health and Nursing Department is offering potential nursing students several informational sessions during November, December and January in order to help prepare them to register for and complete the NIC nursing program.
The remaining two sessions will take place in the Meyer Health and Science Building at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5, and 1 p.m. Jan. 16. Admission packets will be available at both sessions.
During a recent session, Health and Nursing Director Lita Burns and Margaret Fedje, the nursing counselor, explained the application process. They also talked about what it means to be a nurse and the responsibilities that go along with it. Burns stressed that a mind-set of service was essential for a nurse.
"Nursing is so much about caring," Burns told the applicants.
Burns also commented on the glamorous portrayal of nursing by the media.
"That is only one side of it," she said.
The NIC Health and Nursing Department was recently commended by Pres. Priscilla Bell for the performance of its students on the National Council Licensure Examination and the ENCLEX, which qualifies them to work as nurses anywhere in the United States. NIC nursing students have repeatedly exceeded the state and national pass rates. In 2007, 96 percent of NIC's associate's degree registered nursing graduates passed the nursing exam as opposed to 93 percent of University of Idaho nursing graduates and 88 percent across the country.
"North Idaho College does very well," Burns said. "For the last seven years, we have had a 98 percent or higher total pass rate at this college."
Burns said that the nursing department's associate's program has taken on 80 new students per year for the last two years. This year, however, the department will probably accept no more than 60 due to financial and personnel considerations. Despite the reduced number of students, Burns said that the nursing department would continue to expand its capabilities by the addition of new courses. source
Certified Anesthesia Technician (Cer.A.T.)
Anesthesia Technician
Certified Anesthesia Technologist
Top Medical Jobs |
| posted by blogger @ 20:46
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| Full-time positions for nurses vs part-time positions for nurses
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New Brunswick will be able to retain more new nursing graduates if there is greater access to permanent full-time positions, says one of Canada's top health-policy analysts.
Dr. Michael Rachlis, an author, physician and policy analyst from Ontario, said there's a demand for nurses across the globe and many nurses training in smaller markets want to know they'll find meaningful employment soon after completing their training.
Every health-care facility operates with a mix of permanent full-time and part-time staff and temporary full-time and part-time employees.
Rachlis said the majority of newly trained nurses are struggling to pay off student debt and full-time positions aren't always immediately available.
"When you get right out of school, typically both for economic reasons as well as professional reasons, you want to work full-time," he said.
"Young nurses in particular are looking for full-time work, but they're the least likely to get it. If you're the newest person, you're going to get part-time work and then you have to work your way up to being full-time."
Many nurses hired in the Fredericton region begin working in a casual or temporary full-time role before applying for more permanent positions.
Rachlis said he understands why the hiring process unfolds that way, but those kinds of protocols may cost New Brunswick valuable human resources.
"From the facility's perspective, if they had an unlimited pool of nurses, then you could understand why it would be to their advantage to hire people on a part-time basis. But the problem is that, particularly in smaller jurisdictions, you don't have that luxury," he said.
"You're not going to be as likely to maintain a pool because the young grads will leave."
Health officials say that about half of the province's nurses are expected to retire in the next 10 years, so retaining new nursing graduates will be critical to maintaining patient-care services.
Nicole Tupper, executive director of the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital and the Oromocto Public Hospital, said there are 422 permanent full-time registered nurses working in the Fredericton and Oromocto facilities. She said 13 of those 422 positions are vacant.
Tupper said there are 86 temporary full-time registered nurses working in the same facilities and 14 of those positions are vacant.
The statistics for temporary or permanent part-time positions weren't available.
She said it's true that most newly hired nurses begin working in a casual or temporary full-time role, but there are times when nurses are hired directly into a permanent full-time position.
Tupper said nurses should understand that opportunities are available across the province and they should explore these options.
"It's different for each individual, but there are lots of opportunities within our (regional health authority) for advancing education to develop specialties if that's something they're interested in doing," she said.
"Having opportunities for advancement, having opportunities for education, for certification and for developing your specialty skills are retention issues. Those are things that people are interested in and will help to keep them in the workplace, so we offer a number of those (opportunities)."source
Possible Solutions for Nurse Shortages
Top Medical Jobs |
| posted by blogger @ 16:32
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| Rasmussen College is currently recruiting practical nursing students for its January class without a waiting list
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As the nation continues to face looming shortages of nurses and public universities and community colleges have waiting lists full of eager students, Rasmussen College wants hopeful nursing students to know that it is currently recruiting practical nursing students for its January class without a waiting list.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported a national shortage of nurses for the past several years. According to the Department of Labor, the health care industry added 26 thousand jobs last month, and health care employment has grown by 348 thousand over the past 12 months.
The School of Nursing at Rasmussen College - Florida is filling twenty four seats for its January class of practical nursing students at is Pasco County, Florida campus in Holiday, and it is still recruiting.
"Nursing is an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling career choice," School of Nursing Director Brad Moore said. "In this economy, people are looking for careers that are in high demand and are stable, and nursing is an excellent field that meets these qualifications."
The School of Nursing in Florida at Rasmussen College presents a rigorous curriculum that prepares students to be exceptional nurses and to pass their certification exams. The school also assists students with planning financial aid and with career placement at the end of their program.
"The students in the School of Nursing at Rasmussen College are prepared for the real world of nursing from day one," Moore said. "Their curriculum involves practical experience, and they receive consistent preparation for their certification exams so that they can practice nursing as soon as possible."
The School of Nursing at Rasmussen College is full approved by the Florida Board of Nursing.
While the next class of nurses does not begin until January, perspective students should inquire now in order to complete the application process, which involves interviews, assessments, and financial aid planning source
Why I became a nurse
What it Takes to be a Nurse |
| posted by blogger @ 12:24
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| a $3,000 bonus for recently graduated nurses who choose to work in hospitals and community health centres instead of private companies and practices
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A Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) announcement to promote and enhance the status of nurses in the province could affect the future plans of McGill nursing students.
In an attempt to resolve problems within the current healthcare system, Premier Jean Charest, has proposed a series of incentives to encourage young nurses to work in the public sector. This includes a $3,000 bonus in each of the first three years for recently graduated nurses who choose to work in hospitals and community health centres instead of private companies and practices. The PLQ hopes that this policy will motivate nursing students at universities like McGill to choose careers in the public realm.
A nursing shortage in Quebec hospitals is one of the main issues that the PLQ hopes to address. In past years, policies that limited the number of students admitted into medical faculties at universities and encouraged nurses already in the system to retire early greatly reduced the number of personnel in the public sector. According to Dr. Helene Ezer, director of the McGill School of Nursing, there was a misjudgment in terms of what healthcare needs were, which contributed to a slump in enrollment.
"There is a large number of nurses that will be going into retirement within the next five to 10 years. There is a real worry that those that are really experienced are going to leave, and that there are not enough people to replace them," Ezer said.
Currently, there are 66,000 nurses within the public healthcare system in Quebec, but only 40 per cent hold permanent positions. The remaining 39,600 are employed part-time and work on-call. The Liberals' goal is to increase the number of full-time nurses to about 60 per cent by the year 2010 with the new incentive program.
Charest outlined his proposed incentive program in a press release last Saturday.
"The message we are sending to young people as they make career choices is clear: a career in nursing is one of the most valued in Quebec," Charest stated.
PLQ representative Alexandra Mandich added that the goal of the increased funding would be to show young students in science that the Quebec government supports and values their role in today's society.
"If students see that the government is investing in their field, students will feel that that is a job and a field that has [a] future-that they are a valuable part of society and the healthcare system," Mandich said.
According to Mandich, the Quebec government already allots a large portion of its budget for healthcare. If implemented, the funding for this program would come from the healthcare allotment.
"If you look at the overall budget of the government, just about 44 per cent of the budget is going directly into healthcare. There is already a prefixed budget, so we won't start cutting into other expenses," Mandich said.
Ezer explained that at McGill, students are already trained to work in the public sector.
"This is the students' market," Ezer said. "They can choose to go wherever they like. They are very much in demand and are not likely to go into the private sector. I'd say our students are already likely to go within the system that they were trained: the public sector."
It's still uncertain how students will react, and it will take time before any conclusions can be made.
"We need to encourage people to go back into nursing and stay in Quebec," Mandich said. "We have to start with something, and I think it is with encouraging students. We can't say what the results will be right away, but this is something that only time will tell."source
Why a Nurse?
MyCoolJob: Nurse
Critical Care Nurse |
| posted by blogger @ 08:21
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| with today's economy even the best students aren't guaranteed a spot in nursing class.
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Getting accepted into a college program usually has a lot to do with grades, but with today's economy even the best students aren't guaranteed a spot in class.
Universities across the nation are scaling back as much as they can because of a budget shortfall and Arizona State University is no exception.
A recent report indicated ASU was attempting to cut back $24 million and the hatchet is apparently still swinging because 3 On Your Side has learned the school's nursing program is also being sliced and diced.
"It's something I've always wanted to do," Aubrey Chase said. "I've always wanted to help people."
"I love helping people," Kimber Roebke said. "I love interacting."
Roebke and Chase can't think of any other career that would suit them better than nursing so Chase enrolled and was accepted in the nursing program at Arizona State University while Roebke is still applying and waiting to get in.
"I was really confident that I would be starting ASU's nursing program," Roebke said.
But that confidence turned to tears when Roebke received a notice recently saying she would not be admitted.
"It's hard when you want something so bad and you work so hard and you pay so much money and you invest all your time," Roebke said.
"I'm just lucky that I made it in basically before the economic crisis," Chase said.
She's right. Chase was admitted into the university's nursing program when the economy was good. However, Roebke isn't so lucky because the university is cutting costs and one area it's cutting is the nursing program.
"Because of the shortfall in money in Arizona, they are going to cut back on the enrollment seats in the nursing program," she said.
Roebke now realizes it's all about timing and wishes she would have applied earlier.
"I really think I would have gotten in if it wasn't for cutting back so many students," Roebke said.
As for Chase, she admits although she made it into the program before the cuts, she feels the long-term effects will be devastating.
"When I read that, I thought this is going completely against what our economy needs, we need nurses," Chase said.
We may need nurses but by scaling back on the number of nursing students by around 25 percent, ASU is expecting to save around $350,000.
However, keep this in mind, while ASU is cutting programs, ASU's president, Michael Crow, got a raise.
His salary, his car allowance and his housing allowance, according to a recently published report, indicate Crow is pulling down around $700,000 a year. source
Doc and Nurses of ER-video
What it Takes to be a Nurse |
| posted by blogger @ 04:15
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| Length of stay for patients with serious mental illness was shorter in hospitals with higher proportions of baccalaureate-prepared nurses
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This study of surgical patients compared outcomes of those with and those without serious mental illness and examined effects of patient-to-nurse ratios and nurses' education levels on outcomes, including death within 30 days of admission, failure to rescue (death resulting from surgery complication), and length of stay. METHODS: Cross-sectional data from a nurse survey and from patient and administrative records were linked. Data for 9,989 nurses and 228,433 surgical patients discharged from 157 Pennsylvania hospitals were analyzed by using generalized estimating equations. RESULTS: Records indicated that 4.7% (N=10,666) of the sample had a diagnosis of serious mental illness. A higher level of nurse staffing had a stronger effect on prevention of death among patients with serious mental illness than among those without it. Length of stay for patients with serious mental illness was shorter in hospitals with higher proportions of baccalaureate-prepared nurses. CONCLUSIONS: Better nurse staffing and higher education level mitigated poor patient outcomes among highly vulnerable patients with serious mental illness. source
LVN vs RN What is the difference?
Vocational Nursing schools in California 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, |
| posted by blogger @ 20:17
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| a strong demand for new registered nurses in Idaho to continue until 2016, with an average yearly need for more than 500 of these medical professional
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The state Department of Labor predicts a strong demand for new registered nurses in Idaho to continue until 2016, with an average yearly need for more than 500 of these medical professionals.
The state expects health care, with nursing at the forefront, will prove the fastest growing industry in Idaho during the next eight years and offer some of the highest-paying jobs.
Pharmacists and dental hygienists will also be in big demand, according to an agency report released this fall.
The need for more registered nurses in Idaho is being driven by the total growth of the population, including a sizable portion that is aging, and retiring health care workers who are part of the baby-boom generation, said Jan Roeser, an economist with the state Department of Labor.
The agency expects the number of Idaho residents age 65 and older to nearly double during the next eight years.
"You can't really tie it to just one thing," Roeser told The Times-News.
Mike Slagowski, a 36-year-old single father of three, is earning a nursing degree at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls. Despite the slowdown in job markets nationwide, Slagowski said he is confident nursing will allow him get a job and continue to provide for his family despite the troubling economy.
"People are still going to get sick," Slagowski said.
The median pay for a registered nurse in Idaho is about $25 an hour, according to the Department of Labor.
Heather Callen was among nursing students at the college in south-central Idaho who attended a campus career fair on Friday. Callen said nursing appeals to her because it provides opportunities nationwide.
"It's pretty much guaranteed that you'll have a job no matter where you go," Callen said.
This mobility also creates job openings as nurses leave their positions to tackle new specialties, such as working in an emergency room or in orthopedics, said Shari Rumple, a nurse at Gooding County Memorial Hospital.
"Even though we're a small facility," Rumple said. "We always have at least one RN (registered nurse) opening."
Still, the career fair for nursing students last week wasn't without signs of the tightening economy.
At least two recruiters who had planned to come to the event canceled, said Nina Hollifield, an assistant professor in the nursing program at the College of Southern Idaho.source
Benefits of Vocational Nursing
How do I find the job?
LPNs and RNs-similarities and differences |
| posted by blogger @ 16:57
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| The selfless devotion of the beautiful nurse calmed the seething hostilities of the soldiers
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Soldiers sacrifice their lives for their countries when called to duty. And there are soldiers who cannot take the trauma of witnessing the death and destruction of war even long after the war is over. In Australia, such soldiers were sent to Base Fifteen, in Sister Honour Langtry's care. To the battle-broken soldiers Sister Langtry was all they had. The selfless devotion of the beautiful nurse calmed the seething hostilities of the soldiers. An Indecent Obsession is woven around the war torn soldiers. The devoted Sister Langtry and their life in the army hospital is a moving saga of conflict between love and duty. Colleen McCullough comes up with a gripping psychological drama that raises endless questions of love and sacrifice.
Ward-X of Base Fifteen holds emotionally disturbed Australian soldiers during World War II. Sister Langtry's work in Ward-X goes on smoothly until Sergeant Michael Wilson is admitted into it. There is something different about him that makes him stand out from the rest of her patients. To Neal, Nugget, Benedict and Luce she is “Sis” and they treat her as nothing less. But when Michael too starts to call her Sis, she feels as if he does so without his heart in it, as if he is not meant to call her that. He just does not fit into Ward X. It seems to Sister Langtry that he is hiding something. The calm days that Sister Langtry enjoys are left behind and she finds herself waiting for the day when her patients can be sent home.
Sister Langtry spends busy days dealing with six of her patients. There is Luce, the overconfident man who always imagines himself as her hero and is constantly telling her that she is missing something by not giving herself to him. There is Nugget, the hypochondriac whom she gives vitamins, telling him that they are remedies for his constant ailments. And there are Benedict and Matt, disturbed and fidgety, needing counseling constantly. And there is Neil who has come to her deeply affected by the violence of war. Sister Langtry is firm about not letting down her professional guard and yet Neil is often in her thoughts. When Sergeant Wilson comes she finds herself in a new awakening of her soul. His manly appearance, his rugged looks catch her unawares. She has thought that years of loneliness, a life without closeness with any man will wash away all romantic feelings and lust. And yet there she is entertaining the very thoughts that she had thought were non-existent in her. The woman in her is aroused once more.
With the arrival of Sergeant Wilson in Ward-X the other occupants are also taken by surprise at his calmness. When the war is ravaging people how could it have made Wilson all the more indifferent? And indeed why is he in Ward-X? In the meantime Luce commits suicide. Hands seem to point to Sergeant Wilson, for he is the last person to be involved with the dead man prior to the latter's taking his own life. However. there is an inquiry to establish the truth behind the suicide.
An Indecent Obsession is a book with a deep outlook on life as it is found in army field hospitals. There is the drama between the doctors and the nurses, the superiors and the subordinates. And the lives of the patients hold unique everyday stories that are sometimes hilarious. With unique mastery of words the writer weaves the life stories of six troubled soldiers and their nurse. The unforgettable cast of characters seems to be very much alive. The tale is passionate, witty and so believable and strong that the presence of the characters lingers even long after the novel ends. The reader feels transformed after reading the saga of the war-torn soldiers.
Nothing to read in the warm sunshine of the coming winter days? Grab this book; let it fill your days with sunshine of a different kind, the kind that illuminates your heart.source
How to become a Licensed Vocational Nurse
Licensed Vocational Nurse working conditions
What is the typical salary for a Licensed Vocational Nurse ? |
| posted by blogger @ 12:28
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| to keep school nurses in place for the next academic year
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Decatur County school officials said they will make every effort possible to keep school nurses in place for the next academic year.
At the Board of Education meeting Thursday night, School Superintendent Ralph Jones and Board Chairman Sydney Cochran said it was their goal to keep the school nurses, despite a previously announced cessation of a partnership with Memorial Hospital of Bainbridge, which currently employs the nurses and an athletic trainer.
While the financial and contractual details were not yet finalized, Jones said numerous citizens had made it clear to him that the nurses should stay on, although it could increase the school system’s budget by more than $300,000. He said all current nurses will be given the opportunity to keep their jobs, although the school system may offer reduced benefits compared to the hospital.
Jones said he believed it was important the nurses have a manager and said he had asked Memorial CEO Jim Peak to consider keeping one on the hospital’s payroll.
Jones said the manager is needed to assist with immunizations record keeping, CPR training and usage of defibrillators, automatic heart-restarting devices that have been recently installed at all county schools.
Jones said keeping the nurses is still dependent on the school system continuing to receive Medicaid reimbursements from the state of Georgia for services the nurses perform.
New high school still on schedule
The new Bainbridge High School is still on schedule and school officials are busy finding ways to keep contingency costs low, Superintendent Jones said.
Bob Folkman, the project manager for Allstate Construction/JCI, the joint companies building the high school, said the new high school is still on track to be completed by Aug. 17, 2009.
Eighty-six percent of the project work had been completed through Oct. 31. However, Folkman said the companies’ only concern is the timely completion of the permanent water and sanitary sewer systems, which were originally scheduled to have been completed in October. The water system is still under construction but will be done by the end of the year; however, the City of Bainbridge is still receiving construction bids for the sewer system, which is now expected to be completed by next spring, Folkman said.
Despite the delays, Folkman said it was still possible that a few of the high school’s buildings will be completed by the end of 2008 and that a majority of the buildings will be finished by the second quarter of 2009.
At the school board’s Thursday dinner meeting, Jones said officials are busy looking at ways to keep contingency costs, which were not part of the original project, at the lowest level possible. He said landscaping around the new high school could be covered by the BHS Horticulture students, as well as a program seeking community sponsorship of planted trees and the support of the local Georgia Forestry Commission office.
Jones said he and his staff were also looking at ways to utilize existing assets, such as good-quality lunchroom tables and furniture, for furnishing of the new high school.source
What do Vocational Nurses do?
Important skills, knowledge, and abilities for LVNs |
| posted by blogger @ 08:25
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| I thought in 10 months I could take my boards and pass it and be working in a hospital in a nursing home
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They wanted to secure their future during these rough economic times
Instead, they've lost what little savings they had and a lot of time.
" This is a tough economy. People don't have money like that to be throwing, you know. It's thousands and thousands of dollars," Daniel Honore said.
He spent more than $5,000 to enroll as a student in
Chevanese Hibbert and Karline Gould also spent about $5,000 each to enroll.
"I thought in 10 months I could take my boards and pass it and be working in a hospital in a nursing home," Honore said.
They spent months sitting in classes on the second floor of a Brooklyn building, hours in lectures on "fundamental nursing care" and the "pharmacological aspects of nursing."
Months spent studying, thousands of dollars invested. They were ready to take the New York State nursing boards, but one problem: the school, I.L.P.N. was not certified by the state.
"That's why they were sending people to Connecticut to take the exam, but Connecticut also did not recognize the school so the students were not able to take the test there either," Hibbert said.
"So what did you get for your thousands and thousands of dollars?" I asked.
"Absolutely nothing," Hibbert said.
The three students lost more than a combined $16,000. They believe many other students, perhaps hundreds, lost tens of thousands.
The school recently closed down, but as late as last month, it was still telling interested applicants that it had state approval, a prerequisite, for taking the nursing exams.
Our undercover applicant pressed on the issue of certification:
Undercover applicant: "How long is the course?
School secretary: Ten months.
Undercover applicant: Will I be qualified to take the state tests?
School secretary: Yes (em, em).
Before leaving, our undercover applicant asked one more time, just to be sure:
Undercover applicant: Ten months, then I'll be able to take the state boards when finished with the course?"
School secretary: Yes.
We found the schools executive director, Frants Simeon in Atlanta, where we spoke to him by phone.
"I'm blaming myself. I don't blame everyone else. I blame myself too," he told us.
But mostly, he blames the school's president for failure to get certification. Simeon has filed a lawsuit against the president seeking $10-million in damages to repay large sums of money to students.
"I'm fighting the case to get money to pay everyone of them," he said.
Simeon insisted as executive director he was unaware that the school lacked certification.
The students aren't buying his story. They believe he'll never repay them and the only way to become an LPN is to start all over again.
"What I've learned is, in life, never take short cuts. Just go the hard way. That's the only way it works," Honore said.
We tried repeatedly to contact the president of the nursing school, but he never returned our calls or e-mail.source
Licensed Vocational Nurse Jobs
What is a Licensed Vocational Nurse?
Is the Vocational Nursing Profession a growing career? |
| posted by blogger @ 04:23
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| some nurses with big hearts will be spending a part of their Christmas Eve on streets offering comfort and kindness to the homeless
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On Christmas Eve, most people are snuggly at home sharing the joy of the season with their families.
Meanwhile some nurses with big hearts will be spending a part of their evening on Whalley's gritty streets offering comfort and kindness to the homeless.
The nurses are members of the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program at Surrey Memorial Hospital. The unit has provided medical attention and emotional support to more than 2,000 victims of sexual assault since 1994, and the specially trained nurses also gather forensic evidence for trial.
In partnership with paramedics from BC Ambulance Service, they'll be handing out backpacks stuffed with scarves and socks and mittens out of the back of an ambulance to Surrey's destitute.
"If our team can make somebody's day just a little bit brighter when they have absolutely nothing, that means a lot to us," said Tracie Jones, of the 20 nurses on the SANE team.
This Christmas marks the third year for the backpack program.
"We started our first year with 32 backpacks and they went in half an hour," Jones recalled.
The team was stationed at the Front Room, a 24/7 drop-in centre and it was pouring buckets.
"It was horrible but it was the most rewarding thing I've probably ever done. We had the back of an ambulance filled to the brim," she said.
"It was wonderful, it was awesome."
Last year, the nurses put together 230 backpacks. The team also played Santa to 40 people in the Front Room's shelter.
"Each person who was in a shelter bed woke up with a backpack hanging on their bunk bed in the morning. That was very cool," she said.
Some of the recipients are familiar faces. With nowhere else to turn to for medical help, some of them have been visitors to the hospital's emergency ward.
"It's really neat to see them again afterwards. It really fosters a relationship of community and the homeless people that we are talking to are so grateful. They just want somebody to hear their story," she said.
The team is gearing up to assemble backpacks once again and is seeking donations. Desirable items include jackets, sweaters, toques, gloves, underwear and socks.
"A lot of these people don't have dry socks," she noted.
Hygiene items such as toothbrushes and toothpaste, hair elastics and Chap Stick tubes are also welcome.
And backpacks.
"We've got a lot of clothing left over from last year but we don't have any empty backpacks and we really need some."
Jones concedes that mingling with the homeless on Christmas Eve isn't everybody's idea of a pleasant evening. But for her, the rewards are beyond measure.
"We all have families and we want to spend time with our families too, but people in our community matter as well," said Jones, a mother of a five-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy.
Jones also believes her good deeds are a wonderful lesson about the spirit of giving for her children.
"It's not all about presents," she said. "It's about caring about the people in your own community and the whole spiritual nature of it."
Donations for the backpacks can be dropped off at the annex on the SMH grounds, opposite the emergency entrance. Look for a big blue bin. Donations can be dropped off between 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.source
Why not become a male nurse?
About 6 percent of nurses today are male
Male nurses continue to tell stories about unfair treatment |
| posted by blogger @ 23:46
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| Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center in Leonardtown
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Students at the Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center in Leonardtown learned real-world medical applications from two St. Mary's Hospital nurses on Nov. 13 as part of Perioperative Nurse Week.
Jamie Jackson and Darcy Bishop, both registered nurses in the hospital's Perioperative Services Department, provided hands-on activities to students in the technical center's anatomy/physiology and Allied Health classes. Jackson and Bishop discussed the details of their jobs and had students practice scrubbing their hands, gowning, gloving and draping a patient.
The skills the students learned "help them learn infection control measures for the surgical patient unit," said Christine Mattingly, a registered nurse and anatomy/physiology and Allied Health teacher at the technical center. "Students who perform procedures and demonstrate competency learn to analyze and evaluate their abilities efficiently."
This is the second year Jackson and Bishop have spoken to students at the technical center during Perioperative Nurse Week.
Jackson said it is important for students to ask questions to professionals in the medical field. Some of the questions Jackson received ranged from what is real on television to what education path she took to get to where she is today. She encourages students to look into internships and scholarships, such as through the St. Mary's Hospital Foundation, which provides scholarships to Allied Health and nursing students. source
Being a male RN in a female-dominated field can be rewarding
Men in the nursing field have a promising future. |
| posted by blogger @ 20:44
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| WakeMed and Wake Tech nurse training
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WakeMed and Wake Tech have received a $50,000 grant to expand a patient simulation center for nurse training, giving more students access to clinical situations they may never experience during their training.
The grant, from the N.C. Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) will provide 56 nursing students with a minimum of 10 hours of simulation training, and allow faculty in the nursing program to develop a strategy for all 300 Wake Tech nursing students to use simulators in the future. The simulation experience will be used in combination with traditional clinical experiences.
In addition to the grant, WakeMed is committing more than $100,000 in resources and training to implement the project.
"Human patient simulation is becoming a standard component of many clinical training curriculi," said Amar Patel, manager of the WakeMed Simulation Center. "Since the simulators respond to treatment like a real patient, students have the benefit of practicing skills and responses in a controlled environment. This grant will allow us to extend access to the simulators to a new population of students."
The WakeMed Simulation Center, established in 2005, has 22 human patient simulators, including two premature infants, four newborn babies, three pediatric patients, a pregnant woman, two trauma victims and ten adult simulators. To date the WSC has trained over 3,691 students in over 697 simulation events representing more than 23,898 participant hours.source
A man chosen nursing as his life’s work
everyone in the hospital loves male nurses. |
| posted by blogger @ 16:42
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| Golden West College nursing program
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Golden West College officials dedicated the campus' new $12.5 million school of nursing and student health center during a ceremony this week at the college campus.
The Frank M. and Gertrude R. Doyle School of Nursing and Health Services building was dedicated Wednesday in memory of Frank and Gertrude Doyle, founders of the Frank M. Doyle Foundation, which gave $1 million to the college. The foundation has also provided $50,000 in nursing grants and $312,000 in student scholarships.
The three-story building houses the nursing faculty offices, which were previously scattered around campus.
"The new building allows us to have all of the faculty together," said Jackie Hils-Williams, the college's director of the nursing program. "It is really great to see the faculty interacting more."
The previous nursing classroom building had no windows – a 1960s education philosophy to help students stay focused, Hils-Williams said. The new building has windows and natural light in the rooms.
The third floor of the building has movable walls and can be five classrooms for thirty students each or one classroom for 120 students.
Funding for the new facility was also provided by Measure C, a Coast Community College District bond approved by voters in 2002.
Other groups that contributed to the school of nursing are the Irvine Health Foundation, McBeth Foundation and the Associated Students of Golden West College source
Male nurse’s decision to become a nurse and to remain a nurse 1
men’s rights in nursing are human rights -2
the right of men in nursing to freely imagine their identity is suppressed 3
men could be effective nurses 4
sexual identity, ethnicity in male nursing students -5 |
| posted by blogger @ 12:38
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| an Air Force nurse provided significant contributions to the health care of an Air Force individual and family
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When Becky Bautch, Silver Bay, graduated from The College of St. Scholastica and was commissioned by the Air Force in 2002, she had no idea where her nursing career would take her.
She trained to be an acute care registered nurse and was deployed for six months to the Intensive care unit at Balad Air Base hospital in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
It was her work there that contributed to Captain Bautch being nominated for the Juanita Redmond Award by the National Air Force Association (AFA), its highest honor in the field of nursing.
The award is given to an Air Force nurse who provided significant contributions to the health care of an Air Force individual or family, demonstrated excellence in critical nursing, or accomplished a special achievement resulting in the improvement of nursing care.
The award states "Captain Bautch excelled in the intensive care unit. The vast majority of her patients were Iraqis and 30 percent were children. Even though the care was provided in an austere environment in tents over six months, the infection rate remained 50 percent less than in stateside ICUs.
“At home base, Captain Bautch is known as a very compassionate caregiver, a shiftleader, advanced cardiac life support instructor and conscious sedation monitor. She also contributes greatly to JROTC Summer Leadership Camp."
Bautch attended the AFA's 24th Annual Air and Space Conference, in Washington, D.C., in September. The conference was opened by Air Force Chief of Staff, General Norton Schwartz. She was presented the award by General Chandler, PACAF Commander and Bob Largeant, AFA Chairman.
The award is given in honor of Juanita Redmond, an Army nurse who served in World War II and was among the first nurses to earn Golden Flight Wings. She assisted in establishing the Army Air Corps Flight Nurse Program.
Bautch is the daughter of Ron and Barb Bautch, Silver Bay. Barb said that each year only one nurse in the entire Air Force is given the award and that it was a very special honor for her daughter. source
Army Practical Nurse course, Texas |
| posted by blogger @ 08:32
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| the University of Virginia’s first doctor of nursing practice -The [degree] represents the highest level of nursing practice
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Amy Drake Boitnott has been awarded the University of Virginia’s first doctor of nursing practice.
“The [degree] represents the highest level of nursing practice,” nursing school Dean Dorrie Fontaine said.
Boitnott has been an instructor at the School of Nursing since 2004, teaching first in the undergraduate pediatric clinical program and now in the nurse practitioner program.
The DNP differs from a Ph.D. mainly in the focus of the research. A Ph.D.’s primary interest is in pure research and a DNP is a clinical scholar who uses evidence-based research to develop interventions that may improve clinical practice.
Boitnott’s research project was on childhood obesity, an issue that has risen to epidemic proportions worldwide. One in five children in the United States is overweight or obese, with the highest incidence among 6- to 11-year-olds.
Boitnott created an intervention that targets parents and primary caregivers to improve quality of life, family physical activity and nutritional knowledge, with the aim of reducing body mass index in obese children.
The program focuses on nutrition, environment and the complexity of households with working mothers.
Twenty-six nursing students entered the DNP program in 2007 and 15 in 2008. source
Army Practical Nurse course, Texas |
| posted by blogger @ 04:26
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| She was looking for excitement, which led her to the Army Nurses Corps
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Monica started life in Apalachicola; entered nurse's training in 1936; passed her public health examination in 1939. She was looking for excitement, which led her to the Army Nurses Corps and a commission as a 2nd lieutenant. She was stationed at Walter Reed Hospital, Washington, D.C., and was selected to be part of a program, "Uncle Sam Needs Nurses." She was featured on posters and in movies.
Although an "independent" voter, she was a guest at one of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's inaugurations and gala. She had the opportunity to meet flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker.
She wanted to travel and was assigned to Hawaii. She sailed for the island on the liner Mariposa in July 1941 - one of 28 nurses among 638 passengers.
Her assignment was to Tripler General Hospital on Honolulu's outskirts. She notes that there were many military posts with an equal number of officers clubs for a ratio of 20 male officers to every nurse.
A date, through a friend, resulted in meeting a newcomer to the island, Lt. Barney Benning. A "true romance" developed: riding, swimming dancing. But, she dated others: "competition is always good." But Lt. Barney Benning was her favorite. He admired her "beautiful legs" and she loved his sense of humor, politeness, good looks - and, he had a car!
She was moved from Tripler to the new station hospital at Hickam Field.
On Dec. 6, she and Barney went to the Pearl Harbor Club: full moon, lights, music, dancing. Barney drove her to her quarters and they made plans for Waikiki the next day: swimming, movie, dinner at Trader Vics.
During and after the attack Barney could see the hospital and, since it was OK, could surmise that Monica was OK. Monica did not know his fate until Wednesday, three days later, when he walked in to say he was all right. Some friends were missing or dead.
Recalling the "Rape of Burma" each nurse arranged with different medical officers to kill her if the Japanese made a successful landing.
After the attack
It was in the hectic period following the attack that Barney proposed and they set a date for Aug. 20, 1942.
Married nurses were automatically separated from the service but, while still on accrued leave, the surgeon general recalled all nurses on terminal leave by reason of marriage, so Monica reported back to Station Hospital, Hickam Field.
She was feeling rather poorly so she went for a checkup. Shortly a message arrived: "Sometime in the early part of next summer you will receive a bundle - I hope it's a boy. Signed The Stork."
She again requested separation from service. She was assigned "special duty," which involved Capt. Rickenbacker. She was to be the nurse on a B-24.
She arrived at Walter Reed Hospital, and had her final physical for honorable discharge Dec. 29, 1942.
During a lunch, Col. Julia Flikke, superintendent of Army nurses, asked her to write the story of her Army career: The modeling, recruiting posters, the Dec. 7 attack, the romance and marriage along with the trip with Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker.
Monica has authored a book - "A Real Nurse's Dream" - and co-authored another.
The first remains in publication. She uses the proceeds from the book for living expenses.
It may be purchased directly from her as can the co-authored book: "A Slice of Life."
If you talk to her you may get a special price for taking them both.source
Army Practical Nurse course, Texas |
| posted by blogger @ 23:54
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| In Pakistan, a nurse who intends to do a BSc Nursing course can not do a job during her studies
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When an MBBS doctor intends to do his FCPS, he/she is given stipend during the study period but there are no such incentives for nurses, according to Rehan, nurse tutor at IoN.
Moreover, an MBBS doctor after doing this course is promoted to grade 18 but there is no grade promotion for nurses, he added. In contrast to it, a nurse remains in the same grade even after 19 years of service.
He complained that nurses are also deprived of scholarships meant for them. There are reports that doctors tend to go abroad on scholarships reserved for nurses by replacing the nurse’s name by their name, along with the connivance of Ministry of Health officials.
He informed that a fee for BScN course is Rs3000 per month at IoN, which is cheaper as compared to other government institutes.
According to Pakistan Nursing Council, a nurse who intends to do a BSc Nursing course can not do a job during her studies.source
Being a male RN in a female-dominated field can be rewarding
Men in the nursing field have a promising future.
A man chosen nursing as his life’s work |
| posted by blogger @ 20:39
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| nurse practitioner-led clinics, an innovative model called family health teams and expansion of community health centres
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Health Minister David Caplan yesterday defended nurse practitioner-led health clinics against criticism that they're unproven.
"It's a model that's 40 years old and has a lot of support and a lot of evidence," Caplan said in a visit to London to open a neighbourhood health centre run by the University of Western Ontario.
Caplan recently announced Ontario is going ahead with three new nurse practitioner-led clinics, including one in the Chatham-Kent area.
But as part of government belt-tightening, the McGuinty government is delaying its promise to add 50 family health teams.
The Ontario Medical Association, which represents the province's doctors, issued a statement Wednesday criticizing the move, arguing family health teams with both doctors and nurses have proven to be cost-effective. In comparison, nurse practitioner clinics can only serve a small number of patients, the OMA said.
"Now is not the time to ignore proven models of care in favour of new, untested ones," said the statement by OMA president Dr. Ken Arnold.
Caplan said there's more than one way to provide access to high-quality family health care in Ontario.
"That's why we've supported nurse practitioner-led clinics, an innovative model called family health teams and expansion of community health centres. All of these are going to get us toward our goal," he said. source
Why not become a male nurse?
About 6 percent of nurses today are male
Male nurses continue to tell stories about unfair treatment |
| posted by blogger @ 16:32
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| In addition to their jobs as caregivers, educators, advanced practitioners or administrators, nurses are now adding one more role: researcher
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The focus on best practices in all areas of health care has expanded the role of many nurses. In addition to their jobs as caregivers, educators, advanced practitioners or administrators, nurses are now adding one more role: researcher.
Health care leaders say that having nurses identify problems, ask questions and share outcomes is not only good for patients; it’s good for the profession.
“Nursing is still evolving as a profession, and research adds to nursing theory and knowledge. We all learn a lot from it,” said JoEllen Dattilo, Ph.D., RN, professor and associate dean of the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing of Mercer University in Atlanta.
Nurses are often involved in clinical trials led by doctors and scientists. Increasingly, they also are making their own qualitative and quantitative studies into education, medications, procedures and day-to-day practice.
“There’s more emphasis placed on research in nursing today, and evidence-based practice is driving it,” said Helen Hodges, Ph.D., RN, professor and coordinator of the RN and BSN programs at the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing. “More and more, nurses are taking research out of the ivory tower and putting it at the bedside in order to facilitate the best patient outcomes.
“Instead of a trial-and-error approach or a ‘We’ve always done it this way,’ attitude, now we’re asking, ‘Do we have evidence?’ If it’s not there, we’re doing the research.”
Nursing students are introduced to the importance of research at the baccalaureate level, Hodges said. They learn how to identify good research and to use national databases and systematic reviews to help incorporate it into their practices.
Advanced practice nurses often create their own studies with the encouragement of hospitals, such as Atlanta’s St. Joseph’s Center for Nursing Excellence, which sponsors outcome-based research.
“Because nurses are at the bedside 24/7, they are in a unique position to identify problems and improve care. It’s natural for nurses to see a problem and ask themselves, ‘How can we fix it?’ ” said Deborah Ryan, Ph.D., MSN, RN, associate professor and interim assistant dean of the BSN program at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University.
Here are a few of the issues that Georgia nurses are addressing with research:
Reducing bloodstream infections
When Renee Watson, RN, CIC, became manager of infection control and occupational health at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta in 2006, she noticed that bloodstream infection rates in some units were high. Since the hospital was already following bloodstream infection reduction initiatives, she decided to focus on prevention.
Nurses in the cardiac intensive care unit at CHOA enter patient lines about 16,000 times a month for blood sampling and medication administration. Before they enter an IV line with a needle or a catheter, nurses prep the hub of the line with an antecepsis — usually alcohol — to cut down on bacteria.
“Chlorhexidine/70 percent isopropyl (CHG) wipes worked so well on skin; we wondered how they would do on inanimate objects, like central lines,” Watson said.
The staff randomly supplied half the patient carts with the wipes — instead of alcohol — for four months.
“The results were so amazing — the BSI rate among alcohol users was almost five times that of CHG users — that hospital administrators stopped the study and immediately went to CHG wipes system-wide,” Watson added. “Even though the product is 11 times more expensive, we still saved the hospital $800,000 that year by avoiding infection costs, not to mention about five lives, which are priceless.
“We’re learning that research doesn’t have to be just about medications and procedures” Watson said. “It can be about day-to-day practices. It’s a way for nurses to use their critical-thinking skills and know-ledge to change practice and save lives.
“Research is an important part of being a stand-alone profession and being leaders, not followers.”
Safe administration of medication
“Medication errors are a huge problem in the health care system. An error can cause a longer stay in the hospital or even be life-threatening for a patient,” Ryan said. “A nurse is usually the last person who can either avoid or commit a medication error.”
Ryan wanted to find out how well educators were helping nurses understand the importance of reading prescriptions properly.
Nurses trained in the five rites of medication administration are taught to focus on the right patient, the right drug, the right dose, the right time and the right route. Ryan tested students at eight schools, asking them to read and catch medication errors in five case studies.
Of the 267 students tested, only 18 had perfect scores. Not matching the name on the physician’s order with the name on the patient’s armband was the most common error.
“We have to work harder and longer at making sure students develop proper habits,” Ryan said. “It should be automatic that they call the patient by name and check the prescription name against the armband every time.
“Nursing students need to learn a consistent and logical approach in order to decrease medication errors.”
It can make a difference, Ryan said. One study found that nurses intercepted 86 percent of medication errors.
Strength training for heart patients
“I did my dissertation study on the effects of aerobic exercise on heart failure patients, who often suffer from depression,” said Rebecca Gary, RN, Ph.D., assistant professor at Emory’s nursing school. “We found that the patients who got exercise and therapy had better outcomes. They had lower depression scores, greater mobility and a better quality of life.”
Reading the results of a study on the association of declining hand strength and mortality in cardiac patients led Gary to consider whether weight training could reduce the loss of muscle strength. Her pilot study about the effectiveness of weight training, which is being funded by the Emory Heart and Vascular Center, is showing promising results.
“I enjoy working with the patients. Their confidence is growing as they find that resistance training won’t hurt their hearts,” Gary said.
Gary hopes that weight training will become a standard recommendation for heart patients.
“Research is absolutely critical to the evolution of the nursing profession and to moving us forward,” she said. “I get the biggest satisfaction in knowing that I can make a difference in patients’ lives and hopefully change practice.”
Improving nursing student retention
“With the nursing shortage, colleges are concerned about retention of [nursing] students. Every year there are some students who aren’t successful in their studies and have to drop out,” Dattilo said.
Some of those will wait a year and come back to retake a course and continue their studies. Dattilo conducted a qualitative study to see what made students come back to school, what their experiences were like and whether professors encouraged them to try again.
“We came away with a better awareness of what we can do as educators to help students,” Dattilo said. “I get excited when we learn something we can share with others.”
Making chest tube removal less painful
A nurse for 14 years, Carolyn Yactayo, RN-BC, BSN, clinical leader of the cardiac step-down unit at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, had never considered doing research until nurses presented her with a problem.
“We pull one to three chest [drainage] tubes from post-cardiac surgical patients a day. The finger-sized tubes go through muscle, skin and bone and it hurts to remove them,” Yactayo said.
Nurses were concerned that young patients weren’t getting adequate pain relief and that the procedure was adding to their anxiety.
Yactayo couldn’t find clear answers in the literature or in procedures from the nation’s top pediatric hospitals. With help from Christina Ryan-Ramay in CHOA’s research department, she wrote a study to compare two drug combinations to see which gave better pain relief.
The presentation of her proposal at a nursing conference in September took first place, and now she’s working on the final details of the sixth-month study.
“Nurses are on the front line of care and they see things that others don’t,” Yactayo said. “It’s very important for them to get involved in practice and say, ‘Maybe there’s a better way of doing things.’ “
Yactayo gets satisfaction from knowing that her efforts will help young patients.
“I know that I’ll be happy that I took the time to see what works better,” she said. “It’s going to improve our care.”source
Male nursing students -Male-friendly" nursing school
male nurses are leaving the profession more quickly than female nurses
One of the biggest obstacles to attracting more men to nursing |
| posted by blogger @ 12:29
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| The Filipino nurses are given a job offer when-- passing the probationary period and passing the Canadian Registered Nurses Exam
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Some of the Filipino nurses fired by the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region said Friday they are hoping they can win reinstatement through the union grievance procedure.
"If we believe the collective agreement has been violated we file a grievance or if we feel the discipline is harsher than what may be appropriate we would file a grievance. I can't speak to specific instances,'' Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) president Rosalee Longmoore said.
If they don't get their jobs back before their one-year visas or work permits expire they will be deported. Two of the five nurses fired by the region have already negotiated settlements.
Debbie Beaton, the region's director of strategic human resources planning and development, told the Leader-Post she couldn't discuss the specifics of the firing to protect the privacy of the nurses.
The Filipino nurses are given a job offer conditional upon them meeting two criteria -- passing the probationary period and passing the Canadian Registered Nurses Exam. If either of those two criteria are not met then that job offer, which is based on those two conditions, is terminated and the nurses are provided a flight home.
"As an employer our first obligation is to patient safety and quality care and that is what drives our decision making. So you can be assured that when we dismiss an employee it is for a good reason,'' Beaton said.
The nurses claim the RQHR also has a responsibility to follow disciplinary procedures as set out in the contract by providing written warnings to a worker enabling the individual to rectify or correct any problems.
Pediatrics nurse Michelle Arches was assigned to a Pasqua Hospital orthopedics unit when she arrived in April. She commenced general orientation on April 15 and started working under the supervision of a mentor on May 20. Arches was fired Aug. 7.
"The reason for my termination was 'unsuitability' (to working on the unit). That's a broad term but that is the term they used,'' Arches said, explaining her job evaluations served as the basis for her termination.
Arches acknowledged that her job performance wasn't sterling, but noted she never received any warnings her job was on the line. If the region wasn't happy with her performance, she said, she should have been told and helped to correct the problems.
Veteran nurse Joe Guillergan said he was suspended with pay and subsequently fired on Oct. 27 for professional misconduct and breach of patient confidentiality.
His offence, he said, was calling the family of a young patient who was discharged from the unit to see how the young patient was doing. The child's mother complained to the health region.
It's a common practice in the Philippines to make follow-up calls to see how a patient is doing, he said.
In Saskatchewan, that phone call was contrary to the Health Information Protection Act (HIPA) which protects the confidential health information of a patient.
Guillergan explained his unfamiliarity with HIPA and the provincial nurse's code of ethics was the problem.
However Beaton said during the seven weeks of orientation there was a four-hour training session on the code of ethics and both the health region and the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association (SRNA) reinforced the need to protect patient confidentiality. The nurses were also required to sign a confidentiality agreement.
Adaptation to a new culture and a new workplace -- where nurses are dealing with heavy workloads, very sick patients and often working short staffed -- doesn't happen with the snap of the fingers, he said.
"It's take time really,'' Guillergan said.source
being a male nurse can bring awkward moments
'I didn't know there were guys in nursing"
Army Nurses |
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| male nurses are treated like orderlies and ward boys there
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When Nadeem joined the nursing profession in 1988, he was treated no better than a “sweeper” and ward boy, sometimes he was even asked to make tea.
In order to improve his image, Nadeem continued his education. At first he obtained a nursing diploma in 2001. Then he pursued a career in teaching. He is now a grade 17 lecturer at Institute of Nursing (IoN) Ojha campus of Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) after completing his BSc Nursing there in 2008. He intends to do a masters and Ph.D.
“I left a public-sector hospital after 19 years of service as a male nurse because I was not getting promoted to a higher grade,” he said.
He doesn’t intend to go abroad because his children are here and he feels good in his own country. “What would be the use of studying here if we go abroad,” he opined.
Rashid Ahmed joined a private hospital as a nurse in 1997, and received a nursing diploma in 2000. While in 2008, he completed his BSc nursing.
“There is no awareness about the role of nurses in this country. Even educated people seem indifferent about it. However, a change is taking place gradually,” he explained.
At IoN, he directly acquired 17 grades and became a regular employee as a tutor. According to him male nurses are treated like orderlies and ward boys. “When I did my diploma from Liaquat National Hospital, I had about 100 classmates. Out of which 65 have gone abroad where they are paid salaries worth 0.2 to 0.3 million rupees. In addition, the image of a nurse is better there.”
Ahmed intends to go to the West for higher education but he doesn’t want to work there.
Ms Shahida Yaseen joined Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) in 1999 as a nurse and later joined Sindh Institute of Urological Transplantation (SIUT). Then she joined Aga Khan University (AKU) where she stayed for three years.
In 2003, she passed her examination at Sindh Public Service Commission and once again became a nurse at CHK as she “prefers government jobs, though it costs her in monetary terms and transport facility”. She did her BSc Nursing in 2008. She continued her education as she had the support of her family.
“If you are a good person and focus only on your patients then even bad people tend to support you. Although, the atmosphere for nurses is so typical at the hospitals,” she said.
She believes the concept of nurse at AKU is “different” as the nurses were working under a separate nursing authority instead of doctors. She said she sought education for her personal mental growth and now she gets to learn more because she is a teacher. Yaseen intends to do her masters in nursing later.
“Recently one of my colleagues who did her BSc Nursing with me got a job in Canada. If I was given an opportunity for a job abroad, I may think about it as everyone has a right to consider a better future,” expressed Yaseen.
Rubina Hafeez became a nurse at AKU in 1991 but she left this profession after marriage. In 2006, she got an admission for BSc Nursing and became a nurse tutor at IoN. Recently, she did a Pathophysiology course from AKU and intends to do her masters in mental health.
She is also conducting a research about knowledge of nurses for HIV/AIDS. Since she belongs to Aga Khani community, it is a tradition in their community to send educated and hard working girls into the nursing profession, she informed. She opined teaching is also a service to humanity besides “one should not stay at the same place as this profession has to move forward.”
The above mentioned individuals are nurse tutors who were selected among 47 BSc Nursing students at IoN.source
The specific needs of male nursing students
Male nurses have a better chance of getting into the nursing program
Increase in male nurses |
| posted by blogger @ 04:04
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| Members of the Student Nursing Associations at the Findlay and Toledo campuses of Owens Community College are helping children
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Members of the Student Nursing Associations at the Findlay and Toledo campuses of Owens Community College are helping children and families with separate programs during the holiday season.
The Student Nursing Association in Toledo has adopted a family through Love Inc., a clearinghouse for churches and groups wanting to help families during the holidays.
The group will be providing gifts for a family with three girls, ages 2, 9 and 12 from the Toledo area.
The nursing students are creating a Christmas tree decorated with ornaments that list gift requests for members of the family. The tree will be located outside the nursing office on the Toledo campus, where students and faculty can pick out a gift to buy for them.
“The students are purchasing items for the adopted family to help them have a better holiday in their annual campaign,” said Cindy Hall, chairwoman of the Nursing Program at Owens.
On the Findlay campus, nursing students are hosting their fourth annual toy drive to benefit children staying in local hospitals. Donations of toys will be accepted through Dec. 9 at collection points in the nursing lab or commons area on the Findlay campus.
Members of the Student Nursing Association will wrap the donated toys and distribute them as gifts to children in the Blanchard Valley Regional Health Center, Wood County Hospital, Mercy Hospital in Tiffin, Lima Memorial Hospital, Fremont Memorial Hospital and Fostoria Community Hospital.
“The Student Nursing Association is proud to engage in a project that allows us to give back to the community in a very meaningful way,” said Deanna Hays, president of the association and a registered nursing student on the Findlay campus.
“The charitable donations will make a world of difference for those children who must spend their holiday in the hospitals. Many of the Owens nursing students conduct their clinical work in these hospitals, so it allows us to show our appreciation and make a significant contribution to the patients,” Hayes said.
The Student Nursing Association has a long history serving as one of the longest active student organizations at Owens Community College. It was created to provide nursing students with the opportunity to engage in community service activities.source
A man chosen nursing as his life’s work
everyone in the hospital loves male nurses. |
| posted by blogger @ 23:58
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| At first glance, nursing students and the homeless might not seem to have much in common.
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At first glance, nursing students and the homeless might not seem to have much in common. But a unique partnership between Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and the Gateway Center in downtown Atlanta has brought them together in a mutually beneficial way — students get service-learning opportunities and the homeless get medical services.
The Gateway Center opened in 2005 as the keystone of the Regional Commission on Homelessness. The center is more than a homeless shelter; it functions as a collaborative model to partner with other agencies and service organizations to comprehensively address the needs of the homeless
“It was such a large endeavor and there was so much need. Members of Emory’s nursing faculty saw this as a wonderful opportunity to serve the community and expand the knowledge and experience of our students,” said Monica Donohue, MN, RN, nursing instructor and director of the Emory/Gateway project.
The nursing school has been involved with Gateway since the beginning. Ann Connor, MSN, APRN-BC, FNP, teaches community health and has taken students to Gateway’s 30-bed unit to treat homeless patients with acute or chronic illnesses. Connor and another Emory faculty member, Jordan Bell Simcox, have set up a resource center at Gateway to help clients receive services such as eye care, dentistry, HIV tests and gynecological exams.
On July 1, 2007, a three-year $370,000 grant from the federal Health Resources and Service Administration’s Division of Nursing allowed the partnership to expand. The grant helps fund faculty projects, supplies and continuing education.
“This semester, we have 18 service-learning groups at Gateway,” Donohue said.
Students learn about the needs of the homeless population, work with their instructor to develop a project that benefits homeless clients and then reflect on the impact of the project.
Teenager Egan Marie Connor Short produced a 19-minute film about the Gateway Center that featured her mother, Ann. The film focuses on the causes of homelessness and the medical issues that go with it.
“This is no easy class for nursing students,” Connor said in the film. “We try to leave our baggage at the door.”
In the film, Connor asked a homeless man what nursing students needed to know before they come to the Gateway Center.
“You can’t look down on a person who is down. You have to treat them the way you would want to be treated,” he said.
Many factors can contribute to homelessness including substance abuse, mental illness, domestic violence and bankruptcy caused by skyrocketing medical costs.
“There is a lot of pain, but homeless people have a lot of strengths, too,” Connor said. “They know how to cope and are adaptable and resourceful.”
Student involvement
Students in Emory’s nurse-practitioner program are delivering health workshops with clients on the recovery floor at Gateway.
Chosen by research and the clients themselves, the topics include HIV/AIDS, diabetes, hepatitis C and substance addictions.
“Our nurse-practitioner students are already practicing nurses and bring a wealth of expertise to address these topics,” Donohue said. “They also bring food [funded by Emory’s Office of Community Partnerships] and share lunch with their clients.”
Both students and clients enjoy gathering around the table to eat and talk.
“It breaks down barriers, and I get to watch the magic happening,” Donohue said.
She sees prejudices torn down on both sides.
“Students remark on how smart and polite their clients are,” she said. “As they hear what contributed to someone’s homelessness, they realize that homeless people are people first. They have similar aspirations and challenges [as themselves], just different life circumstances.”
Donohue says that clients look forward to talking to students.
“They no longer see Emory students as privileged, but as people who care,” she said.
Shannon Lambeth, RN, works in the cardiovascular intensive care unit at Emory University Hospital. A student in Emory’s acute care nurse-practitioner program, she met with 35 men from Gateway to talk about depression.
“I talked about symptoms and treatments and how depression manifested itself in men. It was a very rich discussion,” Lambeth said. “Their knowledge of the topic was impressive and they asked some great questions about medications and how substance abuse and depression go hand-in-hand.”
Lambeth had never heard of the Gateway Center but discovered that the residents were friendly and open to discussion.
“Talking to them is just like talking to anyone else, but I have a new found respect for what they go through,” she said. “It’s admirable for them to seek out a place like Gateway and tackle substance abuse. That takes a lot of courage.”
Helping hands
Among the services that Emory faculty and students have provided include health fairs and screenings for high blood pressure, diabetes and other diseases.
Pediatric nurse practitioner and midwifery students run an after-school program for mothers and children in which students meet with mothers to talk about health prevention and emotional issues, and the children participate in physical activities and learn about healthy eating.
Emory nursing professors teach a faith-based program on healing for recovering addicts called “Strengthening Your Spiritual Self.”
“We give clients an opportunity to talk about their faith, to ask how they would use it to become healthier,” Donohue said.
Last year, 134 nursing students and 13 faculty members served 1,000 Gateway clients, and Donohue hopes to sustain that involvement. She believes the program is achieving real results and is a good model for others.
“We’re giving our clients more opportunities to become healthier and be healed, and we see transformation happening in our students that is going to change how they practice nursing,” she said.source
Male nurses continue to tell stories about unfair treatment
Being a male RN in a female-dominated field can be rewarding
Men in the nursing field have a promising future. |
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| one of five men in his graduating class (2009), can’t imagine a better place to be than in a program with 165 women.
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Ryan and Grant McLain grew up in Newnan in a house of health care professionals. Their mother, Patty, is a critical care nurse with Emory Health System; their father, Steve, is a certified nurse anesthetist and a partner in a private practice.
“A lot of the ‘How was your day?’ talk around the dinner table was about patients and cases — no names, but plenty of interesting details. And anytime my friends got hurt, we came home and Dad stitched them up,” Ryan said.
Today Ryan, 24, and Grant, 22, are students at the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing at Mercer University — somewhere that neither expected to be.
Ryan’s high school teachers thought he would follow in his parents’ footsteps after he graduated, but he wasn’t interested in a medical career.
He attended Young Harris College for a year and found that college was harder than he expected. He transferred to the University of West Georgia to try to improve his grades.
“Dad kept pushing me to take anatomy and physiology, and I finally caved in 2003,” Ryan said. “The big surprise was that I just fell in love with it.
“Then I got a part-time job at an orthopedic surgery center, where I was allowed to observe surgeries and help clean up the operating room afterward. It was a big influence on my career decision. That’s when I really saw nurses at work; it was a lot more than just giving medications at the bedside like I had thought.”
Ryan enrolled at Georgia Baptist in 2006, but found nursing school to be a tougher than he expected. Ryan, who had gotten A’s and B’s in high school without working too hard, discovered quickly that cramming didn’t work.
“There were a lot of critical-thinking questions, where out of the three answers, two might be close and one the most correct,” Ryan said. “I really got slammed with fundamentals of adult health, but two fast-track nursing students — Kristin Borgia and Brandie Wade — taught me how to study. They saved my life.”
Ryan, one of five men in his graduating class (2009), can’t imagine a better place to be than in a program with 165 women.
“There’s three of us [male nursing students] in my fraternity and we take some heckling, but it’s just in fun,” he said. “Everyone gets how hard nursing school is, and when I tell most people that I’m going to be a nurse, they’re impressed.”
After seven years in college, Ryan is ready to graduate in May.
“I can’t believe it took me that long to figure out what I wanted to do, but I wouldn’t change anything about Mercer’s program. I’ve had a great experience and I’m sold on nursing,” he said.
Ryan wants to work in a hospital intensive care unit or emergency room, and is considering working in anesthesia after he gets some experience. “The interaction of drugs fascinates me.”
He is grateful that his father gave him a shove toward nursing. “I’ve discovered that when he gives advice, he’s usually right,” Ryan said.
Following footsteps
Grant studied criminology at the University of West Georgia for three years before enrolling in Mercer’s nursing program.
“With the terrible economy, I saw how my friends with marketing and financial majors couldn’t find a job, so knowing I’d be able to make money was one reason for going into nursing,” Grant said. “From my first clinical experiences, I’m seeing how rewarding it is.”
Ultimately, it was parental influence that caused Grant to apply to nursing school.
“They didn’t push me, but as I grew up and matured some, I realized what good people my parents are,” he said. “My mom has worked in ICU for over 25 years and she’s one of the kindest people you’d ever want to meet. I really want to be as good as them.”
Like his brother, Grant has found the academic rigor to be challenging.
“It’s much harder than I expected but I’ve seen how Ryan has done, and if he can do it, I can, too,” he said.
Ryan has lent books to Grant and is giving him study pointers.
“He’s a good influence and my parents are definitely proud of us,” Grant said.source
male nurses are leaving the profession more quickly than female nurses
One of the biggest obstacles to attracting more men to nursing
Why not become a male nurse?
About 6 percent of nurses today are male |
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| A nurse has been granted an audience with the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
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A NURSE at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital has been granted an audience with the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
Macmillan nurse Emma Harris was invited to attend an evening reception with the Queen this week in recognition of her significant contribution to health. Emma has been a champion for the introduction at NNUH of the Liverpool Care Pathway for patients nearing the end of life.
Ms Harris said: “It was the most amazing experience to be at Buckingham Palace with the Queen and I just felt really proud to be representing the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
“In our palliative care role, dying well means something different for everyone but it generally includes maintaining dignity and autonomy, having choices and receiving appropriate pain relief, as well as emotional and spiritual support.”source
Army Nurses
Male nursing students -Male-friendly" nursing school |
| posted by blogger @ 12:41
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| "We know there's going to be a physician shortage
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Aspirus Clinics is trying to get out in front of an impending physician shortage by maximizing its doctors' time with patients.
During the past year or so, a group of 30 doctors has worked with nurses, receptionists and others to streamline work flow to enable to them to see more patients. The result has been an increase in patient appointments equivalent to hiring an extra 1.25 doctors.
"We know there's going to be a physician shortage. We know it's going to affect access," said Maria Gulan, director of clinical services.
The clinics' physicians expect demand for care to grow in the coming years, and a report released earlier this month suggests Wisconsin already is short between 600 and 700 doctors. The shortage includes doctors who specialize in family practice, internal medicine and pediatrics. What's more, nearly 20 percent of 600 practicing doctors in central Wisconsin recently surveyed said they plan to retire in the next five years.
"We recognized the most important time is the time the physicians have with patients," Gulan said.
Delegating to nurses tasks, such as filling out paperwork, had a positive effect, as did training nurses in how to schedule appointments, thus avoiding having to transfer calls to reception desks, Gulan said. Printing office visit summaries that note when lab results will be available also has helped to reduce the number of phone calls doctors must make, said Dr. Rick Reding, an internist.
"I think we're seeing some changes" for the better already, Reding said.
"Phone traffic is a blessing" but it also poses challenges, Reding said. But printing those summaries also improves patient care because it gives patients reminders about instructions and medications. It also can provide them specific measures, such as heart rate and blood pressure, which many patients want.
Gulan said Aspirus already is examining how it can expand the strategies to help a larger group of doctors become more efficient.source
being a male nurse can bring awkward moments '
I didn't know there were guys in nursing"
Army Nurses Male nursing students - |
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| HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ASPIRE TO BE NURSES
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Hip replacement surgery at age 17 gave Elizabeth Matias ideas for her dream career.
One year later, on a recent Friday in the emergency room at Memorial Hospital Miramar, Elizabeth's dream was real enough to feel.
''I got a hug today. A woman came out of nowhere and hugged me just for being here,'' said the Everglades High School senior during the hospital's Day in the Life of a Nurse event for future nurses.
Five students from the school's allied health science program, taught by registered nurse Sheron Favata, followed five nurses through daily work duties that changed second by second in a literal heartbeat.
Terrie Garner, the hospital's director of human resources, said the all-girl group was assigned to nurse mentors: two in the emergency room, two in the cardiac unit and one in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit for premature and sick newborns.
''When young people think of nursing, they envision a stereotype. We show them very skilled, very technical professionals,'' Garner said.
The event, a 10th annual national happening, put 1,000 local teens in the shadows of 1,000 nurses from northern Palm Beach County to South Miami-Dade. Sixty South Broward teens from Everglades, McArthur, Hollywood Hills and Flanagan high schools visited four hospitals in the Memorial system.
Favata said the nurses also gave teens glimpses of opportunities that take them out of hospitals and into schools, community clinics, home healthcare, mission work in Third World nations and even jobs in the military.
Carmen Lopez-Cardona, a former Air Force nurse, was mentor for a day to Jennifer Gasparo, 17, at Memorial Miramar's neonatal unit.
''I've done and seen a lot of things in my life as a nurse that I thought I never would. Was I ever scared? Sometimes, but scared makes you careful. Is it hard? Yes, but so worth it,'' Lopez-Cardona said.
Garner said the program also aims to answer a national nursing shortage by showing teens how the profession has evolved from basic healthcare to specializations in medicine and technology.
Salaries also have changed. Fifteen years ago, new nurses made an average of $20,000 annually. Today's nurses start out at about $40,000 a year.
Sharon Joyner, a registered nurse and Memorial Miramar's director of critical care services, said nursing students learn ''21st century technology and medical advances'' from Day One.
''Today's nursing students get all the bells and whistles. But still they come for the true reason anyone wants to be a nurse -- to care for someone else,'' Joyner said. source
The specific needs of male nursing students
Male nurses have a better chance of getting into the nursing program
Increase in male nurses |
| posted by blogger @ 04:18
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| an eighth-grader has expressed interest in pursuing a career in long-term health care, either as a nurse or an activity director
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Paula Strunk, administrator at The Terrace Nursing and Rehabilitation Facility in Berea, remembers the first time she met Rebecca Croucher, then a painfully shy 10-year-old who had accompanied her mom, Beverly Satterfield, the facility's activity director, to an employee family day event.
"She was so shy, you could tell it was almost painful for her to be here," Strunk said. "It was clear she'd never been around people who were elderly and ill."
Fast forward three years, and somehow along the way, Croucher has shed her shyness to become an integral part of the facility's activity staff.
CNA salary-Certified nursing assistant salaries by location
Where to find a free CNA training?
What is a Nursing Assistant and Certified Nursing Assistant?
Last month, Croucher's more than 800 hours of volunteer service at The Terrace earned her the national Young Adult Volunteer of the Year award from the American Health Care Association. In 2007, she was named the Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities Youth Volunteer of the Year, an honor that earned her a nomination for the national award.
"It was something that happened subtly," Strunk said. "First she was coming to volunteer one or two days a week, then it was three or four days, then it was the weekends, too. And every day in the summer. The more time she invested, the less it became about her and the more it became about serving others."
This past summer, Rebecca, now 13, accompanied her mom often from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. volunteering to help visit with residents, paint their nails or do their makeup, read with them, lead arts and crafts activities and throw monthly birthday and holiday theme parties.
She often brings either her own dog, Buttons, a dachshund, or another pet therapy dog, Charlie the Yorkie, to residents' rooms during her visits, she said.
She even coordinated a basketball shooting tournament event, brackets and all, in conjunction with the Berea College women's basketball team, that encouraged residents to shoot hoops for exercise, Strunk said.
"The patience and compassion she shows our residents, sitting with them and just holding their hand or brushing their hair, very few adults have that gift," said Strunk, who nominated Rebecca for the state and national volunteer awards. "In over 20 years of being a nurse, I've never seen anything like it."
"To see a young person her age putting in the number of hours that she has done at The Terrace is just remarkable," said Steve McClain, director of communications and membership development with the KAHCF. "Looking at her nomination, we thought she had a really strong chance at getting the national award."
McClain said he believes Rebecca is the first Kentuckian to receive one of the AHCA's national volunteer awards.
Rebecca, an eighth-grader at Berea Christian School, has expressed interest in pursuing a career in long-term health care, either as a nurse or an activity director like her mom. Now that school is in session, she often spends afternoons at The Terrace helping out and sometimes all day on Fridays, when her school typically does not have classes.
Watching Rebecca receive the national award on Oct. 8 in front of a crowd of 2,000 gathered in Nashville was "pretty emotional," said Satterfield, her mom.
The award night was "really fun," said Rebecca, who also enjoys basketball, volleyball, roller skating and helping lead a youth Sunday school class at her church, Owsley Fork Baptist. The plaque she received for the national award hangs on her bedroom wall.
Just a few years ago, Rebecca struggled with an anxiety disorder so severe that her mom removed her from public school to place her in the much smaller Berea Christian School.
"She couldn't even lift her head up to look at people," Satterfield said. "Now here she is, volunteering and interacting with these elderly people. That means a lot for someone her age to be able to do that."
The roughly 100 residents at The Terrace have come to look forward to Rebecca's visits, often asking about her when she's not there, Satterfield said.
Her involvement in an activity is often motivation enough to get residents out of their rooms, Strunk said.
"Sometimes when we're encouraging them to come to an activity, they'll just say, 'I don't feel good today,'" Strunk said. "But if they know Rebecca's going to be there, they're up for it right away."source |
| posted by blogger @ 20:13
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| They worked in the days when pill-box hats, stockings and white skirts were part of the standard-issue uniforms
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They worked in the days when pill-box hats, stockings and white skirts were part of the standard-issue uniforms.
The first nurses at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital were Jills-of-all-trades, working the surgical floors as deftly as they handled the maternity area and the demands of oxford-clad doctors.
The hospital also was a simpler place where nurses could pull good-natured pranks on their supervisors without fear of reprisal. The arrival of the first helicopter on the roof was an epic event.
As the hospital prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary next month, Alice Simmons and her colleagues still gather monthly to reminisce about a different era in medical care, when nurses didn’t wear disposable caps during surgery, when syringes and gloves were simply washed and re-used over and over again, and HMOs didn’t exist.
“It was an exciting time,” said Simmons, 91, who was the first registered nurse hired by the hospital in 1958. “You just worked. It was the only thing we knew. I loved nursing. It was the only profession I wanted to do.”
The nursing profession was different, too, said many of the nurses or former nurses who gathered recently at My Cup of Tea in Grass Valley.
It was a calling.
Money certainly wasn’t the motivator. Simmons remembers her first salary: $60 a month. Twenty years later, registered nurses made less than $8 an hour.
“We went into it because we wanted to help people,” said Carol Phillips, who has worked at the hospital as a nurse for a quarter-century.
“I didn’t care much about money. At that time, that wasn’t a primary concern. Taking care of the patients and being a comforter was,” she said.
Patients care also has changed with time and technology. Baths, once given to patients in a metal tub, gave way to plastic tubs and more recently to cleaning patients with disposable wipes.
Former nurse Pat Brown laments what she called a loss of patient interaction.
“It’s more sophisticated,” Brown said. “Some people get so attached to monitors they forget there’s a patient attached to them.”
“I think it’s a good thing that it has progressed,” countered Simmons.
“Where would we be without the computers and the technology?”
They have plenty of memories to share, like the time a couple of nurses went for a joyride in a new doctor’s Cadillac, or the time when the nurses all wore buttons celebrating their supervisor’s birthday, or when a couple held a wedding ceremony in the delivery room so they could be married when the baby arrived.
“If we had all kept diaries, we could write the best novel,” Brown said.
“We felt like we worked there during the hospital’s very best years,” said Rosemary Farley, who joined Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital from the old Miners Hospital in 1959 and stayed until 1993. “The timing was just right.”source
Benefits of Vocational Nursing
How do I find the job?
LPNs and RNs-similarities and differences
LVN vs RN What is the difference? |
| posted by blogger @ 16:07
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| Nurse practitioners can prescribe drugs, order tests and make some diagnoses
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It took a long time, but nurse practitioner Dawn Lowe was finally able to celebrate the official opening of her collaborative practice with Dr. Iona Wile in Hantsport, Hants County, this month.
In April, Ms. Lowe said she was considering job opportunities in New Brunswick because the process of getting approval and funding to work in Nova Scotia was taking so long she was worried she would not get in enough hours to maintain her nurse practitioner’s licence.
But she said fighting through the red tape was worthwhile.
"This is where I wanted to be," Ms. Lowe said from her office Wednesday. "I knew there was a need here."
She and Dr. Wile share patients. In most cases a person just sees whoever’s available first.
"If I see a patient and I think, ‘You know what, I think I need to consult or collaborate with (Dr. Wile) on this person because they might be a bit complicated or something new going on with them,’ then she just pops in the office and sees them at the same time," Ms. Lowe said.
Nurse practitioners can prescribe drugs, order tests and make some diagnoses. They can also conduct examinations and manage chronic diseases like diabetes.
Ms. Lowe is a permanent full-time employee of the Capital district health authority but the approval and funding for her position came through the Health Department.
Ms. Lowe said they haven’t been able to take on any new patients, but she has begun working one evening and will soon start taking appointments some weekends to provide some flexibility for patients who can’t make weekday appointments.source
Licensed Vocational Nurse working conditions
What is the typical salary for a Licensed Vocational Nurse ?
How do I prepare for the job? |
| posted by blogger @ 12:04
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| Supportive workplaces will help retain nurses and attract new nurses
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As nursing students, we believe that the current nursing shortage is a societal health problem needing prompt attention.
We see that not having enough nurses to provide care is a potential patient safety concern. The nursing shortage contributes to exhaustion and burnout in nurses, thereby increasing the chances of errors.
For example, the Statistics Canada's National Survey of the Work and Health of Nurses states that approximately one-fifth of hospital RNs surveyed in 2005 reported having made medication errors. The study linked medication errors to increased overtime, increased workload and lack of organizational support
Also, a recent report noted that 66 per cent of new graduates have experienced emotional stress such as burnout, exhaustion and depression within two years of being in the profession. As a result, more new nursing graduates are leaving the workforce due to workplace issues such as job dissatisfaction, short staffing and lack of support.
In fact, the College of Registered Nurses in BC reported in 2005 that 34 per cent of new nurses change their positions and/or agencies due to dissatisfaction with staffing levels, and 24 per cent due to lack of support in the work environment.
The increasing average age of staff nurses is another factor contributing to the nursing shortage.
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, B.C. has the oldest nursing workforce in Canada with an average age of 44.7. And this keeps increasing. The expected loss of nurses by 2006 is 14 per cent of the nursing workforce if they retire at the age of 65 and the figure doubles if they retire at 55.
Health care organizations and the provincial government need to recreate strategies to encourage nurses to stay in the profession and to attract and retain new graduates entering the profession.
Supportive workplaces will help retain nurses and attract new nurses.
In 2005 the CRNBC noted that appropriate staffing levels, presence of nurse leaders or mentors, independence over practice, life-long learning opportunities and support from the organization, employers and government can help to create a supportive working environment.
They also noted the top five workplace attributes that new nurses prefer are mentorship programs, adequate staffing levels, performance appraisals, adequate number of available support workers (unit clerks, porters, housekeeping staff), and a workplace that supports and encourages change and continuous learning.
If the nursing shortage persists, patients will likely not receive the care that they need and deserve.
For example, patients would have to wait longer to access health care with possible delays in treatment and increased cost to the health care system.
Shainne Mercado and Karen Tjomsaas are nursing students enrolled at Douglas College.source
What do Vocational Nurses do?
Important skills, knowledge, and abilities for LVNs
How to become a Licensed Vocational Nurse |
| posted by blogger @ 08:58
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| The program that introduces Girl Scouts to nursing
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College students and fourth-graders recently learned from one another as Valparaiso University student nurses introduced Girl Scouts to their profession and helped the younger girls earn their nursing badges.
The junior- and senior-level students conduct the program each year during their pediatric rotation.
"The program this fall will help introduce Girl Scouts to nursing and, hopefully, encourage some to start thinking about nursing as a profession they would enjoy," said Dr. Nola Schmidt, associate professor of nursing and a former Girl Scout troop leader.
To earn a badge, the scouts must complete six of 11 requirements.
The VU students taught the girls how to take a pulse, use a thermometer, blood-pressure cuff, stethoscope and ace bandage. They also talked to them about the history and academic requirements for nursing, and showed them Web sites to use for more information about the profession.
Cindy Bobcek, VU adjunct clinical instructor and pediatric nurse at Porter, works with the VU students during this rotation. She said teaching children at a developmentally appropriate level is part of the rotation.
"For the students, it's teaching experience," Bobcek said. "They do research on growth and development at this level and decide what teaching methods to use.
"Then, they'll write a paper determining if what they actually saw was what they read about."
Katie Reichling helped teach the scouts from St. Paul Catholic School about the history of the profession, including a skit about Florence Nightingale.
She also quizzed the girls afterward and wasn't too surprised at how they did.
"We know that at this stage, they like to achieve, so we did a lot of 'Q and A' to let them answer and let them tell what they know," Reichling said.
"They really like to participate."
While some scouts were at the computers, finding facts about the profession, others were using a blood-pressure cuff or taking a 30-second pulse. Troop leaders Kelly Stazinski and Kammi Fox were impressed at how the college students worked with their girls.
"It's good for the girls to know about these careers," Stazinski said.
Added Fox, a clinical trials nurse at the University of Chicago, "They do a good job; it's hard to get it down on their level."
Fox earned her master's degree in nursing at VU.
"My daughter wants nothing to do with this," she said. "Everything is gross to her."
However, others in her troop, like Paige Hardel, Emma Dudek and Bridget Bull, are considering nursing careers.
"I didn't know there were so many places to check your pulse," Bridget said, adding she started thinking about nursing last summer when she broke both arms after falling off a play set.
That, according to student nurse Shelly Wanta, is one of the most important things nurses do.
"We like to be there for people and help them get through the tough times."source
Licensed Vocational Nurse Jobs
What is a Licensed Vocational Nurse?
Is the Vocational Nursing Profession a growing career? |
| posted by blogger @ 04:11
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| The NT Government is looking at recruiting 105 Indian nurses within two years to provide acute care services
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THE Territory is turning to more foreign nurses on 457 visas to fill shortages in the health system.
The NT Government is looking at recruiting 105 Indian nurses within two years to provide acute care services.
The first of seven groups of 15 foreign trained nurses have started a 20-week "bridging course" at Charles Darwin University - which includes clinical practice and learning English in the workplace.
CDU Professor of Nursing Sandra Dunn said the nurses had all completed a four-year university degree and worked at least three years in clinical areas.
She said the program did not take nurses away from countries that were "desperate".
Health Minister Chris Burns said overseas health professionals had always been the "backbone" of the Territory's health system.
"Government will continue to rely on overseas trained health professionals," he said. "People can rest assured that those overseas trained health professionals have a certain standard and they have been assessed by the pertinent registration board.
"We have other recruitment strategies in place. But it is difficult to recruit nurses in the Territory, indeed in Australia."source
Provide more foreign nurse visas
US to increase work visas to ease strains of nursing shortage
Medical Careers Salary Best Medical Careers Top Medical Jobs |
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| Harris College of Nursing
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Students in Harris College of Nursing have more room to practice their technique thanks to the expansion of simulation labs and additional simulation manikins.
Mary Beth Walker, assistant director of simulation lab, said the Harris College has divided the simulation labs in order for nursing anesthesia students and undergraduate nursing students to have their own practice areas.
"A simulation manikin has working parts that will respond to a student's response to an underlying problem or a set of vital signs," Walker said.
Terri Jones, clinical assistant professor of nurse anesthesia, said students in the nurse anesthesia program use simulation labs as well but focus more on training.
The nurse anesthesia program is different from the nursing undergraduate program in that nurse anesthesia students have all had prior experience or training as a nurse, Jones said.
According to the page for the university's school of nurse anesthesia, the program is an advanced program for professional nurses who are working toward a graduate degree.
"We use similar tools as the undergraduate but it's a different model of training," Jones said.
Students in the nurse anesthesia program work on patients through simulation before working in a clinical environment, Jones said. Nurse anesthesia students work on more critical-care scenarios, Jones said.
"Once the students work in a clinical environment they are brought back to the simulation labs to identify areas in which they need extra work," Jones said.
The nurse anesthesia labs have had upgrades, including the addition of audiovisual equipment and two simulation manikins, Jones said.
Walker said before the expansion, students were not only sharing space but simulation manikins as well. In addition to the expansion of the simulation labs, new simulation manikins have been acquired, Walker said. One simulation manikin in particular emulates the birthing process, Walker said.
According to the Laerdal Web site, a manufacturer of simulation manikins, simulation manikins and babies cost roughly $27,000 each. The nursing and nurse anesthesia labs have simulation manikins from Laerdal and another simulation manikin manufacturer, Meti, Walker said.
The models used by nursing students in Harris College cost more than $27,000 because of the additional accessories needed for training, Jones said. The manikins are funded through nursing student tuition, Jones said.
"The nursing graduate students need to work on the simulation manikins as part of their in-depth training, which is why it's part of their tuition cost," Jones said.
According to the Laerdal Web site, simulation manikins by Laerdal can be ordered with attachments for wound training and other trauma related injuries.
The simulation manikins are life-size and have the ability to breathe, blink and speak with the use of a microphone attached inside the simulator, Walker said. The simulators can be programmed to generate the symptoms of an overdose, pneumonia and other medical conditions based on the scenarios, Walker said.
"In the simulation labs the scenarios range from a patient who comes in with a drug overdose, or a victim of a motor vehicle accident," Walker said. "It helps for students who have never seen a birth before, or have never seen a movie of a birth before."
Students in Harris College use the simulation labs in conjunction with their classes, Walker said. During the simulation labs students not only practice their technical skills but also work on their communication skills, Walker said.
Ashley Franklin, faculty associate of the simulation labs, said the experience in the practice rooms gives students an opportunity to use what they learn.
"It's a great chance to offer patient safety and apply principles of didactic courses," Franklin said.
Junior nursing major Melissa Greany said students appreciate the expansion and improvements.
"It's better now that we don't have to share space with everyone," Greany said. "There's more room to learn."source
How to Become a Nurse |
| posted by blogger @ 16:45
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| prescribing nurses and nurse consultants – that training can lead to.
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The last thing Amanda Featherstone expected to do in her role as a practice nurse in a GP's surgery was to study for a Masters degree. But last year, she completed an MSc in strategic leadership and expert practice (for nurse practitioners) that has enabled her to do many of the things GPs traditionally did.
What's more, she enjoyed the course. "It taught me to be a critical thinker, have a wider knowledge base and better debating skills. It was hard to fit in around three young children and a job, but it was worth it because it was all so stimulating."
Best of all, she says, it set her up for continuous ongoing learning. "I'm stretching myself all the time now."
CPD for registered nurses and midwives is statutory, but only up to a point. What many people don't realise is just how much of it is available beyond the call of duty. Nor do they realise the seniority of roles – including prescribing nurses and nurse consultants – that training can lead to.
City University London runs CPD modules in subjects including sexual health and HIV/Aids, chronic heart disease management, physical assessment, and communication and role development. Tutor Dr Kathryn Waddington points out that nurses who entered the profession with a diploma are increasingly being encouraged to top-up to degree level, at which point a range of short and long courses (including Masters and even doctorates) become available. The leadership module, which she teaches, is particularly popular – not only among nurses but their bosses. "Since the publication of the NHS Plan in 2001, there has been an emphasis on the fact that leadership is crucial."
CPD is not without its challenges, she admits. "We know, for example, that some nurses have had difficulties negotiating study leave."
Dame Betty Kershaw, education adviser at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), agrees. "There is some very good training out there, but we are disturbed that some nurses have difficulty accessing time off to study, with a growing number doing courses in their own time."
Examples include small GP practices where there may only be two nurses (in bigger ones, it's easier to arrange cover) and in nursing homes where the nurse is the only one on staff. "We're even hearing reports of some nurses having to do statutory updating in their own time – in areas such as resuscitation training and health and safety training," she says.
Kershaw adds that some nurses have to fork out for fees. "They might, for example, want to do a Masters with four modules, only three of which are directly relevant to what they're doing so they have to pay for the additional one to make up the programme."
Nonetheless, RCN points to the vast number of seminars, workshops, study days and qualifications that nurses and midwives are attending with enthusiasm. "In the last 10 years, there has been a huge shift from CPD being 'something I have to do' to 'something I see the value of doing and wish to take up every opportunity to develop'," explains Kershaw.
As many areas of nursing and midwifery continue to experience rapid change, Kershaw expects CPD to become even more critical in the next few years. "The Government, for example, wants to move a lot of nursing from an acute setting into the community and they'll need to cross-skill nurses accordingly."
Dr Richard Hatchett, principal lecturer for adult CPD at London South Bank University's faculty of health and social care – whose subject areas range from nursing as a therapy to normality in midwifery practice – says the NHS has become far more strategic in the way it approaches CPD.
"We've moved from them saying, 'Here's a course, do you fancy doing it?' to 'Let's work out what training would be relevant to your job and where you want to go in your career'," he explains.
Given the difficulties around accessing time to train, many CPD providers offer a flexible approach to learning. "These professionals are busy, so it's important they can take the learning at their own pace," says Dr Warren Turner, assistant dean of the University of Derby. "We've also tried to offer as many modules as we can in e-learning or distance learning format, and the third thing we stress is the importance of work-based learning. So if a nurse is doing a piece of work anyway with specific learning outcomes, we'll negotiate an individual learning contract with them, which may contribute to a module."
Turner adds that because courses are worked out in partnership with NHS trusts, practitioners can rest in the knowledge that what they learn will be clinically relevant. "We try to make it enjoyable too. After all, we'll only create a demand for people wanting to come back if we make it relevant and pleasurable to learn."
Dr Carol Taylor, programme leader of the professional doctorate at Manchester Metropolitan University, reports that growing numbers of nurses are studying for a PhD. "Among those who do the doctorate are people who are already consultant practitioners or who are aspiring to become one. Or they might just want to be more engaged in policy making or steering and developing practice within their senior role. I think what really appeals to them is the opportunity to study to doctoral level without having to give up their jobs for a purely academic role."
The PhD takes five years part-time. "It's challenging, certainly at first, but it's enjoyable and stimulating too and people get a lot of support."
At Edge Hill University – where the vast range of CPD modules range from contemporary critical care to anaesthetic care – Kate O'Brien, academic lead for CPD undergraduate programmes, says nurses and midwives enjoy learning with other professionals. "They work in a multi-professional practice, so it makes sense for them to learn in this way," she says.
It's not just universities that provide courses. Professional bodies lsuch as the RCN, for example, have trained over 300 midwives across the UK in the use of hypnosis during labour. Likewise, the Caritas School of Reflexology trains large numbers of midwives.
"Midwives probably have the longest history of CPD than any profession because it was made statutory in the Thirties, so it's very much part of our culture," says Sue MacDonald, education and research manager at the Royal College of Midwives. "What's changed, however, is that whereas in the past you could expect to be sent to things, nowadays there's more opportunity for midwives to be proactive about the training they want to do."
'I have increased my confidence'
As a result of completing an MSc in interprofessional practice at City University London, Briony Ladbury is about to progress into a strategic role in child protection at NHS London.
"I've been working in child protection as a designated nurse since 1996. Obviously it's a role that involves working in a multi-disciplinary team and so my boss suggested I do a Masters in interprofessional practice. She knew I was ambitious and pointed out that any senior post would require a qualification at this level.
I felt apprehensive about doing a Masters because it was so academic. But actually, nothing about it was overwhelming and every week, there was a penny-dropping moment. It was also a great opportunity to meet senior people from other agencies. I particularly liked the way the course had a focus on psychodynamics. As a nurse working in child protection, I'm very used to working with difficult families and I'm still using what I learned on the course when dealing with them. I also use that side of the teaching in my dealings with other professionals.
I used to get nervous stating what I think, but since completing the three-year course, I have increased confidence and competence and quite often in strategic meetings, I realise how far I've come. The other thing the course did was enable me to read and assimilate information faster and my writing skills are better too. I felt quite grumpy at the thought of writing 2,000-word essays at the start of the course, but it's made me think smarter and shorter, which is good.
Although I'm in a similar role to the one I was in when I started the course, I've grown in it and now have a team of 12 people who I supervise. From January, I'll have a new role as senior strategic safeguarding children adviser for NHS London, so I'm moving on up and pushing myself into places I'd never have dared before. If I wasn't 58, I'd have gone for a PhD next. But never say never." source
How to Become a Nurse |
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| "If government knew how much they were paying for these injuries that could have been prevented
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Minnesota's refusal to pass stricter traffic safety laws earned it the second-lowest score in a new national ranking.
The Emergency Nurses Association released its 2008 scorecard of traffic safety in a St. Paul conference room with vivid views of Interstate 94 and the State Capitol. The group is hoping to persuade the Legislature to save lives -- and lots of money -- by beefing up the rules.
"If government knew how much they were paying for these injuries that could have been prevented, I think they'd take another stance," said Mary Griffith, a nurse who works in St. Paul at Bethesda Hospital, which provides long-term acute care. "It'd be interesting to look at the bills of a brain-injury patient for a lifetime."
The scorecard listed 13 types of laws covering such things as seat belts, motorcycle helmets and child safety seats. Minnesota had only five out of the 13, tied with Ohio and Idaho and ahead of only the Dakotas and Arkansas. Oregon and Washington were first, with perfect scores.
Minnesota has no helmet requirement for adult motorcyclists, and while drivers are required to wear seat belts, they can't be pulled over for that offense alone.
Drivers who cite personal freedom as a reason for opposing a primary seat-belt law can find themselves unable to live independently if they're injured in a crash and end up burdening families and maxing out insurance policies.
"We had one gentleman who wasn't seat-belted in -- drinking, driving, flew out of the car," Griffith said. "They had to look for him in the woods, and he was wrapped in barbed wire.... He walked out of [the hospital] and he went home with his family, but he will never be the same."
Joan Somes, who works at St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul and is president of the Emergency Nurses Association, said that wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of death by 45 percent and of serious injury by 50 percent. A primary seat-belt bill failed at the Legislature during the 2008 session; state safety officials estimate that such a law could save dozens of lives a year.
The nurses report also noted that Minnesota and the Dakotas are among the handful of states that still have no laws on automotive booster seats for children 4 and older.
Despite its scorecard ranking, Minnesota generally does well in national surveys of overall highway deaths. In terms of traffic fatalities per 100 million miles traveled, for example, Minnesota had the second-lowest death rate, after Massachusetts, according to Cheri Marti, director of the state's Office of Traffic Safety.
The state's numbers on teenage drivers involved in fatal crashes, however, have been among the highest. Recently passed laws restricting the number of passengers and nighttime driving for novice drivers are aimed at improving on that, and they brought Minnesota's score up from 3 in 2006.
The nursing association timed its report to coincide with the coming winter holidays -- and the surge in business the holidays bring to emergency rooms.
"We hate that first snowfall," Somes said.source
How to Become a Nurse |
| posted by blogger @ 08:20
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| The details of patients' condition automatically sent to hospital database where it is analysed by a nurse
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People suffering from asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure simply enter details of their condition and treatment into standard mobile handsets that have been programmed with special software.
The data is automatically sent to hospital database where it is analysed by a nurse who decides whether any action needs to be taken.
Studies have shown that the system helps catch complications before they get out of control, without burdening patients with regular visits to their GP.
It also reduces hospital admissions for long-term patients by up to 90 per cent, potentially saving the NHS millions of pounds per year.
The software, designed by a company called t+ Medical, has been adopted by eight primary care trusts in Walsall, Oxfordshire, Norfolk and Norwich, Newham, Southampton, Leicester, North East Essex and Calderdale. The software costs around £250 per patient per year,
One version of the programme can even monitor the side-effects of chemotherapy, allowing doctors to adjust doses if they are too strong.
Lionel Tarassenko, a professor at the University of Oxford and a board member of t+ Medical, said that the service helped monitor patients in between hospital visits.
"There are 12 million people in Britain who have diabetes, asthma, hypertension or COPD – that's a fifth of the population," he said
"Chronic long-term conditions are among the highest costs to the NHS, accounting for 80 per cent of all GP consultations.
"It is in between visits to the doctor that these diseases run out of control. By the time anybody notices anything is wrong, they're in the hospital with an emergency." source
Medical Assistant training-Medical Assistant job-Medical Assistant salary |
| posted by blogger @ 04:15
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| Officers explained gang signs, colors, clothing and codes to about 25 medical personnel
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| Friday
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Officers from the New Jersey State Parole Board's Street Gang Unit explained gang signs, colors, clothing and codes to about 25 medical personnel from Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden on Wednesday because it could save their lives.
"Sometimes these guys will get dropped off in front of the hospital and they're walking in with gunshot wounds or stabbings. If they end up in an emergency room bed next to each other, (the violence) could potentially spill into the hospital," said Parole Board Sgt. Herman Rinaldi. "This is mainly for the protection of the employees. Keep them separated."
Similar gang identification training is becoming more frequent in the Garden State to raise awareness within emergency rooms about possible conflicts and tension that could occur if rival gang members are disrespected or placed near each other for treatment, said Mary Ditri, an official with the New Jersey Hospital Association. Twenty sessions similar to this have taken place across New Jersey this year to be proactive about the problem, she said.
"It's obvious to the medical community that there is a large gang problem in this area which means one of two things, either it's not here or we're not recognizing it. My inclination is to err on the side of what are we missing?" said Dr. Alfred Sacchetti, the emergency department director at Lourdes. "The better educated the nursing department is, the better we recognize the problem."
Lourdes estimates it has a couple of gang-related incidents inside the hospital each month, said hospital spokeswoman Wendy Marano. There are suspicions, however, that the rate is higher, but those involved fail to tell the truth about the gang-related motives.
While there are thousands of combinations of signs, colors and tattoos that could mark someone as a gang member, John Larkin, a senior parole officer, said hospital workers need to look at the entire situation before making a judgment.
"Someone might be wearing a Tupac (Shakur) T-shirt, it might not be anything," Larkin said. "But if he also has M.O.B. tattooed on his arm, his buddy is decked out in red and he has a gunshot wound to the leg, then he's a Blood."
Michelle Filipkowski, an emergency room nurse at Lourdes said the class opened her eyes about symbols she's seen before.
"I can't tell you how many times I've seen M.O.B. (Member of Blood)," Filipkowski said. "Knock on wood, I've never had a problem. But it was really good to learn."
Criminal gangs, once restricted to urban areas, are getting more common in other types of communities, and parents must monitor changes in clothing, behavior and attitudes, officials told about 100 residents in Gloucester Township last week.
Across the United States, there are an estimated 2 million gang members, with 25,000 in New Jersey, according to the Gang Awareness & Intervention Network in Jersey City.
Gangs aren't only an issue for Camden and Philadelphia. Between Oct. 27 and 28, an operation led by the Guns, Gangs and Narcotics Task Force of the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office resulted in the arrest of 32 suspects with ties to street gangs.
Burlington County conducted a similar sweep last month, where eight gang members were arrested, officials said.
The average gang member usually joins the gang by age 11.2 and gets arrested for their first crime before they are 13, officials said.
Cooper University Hospital, the region's top trauma center, has also held several classes open to all of its personnel, and it plans to have more, said the hospital's spokeswoman Lori Shaffer.source
Vocational nurse training-Vocational nurse job
Licensed Vocational Nurse Salary in California |
| posted by blogger @ 23:57
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| Students cycled through stations relating to different types of nursing — pediatrics, geriatrics, emergency room
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Two registered nurses watched Wednesday as Rajahn Velez, 14, stuck a syringe into a vial and extracted 10 milliliters of fluid. Then the New Brunswick Health Sciences Technology High School freshman put on foggy goggles and a pair of red dish-washing gloves — and tried again
A complication of diabetes is blurry vision. Another complication of diabetes is numbness in your fingers," said Patricia Pedroche, a registered nurse who works in the geriatric unit at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. "Do you see how different it is for someone who might have difficulty seeing, and coordinating their hands?"
Velez took off the gloves and goggles and shook his head.
"I don't understand how they work it if they can't see," he said.
Velez and the other freshmen at New Brunswick Health Sciences Technology High School were participating in the Intro to Nursing Careers program, part of a monthly set of information sessions on different health professions. Students cycled through stations relating to different types of nursing — pediatrics, geriatrics, emergency room — talking to nurses about their professions.
The high school, which currently enrolls 183 students, takes a measured approach to introducing students to health professions. Freshmen attend monthly sessions at the hospital introducing them to different categories of health careers such as nursing, physical therapy and perioperative services; sophomores take CPR training and can volunteer at the hospital after school hours; and juniors and seniors shadow health professionals in their own interest areas.
Only New Brunswick residents can attend the school, and the city's large minority population lends itself to the Health Professions Scholars Program goal of increasing diversity in health professions.
"The reason we do this is there's a lack of cultural diversity in these career fields, and diversity is such a positive asset to health care," said Rosanne Tully, a registered nurse and the director of the program. "We tell them, if you're looking at two resumes and someone can speak two languages and understands a different culture — you really need those skills."
Shauday Rodney, who graduated from New Brunswick Health Sciences Technology High School in 2003, stood in front of the freshmen, telling them about her own path to nursing. Now she is working as an orthopedic nurse after graduating from Rutgers University with a bachelor's degree in nursing.
"As a freshman in high school, I really didn't know what I would do," she said, remembering sitting in the same room nine years ago. She doesn't expect students to make any binding decisions at this juncture, but she hoped the event would at least teach students about nursing.
"I hope they realize that nursing isn't just a female job, one. And two, that there are endless possibilities — you're not limited to a hospital; you can work anywhere. The pay is great. The job is great."
As Mayra Martinez, 15, and Marvin Natividad, 14, cycled through the stations, they were convinced.
"We learned the high points and low points of nursing, and the flexibility and motivation they give you to pursue your degree," Natividad said after hearing two nurses talk about their employer paying for graduate school.
"Yeah, because when you watch the (medical-related) programs it's a little depressing," she said, adding that now she and Natividad are thinking about becoming emergency room nurses.
Natividad nodded as he walked toward the next station.
"They've enticed us."source
How to Become a Nurse |
| posted by blogger @ 16:54
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| the Sim-Man patient simulator, that has vital signs, can go into cardiac arrest, be treated for pneumonia, appear to be pregnant
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In what could be the start of a unique partnership in health care, a new "man on campus" has arrived on the Regis College campus.
He is the Sim-Man patient simulator, a $50,000 human-like robot that has vital signs, can go into cardiac arrest, be treated for pneumonia, appear to be pregnant (as a woman, of course), groan and talk.
Sim-Man can have multiple computerized symptoms and diagnoses, and will respond to treatment. Different protocols will yield different outcomes and help nursing students learn proper techniques. He is anatomically correct, although, with the help of a large tool kit of interchangeable parts, Sim-Man can be turned into a woman and be pregnant.
Computer-controlled by an instructor who sits behind a window in a separate room, Sim-Man isn't a substitute for experience with living beings, but is seen as a valuable addition to the clinical experience. He will be used for undergraduate, graduate and doctoral-level nursing students.
Erin Mawn of the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, which funded Sim-Man at Regis as well as training for members of the staff, said, "There are fewer and fewer places these days that will take student nurses in for clinical rotations. Thus, Sim-Man becomes an important component for these young people to build both competence and confidence in a safe environment."
Sim-Man came to Regis in partnership with Wayland's Parmenter Community Health. Proposals to the Department of Higher Education, Mawn said, had to be made jointly by a school of nursing/health care and a home health agency.
"Home care nurses are increasingly being required to do high-tech chores in their line of work," said Scott Carignan, chief operating officer of Parmenter. "So we'll send our nurses to Regis for training with Sim-Man using scenarios created around home care. And, at the same time, Regis graduates can be a source of staffing for us."
Antoinette Hays, dean of the Regis College School of Nursing and Health Professions, said the future of medical and nursing care is going to be dependent on simulated clinical situations.
"Even now, physicians are learning to do open-heart surgery through simulations. And, in our case, before working on live patients, our nursing students will be able to learn through simulations, resulting in increased patient safety and expanded access to clinical experience," Hays said.
Clinical experience, said assistant professor Carol Martin, can be something as simple as introducing yourself to a new patient to something as critical as dealing with cardiac arrest.
"When I was in nursing school, patients stayed in the hospital longer, so we could observe their progress over a period of time. Today, patients are discharged so quickly that this is no longer possible." she said.
Her colleague, Kiar First, said many young nursing students "are scared to death" when they first encounter a real patient.
"With Sim-Man, since he recovers every time, this difficulty can be overcome," she said.
At the same time, the instructors can standardize scenarios for the students.
"In this way, we can observe what each student does in a given situation and then follow up with comments and advice," Martin said.
The state Department of Higher Education has been working for nearly five years in the field of nursing education. So far, it has funded 16 simulation mannequins worth a total value of nearly $800,000, including at Bay State Medical Center, in a partnership with UMass-Amherst.source
How to Become a Nurse |
| posted by blogger @ 12:49
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| Her experience as an ICU nurse at Good Samaritan Hospital taught Oxman to recognize the signs of cardiac arrest.
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Hamilton-area grandmother Wanda Gruenschlaeger and Dayton intensive care unit nurse Stacie Oxman merely intended to enjoy a Bengals game when they arrived at Paul Brown Stadium early Sunday afternoon, Nov. 16.
Fate had other plans for the two women, who started the day as strangers.
Oxman stepped out of her bathroom stall around 12:15 p.m. when she saw a woman lying on the ground, her daughter leaning over her and yelling, "Mom! MOM! Please, Mom!" and, "Can somebody please help my Mom!"
"I'm a nurse," Oxman said calmly as she began to administer CPR.
Her experience as an ICU nurse at Good Samaritan Hospital taught Oxman to recognize the signs of cardiac arrest. Gruenschlaeger had no pulse. Her head tilted back as she struggled to breathe. Her heart had gone into an irregular rhythm.
"Get me a defibrillator!" Oxman called out.
Gruenschlaeger's stepdaughter, Connie Frost of Hamilton, felt reassured by her authoritative manner.
"I was scared to death," Oxman said. "This is what I do for a living, but normally I have monitors and equipment and a whole team of people helping me. Here I was all alone with only my skills and my gut instincts."
Minutes later, Cincinnati Police Sgt. Eric Franz arrived on the scene and radioed for a defibrillator, which is used to restore the heart to its normal rhythm after cardiac arrest.
"Stacie was clearly well-trained and clearly in command of the situation," Franz recalled. "By doing CPR Stacie kept the patient's heart moving until we were able to shock the heart with the defibrillator. There's no doubt in my mind that the lady would be dead by now if Stacie hadn't been there."
Frost said she remembers thinking, "This woman really cares. She doesn't want to fail."
The first time, the patient didn't respond to the defibrillator, so Oxman continued CPR. She shocked her again, praying hard — and this time, Gruenschlaeger started breathing. She fought the medics when they tried to force oxygen into her lungs.
"That's when I started to cry," Oxman said. "That's when I knew she would make it."
Frost didn't speak to Oxman directly until her mother was loaded onto the gurney.
"She grabbed my hand and we talked and we cried," Frost said.
Gruenschlaeger remembers very little of her ordeal: "I just remember washing my hands, and nothing else until they smacked me around in the ambulance."
Her first conversation with Oxman was emotional.
"You saved my life," she said. "There's no other way to say it."
Both women marveled at the serendipity that brought them together at precisely the right moment. Gruenschlaeger is a 25-year Bengals season ticket holder. Oxman hadn't been to a game in 20 years. A friend offered the tickets to her husband, nephrologist Mark Oxman. Stacie decided to bring her 13-year-old son, Nick Hornick, to celebrate making the eighth-grade basketball team at Central Middle School in Xenia. Unfamiliar with the stadium, she stopped at a restroom two levels down from her seats.
"I always believed nurses are special people, but she was a guardian angel to me," Gruenschlaeger said.
Oxman is thrilled "that it all worked, everything I've been trained to do."
The lesson here, she said, is that public places — churches, hospitals, schools — should be equipped with automatic external defibrillators, which offer detailed commands that can be followed by the layperson.
"You don't have to be an ICU nurse to use them," she explained.
"We've known for years these things save lives," concurred Franz. "It's a really amazing computer. You put pads on a patient, press a button and it analyzes the heart rhythm and it doesn't shock them unless their heart isn't beating properly."
Gruenschlaeger is recovering rapidly from the angioplasty that opened up her blocked coronary arteries. Surgeons also implanted a pacemaker. She was released from the hospital Wednesday and returned to her home in Seven Mile, a small town north of Hamilton.
After visiting with her three grandchildren, her dearest hope is to meet Oxman along with Frost, and her other daughter, Nicole Hawk of Fort Recovery.
Both families share a similar view of their chance meeting.
"I know it sounds stupid, it sounds cliched, but I really believe someone put me in that bathroom that day," Oxman said.
Frost summed it up simply: "God put her there."source
How to Become a Nurse |
| posted by blogger @ 04:10
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| West Coast College in Victorville has stopped enrolling new students because of financial hardships exacerbated by tighter student loan criteria,
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| Thursday
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As West Coast College prepares to close its doors for good, some students have been unable to reach school officials to find out about tuition refunds or what to do next.
“I am very frustrated and I’m very disappointed,” said Krishna Thomas, a West Coast College student four months away from completing her dental assistant certification. “We’re trying to find out what’s going on. That’s a lot of money that we’ve put into the school for them to just keep ignoring us.”
West Coast College, which has operated on Seventh Street in Victorville for the past 11 years, has stopped enrolling new students and is closing by Dec. 11 because of financial hardships exacerbated by tighter student loan criteria, said Tasha Bell, who is assisting the college with the closure.
School officials are working with students on an individual basis and dealing with the situation as quickly as possible, Bell said.
“West Coast College is working with all of its existing students that will be affected by the closure to assist them in transferring to new schools that will acknowledge the credits that they have achieved thus far,” Bell said.
However, several students said no one is working with them yet, or even answering their phone calls.
The local number listed for West Coast College is disconnected and the two toll-free numbers posted on the school’s Web site give callers a constant busy signal.
Thomas, 36, said she was notified of the school’s closing two weeks ago when a school administrator told her she would get a full tuition refund for her $20,000 in loans and gave her a phone number to call for more information, she said.
Thomas said she left a message at the number two weeks ago and has tried calling back nearly every day since. None of her calls have been returned, she said.
Thomas’ classmate, Heather Cottone, had not yet received official notification of the school’s closing. Cottone, 21, tried calling again Monday, only to find the line had been disconnected.
“It makes you wonder if you’re going to get a diploma and it makes you worry about what you invested in — and your future,” said Cottone, who is able to complete her final hours for certification through an externship this week. “For the girls that weren’t as far along as me, I worry about what’s going to happen to them.”
Four students in the billing and coding program will finish their course in its entirety, while the school will contact the other 30 students from its Victorville and Ontario campuses as the office receives information about their individual situations, Bell said.
“All calls are being returned as time allows for the skeleton staff that is currently available at the college,” she said.source
Dental Assistants Training
Dental assistants earnings
Dental assistants main duties |
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| Spalding University opened the doors to its new College of Health and Natural Sciences facility
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Spalding University senior Lauren McKnight used to have to take turns with her classmates when it came to practicing medical procedures on mannequins during laboratory periods.
Then in August, Spalding University opened the doors to its new College of Health and Natural Sciences facility on South Third Street.
"Now there is so much more room. … It is just so much bigger. We have more supplies," said McKnight, 21. "The number of students that are allowed to practice their skills has increased dramatically."
University officials are expected to join with religious and political leaders this morning to officially celebrate the opening of the state-of-the-art building that is now home to the university's School of Nursing, the School of Natural Science and the Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy.
The nearly 50,000- square-foot building also houses the Kosair Charities enTECH Center, the state's only Microsoft Accessibility Resource Center for children and adults with disabilities.
Spalding President Jo Ann Rooney said the project is the most costly the university has ever undertaken. In all, including the purchase of the original building in 2006 from the Center for Women and Families, the project cost about $8 million.
The renovation essentially involved gutting the original building and remodeling it to include first-floor classrooms and second-floor laboratories that serve 500 to 600 nursing, occupational-therapy and natural-science students and nearly 50 administrators, faculty members and staff.
Previously the College of Health and Natural Sciences' programs were split between three buildings across Spalding's downtown campus.
Housing the three programs under one roof will allow for more efficiency and collaboration, Rooney said.
"It will also allow us to expand," she said. "We were locked into lab spaces that truly could not accommodate as many students as this community could use and who also wanted to be here."
The new building gives nursing and occupational-therapy students access to simulation labs with interactive figures ranging from infant to adult, allowing students to practice real-life procedures.
"We are completely jazzed about this building. We think it opens up all kinds of possibilities," said Jacqui McMillian-Bohler, director of the college's nursing program.
The new College of Health and Natural Sciences building is just one phase in the independent Catholic university's master plan. Over the next several years, the college -- which was established in 1814 and named after Catherine Spalding, founder of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth -- plans to improve several of its buildings, expand its dinning facilities and create more green space.
Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson said the renovation of the building "is a testament to Spalding University."
"They have become a thriving, thoughtful urban university, and they've made a conscious choice to contribute to the fabric of our downtown," he said.
Reporter Nancy Rodriguez can be reached at (502) 582-7079.source
About 6 percent of nurses today are male
Male nurses continue to tell stories about unfair treatment
Being a male RN in a female-dominated field can be rewarding |
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| possible plans to add a nursing school at the district's Moreno Valley campus
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Riverside Community College District faculty and staff and Moreno Valley city leaders are divided over possible plans to add a nursing school at the district's Moreno Valley campus.
At a district board meeting last week, a consultant recommended not adding the nursing school because of the district's program at Riverside City College, the high cost of a new program, the shortage of qualified faculty and on-site training at Inland hospitals. The consultant recommended a re-evaluation within five years.
The board took no action last week. Since then, at least two board members said they support creating a nursing school in Moreno Valley. Today, the board will vote on whether to accept the report at a 6 p.m. meeting at the Moreno Valley campus.
Nursing faculty at Riverside City College, where ground is expected to be broken this spring for a nursing building, support the consultant's findings and questioned the need for a second nursing school.
"It's extremely expensive to create a new program," said Angie Fawson, a nursing faculty member at Riverside City College and former department chairwoman. "Especially with these economic times, I'm thinking 'Where is the thought process here?' "
Many Moreno Valley city and campus leaders disagree with the consultant's recommendation. They said new development would reduce the cost and add more opportunities for hospital training. They also said the school fits into city plans to create a medical corridor around Riverside County Regional Medical Center.
"If we can get this nursing school running in the next three to five years, it will connect all the dots," said Jamil Dada, chairman of the Moreno Valley Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Allied Health Sciences Advisory Council, a regional group that voted Wednesday to support creating the nursing school.
Riverside Faculty Oppose
The Riverside Community College District consists of campuses in Riverside, Moreno Valley and Norco. The Riverside campus, known as Riverside City College, has had a nursing school since 1952.
The Moreno Valley campus opened in 1991. It's known as the health science campus because it has about 14 medical-related programs, including those for dental hygienists, physician assistants and paramedics.
The nursing school building at Riverside City College, expected to be completed in 2012, will triple the schools' square footage, said Sandra Baker, dean of the School of Nursing.
About 500 students are enrolled in the nursing program, Baker said. The new building will allow for an additional 150 to 200 students, she said.
Baker said Moreno Valley campus and city leaders raised valid points for adding a second nursing school, but that she supports the consultant's findings because the school is already struggling to find sites for hands-on medical training for its students and a new nursing school would be costly.
"It seems like it wouldn't be the best use of taxpayers dollars to have a second nursing program in Moreno Valley," Baker said.
Moreno Valley Support
Proponents of the Moreno Valley nursing school said recent developments make it more feasible.
Monte Perez, president of the Moreno Valley campus, said he received letters last week from hospitals in Corona and Murrieta that stated they would provide placement for students.
In response to the consultant's report, he said the Moreno Valley campus plans to prepare its own report for the December board meeting.
Bonnie Flickinger, a Moreno Valley city councilwoman and chairwoman of the Allied Health Sciences Advisory Council, said the cost for the Moreno Valley nursing school would be reduced because a developer has agreed to build a health sciences center and lease it to the college.
The center would be at Riverside County Regional Medical Center and house nine other health science programs, she said.
Flickinger said the nursing school is a "perfect fit" for Moreno Valley because of existing and planned facilities.
Kaiser Permanente purchased financially struggling Moreno Valley Community Hospital in June. March Healthcare Development has plans to open a 3.6 million-square-foot medical complex at March Joint Powers Authority Property adjacent to Moreno Valley. UC Riverside plans to open a medical school in 2012.
Two district board members also said they support a nursing school in Moreno Valley, but both are undecided on the best time to add the school.
Mary Figueroa, board president, said the nursing school in Moreno Valley is "something that needs to happen." Janet Green, a board member, said she's not against adding a second nursing school and that it needs to be done "sooner or later."
Reach Sean Nealon at 951-368-9458 or snealon@PE.com source
Men in the nursing field have a promising future.
A man chosen nursing as his life’s work
everyone in the hospital loves male nurses. |
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| The South Suburban College Nursing Program will be hosting an Open House for the college’s new Simulation Nursing Lab
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The South Suburban College Nursing Program will be hosting an Open House for the college’s new Simulation Nursing Lab on Monday, Nov. 24 from 10 am - 2 pm. The new Simulation Lab is located in Room 4228 on the main campus in South Holland. The Open House will feature SSC’s new family of high-tech simulation mannequins: Hal, Noelle and her baby. Special Simulation demonstrations will be held at 10:30 a.m. with adult Hal, followed by the birth of Noelle’s baby at 12 pm, and lastly five-year old Hal at 1 pm. Come and see how the SSC Nursing Program can simulate real life medical events. The event is open to the public and light refreshments will be served.
SSC offers an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program that prepares nursing graduates to take the National Council of Licensure Examination (NCLEX), which qualifies the graduates to become a Registered Nurse. The curriculum provides students with basic knowledge of nursing theory and practice and enhances the critical thinking skills of nursing graduates to meet the demands of today's complex healthcare environment. The ADN Program at SSC is accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) through 2012 and is approved by the State of Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulations (IDFPR).
The Practical Nursing program provides students with basic knowledge of nursing theory and practice. It prepares nursing graduates to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN). The PN program at SSC is also accredited by the NLNAC and approved by the IDFPR.
SSC has experienced a resurgence of interest in nursing in response to a current nursing shortage. The shortage can be attributed to several reasons including population growth, an increase in job opportunities for women, and an aging workforce. These issues continue while the majority of nurses are retiring and healthcare opportunities are expanding. Therefore, the nursing professions have already seen significant salary increases and in many cases, sign-on bonuses.
In addition to the RN and LPN options, SSC offers a Nurse Assistant Training program that is approved by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). It prepares the student to assist RNs and LPNs as an integral member of the health care team in a variety of health care settings. Students learn the twenty-one basic skills in nursing which include, but are not limited to, how to transfer, position, dress, ambulate residents in nursing homes, and how to perform range-of-motion exercises. They also learn how to care for cognitively impaired residents (those who have problems with thinking and memory). Upon successful completion of the program the individual is eligible to take the State of Illinois Nursing Assistant Competency Examination which certifies them to work as Nursing Assistants in the State of Illinois.
South Suburban College is located at 15800 S. State St., South Holland. For more information about the Nursing Program, contact Marjorie Roache at 708-596-2000 ext. 2550.source
Male nurse’s decision to become a nurse and to remain a nurse
1men’s rights in nursing are human rights
-2the right of men in nursing to freely imagine their identity is suppressed |
| posted by blogger @ 08:53
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| students in the nurse anesthesia program use simulation labs as well but focus more on training
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Students in Harris College of Nursing have more room to practice their technique thanks to the expansion of simulation labs and additional simulation manikins.
Mary Beth Walker, assistant director of simulation lab, said the Harris College has divided the simulation labs in order for nursing anesthesia students and undergraduate nursing students to have their own practice areas.
"A simulation manikin has working parts that will respond to a student's response to an underlying problem or a set of vital signs," Walker said.
Terri Jones, clinical assistant professor of nurse anesthesia, said students in the nurse anesthesia program use simulation labs as well but focus more on training.
The nurse anesthesia program is different from the nursing undergraduate program in that nurse anesthesia students have all had prior experience or training as a nurse, Jones said.
According to the page for the university's school of nurse anesthesia, the program is an advanced program for professional nurses who are working toward a graduate degree.
"We use similar tools as the undergraduate but it's a different model of training," Jones said.
Students in the nurse anesthesia program work on patients through simulation before working in a clinical environment, Jones said. Nurse anesthesia students work on more critical-care scenarios, Jones said.
"Once the students work in a clinical environment they are brought back to the simulation labs to identify areas in which they need extra work," Jones said.
The nurse anesthesia labs have had upgrades, including the addition of audiovisual equipment and two simulation manikins, Jones said.
Walker said before the expansion, students were not only sharing space but simulation manikins as well. In addition to the expansion of the simulation labs, new simulation manikins have been acquired, Walker said. One simulation manikin in particular emulates the birthing process, Walker said.
According to the Laerdal Web site, a manufacturer of simulation manikins, simulation manikins and babies cost roughly $27,000 each. The nursing and nurse anesthesia labs have simulation manikins from Laerdal and another simulation manikin manufacturer, Meti, Walker said.
The models used by nursing students in Harris College cost more than $27,000 because of the additional accessories needed for training, Jones said. The manikins are funded through nursing student tuition, Jones said.
"The nursing graduate students need to work on the simulation manikins as part of their in-depth training, which is why it's part of their tuition cost," Jones said.
According to the Laerdal Web site, simulation manikins by Laerdal can be ordered with attachments for wound training and other trauma related injuries.
The simulation manikins are life-size and have the ability to breathe, blink and speak with the use of a microphone attached inside the simulator, Walker said. The simulators can be programmed to generate the symptoms of an overdose, pneumonia and other medical conditions based on the scenarios, Walker said.
"In the simulation labs the scenarios range from a patient who comes in with a drug overdose, or a victim of a motor vehicle accident," Walker said. "It helps for students who have never seen a birth before, or have never seen a movie of a birth before."
Students in Harris College use the simulation labs in conjunction with their classes, Walker said. During the simulation labs students not only practice their technical skills but also work on their communication skills, Walker said.
Ashley Franklin, faculty associate of the simulation labs, said the experience in the practice rooms gives students an opportunity to use what they learn.
"It's a great chance to offer patient safety and apply principles of didactic courses," Franklin said.
Junior nursing major Melissa Greany said students appreciate the expansion and improvements.
"It's better now that we don't have to share space with everyone," Greany said. "There's more room to learn."source
men could be effective nurses
sexual identity, ethnicity in male nursing students
Army Practical Nurse course, Texas |
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| A FIVE-STRONG team of Scots medical TV stars
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| Wednesday
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A FIVE-STRONG team of Scots medical TV stars are off to a tiny Carribbean island to help save some of the world’s poorest children.
The health team - who are currently appearing on ITV’s Amazon Hope - are to travel to the poverty-stricken La Gonave Island, off the coast of Haiti.
Representing the Fife-based charity, The Vine Church, the modern day Angels will help to immunize up to 1000 of the island’s children from killer diseases such as typhoid and Hepatitis B during their 14-day visit.
The two doctors, Alison Dunn and Fiona Seaman, and the three nurses, Elaine Stark, Lou Davidson and Carol Hatton, have now started a fund-raising campaign ahead of their mercy trip next May.
The medics, who all work at various surgeries in Fife, starred on last year’s Amazon Hope programme, which followed the exploits of a Scottish charity setting up a health service for over 100,000 people in Peru.
Nurse Elaine Stark has revealed the plight of the poor villagers during that trip convinced her to repeat the life-saving expedition without hesitation.
She said: “Although some of the sights on the Amazon trip were pretty horrible, it has only inspired me to do more.
“The sight of these poor people benefitting from our intervention is quite uplifting, and hopefully we can really do some good when we go out to Lagonave.
“We are not quite sure what to expect interms of safety and hygiene, but whatever hardships we have to face I’m sure it will be nothing like what the islanders have to put up with on a daily basis.”
Considered one of the world’s poorest countries, the Haitian-owned Lagonave Island is rife with typhoid, and is one of the world’s most water scarce locations.
Residents on the western side of the island are known to walk up to ten miles per day to collect clean water.
While there, the Scots will have to contend with a lack of clean drinking water, risk of infection and a lack of basic foods.
To combat the health risks the Scots team is taking their own food and chef with them, and has arranged to have bottled water shipped in from the mainland.
They will undergo an arduous 36 hour journey involving four plane trips and a 2 hour bus jaunt just to reach their destination.
Justin Dowds, from the Vine Church charity, is overjoyed the medical team is willing to travel halfway around the world to help some of the world’s poorest children.
The former pharmacist is also joining the medics on their life-saving trip when they fly out in May.
He said: “Although it is a quite a dangerous place these nurses and doctors deserve all the plaudits for agreeing to the trip.
“We hope to immunise up to 1000 kids and also give them a full health check when we are in Lagonave, and the charity is also involved in the building of roads and water wells for the local population.
“Up to 40 per cent of the island’s children has contracted typhoid, and combined with no sanitation and hardly any clean drinking water it clearly illustrates how bad the situation actually is out there.
“We are also hoping to start building a hospital when we are there, as the current facilities are pretty basic.
And Fife MP Willie Rennie believes the mercy team deserves immense credit for risking their lives in the pursuit of helping others.
He said: “In this country nurses are cherished and saluted for the valuable care and support they provide to their patients. In so many other countries, like Haiti, people can only dream of this.
“In a small but significant way these nurses are helping to make these dreams come true.
“This valuable work will help to improve their lives. Nurses, thank you.”
In total the trip will cost around £40,000 to finance the medical supplies, with the nurses and doctors agreeing to pay for their own flights.source
Foreign-Trained Nurse-Learn how to work as a nurse in the United States |
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| why exactly New Brunswick is facing a shortage of nurses and what can be done about it
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It is perhaps time for Minister of Health Mike Murphy to establish a task force or some other mechanism to examine why exactly New Brunswick is facing a shortage of nurses and what can be done about it, otherwise the province is likely to face a crisis in nursing care in about 10 years, a time at which it is estimated as many as half our existing nurses will have retired.
Some reasons for the nursing shortage are obvious: we are not graduating enough new nurses to meet the demand; many nurses are leaving for greener pastures (even if our rate of such loss lower than most provinces, it is still at 16 per cent of all nursing graduates leaving). And there is no question many nurses have left and others will be leaving the profession because of burnout, being exhausted by excessive overtime, long hours and no relief in sight.
It may be true that many new nursing graduates have many opportunities in this province, yet to state they should be prepared to take casual positions or temporary full-time positions when other jurisdictions are offering better pay, benefits and full-time positions from the start only highlights the problem here.
As well, there are other less obvious issues contributing to the shortage of nurses. The nurses union, for example, years ago pushed for and obtained a requirement for full-degree nurses, a move that effectively killed a highly successful two-year nursing diploma program that graduated many of the perfectly capable nurses still working today. In other words, both the cost and time it takes to become a nurse were artificially increased. We should re-examine these decisions.
Nurses are a crucial component of effective health care delivery and the people who enter the profession are for the most part caring, conscientious and hard working.
We need not only a system that makes entry into the profession easier, but one that also makes the workload more manageable and the cost to the system and taxpayers less onerous. Mr. Murphy needs to find every way he possibly can to do so.source
Travel nurse job-Travel nurse salary |
| posted by blogger @ 20:17
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| there is a current job opening for 2,000 Muslim nurses in Saudi Arabian hospitals.
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The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) disclosed that there is a current job opening for 2,000 Muslim nurses in Saudi Arabian hospitals.
Datu Aladdin Ampatuan, OIC regional administrator, POEA-ARMM told the Philippine Information Agency that aside from the 2,000 Muslim nurses needed in Medina and Mecca, Saudi Arabia, there is an unlimited job opening for both Muslim and Christian nurses in the Middle East.
There is also a demand for semi-skilled workers like merchandisers and stockers, he added.
He said POEA-ARMM was instrumental in facilitating in sending 200 workers as merchandisers and stockers to the Middle East in 2006.
The POEA-ARMM head also said that the problem in recruitment here is the lack of skilled applicants like engineers and other construction workers.
He has proposed to ARMM-Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to intensify skills trainings for our workers to be at par with other countries vying for jobs.
There is a stiff competition so there is a dire need to upgrade the skills of our workers to tilt the openings in our favor, Ampatuan stressed.
In the same interview, Ampatuan revealed that a total of 10,876 clients were assisted by POEA-ARMM from October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2008.
POEA-ARMM has facilitated overseas employment, registration of migrant workers, assistance to victims of illegal recruitment and assistance to recruitment agencies.
In addition, he said, his office was able to evaluate and process 4,896 overseas employment certificates. source
Dental Assistants Training
Dental assistants earnings
Dental assistants main duties
Medical Careers Salary Best Medical Careers Top Medical Jobs |
| posted by blogger @ 16:14
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| Retired Nurses
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Most of them long ago put away the comfortable shoes they wore while nursing a career in tender loving care, but none of them has lost the light that led them to their occupations.
Members of the fledgling Madison County Retired Nurses group today share the kind of camaraderie that reminds them of the pledge they made at the beginning of their work lives.
"I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession. ..... With loyalty will I endeavor to aid the physician in his work and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care," reads a part of the Nightingale Pledge, a traditional part of nurse pinning ceremonies.
Even in retirement, nurses share a common bond, and the recently formed Madison County group is looking for potential members who feel the same.
The group was formed two years ago but is still picking up steam.
"There are more retired nurses out there than we've gotten in touch with," said Starkey Sloan of Alton, the president of the chapter.
The group meets from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. the second Wednesday of every month at the Senior Services Plus building, 2603 N. Rodgers Ave., Alton.
The unit emerged as part of an effort by nurse Margaret Miller of Waterloo, who was trying to organize retired nurses across the state as part of her membership in the Illinois Retired Nurses Association.
Sloan and others from this area went to one of those meetings and a chapter was born.
"I thought I was going out for a meal, and I came home elected as president," Sloan said.
The meetings are a mix of socializing and education. Often the group will bring in outside speakers to talk on a variety of subjects. Sometimes members themselves will make a presentation.
"Yesterday, we talked about depression and the things we can do to help family members or ourselves," Sloan said.
Member Janet Blair chairs the education presentations. At the next meeting, the group is expected to play host to Jane Brucker, a nurse who has organized nursing programs with American Indians in New Mexico.
Other key officers include: Nita Neunaber, secretary; Marie Klader, treasurer; and historian Ellie Flick. All three women are of Wood River.
All of the members come from backgrounds that are as diverse as nursing itself. Sloan, for example, graduated from nursing school at Alton Memorial Hospital and worked labor and delivery there. She then went to Greenville Hospital after it opened, branched into surgical nursing and made it up to nursing director. Later she was administrator at Eunice Smith Nursing Home in Alton before retiring in 1999.
The only requirement for membership in the group is being a nurse, working very little or not at all. Dues are $5 a year.
Advances in medicine and the growth of nursing schools in the area have done much to change the profession locally. Retired nurses, however, hope those advances don't somehow supercede personal care, which they feel should remain a hallmark of the profession.
"Things have gotten so technical, we as older nurses worry that (today's nurses) aren't getting to the bedside the way that they should," Sloan said. "You can spend more time looking at a fetal monitor than you do the patient."
Anyone wanting more information about Madison County Retired Nurses is invited to show up at a meeting or to call Sloan at (618) 474-4009.source
Dental Assistants Training
Dental assistants earnings
Dental assistants main duties
Medical Careers Salary Best Medical Careers Top Medical Jobs |
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| the idea of street nurses
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HELPING the nation to live a healthier lifestyle is no easy task, but NHS nurses are now taking to the streets in an effort to get the message across.
An innovative project launched by NHS Ayrshire and Arran has seen nurses in fluorescent jackets offering health advice to passers-by in streets and shopping centres .
The team take blood pressure and measure waistlines before offering advice on everything from type-two diabetes to some forms of cancer.
Public health nurse Jackie Reid is involved in the new strategy which it's hoped will help those who might not otherwise seek advice.
She said: "We started off running health MoT clinics by going out into community clinics to give advice.
"That worked to an extent, but we realised we weren't getting enough men through the door and then the idea of street nurses was raised.
"It was light-hearted at first with us wearing luminous jackets and talking to people so that we could get ourselves known.
"But we quickly got people coming up to us and asking us questions about what it was all about and it became a good way of promoting what we were doing.
"We would offer to take people's blood pressure and measure their waists as you can't do anything more that quickly, but you can then make a rapid assessment and identify any health issues that might exist.
"Once you've done that you can offer advice on where they can go for afollow-up at a later date.
"We're trying to engage with people who don't use mainstream health services, such as going to their GP for whatever reason.
"That could be anything from work patterns to depression to simply believing that their doctor won't be able to do anything to help them."
But Jackie admits it's not an easy task. With many people being defensive about their weight, some people won't take kindly to being approached in the street.
She explained: "It's not a case of blaming people for being overweight.
We know there are lots of reasons for people being overweight and it's not helpful simply to blame people.
"As nurses we have good interpersonal skills so we'll catch someone's eye, go over and introduce ourselves.
Some people will say they're too busy and walk on while others will stop and be keen to find out more.
"We'll tell them about the health assessments we're offering, we'll take their blood pressure and we'll ask if they'd like their waist measured.
"But we'll also talk to them about where their risk factors lie and also their family history, particularly in relation to blood pressure.
"If there is a history of high blood pressure, strokes or heart disease we may refer them back to their GP.
"And if the person is a smoker then we may talk to them about their habit, if they've ever stopped before and what help is available."
But it's not just medical issues the street nurse team are dealing with.
Keen to promote a healthy lifestyle, they're also talking to people about what they eat and how active they are.
Jackie said: "People might also tell us that they don't get enough exercise or that their diet could be better.
"We all know we should be eating five portions of fruit and veg a day, but few of us actually do it. We can offer people advice about changing their diets and how to think outside the box when it comes to meals.
"We could talk about trying fruit smoothies through to eating tinned fruit, and issues such as budgeting and menu planning.
"All of these things are useful to get men in particular talking about their health, as quite often, they don't."
Jackie says it has been a success with passers-by often keen to talk.
She said: "People have been very positive, and quite a lot of the time, people can be happy just to have someone to talk to about these things.
"Just by showing an interest and offering some support, you have can agood effect. We are definitely not judging anybody.
"It's about recognising that it can be hard to change your lifestyle, but explaining how changes are possible.
"If you then stay in touch with the people you meet and remember their faces, you can help build up people's confidence about health issues and that can have a positive effect.
"Sometimes we're not telling people anything they don't know already, but they just don't feel able to do anything about it. If you help build up confidence over time, however, you can achieve some changes.
"And a change that for one person might be insignificant might be a big thing for someone else.
"We've already had some really encouraging success and we're hoping that will continue." source
Certified Anesthesia Technician (Cer.A.T.)
Anesthesia Technician
Certified Anesthesia Technologist
Top Medical Jobs |
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| It isn't just nurses and doctors who are in demand..
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Heidi Sadowsky traded in her Wall Street power suit for the green scrubs of a nursing career.
Heidi Sadowsky went to work on Wall Street for the job security. No kidding.
"If you wanted a stable career - and one where you could make a lot of money - that was Wall Street," she said.
LOOKING FOR JOBS IN TODAY'S ECONOMY
These days, Wall Street is more of a dead end for job seekers, and Sadowsky, 40, has traded in her power suits for the green scrubs of a hospital nurse.
This time, she thinks she's gotten the job-security thing right.
"People are going to get old and people are going to get sick," she said. "The baby boomers are becoming seniors. Your body wears down no matter how healthy you are."
Health care is a growth industry with endless job prospects for all skill levels. The number of health care jobs in the city will grow 18% to an estimated 425,410 by 2016, the state Labor Department predicts. That means a hefty 11,710 job openings each year.
"Health care jobs grow in good times and bad times," Labor Department analyst Jeff Weissenstein said.
It isn't just nurses and doctors who are in demand.
Hospitals, clinics and nursing homes have lots of other openings - from entry-level jobs like orderly to tech-savvy positions like mammographer, MRI technician, and CAT-scan technician.
These employers even need experienced secretaries, accountants, maintenance workers and cooks.
A union that represents 200,000 health care workers in the city, 1199 SEIU, runs an employment service that can match them with jobs, said Deborah King, a union official.
The job with the biggest number of openings - 4,070 a year, the Labor Department says - is home health aide. The pay is low, averaging around $20,000 a year, but it can be a stepping stone to more lucrative work.
"They're in what we call a career pipeline," said Francine Delgado, a vice president at Seedco, a nonprofit that helps find jobs for hard-to-employ people like welfare recipients, recent immigrants and ex-cons.
Home health aides must get training to move up the ladder to jobs as nursing aides, licensed practical nurses and registered nurses. If they belong to 1199 SEIU, the union will pay their tuition.
Being a home health aide is hard work and requires patience and a caring attitude.
"It's almost like a ministry - you're serving people," said Richard Holley of Allen Health Care Services.
Demand is also growing for medical assistants and dental assistants, Weissenstein said. In New York City, people with these jobs make more than $30,000 a year on average.
And there's big demand for registered nurses - 2,080 job openings each year. Nurses are paid well - more than $80,000 a year on average in New York City - but their work is rigorous and requires compassion as well as stamina.
"Nursing is a 12-hour day like on Wall Street - but you're on your feet," said Sadowsky, who started work in September as an intensive-care unit nurse at NYU Medical Center. "It's very physical."
Before her career switch, the upper East Side resident worked at Citibank, Invesco and finally spent 10 months as a sales and client rep at a fund that invests in hedge funds. She dropped that to enroll in a 15-month accelerated degree program at NYU College of Nursing.
Sadowsky, whose new career choice was inspired by the life-saving care nurses gave her dad after open-heart surgery, is making half the salary she did as a banker - but that's more than enough for her needs.
"Everybody's cutting back these days," she said. "I don't go out much - but neither does anybody else."source
Anesthesia Technologist Training Anesthesia Tech Job and Salary |
| posted by blogger @ 04:04
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| A new certification program between the MU College of Education and School of Nursing aims to improve the state of child psychiatry by training nurses
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| Tuesday
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If you live in the United States and your child develops a mental illness, finding an adolescent psychiatrist may be difficult.
A 2006 report by the American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry estimated that of the approximately 13.7 million children needing treatment, less than 20 percent actually receive it. While barriers in insurance coverage and the stigma associated with mental illness are seen as factors for the inadequate amount of treatment, many within the field cite the lack of providers as the primary cause.
A new certification program between the MU College of Education and School of Nursing aims to improve the state of child psychiatry by training nurses, teachers and other education providers in adolescent mental health.
The goal is that by training more professionals in the field, the burden of care will not be solely on psychiatrists. In smaller cities, such as Columbia, finding a child psychiatrist can be especially difficult.
“There’s not proper geographic distribution. The majority of psychiatrists provide care in metro areas. Very few go into rural areas,” child psychiatrist Syed Arshad Husain said.
“The pay for psychiatrists in Boone County is a lot lower than it is nationwide. Attracting capable people is getting to be almost impossible,” Jerry Olson, co-chair of the Boone County Mental Health Board, said.
Husain states that there simply aren’t enough psychiatrists going into the field.
“Child psychiatry is too long a program. It’s very costly to become a psychiatrist and people don’t want to prolong their training,” Husain said.
A 1990 report from the Council on Graduate Medical Education said there would be a need for more than 30,000 adolescent psychiatrists. The 2006 report from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry said there are about 7,000 adolescent psychiatrists practicing today.
Laine Young-Walker, associate medical director for the Missouri Department of Mental Health, believes the problem is that there simply aren’t enough child psychiatry programs available. There are currently 122 adolescent psychiatry programs in the U.S., and according to the American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, only 300 adolescent psychiatrists complete training each year.
Young-Walker said there has been some discussion nationwide about training primary care physicians and pediatricians in psychiatry.
While the professionals trained in the MU College of Education and School of Nursing's new certification program will not replace psychiatrists, they could help alleviate problems in smaller communities where primary care physicians are often the only ones available to provide psychiatric care. The program will begin in January, with funding coming from a $370,000 grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Jim Koller, founder and co-director of the MU Center for the Advancement of Mental Health Practices in Schools, says this will allow for a more proactive approach to mental health care.
“The wait-to-fail model we’ve been using in the U.S. isn’t going to work,” Koller said. “The training for teachers will show them how to recognize early signs of mental illness and how to nourish good mental health.”
Olsen believes detecting mental illness early is key, “because if nothing's done they’ll probably end up on the streets or in jail.”
Koller also emphasized the importance of training school nurses, coaches and other employees. The center hosted workshop institutes around mid-Missouri over the summer, offering courses in mental health to families and school employees.
“If a kid's going to commit suicide, is he going to go tell the counselor? No, probably not. He’s going to go tell the coach or the cafeteria worker who gives them a little extra ice cream at lunch,” Koller said.
The nursing program will be the addition of courses dealing with mental health assessment and treatment options for children to the already existing adult mental health nurse practitioner program. The program will also be offered online.
“People who are in the program don’t have to leave their community to get their education. So they’re staying in rural areas, and when they graduate they’ll be able to continue in their communities with improved skills,” said Jane Bostick, associate professor of nursing at MU.
Koller said that one of the goals of partnering the two schools is getting the various professions to work together.
“Right now everyone’s kind of in silos. We need people to better understand each other’s roles and reach across,” Koller said.source
The specific needs of male nursing students
Male nurses have a better chance of getting into the nursing program
Increase in male nurses
being a male nurse can bring awkward moments |
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| Emmanuel College's 11-month accelerated LVN Program.
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The first group of 20 locally-educated and trained vocational nurses inched closer to a career in the healthcare sector after completing Emmanuel College's 11-month accelerated LVN Program.
The students were conferred their certificates of completion during a two-part program that combined the traditional pinning ceremony for nurses and the graduation ceremony at the Hibiscus Hall of Fiesta Resort & Spa on Nov. 15, 2008.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial delivered the keynote message.
“You are now on your way to a satisfying career serving others. You are now ready to live up to the theme of this program: 'Nursing: Caring, Compassion & Commitment.' Your skills are in very high demand, both here and abroad, and especially in the United States,” Fitial told the graduates.
Touted as one of the most financially rewarding professions in the world today, nursing does not only offer an immense employment opportunity but also presents exceptional financial and professional advantages.
The average licensed nurse in the U.S. earns between $43,370 and $63,360 a year-some even earn as much as $71,000 to $113,000 a year. The majority of nursing jobs come with good benefits as well. Also, in an effort to attract and retain more nurses, many employers offer bonuses, as well as family-friendly work schedules and subsidized training.
Fitial said Saturday night's event illustrates the potentials for an education industry in the Northern Marianas. “The college shows that the islands can have a viable education industry. We just need to convince federal policymakers to allow us to bring in foreign students, teachers, and investors to put everything together. “
Sedy Demesa, founder and chair of Emmanuel College board of trustees, said the graduation marked many significant beginnings in the graduates' individual lives while putting the CNMI on the global education map.
“Our graduating students are now armed with an American education that integrates the professional content and the humanistic value of the nursing profession. Our graduates will leave Emmanuel College equipped with the skills and technical knowledge grounded on a set of universal human values of kindness, concern and compassion,” Demesa said.
She recalled that they were met with skepticism when they first presented the idea of introducing the abridged vocational nursing program in the Northern Marianas.
“Many thought it was not feasible and was simply unworkable. But we were undeterred by the skepticism because, as there were many who didn't believe it will happen, there were twice as many who rallied behind our efforts to bring American nursing education closer to the people of the CNMI and its neighboring countries in the Asia-Pacific Region,” she added.
Emmanuel College’s Vocational Nursing program is approved and accredited by the CNMI Board of Nursing for a total of 1,564 hours of theory and clinical training for entry-level employment in hospitals and other healthcare settings.
The Vocational Nursing Program is completed in 11 months after which a graduate can take the state or national licensure examination. A Licensed Vocational Nurse may also be called a Licensed Practical Nurse. An LVN can work in a hospital, long-term care facility, convalescent home, doctor’s office or surgical center, providing many of the same services also performed by Registered Nurses.
LVNs can specialize in a field of medicine that is most interesting to them. LVNs are in very high demand in long-term care facilities or nursing homes, and are frequently paid more for taking these positions, so those who specialize in geriatrics find employment easily.
Graduates of Emmanuel College’s LVN Program may either obtain employment immediately after passing the NCLEX or pursue their RN degree or both. (PR)source
'I didn't know there were guys in nursing"
Army Nurses
Male nursing students -Male-friendly" nursing school |
| posted by blogger @ 20:08
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| the bachelor of nursing program offered by East Central University
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Ardmore Higher Education Center (AHEC) announces 17 students will join the quickly-growing bachelor of nursing program in January 2009. The first post-secondary academic program in the Center’s 34-year history to be fully Ardmore-based, the bachelor of nursing program offered by East Central University was launched this January with an inaugural class of ten students.
“As southern Oklahoma continues to grow, so does the need for well-trained, professional nurses. We are so pleased to announce the addition of 17 new students to our program and look forward to admitting even larger classes in the future,” said ECU’s Bachelor of Nursing Program Coordinator, Dr. Peggy Hart.
Located in facilities at 617 W. Broadway, the ECU bachelor of nursing program was started in Ardmore to help offset the state’s projected nursing shortage. When fully implemented, the program will have up to 72 students enrolled in nursing classes, with an additional 150 pre-nursing students taking prerequisite classes at AHEC.
“The response to this program has been incredible. In just over a year we’ve seen two new classes of nursing students admitted. The accelerated efforts of the university and the hospital to ramp up this program will provide some needed relief to the nursing shortage we are experiencing in our community,” said AHEC CEO Dr. Steven Mills, “However, to address this health care crisis adequately, we need to build a facility that will provide a permanent home for this nursing program and other post-secondary health and science programs so we can continue to expand health care education to meet the needs and demands of southern Oklahomans.”
With local support from Mercy Memorial Health Center and the Southern Oklahoma Memorial Foundation, ECU has employed a full-time coordinator, a full-time clinical instructor, and full-time secretary in Ardmore. Using state-of-the-art technology, the program’s current location includes two multimedia classrooms, large laboratory area, offices for three faculty and receptionist. source
About 6 percent of nurses today are male
Male nurses continue to tell stories about unfair treatment
Being a male RN in a female-dominated field can be rewarding |
| posted by blogger @ 12:00
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| the new psychiatric nursing program offered at SIAST
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For many of the 30 students enrolled in the new psychiatric nursing program offered at SIAST, it's an honour to be chosen to take part in a training opportunity that has not been available in the province for the past 10 years.
"There was a lot of competition to get in. On the first day they started taking applications at 8:30 (a.m.), I think I got here at 6:30," said Stacey Gedak, 23.
Gedak, who has almost completed a degree in psychology, was not looking forward to having to leave the province in order to take psychiatric nurse training. Still, she was willing to do whatever it took to follow the dream she'd held all of her life.
"I was going to have to finish my degree and then have to go to Alberta to continue. Now I can stay at home, and that's great," she said.
Finding out that the program was being offered in the province meant making big changes for some of the students who are enrolled in the program.
Kristan Oborowski, 27, was happy in her job as a banking specialist, when she heard about the new opportunity.
"Psychiatric nursing has always been an interest of mine and when I heard this was going to be offered in the province, I applied and eventually I managed to get up the nerve to quit my job and start on a whole new pathway," Oborowski explained.
Originally from North Battleford, Oborowski admitted that as a child she and friends would go to the city's Psychiatric Hospital to scare themselves and is aware of the stigma around her chosen field of study.
"It has been stigmatized and it is viewed as a very scary field of study or work. It's because people are afraid of what they don't understand, and mental illness is something that people just don't talk about," Oborowski said.
As a result, rather than just helping the individual directly affected, the new trainees are learning to close the gap by educating families, friends and communities about mental illness.
"You can't just single out the individual. You have to help those around them to figure out how they can provide support. Our students are taking a more holistic approach. So they are receiving the same medical training, but also counselling, addictions, geriatrics, anatomy, forensics and other courses designed to allow for a well-rounded view," said program head Sue Myers.
Myers believes the first 30 graduates of the 2 1/2-year program are going to fill in large gaps in mental health services in the province.
"For the last 10 years there hasn't been enough graduates from the Nursing Education Program of Saskatchewan to meet the demand on mental health care. We are about helping people to get well enough to help themselves," she added.
Adam Pearson, 23, said he was surprised to find only one other male enrolled in the program.
"At first it caught me off guard but now it doesn't bother me. I don't even notice anymore. We are all just students. Sex doesn't even play a part," he explained.
In fact, he said he chose to apply because of the inspiration of an uncle who works in the field.
"My uncle graduated from the course when it was still offered in 1989. I always looked up to him. I would have been doing this since I graduated from high school but it wasn't offered then," he said.
While Pearson left his job as a systems analyst with City of Saskatoon to become a nursing student, he feels honoured to be a part of the program.
"Now that we are here, we see the passion of our instructors and it makes the students feel like we have become part of something truly special," he said.source
Men in the nursing field have a promising future.
A man chosen nursing as his life’s work everyone in the hospital loves male nurses.
Male nurse’s decision to become a nurse and to remain a nurse 1 |
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| This full fledged training college for nurses in the Ampara Hospital
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The new Nurses Training School in Ampara constructed by the Red Cross was handed over in last week.
This full fledged training college for nurses in the Ampara Hospital compound is one of the 77 health infrastructure development projects initiated by the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society with the collaboration with the Ministry of Health under the tsunami recovery programme. This project was funded by the Norwegian Red Cross and Danish Red Cross Societies.
This impressive 3-storey building complex is now the largest training school for nurses in Sri Lanka consisting of an academic block with classrooms, an auditorium that seats 300, a separate administration block, a canteen and recreation area as well as 3 accommodation blocks which house 300 nurses and 2 accommodation blocks for single and married teaching staff.
The benefits of a training college in a district that has gone through conflict and the worst natural disaster Sri Lanka has ever experienced are evident. The increase in qualified nursing staff will address the substantial shortage of nurses faced not only in the district, but island wide as specialized training is vital for improving healthcare amongst the rural communities living in the area and this training centre will enable the nurses, once qualified, to work anywhere in Sri Lanka.
Minister of Plan Implementation P Dayarathne was the chief guest.
Addressing the opening ceremony via satellite Minister of Health Protection and Nutrition Promotion Nimal Siripala de Silva expressing his gratitude to the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society and Danish Red Cross and Norwegian Red Cross said that the programmes of Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in Sri Lanka has great impact on improving health infrastructure and development of human resources in the health sector.
The specific needs of male nursing students
Male nurses have a better chance of getting into the nursing program
Increase in male nurses being a male nurse can bring awkward moments '
Army Nurses |
| posted by blogger @ 23:59
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| communication failures between doctors and nurses are involved in four of every 10 errors
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Working as an airline pilot made Gary Sculli a better nurse by teaching him management and safety techniques that he now shares with nurses and hospital officials nationwide.
Among them are moving away from a dictatorial style in which physicians intimidate nurses and nurses direct nursing assistants without making them feel part of a team in which their concerns matter.
The airline industry, where captains were kings, recognized the danger of that approach through disasters such as the Tenerife collision 31 years ago in which two planes collided after a pilot knowingly took off without clearance, Sculli said.
'Five hundred and eighty-three people died because three people couldn't communicate with each other,' he told 140 nurses Saturday at Winter Haven Hospital's 16th annual Nursing Research Seminar.
In the health field, he said, communication failures between doctors and nurses are involved in four of every 10 errors. He urged nurses to stop communicating with doctors by 'hint and hope' and employ assertive communication.
To do that, he suggested a four-step communication tool:
State the name or position of the person to whom you're talking.
State your concern, for example, 'I'm uncomfortable with this patient's condition.'
Offer an alternative, such as a change in dosage or that the doctor re-evaluate a patient.
Pose a question such as 'Do you agree with this?'
Doctors and nurses who supervise others need to 'invite and expect participation.' They can prime that process by asking strategic questions during the pre-shift briefing, he said, and by telling others on the team: 'If you say something to me and I don't respond, ask it again.'
His talk kicked off a day in which Winter Haven Hospital nurses, with assistance from Florida Southern College nurses, spoke and presented posters on research and evidence-based programs. Topics included hypothermia treatment after cardiac arrest, ways of overcoming pain after open-heart surgery and how more nurses can be involved in research.
Sculli, a registered nurse with a master's degree in nursing administration, returned to nursing from being a pilot and now works with a national patient safety organization. He also works as a consultant and speaker on nursing procedures and safety.
Other lessons he brought from aviation are 'the sterile cockpit rule,' which prohibits activities and distractions during critical times that could keep crew members from fully concentrating.
Distractions occur routinely for nurses, he said, and can be particularly risky when medications are given.
Admitting patients, which takes an hour or more, occurs at all hours, he said, and can overload nurses to a point they struggle to keep track of other patients and duties. When that occurs, he said, 'Give nurses power to halt admissions temporarily so they can catch up ... If patients are coming in on top of each other, situational awareness becomes low.'
Situational awareness, keeping track of individual patients' needs and those of the whole group, is critical for nurses, Sculli said, adding that he considers it 'harder for a nurse to maintain situational awareness than for a pilot in the cockpit.'
Job opportunities fore nursing assistants
Certified nurse assistant salary in California
Nursing Assistants Skills
Code of Ethics for Nursing Assistants
Nursing assistants-men, women, retirees
CNA Skills |
| posted by blogger @ 20:16
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| She became a registered nurse, but kept baking
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Jeannie Sadrerafi is putting her cookies to the test at The Cookie House bakery in west Belleville.
"Everybody who comes in here leaves with a smile," said Jeannie, 50, as she stacked shortbread turtle cookies on a tray.
The pro makes chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter and sugar cut-out cookies. She also sells cakes by the slice. Her interest in trying new recipes led her to create a cream cheese cookie and a turtle cookie, a shortbread treat topped with caramel and chocolate.
The Cookie House, which opened in late October, also serves salads, sandwiches and soups at lunch time.
"People really like the pastrami," said Jeannie, "and we give large portions."
Jeannie grew up in Oklahoma in a family of bakers. In high school, she took an occupational aptitude test.
"We had to take a standardized test, and I wanted to be a pharmacist. One of the counselors told me, 'Girls don't become pharmacists, but you can be a nurse,'" recalled Jeannie.
She became a registered nurse, but kept baking.
"The test also said I'd be a good baker," she said, laughing.
Jeannie, a nurse at Belleville's Memorial Hospital and divorced mother of four, started baking large batches of cookies for family and friends 14 years ago out of her home. Dr. Mark Feldman, a co-worker, regularly ordered cookies. He was one of several friends who urged her to open a shop. Now, he's her business partner.
In the spring, she found a vacant spot on West Main Street next to Don Rodgers Ltd.
"This was actually a house at one time, and then it was a place that sold windows," said Jeannie.
To keep the cozy feeling, she uses colors with culinary names -- cranberry and warm muffin yellow in the bakery area and green apple and olive for the two small dining rooms.
In a day, Jeannie uses 12 pounds of butter, 25 pounds each of sugar and flour and 10 pounds of cream cheese.
Her helpers include cashier Taylor Kosick, and Annie Wright who make the salads and sandwiches. Friend Stacie Dallas makes soups.
On a recent Friday morning, Donna Dougherty, of Belleville, couldn't wait to get her sugar fix.
"I drive by here every day, and I kept watching and waiting for it to open. It's the third time I've been in here," said Donna, who bought sugar cookies.
Bob Bernicke dropped by to pick up a cookie order for his wife and an oatmeal cookie for himself.
Jeannie is grateful for her abundance of well-wishers, but wouldn't mind getting more sleep.
"I probably had 12 hours of sleep since I opened," she said after the second week.
She's not complaining.
"There's nothing like handing someone a cookie and seeing them smile," said Jeannie.
Those wanting more than two dozen cookies need to place an order. All orders for Christmas cookies are due by Dec. 1.
On the menu:
Cookies (75 cents -$1.50 each, depending on kind and size)
Chocolate chip
Peanut butter
Oatmeal raisin
Cream cheese
Turtle
Cake, $3.25 a slice
Sandwiches ($5.95-$8.95, includes potato, cole slaw and baked beans or chips and an apple)
New York pastrami or corned beef
Gourmet three-cheese grilled cheese on sourdough
Grilled chicken breast on sourdough
Roast beef
Soup ($2.95 per cup and $3.95 per bowl)
Ham and bean
Potato
Salads ($5.95-$9.95)
Annie's Salad (grilled chicken with cranberries, walnuts and feta cheese)
Chicken Caesar salad
Grilled steak salad
At a glance:
Where: 6611 West Main St., Belleville
Hours: 6:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays. Closed Sundays.
What nurse assistants do
Certified nursing assistants in a hospital environment
Certified Nursing Assistant training
Certified Nursing Assistant provides optimal patient care
Certified Nursing Assistant Jobs |
| posted by blogger @ 16:08
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| Assisted-living homes attract relatively mobile clients who don't need a full nursing home
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Jesse Hollingsworth would be proud to be the face of the new elder- care industry.
But first he has to fix the toaster.
As the lone health care aide in charge of eight people in a quiet ranch home in Arvada, Hollingsworth has to be medic, cook, janitor, psychologist and handyman 24 hours a day. A Wildflower Assisted Living employs Hollingsworth, a certified nursing assistant, to be its man on the spot in a home-care setting designed to be far friendlier than your average hospital ward.
Hollingsworth arrives at A Wildflower at 10 a.m. on Thursdays. He's on duty until 10 a.m. Monday. For the clients who smoke a cigarette on the patio, or sit quietly on the couch listening to classical music, or nap in their rooms on a lazy afternoon, Hollings worth is the be-all and end-all of nursing care.
Dialogue with patients can be challenging, disjointed and free-associating, but over time Hollingsworth learns who used to hunt and fish, who likes politics, who thinks too much about food.
"Not just giving them a pill every four hours," he said. "I find that really gratifying. It's more humane. Rather than putting them on an assembly line."
Assisted-living homes like A Wildflower attract relatively mobile clients who don't need a full nursing home and want the companionship of a group situation.
Assisted-living homes can be much cheaper for the state, which funds most elderly or trauma patients needing care through the Medicaid program. The state will pay a nursing home $4,000 to $5,000 a month for each Medicaid client, while A Wildflower takes only $1,800, said owner Nicole Shepherd.
Hollingsworth and other aides get $140 to $160 per 24-hour shift, more if emergencies keep them awake the entire time. Nationwide studies of elder care have shown that staff and patients are happier and healthier when they have regular hours with the same caregiver. Hollingsworth agrees.
"I move in with the folks for four days. The one-on-one contact is very fulfilling," he said.
It can also be terribly draining. Starting from a 5:30 a.m. wake-up, Hollings worth will feed the companion dogs, start breakfast, line up the patients' medications, and then fix that toaster. As clients rise on their own schedule, he helps one man brush his teeth, coaxes another to eat so his meds won't upset his stomach, and talks a female client through a shattering headache.
Shepherd started A Wildflower because she never liked the nursing homes she worked in — they were too regimented, too oblivious to patient desires. She opened a second home as demand rose — nursing-home occupancy is flat, while demand for assisted-living beds is on the rise.
Shepherd will open one more in a converted private home if she can find more employees like Hollings worth.
"It takes a very special person to be away from their family for 24 hours," Shepherd said. "It's not only that the clients tend to rely on us as family, but they tend to become our family because we're away from our own."
CNA salary-Certified nursing assistant salaries by location
Where to find a free CNA training?
What is a Nursing Assistant and Certified Nursing Assistant? |
| posted by blogger @ 12:02
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| nurses are the most commonly injured workers
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THE state's health, law and order and education workers are at greatest risk of being injured, a report shows.
WorkCover statistics in the Department of Premier and Cabinet's annual report show that in the past year, nurses were the most commonly injured workers, comprising 14 per cent of all claims.
This was followed by police officers with 10.3 per cent, primary and secondary teachers (8.6 per cent) and personal care assistants (4.2 per cent).
Ambulance officers were at No. 5, firefighters at No. 6 and prison officers at No. 9.
The statistics follow a report released last month indicating many police officers urgently needed help for psychological distress and a significant number risked illness because of their working environment.
Public Service Association general secretary Jan McMahon said she was not surprised at the statistics because workers in the public sector were dealing with increasing pressures.
"Most public sector jobs are struggling to survive in an under-resourced environment," she said.
"It doesn't matter what the job is, they are dealing with greater pressures as government forces agencies to do more work with less resources. What we are seeing is every agency has been told to find savings. Their workload hasn't gone down, they have to do it with less."
Ms McMahon said the figures did not reflect the true number of workers who were injured.
"We are finding that many people don't even lodge a workers compo claim because it is too difficult," she said. "People now take sick leave or they resign."
The report also shows:
THE majority of claims were for sprains and strains, followed by psychological issues.
TOTAL workers compensation claims expenditure for 2007/08 was $105.8 million, an increase of 16.6 per cent in the past year.
A TOTAL of 4675 new claims were recorded last year compared to 5024 in 2006/07.
THE median age of claimants was 46.7.
A spokeswoman for Industrial Relations Minister Paul Caica said some occupations were subject to above-average pressures and vulnerabilities.
Urology medical assistant-What they do?
Cardiology Medical Assistants ~What they do?
Bilingual Medical Assistant
Medical Assistant translator
Medical Assistant Jobs
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| posted by blogger @ 08:54
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| Indiana is growing in the biotechnology realm with all the pharmaceutical companies
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A common thread connects new degree programs that the University of Southern Indiana is offering or hoping to offer in the near future.
That thread is the perceived need for the degrees, especially on the local level, said Linda Bennett, USI's vice president for academic affairs.
One of the major ways we develop degrees is by listening in the region and to what the region says it needs in terms of developing new academic programs," she said. "One of the most powerful examples is engineering. That was a program that the region said it needed, that employers said they needed. We had tremendous support. That was a major struggle, but we had such tremendous support from the region."
The degree was approved after initial rejection by state officials who were concerned it would compete with programs at Purdue University. USI began offering an engineering program in fall 2002.
Other programs developed to meet community needs were degrees in early childhood education and food and nutrition, Bennett said.
For the first time this fall, USI offered a bachelor's degree in advanced manufacturing and a doctorate in nursing. Approved by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education in December, the nursing program is the first time USI has offered a doctoral degree.
It is aimed at serving nurse practitioners already in the work force.
The advanced manufacturing degree evolved from recommendations of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education when it gave USI permission for its engineering program.
It is designed to support regional work force development and training by providing professional development and training opportunities.
Both programs were also part of the recommendations of the university's 2007 President's Task Force for Workforce and Economic Development report.
The task force, put together by USI President H. Ray Hoops, met in 2000 and 2007 to explore community needs and also communicate what USI already offered, Bennett said.
The first report offered 14 suggestions for degrees.
"I think that responsiveness to regional needs is really something that we do well," Bennett said.
Currently in the pipeline are bachelor's degree programs in criminal justice, biochemistry and environmental sciences and a master's of communication program.
The Indiana Commission for Higher Education approved the criminal justice degree on Friday.
USI officials are planning to offer the major beginning next semester.
In developing the degree, the university cited a 2007 report by the Indiana Workforce Development Agency that concluded job opportunities in criminal justice-related fields will grow 10 percent to 18 percent during the next 10 years.
Scott Gordon, dean of USI's Pott College of Science and Engineering, said he extensively researched the need for majors in biochemistry and environmental science, which he hopes the school can offer next fall.
"I try to look at the projected growth of fields in which these degrees would feed into for the state and our growth region (Southwestern Indiana)," he said.
Both of the potential new degrees are in growing fields, he said.
Gordon said a biochemistry degree would be useful for students interested in pursuing scientific research or medical careers.
"Indiana is growing in the biotechnology realm with all the pharmaceutical companies," he said. "A biochemist is really suited to take any research or science position."
The environmental science degree, if approved, will offer students three areas of emphasis from which they can choose: water resources, environmental science and society, and resource measurement and analysis.
"Environmental science is a growing area. The number of environmental science jobs is supposed to be growing much faster than the average for various other occupations," Gordon said. "The demand for compliance with environmental laws and regulations both by private industry and government agencies is really pushing that ahead. There is a huge need out there for analytical services, environmental consulting, laboratory work."
The degree would be useful for someone considering specializing in environmental law, he said.
Students have been asking for a master's of communication degree at USI for years, said Wayne Rinks, chair of the university's communications department.
The degree also was a recommendation of the president's task force.
"This degree will allow people who are in the work force to sharpen their skills in communication," Rinks said.
The department still is developing the degree but hopes to have it approved and ready for the fall 2010 semester.
Although student interest has been strong, Rinks said he expects a large number of those who enroll already will be in the work force.
It will include a large number of night and online class work to accommodate those students, Rinks said.
Urology medical assistant-What they do?
Cardiology Medical Assistants ~What they do?
Bilingual Medical Assistant
Medical Assistant translator
Medical Assistant Jobs |
| posted by blogger @ 04:49
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| the surgical tech program at Lorenzo Walker Institute of Technology
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| Sunday
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Charles Reid knew his job was disappearing.
Reid, 45, worked for 18 years as a travel agent and said he had “been replaced by a computer.”
Things got so bad, he moved back home with his mother.
“I could see the handwriting on the wall,” he said. “I knew I wanted to do something different. I had to. My job was at a dead end.”
Reid entered the surgical tech program at Lorenzo Walker Institute of Technology. He said it is one of the best decisions he has made.
“I am learning something of value,” he said. “At 45, I have finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up.”
Reid is part of a growing group of people deciding to return to school to either broaden skills or seek a new career. With the national economy struggling, the unemployment rate rising and the downturn in the stock market, many are wondering whether they need to do the same in case they lose their jobs.
Jeanette Johnson, principal of the institute, said student enrollment is up.
“We started to see it with the fall term,” she said. “We have seen it in almost every program. I think there are two (programs) right now that do not have a waiting list.”
Johnson said there are more than 375 people on a waiting list to get into the institute. Of those, 130 students are waiting to get into the day nursing program.
Michele Mongiovi, 55, said she applied to the Licensed Practical Nurse program before the rush.
“I applied late in the season and got into the February program,” she said. “I know there are people who are applying now who are being told there might not be room for them in this February’s program.”
Johnson said the Lorenzo Walker Institute of Technology, which has construction going on just steps away from the students’ classrooms, is upgrading its facilities to increase the capacity of its current programs to meet demand.
Mongiovi, who worked as a medical secretary before coming to Lorenzo Walker, said she decided to make the move to a more stable career.
“The nursing program here was fast and it is going to give me a stable job in this economy,” she said. “The money is there, too. And I can go as far as I want. I can get my LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse), or I can go on and get more education and get my RN (Registered Nurse).”
Computer science student Chuck Jansen, 44, said his program is going to open more doors for him to get a better job.
“I have worked with computers for 20 years, but I didn’t have the certifications to back that knowledge up,” he said. “Knowledge alone doesn’t pay well. I need that piece of paper.”
The students also spoke about the need for real-world experience, something they said they went looking for in a program.
“The community support for our programs is essential,” said Mary Anne Kimsey, 44, a Licensed Practical Nurse student. “They provide us opportunities to observe and perform some of the functions we are going to do when we leave school. That opportunity is invaluable.”
Kimsey, who left the public defender’s office to become a nurse and care for her ailing father, said as a student she spends three days a week doing clinical work at Naples Community Hospital. She said that experience has not only been invaluable to her education, but it has also helped her better understand the treatment her father was getting during a recent hospital stay.
She said the experience has also led her to believe that, at 44, a career change is possible.
“We are the last of the Baby Boom generation,” she said. “We are that first group that realizes that there is no retirement for us.”
Mongiovi said the school wants the students to succeed.
Dolce Lora knows about that. The 18-year-old works at Lorenzo Walker and has completed the accounting and nail specialist certificates. She is currently working to complete a degree as a medical administration specialist.
“They are flexible with my hours so that I can work and go to school,” she said. “It has been wonderful for me.”
Jansen said that desire to succeed from the community and the faculty also raises the bar for the students.
“Everyone here wants to better themselves, their lives. We want to make an impact on another person,” he said.
For some of the younger students at Lorenzo Walker, the program was their ticket to a career.
Stacey Jean, 22, moved from New York to be a student at Lorenzo Walker. The nursing student said part of her decision was financial — the program costs between $2,000 and $2,500 per year for in-state students.
She had left college after two years because her parents could not afford to send her anymore. She was working at a Dave & Buster’s franchise, but realized that the job was not getting her closer to her goal.
When she told her parents of her decision, they were not pleased.
“My dad insisted that I go to a university,” she said. “But I told him that this would get me closer to my goal faster. It’s a good stepping stone.”
Johnson said she is pleased that enrollment is up, although she wishes the economy was better.
“I hope there are jobs there for them,” she said.
Vocational nurse training-Vocational nurse job
Licensed Vocational Nurse Salary in California |
| posted by blogger @ 23:55
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| RNs retained their licenses for years despite serious or repeatedcriminal convictions.
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In March 2006, a Long Beach hospital put state licensing authorities on notice: Two patients had accused a nurse of molesting them on a single night. One said that he massaged her breasts, the other that he groped her under her hospital gown, according to hospital and court records.
By year's end, licensed vocational nurse Carlito Paar Manabat Jr. had pleaded no contest to two counts of sexual battery. He went on to serve six months in jail and register as a sex offender.
Last February, he renewed his license, checking "yes" on the application when asked if he'd been convicted of a crime.
It wasn't until July, more than two years after first being alerted to the problem, that the California Bureau of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians took the first formal steps to revoke or restrict Manabat's license.
Today, with the case pending, Manabat is still free to practice -- though he says he doesn't, on the advice of his probation officer.
A review of the vocational nursing bureau by The Times and ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative newsroom, found many cases similar to Manabat's in which regulators acted belatedly or not at all, even when explicitly told that nurses had committed serious crimes. Some were handed renewals after reporting their own felonies to the bureau.
"Obviously the public isn't protected," said John M. Brion, an assistant clinical professor at the Duke University School of Nursing and former executive director of the Ohio Board of Nursing. "If you have a person who's already been convicted and served their time and they haven't even been charged by the board . . . I would really question what's wrong with their system."
In an interview, Manabat denied molesting his patients, saying they must have been hallucinating. He didn't fight the charges, he said, fearing a lengthy prison sentence.
The findings expand upon a Times report last month that examined the bureau's sister agency, the Board of Registered Nursing, and cited dozens of examples in which RNs retained their licenses for years despite serious or repeated criminal convictions.
Problems with the two agencies, both overseen by the state Department of Consumer Affairs, may signal a broader breakdown in the regulation of health professions. The department presides over more than 30 professional boards and bureaus, with varying and sometimes inconsistent approaches to screening for criminal offenses.
"The fear is that there's any vulnerability in the consumer protection we're offering," said Carrie Lopez, the department's director.
In general, Lopez said, she does not believe it is acceptable to take two years for regulators to file a formal complaint against a convicted sex offender. "We want to see action taken as soon as possible," she said.
The best way to do that, Lopez said, is to require all applicants for professional licenses to provide their fingerprints, allowing law enforcement to notify regulators of any arrests. The vocational nursing bureau has usable fingerprints from fewer than half of its 79,000 licensees because fingerprinting has been an on-again-off-again requirement since 1952.
The Times previously reported that more than 40% of the state's 344,000 registered nurses had no fingerprints on record because they were not required before 1990. After the story ran, the Board of Registered Nursing voted to require fingerprinting for all its licensees.
Registered and vocational nurses account for the bulk of bedside care in hospitals, nursing homes and other health facilities. Registered nurses have more training and assume primary responsibility for fulfilling doctors' orders and monitoring patients' conditions. Vocational nurses perform more basic tasks such as administering medications and taking vital signs.
In examining the vocational nursing bureau, reporters reviewed 162 disciplinary decisions made in 2007 against licensed vocational nurses. The documents were obtained through a Public Records Act request because the bureau historically has not made them available to the public on its website.
Twenty-seven nurses racked up three or more criminal convictions before regulators filed complaints against them. Three had accumulated nine or more. In some cases the bureau took so long to act that judges said revoking the nurse's license was no longer necessary to protect the public.
That was the case for Donna Redcross of Mountain View. From 1990 to 2001, she was convicted three times for petty theft, three times for driving without a license and once each for possession of methamphetamine, disturbing the peace and drunk driving, bureau records show.
But the bureau made no move to restrict her license until February 2007. An administrative law judge, citing that delay, put her on three years of administrative probation. Through her lawyer, Redcross declined to comment.
In several other cases, convicted felons were described as having "clear" records on the bureau's public website. Among them: a Corona nurse convicted in December 2005 of bludgeoning her boyfriend to death and a Colton nurse convicted this year of using a patient's identifying information as part of a real estate scheme.
In February 2007, nurse Cynthia Knott was arrested after allegedly selling drugs to undercover investigators that had been stolen from her job at the Fresno County Jail. Investigators found hundreds of pills from the jail in her home, records show. She pleaded no contest to felony grand theft and possessing Vicodin for sale, was featured on the local TV news and was sentenced to a year in jail.
This September she was caught with methamphetamine and arrested again.
In Knott's court file are three letters from the vocational nursing bureau in 2007 asking the court to provide records for its review. Notes on the letters indicate that the court complied.
But as of last week, Knott was a nurse in good standing with the bureau, according to its website.
Knott's mother, Becky Owens, said that her daughter's arrest was a misunderstanding and that prosecutors scared Knott into pleading no contest. "They found medicine that she had taken home by mistake," Owens said.
Not every crime is directly related to nursing. But in many cases the potential for patient harm is obvious: Stolen drugs may not go to the patients for whom they are intended. An addicted nurse may make mistakes while under the influence. A sex offender may go on to commit similar offenses.
Several healthcare executives said they were troubled by the bureau's slow pace, and by the dearth of information it disclosed about pending discipline. Hospitals and clinics rely on that information to vet job candidates.
Until recently, the vocational nursing bureau's website indicated that nurses had clear licenses even if they were in the midst of proceedings to restrict or revoke their licenses.
After reporters began inquiring in recent weeks, Lopez, the Consumer Affairs Department director, ordered the bureau to post documents online outlining pending accusations, starting immediately.
The bureau itself has recognized its increasing workload and received approval last year to hire at least eight more staffers for enforcement. But some weaknesses go beyond staffing.
As a backup to its inconsistent fingerprinting system, the bureau asks all nurses renewing their licenses if they have been convicted of any crimes since their last renewal, usually a span of two years. The method essentially relies on the integrity of criminals.
With no fingerprints on record, Inette Schwam Linstead checked "no" when asked in November 2002 if she'd been convicted of crime, according to bureau documents. In fact, she had been convicted months earlier of driving under the influence and of forging a prescription. In 2003, with her license freshly renewed, she was convicted twice of possessing controlled substances, the bureau documents state.
The bureau did not seek to revoke or restrict her license until 2006. The next year, an administrative law judge gave her five years' probation.
In an interview, Linstead acknowledged that while in the throes of her addiction, she went to work under the influence of methamphetamine. But she said she does not believe she harmed patients. Now five years sober, she admits having lied to the bureau but says she feels she deserved a second chance.
"When you're fearful of losing something, people tend to be dishonest because they don't have a higher power in their life," she said.
Even when licensees are truthful about criminal convictions, the process can be nonsensical.
In April 2002, David Leland Lowe revealed to the bureau that he had been convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a 14-year-old, according to nursing bureau documents. Lowe had sex with the teenager in 1995 when he was 31, the records state.
The bureau renewed his license anyway.
In 2004, Lowe again disclosed his conviction, in writing, to the vocational nursing bureau.
It wasn't until more than two years later, in November 2006, that the bureau took the first step against his license, leaving unexplained why Lowe's crime suddenly merited attention.
An administrative law judge allowed Lowe to keep his license but placed him on five years' probation, noting that Lowe's employer, a nursing registry, described him as the best it had.
Lowe did not return calls for comment, but his former attorney, Michael Coffino, said in an e-mail that his client is "a perfect example of why all convicts should not be treated with the same degree of trepidation, even when it comes to having them as nurses."
San Bernardino nurse David Roberge agrees -- but he never thought the bureau would accept that argument in his case.
He said he served nearly 2 1/2 years in prison for manufacturing methamphetamine in the presence of children.
When Roberge asked about renewing his license after his release and a year's drug treatment, bureau officials told him to send a letter explaining his circumstances, he said. He did so and soon received a new license with no restrictions, and was told officials would be in touch, he said.
For 1 1/2 years, Roberge was a nurse in good standing. Then, in 2006, the bureau decided to act. He's now on administrative probation and must submit to a host of requirements.
Still, he is grateful. "I'm not proud of what I've done, but I'm proud of where I've come since then. "I didn't think I would ever get my license back," Roberge said.
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