Once again the value of nurses in providing quality care and improved outcomes for patients has been demonstrated by a study involving family medicine practices and diabetic patients. From the Annals of Family Medicine; January/February 2008.This result is not surprising. However, this particular study looks at outcomes in family practices with Nurse Practitioners versus physicians alone and practices with physicians and Physician Assistants. The practices with NPs provided better care. John Q. Public may not understand why this is so, but nurses will certainly understand why. The minimum education requirements for PAs and NPs is vastly different, as is the content and focus. You can become a PA with an…
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How Do You Hand Off Your Patients?
How do you hand off your patients to the next shift? Do you make rounds? Do you record the information? Are you available to the oncoming nurse during shift changes? What kind of information do you consider critical? How do you prefer to get your report? What changes would you suggest for your facility? Documentation is critical to continuity of care as well as to provide a record of the care you have given. Conveying information to the next person assuming care for a patient is also essential to providing quality care. It can be disastrous if something is left out. The Center for American Nurses is currently conducting an…
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New Products at CES
This has been a busy week. I’m in Las Vegas attending the Consumer Electronics Show. There are some innovative products for health care or that relate to health care. I’ll tell you about them when I get home and have a chance to sort through the literature and visit websites. Meantime, let me remind you about the Nursing Site Forum. (Subscribe at the top right.) There are a couple of requests for information posted there. Please join and chime in with your recommendations.
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Virtual Voting Booth Open at ANA
Members of ANA can cast a vote for their presidential candidate in the Virtual Voting Booth until January 17. This vote will help ANA decide which candidates nurses feel will be the strongest advocates for nurses. Also on the ANA site, public comment is being sought for Scope and Standards of Practice for Nursing Administration. Here is your chance to speak out and voice your opinion! Be sure to do so before the public comment ends Feb. 20, 2008.
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Helping the Foreign Born Nurse Asimilate
Each year many nurses emigrate to English speaking countries such as the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and Australia. Learning to speak English is a huge challenge. The form of English spoken in each of these countries can vary along with the slang, the accents and the pronunciation and spelling. Additionally they need to learn about the culture and the practice of nursing in these countries. It may be very different from the practice of nursing in their homeland. Learning to speak another language can be a challenge for all of us. As our countries become more and more global and diverse, the need to speak other languages in order to…